Computing formulae and solving equations are essential elements of scientific analysis. While today digital tools are almost always applied, analog computing is a rich part of the larger history of science and technology. Graphical methods are an integral element of computing history and still find some use today. This paper presents the history of nomograms, a historically-relevant tool for solving mathematical problems in various branches of science and engineering; in particular, we consider their role in mechanical engineering, especially for education, (...) and discuss their mathematical properties. Each nomogram is a graphical description of a specific mathematical equation, designed such that the solution can be found through a simple geometric construction that can be performed with a straightedge. By design, using nomograms requires little skills and can be done even in adverse environments; a solution of sufficient accuracy for most purposes can then be found in a very short time. Another important advantage of nomograms is that they offer clear insight on the relationships between the variables, an insight which can be lost by looking at a complex equation. First introduced in the late $$19^{\textrm{th}}$$ century, nomograms were used by engineers and scientists due to their speed with respect to manual calculations, before being superseded by computers. While now mostly obsolete in practice, nomograms can still prove useful in workshops and teaching classes: we thus also discuss their educational applications and present a few original examples. (shrink)

Systemic lupus erythematosus is an inflammatory autoimmune disease with depression as one of its most common symptoms. The aim of this study is to establish a nomogram prediction model to assess the occurrence of depression in patients with SLE. Based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale cutoff of 8, 341 patients with SLE, recruited between June 2017 and December 2019, were divided into depressive and non-depressive groups. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, sociopsychological factors, and other risk factors (...) were collected. Between-group differences in clinical characteristics were assessed with depression as the dependent variable and the variables selected by logistic multiple regression as predictors. The model was established using R language. Marital status, education, social support, coping, and anxiety predicted depression. The nomogram prediction model showed that the risk rate was from 0.01 to 0.80, and the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve was 0.891. The calibration curve can intuitively show that the probability of depression predicted by the nomogram model is consistent with the actual comparison. The designed nomogram provides a highly predictive assessment of depression in patients with SLE, facilitating more comprehensive depression evaluation in usual clinical care. (shrink)

PurposeWhite matter damage (WMD) was defined as the appearance of rough and uneven echo enhancement in the white matter around the ventricle. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a risk prediction model for neonatal WMD.Materials and MethodsWe collected data for 1,733 infants hospitalized at the Department of Neonatology at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from 2017 to 2020. Infants were randomly assigned to training (n= 1,216) or validation (n= 517) cohorts at a ratio of (...) 7:3. Multivariate logistic regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses were used to establish a risk prediction model and web-based risk calculator based on the training cohort data. The predictive accuracy of the model was verified in the validation cohort.ResultsWe identified four variables as independent risk factors for brain WMD in neonates by multivariate logistic regression and LASSO analysis, including gestational age, fetal distress, prelabor rupture of membranes, and use of corticosteroids. These were used to establish a risk prediction nomogram and web-based calculator (https://caowenjun.shinyapps.io/dynnomapp/). The C-index of the training and validation sets was 0.898 (95% confidence interval: 0.8745–0.9215) and 0.887 (95% confidence interval: 0.8478–0.9262), respectively. Decision tree analysis showed that the model was highly effective in the threshold range of 1–61%. The sensitivity and specificity of the model were 82.5 and 81.7%, respectively, and the cutoff value was 0.099.ConclusionThis is the first study describing the use of a nomogram and web-based calculator to predict the risk of WMD in neonates. The web-based calculator increases the applicability of the predictive model and is a convenient tool for doctors at primary hospitals and outpatient clinics, family doctors, and even parents to identify high-risk births early on and implementing appropriate interventions while avoiding excessive treatment of low-risk patients. (shrink)

The paper analyzes the sacred foundations of Western institutional order, moving from an epistemological, historical and legal–aesthetic perspective. Firstly, it identifies an epistemological theory of complexity which, pursuing Hayek’s theory of complexity, Robilant’s notion of informative–normative systems, Popper’s theory of the Worlds, and Dupuy’s theory of endogenous fixed point, will conclusively lead to presenting the hypothesis of World 0 as the World of the foundation of legal thinking, the home of the sacred and the aesthetic. Secondly, it identifies the axiological (...) character of the legal aesthetic as a discipline, a topic that will be taken up in relation to the work of the French historian of canonical law and psychoanalyst Legendre, starting from the analysis of a legal/historiographical context (Corpus Iuris Civilis, Corpus Iuris Canonici, Hobbesian Leviathan, Kelsenian Grundnorm). Thirdly, following Ellul’s thought on secularization, the idea that we now live in a secularized, lay society, lacking in the sacred is revealed as a sort of illusion, the creation of a myth of modernity, only apparently rational. Finally the paper proposes as the task of legal theory the identification of the system of “nomograms” in which the normative message is organized, according to a nonreductionistic approach that forces legal theory to recognize the plurality of the iconic forms of the normative message. The “nomograms” respond to the need of extending the field of legal science to phenomena that the positivist theory of law does not consider important, but which the process of evolution of contemporary society imposes. (shrink)

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is critical in sodium and blood pressure (BP) regulation, and in cardiovascular-renal (CVR) diseases and therapeutics. As a contribution to SAPHIR project, we present a realistic computer model of renin production and circulating RAS, integrated into Guyton’s circulatory model ( GCM ). Juxtaglomerular apparatus, JGA , and Plasma modules were implemented in C ++/M2SL (Multi-formalism Multi-resolution Simulation Library) for fusion with GCM . Matlab © optimization toolboxes were used for parameter identification. In JGA , renin production (...) and granular cells recruitment (GCR) are controlled by perfusion pressure (PP), macula densa (MD), angiotensin II (Ang II), and renal sympathetic activity (RSNA). In Plasma , renin and ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) activities are integrated to yield Ang I and II. Model vs. data deviation is given as normalized root mean squared error (nRMSE; n points). Identification: JGA and Plasma parameters were identified against selected experimental data. After fusion with GCM : (1) GCR parameters were identified against Laragh’s PRA-natriuresis nomogram; (2) Renin production parameters were identified against two sets of data ([renin] transients vs. ACE or renin inhibition). Finally, GCR parameters were re-identified vs. Laragh’s nomogram (nRMSE 8%, n = 9). Validation: (1) model BP, PRA and [Ang II] are within reported ranges, and respond physiologically to sodium intake; (2) short-term Ang II infusion induces reported rise in BP and PRA. The modeled circulating RAS, in interaction with an integrated CVR, exhibits a realistic response to BP control maneuvers. This construction will allow for modelling hypertensive and CVR patients, including salt-sensitivity, polymorphisms, and pharmacotherapeutics. (shrink)