Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting are prone to develop muscle weakness and the causes are multi-factorial. Muscle strength in adult, critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation decreases with immobility. The influence of muscle strength on different muscle groups and its influence on progressive mobility in the adult, critically ill patient on mechanical ventilation has not been examined. Identifying muscle strength in this patient population can benefit overall muscle health and minimize muscle deconditioning through a progressive mobility plan. The objective of this dissertation was to describe muscle strength in different muscle groups and to describe the influence of muscle strength on mobility in critically ill adult patients on mechanical ventilation (MV). Fifty ICU patients were enrolled in this descriptive, cross sectional study. Abdominal core, bilateral hand grip and extremity strength was measured using three measurement tools. Mobility was measured using the following scale: 0=lying in bed; 1=sitting on edge of bed; 2=sitting on edge of bed to standing; 3=walking to bedside chair and 4=walking >7 feet from the standing position. Predictors of mobility were examined using stepwise regression. Abdominal core, bilateral hand grip and extremity strength demonstrated statistically significant relationships with all variables. Extremity strength accounted for 82% of the variance in mobility and was the sole predictor (β=0.903; F=212.9; p=0.000). Future research addressing the outcomes of implementing a mobility protocol in this patient population and prioritizing when such a protocol should be implemented would be beneficial to ongoing plans to decrease MV, ICU and hospital days. Muscle strength tests implemented at the bedside are crucial to implementing a progressive mobility plan for critically ill adults while they are on MV therapy.

Network monitoring is a necessity for both reducing downtime and ensuring rapid response in the case of software or hardware failure. Unfortunately, one of the most widely used protocols for monitoring networks, the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv3), does not offer an acceptable level of confidentiality or integrity for these services. In this paper, we demonstrate two attacks against the most current and secure version of the protocol with authentication and encryption enabled. In particular, we demonstrate that under reasonable conditions, we can read encrypted requests and forge messages between the network monitor and the hosts it observes. Such attacks are made possible by an insecure discovery mechanism, which allows an adversary capable of compromising a single network host to set the keys used by the security functions. Our attacks show that SNMPv3 places too much trust on the underlying network, and that this misplaced trust introduces vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

No description available.

本研究以2007年至2011年中國滬深交易所A股上市公司為研究樣本，以中國證監會公佈之行政裁罰、深滬兩交易所對上市公司之處分、及企業自行揭露的內部控制評價報告之內容分析企業發生內控缺失之類型，依照中國《企業內部控制基本規範》，將內部控制缺失依內控五大要素與五大目標予以分類彙總。並將企業的投資效率分為投資不足與過度投資，分別探討內部控制有效性對公司投資效率之影響。 實證結果顯示投資不足的程度與可靠的財務報導之內控目標的內控缺失存在正向的顯著關係。而過度投資的程度與是否發生內控缺失、後勤支援活動和內控設計及執行的內控缺失類型、內控五大要素、及營運的效率效果之內控目標的內控缺失呈現顯著或單尾顯著的負向關係。整體而言，在被監管單位揭發內控缺失資訊，內控有效性較低，而自我揭露愈多內控資訊，企業內控意識可能較佳之假設下，內控缺失一定程度影響企業的投資決策，內控的有效性有助於投資效率。 / Based on the sample of A-share listed companies in China over the period of 2007-2011, the research classified the companies by under investment and over investment, and investigated the impact of internal control efficiency on firm investment effectiveness separately The study comprehensively collects internal control reports released by listed firms and collects penalties which are released by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE). A further classification of internal control weaknesses was performed based on the nature of the events, COSO Internal Control — Integrated Framework and regulations of internal control in China. 　　In sum, the empirical results indicate that, for the companies under investment, the internal control weaknesses of financial reporting have significant positive impact on firm investment effectiveness. On the other hand for the companies which were over investment, those with internal control weaknesses have significant negative association with investment effectiveness. Moreover, the results show that companies with defective of logistics work or the design and execution of internal control were worse performers on investment effectiveness. Based on the COSO framework, the internal control weaknesses classified by the elements, including control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, monitoring, and the efficient and effective operations of the internal control objective are significant or one-tailed significant negative correlated to firm investment effectiveness. Collectively, if the internal control weaknesses were disclosed by the authorities, the firms had worse internal control efficiency, while the firms which were more conscious of internal control would disclose the internal control weaknesses themselves. The study shows that internal control weaknesses have impact on firm investment policy, and that internal control efficiency helps promote firm investment effectiveness.

The present work describes investigations on the anisotropic strength behavior of rocks in the splitting tensile test (Brazilian test). Three transversely isotropic rocks (gneiss, slate and sandstone) were studied in the Lab. A total of more than 550 indirect tensile strength tests were conducted, with emphasis was placed on the investigation of the influence of the spatial position of anisotropic weakness plane to the direction of the load on the fracture strength and fracture or fracture mode. In parallel, analytical solutions were evaluated for stress distribution and developed 3D numerical models to study the stress distribution and the fracture mode at the transversely isotropic disc. There were new findings on the fracture mode of crack propagation, the influence of the disc thickness, the influence of the applying loading angle and angle of the loading-foliation for transversely isotropic material. / Inhalt der Arbeit sind Untersuchungen zum anisotropen Festigkeitsverhalten von Gesteinen beim Spaltzugversuch (Brazilian Test). Laborativ wurden drei transversalisotrope Gesteine (Granit, Schiefer und Sandstein) untersucht. Insgesamt wurden mehr als 550 Spaltzugversuche durchgeführt, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf die Untersuchung des Einflusses der räumlichen Lage der Anisotropieebene zur Richtung des Lasteintrages auf die Bruchfestigkeit und das Bruchbild bzw. den Bruchmodus gelegt wurde. Parallel dazu wurden analytische Lösungen zur Spannungsverteilung ausgewertet sowie numerische 3D-Modelle entwickelt, um die Spannungsverteilung sowie den Bruchmodus bei einer transversalisotropen Scheibe zu untersuchen. Es wurden neue Erkenntnisse zum Bruchmodus, der Rissausbreitung, des Einflusses der Scheibendicke, dem Einfluss des Lasteinleitungswinkel sowie des Winkels Lasteintrag - Anisotropieebene für transversalisotropes Material gewonnen.

No description available.

INTRODUÇÃO: A doença renal crônica (DRC) é uma patologia progressiva e debilitante, que apresenta alta mortalidade devido a causas cardiovasculares. Pacientes com DRC apresentam alterações metabólicas e musculares que estão associadas com diminuição da capacidade funcional e baixa tolerância ao exercício, porém pouco se sabe sobre o acometimento da musculatura respiratória desses pacientes. Dessa forma, os objetivos primários deste estudo foram avaliar a força muscular respiratória (FMR) de pacientes com DRC e verificar a existência de associação da força da musculatura inspiratória com fatores de risco cardiovasculares já descritos na DRC. MÉTODOS: A amostra foi composta por pacientes com DRC (estádios 3 ao 5) (grupo DRC, n = 30) e por indivíduos saudáveis (grupo controle, C. n =11). Posteriormente, para fins de comparação, os pacientes com DRC foram divididos em dois grupos: pacientes com DRC em fase não dialítica (estádios 3 e 4 - grupo DRC-ND, n=12) e pacientes com DRC em hemodiálise (estádio 5 - grupo DRC-D, n = 18). Todos os indivíduos realizaram os seguintes procedimentos: manovacuometria digital para mensuração da pressão inspiratória máxima (PImax) e pressão expiratória máxima (PEmax); registro da pressão arterial (PA) batimento a batimento e do eletrocardiograma para mensuração das variáveis hemodinâmicas; registro da atividade simpática nervosa muscular (ANSM); avaliação da composição corporal por meio de bioimpedância; avaliação da velocidade de onda de pulso (VOP) carotídea-femoral; avaliação da função endotelial; teste ergoespirométrico para mensuração da capacidade funcional cardiorrespiratória. Para os indivíduos do grupo DRC-D as avaliações foram sempre realizadas no segundo dia interdialítico da semana. Posteriormente as curvas de pressão arterial registradas foram utilizadas para mensurar a variabilidade da frequência cardíaca (VFC) e da PA e para determinar o barorreflexo espontâneo. RESULTADOS: Os pacientes com DRC apresentam redução da FMR quando comparados ao grupo controle (PImax: DRC= 82,51 ± 24,39 vs. C= 115,20 ± 18,71 cmH2O; PEmax: DRC= 99,64 ± 19,86 vs. C= 138,90 ± 27,08 cmH2O). Não houve diferença nas pressões respiratórias entre os grupos DRC-D e DRC-ND. Além disso, os pacientes com DRC apresentam diminuição da VFC [SDNN: DRC = 19,03 (10,95 - 44,28) vs. C= 45,25 (28,45 - 76,86)ms], aumento do balanço simpatovagal (DRC= 3,42 ± 1,99 vs. C= 1,54 ±1,01), aumento da variância da PA sistólica [DRC= 48,60 (13,38 -149,00) vs. C= 29,76 (15,83 - 49,54) mmHg2, prejuízo tanto da ativação (DRC= 0,40 ± 0,15 vs. C= 0,72 ± 0,10) quanto da sensibilidade barorreflexa (DRC= 7,98 ± 4,37 vs. C= 20,87 ± 10,68 ms/mmHg), bem como, aumento da ANSM (DRC= 20,44 ± 3,88 vs. C= 17,75 ± 1,46 bursts/min). Para a maioria dos índices de VFC o grupo DRC-D apresentou maior comprometimento do que o grupo DRC-ND. Contudo, o balanço simpatovagal, a variância da PA sistólica, a ANSM e a ativação do barorreflexo não foi diferente entre os grupos DRC-D e DRC-ND. Além disso, os pacientes com DRC apresentaram menor consumo de oxigênio que os indivíduos saudáveis (DRC= 29,1 ± 7,76 vs. C= 38,5 ± 7,9 ml/kg/min), redução da função endotelial (DRC= 4,90 ± 4,62 vs. C =8,70 ± 2,19%) e aumento da VOP (DRC= 8,30 (6,15 - 12,2) vs. C= 6,55 (5,4 - 7,8) m/s) quando comparado ao grupo controle, sendo que não foram observadas diferenças entre os grupos DRC-D e DRC-ND para estas variáveis. Quanto a composição corporal, os indivíduos com DRC apresentaram menor massa corporal celular, menor massa magra, maior massa gorda, menor água intracelular, e maior porcentagem de água extracelular quando comparados ao grupo controle. Não foram observadas diferenças na composição corporal entre o grupo DRC-D e DRC-ND. Houve associação positiva entre a força muscular inspiratória e o consumo máximo de oxigênio, bem como entre a PImax e níveis séricos de albumina nos indivíduos com DRC. CONCLUSÕES: Pacientes com DRC, mesmo em fase não dialítica, apresentam comprometimento da FMR, principalmente da PImax, bem como redução da capacidade funcional cardiorrespiratória, sendo que, existe uma associação entre a PImax e o consumo máximo de oxigênio. Além disso, os pacientes com DRC apresentam prejuízo da VFC e da sensibilidade barorreflexa, aumento do balanço simpatovagal, da ANSM e alterações vasculares, que embora pareçam ser mais evidentes nos doentes renais em fase dialítica, já podem ser observadas também na fase pré-dialítica da DRC / INTRODUCTION: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive and debilitating condition that presents high mortality due to cardiovascular causes. Patients with CKD have metabolic and muscular changes that are associated with decreased functional capacity and low tolerance to exercise, but little is known about the involvement of the respiratory muscles in these population. Thus, the primary objectives of this study were to evaluate the respiratory muscle strength (RMS) of patients with CKD and to verify the existence of an association of inspiratory muscle strength with cardiovascular risk factors already described in CKD. METHODS: The sample consisted of patients with CKD (stages 3 to 5) (CKD group, n = 30) and healthy individuals (control group, C n = 11). For comparison purposes, patients with CKD were divided into two groups: non-dialytic CKD patients (stages 3 and 4 - CKD-ND group, n = 12) and patients with CKD on hemodialysis (stage 5 - group CKD-D, n = 18). All subjects performed the following procedures: digital manovacuometry to measure maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP); recording of blood pressure (BP) beat-to-beat and electrocardiogram for measurement of hemodynamic variables; register of sympathetic nervous muscle activity (SNMA); assessment of body composition by bioimpedance; assessment of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV); evaluation of endothelial function; ergospirometric test for measurement of cardiorespiratory functional capacity. For the subjects in the CKD-D group the evaluations were always performed on the second interdialytic day of the week. Subsequently, the recorded blood pressure curves were used to measure heart rate (HRV) and BP variability and to determine spontaneous baroreflex. RESULTS: Patients with CKD had a reduction in RMS when compared to the control group (MIP: CKD = 82.51 ± 24.39 vs. C = 115.20 ± 18.71 cmH2O; MEP: CKD = 99.64 ± 19, 86 vs. C = 138.90 ± 27.08 cm H2O). There was no difference in respiratory pressures between the CKD-D and the CKD-ND groups. In addition, patients with CKD had a decrease in HRV [SDNN: CKD = 19.03 (10.95 - 44.28) vs. C = 45.25 (28.45 - 76.86) ms], increased sympatovagal balance (CKD = 3.42 ± 1.99 vs. C = 1.54 ± 1.01), increased systolic BP variance [CKD = 48.60 (13.38 -149.00) vs. C = 29.76 (15.83 - 49.54) mmHg2, impairment of both activation (CKD = 0.40 ± 0.15 vs C = 0.72 ± 0.10) and baroreflex sensitivity (CKD = 7.98 ± 4.37 vs. C = 20.87 ± 10.68 ms/mmHg), as well as increased SNMA (CKD = 20.44 ± 3.88 vs. C = 17.75 ± 1.46 bursts/min). For most HRV scores, the CKD-D group presented greater impairment than the CKD-ND group. However, sympathovagal balance, systolic BP variance, SNMA and baroreflex activation were not different between the CKD-D and CKD-ND groups. In addition, patients with CKD had lower oxygen consumption than healthy subjects (CKD = 29.1 ± 7.76 vs. C = 38.5 ± 7.9 ml/kg/min), reduction of endothelial function (CKD = 4.90 ± 4.62 vs. C = 8.70 ± 2.19 %) and increased PWV (CKD = 8.30 (6.15 - 12.2) vs. C = 6.55 (5, 4 - 7.8) m/s) when compared to control group, and no differences were observed between the CKD-D and CKD-ND groups for these variables. Regarding body composition, individuals with CKD had lower cellular body mass, lower lean mass, higher fat mass, lower intracellular water, and higher percentage of extracellular water when compared to control group. No differences were observed in body composition between the CKD-D and CKD-ND groups. There was a positive association between inspiratory muscle strength and maximum oxygen consumption, as well as between MIP and serum albumin levels in individuals with CKD. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CKD, even in the non-dialytic phase, have FMR impairment, mainly MIP, as well as reduction of cardiorespiratory functional capacity, and there is an association between MIP and maximal oxygen consumption in this population. In addition, patients with CKD have impairment of HRV and baroreflex sensitivity, increased sympatovagal balance, SNMA, and vascular alterations, that although they may appear to be more evident in renal dialysis patients, may also be observed in the predialytic phase of DRC

Patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) are known to develop significant impairments in physical function. Patients with critical illness suffer up to 30% reductions in muscle size within the first ten days of admission to the ICU. Muscle strength testing, Medical Research Council-sum score, is current gold-standard to diagnosis ICU-acquired weakness and predicts risk of mortality and long-term physical function. Muscle power different from muscle strength in that it accounts for velocity of movement, is potentially a better independent predictor of function that has not been studied in this population. In addition, we hypothesize that muscle size and quality measured through ultrasound imaging has better applicability and prediction that strength testing. Therefore, we prospectively collected data surrounding these muscle parameters in patients admitted to the medicine ICU at University of Kentucky. Primary outcomes included physical function, muscle power with a novel assessment tool for the critically ill population, muscle strength, and muscle size and quality assess through ultrasound imaging. 36 patients admitted to ICU and 18 aged-matched controlled were enrolled. Patients had significantly lower scores on muscle power assessment at ICU discharge (33.6 ±19.0 W; t= 4.01, p < 0.001) and at hospital discharge (40.9 ±16.5 W; t= 4.81, p < 0.001) in comparison to controls (59.3± 14.7 W). Patients with better scores on muscle power assessment had significantly better scores on physical function measures (Six-minute walk test; rs = 0.548, p = 0.0001). Muscle size (cross-sectional area of rectus femoris muscle) and muscle power were strongly correlated (rs = 0.66, p < 0.0001). These data suggest that patients with critical illness have significantly reduced muscle power which directly related to deficits in physical function.

Background Critical illness myopathy (CIM) and polyneuropathy (CIP) are a common complication of critical illness. Both cause intensive-care-unit-acquired (ICU-acquired) muscle weakness (ICUAW) which increases morbidity and delays rehabilitation and recovery of activities of daily living such as walking ability. Focused physical rehabilitation of people with ICUAW is, therefore, of great importance at both an individual and a societal level. A recent systematic Cochrane review found no randomised controlled trials (RCT), and thus no supporting evidence, for physical rehabilitation interventions for people with defined CIP and CIM to improve activities of daily living. Therefore, the aim of our study is to compare the effects of an additional physiotherapy programme with systematically augmented levels of mobilisation with additional in-bed cycling (as the parallel group) on walking and other activities of daily living.

This thesis is focused on the study of the best-known network attacks, especially on those that can be theoretically detected without knowledge of the contents of transmitted messages. The goal is to use the basis of acquired knowledge to create a tool that will simulate the behavior of the communication in different network attacks. Simulation outputs will be used for testing the quality of security tools designed to defend against network attacks. The simulator will be used only for offline testing, it will not be possible to carry out real attacks. Purpose of this work is to improve the security against network attacks nowadays.