Navigation based satellite system, in the image of GPS system, occupy a crucial place in our daily activities: finding its way, a place or tracking a craft…. The increasingly prevalent applications of such systems are driving the development of increasingly sophisticated GPS receivers. This research work falls within this perspective and aims at the development and design of algorithms for future generations of satellite location receivers based SDR technology. The proposed approach for this research work is based on the satellite collection signal in RAW format and their digital processing, all by improving and elaborating localization algorithms. The work presented aim to design and integrate a system able of processing the signals recorded in RAW format on a CPU unit based on correlation, FFT, PLL and DLL modules. Different algorithms and advanced signal processing techniques are implemented and validated. The work carried out aims at identifying, modeling and correcting the errors introduced on the signals initially emitted by the satellites as the Ionospheric and Tropospheric errors, the supreme objectives relate to the design of a real-time GPS receiver.

Recently, nanostructure perovskite oxides such as LaMO3 (M=Co, Ni, Fe, …) received attention in academic researches due to its catalytic properties. In this research, the LaCoO3 perovskite nanoparticles have been synthesized by single-step route via the sol-gel auto-combustion method. The precursors used in this method were lanthanum nitrate and cobalt nitrate, as metals sources dissolved in distilled water and also using PVP as a surfactant, Urea and glycine as an oxidizer. The sol formed at stirring stage at 60 °C continued by gelation through the water evaporation at 90 °C and then auto-combustion occurred. Product of combustion step was washed and centrifuged three times and later calcined at 600 °C for 2 h. As synthesized nanoparticles are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and particle size analyzer (PSA). The characterization results proved the synthesis of nanoparticles below 100 nm with perovskite structure in narrow size distribution by using this method. The purity and size of nanoparticles vary depending on the fuel and fuel to oxidizer ratio.

Wind energy is one of the clean, sustainable types of energy that can deal with the current worldwide non-renewable energy source emergency. Even though it adds to 2.5% of the worldwide power request, with depletion of petroleum derivative sources, extraction of wind energy must reach to a more prominent degree to meet the energy emergency and issue of contamination. Now, to improve the aerodynamic response of a wind turbine, the blade pitch control is an effective method, usually applied to large-scale wind turbines. The present work incorporates an investigation of the impact of varied pitch angles on the performance parameters of a horizontal axis wind turbine. CFD code Fluent has been used to perform the simulations. A total of eight pitch angles are considered in this investigation. In addition to it, a numerical investigation of S809 airfoil has been performed and validated by a series of benchmark data. The SST k-w turbulence model has been utilized. The steady-state simulation is performed around a HAWT blade using multiple reference frame. It is seen that torque increases with an increase in wind velocity and decreases with an increase in pitch angle. The optimum pitch angle is obtained for maximum power generation.

Double-hit hot compression tests were carried on medium-carbon low-alloy steels using Gleeble 3800® thermomechanical simulator. The tests were performed at strain rates of 0.25 and 0.5 s-1 and temperatures of 1150 and 1200 °C with an interpass time of 5s. The onset of critical stress for dynamic transformation (DT) were detected using the double‐differentiation method. This metallurgical phenomenon was initiated under all testing conditions. The results show that the critical stress for DT increases with decrease in temperature and increase in strain rate.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) has the potential to provide more comprehensive biodiversity assessments particularly for vertebrates in species-rich regions. Yet, this method requires the completeness of a reference database, i.e. a list of DNA sequences attached to each species, which is never met. As an alternative, a diversity of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) can be extracted from eDNA metabarcoding. However, the extent to which the diversity of OTUs provided by a limited eDNA sampling effort can predict regional species diversity is unknown. Here, by modelling OTU accumulation curves of eDNA seawater samples across the Coral Triangle, we obtained an asymptote reaching 1,531 fish OTUs while 1,611 fish species are recorded in the region. Besides, we also accurately predict (R² = 0.92) the distribution of species richness among fish families from OTU-based asymptotes. Thus, the multi-model framework of OTU accumulation curves extends the use of eDNA metabarcoding in ecology, biogeography and conservation.

We analyzed the correspondence of the activation energy of metabolism (E) in rats under pharmacological torpor and hypothermia to the findings of the WBE-theory of ecology based on the studies of hibernating mammals: true hibernators and daily heterotherms. We found that in rats in a state of pharmacological torpor lasting about a day, E was close to that of daily heterotherms, while in anesthetized rats with hypothermia lasting for several hours, E was significantly lower, which is in sharp contradiction with the theory. We have shown that in rats classified as homeotherms, at short-term hypothermia the changes in metabolic rate precede the changes in body temperature by the interval Δt. We hypothesized that in poikilotherms, changes in metabolic rate may lag changes in body temperature by (-) Δt. Given this time shift, we proposed an approach to E correction in order to minimize its deviation from theoretical predictions.

Having control over species abundances and community resilience is of great interest for experimental, agricultural, industrial and conservation purposes. Here, we theoretically explore the possibility of manipulating ecological communities by modifying pairwise interactions. Specifically, we establish which interaction values should be modified, and by how much, in order to alter the composition or resilience of a community towards a favorable direction. While doing so, we also take into account the experimental difficulties in making such modifications by including in our optimization process, a cost parameter, which penalizes large modifications. In addition to prescribing what changes should be made to interspecies interactions given some modification cost, our approach also serves to establish the limits of community control, i.e. how well can one approach an ecological goal at best, even when not constrained by cost.

There are countless attempts on applying banana stem waste (BSW) as a feedstock for renewable energy, the materials are also known to be excellent substrate for various bioproducts. Ferulic acid happens to be one of the bioproducts that can be produced from BSW recognized to be great anti-oxidant compound and desired by pharmaceutical and food industries around the globe. This study employed enzymatic hydrolysis of feruloyl-polysaccharide from banana stem waste (BSW) by soil mixed culture (SMC) to produce ferulic acid (FA) using 25 full factorial design (FFD) to investigate the effect and interaction of these five factors affecting FA production: fermentation temperature (A; oC), agitation (B; rpm), water-to-BSW ratio (C;v/v), substrate-to-inoculums ratio (D;v/v), and inoculation time (E; days). The linear model was well fitted at R2=0.8019 with factors contribution percentages in the order of E > C > A > D > B. Inoculation time had 27.37% contribution indicating the importance of cell growth activities. The interaction of DE was highest since the SMC needs sufficient time for substrate utilization to get a high FA yield. The most FA output produced was 1.2187 mg FA/g BSW with parameters at ambient temperature, 150 rpm agitation, 1:1 water-to-BSW ratio, 1:1 substrate-to-inoculums ratio, and one day of inoculation. The hydrolysis process applied in this study found to be affected by various factors yet could be great option for production of ferulic acid. Meanwhile, BSW is proven feasible and great for producing ferulic acid naturally.

Acquired drug resistance syndrom (ADR) is one of the most important features associated with tumor treatment and it is therefore a~topic of intensive studies. We present two simple mathematical models reflecting different mechanisms of ADR with some Darwinian effects included. These effects allow resistant cells to become sensitive again. Basing on this mathematical approach we conclude that for constant continuous treatment, if no Darwinian effects are present then once resistant cells appear, sensitive cells are eliminated after a long time, independently of the mechanism of acquiring the resistance. However, with Darwinian effects the situation is a little better as the sensitive cells are not completely eliminated but they are still outcompeted by the resistant ones. Moreover, if the therapy is stopped resistant cells become dominated by sensitive cells and the situation changes completely in comparison to the case without Darwinian effects. We discuss these mechanisms on the example of gliomas.

Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) must have access to groundwater to maintain their ecological structure and function. The rapid expansion of humans has increased demands on groundwater for consumption, industry and agriculture, these demands alter groundwater regimes of natural GDEs, resulting in the degradation of ecosystem health. In order to improve the conceptual understanding of the role of groundwater in such ecosystems, this study examined key aspects of GDEs (hydrogeology, hydrogeochemistry and biodiversity) in the Langxi river watershed, North China. Results indicate that the karst in Langxi river watershed is well developed. The water chemistry types in the watershed were mostly HCO3-Ca type with different clustering characteristics, which indicate different degrees of interaction between surface water and groundwater, and that the recharge processes and flux of GDEs are different. Land use type and humidity maps were obtained by remote sensing interpretation, and combined with the groundwater isolines, it can be seen that in the dry season, when the groundwater level higher than the maximum depth of vegetation root system, and areas with high humidity, were the GDEs distribution areas. Water quality of the Longchi and Zhangxia Group aquifer is good and the content of Sr is high, suggesting that it can be used as a partial strontium type natural mineral water. It was also found that there are several types of stygofauna in the GDEs of the Langxi river watershed, indicating that the water quality of the sampling points has not been contaminated.

A new flow for Canadian young hydrologists: Key scientific challenges addressed by research cultural shiftsCaroline Aubry-Wake1, Lauren D. Somers2,3, Hayley Alcock4, Aspen M. Anderson5, Amin Azarkhish6, Samuel Bansah7, Nicole M. Bell8, Kelly Biagi9, Mariana Castaneda-Gonzalez10, Olivier Champagne9, Anna Chesnokova10, Devin Coone6, Tasha-Leigh J. Gauthier11, Uttam Ghimire6, Nathan Glas6, Dylan M. Hrach11, Oi Yin Lai14, Pierrick Lamontagne-Halle3, Nicolas R. Leroux1, Laura Lyon3, Sohom Mandal12, Bouchra R. Nasri13, Nataša Popović11, Tracy. E. Rankin14, Kabir Rasouli15, Alexis Robinson16, Palash Sanyal17, Nadine J. Shatilla9, 18, Brandon Van Huizen11, Sophie Wilkinson9, Jessica Williamson11, Majid Zaremehrjardy191 Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada2 Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA3 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montreal QC4 Department of Natural Resource Science, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada5 Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada6 School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Ontario, ON, Canada7 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada8 Centre for Water Resources Studies, Department of Civil & Resource Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada9 School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.10 Department of Construction Engineering, École de technologie supérieure, Montreal, QC, Canada11 Department of Geography & Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada12 Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada13 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McGill University, Montréal, Qc, Canada14 Geography Department, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada15 Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Dorval, QC, Canada16 Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON17 Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan.18 Lorax Environmental Services Ltd, Vancouver, BC, Canada.19 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

Boroxol (B3O3) rings and relevant hexagonal B3S3 structural blocks are ubiquitous in boron oxide/sulfide glasses, crystals, and high temperature liquids. However, the isolation of an ultimate heterocyclic B3O3 or B3S3 cluster in the free-standing form, with as few as six atoms, has been unsuccessful so far. We report on computational design of the simplest case of such a system: highly symmetric D3h B3S3+ (1A1) cluster. It is the well-defined global minimum on the potential energy surface, following global searches and electronic structure calculations at the B3LYP and single-point CCSD(T) levels. Chemical bonding analysis reveals an ideal system with skeleton Lewis B3S3 single bonds and unique double 6π/2σ aromaticity, which underlies its stability. The cluster turns out to be an inorganic analog of the 3,5-dehydrophenyl cation, a typical double π/σ aromatic system. It offers an example for chemical analogy between boron-based heterocyclic clusters and aromatic hydrocarbons. Double π/σ aromaticity is also a new concept in heterocyclic boron clusters. Prior systems such as borazine, boroxine, and boronyl boroxine only deal with π aromaticity as in benzene.

A new transport model is proposed for paraffin wax deposition onto a cold finger from flowing wax-containing oils. The model solves transient energy and mass balances simultaneously for a reversible first-order kinetic rate for precipitation of pseudo-single-component wax, and the effects of yield stress using a critical solid wax concentration to withstand flow-induced stress at the deposit-fluid interface, Cpi. The model can predict the time evolution of the deposit thickness, and the spatial and temporal evolution of temperature and wax concentration and was validated using experiments involving a cylindrical cold finger. We found that for oils with Cpi close to zero, the deposit thickness growth is dominated by heat transfer. However, mass transfer cannot be neglected as diffusion of wax into the deposit continues to take place even after the deposit has stopped growing. For oils with non-zero Cpi, the deposit growth is slow and accompanied by occasional sloughing.

Dual-metal modifications on SBA-16 silica were implemented to modulate the acidities and the distribution and dispersion of active phases for NiMo catalysts. The results showed that the acidity of S-H groups in S-edge sites can be promoted by B acid and further facilitate the DDS selectivity. The NiMo/AT-7.5 catalyst exhibits the highest HDS efficiency of 97.5% due to its appropriate acidity, highest proportion of MoS2 phase and concentration of S-edge sites. The kinetic and thermodynamic analyses were applied to investigate the intrinsic HDS reactivity for various catalysts. The results confirmed the existence of synergistic effect in the DBT HDS reaction. The B acid sites can further increase the desulfurization route (DS) of THDBT to CHB. A higher dispersion degree of MoS2 could improve DBT HDS efficiency. A high total concentration of S-edge and Mo-edge will indicate a high HDS efficiency. The S-edge/Mo-edge ratio and kDDS/kHYD could be correlated.

Diapause is an adaptive dormancy strategy by which arthropods endure extended periods of adverse climatic conditions. Seasonal variation in larval diapause initiation and duration in the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis, influences adult mating generation number (voltinism) across local environmental conditions. Degree of mating period overlap between sympatric voltine ecotypes influence hybridization level, but impact on O. furnacalis population genetic structure and evolution of divergent adaptive phenotypes remains uncertain. Genetic differentiation was estimated between voltine ecotypes collected from 8 locations in Jilin Province, China [3 single generation (univoltine), 3 two generation (bivoltine), and 2 sympatric locations] in 2014. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) haplotypes were partitioned into groups corresponding to historically allopatric univoltine or bivoltine population origins using Bayesian and phylogenetic clustering methods. Haplotypes from sympatric locations were clustered more-closely to bivoltine locations, but influenced by local demographics. Despite this COI haplotype divergence between ecotypes, results were confounded by significant adherence to an isolation-by-distance model. Additionally, analyses of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype data implicate voltinism, as opposed to geographic distance, as contributing to low but significant levels of variation among locations. Regardless, only 11 of 257 SNP loci were predicted to be under selection, suggesting population genetic homogenization except at loci proximal to factors putatively responsible for locally adaptive or voltinism-specific traits. These findings provide evidence that divergent voltine ecotypes may be maintained in allopatric and sympatric areas despite relatively high rates of nuclear gene flow, yet influence of voltinism on maintaining observed haplotype divergence remains unresolved.

Three morphology CeO2 supports with three-dimensionally ordered mesoporous structure (3DOM), nanotubes (NT) and nanocubes (NC) were synthesized by nanocasting of a mesoporous silica KIT-6 template with cubic Ia3d symmetries, hydrothermal method with and without urea, respectively, and supported cobalt catalysts were investigated on the production of COx-free hydrogen from ammonia decomposition for 300-600ºC. Morphological structure of CeO2 significantly influenced the catalytic activities in the ammonia decomposition, and the Co/CeO2-3DOM catalyst had a higher catalytic performance than Co/CeO2-NC and Co/CeO2-NT. It was elucidated by the formation of smaller particles size and more oxygen vacancies. The Co/CeO2-3DOM catalyst exhibited good stability and reusability at 600ºC for ammonia decomposition due to the three-dimensionally ordered mesoporous structure as anchoring cobalt active sites and prevention from active site aggregation. A mechanistic insight has been presented to understand the structure-activity relationship based on the structure of the CeO2 supports.

Effective conservation and utilization of farm animals are fundamental for realizing sustainable increases in food production. In situ and ex situ conservation are the two main strategies currently used to protect domestic chicken in China. However, genomic diversity and population structure have not been compared in these conserved populations. One potential risk is that the use of genome-wide SNPs to optimize genomic diversity might not preserve particular alleles that are associated with breed-specific characteristics. Here, 361 individuals from three Chinese domestic chicken breeds were collected from populations conserved in situ and ex situ, and genotyped using GBS (genotyping-by-sequencing). We estimated the genomic diversity, analyzed population structures, and found that the small ex situ conserved populations that have been maintained in controlled environments retained less genetic diversity than the in situ’s. In addition, genetic differentiation was detected between in situ and ex situ conserved populations within a single breed. We next analyzed selective signatures (FST, Pi, and XPEHH) to examine the genetic mechanisms underlying differentiation between in situ and ex situ conserved populations. We concluded that differentiation might be caused by genetic drift, or the differences were due to variants from the original populations. Finally, based on sequencing data obtained from the ex situ conserved populations, we used Di and Pi to identify “genomic conservation units” for breed-specific characteristics. Loci associated with the “genomic conservation unit” could be used to preserve breed-specific characteristics in the conservation program.

IntroductionThe main objective of these notes is the construction of a point of view of classical mechanics, a point of view that allows a closer connection with modern and contemporary physics. The two main theoretical approaches for the understanding of nature since the beginning of the XX century are General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. The first is the set of theories for high speeds and massive structures of the universe. The later is the set of theories that allows us to approach beyond the microscopic phenomena. Both worlds are not disconnected, since high energy physics, as the physics done by the Large Hadron Collider, rellies on relativistic quantum field theory, which is a quantum mechanical theory set up by special relativity.

Models of surface enhancement of molecular electronic response properties are challenging for two reasons: (1) molecule-surface interactions require the simultaneous solution of the molecular and the surface dynamic response (a daunting task); (2) when solving for the electronic structure of the combined molecule+surface system, it is not trivial to single out the particular physical effects responsible for enhancement. To attack this problem, in this work we apply a formally exact decomposition of the system’s response function into subsystem contributions by employing subsystem DFT which grants access to dynamic polarizabilities and optical spectra. In order to access information about the interactions between the subsystems, we extend a previously developed subsystem-based adiabatic connection fluctuation-dissipation theorem of DFT to separate the additive from the nonadditive correlation energy and identify the nonadditive correlation as the van der Waals interactions. As an example, we choose benzene adsorbed on monolayer MoS2. We isolate the contributions to the benzene’s dynamic response arising from the interaction with the surface and for the first time, we evaluate the enhancements to the effective C6 coefficients as a function of benzene-MoS2 distance and adsorption site. We also quantify the spectral broadening of the benzene’s electronic excited states due to their interaction with the surface. We find that the broadening has a similar decay law with the molecule-surface distance as the leading van der Waals interactions (i.e., R-6) and that the surface enhancement of dispersion interactions between benzene molecules is less than 5%, but still large enough (0.5 kcal/mol) to likely play a role in the prediction of interface morphologies.

Rationale, aims & objectives: Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP) represents a life-threatening event for women and their families. A number of national and international Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) of HDP have been published, however, their use in clinical practice is still not well documented as it is complex. Suboptimal adherence to CPGs may lead to unfavorable maternal and perinatal outcomes. The purpose of this study is to assess the level of adherence of Healthcare Providers (HCPs) including obstetricians, nurses, and midwives to the HDP CPG based on Health System Strengthening (HSS II) recommendations in Jordan. Methods: A cross-sectional study design is used. 270 HCPs are recruited from different healthcare sectors that provide maternal health care services to women who are at risk of developing HDP. Data is collected through a self-reported questionnaire. Results: HCPs showed a suboptimal adherence to evidence-based recommendations of HDP’s guidelines; particularly in the antepartum and postpartum period. Nurses and midwives reported a low adherence rate to antepartum and postpartum recommendations, whereas obstetricians reported low adherence rate to antepartum recommendations of HDP’s guidelines. Conclusion: The results of this study can be used by guideline developers to raise the acceptance and applicability of the guideline recommendations. Moreover, it may help healthcare stakeholders and policymakers in designing tailored strategies to ensure successful and sustainable guideline adoption and its implementation in evidence-based maternity care. Also it may be utilized to overcome the barriers in implementing the guidelines.

Cerasus serrulata (Rosaceae) is an important flowering cherry resource. It is almost the most widely distributed species in the genus, mainly included in the subtropical and temperate China, which enables the geographic evolutionary pattern to be a representative. Besides, the morphological traits are greatly varied especially in ornamental characters. All of these makes Cerrasus serrulata a valuable research object. Thus, phylogeographic analysis was conducted to apprehend the spatial pattern and evolutionary history, which can also add insights into the phylogeography of the genus Cerasus and plants in subtropical and temperate China, as well as to deeper understand the genetic diversity and structure of the germplasm to make better and more effective utilization. A total of 327 individuals of 18 populations were collected. Three cpDNA fragments (matK, trnD-E, trnS-G) and the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were utilized. The result showed a high genetic diversity both in species level and population level of Cerrasus serrulata. The high genetic differentiation among populations and the existence of phylogeographic structure in whole were detected. In addition, no bottleneck was identified. The the distribution pattern and center were formed before the LGM. Two geographical lineages were inferred. One was confined to Qingling Mountain and Taihang Mt. The other was from the Wuling Mt to Lu-Huang Mt, and then went northeast to the coast of Asia. Besides, taxonomic treatments of the Cerasus serrulata complex were reconsidered.

Rationale, aims and objectives: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), the second most common cause of stroke, has a high fatality rate. The establishment of mortality prediction models based on ICH patients and disease characteristics is very useful for clinical decision-making and corresponding treatment methods. Therefore, we used five machine learning methods to establish models for predicting in-hospital mortality in ICH patients and compared models’ performance. Methods: Model development and performance comparisons were performed using the medical information mart for intensive care (MIMIC-III) database. We took the maximum and minimum values of each index of 1143 ICH patients in the first, second and third days after admission as the input variables of the model, and established five machine learning models including random forest (RF), Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), decision tree, Naïve Bayes and KNN. The most important feature variables were selected by the RF model and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) method. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score were used as the assessment criteria of the model prediction effect. Results: After 5-fold cross-validation, the AUROC of RF, GBDT, Naïve Bayes, Decision Tree and KNN models were 0.92, 0.93, 0.9, 0.89, 0.89, respectively. The performance of GBDT was better than other prediction models. The accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score of the GBDT model were respectively 0.87, 0.84, 0.76, and 0.79. Conclusions: There is great potential for machine learning in mortality prediction for ICH patients in ICU. Considering the above five models, we believe that GBDT is an appropriate tool for clinicians to predict ICH patient mortality.

Rationale, aims and objectives: Airway humidification is an essential treatment for severe traumatic brain injury (STBI) patients after tracheotomy. To date, there was no relevant quantitative study evaluating these humidification ways and providing the appropriate method for the long-term nursing of these patients. Methods: In this study, 150 patients whom received tracheotomy treatment in our hospital from January 2016 to November 2018 were recruited into this study. Subjects were divided into three groups according to the humidification way that they received. The groups were oxygen spraying group (group A), Heat and moisture exchanger (HME) group (group B) and the heating and humidification group (group C). Phlegm viscosity, humidification effect, phlegm formation rate, daily sputum inhalation times, airway spasm, secondary lung infection, daily nursing times, nurses’ internal satisfaction were evaluated. Results: The C method is superior to both A and B methods in most aspects. A method trends to happening with insufficient or excessive humidification. Phlegm scab formation is significantly less in group C. The B and C methods had equal humidification effects and need similar daily sputum inhalation nursing. Airway spasm was frequent happened in group A than that in groups B and C. Secondary infection happened in all groups, the number of infected patients showed a decreasing trend and the infection degree showed no difference in the first 7 days between group C and group A. And the severity but not the infection ratio significantly decreased in Group C on the 30th day. Method A significantly reduced nursing workload, but gained the worst humidification effects. Conclusion: Collectively, C method is more suitable for the airway nursing of patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

Rationale and objectives: Changes in, and predictors of, quality of life (QoL) among unstable angina patients are informative for both clinical and public health practice. However, there is little research on this topic, especially in healthcare settings with limited resources. This study aims to detect changes in QoL and its associated factors among patients with unstable angina after percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was conducted with two repeated rounds of measurements, one month and three months after intervention, using the generic SF-36 questionnaire, in 120 patients from Vietnam National Heart Institute. A linear mixed-effects model was used to assess changes in patient QoL over time while adjusting for other covariates. Results: Only 2 out of 8 QoL subscales (social functioning and emotional well-being) declined after one month, but these tended to rise again after three months, while scores of all other QoL subscales increased. Adjusting for covariates, QoL increased slightly after one month of intervention (β=0.65, 95%CI=-0.86-2.16) but improved by almost 6 QoL points after 3 months (β=5.99, 95%CI=4.48-7.50). Four confounders significantly associated with a decline in QoL were older age, being retired, living in rural areas, and having abnormal troponin level. Conclusion: QoL of the patients with unstable angina improves significantly three months after intervention, rather than after one month. To increase QoL, it is important to address risk factors and to improve the quality of healthcare delivery.