Collective behaviors of two-component swarms

We present a particle-based simulation study on two-component swarms where there exist two different types of groups in a swarm. Effects of different parameters between the two groups are studied systematically based on Langevin's equation. It is shown that the mass difference can introduce a protective behavior for the lighter members of the swarm in a vortex state. When the self-propelling strength is allowed to differ between two groups, it is observed that the swarm becomes spatially segregated and finally separated into two components at a certain critical value. We also investigate effects of different preferences for shelters on their collective decision making. In particular, it is found that the probability of selecting a shelter from the other varies sigmoidally as a function of the number ratio. The model is shown to describe the dynamics of the shelter choosing process of the cockroach–robot mixed group satisfactorily. It raises the possibility that the present model can be applied to the problems of pest control and fishing using robots and decoys.     

The expense for one implantation of a banked bone allograft from a cadaveric donor and the issues affecting current advanced medical treatment in the Japanese orthopaedic field

Demand for banked bone allografts is increasing in Japan; however, there are too few bone banks and the bone bank network is not well-established. One reason for this was lack of funding for banks. Bone banks had to bear all material expenses of banked bone allografts themselves because this was not designated a covered expense. In December 2004, the Japanese government started a new “Advanced Medical Treatment” administration system which allowed an approved institution to charge the expense of authorized advanced medical treatments directly to patients. The treatment named “Cryopreserved allogenic bone and ligamentous tissue retrieved from cadaveric donor” was approved as an advanced medical treatment in March 2007. We present the calculation method and the expense per implantation of a banked bone allograft from a cadaveric donor under this treatment and raise issues which affect this advanced medical treatment and remain to be resolved in the Japanese orthopaedic field.     

基于虚拟仪器技术的血管壁动态信息无创检测与辅助诊断系统

为了在体外无损地实现对血管壁动态信息、心电和心音信号等医学信息多参数的综合同步检测以及分析和处理,利用虚拟仪器技术设计了血管壁动态信息多参数的无创检测辅助诊断系统．该系统硬件平台由信号输入模块、信号调理模块以及采集卡等三大模块组成。软件系统由开发虚拟仪器的流行软件LabVIEW编写,实现了数据的采集、实时显示、分析处理和存储等。初步的临床检测结果证实了本无创检测系统的可行性和临床应用的前景,为功能性无创辅助诊断与血管壁弹性（硬化）程度有关的血管疾病提供了一种新的方法。     

Update on skin repigmentation therapies in vitiligo

Treatment for vitiligo is difficult and prolonged. Nevertheless, at present considerable knowledge accumulated during several decades on the pathogenic mechanisms, revealed important clues for designing new strategies to improve vitiligo depigmentation. With available medical therapies, high repigmentation percentages mostly on facial and neck lesions are achieved, although they are less effective on trunk and limbs and poor on the acral parts of the extremities. Narrow band UVB and psoralens and UVA are the two most important treatments for generalized vitiligo affecting more than 10–20% of the cutaneous surface, and topical corticosteroids, or calcineurin inhibitors are the most valuable treatments for localized vitiligo. Persistence of achieved regimentation is variable and an undefined percentage of patients may have variable recurrence. When vitiligo becomes refractory, surgical methods may improve depigmentation as effectively as with medical therapy; in segmental (unilateral) or long standing, non‐segmental (bilateral) stable vitiligo, repigmentation with surgical methods is usually permanent.     

Prosthetic valve endocarditis: management strategies and prognosis

Background Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) is a rare and serious complication after heart valve replacement; its optimal management strategy, though, still needs to be defined. Objective To study the clinical, microbiological and echocardiographic characteristics of PVE and to analyse the influence of the adopted therapeutic strategy (medical or surgical) on short- and midterm outcome in a tertiary care centre in a developing country (Tunisia). Methods All cases of PVE treated in our institution between 1997 and 2006 were retrospectively analysed according to the modified DUKE criteria. Results A total of 48 PVE episodes were diagnosed (30 men and 18 women), mean age was 37.93 years. Twenty-eight patients (58.33%) were exclusively medically treated, whereas 20 (41.66%) were treated by a combined surgical and medical strategy. Indications for surgery were haemodynamic deterioration in eight patients (40%), annular abscess in six (30%) and persisting sepsis in six (30%). In comparison with those from the medical group, operated patients had a longer delay to diagnosis (p=0.025), were more frequently in heart failure (p=0.04) and experienced more early complications (p=0.011); they also more frequently had prosthetic dehiscence (p=0.015), annular abscesses (p=0.039) and vegetations >10 mm (p=0.008). Conversely, no differences were found between the groups in terms of age, sex, or nature of involved organisms. In-hospital mortality for the medical group was 14.28% and for the surgical group 35% (p=0.09). Conclusion PVE is a very serious condition carrying high mortality rates regardless of the adopted strategy. Our study demonstrates that, in selected patients, medical treatment could be a successful and acceptable approach. (Neth Heart J 2009;17: 56-60.)     

生态系统管理的多目标体系和方法

20世纪90年代以来,人们开始采用“生态系统管理”这种基于生态系统原理的综合方法管理自然资源和生态环境,促进人类与自然的和谐发展。然而,生态系统自身的复杂性、动态性及不确定性特点使得“生态系统管理”难以形成明确的定义和方法体系,系统的多重尺度和目标也增加了管理的难度。近20年兴起的系统工程主要针对大规模复杂系统进行研究,实现系统的总体优化。多目标决策和决策支持系统是系统工程的常用技术方法,生态系统管理是“基于目标”的管理模式。本文概述了生态系统管理的概念和要素,从构建管理体系的角度着重阐述了生态系统管理目标体系的结构、构建过程及目标间的相互关系,针对生态系统的复杂特性探讨了多目标决策方法和决策支持系统在生态系统管理中的应用,以期能够对形成具有普遍意义和实际操作性的生态系统管理方法体系起到借鉴作用。     

Nuclear Energy in the Service of Biomedicine: The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s Radioisotope Program, 1946–1950

The widespread adoption of radioisotopes as tools in biomedical research and therapy became one of the major consequences of the “physicists’ war” for postwar life science. Scientists in the Manhattan Project, as part of their efforts to advocate for civilian uses of atomic energy after the war, proposed using infrastructure from the wartime bomb project to develop a government-run radioisotope distribution program. After the Atomic Energy Bill was passed and before the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was formally established, the Manhattan Project began shipping isotopes from Oak Ridge. Scientists and physicians put these reactor-produced isotopes to many of the same uses that had been pioneered with cyclotron-generated radioisotopes in the 1930s and early 1940s. The majority of early AEC shipments were radioiodine and radiophosphorus, employed to evaluate thyroid function, diagnose medical disorders, and irradiate tumors. Both researchers and politicians lauded radioisotopes publicly for their potential in curing diseases, particularly cancer. However, isotopes proved less successful than anticipated in treating cancer and more successful in medical diagnostics. On the research side, reactor-generated radioisotopes equipped biologists with new tools to trace molecular transformations from metabolic pathways to ecosystems. The U.S. government’s production and promotion of isotopes stimulated their consumption by scientists and physicians (both domestic and abroad), such that in the postwar period isotopes became routine elements of laboratory and clinical use. In the early postwar years, radioisotopes signified the government’s commitment to harness the␣atom for peace, particularly through contributions to biology, medicine, and agriculture.