Cholinesterase-based biosensors.

PubMed

Štěpánková, Šárka; Vorčáková, Katarína

2016-01-01

Recently, cholinesterase-based biosensors are widely used for assaying anticholinergic compounds. Primarily biosensors based on enzyme inhibition are useful analytical tools for fast screening of inhibitors, such as organophosphates and carbamates. The present review is aimed at compilation of the most important facts about cholinesterase based biosensors, types of physico-chemical transduction, immobilization strategies and practical applications.

Robust object tacking based on self-adaptive search area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Taihang; Zhong, Sheng

2018-02-01

Discriminative correlation filter (DCF) based trackers have recently achieved excellent performance with great computational efficiency. However, DCF based trackers suffer boundary effects, which result in the unstable performance in challenging situations exhibiting fast motion. In this paper, we propose a novel method to mitigate this side-effect in DCF based trackers. We change the search area according to the prediction of target motion. When the object moves fast, broad search area could alleviate boundary effects and reserve the probability of locating object. When the object moves slowly, narrow search area could prevent effect of useless background information and improve computational efficiency to attain real-time performance. This strategy can impressively soothe boundary effects in situations exhibiting fast motion and motion blur, and it can be used in almost all DCF based trackers. The experiments on OTB benchmark show that the proposed framework improves the performance compared with the baseline trackers.

Electric vehicle energy management system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alaoui, Chakib

This thesis investigates and analyzes novel strategies for the optimum energy management of electric vehicles (EVs). These are aimed to maximize the useful life of the EV batteries and make the EV more practical in order to increase its acceptability to market. The first strategy concerns the right choice of the batteries for the EV according to the user's driving habits, which may vary. Tests conducted at the University of Massachusetts Lowell battery lab show that the batteries perform differently from one manufacturer to the other. The second strategy was to investigate the fast chargeability of different batteries, which leads to reduce the time needed to recharge the EV battery pack. Tests were conducted again to prove that only few battery types could be fast charged. Test data were used to design a fast battery charger that could be installed in an EV charging station. The third strategy was the design, fabrication and application of an Electric Vehicle Diagnostic and Rejuvenation System (EVDRS). This system is based on Mosfet Controlled Thyristors (MCTs). It is capable of quickly identifying any failing battery(s) within the EV pack and rejuvenating the whole battery pack without dismantling them and unloading them. A novel algorithm to rejuvenate Electric Vehicle Sealed Lead Acid Batteries is described. This rejuvenation extends the useful life of the batteries and makes the EV more competitive. The fourth strategy was to design a thermal management system for EV, which is crucial to the safe operation, and the achievement of normal/optimal performance of, electric vehicle (EV) batteries. A novel approach for EV thermal management, based on Pettier-Effect heat pumps, was designed, fabricated and tested in EV. It shows the application of this type of technology for thermal management of EVs.

Self-Generated Coping Strategies Among Muslim Athletes During Ramadan Fasting

PubMed Central

Roy, Jolly; Hwa, Ooi Cheong; Singh, Rabindarjeet; Aziz, Abdul Rashid; Jin, Chai Wen

2011-01-01

The study explored the self-generated coping strategies employed by Muslim athletes from South East Asian region during the Ramadan fasting month. Sixty-five National elite Muslim athletes responded to an open-ended question on coping strategies employed during Ramadan fasting. Inductive content analysis identified five general dimensions from 54 meaning units which were abstracted into 14 first-order themes and 10 second order themes. The general dimension included four problem-focused coping: training modifications, dietary habits, psychological, rest and recovery, and one emotion-focused coping i.e., self- control. The coping strategies employed were diverse and dynamic in nature and no specific pattern was evident. The most frequently employed strategies were associated with training and dietary habits. Emotion focused coping was the least frequently used by the athletes. Key points Muslim athletes employ diverse self -generated coping strategies during Ramadan fasting which can be categorized as anticipatory coping, preventative coping and proactive coping. Frequently employed coping strategies are task focused such as training modifications and adjustments in dietary habits. PMID:24149306

Ankle and hip postural strategies defined by joint torques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Runge, C. F.; Shupert, C. L.; Horak, F. B.; Zajac, F. E.; Peterson, B. W. (Principal Investigator)

1999-01-01

Previous studies have identified two discrete strategies for the control of posture in the sagittal plane based on EMG activations, body kinematics, and ground reaction forces. The ankle strategy was characterized by body sway resembling a single-segment-inverted pendulum and was elicited on flat support surfaces. In contrast, the hip strategy was characterized by body sway resembling a double-segment inverted pendulum divided at the hip and was elicited on short or compliant support surfaces. However, biomechanical optimization models have suggested that hip strategy should be observed in response to fast translations on a flat surface also, provided the feet are constrained to remain in contact with the floor and the knee is constrained to remain straight. The purpose of this study was to examine the experimental evidence for hip strategy in postural responses to backward translations of a flat support surface and to determine whether analyses of joint torques would provide evidence for two separate postural strategies. Normal subjects standing on a flat support surface were translated backward with a range of velocities from fast (55 cm/s) to slow (5 cm/s). EMG activations and joint kinematics showed pattern changes consistent with previous experimental descriptions of mixed hip and ankle strategy with increasing platform velocity. Joint torque analyses revealed the addition of a hip flexor torque to the ankle plantarflexor torque during fast translations. This finding indicates the addition of hip strategy to ankle strategy to produce a continuum of postural responses. Hip torque without accompanying ankle torque (pure hip strategy) was not observed. Although postural control strategies have previously been defined by how the body moves, we conclude that joint torques, which indicate how body movements are produced, are useful in defining postural control strategies. These results also illustrate how the biomechanics of the body can transform discrete control patterns into a continuum of postural corrections.

Accelerating evaluation of converged lattice thermal conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Guangzhao; Hu, Ming

2018-01-01

High-throughput computational materials design is an emerging area in materials science, which is based on the fast evaluation of physical-related properties. The lattice thermal conductivity (κ) is a key property of materials for enormous implications. However, the high-throughput evaluation of κ remains a challenge due to the large resources costs and time-consuming procedures. In this paper, we propose a concise strategy to efficiently accelerate the evaluation process of obtaining accurate and converged κ. The strategy is in the framework of phonon Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) coupled with first-principles calculations. Based on the analysis of harmonic interatomic force constants (IFCs), the large enough cutoff radius (rcutoff), a critical parameter involved in calculating the anharmonic IFCs, can be directly determined to get satisfactory results. Moreover, we find a simple way to largely ( 10 times) accelerate the computations by fast reconstructing the anharmonic IFCs in the convergence test of κ with respect to the rcutof, which finally confirms the chosen rcutoff is appropriate. Two-dimensional graphene and phosphorene along with bulk SnSe are presented to validate our approach, and the long-debate divergence problem of thermal conductivity in low-dimensional systems is studied. The quantitative strategy proposed herein can be a good candidate for fast evaluating the reliable κ and thus provides useful tool for high-throughput materials screening and design with targeted thermal transport properties.

Strategy to overcome recombination limited photocurrent generation in CsPbX3 nanocrystal arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mir, Wasim J.; Livache, Clément; Goubet, Nicolas; Martinez, Bertille; Jagtap, Amardeep; Chu, Audrey; Coutard, Nathan; Cruguel, Hervé; Barisien, Thierry; Ithurria, Sandrine; Nag, Angshuman; Dubertret, Benoit; Ouerghi, Abdelkarim; Silly, Mathieu G.; Lhuillier, Emmanuel

2018-03-01

We discuss the transport properties of CsPbBrxI3-x perovskite nanocrystal arrays as a model ensemble system of caesium lead halide-based perovskite nanocrystal arrays. While this material is very promising for the design of light emitting diodes, laser, and solar cells, very little work has been devoted to the basic understanding of their (photo)conductive properties in an ensemble system. By combining DC and time-resolved photocurrent measurements, we demonstrate fast photodetection with time response below 2 ns. The photocurrent generation in perovskite nanocrystal-based arrays is limited by fast bimolecular recombination of the material, which limits the lifetime of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. We propose to use nanotrench electrodes as a strategy to ensure that the device size fits within the obtained diffusion length of the material in order to boost the transport efficiency and thus observe an enhancement of the photoresponse by a factor of 1000.

A fast implementation of MPC-based motion cueing algorithms for mid-size road vehicle motion simulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruschetta, M.; Maran, F.; Beghi, A.

2017-06-01

The use of dynamic driving simulators is constantly increasing in the automotive community, with applications ranging from vehicle development to rehab and driver training. The effectiveness of such devices is related to their capabilities of well reproducing the driving sensations, hence it is crucial that the motion control strategies generate both realistic and feasible inputs to the platform. Such strategies are called motion cueing algorithms (MCAs). In recent years several MCAs based on model predictive control (MPC) techniques have been proposed. The main drawback associated with the use of MPC is its computational burden, that may limit their application to high performance dynamic simulators. In the paper, a fast, real-time implementation of an MPC-based MCA for 9 DOF, high performance platform is proposed. Effectiveness of the approach in managing the available working area is illustrated by presenting experimental results from an implementation on a real device with a 200 Hz control frequency.

Fast Profiling of Natural Pigments in Different Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) Dietary Supplements by DI-FT-ICR and Evaluation of their Antioxidant Potential by Pre-Column DPPH-UHPLC Assay.

PubMed

Sommella, Eduardo; Conte, Giulio Maria; Salviati, Emanuela; Pepe, Giacomo; Bertamino, Alessia; Ostacolo, Carmine; Sansone, Francesca; Prete, Francesco Del; Aquino, Rita Patrizia; Campiglia, Pietro

2018-05-11

Arthrospira platensis , better known as Spirulina, is one of the most important microalgae species. This cyanobacterium possesses a rich metabolite pattern, including high amounts of natural pigments. In this study, we applied a combined strategy based on Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) and Ultra High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) for the qualitative/quantitative characterization of Spirulina pigments in three different commercial dietary supplements. FT-ICR was employed to elucidate the qualitative profile of Spirulina pigments, in both direct infusion mode (DIMS) and coupled to UHPLC. DIMS showed to be a very fast (4 min) and accurate (mass accuracy ≤ 0.01 ppm) tool. 51 pigments were tentatively identified. The profile revealed different classes, such as carotenes, xanthophylls and chlorophylls. Moreover, the antioxidant evaluation of the major compounds was assessed by pre-column reaction with the DPPH radical followed by fast UHPLC-PDA separation, highlighting the contribution of single analytes to the antioxidant potential of the entire pigment fraction. β-carotene, diadinoxanthin and diatoxanthin showed the highest scavenging activity. The method took 40 min per sample, comprising reaction. This strategy could represent a valid tool for the fast and comprehensive characterization of Spirulina pigments in dietary supplements, as well as in other microalgae-based products.

On the suitability of fast and frugal heuristics for designing values clarification methods in patient decision aids: a critical analysis.

PubMed

Pieterse, Arwen H; de Vries, Marieke

2013-09-01

Increasingly, patient decision aids and values clarification methods (VCMs) are being developed to support patients in making preference-sensitive health-care decisions. Many VCMs encourage extensive deliberation about options, without solid theoretical or empirical evidence showing that deliberation is advantageous. Research suggests that simple, fast and frugal heuristic decision strategies sometimes result in better judgments and decisions. Durand et al. have developed two fast and frugal heuristic-based VCMs. To critically analyse the suitability of the 'take the best' (TTB) and 'tallying' fast and frugal heuristics in the context of patient decision making. Analysis of the structural similarities between the environments in which the TTB and tallying heuristics have been proven successful and the context of patient decision making and of the potential of these heuristic decision processes to support patient decision making. The specific nature of patient preference-sensitive decision making does not seem to resemble environments in which the TTB and tallying heuristics have proven successful. Encouraging patients to consider less rather than more relevant information potentially even deteriorates their values clarification process. Values clarification methods promoting the use of more intuitive decision strategies may sometimes be more effective. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend further theoretical thinking about the expected value of such heuristics and of other more intuitive decision strategies in this context, as well as empirical assessments of the mechanisms by which inducing such decision strategies may impact the quality and outcome of values clarification. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

On the suitability of fast and frugal heuristics for designing values clarification methods in patient decision aids: a critical analysis

PubMed Central

Pieterse, Arwen H.; de Vries, Marieke

2011-01-01

Abstract Background  Increasingly, patient decision aids and values clarification methods (VCMs) are being developed to support patients in making preference‐sensitive health‐care decisions. Many VCMs encourage extensive deliberation about options, without solid theoretical or empirical evidence showing that deliberation is advantageous. Research suggests that simple, fast and frugal heuristic decision strategies sometimes result in better judgments and decisions. Durand et al. have developed two fast and frugal heuristic‐based VCMs. Objective  To critically analyse the suitability of the ‘take the best’ (TTB) and ‘tallying’ fast and frugal heuristics in the context of patient decision making. Strategy  Analysis of the structural similarities between the environments in which the TTB and tallying heuristics have been proven successful and the context of patient decision making and of the potential of these heuristic decision processes to support patient decision making. Conclusion  The specific nature of patient preference‐sensitive decision making does not seem to resemble environments in which the TTB and tallying heuristics have proven successful. Encouraging patients to consider less rather than more relevant information potentially even deteriorates their values clarification process. Values clarification methods promoting the use of more intuitive decision strategies may sometimes be more effective. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend further theoretical thinking about the expected value of such heuristics and of other more intuitive decision strategies in this context, as well as empirical assessments of the mechanisms by which inducing such decision strategies may impact the quality and outcome of values clarification. PMID:21902770

Type 2 diabetes patient's perspective on Ramadan fasting: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Lee, Jun Yang; Wong, Chee Piau; Tan, Christina San San; Nasir, Nazrila Hairizan; Lee, Shaun Wen Huey

2017-01-01

We evaluated the beliefs, experience and diabetes management strategies of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) Muslim patients that chose to fast during Ramadan. A semistructured focus group interview was conducted with 53 participants with T2DM. Participants were purposefully sampled and asked to share their perspective on Ramadan fasting. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Participants reported optimism towards fasting during Ramadan, as they believed that fasting was beneficial to their overall well-being, and a time for family bonding. Most participants made limited attempts to discuss with their doctors on the decision to fast and self-adjusted their medication based on experience and symptoms during this period. They also reported difficulty in managing their diet, due to fear of hypoglycemia and the collective social aspect of fasting. Muslims are optimistic about their well-being when fasting during Ramadan. Many choose to fulfill their religious obligation despite being discouraged by their doctors. Collaboration with religious authorities should be explored to ensure patients receive adequate education before fasting during Ramadan. NCT02189135; Results.

Overwintering strategy of wild free-ranging and enclosure-housed Japanese raccoon dogs ( Nyctereutes procyonoides albus)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitao, Naoya; Fukui, Daisuke; Hashimoto, Masaaki; Osborne, Peter G.

2009-03-01

The raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides, is a canid with a passive overwintering strategy in northern Europe. However, the behaviour and physiology of the Japanese subspecies, N. p. albus, which has fewer chromosomes than the other subspecies, remain unknown. We measured body temperature, body composition and blood biochemistry of wild free-ranging and fasted enclosure-housed N. p. albus during boreal winter in Hokkaido, Japan. Body temperature of N. p. albus decreased from 38°C in autumn to 35.9-36.7°C while maintaining a circadian rhythm in late February ( n = 3). A transient 18-36% decrease in resting heart rate occurred when body temperature was low ( n = 2). Despite a 33-45% decrease in body weight due to winter fasting, circulating glucose, total protein and triglyceride levels were maintained ( n = 4). Serum urea nitrogen dropped by 43-45% from autumn to spring, suggesting protein conservation during fasting. The overwintering survival strategy of N. p. albus in central Hokkaido is based upon large changes in seasonal activity patterns, winter denning and communal housing without the large decrease in body temperature that is characteristic of subarctic animals exhibiting hibernation or torpor.

Escalated convergent artificial bee colony

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jadon, Shimpi Singh; Bansal, Jagdish Chand; Tiwari, Ritu

2016-03-01

Artificial bee colony (ABC) optimisation algorithm is a recent, fast and easy-to-implement population-based meta heuristic for optimisation. ABC has been proved a rival algorithm with some popular swarm intelligence-based algorithms such as particle swarm optimisation, firefly algorithm and ant colony optimisation. The solution search equation of ABC is influenced by a random quantity which helps its search process in exploration at the cost of exploitation. In order to find a fast convergent behaviour of ABC while exploitation capability is maintained, in this paper basic ABC is modified in two ways. First, to improve exploitation capability, two local search strategies, namely classical unidimensional local search and levy flight random walk-based local search are incorporated with ABC. Furthermore, a new solution search strategy, namely stochastic diffusion scout search is proposed and incorporated into the scout bee phase to provide more chance to abandon solution to improve itself. Efficiency of the proposed algorithm is tested on 20 benchmark test functions of different complexities and characteristics. Results are very promising and they prove it to be a competitive algorithm in the field of swarm intelligence-based algorithms.

Fabric defect detection based on faster R-CNN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhoufeng; Liu, Xianghui; Li, Chunlei; Li, Bicao; Wang, Baorui

2018-04-01

In order to effectively detect the defects for fabric image with complex texture, this paper proposed a novel detection algorithm based on an end-to-end convolutional neural network. First, the proposal regions are generated by RPN (regional proposal Network). Then, Fast Region-based Convolutional Network method (Fast R-CNN) is adopted to determine whether the proposal regions extracted by RPN is a defect or not. Finally, Soft-NMS (non-maximum suppression) and data augmentation strategies are utilized to improve the detection precision. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can locate the fabric defect region with higher accuracy compared with the state-of- art, and has better adaptability to all kinds of the fabric image.

Engineering the mobility increment in pentacene-based field-effect transistors by fast cooling of polymeric modification layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ling, Haifeng; Zhang, Chenxi; Chen, Yan; Shao, Yaqing; Li, Wen; Li, Huanqun; Chen, Xudong; Yi, Mingdong; Xie, Linghai; Huang, Wei

2017-06-01

In this work, we investigate the effect of the cooling rate of polymeric modification layers (PMLs) on the mobility improvement of pentacene-based organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). In contrast to slow cooling (SC), the OFETs fabricated through fast cooling (FC) with PMLs containing side chain-phenyl rings, such as polystyrene (PS) and poly (4-vinylphenol) (PVP), show an obvious mobility incensement compared with that of π-group free polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images and x-ray diffraction (XRD) characterizations have showed that fast-cooled PMLs could effectively enhance the crystallinity of pentacene, which might be related to the optimized homogeneity of surface energy on the surface of polymeric dielectrics. Our work has demonstrated that FC treatment could be a potential strategy for performance modulation of OFETs.

Purposeful Variable Selection and Stratification to Impute Missing FAST Data in Trauma Research

PubMed Central

Fuchs, Paul A.; del Junco, Deborah J.; Fox, Erin E.; Holcomb, John B.; Rahbar, Mohammad H.; Wade, Charles A.; Alarcon, Louis H.; Brasel, Karen J.; Bulger, Eileen M.; Cohen, Mitchell J.; Myers, John G.; Muskat, Peter; Phelan, Herb A.; Schreiber, Martin A.; Cotton, Bryan A.

2013-01-01

Background The Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) exam is an important variable in many retrospective trauma studies. The purpose of this study was to devise an imputation method to overcome missing data for the FAST exam. Due to variability in patients’ injuries and trauma care, these data are unlikely to be missing completely at random (MCAR), raising concern for validity when analyses exclude patients with missing values. Methods Imputation was conducted under a less restrictive, more plausible missing at random (MAR) assumption. Patients with missing FAST exams had available data on alternate, clinically relevant elements that were strongly associated with FAST results in complete cases, especially when considered jointly. Subjects with missing data (32.7%) were divided into eight mutually exclusive groups based on selected variables that both described the injury and were associated with missing FAST values. Additional variables were selected within each group to classify missing FAST values as positive or negative, and correct FAST exam classification based on these variables was determined for patients with non-missing FAST values. Results Severe head/neck injury (odds ratio, OR=2.04), severe extremity injury (OR=4.03), severe abdominal injury (OR=1.94), no injury (OR=1.94), other abdominal injury (OR=0.47), other head/neck injury (OR=0.57) and other extremity injury (OR=0.45) groups had significant ORs for missing data; the other group odds ratio was not significant (OR=0.84). All 407 missing FAST values were imputed, with 109 classified as positive. Correct classification of non-missing FAST results using the alternate variables was 87.2%. Conclusions Purposeful imputation for missing FAST exams based on interactions among selected variables assessed by simple stratification may be a useful adjunct to sensitivity analysis in the evaluation of imputation strategies under different missing data mechanisms. This approach has the potential for widespread application in clinical and translational research and validation is warranted. Level of Evidence Level II Prognostic or Epidemiological PMID:23778515

Evaluation of a cognitive remediation intervention for college students with psychiatric conditions.

PubMed

Mullen, Michelle G; Thompson, Judy L; Murphy, Ann A; Malenczak, Derek; Giacobbe, Giovanna; Karyczak, Sean; Holloway, Katherine E; Twamley, Elizabeth W; Silverstein, Steven M; Gill, Kenneth J

2017-03-01

Given the poor educational outcomes associated with psychiatric conditions, we developed Focused Academic Strength Training (FAST), a 12-week strategy-focused cognitive remediation intervention designed to improve academic functioning among college students with psychiatric conditions. Here we report initial results from a randomized controlled trial of FAST. Seventy-two college students with mood, anxiety, and/or psychotic disorders were randomized to receive FAST or services as usual and were assessed at baseline and 4 months (posttreatment). Repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated FAST-associated improvements in self-reported cognitive strategy use (p < .001), self-efficacy (p = .001), and academic difficulties (p = .025). There were no significant treatment-related improvements in neuropsychological performance. FAST may lead to an increase in self-efficacy and cognitive strategy use, as well as a reduction in academic difficulties among students with psychiatric conditions. Future analyses with follow-up data through 12 months will address the potential of FAST to improve academic functioning among this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Fast formation of aerobic granules by combining strong hydraulic selection pressure with overstressed organic loading rate.

PubMed

Liu, Yong-Qiang; Tay, Joo-Hwa

2015-09-01

The combined strong hydraulic selection pressure (HSP) with overstressed organic loading rate (OLR) as a fast granulation strategy was used to enhance aerobic granulation. To investigate the wide applicability of this strategy to different scenarios and its relevant mechanism, different settling times, different inoculums, different exchange ratios, different reactor configurations, and different shear force were used in this study. It was found that clear granules were formed within 24 h and steady state reached within three days when the fast granulation strategy was used in a lab-scale reactor seeded with well settled activated sludge (Reactor 2). However, granules appeared after 2-week operation and reached steady state after one month at the traditional step-wise decreased settling time from 20 to 2 min with OLR of 6 g COD/L·d (Reactor 1). With the fast granulation strategy, granules appeared within 24 h even with bulking sludge as seed to start up Reactor 3, but 6-day lag phase was observed compared with Reactor 2. Both Reactor 2 and Reactor 3 experienced sigmoidal growth curve in terms of biomass accumulation and granule size increase after granulation. In addition, the reproducible results in pilot-scale reactors (Reactor 5 and Reactor 6) with diameter of 20 cm and height/diameter ratio (H/D) of 4 further proved that reactor configuration and fluid flow pattern had no effect on the aerobic granulation when the fast granulation strategy was employed, but biomass accumulation experienced a short lag phase too in Reactor 5 and Reactor 6. Although overstressed OLR was favorable for fast granulation, it also led to the fluffy granules after around two-week operation. However, the stable 6-month operation of Reactor 3 demonstrated that the rapidly formed granules were able to maintain long-term stability by reducing OLR from 12 g COD/L·d to 6 g COD/L·d. A mechanism of fast granulation with the strategy of combined strong HSP and OLR was proposed to explain results and guide the operation with this fast strategy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Type 2 diabetes patient’s perspective on Ramadan fasting: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Lee, Jun Yang; Wong, Chee Piau; Tan, Christina San San; Nasir, Nazrila Hairizan

2017-01-01

Objective We evaluated the beliefs, experience and diabetes management strategies of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) Muslim patients that chose to fast during Ramadan. Research design and methods A semistructured focus group interview was conducted with 53 participants with T2DM. Participants were purposefully sampled and asked to share their perspective on Ramadan fasting. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Results Participants reported optimism towards fasting during Ramadan, as they believed that fasting was beneficial to their overall well-being, and a time for family bonding. Most participants made limited attempts to discuss with their doctors on the decision to fast and self-adjusted their medication based on experience and symptoms during this period. They also reported difficulty in managing their diet, due to fear of hypoglycemia and the collective social aspect of fasting. Conclusion Muslims are optimistic about their well-being when fasting during Ramadan. Many choose to fulfill their religious obligation despite being discouraged by their doctors. Collaboration with religious authorities should be explored to ensure patients receive adequate education before fasting during Ramadan. Trial registration number NCT02189135; Results. PMID:28761651

Against all odds: Tales of survival and growth of the Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Karen Kina

This study examines the dynamics of survival and growth of curricular and instructional innovations. It focuses on the Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) project, a long-term survivor of reform in science education. Key questions guiding this study include: (1) How did the FAST project survive over the past 30 years? (2) What elements are essential for long-term survival and growth of an innovative science program? (3) Why did the project continue to survive amidst several waves of educational reform? The core of my conceptual framework is that the odds of survival and growth of curricular and instructional innovations are increased by the extent to which resources, theory-based curriculum development processes, and professional development strategies are not only incorporated into but also interdependent within a project. With this framework as a guide, the main methods of data collection were document analysis, interviews, and observations. FAST, developed by the University of Hawaii's Curriculum Research and Development Group (CRDG), consists of a sequential and interdisciplinary middle and high school science program for students in grades 6-10. According to the results of this study, the project was able to survive by receiving constant organizational support from CRDG and a steady source of State funding through the university since 1966; it also retained a relatively small but stable staff of highly qualified project personnel. Formulated on a discipline-based theory that values development of students' intellectual capacities as the platform for curriculum research, design, and development, the FAST project translated this vision of science education into key elements of an innovative program that survived and thrived: (1) an interdisciplinary program consisting of physical, biological, and earth sciences; inquiry as content and process; history and philosophy of science; and links between and among sciences, technology, and society; and (2) teaching and learning strategies that model a community of practicing scientists. This study also identified the main elements of professional development strategies essential for an innovative project's survival and growth: linking curriculum development to required pre-implementation inservice training, engaging project personnel in both of these phases recruiting, training a cadre of experienced FAST teachers as inservice trainers, and providing follow-up professional development seminars. In conclusion, the FAST project survived mainly because the longevity of its leaders gave stability and continuity to the project. Against many odds such as limited financial resources and a small number of staff positions relative to the project's scope, the leaders managed with whatever resources were available to link theory-based curriculum development with professional development and, thereby, increase the project's chances for survival and growth.

Properties of perimetric threshold estimates from Full Threshold, SITA Standard, and SITA Fast strategies.

PubMed

Artes, Paul H; Iwase, Aiko; Ohno, Yuko; Kitazawa, Yoshiaki; Chauhan, Balwantray C

2002-08-01

To investigate the distributions of threshold estimates with the Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithms (SITA) Standard, SITA Fast, and the Full Threshold algorithm (Humphrey Field Analyzer; Zeiss-Humphrey Instruments, Dublin, CA) and to compare the pointwise test-retest variability of these strategies. One eye of 49 patients (mean age, 61.6 years; range, 22-81) with glaucoma (Mean Deviation mean, -7.13 dB; range, +1.8 to -23.9 dB) was examined four times with each of the three strategies. The mean and median SITA Standard and SITA Fast threshold estimates were compared with a "best available" estimate of sensitivity (mean results of three Full Threshold tests). Pointwise 90% retest limits (5th and 95th percentiles of retest thresholds) were derived to assess the reproducibility of individual threshold estimates. The differences between the threshold estimates of the SITA and Full Threshold strategies were largest ( approximately 3 dB) for midrange sensitivities ( approximately 15 dB). The threshold distributions of SITA were considerably different from those of the Full Threshold strategy. The differences remained of similar magnitude when the analysis was repeated on a subset of 20 locations that are examined early during the course of a Full Threshold examination. With sensitivities above 25 dB, both SITA strategies exhibited lower test-retest variability than the Full Threshold strategy. Below 25 dB, the retest intervals of SITA Standard were slightly smaller than those of the Full Threshold strategy, whereas those of SITA Fast were larger. SITA Standard may be superior to the Full Threshold strategy for monitoring patients with visual field loss. The greater test-retest variability of SITA Fast in areas of low sensitivity is likely to offset the benefit of even shorter test durations with this strategy. The sensitivity differences between the SITA and Full Threshold strategies may relate to factors other than reduced fatigue. They are, however, small in comparison to the test-retest variability.

Fast iodide-SAD phasing for high-throughput membrane protein structure determination

PubMed Central

Melnikov, Igor; Polovinkin, Vitaly; Kovalev, Kirill; Gushchin, Ivan; Shevtsov, Mikhail; Shevchenko, Vitaly; Mishin, Alexey; Alekseev, Alexey; Rodriguez-Valera, Francisco; Borshchevskiy, Valentin; Cherezov, Vadim; Leonard, Gordon A.; Gordeliy, Valentin; Popov, Alexander

2017-01-01

We describe a fast, easy, and potentially universal method for the de novo solution of the crystal structures of membrane proteins via iodide–single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (I-SAD). The potential universality of the method is based on a common feature of membrane proteins—the availability at the hydrophobic-hydrophilic interface of positively charged amino acid residues with which iodide strongly interacts. We demonstrate the solution using I-SAD of four crystal structures representing different classes of membrane proteins, including a human G protein–coupled receptor (GPCR), and we show that I-SAD can be applied using data collection strategies based on either standard or serial x-ray crystallography techniques. PMID:28508075

Fast iodide-SAD phasing for high-throughput membrane protein structure determination.

PubMed

Melnikov, Igor; Polovinkin, Vitaly; Kovalev, Kirill; Gushchin, Ivan; Shevtsov, Mikhail; Shevchenko, Vitaly; Mishin, Alexey; Alekseev, Alexey; Rodriguez-Valera, Francisco; Borshchevskiy, Valentin; Cherezov, Vadim; Leonard, Gordon A; Gordeliy, Valentin; Popov, Alexander

2017-05-01

We describe a fast, easy, and potentially universal method for the de novo solution of the crystal structures of membrane proteins via iodide-single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (I-SAD). The potential universality of the method is based on a common feature of membrane proteins-the availability at the hydrophobic-hydrophilic interface of positively charged amino acid residues with which iodide strongly interacts. We demonstrate the solution using I-SAD of four crystal structures representing different classes of membrane proteins, including a human G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), and we show that I-SAD can be applied using data collection strategies based on either standard or serial x-ray crystallography techniques.

Experiences of Fast Queue health care users in primary health care facilities in eThekwini district, South Africa.

PubMed

Sokhela, Dudu G; Makhanya, Nonhlanhla J; Sibiya, Nokuthula M; Nokes, Kathleen M

2013-07-05

Comprehensive Primary Health Care (PHC), based on the principles of accessibility, availability, affordability, equity and acceptability, was introduced in South Africa to address inequalities in health service provision. Whilst the Fast Queue was instrumental in the promotion of access to health care, a major goal of the PHC approach, facilities were not prepared for the sudden influx of clients. Increased access resulted in long waiting times and queues contributing to dissatisfaction with the service which could lead to missed appointments and non-compliance with established treatment plans. Firstly to describe the experiences of clients using the Fast Queue strategy to access routine healthcare services and secondly, to determine how the clients' experiences led to satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the Fast Queue service. A descriptive qualitative survey using content analysis explored the experiences of the Fast Queue users in a PHC setting. Setting was first identified based on greatest number using the Fast Queue and geographic diversity and then a convenience sample of health care users of the Fast Queue were sampled individually along with one focus group of users who accessed the Queue monthly for medication refills. The same interview guide questions were used for both individual interviews and the one focus group discussion. Five clinics with the highest number of attendees during a three month period and a total of 83 health care users of the Fast Queue were interviewed. The average participant was female, 31 years old, single and unemployed. Two themes with sub-themes emerged: health care user flow and communication, which highlights both satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the fast queue and queue marshals, could assist in directing users to the respective queues, reduce waiting time and keep users satisfied with the use of sign posts where there is a lack of human resources. Effective health communication strategies contribute to positive experiences by health care users and these can be effected by: (1) involvement of health care providers in planning the construction of health facilities to give input about patient flow, infection prevention and control and provision of privacy, (2) effective complaints mechanisms for users to ensure that complaints are followed up and (3)encouraging users to arrive at the facility throughout the day, rather than the present practice where all users arrive at the clinic early in the morning.

A fast and pragmatic approach for scatter correction in flat-detector CT using elliptic modeling and iterative optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Michael; Kalender, Willi A.; Kyriakou, Yiannis

2010-01-01

Scattered radiation is a major source of artifacts in flat detector computed tomography (FDCT) due to the increased irradiated volumes. We propose a fast projection-based algorithm for correction of scatter artifacts. The presented algorithm combines a convolution method to determine the spatial distribution of the scatter intensity distribution with an object-size-dependent scaling of the scatter intensity distributions using a priori information generated by Monte Carlo simulations. A projection-based (PBSE) and an image-based (IBSE) strategy for size estimation of the scanned object are presented. Both strategies provide good correction and comparable results; the faster PBSE strategy is recommended. Even with such a fast and simple algorithm that in the PBSE variant does not rely on reconstructed volumes or scatter measurements, it is possible to provide a reasonable scatter correction even for truncated scans. For both simulations and measurements, scatter artifacts were significantly reduced and the algorithm showed stable behavior in the z-direction. For simulated voxelized head, hip and thorax phantoms, a figure of merit Q of 0.82, 0.76 and 0.77 was reached, respectively (Q = 0 for uncorrected, Q = 1 for ideal). For a water phantom with 15 cm diameter, for example, a cupping reduction from 10.8% down to 2.1% was achieved. The performance of the correction method has limitations in the case of measurements using non-ideal detectors, intensity calibration, etc. An iterative approach to overcome most of these limitations was proposed. This approach is based on root finding of a cupping metric and may be useful for other scatter correction methods as well. By this optimization, cupping of the measured water phantom was further reduced down to 0.9%. The algorithm was evaluated on a commercial system including truncated and non-homogeneous clinically relevant objects.

Control Strategies for the DAB Based PV Interface System

PubMed Central

El-Helw, Hadi M.; Al-Hasheem, Mohamed; Marei, Mostafa I.

2016-01-01

This paper presents an interface system based on the Dual Active Bridge (DAB) converter for Photovoltaic (PV) arrays. Two control strategies are proposed for the DAB converter to harvest the maximum power from the PV array. The first strategy is based on a simple PI controller to regulate the terminal PV voltage through the phase shift angle of the DAB converter. The Perturb and Observe (P&O) Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique is utilized to set the reference of the PV terminal voltage. The second strategy presented in this paper employs the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to directly set the phase shift angle of the DAB converter that results in harvesting maximum power. This feed-forward strategy overcomes the stability issues of the feedback strategy. The proposed PV interface systems are modeled and simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK and the EMTDC/PSCAD software packages. The simulation results reveal accurate and fast response of the proposed systems. The dynamic performance of the proposed feed-forward strategy outdoes that of the feedback strategy in terms of accuracy and response time. Moreover, an experimental prototype is built to test and validate the proposed PV interface system. PMID:27560138

Practice Guideline Recommendations on Perioperative Fasting: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Lambert, Eva; Carey, Sharon

2016-11-01

Traditionally, perioperative fasting consisted of being nil by mouth (NBM) from midnight before surgery and fasting postoperatively until recovery of bowel function. These outdated practices persist despite emerging evidence revealing that excessive fasting results in negative outcomes and delayed recovery. Various evidence-based, multimodal, enhanced recovery protocols incorporating minimized perioperative fasting have arisen to improve patient outcomes and streamline recovery, but implementation remains limited. This article aims to review current fasting guidelines, assess their quality, summarize relevant recommendations, and identify gaps in evidence. A systematic literature search of Medline and CINAHL and a manual search of relevant websites identified guidelines containing suitable grading systems and fasting recommendations. Guideline quality was assessed using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE) tool. Grading systems were standardized to the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition format and recommendations summarized based on grading and guideline quality. Nineteen guidelines were included. Rigor of development scores ranged from 29%-95%, with only 8 guidelines explicitly declaring the use of systematic methodology. Applicability scores were lowest, averaging 32%. Ten recommendation types were extracted and summarized. Strong and consistent evidence exists for the minimization of perioperative fasting, for a 2-hour preoperative fast after clear fluids, and for early recommencement of oral food and fluid intake postoperatively. This article presents several high-level recommendations ready for immediate implementation, while poorly graded and inconsistent recommendations reveal key areas for future research. Meanwhile, guideline quality requires improvement, especially regarding rigor of development and applicability, through systematic methodology, reporting transparency, and implementation strategies. © 2015 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

A fast elitism Gaussian estimation of distribution algorithm and application for PID optimization.

PubMed

Xu, Qingyang; Zhang, Chengjin; Zhang, Li

2014-01-01

Estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) is an intelligent optimization algorithm based on the probability statistics theory. A fast elitism Gaussian estimation of distribution algorithm (FEGEDA) is proposed in this paper. The Gaussian probability model is used to model the solution distribution. The parameters of Gaussian come from the statistical information of the best individuals by fast learning rule. A fast learning rule is used to enhance the efficiency of the algorithm, and an elitism strategy is used to maintain the convergent performance. The performances of the algorithm are examined based upon several benchmarks. In the simulations, a one-dimensional benchmark is used to visualize the optimization process and probability model learning process during the evolution, and several two-dimensional and higher dimensional benchmarks are used to testify the performance of FEGEDA. The experimental results indicate the capability of FEGEDA, especially in the higher dimensional problems, and the FEGEDA exhibits a better performance than some other algorithms and EDAs. Finally, FEGEDA is used in PID controller optimization of PMSM and compared with the classical-PID and GA.

A Fast Elitism Gaussian Estimation of Distribution Algorithm and Application for PID Optimization

PubMed Central

Xu, Qingyang; Zhang, Chengjin; Zhang, Li

2014-01-01

Estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) is an intelligent optimization algorithm based on the probability statistics theory. A fast elitism Gaussian estimation of distribution algorithm (FEGEDA) is proposed in this paper. The Gaussian probability model is used to model the solution distribution. The parameters of Gaussian come from the statistical information of the best individuals by fast learning rule. A fast learning rule is used to enhance the efficiency of the algorithm, and an elitism strategy is used to maintain the convergent performance. The performances of the algorithm are examined based upon several benchmarks. In the simulations, a one-dimensional benchmark is used to visualize the optimization process and probability model learning process during the evolution, and several two-dimensional and higher dimensional benchmarks are used to testify the performance of FEGEDA. The experimental results indicate the capability of FEGEDA, especially in the higher dimensional problems, and the FEGEDA exhibits a better performance than some other algorithms and EDAs. Finally, FEGEDA is used in PID controller optimization of PMSM and compared with the classical-PID and GA. PMID:24892059

Protein biomarker discovery and fast monitoring for the identification and detection of Anisakids by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Carrera, Mónica; Gallardo, José M; Pascual, Santiago; González, Ángel F; Medina, Isabel

2016-06-16

Anisakids are fish-borne parasites that are responsible for a large number of human infections and allergic reactions around the world. World health organizations and food safety authorities aim to control and prevent this emerging health problem. In the present work, a new method for the fast monitoring of these parasites is described. The strategy is divided in three steps: (i) purification of thermostable proteins from fish-borne parasites (Anisakids), (ii) in-solution HIFU trypsin digestion and (iii) monitoring of several peptide markers by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) mass spectrometry. This methodology allows the fast detection of Anisakids in <2h. An affordable assay utilizing this methodology will facilitate testing for regulatory and safety applications. The work describes for the first time, the Protein Biomarker Discovery and the Fast Monitoring for the identification and detection of Anisakids in fishery products. The strategy is based on the purification of thermostable proteins, the use of accelerated in-solution trypsin digestions under an ultrasonic field provided by High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) and the monitoring of several peptide biomarkers by Parallel Reaction Monitoring (PRM) Mass Spectrometry in a linear ion trap mass spectrometer. The workflow allows the unequivocal detection of Anisakids, in <2h. The present strategy constitutes the fastest method for Anisakids detection, whose application in the food quality control area, could provide to the authorities an effective and rapid method to guarantee the safety to the consumers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fast liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry for the analysis of metabolites and proteins in human body fluids.

PubMed

Kortz, Linda; Helmschrodt, Christin; Ceglarek, Uta

2011-03-01

In the last decade various analytical strategies have been established to enhance separation speed and efficiency in high performance liquid chromatography applications. Chromatographic supports based on monolithic material, small porous particles, and porous layer beads have been developed and commercialized to improve throughput and separation efficiency. This paper provides an overview of current developments in fast chromatography combined with mass spectrometry for the analysis of metabolites and proteins in clinical applications. Advances and limitations of fast chromatography for the combination with mass spectrometry are discussed. Practical aspects of, recent developments in, and the present status of high-throughput analysis of human body fluids for therapeutic drug monitoring, toxicology, clinical metabolomics, and proteomics are presented.

Single Wall Carbon Nanotube Alignment Mechanisms for Non-Destructive Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hong, Seunghun

2002-01-01

As proposed in our original proposal, we developed a new innovative method to assemble millions of single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-based circuit components as fast as conventional microfabrication processes. This method is based on surface template assembly strategy. The new method solves one of the major bottlenecks in carbon nanotube based electrical applications and, potentially, may allow us to mass produce a large number of SWCNT-based integrated devices of critical interests to NASA.

Optimal Cut-Off Points of Fasting Plasma Glucose for Two-Step Strategy in Estimating Prevalence and Screening Undiagnosed Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes in Harbin, China

PubMed Central

Sun, Bo; Lan, Li; Cui, Wenxiu; Xu, Guohua; Sui, Conglan; Wang, Yibaina; Zhao, Yashuang; Wang, Jian; Li, Hongyuan

2015-01-01

To identify optimal cut-off points of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) for two-step strategy in screening abnormal glucose metabolism and estimating prevalence in general Chinese population. A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 7913 people aged 20 to 74 years in Harbin. Diabetes and pre-diabetes were determined by fasting and 2 hour post-load glucose from the oral glucose tolerance test in all participants. Screening potential of FPG, cost per case identified by two-step strategy, and optimal FPG cut-off points were described. The prevalence of diabetes was 12.7%, of which 65.2% was undiagnosed. Twelve percent or 9.0% of participants were diagnosed with pre-diabetes using 2003 ADA criteria or 1999 WHO criteria, respectively. The optimal FPG cut-off points for two-step strategy were 5.6 mmol/l for previously undiagnosed diabetes (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of FPG 0.93; sensitivity 82.0%; cost per case identified by two-step strategy ¥261), 5.3 mmol/l for both diabetes and pre-diabetes or pre-diabetes alone using 2003 ADA criteria (0.89 or 0.85; 72.4% or 62.9%; ¥110 or ¥258), 5.0 mmol/l for pre-diabetes using 1999 WHO criteria (0.78; 66.8%; ¥399), and 4.9 mmol/l for IGT alone (0.74; 62.2%; ¥502). Using the two-step strategy, the underestimates of prevalence reduced to nearly 38% for pre-diabetes or 18.7% for undiagnosed diabetes, respectively. Approximately a quarter of the general population in Harbin was in hyperglycemic condition. Using optimal FPG cut-off points for two-step strategy in Chinese population may be more effective and less costly for reducing the missed diagnosis of hyperglycemic condition. PMID:25785585

Research on virtual network load balancing based on OpenFlow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Rong; Ding, Lei

2017-08-01

The Network based on OpenFlow technology separate the control module and data forwarding module. Global deployment of load balancing strategy through network view of control plane is fast and of high efficiency. This paper proposes a Weighted Round-Robin Scheduling algorithm for virtual network and a load balancing plan for server load based on OpenFlow. Load of service nodes and load balancing tasks distribution algorithm will be taken into account.

A Novel Framework Based on FastICA for High Density Surface EMG Decomposition

PubMed Central

Chen, Maoqi; Zhou, Ping

2015-01-01

This study presents a progressive FastICA peel-off (PFP) framework for high density surface electromyogram (EMG) decomposition. The novel framework is based on a shift-invariant model for describing surface EMG. The decomposition process can be viewed as progressively expanding the set of motor unit spike trains, which is primarily based on FastICA. To overcome the local convergence of FastICA, a “peel off” strategy (i.e. removal of the estimated motor unit action potential (MUAP) trains from the previous step) is used to mitigate the effects of the already identified motor units, so more motor units can be extracted. Moreover, a constrained FastICA is applied to assess the extracted spike trains and correct possible erroneous or missed spikes. These procedures work together to improve the decomposition performance. The proposed framework was validated using simulated surface EMG signals with different motor unit numbers (30, 70, 91) and signal to noise ratios (SNRs) (20, 10, 0 dB). The results demonstrated relatively large numbers of extracted motor units and high accuracies (high F1-scores). The framework was also tested with 111 trials of 64-channel electrode array experimental surface EMG signals during the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle contraction at different intensities. On average 14.1 ± 5.0 motor units were identified from each trial of experimental surface EMG signals. PMID:25775496

3-D Displays Perceptual Research and Applications to Military Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-09-30

physical button on the corresponding face of the response cube as fast as possible, while minimizing errors. Each observer served for six sessions...orientation, and this resulted in the fast flat reaction time function. The Rotat±nal Strategy: As can be seen from Figure 3, the 24 stimulus cube...instead of the TOP key, these two responses should show the fast , flat response time functions associated with use of the spatial strategy, whereas the

A general synthesis strategy for the multifunctional 3D polypyrrole foam of thin 2D nanosheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Jiangli; Mo, Maosong; Liu, Zhuming; Ye, Dapeng; Cheng, Zhihua; Xu, Tong; Qu, Liangti

2018-05-01

A 3D macroporous conductive polymer foam of thin 2D polypyrrole (PPy) nanosheets is developed by adopting a novel intercalation of guest (monomer Py) between the layers of the lamellar host (3D vanadium oxide foam) template-replication strategy. The 3D PPy foam of thin 2D nanosheets exhibits diverse functions including reversible compressibility, shape memory, absorption/adsorption and mechanically deformable supercapacitor characteristics. The as-prepared 3D PPy foam of thin nanosheets is highly light weight with a density of 12 mg·cm-3 which can bear the large compressive strain up to 80% whether in wet or dry states; and can absorb organic solutions or extract dye molecules fast and efficiently. In particular, the PPy nanosheet-based foamas a mechanically deformable electrode material for supercapacitors exhibits high specific capacitance of 70 F·g-1 at a fast charge-discharge rate of 50 mA·g-1, superior to that of any other typical pure PPy-based capacitor. We envision that the strategy presented here should be applicable to fabrication of a wide variety of organic polymer foams and hydrogels of low-dimensional nanostructures and even inorganic foams and hydrogels of low-dimensional nanostructures, and thus allow for exploration of their advanced physical and chemical properties.

A general synthesis strategy for the multifunctional 3D polypyrrole foam of thin 2D nanosheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Jiangli; Mo, Maosong; Liu, Zhuming; Ye, Dapeng; Cheng, Zhihua; Xu, Tong; Qu, Liangti

2018-06-01

A 3D macroporous conductive polymer foam of thin 2D polypyrrole (PPy) nanosheets is developed by adopting a novel intercalation of guest (monomer Py) between the layers of the lamellar host (3D vanadium oxide foam) template-replication strategy. The 3D PPy foam of thin 2D nanosheets exhibits diverse functions including reversible compressibility, shape memory, absorption/adsorption and mechanically deformable supercapacitor characteristics. The as-prepared 3D PPy foam of thin nanosheets is highly light weight with a density of 12 mg·cm-3 which can bear the large compressive strain up to 80% whether in wet or dry states; and can absorb organic solutions or extract dye molecules fast and efficiently. In particular, the PPy nanosheet-based foam as a mechanically deformable electrode material for supercapacitors exhibits high specific capacitance of 70 F·g-1 at a fast charge-discharge rate of 50 mA·g-1, superior to that of any other typical pure PPy-based capacitor. We envision that the strategy presented here should be applicable to fabrication of a wide variety of organic polymer foams and hydrogels of low-dimensional nanostructures and even inorganic foams and hydrogels of low-dimensional nanostructures, and thus allow for exploration of their advanced physical and chemical properties.

When Does Model-Based Control Pay Off?

PubMed

Kool, Wouter; Cushman, Fiery A; Gershman, Samuel J

2016-08-01

Many accounts of decision making and reinforcement learning posit the existence of two distinct systems that control choice: a fast, automatic system and a slow, deliberative system. Recent research formalizes this distinction by mapping these systems to "model-free" and "model-based" strategies in reinforcement learning. Model-free strategies are computationally cheap, but sometimes inaccurate, because action values can be accessed by inspecting a look-up table constructed through trial-and-error. In contrast, model-based strategies compute action values through planning in a causal model of the environment, which is more accurate but also more cognitively demanding. It is assumed that this trade-off between accuracy and computational demand plays an important role in the arbitration between the two strategies, but we show that the hallmark task for dissociating model-free and model-based strategies, as well as several related variants, do not embody such a trade-off. We describe five factors that reduce the effectiveness of the model-based strategy on these tasks by reducing its accuracy in estimating reward outcomes and decreasing the importance of its choices. Based on these observations, we describe a version of the task that formally and empirically obtains an accuracy-demand trade-off between model-free and model-based strategies. Moreover, we show that human participants spontaneously increase their reliance on model-based control on this task, compared to the original paradigm. Our novel task and our computational analyses may prove important in subsequent empirical investigations of how humans balance accuracy and demand.

A packet-based dual-rate PID control strategy for a slow-rate sensing Networked Control System.

PubMed

Cuenca, A; Alcaina, J; Salt, J; Casanova, V; Pizá, R

2018-05-01

This paper introduces a packet-based dual-rate control strategy to face time-varying network-induced delays, packet dropouts and packet disorder in a Networked Control System. Slow-rate sensing enables to achieve energy saving and to avoid packet disorder. Fast-rate actuation makes reaching the desired control performance possible. The dual-rate PID controller is split into two parts: a slow-rate PI controller located at the remote side (with no permanent communication to the plant) and a fast-rate PD controller located at the local side. The remote side also includes a prediction stage in order to generate the packet of future, estimated slow-rate control actions. These actions are sent to the local side and converted to fast-rate ones to be used when a packet does not arrive at this side due to the network-induced delay or due to occurring dropouts. The proposed control solution is able to approximately reach the nominal (no-delay, no-dropout) performance despite the existence of time-varying delays and packet dropouts. Control system stability is ensured in terms of probabilistic Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). Via real-time control for a Cartesian robot, results clearly reveal the superiority of the control solution compared to a previous proposal by authors. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parallel constraint satisfaction in memory-based decisions.

PubMed

Glöckner, Andreas; Hodges, Sara D

2011-01-01

Three studies sought to investigate decision strategies in memory-based decisions and to test the predictions of the parallel constraint satisfaction (PCS) model for decision making (Glöckner & Betsch, 2008). Time pressure was manipulated and the model was compared against simple heuristics (take the best and equal weight) and a weighted additive strategy. From PCS we predicted that fast intuitive decision making is based on compensatory information integration and that decision time increases and confidence decreases with increasing inconsistency in the decision task. In line with these predictions we observed a predominant usage of compensatory strategies under all time-pressure conditions and even with decision times as short as 1.7 s. For a substantial number of participants, choices and decision times were best explained by PCS, but there was also evidence for use of simple heuristics. The time-pressure manipulation did not significantly affect decision strategies. Overall, the results highlight intuitive, automatic processes in decision making and support the idea that human information-processing capabilities are less severely bounded than often assumed.

Understanding and Exploitation of Neighboring Heteroatom Effect for the Mild N-Arylation of Heterocycles with Diaryliodonium Salts under Aqueous Conditions: A Theoretical and Experimental Mechanistic Study.

PubMed

Bihari, Tamás; Babinszki, Bence; Gonda, Zsombor; Kovács, Szabolcs; Novák, Zoltán; Stirling, András

2016-07-01

The mechanism of arylation of N-heterocycles with unsymmetric diaryliodonium salts is elucidated. The fast and efficient N-arylation reaction is interpreted in terms of the bifunctionality of the substrate: The consecutive actions of properly oriented Lewis base and Brønsted acid centers in sufficient proximity result in the fast and efficient N-arylation. The mechanistic picture points to a promising synthetic strategy where suitably positioned nucleophilic and acidic centers enable functionalization, and it is tested experimentally.

Two Improved Access Methods on Compact Binary (CB) Trees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shishibori, Masami; Koyama, Masafumi; Okada, Makoto; Aoe, Jun-ichi

2000-01-01

Discusses information retrieval and the use of binary trees as a fast access method for search strategies such as hashing. Proposes new methods based on compact binary trees that provide faster access and more compact storage, explains the theoretical basis, and confirms the validity of the methods through empirical observations. (LRW)

Cell-based approaches for screening and prioritization of chemicals that may cause developmental neurotoxicity

EPA Science Inventory

The National Academies report on Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century envisioned the use of in vitro toxicity tests using cells of human origin to predict the ability of chemicals to cause toxicity in vivo. Successful implementation of this strategy will ultimately result in fast...

Flex Fuel Optimized SI and HCCI Engine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Guoming; Schock, Harold; Yang, Xiaojian

The central objective of the proposed work is to demonstrate an HCCI (homogeneous charge compression ignition) capable SI (spark ignited) engine that is capable of fast and smooth mode transition between SI and HCCI combustion modes. The model-based control technique was used to develop and validate the proposed control strategy for the fast and smooth combustion mode transition based upon the developed control-oriented engine; and an HCCI capable SI engine was designed and constructed using production ready two-step valve-train with electrical variable valve timing actuating system. Finally, smooth combustion mode transition was demonstrated on a metal engine within eight enginemore » cycles. The Chrysler turbocharged 2.0L I4 direct injection engine was selected as the base engine for the project and the engine was modified to fit the two-step valve with electrical variable valve timing actuating system. To develop the model-based control strategy for stable HCCI combustion and smooth combustion mode transition between SI and HCCI combustion, a control-oriented real-time engine model was developed and implemented into the MSU HIL (hardware-in-the-loop) simulation environment. The developed model was used to study the engine actuating system requirement for the smooth and fast combustion mode transition and to develop the proposed mode transition control strategy. Finally, a single cylinder optical engine was designed and fabricated for studying the HCCI combustion characteristics. Optical engine combustion tests were conducted in both SI and HCCI combustion modes and the test results were used to calibrate the developed control-oriented engine model. Intensive GT-Power simulations were conducted to determine the optimal valve lift (high and low) and the cam phasing range. Delphi was selected to be the supplier for the two-step valve-train and Denso to be the electrical variable valve timing system supplier. A test bench was constructed to develop control strategies for the electrical variable valve timing (VVT) actuating system and satisfactory electrical VVT responses were obtained. Target engine control system was designed and fabricated at MSU for both single-cylinder optical and multi-cylinder metal engines. Finally, the developed control-oriented engine model was successfully implemented into the HIL simulation environment. The Chrysler 2.0L I4 DI engine was modified to fit the two-step vale with electrical variable valve timing actuating system. A used prototype engine was used as the base engine and the cylinder head was modified for the two-step valve with electrical VVT actuating system. Engine validation tests indicated that cylinder #3 has very high blow-by and it cannot be reduced with new pistons and rings. Due to the time constraint, it was decided to convert the four-cylinder engine into a single cylinder engine by blocking both intake and exhaust ports of the unused cylinders. The model-based combustion mode transition control algorithm was developed in the MSU HIL simulation environment and the Simulink based control strategy was implemented into the target engine controller. With both single-cylinder metal engine and control strategy ready, stable HCCI combustion was achived with COV of 2.1% Motoring tests were conducted to validate the actuator transient operations including valve lift, electrical variable valve timing, electronic throttle, multiple spark and injection controls. After the actuator operations were confirmed, 15-cycle smooth combustion mode transition from SI to HCCI combustion was achieved; and fast 8-cycle smooth combustion mode transition followed. With a fast electrical variable valve timing actuator, the number of engine cycles required for mode transition can be reduced down to five. It was also found that the combustion mode transition is sensitive to the charge air and engine coolant temperatures and regulating the corresponding temperatures to the target levels during the combustion mode transition is the key for a smooth combustion mode transition. As a summary, the proposed combustion mode transition strategy using the hybrid combustion mode that starts with the SI combustion and ends with the HCCI combustion was experimentally validated on a metal engine. The proposed model-based control approach made it possible to complete the SI-HCCI combustion mode transition within eight engine cycles utilizing the well controlled hybrid combustion mode. Without intensive control-oriented engine modeling and HIL simulation study of using the hybrid combustion mode during the mode transition, it would be impossible to validate the proposed combustion mode transition strategy in a very short period.« less

Early versus late initiation of rehabilitation after lumbar spinal fusion: economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Oestergaard, Lisa G; Christensen, Finn B; Nielsen, Claus V; Bünger, Cody E; Fruensgaard, Soeren; Sogaard, Rikke

2013-11-01

Economic evaluation conducted alongside a randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up. To examine the cost-effectiveness of initiating rehabilitation 6 weeks after surgery as opposed to 12 weeks after surgery. In a previously reported randomized controlled trial, we assessed the impact of timing of rehabilitation after a lumbar spinal fusion and found that a fast-track strategy led to poorer functional ability. Before making recommendations, it seems relevant to address the societal perspective including return to work, quality of life, and costs. A cost-effectiveness analysis and a cost-utility analysis were conducted. Eighty-two patients undergoing instrumented lumbar spinal fusion due to degenerative disc disease or spondylolisthesis (grade I or II) were randomized to an identical protocol of 4 sessions of group-based rehabilitation and were instructed in home exercises focusing on active stability training. Outcome parameters included functional disability (Oswestry Disability Index) and quality-adjusted life years. Health care and productivity costs were estimated from national registries and reported in euros. Costs and effects were transformed into net benefit. Bootstrapping was used to estimate 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The fast-track strategy tended to be costlier by €6869 (95% CI, -4640 to 18,378) while at the same time leading to significantly poorer outcomes of functional disability by -9 points (95% CI, -18 to -3) and a tendency for a reduced gain in quality-adjusted life years by -0.04 (95% CI, -0.13 to 0.01). The overall probability for the fast-track strategy being cost-effective does not reach 10% at conventional thresholds for cost-effectiveness. Initiating rehabilitation at 6 weeks as opposed to 12 weeks after surgery is on average more costly and less effective. The uncertainty of this result did not seem to be sensitive to methodological issues, and clinical managements who have already adapted fast-track rehabilitation strategies have reason to reconsider their choice. .

Minimalistic Dynamic Climbing

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-01

connected. On this same disk, a servo motor is connected to a light weight leg. An Arduino 77 Body Weight Markers Leg Disk Servo Motor Front View Top View...this control enables more dynamic and fast walking, the control is based on precise joint-angle control. The main consequence of such a control is that... based climbing strategies. Specifically, the four-limbed free-climbing LEMUR robot goes up climbing walls by choosing a sequence of handholds

Removal of the Gibbs phenomenon and its application to fast-Fourier-transform-based mode solvers.

PubMed

Wangüemert-Pérez, J G; Godoy-Rubio, R; Ortega-Moñux, A; Molina-Fernández, I

2007-12-01

A simple strategy for accurately recovering discontinuous functions from their Fourier series coefficients is presented. The aim of the proposed approach, named spectrum splitting (SS), is to remove the Gibbs phenomenon by making use of signal-filtering-based concepts and some properties of the Fourier series. While the technique can be used in a vast range of situations, it is particularly suitable for being incorporated into fast-Fourier-transform-based electromagnetic mode solvers (FFT-MSs), which are known to suffer from very poor convergence rates when applied to situations where the field distributions are highly discontinuous (e.g., silicon-on-insulator photonic wires). The resultant method, SS-FFT-MS, is exhaustively tested under the assumption of a simplified one-dimensional model, clearly showing a dramatic improvement of the convergence rates with respect to the original FFT-based methods.

When Does Model-Based Control Pay Off?

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Many accounts of decision making and reinforcement learning posit the existence of two distinct systems that control choice: a fast, automatic system and a slow, deliberative system. Recent research formalizes this distinction by mapping these systems to “model-free” and “model-based” strategies in reinforcement learning. Model-free strategies are computationally cheap, but sometimes inaccurate, because action values can be accessed by inspecting a look-up table constructed through trial-and-error. In contrast, model-based strategies compute action values through planning in a causal model of the environment, which is more accurate but also more cognitively demanding. It is assumed that this trade-off between accuracy and computational demand plays an important role in the arbitration between the two strategies, but we show that the hallmark task for dissociating model-free and model-based strategies, as well as several related variants, do not embody such a trade-off. We describe five factors that reduce the effectiveness of the model-based strategy on these tasks by reducing its accuracy in estimating reward outcomes and decreasing the importance of its choices. Based on these observations, we describe a version of the task that formally and empirically obtains an accuracy-demand trade-off between model-free and model-based strategies. Moreover, we show that human participants spontaneously increase their reliance on model-based control on this task, compared to the original paradigm. Our novel task and our computational analyses may prove important in subsequent empirical investigations of how humans balance accuracy and demand. PMID:27564094

Fast vaccine design and development based on correlates of protection (COPs)

PubMed Central

van Els, Cécile; Mjaaland, Siri; Næss, Lisbeth; Sarkadi, Julia; Gonczol, Eva; Smith Korsholm, Karen; Hansen, Jon; de Jonge, Jørgen; Kersten, Gideon; Warner, Jennifer; Semper, Amanda; Kruiswijk, Corine; Oftung, Fredrik

2014-01-01

New and reemerging infectious diseases call for innovative and efficient control strategies of which fast vaccine design and development represent an important element. In emergency situations, when time is limited, identification and use of correlates of protection (COPs) may play a key role as a strategic tool for accelerated vaccine design, testing, and licensure. We propose that general rules for COP-based vaccine design can be extracted from the existing knowledge of protective immune responses against a large spectrum of relevant viral and bacterial pathogens. Herein, we focus on the applicability of this approach by reviewing the established and up-coming COPs for influenza in the context of traditional and a wide array of new vaccine concepts. The lessons learnt from this field may be applied more generally to COP-based accelerated vaccine design for emerging infections. PMID:25424803

Fast word reading in pure alexia: "fast, yet serial".

PubMed

Bormann, Tobias; Wolfer, Sascha; Hachmann, Wibke; Neubauer, Claudia; Konieczny, Lars

2015-01-01

Pure alexia is a severe impairment of word reading in which individuals process letters serially with a pronounced length effect. Yet, there is considerable variation in the performance of alexic readers with generally very slow, but also occasionally fast responses, an observation addressed rarely in previous reports. It has been suggested that "fast" responses in pure alexia reflect residual parallel letter processing or that they may even be subserved by an independent reading system. Four experiments assessed fast and slow reading in a participant (DN) with pure alexia. Two behavioral experiments investigated frequency, neighborhood, and length effects in forced fast reading. Two further experiments measured eye movements when DN was forced to read quickly, or could respond faster because words were easier to process. Taken together, there was little support for the proposal that "qualitatively different" mechanisms or reading strategies underlie both types of responses in DN. Instead, fast responses are argued to be generated by the same serial-reading strategy.

New High: A Future-Oriented Study of American Drug Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

firearms  Space travel  Quantum computing  Embodied intelligence augmentation  Xenotransplantation  Artificial intelligence  CRISPR  3D printing...498 Office of National Drug Control Policy, National Drug Control Strategy, 32. 499 Amy Webb, “ Crispr Makes It Clear: The U.S...Needs a Biology Strategy, and Fast,” Wired, May 11, 2017, www.wired.com/2017/05/ crispr -makes-clear-US-needs-biology-strategy-fast/. 500 Ibid. 501

Precompetition taper and nutritional strategies: special reference to training during Ramadan intermittent fast.

PubMed

Mujika, Iñigo; Chaouachi, Anis; Chamari, Karim

2010-06-01

A marked reduction in the training load in the lead-up to major competitions allows athletes to reduce the fatigue induced by intense training and improve competition performance. This tapered training phase is based on the reduction in training volume while maintaining pretaper training intensity and frequency. In parallel to training load reductions, nutritional strategies characterised by lowered energy intakes need to be implemented to match lowered energy expenditure. The Ramadan intermittent fast imposes constrained nutritional practices on Muslim athletes, inducing a shift to a greater reliance on fat oxidation to meet energy needs and a possible increase in protein breakdown. The training load is often reduced during Ramadan to match the absence of energy and fluid intake during daylight, which implies a risk of losing training induced adaptations. Should coaches and athletes decide to reduce the training load during Ramadan, the key role of training intensity in retaining training induced adaptations should be kept in mind. However, experienced elite Muslim athletes are able to maintain their usual training load during this month of intermittent fasting without decrements in measures of fitness and with only minor adverse effects.

Problem-solving and learning in Carib grackles: individuals show a consistent speed-accuracy trade-off.

PubMed

Ducatez, S; Audet, J N; Lefebvre, L

2015-03-01

The generation and maintenance of within-population variation in cognitive abilities remain poorly understood. Recent theories propose that this variation might reflect the existence of consistent cognitive strategies distributed along a slow-fast continuum influenced by shyness. The slow-fast continuum might be reflected in the well-known speed-accuracy trade-off, where animals cannot simultaneously maximise the speed and the accuracy with which they perform a task. We test this idea on 49 wild-caught Carib grackles (Quiscalus lugubris), a tame opportunistic generalist Icterid bird in Barbados. Grackles that are fast at solving novel problems involving obstacle removal to reach visible food perform consistently over two different tasks, spend more time per trial attending to both tasks, and are those that show more shyness in a pretest. However, they are also the individuals that make more errors in a colour discrimination task requiring no new motor act. Our data reconcile some of the mixed positive and negative correlations reported in the comparative literature on cognitive tasks, suggesting that a speed-accuracy trade-off could lead to negative correlations between tasks favouring speed and tasks favouring accuracy, but still reveal consistent strategies based on stable individual differences.

Strategy for improved frequency response of electric double-layer capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wada, Yoshifumi; Pu, Jiang; Takenobu, Taishi

2015-10-01

We propose a strategy for improving the response speed of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) and electric double-layer transistors (EDLTs), based on an asymmetric structure with differently sized active materials and gate electrodes. We validate the strategy analytically by a classical calculation and experimentally by fabricating EDLCs with asymmetric Au electrodes (1:50 area ratio and 7.5 μm gap distance). The performance of the EDLCs is compared with that of conventional symmetric EDLCs. Our strategy dramatically improved the cut-off frequency from 14 to 93 kHz and this improvement is explained by fast charging of smaller electrodes. Therefore, this approach is particularly suitable to EDLTs, potentially expanding the applicability to medium speed (kHz-MHz) devices.

A New Strategy for Fast MRI-Based Quantification of the Myelin Water Fraction: Application to Brain Imaging in Infants

PubMed Central

Kulikova, Sofya; Hertz-Pannier, Lucie; Dehaene-Lambertz, Ghislaine

2016-01-01

The volume fraction of water related to myelin (fmy) is a promising MRI index for in vivo assessment of brain myelination, that can be derived from multi-component analysis of T1 and T2 relaxometry signals. However, existing quantification methods require rather long acquisition and/or post-processing times, making implementation difficult both in research studies on healthy unsedated children and in clinical examinations. The goal of this work was to propose a novel strategy for fmy quantification within acceptable acquisition and post-processing times. Our approach is based on a 3-compartment model (myelin-related water, intra/extra-cellular water and unrestricted water), and uses calibrated values of inherent relaxation times (T1c and T2c) for each compartment c. Calibration was first performed on adult relaxometry datasets (N = 3) acquired with large numbers of inversion times (TI) and echo times (TE), using an original combination of a region contraction approach and a non-negative least-square (NNLS) algorithm. This strategy was compared with voxel-wise fitting, and showed robust estimation of T1c and T2c. The accuracy of fmy calculations depending on multiple factors was investigated using simulated data. In the testing stage, our strategy enabled fast fmy mapping, based on relaxometry datasets acquired with reduced TI and TE numbers (acquisition <6 min), and analyzed with NNLS algorithm (post-processing <5min). In adults (N = 13, mean age 22.4±1.6 years), fmy maps showed variability across white matter regions, in agreement with previous studies. In healthy infants (N = 18, aged 3 to 34 weeks), asynchronous changes in fmy values were demonstrated across bundles, confirming the well-known progression of myelination. PMID:27736872

A Fast Density-Based Clustering Algorithm for Real-Time Internet of Things Stream

PubMed Central

Ying Wah, Teh

2014-01-01

Data streams are continuously generated over time from Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The faster all of this data is analyzed, its hidden trends and patterns discovered, and new strategies created, the faster action can be taken, creating greater value for organizations. Density-based method is a prominent class in clustering data streams. It has the ability to detect arbitrary shape clusters, to handle outlier, and it does not need the number of clusters in advance. Therefore, density-based clustering algorithm is a proper choice for clustering IoT streams. Recently, several density-based algorithms have been proposed for clustering data streams. However, density-based clustering in limited time is still a challenging issue. In this paper, we propose a density-based clustering algorithm for IoT streams. The method has fast processing time to be applicable in real-time application of IoT devices. Experimental results show that the proposed approach obtains high quality results with low computation time on real and synthetic datasets. PMID:25110753

A fast density-based clustering algorithm for real-time Internet of Things stream.

PubMed

Amini, Amineh; Saboohi, Hadi; Wah, Teh Ying; Herawan, Tutut

2014-01-01

Data streams are continuously generated over time from Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The faster all of this data is analyzed, its hidden trends and patterns discovered, and new strategies created, the faster action can be taken, creating greater value for organizations. Density-based method is a prominent class in clustering data streams. It has the ability to detect arbitrary shape clusters, to handle outlier, and it does not need the number of clusters in advance. Therefore, density-based clustering algorithm is a proper choice for clustering IoT streams. Recently, several density-based algorithms have been proposed for clustering data streams. However, density-based clustering in limited time is still a challenging issue. In this paper, we propose a density-based clustering algorithm for IoT streams. The method has fast processing time to be applicable in real-time application of IoT devices. Experimental results show that the proposed approach obtains high quality results with low computation time on real and synthetic datasets.

Opportunities and barriers for smaller portions in food service: lessons from marketing and behavioral economics

PubMed Central

Riis, J

2014-01-01

This paper uses the frameworks and evidence from marketing and behavioral economics to highlight the opportunities and barriers for portion control in food service environments. Applying Kahneman's ‘thinking fast and slow' concepts, it describes 10 strategies that can be effective in ‘tricking' the consumer's fast cognitive system to make better decisions and in triggering the slow cognitive system to help prevent the fast system from making bad decisions. These strategies include shrinking defaults, elongating packages, increasing the visibility of small portions, offering more mixed virtue options, adding more small sizes, offering ‘right-sized' standard portions, using meaningful size labels, adopting linear pricing, using temporal landmarks to push smaller portions and facilitating pre-commitment. For each of these strategies, I discuss the specific cost and revenue barriers that a food service operator would face if the strategy were adopted. PMID:25033960

Opportunities and barriers for smaller portions in food service: lessons from marketing and behavioral economics.

PubMed

Riis, J

2014-07-01

This paper uses the frameworks and evidence from marketing and behavioral economics to highlight the opportunities and barriers for portion control in food service environments. Applying Kahneman's 'thinking fast and slow' concepts, it describes 10 strategies that can be effective in 'tricking' the consumer's fast cognitive system to make better decisions and in triggering the slow cognitive system to help prevent the fast system from making bad decisions. These strategies include shrinking defaults, elongating packages, increasing the visibility of small portions, offering more mixed virtue options, adding more small sizes, offering 'right-sized' standard portions, using meaningful size labels, adopting linear pricing, using temporal landmarks to push smaller portions and facilitating pre-commitment. For each of these strategies, I discuss the specific cost and revenue barriers that a food service operator would face if the strategy were adopted.

A fast direct method for block triangular Toeplitz-like with tri-diagonal block systems from time-fractional partial differential equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ke, Rihuan; Ng, Michael K.; Sun, Hai-Wei

2015-12-01

In this paper, we study the block lower triangular Toeplitz-like with tri-diagonal blocks system which arises from the time-fractional partial differential equation. Existing fast numerical solver (e.g., fast approximate inversion method) cannot handle such linear system as the main diagonal blocks are different. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a fast direct method for solving this linear system, and to illustrate that the proposed method is much faster than the classical block forward substitution method for solving this linear system. Our idea is based on the divide-and-conquer strategy and together with the fast Fourier transforms for calculating Toeplitz matrix-vector multiplication. The complexity needs O (MNlog2 ⁡ M) arithmetic operations, where M is the number of blocks (the number of time steps) in the system and N is the size (number of spatial grid points) of each block. Numerical examples from the finite difference discretization of time-fractional partial differential equations are also given to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.

Fuel supply of nuclear power industry with the introduction of fast reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muraviev, E. V.

2014-12-01

The results of studies conducted for the validation of the updated development strategy for nuclear power industry in Russia in the 21st century are presented. Scenarios with different options for the reprocessing of spent fuel of thermal reactors and large-scale growth of nuclear power industry based on fast reactors of inherent safety with a breeding ratio of ˜1 in a closed nuclear fuel cycle are considered. The possibility of enhanced fuel breeding in fast reactors is also taken into account in the analysis. The potential to establish a large-scale nuclear power industry that covers 100% of the increase in electric power requirements in Russia is demonstrated. This power industry may be built by the end of the century through the introduction of fast reactors (replacing thermal ones) with a gross uranium consumption of up to ˜1 million t and the termination of uranium mining even if the reprocessing of spent fuel of thermal reactors is stopped or suffers a long-term delay.

Model-Based Battery Management Systems: From Theory to Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, Manan

Lithium-ion batteries are now extensively being used as the primary storage source. Capacity and power fade, and slow recharging times are key issues that restrict its use in many applications. Battery management systems are critical to address these issues, along with ensuring its safety. This dissertation focuses on exploring various control strategies using detailed physics-based electrochemical models developed previously for lithium-ion batteries, which could be used in advanced battery management systems. Optimal charging profiles for minimizing capacity fade based on SEI-layer formation are derived and the benefits of using such control strategies are shown by experimentally testing them on a 16 Ah NMC-based pouch cell. This dissertation also explores different time-discretization strategies for non-linear models, which gives an improved order of convergence for optimal control problems. Lastly, this dissertation also explores a physics-based model for predicting the linear impedance of a battery, and develops a freeware that is extremely robust and computationally fast. Such a code could be used for estimating transport, kinetic and material properties of the battery based on the linear impedance spectra.

Tunable inter-qubit coupling as a resource for gate based quantum computing with superconducting circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiaro, B.; Neill, C.; Chen, Z.; Dunsworth, A.; Foxen, B.; Quintana, C.; Wenner, J.; Martinis, J. M.; Google Quantum Hardware Team

Fast, high fidelity two qubit gates are an essential requirement of a quantum processor. In this talk, we discuss how the tunable coupling of the gmon architecture provides a pathway for an improved two qubit controlled-Z gate. The maximum inter-qubit coupling strength gmax = 60 MHz is sufficient for fast adiabatic two qubit gates to be performed as quickly as single qubit gates, reducing dephasing errors. Additionally, the ability to turn the coupling off allows all qubits to idle at low magnetic flux sensitivity, further reducing susceptibility to noise. However, the flexibility that this platform offers comes at the expense of increased control complexity. We describe our strategy for addressing the control challenges of the gmon architecture and show experimental progress toward fast, high fidelity controlled-Z gates with gmon qubits.

Adaptive Time Stepping for Transient Network Flow Simulation in Rocket Propulsion Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Majumdar, Alok K.; Ravindran, S. S.

2017-01-01

Fluid and thermal transients found in rocket propulsion systems such as propellant feedline system is a complex process involving fast phases followed by slow phases. Therefore their time accurate computation requires use of short time step initially followed by the use of much larger time step. Yet there are instances that involve fast-slow-fast phases. In this paper, we present a feedback control based adaptive time stepping algorithm, and discuss its use in network flow simulation of fluid and thermal transients. The time step is automatically controlled during the simulation by monitoring changes in certain key variables and by feedback. In order to demonstrate the viability of time adaptivity for engineering problems, we applied it to simulate water hammer and cryogenic chill down in pipelines. Our comparison and validation demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of this adaptive strategy.

Fast life history traits promote invasion success in amphibians and reptiles.

PubMed

Allen, William L; Street, Sally E; Capellini, Isabella

2017-02-01

Competing theoretical models make different predictions on which life history strategies facilitate growth of small populations. While 'fast' strategies allow for rapid increase in population size and limit vulnerability to stochastic events, 'slow' strategies and bet-hedging may reduce variance in vital rates in response to stochasticity. We test these predictions using biological invasions since founder alien populations start small, compiling the largest dataset yet of global herpetological introductions and life history traits. Using state-of-the-art phylogenetic comparative methods, we show that successful invaders have fast traits, such as large and frequent clutches, at both establishment and spread stages. These results, together with recent findings in mammals and plants, support 'fast advantage' models and the importance of high potential population growth rate. Conversely, successful alien birds are bet-hedgers. We propose that transient population dynamics and differences in longevity and behavioural flexibility can help reconcile apparently contrasting results across terrestrial vertebrate classes. © 2017 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using an Improved SIFT Algorithm and Fuzzy Closed-Loop Control Strategy for Object Recognition in Cluttered Scenes

PubMed Central

Nie, Haitao; Long, Kehui; Ma, Jun; Yue, Dan; Liu, Jinguo

2015-01-01

Partial occlusions, large pose variations, and extreme ambient illumination conditions generally cause the performance degradation of object recognition systems. Therefore, this paper presents a novel approach for fast and robust object recognition in cluttered scenes based on an improved scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm and a fuzzy closed-loop control method. First, a fast SIFT algorithm is proposed by classifying SIFT features into several clusters based on several attributes computed from the sub-orientation histogram (SOH), in the feature matching phase only features that share nearly the same corresponding attributes are compared. Second, a feature matching step is performed following a prioritized order based on the scale factor, which is calculated between the object image and the target object image, guaranteeing robust feature matching. Finally, a fuzzy closed-loop control strategy is applied to increase the accuracy of the object recognition and is essential for autonomous object manipulation process. Compared to the original SIFT algorithm for object recognition, the result of the proposed method shows that the number of SIFT features extracted from an object has a significant increase, and the computing speed of the object recognition processes increases by more than 40%. The experimental results confirmed that the proposed method performs effectively and accurately in cluttered scenes. PMID:25714094

Graphene-polymer hybrid nanostructure-based bioenergy storage device for real-time control of biological motor activity.

PubMed

Byun, Kyung-Eun; Choi, Dong Shin; Kim, Eunji; Seo, David H; Yang, Heejun; Seo, Sunae; Hong, Seunghun

2011-11-22

We report a graphene-polymer hybrid nanostructure-based bioenergy storage device to turn on and off biomotor activity in real-time. In this strategy, graphene was functionalized with amine groups and utilized as a transparent electrode supporting the motility of biomotors. Conducting polymer patterns doped with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were fabricated on the graphene and utilized for the fast release of ATP by electrical stimuli through the graphene. The controlled release of biomotor fuel, ATP, allowed us to control the actin filament transportation propelled by the biomotor in real-time. This strategy should enable the integrated nanodevices for the real-time control of biological motors, which can be a significant stepping stone toward hybrid nanomechanical systems based on motor proteins. © 2011 American Chemical Society

The Role of Corticostriatal Systems in Speech Category Learning

PubMed Central

Yi, Han-Gyol; Maddox, W. Todd; Mumford, Jeanette A.; Chandrasekaran, Bharath

2016-01-01

One of the most difficult category learning problems for humans is learning nonnative speech categories. While feedback-based category training can enhance speech learning, the mechanisms underlying these benefits are unclear. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated neural and computational mechanisms underlying feedback-dependent speech category learning in adults. Positive feedback activated a large corticostriatal network including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, middle temporal gyrus, caudate, putamen, and the ventral striatum. Successful learning was contingent upon the activity of domain-general category learning systems: the fast-learning reflective system, involving the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that develops and tests explicit rules based on the feedback content, and the slow-learning reflexive system, involving the putamen in which the stimuli are implicitly associated with category responses based on the reward value in feedback. Computational modeling of response strategies revealed significant use of reflective strategies early in training and greater use of reflexive strategies later in training. Reflexive strategy use was associated with increased activation in the putamen. Our results demonstrate a critical role for the reflexive corticostriatal learning system as a function of response strategy and proficiency during speech category learning. Keywords: category learning, fMRI, corticostriatal systems, speech, putamen PMID:25331600

Reading strategies of fast and slow readers.

PubMed

Haberlandt, K F; Graesser, A C; Schneider, N J

1989-09-01

In three subject-paced experiments we evaluated reading patterns at the word, line, and sentence level for fast and slow readers. A moving-window method was used to collect word reading times for natural texts. At the word level, reading times of word N were influenced by features of word N-1 for fast readers but not for slow readers. The lag effect exhibited by fast readers indicates that they continue to process a word when it is no longer in view, thus limiting the notion of immediate processing. Contrary to our initial expectation that fast readers would process only a single new argument from a sentence, whereas slow readers would process several new arguments, we found that both reader groups adopted a many-argument strategy. However, fast and slow readers differed in terms of the text units (lines vs. sentences) defining the new-argument effects: Fast readers exhibited greater new-argument effects relative to lines, whereas slow readers exhibited greater new-argument effects relative to sentences. Specifically, slow readers integrated the new arguments primarily at the end of the sentence, whereas fast readers did so at line boundaries. These results are discussed in terms of a buffer-and-integrate model of reading comprehension.

A new strategy for fast radiofrequency CW EPR imaging: Direct detection with rapid scan and rotating gradients

PubMed Central

Subramanian, Sankaran; Koscielniak, Janusz W.; Devasahayam, Nallathamby; Pursley, Randall H.; Pohida, Thomas J.; Krishna, Murali C.

2007-01-01

Rapid field scan on the order of T/s using high frequency sinusoidal or triangular sweep fields superimposed on the main Zeeman field, was used for direct detection of signals without low-frequency field modulation. Simultaneous application of space-encoding rotating field gradients have been employed to perform fast CW EPR imaging using direct detection that could, in principle, approach the speed of pulsed FT EPR imaging. The method takes advantage of the well-known rapid-scan strategy in CW NMR and EPR that allows arbitrarily fast field sweep and the simultaneous application of spinning gradients that allows fast spatial encoding. This leads to fast functional EPR imaging and, depending on the spin concentration, spectrometer sensitivity and detection band width, can provide improved temporal resolution that is important to interrogate dynamics of spin perfusion, pharmacokinetics, spectral spatial imaging, dynamic oxymetry, etc. PMID:17350865

Fast versus slow larval growth in an invasive marine mollusc: does paternity matter?

PubMed

Le Cam, Sabrina; Pechenik, Jan A; Cagnon, Mathilde; Viard, Frédérique

2009-01-01

Reproductive strategies and parental effects play a major role in shaping early life-history traits. Although polyandry is a common reproductive strategy, its role is still poorly documented in relation to paternal effects. Here, we used as a case study the invasive sessile marine gastropod Crepidula fornicata, a mollusc with polyandry and extreme larval growth variation among sibling larvae. Based on paternity analyses, the relationships between paternal identity and the variations in a major early life-history trait in marine organisms, that is, larval growth, were investigated. Using microsatellite markers, paternities of 437 fast- and slow-growing larvae from 6 broods were reliably assigned to a set of 20 fathers. No particular fathers were found responsible for the specific growth performances of their offspring. However, the range of larval growth rates within a brood was significantly correlated to 1) an index of sire diversity and 2) the degree of larvae relatedness within broods. Multiple paternity could thus play an important role in determining the extent of pelagic larval duration and consequently the range of dispersal distances achieved during larval life. This study also highlighted the usefulness of using indices based on fathers' relative contribution to the progeny in paternity studies.

New Technological Platform for the National Nuclear Energy Strategy Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamov, E. O.; Rachkov, V. I.

2017-12-01

The paper considers the need to update the development strategy of Russia's nuclear power industry and various approaches to the large-scale nuclear power development. Problems of making decisions on fast neutron reactors and closed nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) arrangement are discussed. The current state of the development of fast neutron reactors and closed NFC technologies in Russia is considered and major problems are highlighted.

Superadiabatic holonomic quantum computation in cavity QED

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Bao-Jie; Huang, Zhen-Hua; Xue, Zheng-Yuan; Zhang, Xin-Ding

2017-06-01

Adiabatic quantum control is a powerful tool for quantum engineering and a key component in some quantum computation models, where accurate control over the timing of the involved pulses is not needed. However, the adiabatic condition requires that the process be very slow and thus limits its application in quantum computation, where quantum gates are preferred to be fast due to the limited coherent times of the quantum systems. Here, we propose a feasible scheme to implement universal holonomic quantum computation based on non-Abelian geometric phases with superadiabatic quantum control, where the adiabatic manipulation is sped up while retaining its robustness against errors in the timing control. Consolidating the advantages of both strategies, our proposal is thus both robust and fast. The cavity QED system is adopted as a typical example to illustrate the merits where the proposed scheme can be realized in a tripod configuration by appropriately controlling the pulse shapes and their relative strength. To demonstrate the distinct performance of our proposal, we also compare our scheme with the conventional adiabatic strategy.

Hall-Effect Based Semi-Fast AC On-Board Charging Equipment for Electric Vehicles

PubMed Central

Milanés-Montero, María Isabel; Gallardo-Lozano, Javier; Romero-Cadaval, Enrique; González-Romera, Eva

2011-01-01

The expected increase in the penetration of electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) will produce unbalanced conditions, reactive power consumption and current harmonics drawn by the battery charging equipment, causing a great impact on the power quality of the future smart grid. A single-phase semi-fast electric vehicle battery charger is proposed in this paper. This ac on-board charging equipment can operate in grid-to-vehicle (G2V) mode, and also in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mode, transferring the battery energy to the grid when the vehicle is parked. The charger is controlled with a Perfect Harmonic Cancellation (PHC) strategy, contributing to improve the grid power quality, since the current demanded or injected has no harmonic content and a high power factor. Hall-effect current and voltage transducers have been used in the sensor stage to carry out this control strategy. Experimental results with a laboratory prototype are presented. PMID:22163697

Hall-effect based semi-fast AC on-board charging equipment for electric vehicles.

PubMed

Milanés-Montero, María Isabel; Gallardo-Lozano, Javier; Romero-Cadaval, Enrique; González-Romera, Eva

2011-01-01

The expected increase in the penetration of electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) will produce unbalanced conditions, reactive power consumption and current harmonics drawn by the battery charging equipment, causing a great impact on the power quality of the future smart grid. A single-phase semi-fast electric vehicle battery charger is proposed in this paper. This ac on-board charging equipment can operate in grid-to-vehicle (G2V) mode, and also in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mode, transferring the battery energy to the grid when the vehicle is parked. The charger is controlled with a Perfect Harmonic Cancellation (PHC) strategy, contributing to improve the grid power quality, since the current demanded or injected has no harmonic content and a high power factor. Hall-effect current and voltage transducers have been used in the sensor stage to carry out this control strategy. Experimental results with a laboratory prototype are presented.

Application of simplified Complexity Theory concepts for healthcare social systems to explain the implementation of evidence into practice.

PubMed

Chandler, Jacqueline; Rycroft-Malone, Jo; Hawkes, Claire; Noyes, Jane

2016-02-01

To examine the application of core concepts from Complexity Theory to explain the findings from a process evaluation undertaken in a trial evaluating implementation strategies for recommendations about reducing surgical fasting times. The proliferation of evidence-based guidance requires a greater focus on its implementation. Theory is required to explain the complex processes across the multiple healthcare organizational levels. This social healthcare context involves the interaction between professionals, patients and the organizational systems in care delivery. Complexity Theory may provide an explanatory framework to explain the complexities inherent in implementation in social healthcare contexts. A secondary thematic analysis of qualitative process evaluation data informed by Complexity Theory. Seminal texts applying Complexity Theory to the social context were annotated, key concepts extracted and core Complexity Theory concepts identified. These core concepts were applied as a theoretical lens to provide an explanation of themes from a process evaluation of a trial evaluating the implementation of strategies to reduce surgical fasting times. Sampled substantive texts provided a representative spread of theoretical development and application of Complexity Theory from late 1990's-2013 in social science, healthcare, management and philosophy. Five Complexity Theory core concepts extracted were 'self-organization', 'interaction', 'emergence', 'system history' and 'temporality'. Application of these concepts suggests routine surgical fasting practice is habituated in the social healthcare system and therefore it cannot easily be reversed. A reduction to fasting times requires an incentivised new approach to emerge in the surgical system's priority of completing the operating list. The application of Complexity Theory provides a useful explanation for resistance to change fasting practice. Its utility in implementation research warrants further attention and evaluation. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

MSN anti-cancer nanomedicines: chemotherapy enhancement, overcoming of drug resistance, and metastasis inhibition.

PubMed

He, Qianjun; Shi, Jianlin

2014-01-22

In the anti-cancer war, there are three main obstacles resulting in high mortality and recurrence rate of cancers: the severe toxic side effect of anti-cancer drugs to normal tissues due to the lack of tumor-selectivity, the multi-drug resistance (MDR) to free chemotherapeutic drugs and the deadly metastases of cancer cells. The development of state-of-art nanomedicines based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) is expected to overcome the above three main obstacles. In the view of the fast development of anti-cancer strategy, this review highlights the most recent advances of MSN anti-cancer nanomedicines in enhancing chemotherapeutic efficacy, overcoming the MDR and inhibiting metastasis. Furthermore, we give an outlook of the future development of MSNs-based anti-cancer nanomedicines, and propose several innovative and forward-looking anti-cancer strategies, including tumor tissue-cell-nuclear successionally targeted drug delivery strategy, tumor cell-selective nuclear-targeted drug delivery strategy, multi-targeting and multi-drug strategy, chemo-/radio-/photodynamic-/ultrasound-/thermo-combined multi-modal therapy by virtue of functionalized hollow/rattle-structured MSNs. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Optical assembly of microsnap-fits fabricated by two-photon polymerization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köhler, Jannis; Kutlu, Yunus; Zyla, Gordon; Ksouri, Sarah I.; Esen, Cemal; Gurevich, Evgeny L.; Ostendorf, Andreas

2017-10-01

To respond to current demands of nano- and microtechnologies, e.g., miniaturization and integration, different bottom-up strategies have been developed. These strategies are based on picking, placing, and assembly of multiple components to produce microsystems with desired features. This paper covers the fabrication of arbitrary-shaped microcomponents by two-photon polymerization and the trapping, moving, and aligning of these structures by the use of a holographic optical tweezer. The main focus is on the assembly technique based on a cantilever microsnap-fit. More precisely, mechanical properties are characterized by optical forces and a suitable geometry of the snap-fit is designed. As a result of these investigations, a fast and simple assembly technique is developed. Furthermore, disassembly is provided by an optimized design. These findings suggest that the microsnap-fit is suitable for the assembly of miniaturized systems and could broaden the application opportunities of bottom-up strategies.

Propulsion strategy in the gait of primary school children; the effect of age and speed.

PubMed

Lye, Jillian; Parkinson, Stephanie; Diamond, Nicola; Downs, Jenny; Morris, Susan

2016-12-01

The strategy used to generate power for forward propulsion in walking and running has recently been highlighted as a marker of gait maturation and elastic energy recycling. This study investigated ankle and hip power generation as a propulsion strategy (PS) during the late stance/early swing phases of walking and running in typically developing (TD) children (15: six to nine years; 17: nine to 13years) using three-dimensional gait analysis. Peak ankle power generation at push-off (peakA2), peak hip power generation in early swing (peakH3) and propulsion strategy (PS) [peakA2/(peakA2+peakH3)] were calculated to provide the relative contribution of ankle power to total propulsion. Mean PS values decreased as speed increased for comfortable walking (p<0.001), fast walking (p<0.001) and fast running (p<0.001), and less consistently during jogging (p=0.054). PS varied with age (p<0.001) only during fast walking. At any speed of fast walking, older children generated more peakA2 (p=0.001) and less peakH3 (p=0.001) than younger children. While the kinetics of running propulsion appear to be developed by age six years, the skills of fast walking appeared to require additional neuromuscular maturity. These findings support the concept that running is a skill that matures early for TD children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

GLS-Finder: A Platform for Fast Profiling of Glucosinolates in Brassica Vegetables.

PubMed

Sun, Jianghao; Zhang, Mengliang; Chen, Pei

2016-06-01

Mass spectrometry combined with related tandem techniques has become the most popular method for plant secondary metabolite characterization. We introduce a new strategy based on in-database searching, mass fragmentation behavior study, formula predicting for fast profiling of glucosinolates, a class of important compounds in brassica vegetables. A MATLAB script-based expert system computer program, "GLS-Finder", was developed. It is capable of qualitative and semi-quantitative analyses of glucosinolates in samples using data generated by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution accurate mass with multi-stage mass fragmentation (UHPLC-HRAM/MS(n)). A suite of bioinformatic tools was integrated into the "GLS-Finder" to perform raw data deconvolution, peak alignment, glucosinolate putative assignments, semi-quantitation, and unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA). GLS-Finder was successfully applied to identify intact glucosinolates in 49 commonly consumed Brassica vegetable samples in the United States. It is believed that this work introduces a new way of fast data processing and interpretation for qualitative and quantitative analyses of glucosinolates, where great efficacy was improved in comparison to identification manually.

Quicksilver: Fast predictive image registration - A deep learning approach.

PubMed

Yang, Xiao; Kwitt, Roland; Styner, Martin; Niethammer, Marc

2017-09-01

This paper introduces Quicksilver, a fast deformable image registration method. Quicksilver registration for image-pairs works by patch-wise prediction of a deformation model based directly on image appearance. A deep encoder-decoder network is used as the prediction model. While the prediction strategy is general, we focus on predictions for the Large Deformation Diffeomorphic Metric Mapping (LDDMM) model. Specifically, we predict the momentum-parameterization of LDDMM, which facilitates a patch-wise prediction strategy while maintaining the theoretical properties of LDDMM, such as guaranteed diffeomorphic mappings for sufficiently strong regularization. We also provide a probabilistic version of our prediction network which can be sampled during the testing time to calculate uncertainties in the predicted deformations. Finally, we introduce a new correction network which greatly increases the prediction accuracy of an already existing prediction network. We show experimental results for uni-modal atlas-to-image as well as uni-/multi-modal image-to-image registrations. These experiments demonstrate that our method accurately predicts registrations obtained by numerical optimization, is very fast, achieves state-of-the-art registration results on four standard validation datasets, and can jointly learn an image similarity measure. Quicksilver is freely available as an open-source software. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intermittent fasting: A “new” historical strategy for controlling seizures?

PubMed Central

Hartman, Adam L.; Rubenstein, James E.; Kossoff, Eric H.

2013-01-01

Summary In antiquity, fasting was a treatment for epilepsy and a rationale for the ketogenic diet (KD). Preclinical data indicate the KD and intermittent fasting do not share identical anticonvulsant mechanisms. We implemented an intermittent fasting regimen in six children with an incomplete response to a KD. Three patients adhered to the combined intermittent fasting/KD regimen for 2 months and four had transient improvement in seizure control, albeit with some hunger-related adverse reactions. PMID:23206889

Finite-time control for nonlinear spacecraft attitude based on terminal sliding mode technique.

PubMed

Song, Zhankui; Li, Hongxing; Sun, Kaibiao

2014-01-01

In this paper, a fast terminal sliding mode control (FTSMC) scheme with double closed loops is proposed for the spacecraft attitude control. The FTSMC laws are included both in an inner control loop and an outer control loop. Firstly, a fast terminal sliding surface (FTSS) is constructed, which can drive the inner loop tracking-error and the outer loop tracking-error on the FTSS to converge to zero in finite time. Secondly, FTSMC strategy is designed by using Lyaponov's method for ensuring the occurrence of the sliding motion in finite time, which can hold the character of fast transient response and improve the tracking accuracy. It is proved that FTSMC can guarantee the convergence of tracking-error in both approaching and sliding mode surface. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robust stabilization of underactuated nonlinear systems: A fast terminal sliding mode approach.

PubMed

Khan, Qudrat; Akmeliawati, Rini; Bhatti, Aamer Iqbal; Khan, Mahmood Ashraf

2017-01-01

This paper presents a fast terminal sliding mode based control design strategy for a class of uncertain underactuated nonlinear systems. Strategically, this development encompasses those electro-mechanical underactuated systems which can be transformed into the so-called regular form. The novelty of the proposed technique lies in the hierarchical development of a fast terminal sliding attractor design for the considered class. Having established sliding mode along the designed manifold, the close loop dynamics become finite time stable which, consequently, result in high precision. In addition, the adverse effects of the chattering phenomenon are reduced via strong reachability condition and the robustness of the system against uncertainties is confirmed theoretically. A simulation as well as experimental study of an inverted pendulum is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed technique. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Research on Integrated Strategy of Supply Chain Information Systems in the Automobile Industry Based on Order-To-Delivery Mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ming; Gan, Lianzhen; He, Xuefeng

The automotive industry there are different degrees of impairment of many companies supply chain IT strategy. In this paper, in which the automotive industry supply chain management business cooperation between enterprises loose, poor exchange of information leading to the presence or delays in product customization, supply of raw materials, material control, production planning and control, sales and service and a fast response propose a series of typical problems of scientific and rational supply chain information integration strategy. The strategy through the development system integration platform, improve internal ERP system, implementation of supply chain management and other methods. Put some protection principles in the information process, to ensure the correct implementation of supply chain IT strategy, and ultimately achieve collaborative business development concept and enhance the automotive industry as a whole level of information.

Communication enabled – fast acting imbalance reserve (CE-FAIR)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilches-Bernal, Felipe; Concepcion, Ricky; Neely, Jason C.

This letter presents a new frequency control strategy that takes advantage of communications and fast responding resources like PV generation, energy storage, wind generation, and demand response, termed collectively as converter interfaced generators (CIGs). The proposed approach uses an active monitoring of power imbalances to rapidly redispatch CIGs. This approach differs from previously proposed frequency control schemes in that it employs feed-forward control based on a measured power imbalance rather that relying on a frequency measurement. As a result, time-domain simulations of the full Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) system are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method,more » showing improved performance.« less

Hybrid stochastic simulation of reaction-diffusion systems with slow and fast dynamics.

PubMed

Strehl, Robert; Ilie, Silvana

2015-12-21

In this paper, we present a novel hybrid method to simulate discrete stochastic reaction-diffusion models arising in biochemical signaling pathways. We study moderately stiff systems, for which we can partition each reaction or diffusion channel into either a slow or fast subset, based on its propensity. Numerical approaches missing this distinction are often limited with respect to computational run time or approximation quality. We design an approximate scheme that remedies these pitfalls by using a new blending strategy of the well-established inhomogeneous stochastic simulation algorithm and the tau-leaping simulation method. The advantages of our hybrid simulation algorithm are demonstrated on three benchmarking systems, with special focus on approximation accuracy and efficiency.

TomoEED: Fast Edge-Enhancing Denoising of Tomographic Volumes.

PubMed

Moreno, J J; Martínez-Sánchez, A; Martínez, J A; Garzón, E M; Fernández, J J

2018-05-29

TomoEED is an optimized software tool for fast feature-preserving noise filtering of large 3D tomographic volumes on CPUs and GPUs. The tool is based on the anisotropic nonlinear diffusion method. It has been developed with special emphasis in the reduction of the computational demands by using different strategies, from the algorithmic to the high performance computing perspectives. TomoEED manages to filter large volumes in a matter of minutes in standard computers. TomoEED has been developed in C. It is available for Linux platforms at http://www.cnb.csic.es/%7ejjfernandez/tomoeed. gmartin@ual.es, JJ.Fernandez@csic.es. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Communication enabled – fast acting imbalance reserve (CE-FAIR)

DOE PAGES

Wilches-Bernal, Felipe; Concepcion, Ricky; Neely, Jason C.; ...

2017-06-08

This letter presents a new frequency control strategy that takes advantage of communications and fast responding resources like PV generation, energy storage, wind generation, and demand response, termed collectively as converter interfaced generators (CIGs). The proposed approach uses an active monitoring of power imbalances to rapidly redispatch CIGs. This approach differs from previously proposed frequency control schemes in that it employs feed-forward control based on a measured power imbalance rather that relying on a frequency measurement. As a result, time-domain simulations of the full Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) system are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method,more » showing improved performance.« less

A new learning strategy for the two-time-scale neural controller with its application to the tracking control of rigid arms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, W.; Wen, J. T.

1992-01-01

A novel fast learning rule with fast weight identification is proposed for the two-time-scale neural controller, and a two-stage learning strategy is developed for the proposed neural controller. The results of the stability analysis show that both the tracking error and the fast weight error will be uniformly bounded and converge to a bounded region which depends only on the accuracy of the slow learning if the system is sufficiently excited. The efficiency of the two-stage learning is also demonstrated by a simulation of a two-link arm.

A fast algorithm for forward-modeling of gravitational fields in spherical coordinates with 3D Gauss-Legendre quadrature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, G.; Liu, J.; Chen, B.; Guo, R.; Chen, L.

2017-12-01

Forward modeling of gravitational fields at large-scale requires to consider the curvature of the Earth and to evaluate the Newton's volume integral in spherical coordinates. To acquire fast and accurate gravitational effects for subsurface structures, subsurface mass distribution is usually discretized into small spherical prisms (called tesseroids). The gravity fields of tesseroids are generally calculated numerically. One of the commonly used numerical methods is the 3D Gauss-Legendre quadrature (GLQ). However, the traditional GLQ integration suffers from low computational efficiency and relatively poor accuracy when the observation surface is close to the source region. We developed a fast and high accuracy 3D GLQ integration based on the equivalence of kernel matrix, adaptive discretization and parallelization using OpenMP. The equivalence of kernel matrix strategy increases efficiency and reduces memory consumption by calculating and storing the same matrix elements in each kernel matrix just one time. In this method, the adaptive discretization strategy is used to improve the accuracy. The numerical investigations show that the executing time of the proposed method is reduced by two orders of magnitude compared with the traditional method that without these optimized strategies. High accuracy results can also be guaranteed no matter how close the computation points to the source region. In addition, the algorithm dramatically reduces the memory requirement by N times compared with the traditional method, where N is the number of discretization of the source region in the longitudinal direction. It makes the large-scale gravity forward modeling and inversion with a fine discretization possible.

Genetic variation of fasting glucose and changes in glycemia in response to 2-year weight-loss diet intervention: the POUNDS Lost trial

PubMed Central

Wang, Tiange; Huang, Tao; Zheng, Yan; Rood, Jennifer; Bray, George A.; Sacks, Frank M.; Qi, Lu

2016-01-01

Objective Weight loss intervention through diet modification has been widely used to improve obesity-related hyperglycemia; however, little is known about whether genetic variation modifies the intervention effect. We examined the interaction between weight-loss diets and genetic variation of fasting glucose on changes in glycemic traits in a dietary intervention trial. Research Design and Methods The Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies (POUNDS LOST) trial is a randomized, controlled 2-year weight-loss trial. We assessed overall genetic variation of fasting glucose by calculating a genetic risk score (GRS) based on 14 fasting glucose-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms, and examined the progression in fasting glucose and insulin levels, and insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity in 733 adults from this trial. Results The GRS was associated with 6-month changes in fasting glucose (P<0.001), fasting insulin (P=0.042), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR, P=0.009) and insulin sensitivity (HOMA-S, P=0.043). We observed significant interaction between the GRS and dietary fat on 6-month changes in fasting glucose, HOMA-IR and HOMA-S after multivariable adjustment (P-interaction=0.007, 0.045, and 0.028, respectively). After further adjustment for weight loss, the interaction remained significant on change in fasting glucose (P=0.015). In the high-fat diet group, participants in the highest GRS tertile showed increased fasting glucose, whereas participants in the lowest tertile showed decreased fasting glucose (P-trend<0.001); in contrast, the genetic association was not significant in the low-fat diet group (P-trend=0.087). Conclusions Our data suggest that participants with a higher genetic risk may benefit more by eating a low-fat diet to improve glucose metabolism. PMID:27113490

Genetic variation of fasting glucose and changes in glycemia in response to 2-year weight-loss diet intervention: the POUNDS LOST trial.

PubMed

Wang, T; Huang, T; Zheng, Y; Rood, J; Bray, G A; Sacks, F M; Qi, L

2016-07-01

Weight-loss intervention through diet modification has been widely used to improve obesity-related hyperglycemia; however, little is known about whether genetic variation modifies the intervention effect. We examined the interaction between weight-loss diets and genetic variation of fasting glucose on changes in glycemic traits in a dietary intervention trial. The Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies (POUNDS LOST) trial is a randomized, controlled 2-year weight-loss trial. We assessed overall genetic variation of fasting glucose by calculating a genetic risk score (GRS) based on 14 fasting glucose-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms, and examined the progression in fasting glucose and insulin levels, and insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity in 733 adults from this trial. The GRS was associated with 6-month changes in fasting glucose (P<0.001), fasting insulin (P=0.042), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR, P=0.009) and insulin sensitivity (HOMA-S, P=0.043). We observed significant interaction between the GRS and dietary fat on 6-month changes in fasting glucose, HOMA-IR and HOMA-S after multivariable adjustment (P-interaction=0.007, 0.045 and 0.028, respectively). After further adjustment for weight loss, the interaction remained significant on change in fasting glucose (P=0.015). In the high-fat diet group, participants in the highest GRS tertile showed increased fasting glucose, whereas participants in the lowest tertile showed decreased fasting glucose (P-trend <0.001); in contrast, the genetic association was not significant in the low-fat diet group (P-trend=0.087). Our data suggest that participants with a higher genetic risk may benefit more by eating a low-fat diet to improve glucose metabolism.

Assessing forest windthrow damage using single-date, post-event airborne laser scanning data

Treesearch

Gherardo Chirici; Francesca Bottalico; Francesca Giannetti; Barbara Del Perugia; Davide Travaglini; Susanna Nocentini; Erico Kutchartt; Enrico Marchi; Cristiano Foderi; Marco Fioravanti; Lorenzo Fattorini; Lorenzo Bottai; Ronald McRoberts; Erik Næsset; Piermaria Corona; Bernardo Gozzini

2017-01-01

One of many possible climate change effects in temperate areas is the increase of frequency and severity of windstorms; thus, fast and cost efficient new methods are needed to evaluate wind-induced damages in forests. We present a method for assessing windstorm damages in forest landscapes based on a two-stage sampling strategy using single-date, post-event airborne...

Intermittent fasting: a "new" historical strategy for controlling seizures?

PubMed

Hartman, Adam L; Rubenstein, James E; Kossoff, Eric H

2013-05-01

In antiquity, fasting was a treatment for epilepsy and a rationale for the ketogenic diet (KD). Preclinical data indicate the KD and intermittent fasting do not share identical anticonvulsant mechanisms. We implemented an intermittent fasting regimen in six children with an incomplete response to a KD. Three patients adhered to the combined intermittent fasting/KD regimen for 2 months and four had transient improvement in seizure control, albeit with some hunger-related adverse reactions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Combining fast walking training and a step activity monitoring program to improve daily walking activity after stroke: a preliminary study

PubMed Central

Danks, Kelly A.; Pohlig, Ryan; Reisman, Darcy S.

2016-01-01

Objective To determine preliminary efficacy and to identify baseline characteristics predicting who would benefit most from fast walking training plus a step activity monitoring program (FAST+SAM) compared to fast walking training alone (FAST) in persons with chronic stroke. Design Randomized controlled trial with blinded assessors Setting Outpatient clinical research laboratory Participants 37 individuals greater than 6 months post-stroke. Interventions Subjects were assigned to either FAST which was walking training at their fastest possible speed on the treadmill (30 minutes) and over ground 3 times/week for 12 weeks or FAST plus a step activity monitoring program (FAST+SAM). The step activity monitoring program consisted of daily step monitoring with a StepWatch Activity monitor, goal setting, and identification of barriers to activity and strategies to overcome barriers. Main Outcome Measures Daily step activity metrics (steps/day, time walking/day), walking speed and six minute walk test distance (6MWT). Results There was a significant effect of time for both groups with all outcomes improving from pre to post-training, (all p<0.05). The FAST+SAM was superior to FAST for 6MWT (p=0.018), with a larger increase in the FAST+SAM group. The interventions had differential effectiveness based on baseline step activity. Sequential moderated regression models demonstrated that for subjects with baseline levels of step activity and 6MWT distances that were below the mean, the FAST+SAM intervention was more effective than FAST (1715±1584 vs. 254±933 steps/day, respectively; p<0.05 for overall model and ΔR2 for steps/day and 6MWT). Conclusions The addition of a step activity monitoring program to a fast walking training intervention may be most effective in persons with chronic stroke that have initial low levels of walking endurance and activity. Regardless of baseline performance, the FAST + SAM intervention was more effective for improving walking endurance. PMID:27240430

Estimation of indirect effect when the mediator is a censored variable.

PubMed

Wang, Jian; Shete, Sanjay

2017-01-01

A mediation model explores the direct and indirect effects of an initial variable ( X) on an outcome variable ( Y) by including a mediator ( M). In many realistic scenarios, investigators observe censored data instead of the complete data. Current research in mediation analysis for censored data focuses mainly on censored outcomes, but not censored mediators. In this study, we proposed a strategy based on the accelerated failure time model and a multiple imputation approach. We adapted a measure of the indirect effect for the mediation model with a censored mediator, which can assess the indirect effect at both the group and individual levels. Based on simulation, we established the bias in the estimations of different paths (i.e. the effects of X on M [ a], of M on Y [ b] and of X on Y given mediator M [ c']) and indirect effects when analyzing the data using the existing approaches, including a naïve approach implemented in software such as Mplus, complete-case analysis, and the Tobit mediation model. We conducted simulation studies to investigate the performance of the proposed strategy compared to that of the existing approaches. The proposed strategy accurately estimates the coefficients of different paths, indirect effects and percentages of the total effects mediated. We applied these mediation approaches to the study of SNPs, age at menopause and fasting glucose levels. Our results indicate that there is no indirect effect of association between SNPs and fasting glucose level that is mediated through the age at menopause.

A pragmatic cluster randomised trial evaluating three implementation interventions.

PubMed

Rycroft-Malone, Jo; Seers, Kate; Crichton, Nicola; Chandler, Jackie; Hawkes, Claire A; Allen, Claire; Bullock, Ian; Strunin, Leo

2012-08-30

Implementation research is concerned with bridging the gap between evidence and practice through the study of methods to promote the uptake of research into routine practice. Good quality evidence has been summarised into guideline recommendations to show that peri-operative fasting times could be considerably shorter than patients currently experience. The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of three strategies for the implementation of recommendations about peri-operative fasting. A pragmatic cluster randomised trial underpinned by the PARIHS framework was conducted during 2006 to 2009 with a national sample of UK hospitals using time series with mixed methods process evaluation and cost analysis. Hospitals were randomised to one of three interventions: standard dissemination (SD) of a guideline package, SD plus a web-based resource championed by an opinion leader, and SD plus plan-do-study-act (PDSA). The primary outcome was duration of fluid fast prior to induction of anaesthesia. Secondary outcomes included duration of food fast, patients' experiences, and stakeholders' experiences of implementation, including influences. ANOVA was used to test differences over time and interventions. Nineteen acute NHS hospitals participated. Across timepoints, 3,505 duration of fasting observations were recorded. No significant effect of the interventions was observed for either fluid or food fasting times. The effect size was 0.33 for the web-based intervention compared to SD alone for the change in fluid fasting and was 0.12 for PDSA compared to SD alone. The process evaluation showed different types of impact, including changes to practices, policies, and attitudes. A rich picture of the implementation challenges emerged, including inter-professional tensions and a lack of clarity for decision-making authority and responsibility. This was a large, complex study and one of the first national randomised controlled trials conducted within acute care in implementation research. The evidence base for fasting practice was accepted by those participating in this study and the messages from it simple; however, implementation and practical challenges influenced the interventions' impact. A set of conditions for implementation emerges from the findings of this study, which are presented as theoretically transferable propositions that have international relevance. ISRCTN18046709--Peri-operative Implementation Study Evaluation (POISE).

Perceptions of portion size and energy content: implications for strategies to affect behaviour change.

PubMed

Brindal, Emily; Wilson, Carlene; Mohr, Philip; Wittert, Gary

2012-02-01

To assess Australian consumers' perception of portion size of fast-food items and their ability to estimate energy content. Cross-sectional computer-based survey. Australia. Fast-food consumers (168 male, 324 female) were asked to recall the items eaten at the most recent visit to a fast-food restaurant, rate the prospective satiety and estimate the energy content of seven fast-food or 'standard' meals relative to a 9000 kJ Guideline Daily Amount. Nine dietitians also completed the energy estimation task. Ratings of prospective satiety generally aligned with the actual size of the meals and indicated that consumers perceived all meals to provide an adequate amount of food, although this differed by gender. The magnitude of the error in energy estimation by consumers was three to ten times that of the dietitians. In both males and females, the average error in energy estimation for the fast-food meals (females: mean 3911 (sd 1998) kJ; males: mean 3382 (sd 1957) kJ) was significantly (P < 0·001) larger than for the standard meals (females: mean 2607 (sd 1623) kJ; males: mean 2754 (sd 1652) kJ). In women, error in energy estimation for fast-food items predicted actual energy intake from fast-food items (β = 0·16, P < 0·01). Knowledge of the energy content of standard and fast-food meals in fast-food consumers in Australia is poor. Awareness of dietary energy should be a focus of health promotion if nutrition information, in its current format, is going to alter behaviour.

Nutritional quality and marketing strategies of fast food children's combo meals in Guatemala.

PubMed

Mazariegos, Sofia; Chacón, Violeta; Cole, Adam; Barnoya, Joaquin

2016-01-01

Overweight and obesity prevalence in children is now on the rise in low/middle-income countries, including Guatemala. Fast food consumption is a recognized contributing factor to this rise. Fast food restaurants use health claims, toy giveaways, price incentives and fast service to promote children's combo meals. This study sought to assess the use of toy giveaways, time to delivery and price incentives as marketing strategies in fast food chain restaurants in Guatemala. In addition, we sought to compare nutritional quality of combo meals with and without health claims. We visited one restaurant from each of the 8 major fast food chains in Guatemala and purchased all children's combo meals to assess the prevalence of toy giveaways, health claims, and difference in delivery time and price between the combo meal and each meal item purchased separately. Each item was then classified as "healthy" or "less healthy" using the UK Nutrition Profile Model. Nutrition information was collected on-site, from the restaurant website, or by calling the customer service phone number. We found 114 combo meals, 21 (18.4%) of which were children's combo meals. Five (24%) had nutrition information, all were classified by our analysis as "less healthy", and three had a health claim. On average, combo meals were US$1.93 less expensive than purchasing children's meal items individually ( p  = 0.01). Time to delivery was 1.44 min faster for combo meals compared to purchasing meal items individually ( p  = 0.19). Children's fast food combo meals in Guatemala were promoted using several marketing strategies that encourage consumption, including offering toy giveaways and price incentives. In addition, nutrition information is lacking in fast food chain restaurants. Public health advocates in Guatemala should consider a comprehensive approach to encourage healthier choices within fast food restaurants including policies that require fruit and vegetable options for meal side dishes, accessible and easy to read nutrition information, and restrict the use of toy giveaways.

A new segmentation strategy for processing magnetic anomaly detection data of shallow depth ferromagnetic pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Shuo; Liu, Dejun; Cheng, Xing; Fang, Huafeng; Li, Caifang

2017-04-01

Magnetic anomalies produced by underground ferromagnetic pipelines because of the polarization of earth's magnetic field are used to obtain the information on the location, buried depth and other parameters of pipelines. In order to achieve a fast inversion and interpretation of measured data, it is necessary to develop a fast and stable forward method. Magnetic dipole reconstruction (MDR), as a kind of integration numerical method, is well suited for simulating a thin pipeline anomaly. In MDR the pipeline model must be cut into small magnetic dipoles through different segmentation methods. The segmentation method has an impact on the stability and speed of forward calculation. Rapid and accurate simulation of deep-buried pipelines has been achieved by exciting segmentation method. However, in practical measurement, the depth of underground pipe is uncertain. When it comes to the shallow-buried pipeline, the present segmentation may generate significant errors. This paper aims at solving this problem in three stages. First, the cause of inaccuracy is analyzed by simulation experiment. Secondly, new variable interval section segmentation is proposed based on the existing segmentation. It can help MDR method to obtain simulation results in a fast way under the premise of ensuring the accuracy of different depth models. Finally, the measured data is inversed based on new segmentation method. The result proves that the inversion based on the new segmentation can achieve fast and accurate inversion of depth parameters of underground pipes without being limited by pipeline depth.

A Fast Synthetic Aperture Radar Raw Data Simulation Using Cloud Computing.

PubMed

Li, Zhixin; Su, Dandan; Zhu, Haijiang; Li, Wei; Zhang, Fan; Li, Ruirui

2017-01-08

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) raw data simulation is a fundamental problem in radar system design and imaging algorithm research. The growth of surveying swath and resolution results in a significant increase in data volume and simulation period, which can be considered to be a comprehensive data intensive and computing intensive issue. Although several high performance computing (HPC) methods have demonstrated their potential for accelerating simulation, the input/output (I/O) bottleneck of huge raw data has not been eased. In this paper, we propose a cloud computing based SAR raw data simulation algorithm, which employs the MapReduce model to accelerate the raw data computing and the Hadoop distributed file system (HDFS) for fast I/O access. The MapReduce model is designed for the irregular parallel accumulation of raw data simulation, which greatly reduces the parallel efficiency of graphics processing unit (GPU) based simulation methods. In addition, three kinds of optimization strategies are put forward from the aspects of programming model, HDFS configuration and scheduling. The experimental results show that the cloud computing based algorithm achieves 4_ speedup over the baseline serial approach in an 8-node cloud environment, and each optimization strategy can improve about 20%. This work proves that the proposed cloud algorithm is capable of solving the computing intensive and data intensive issues in SAR raw data simulation, and is easily extended to large scale computing to achieve higher acceleration.

Combining Fast-Walking Training and a Step Activity Monitoring Program to Improve Daily Walking Activity After Stroke: A Preliminary Study.

PubMed

Danks, Kelly A; Pohlig, Ryan; Reisman, Darcy S

2016-09-01

To determine preliminary efficacy and to identify baseline characteristics predicting who would benefit most from fast walking training plus a step activity monitoring program (FAST+SAM) compared with fast walking training (FAST) alone in persons with chronic stroke. Randomized controlled trial with blinded assessors. Outpatient clinical research laboratory. Individuals (N=37) >6 months poststroke. Subjects were assigned to either FAST, which was walking training at their fastest possible speed on the treadmill (30min) and overground 3 times per week for 12 weeks, or FAST+SAM. The step activity monitoring program consisted of daily step monitoring with an activity monitor, goal setting, and identification of barriers to activity and strategies to overcome barriers. Daily step activity metrics (steps/day [SPD], time walking per day), walking speed, and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) distance. There was a significant effect of time for both groups, with all outcomes improving from pre- to posttraining (all P values <.05). The FAST+SAM was superior to FAST for 6MWT (P=.018), with a larger increase in the FAST+SAM group. The interventions had differential effectiveness based on baseline step activity. Sequential moderated regression models demonstrated that for subjects with baseline levels of step activity and 6MWT distances that were below the mean, the FAST+SAM intervention was more effective than FAST (1715±1584 vs 254±933 SPD; P<.05 for overall model and ΔR(2) for SPD and 6MWT). The addition of a step activity monitoring program to a fast walking training intervention may be most effective in persons with chronic stroke who have initial low levels of walking endurance and activity. Regardless of baseline performance, the FAST+SAM intervention was more effective for improving walking endurance. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Virtual trajectories of single-joint movements performed under two basic strategies.

PubMed

Latash, M L; Gottlieb, G L

1992-01-01

The framework of the equilibrium point hypothesis has been used to analyse motor control processes for single-joint movements. Virtual trajectories and joint stiffness were reconstructed for different movement speeds and distances when subjects were instructed either to move "as fast as possible" or to intentionally vary movement speed. These instructions are assumed to be associated with similar or different rates of change of hypothetical central control variables (corresponding to the speed-sensitive and speed-insensitive strategies). The subjects were trained to perform relatively slow, moderately fast and very fast (nominal movement times 800, 400 and 250 ms) single-joint elbow flexion movements against a constant extending torque bias. They were instructed to reproduce the motor command for a series of movements while ignoring possible changes in the external torque which could slowly and unpredictably increase, decrease, or remain constant. The total muscle torque was calculated as a sum of external and inertial components. Fast movements over different distances were made with the speed-insensitive strategy. They were characterized by an increase in joint stiffness near the midpoint of the movements which was relatively independent of movement amplitude. Their virtual trajectories had a non-monotonic N-shape. All three arms of the N-shape scaled with movement amplitude. Movements over one distance at different speeds were made with a speed-sensitive strategy. They demonstrated different patterns of virtual trajectories and joint stiffness that depended on movement speed. The N-shape became less apparent for moderately fast movements and virtually disappeared for the slow movements. Slow movements showed no visible increase in joint stiffness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Energy management strategy for fuel cell-supercapacitor hybrid vehicles based on prediction of energy demand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carignano, Mauro G.; Costa-Castelló, Ramon; Roda, Vicente; Nigro, Norberto M.; Junco, Sergio; Feroldi, Diego

2017-08-01

Offering high efficiency and producing zero emissions Fuel Cells (FCs) represent an excellent alternative to internal combustion engines for powering vehicles to alleviate the growing pollution in urban environments. Due to inherent limitations of FCs which lead to slow transient response, FC-based vehicles incorporate an energy storage system to cover the fast power variations. This paper considers a FC/supercapacitor platform that configures a hard constrained powertrain providing an adverse scenario for the energy management strategy (EMS) in terms of fuel economy and drivability. Focusing on palliating this problem, this paper presents a novel EMS based on the estimation of short-term future energy demand and aiming at maintaining the state of energy of the supercapacitor between two limits, which are computed online. Such limits are designed to prevent active constraint situations of both FC and supercapacitor, avoiding the use of friction brakes and situations of non-power compliance in a short future horizon. Simulation and experimentation in a case study corresponding to a hybrid electric bus show improvements on hydrogen consumption and power compliance compared to the widely reported Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy. Also, the comparison with the optimal strategy via Dynamic Programming shows a room for improvement to the real-time strategies.

The Role of Corticostriatal Systems in Speech Category Learning.

PubMed

Yi, Han-Gyol; Maddox, W Todd; Mumford, Jeanette A; Chandrasekaran, Bharath

2016-04-01

One of the most difficult category learning problems for humans is learning nonnative speech categories. While feedback-based category training can enhance speech learning, the mechanisms underlying these benefits are unclear. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated neural and computational mechanisms underlying feedback-dependent speech category learning in adults. Positive feedback activated a large corticostriatal network including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, middle temporal gyrus, caudate, putamen, and the ventral striatum. Successful learning was contingent upon the activity of domain-general category learning systems: the fast-learning reflective system, involving the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that develops and tests explicit rules based on the feedback content, and the slow-learning reflexive system, involving the putamen in which the stimuli are implicitly associated with category responses based on the reward value in feedback. Computational modeling of response strategies revealed significant use of reflective strategies early in training and greater use of reflexive strategies later in training. Reflexive strategy use was associated with increased activation in the putamen. Our results demonstrate a critical role for the reflexive corticostriatal learning system as a function of response strategy and proficiency during speech category learning. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

High-Speed Lateral Flow Strategy for a Fast Biosensing with an Improved Selectivity and Binding Affinity.

PubMed

Cho, Dong Guk; Yoo, Haneul; Lee, Haein; Choi, Yeol Kyo; Lee, Minju; Ahn, Dong June; Hong, Seunghun

2018-05-10

We report a high-speed lateral flow strategy for a fast biosensing with an improved selectivity and binding affinity even under harsh conditions. In this strategy, biosensors were fixed at a location away from the center of a round shape disk, and the disk was rotated to create the lateral flow of a target solution on the biosensors during the sensing measurements. Experimental results using the strategy showed high reaction speeds, high binding affinity, and low nonspecific adsorptions of target molecules to biosensors. Furthermore, binding affinity between target molecules and sensing molecules was enhanced even in harsh conditions such as low pH and low ionic strength conditions. These results show that the strategy can improve the performance of conventional biosensors by generating high-speed lateral flows on a biosensor surface. Therefore, our strategy can be utilized as a simple but powerful tool for versatile bio and medical applications.

Switching moving boundary models for two-phase flow evaporators and condensers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonilla, Javier; Dormido, Sebastián; Cellier, François E.

2015-03-01

The moving boundary method is an appealing approach for the design, testing and validation of advanced control schemes for evaporators and condensers. When it comes to advanced control strategies, not only accurate but fast dynamic models are required. Moving boundary models are fast low-order dynamic models, and they can describe the dynamic behavior with high accuracy. This paper presents a mathematical formulation based on physical principles for two-phase flow moving boundary evaporator and condenser models which support dynamic switching between all possible flow configurations. The models were implemented in a library using the equation-based object-oriented Modelica language. Several integrity tests in steady-state and transient predictions together with stability tests verified the models. Experimental data from a direct steam generation parabolic-trough solar thermal power plant is used to validate and compare the developed moving boundary models against finite volume models.

Enhancing Team Composition in Professional Networks: Problem Definitions and Fast Solutions

PubMed Central

Li, Liangyue; Tong, Hanghang; Cao, Nan; Ehrlich, Kate; Lin, Yu-Ru; Buchler, Norbou

2017-01-01

In this paper, we study ways to enhance the composition of teams based on new requirements in a collaborative environment. We focus on recommending team members who can maintain the team’s performance by minimizing changes to the team’s skills and social structure. Our recommendations are based on computing team-level similarity, which includes skill similarity, structural similarity as well as the synergy between the two. Current heuristic approaches are one-dimensional and not comprehensive, as they consider the two aspects independently. To formalize team-level similarity, we adopt the notion of graph kernel of attributed graphs to encompass the two aspects and their interaction. To tackle the computational challenges, we propose a family of fast algorithms by (a) designing effective pruning strategies, and (b) exploring the smoothness between the existing and the new team structures. Extensive empirical evaluations on real world datasets validate the effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithms. PMID:29104408

Evaluation and utilization of preassembled frozen commercial fast real-time qPCR master mixes for detection of cytomegalovirus and BK virus.

PubMed

Glover, William A; Atienza, Ederlyn E; Nesbitt, Shannon; Kim, Woo J; Castor, Jared; Cook, Linda; Jerome, Keith R

2016-01-01

Quantitative DNA detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and BK virus (BKV) is critical in the management of transplant patients. Quantitative laboratory-developed procedures for CMV and BKV have been described in which much of the processing is automated, resulting in rapid, reproducible, and high-throughput testing of transplant patients. To increase the efficiency of such assays, the performance and stability of four commercial preassembled frozen fast qPCR master mixes (Roche FastStart Universal Probe Master Mix with Rox, Bio-Rad SsoFast Probes Supermix with Rox, Life Technologies TaqMan FastAdvanced Master Mix, and Life Technologies Fast Universal PCR Master Mix), in combination with in-house designed primers and probes, was evaluated using controls and standards from standard CMV and BK assays. A subsequent parallel evaluation using patient samples was performed comparing the performance of freshly prepared assay mixes versus aliquoted frozen master mixes made with two of the fast qPCR mixes (Life Technologies TaqMan FastAdvanced Master Mix, and Bio-Rad SsoFast Probes Supermix with Rox), chosen based on their performance and compatibility with existing PCR cycling conditions. The data demonstrate that the frozen master mixes retain excellent performance over a period of at least 10 weeks. During the parallel testing using clinical specimens, no difference in quantitative results was observed between the preassembled frozen master mixes and freshly prepared master mixes. Preassembled fast real-time qPCR frozen master mixes perform well and represent an additional strategy laboratories can implement to reduce assay preparation times, and to minimize technical errors and effort necessary to perform clinical PCR. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effects of a dietary intervention promoting the adoption of a Mediterranean food pattern on fast-food consumption among healthy French-Canadian women.

PubMed

Bédard, Alexandra; Goulet, Julie; Riverin, Mélissa; Lamarche, Benoît; Lemieux, Simone

2010-12-01

It is expected that a dietary intervention based on the traditional Mediterranean food pattern should be associated with a reduction in fast-food consumption but this has never been tested before. We assessed the impact of a 12-week dietary intervention, promoting the adoption of a Mediterranean food pattern, on fast-food consumption among seventy-one healthy women aged between 30 and 65 years. The dietary intervention consisted of two group sessions and seven individual sessions with a dietitian. To determine the Mediterranean dietary score (MedScore) and fast-food consumption, an FFQ was administered. During the 12-week intervention, the MedScore significantly increased (from 21.1 (SD 3.6) units at baseline to 28.6 (SD 4.4) units at week 12, P < 0.0001), while the fast-food consumption significantly decreased (from 51.7 (SD 46.4) g/d at baseline to 20.5 (SD 18.2) g/d at week 12, P < 0.0001). Moreover, women who had a higher consumption of fast food at baseline decreased their fast-food consumption to the most (r - 0.50, P < 0.0001). When four subgroups were formed on the basis of median values of Medscore and fast-food consumption changes, it was found that only the subgroup of women which increased the most their MedScore and decreased the most their fast-food consumption experienced a significant decrease in BMI (P < 0.01). In conclusion, a dietary intervention promoting the Mediterranean food pattern led to a decrease in fast-food consumption among healthy women even if it was not a specific target of the intervention. Dietary strategies for increasing intake of healthy foods may be a useful approach for decreasing intake of less healthy foods.

Comprehensive Evaluation Report for the Canadian Replication of the Families and Schools Together (FAST) Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sass, James S.

Families and Schools Together (FAST) is a 2-year program beginning with 8 weeks of multiple family meetings and transitioning into a long-term follow-up segment called FASTWORKS. FAST uses tested family therapy principles, delinquency and substance-abuse strategies, psychiatric techniques, family systems theory, and group dynamics to give parents…

Definition of a Robust Supervisory Control Scheme for Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ponciroli, R.; Passerini, S.; Vilim, R. B.

In this work, an innovative control approach for metal-fueled Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors is proposed. With respect to the classical approach adopted for base-load Nuclear Power Plants, an alternative control strategy for operating the reactor at different power levels by respecting the system physical constraints is presented. In order to achieve a higher operational flexibility along with ensuring that the implemented control loops do not influence the system inherent passive safety features, a dedicated supervisory control scheme for the dynamic definition of the corresponding set-points to be supplied to the PID controllers is designed. In particular, the traditional approach based onmore » the adoption of tabulated lookup tables for the set-point definition is found not to be robust enough when failures of the implemented SISO (Single Input Single Output) actuators occur. Therefore, a feedback algorithm based on the Reference Governor approach, which allows for the optimization of reference signals according to the system operating conditions, is proposed.« less

Implementation of the American Society of Anesthesiology's guidelines to reduce prolonged fasting times in pediatric preoperative patients: a best practice implementation project.

PubMed

Costello, Carol M

2016-10-01

The American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) guidelines for pediatric preoperative fasting have been a standard for well over a decade. However, use of protocols involving an excessive fasting duration exposes patients to the physiological impacts of fluid volume loss. The current project aimed to improve fluid supplementation during presurgical fasting in pediatric patients at an academic medical center. Specific objectives were to increase clinical staff knowledge regarding ASA fasting standards and implement them in specific pediatric patient populations. The Joanna Briggs Institute Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System and Getting Research into Practice tools were used. A baseline audit assessed compliance with best practice criteria regarding staff education, patient/family instruction and preoperative fasting times. Intervention outcomes were evaluated in a post implementation criteria audit. Although compliance with fasting less than 12 hours more than doubled, only half of these patients/parents adhered to the guidelines. No excessive fasting events were attributed to a language barrier. There were no insufficient fasting events. Moderate success with fasting compliance was demonstrated when patients/parents were taught the multi-step ASA non per os (nothing by mouth) instructions. This complexity may have contributed to non-compliance and pointed to the need for enhanced teaching strategies. No operative start delays related to insufficient fasting indicated surgical scheduling flexibility was not at risk, and anesthesia providers had adopted the guidelines. Interdisciplinary engagement in this project was significantly impacted by director level communication which will be a key strategy for future implementations.

Utility of a Web-based intervention for individuals with type 2 diabetes: the impact on physical activity levels and glycemic control.

PubMed

Kim, Chun-Ja; Kang, Duck-Hee

2006-01-01

Despite the numerous benefits of physical activity for patients with diabetes, most healthcare providers in busy clinical settings rarely find time to counsel their patients about it. A Web-based program for healthcare providers can be used as an effective counseling tool, when strategies are outlined for specific stages of readiness for physical activity. Seventy-three adults with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to Web-based intervention, printed-material intervention, or usual care. After 12 weeks, the effects of the interventions on physical activity, fasting blood sugar, and glycosylated hemoglobin were evaluated. Both Web-based and printed material intervention, compared with usual care, were effective in increasing physical activity (P < .001) and decreasing fasting blood sugar (P<.01) and glycosylated hemoglobin (P < .01). Post hoc analysis for change scores indicated significant differences between Web-based intervention and usual care and between printed material intervention and usual care, but not between web-based and printed material intervention. The findings of this study support the value of Web-based and printed material interventions in healthcare counseling. With increasing Web access, the effectiveness of Web-based programs offered directly to patients needs to be tested.

WE-DE-201-01: BEST IN PHYSICS (THERAPY): A Fast Multi-Target Inverse Treatment Planning Strategy Optimizing Dosimetric Measures for High-Dose-Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guthier, C; University Medical Center Mannheim, Mannheim; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Purpose: Inverse treatment planning (ITP) for interstitial HDR brachytherapy of gynecologic cancers seeks to maximize coverage of the clinical target volumes (tumor and vagina) while respecting dose-volume-histogram related dosimetric measures (DMs) for organs at risk (OARs). Commercially available ITP tools do not support DM-based planning because it is computationally too expensive to solve. In this study we present a novel approach that allows fast ITP for gynecologic cancers based on DMs for the first time. Methods: This novel strategy is an optimization model based on a smooth DM-based objective function. The smooth approximation is achieved by utilizing a logistic functionmore » for the evaluation of DMs. The resulting nonconvex and constrained optimization problem is then optimized with a BFGS algorithm. The model was evaluated using the implant geometry extracted from 20 patient treatment plans under an IRB-approved retrospective study. For each plan, the final DMs were evaluated and compared to the original clinical plans. The CTVs were the contoured tumor volume and the contoured surface of the vagina. Statistical significance was evaluated with a one-sided paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: As did the clinical plans, all generated plans fulfilled the defined DMs for OARs. The proposed strategy showed a statistically significant improvement (p<0.001) in coverage of the tumor and vagina, with absolute improvements of related DMs of (6.9 +/− 7.9)% and (28.2 +/− 12.0)%, respectively. This was achieved with a statistically significant (p<0.01) decrease of the high-dose-related DM for the tumor. The runtime of the optimization was (2.3 +/− 2.0) seconds. Conclusion: We demonstrated using clinical data that our novel approach allows rapid DM-based optimization with improved coverage of CTVs with fewer hot spots. Being up to three orders of magnitude faster than the current clinical practice, the method dramatically shortens planning time.« less

Characterization and relative quantification of phospholipids based on methylation and stable isotopic labeling[S

PubMed Central

Cai, Tanxi; Shu, Qingbo; Liu, Peibin; Niu, Lili; Guo, Xiaojing; Ding, Xiang; Xue, Peng; Xie, Zhensheng; Wang, Jifeng; Zhu, Nali; Wu, Peng; Niu, Lili; Yang, Fuquan

2016-01-01

Phospholipids (PLs), one of the lipid categories, are not only the primary building blocks of cellular membranes, but also can be split to produce products that function as second messengers in signal transduction and play a pivotal role in numerous cellular processes, including cell growth, survival, and motility. Here, we present an integrated novel method that combines a fast and robust TMS-diazomethane-based phosphate derivatization and isotopic labeling strategy, which enables simultaneous profiling and relative quantification of PLs from biological samples. Our results showed that phosphate methylation allows fast and sensitive identification of the six major PL classes, including their lysophospholipid counterparts, under positive ionization mode. The isotopic labeling of endogenous PLs was achieved by deuterated diazomethane, which was generated through acid-catalyzed hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange and methanolysis of TMS-diazomethane during the process of phosphate derivatization. The measured H/D ratios of unlabeled and labeled PLs, which were mixed in known proportions, indicated that the isotopic labeling strategy is capable of providing relative quantitation with adequate accuracy, reproducibility, and a coefficient of variation of 9.1%, on average. This novel method offers unique advantages over existing approaches and presents a powerful tool for research of PL metabolism and signaling. PMID:26733148

Silica encapsulated lipid-based drug delivery systems for reducing the fed/fasted variations of ziprasidone in vitro.

PubMed

Dening, Tahnee J; Rao, Shasha; Thomas, Nicky; Prestidge, Clive A

2016-04-01

Ziprasidone is a poorly water-soluble antipsychotic drug that demonstrates low fasted state oral bioavailability and a clinically significant two-fold increase in absorption when dosed postprandially. Owing to significant compliance challenges faced by schizophrenic patients, a novel oral formulation of ziprasidone that demonstrates improved fasted state absorption and a reduced food effect is of major interest, and is therefore the aim of this research. Three lipid-based drug delivery systems (LBDDS) were developed and investigated: (a) a self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS), (b) a solid SNEDDS formulation, and (c) silica-lipid hybrid (SLH) microparticles. SNEDDS was developed using Capmul MCM® and Tween 80®, and solid SNEDDS was fabricated by spray-drying SNEDDS with Aerosil 380® silica nanoparticles as the solid carrier. SLH microparticles were prepared in a similar manner to solid SNEDDS using a precursor lipid emulsion composed of Capmul MCM® and soybean lecithin. The performance of the developed formulations was evaluated under simulated digesting conditions using an in vitro lipolysis model, and pure (unformulated) ziprasidone was used as a control. While pure ziprasidone exhibited the lowest rate and extent of drug solubilization under fasting conditions and a significant 2.4-fold increase in drug solubilization under fed conditions, all three LBDDS significantly enhanced the extent of drug solubilization under fasting conditions between 18- and 43-folds in comparison to pure drug. No significant difference in drug solubilization for the fed and fasted states was observed for the three LBDDS systems. To highlight the potential of LBDDS, mechanism(s) of action and various performance characteristics are discussed. Importantly, LBDDS are identified as an appropriate formulation strategy to explore further for the improved oral delivery of ziprasidone. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Partial k-space strategies to speed up Time-domain EPR Imaging

PubMed Central

Subramanian, Sankaran; Chandramouli, Gadisetti VR; McMillan, Alan; Gullapalli, Rao P; Devasahayam, Nallathamby; Mitchell, James B.; Matsumoto, Shingo; Krishna, Murali C

2012-01-01

Narrow-line spin probes derived from the trityl radical have led to the development of fast in vivo time-domain EPR imaging. Pure phase-encoding imaging modalities based on the Single Point Imaging scheme (SPI) have demonstrated the feasibility of 3D oximetric images with functional information in minutes. In this paper, we explore techniques to improve the temporal resolution and circumvent the relatively short biological half-lives of trityl probes using partial k-space strategies. There are two main approaches: one involves the use of the Hermitian character of the k-space by which only part of the k-space is measured and the unmeasured part is generated using the Hermitian symmetry. This approach is limited in success by the accuracy of numerical estimate of the phase roll in the k-space that corrupts the Hermiticy. The other approach is to measure only a judicially chosen reduced region of k-space (a centrosymmetric ellipsoid region) that more or less accounts for >70% of the k-space energy. Both of these aspects were explored in FT-EPR imaging with a doubling of scan speed demonstrated by considering ellipsoid geometry of the k-space. Partial k-space strategies help improve the temporal resolution in studying fast dynamics of functional aspects in vivo with infused spin probes. PMID:23045171

Optimal sensor placement for time-domain identification using a wavelet-based genetic algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahdavi, Seyed Hossein; Razak, Hashim Abdul

2016-06-01

This paper presents a wavelet-based genetic algorithm strategy for optimal sensor placement (OSP) effective for time-domain structural identification. Initially, the GA-based fitness evaluation is significantly improved by using adaptive wavelet functions. Later, a multi-species decimal GA coding system is modified to be suitable for an efficient search around the local optima. In this regard, a local operation of mutation is introduced in addition with regeneration and reintroduction operators. It is concluded that different characteristics of applied force influence the features of structural responses, and therefore the accuracy of time-domain structural identification is directly affected. Thus, the reliable OSP strategy prior to the time-domain identification will be achieved by those methods dealing with minimizing the distance of simulated responses for the entire system and condensed system considering the force effects. The numerical and experimental verification on the effectiveness of the proposed strategy demonstrates the considerably high computational performance of the proposed OSP strategy, in terms of computational cost and the accuracy of identification. It is deduced that the robustness of the proposed OSP algorithm lies in the precise and fast fitness evaluation at larger sampling rates which result in the optimum evaluation of the GA-based exploration and exploitation phases towards the global optimum solution.

Testing take-the-best in new and changing environments.

PubMed

Lee, Michael D; Blanco, Gabrielle; Bo, Nikole

2017-08-01

Take-the-best is a decision-making strategy that chooses between alternatives, by searching the cues representing the alternatives in order of cue validity, and choosing the alternative with the first discriminating cue. Theoretical support for take-the-best comes from the "fast and frugal" approach to modeling cognition, which assumes decision-making strategies need to be fast to cope with a competitive world, and be simple to be robust to uncertainty and environmental change. We contribute to the empirical evaluation of take-the-best in two ways. First, we generate four new environments-involving bridge lengths, hamburger prices, theme park attendances, and US university rankings-supplementing the relatively limited number of naturally cue-based environments previously considered. We find that take-the-best is as accurate as rival decision strategies that use all of the available cues. Secondly, we develop 19 new data sets characterizing the change in cities and their populations in four countries. We find that take-the-best maintains its accuracy and limited search as the environments change, even if cue validities learned in one environment are used to make decisions in another. Once again, we find that take-the-best is as accurate as rival strategies that use all of the cues. We conclude that these new evaluations support the theoretical claims of the accuracy, frugality, and robustness for take-the-best, and that the new data sets provide a valuable resource for the more general study of the relationship between effective decision-making strategies and the environments in which they operate.

Hybrid stochastic simulation of reaction-diffusion systems with slow and fast dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Strehl, Robert; Ilie, Silvana, E-mail: silvana@ryerson.ca

2015-12-21

In this paper, we present a novel hybrid method to simulate discrete stochastic reaction-diffusion models arising in biochemical signaling pathways. We study moderately stiff systems, for which we can partition each reaction or diffusion channel into either a slow or fast subset, based on its propensity. Numerical approaches missing this distinction are often limited with respect to computational run time or approximation quality. We design an approximate scheme that remedies these pitfalls by using a new blending strategy of the well-established inhomogeneous stochastic simulation algorithm and the tau-leaping simulation method. The advantages of our hybrid simulation algorithm are demonstrated onmore » three benchmarking systems, with special focus on approximation accuracy and efficiency.« less

Whole-organism screening for gluconeogenesis identifies activators of fasting metabolism

PubMed Central

Gut, Philipp; Baeza-Raja, Bernat; Andersson, Olov; Hasenkamp, Laura; Hsiao, Joseph; Hesselson, Daniel; Akassoglou, Katerina; Verdin, Eric; Hirschey, Matthew D.; Stainier, Didier Y.R.

2012-01-01

Improving the control of energy homeostasis can lower cardiovascular risk in metabolically compromised individuals. To identify new regulators of whole-body energy control, we conducted a high-throughput screen in transgenic reporter zebrafish for small molecules that modulate the expression of the fasting-inducible gluconeogenic gene pck1. We show that this in vivo strategy identified several drugs that impact gluconeogenesis in humans, as well as metabolically uncharacterized compounds. Most notably, we find that the Translocator Protein (TSPO) ligands PK 11195 and Ro5-4864 are glucose lowering agents despite a strong inductive effect on pck1 expression. We show that these drugs are activators of a fasting-like energy state, and importantly that they protect high-fat diet induced obese mice from hepatosteatosis and glucose intolerance, two pathological manifestations of metabolic dysregulation. Thus, using a whole-organism screening strategy, this study has identified new small molecule activators of fasting metabolism. PMID:23201900

Required coefficient of friction during turning at self-selected slow, normal, and fast walking speeds.

PubMed

Fino, Peter; Lockhart, Thurmon E

2014-04-11

This study investigated the relationship of required coefficient of friction to gait speed, obstacle height, and turning strategy as participants walked around obstacles of various heights. Ten healthy, young adults performed 90° turns around corner pylons of four different heights at their self selected normal, slow, and fast walking speeds using both step and spin turning strategies. Kinetic data was captured using force plates. Results showed peak required coefficient of friction (RCOF) at push off increased with increased speed (slow μ=0.38, normal μ=0.45, and fast μ=0.54). Obstacle height had no effect on RCOF values. The average peak RCOF for fast turning exceeded the OSHA safety guideline for static COF of μ>0.50, suggesting further research is needed into the minimum static COF to prevent slips and falls, especially around corners. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transforming clinical practice guidelines and clinical pathways into fast-and-frugal decision trees to improve clinical care strategies.

PubMed

Djulbegovic, Benjamin; Hozo, Iztok; Dale, William

2018-02-27

Contemporary delivery of health care is inappropriate in many ways, largely due to suboptimal Q5 decision-making. A typical approach to improve practitioners' decision-making is to develop evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPG) by guidelines panels, who are instructed to use their judgments to derive practice recommendations. However, mechanisms for the formulation of guideline judgments remains a "black-box" operation-a process with defined inputs and outputs but without sufficient knowledge of its internal workings. Increased explicitness and transparency in the process can be achieved by implementing CPG as clinical pathways (CPs) (also known as clinical algorithms or flow-charts). However, clinical recommendations thus derived are typically ad hoc and developed by experts in a theory-free environment. As any recommendation can be right (true positive or negative), or wrong (false positive or negative), the lack of theoretical structure precludes the quantitative assessment of the management strategies recommended by CPGs/CPs. To realize the full potential of CPGs/CPs, they need to be placed on more solid theoretical grounds. We believe this potential can be best realized by converting CPGs/CPs within the heuristic theory of decision-making, often implemented as fast-and-frugal (FFT) decision trees. This is possible because FFT heuristic strategy of decision-making can be linked to signal detection theory, evidence accumulation theory, and a threshold model of decision-making, which, in turn, allows quantitative analysis of the accuracy of clinical management strategies. Fast-and-frugal provides a simple and transparent, yet solid and robust, methodological framework connecting decision science to clinical care, a sorely needed missing link between CPGs/CPs and patient outcomes. We therefore advocate that all guidelines panels express their recommendations as CPs, which in turn should be converted into FFTs to guide clinical care. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Correlation-coefficient-based fast template matching through partial elimination.

PubMed

Mahmood, Arif; Khan, Sohaib

2012-04-01

Partial computation elimination techniques are often used for fast template matching. At a particular search location, computations are prematurely terminated as soon as it is found that this location cannot compete with an already known best match location. Due to the nonmonotonic growth pattern of the correlation-based similarity measures, partial computation elimination techniques have been traditionally considered inapplicable to speed up these measures. In this paper, we show that partial elimination techniques may be applied to a correlation coefficient by using a monotonic formulation, and we propose basic-mode and extended-mode partial correlation elimination algorithms for fast template matching. The basic-mode algorithm is more efficient on small template sizes, whereas the extended mode is faster on medium and larger templates. We also propose a strategy to decide which algorithm to use for a given data set. To achieve a high speedup, elimination algorithms require an initial guess of the peak correlation value. We propose two initialization schemes including a coarse-to-fine scheme for larger templates and a two-stage technique for small- and medium-sized templates. Our proposed algorithms are exact, i.e., having exhaustive equivalent accuracy, and are compared with the existing fast techniques using real image data sets on a wide variety of template sizes. While the actual speedups are data dependent, in most cases, our proposed algorithms have been found to be significantly faster than the other algorithms.

An in vivo strategy to counteract post-administration anticoagulant activity of azido-Warfarin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ursuegui, Sylvain; Recher, Marion; Krężel, Wojciech; Wagner, Alain

2017-05-01

Drugs, usually long acting and metabolically stable molecules, might be the source of adverse effects triggered by complex drug interactions, anaphylaxis and drug-induced coagulopathy. To circumvent this growing drug safety issue, we herein investigate the opportunity offered by bio-orthogonal chemistry for in vivo drug neutralization. We design a small-molecule anticoagulant drug (Warfarin) containing an azide group that acts as a safety pin. It allows drug deactivation and restoration of physiological coagulation via in vivo click reaction with a suitable cyclooctyne-based neutralizing agent. In this strategy, the new molecule formed by reaction of the drug and the antidote is deprived of biological activity and prone to fast renal clearance. This `Click & Clear' approach lays ground for new strategies in designing drugs with switchable biophysical properties.

An improved conscan algorithm based on a Kalman filter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eldred, D. B.

1994-01-01

Conscan is commonly used by DSN antennas to allow adaptive tracking of a target whose position is not precisely known. This article describes an algorithm that is based on a Kalman filter and is proposed to replace the existing fast Fourier transform based (FFT-based) algorithm for conscan. Advantages of this algorithm include better pointing accuracy, continuous update information, and accommodation of missing data. Additionally, a strategy for adaptive selection of the conscan radius is proposed. The performance of the algorithm is illustrated through computer simulations and compared to the FFT algorithm. The results show that the Kalman filter algorithm is consistently superior.

RTL validation methodology on high complexity wireless microcontroller using OVM technique for fast time to market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhafirah Muhammad, Nurul; Harun, A.; Hambali, N. A. M. A.; Murad, S. A. Z.; Mohyar, S. N.; Isa, M. N.; Jambek, AB

2017-11-01

Increased demand in internet of thing (IOT) application based has inadvertently forced the move towards higher complexity of integrated circuit supporting SoC. Such spontaneous increased in complexity poses unequivocal complicated validation strategies. Hence, the complexity allows researchers to come out with various exceptional methodologies in order to overcome this problem. This in essence brings about the discovery of dynamic verification, formal verification and hybrid techniques. In reserve, it is very important to discover bugs at infancy of verification process in (SoC) in order to reduce time consuming and fast time to market for the system. Ergo, in this paper we are focusing on the methodology of verification that can be done at Register Transfer Level of SoC based on the AMBA bus design. On top of that, the discovery of others verification method called Open Verification Methodology (OVM) brings out an easier way in RTL validation methodology neither as the replacement for the traditional method yet as an effort for fast time to market for the system. Thus, the method called OVM is proposed in this paper as the verification method for larger design to avert the disclosure of the bottleneck in validation platform.

Model-based optimal design of active cool thermal energy storage for maximal life-cycle cost saving from demand management in commercial buildings

DOE PAGES

Cui, Borui; Gao, Dian-ce; Xiao, Fu; ...

2016-12-23

This article provides a method in comprehensive evaluation of cost-saving potential of active cool thermal energy storage (CTES) integrated with HVAC system for demand management in non-residential building. The active storage is beneficial by shifting peak demand for peak load management (PLM) as well as providing longer duration and larger capacity of demand response (DR). In this research, a model-based optimal design method using genetic algorithm is developed to optimize the capacity of active CTES aiming for maximizing the life-cycle cost saving concerning capital cost associated with storage capacity as well as incentives from both fast DR and PLM. Inmore » the method, the active CTES operates under a fast DR control strategy during DR events while under the storage-priority operation mode to shift peak demand during normal days. The optimal storage capacities, maximum annual net cost saving and corresponding power reduction set-points during DR event are obtained by using the proposed optimal design method. Lastly, this research provides guidance in comprehensive evaluation of cost-saving potential of CTES integrated with HVAC system for building demand management including both fast DR and PLM.« less

Model-based optimal design of active cool thermal energy storage for maximal life-cycle cost saving from demand management in commercial buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cui, Borui; Gao, Dian-ce; Xiao, Fu

This article provides a method in comprehensive evaluation of cost-saving potential of active cool thermal energy storage (CTES) integrated with HVAC system for demand management in non-residential building. The active storage is beneficial by shifting peak demand for peak load management (PLM) as well as providing longer duration and larger capacity of demand response (DR). In this research, a model-based optimal design method using genetic algorithm is developed to optimize the capacity of active CTES aiming for maximizing the life-cycle cost saving concerning capital cost associated with storage capacity as well as incentives from both fast DR and PLM. Inmore » the method, the active CTES operates under a fast DR control strategy during DR events while under the storage-priority operation mode to shift peak demand during normal days. The optimal storage capacities, maximum annual net cost saving and corresponding power reduction set-points during DR event are obtained by using the proposed optimal design method. Lastly, this research provides guidance in comprehensive evaluation of cost-saving potential of CTES integrated with HVAC system for building demand management including both fast DR and PLM.« less

An Evolutionary Algorithm for Fast Intensity Based Image Matching Between Optical and SAR Satellite Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, Peter; Schuegraf, Philipp; Merkle, Nina; Storch, Tobias

2018-04-01

This paper presents a hybrid evolutionary algorithm for fast intensity based matching between satellite imagery from SAR and very high-resolution (VHR) optical sensor systems. The precise and accurate co-registration of image time series and images of different sensors is a key task in multi-sensor image processing scenarios. The necessary preprocessing step of image matching and tie-point detection is divided into a search problem and a similarity measurement. Within this paper we evaluate the use of an evolutionary search strategy for establishing the spatial correspondence between satellite imagery of optical and radar sensors. The aim of the proposed algorithm is to decrease the computational costs during the search process by formulating the search as an optimization problem. Based upon the canonical evolutionary algorithm, the proposed algorithm is adapted for SAR/optical imagery intensity based matching. Extensions are drawn using techniques like hybridization (e.g. local search) and others to lower the number of objective function calls and refine the result. The algorithm significantely decreases the computational costs whilst finding the optimal solution in a reliable way.

Effects of meals rich in either monounsaturated or saturated fat on lipid concentrations and on insulin secretion and action in subjects with high fasting triglyceride concentrations.

PubMed

Lopez, Sergio; Bermudez, Beatriz; Ortega, Almudena; Varela, Lourdes M; Pacheco, Yolanda M; Villar, Jose; Abia, Rocio; Muriana, Francisco J G

2011-03-01

The nature of dietary fats and fasting concentrations of triglycerides affect postprandial hypertriglyceridemia and glucose homeostasis. The objectives were to examine the effects of meals enriched in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) or saturated fatty acids (SFAs) on postprandial lipid, glucose, and insulin concentrations and to examine the extent of β cell function and insulin sensitivity in subjects with high fasting triglyceride concentrations. Fourteen men with fasting hypertriglyceridemia and normal glucose tolerance were given meals (≈10 kcal/kg body weight) containing MUFAs, SFAs, or no fat. Blood samples were collected at baseline and hourly over 8 h for analysis. The high-fat meals significantly increased postprandial concentrations of triglycerides, nonesterified fatty acids, and insulin and postprandial indexes of β cell function. However, postprandial indexes of insulin sensitivity decreased significantly. These effects were significantly attenuated with MUFAs relative to SFAs. MUFAs postprandially buffered β cell hyperactivity and insulin intolerance relative to SFAs in subjects with high fasting triglyceride concentrations. These data suggest that, in contrast with SFAs, MUFA-based strategies may provide cardiovascular benefits to persons at risk by limiting lipid and insulin excursions and may contribute to optimal glycemic control after meal challenges.

Fast Versus Slow Strategy of Switching Patients With Schizophrenia to Aripiprazole From Other Antipsychotics.

PubMed

Hwang, Tzung-Jeng; Lo, Wei-Ming; Chan, Hung-Yu; Lin, Ching-Feng; Hsieh, Ming H; Liu, Chen-Chun; Liu, Chih-Min; Hwu, Hai-Gwo; Kuo, Ching-Hua; Chen, Wei J

2015-12-01

This study aimed to compare strategies differing in the speed of switching schizophrenic patients to aripiprazole from other antipsychotic agents, with dual administration for 2 weeks and then tapering off the current antipsychotic in fast (within 1 week) versus slow (within 4 weeks) strategies. This 8-week, open-label, randomized, parallel study assigned patients with a primary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder to either the fast-switching (n = 38) or slow-switching (n = 41) group. Efficacy assessments at 5 time points included Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and Clinical Global Impression scale. Safety assessments included extrapyramidal symptoms, metabolic profile, serum prolactin level, QTc interval, and adverse events. Drug concentrations and cytochrome P450 CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 genotypes were also measured. The fast- and slow-switching groups were comparable in demographical and clinical features at baseline and dropout rate. In the intention-to-treat analysis using mixed-effects models, there were significant within-group decreases over time in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total scores (P = 0.03) and its subscores except for positive subscores, whereas no between-group differences were found. A reduction in body weight (P = 0.01) and lower levels of total cholesterol (P = 0.03), triglycerides (P = 0.03), and prolactin (P = 0.01) were noted in both groups but no increase in extrapyramidal symptoms or prolongation of QTc. The blood concentrations of aripiprazole in all patients were in a therapeutic range at day 56, with CYP2D6*10 polymorphisms being associated with aripiprazole concentrations. In conclusion, there is no significant difference between the fast- and slow-switching strategy in terms of improvements in clinical symptoms and metabolic profile in this 8-week study.

Maternal Circadian Eating Time and Frequency Are Associated with Blood Glucose Concentrations during Pregnancy.

PubMed

Loy, See Ling; Chan, Jerry Kok Yen; Wee, Poh Hui; Colega, Marjorelee T; Cheung, Yin Bun; Godfrey, Keith M; Kwek, Kenneth; Saw, Seang Mei; Chong, Yap-Seng; Natarajan, Padmapriya; Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk; Lek, Ngee; Chong, Mary Foong-Fong; Yap, Fabian

2017-01-01

Synchronizing eating schedules to daily circadian rhythms may improve metabolic health, but its association with gestational glycemia is unknown. This study examined the association of maternal night-fasting intervals and eating episodes with blood glucose concentrations during pregnancy. This was a cross-sectional study within a prospective cohort in Singapore. Maternal 24-h dietary recalls, fasting glucose, and 2-h glucose concentrations were ascertained at 26-28 wk gestation for 1061 women (aged 30.7 ± 5.1 y). Night-fasting intervals were based on the longest fasting duration during the night (1900-0659). Eating episodes were defined as events that provided >50 kcal, with a time interval between eating episodes of ≥15 min. Multiple linear regressions with adjustment for confounders were conducted. Mean ± SD night-fasting intervals and eating episodes per day were 9.9 ± 1.6 h and 4.2 ± 1.3 times/d, respectively; fasting and 2-h glucose concentrations were 4.4 ± 0.5 and 6.6 ± 1.5 mmol/L, respectively. In adjusted models, each hourly increase in night-fasting intervals was associated with a 0.03 mmol/L decrease in fasting glucose (95% CI: -0.06, -0.01 mmol/L), whereas each additional daily eating episode was associated with a 0.15 mmol/L increase in 2-h glucose (95% CI: 0.03, 0.28 mmol/L). Conversely, night-fasting intervals and daily eating episodes were not associated with 2-h and fasting glucose, respectively. Increased maternal night-fasting intervals and reduced eating episodes per day were associated with decreased fasting glucose and 2-h glucose, respectively, in the late-second trimester of pregnancy. This points to potential alternative strategies to improve glycemic control in pregnant women. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01174875. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

Maternal circadian eating time and frequency are associated with blood glucose levels during pregnancy

PubMed Central

Loy, See Ling; Chan, Jerry Kok Yen; Wee, Poh Hui; Colega, Marjorelee T.; Cheung, Yin Bun; Godfrey, Keith M.; Kwek, Kenneth; Saw, Seang Mei; Chong, Yap-Seng; Natarajan, Padmapriya; Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk; Lek, Ngee; Chong, Mary Foong-Fong; Yap, Fabian

2017-01-01

Background Synchronizing eating schedules with daily circadian rhythms may improve metabolic health, but its association with gestational glycemia is unknown. Objective This study examined the association of maternal night-fasting intervals and eating episodes with blood glucose levels during pregnancy. Methods This was a cross-sectional study within a prospective cohort in Singapore. Maternal 24-hour dietary recalls, fasting glucose and 2-hour glucose concentrations were ascertained at 26-28 weeks’ gestation for 1061 women (age 30.7 ± 5.1 years). Night-fasting intervals were based on the longest fasting duration during the night (1900-0659h). Eating episodes were defined as events which provided >50 kcal, with a time interval between eating episodes of at least 15 minutes. Multiple linear regressions with adjustment for confounders were conducted. Results Mean ± standard deviation night-fasting intervals and eating episodes per day were 9.9 ± 1.6 hours and 4.2 ± 1.3 times per day, respectively; fasting and 2-hour glucose concentrations were 4.4 ± 0.5 and 6.6 ± 1.5 mmol/L, respectively. In adjusted models, each hourly increase in night-fasting interval was associated with a 0.03 mmol/L decrease in fasting glucose (95% CI: -0.06, -0.01 mmol/L), while each additional daily eating episode was associated with a 0.15 mmol/L increase in 2-hour glucose (95% CI: 0.03, 0.28 mmol/L). Conversely, night-fasting intervals and daily eating episodes were not associated with 2-hour and fasting glucose, respectively. Conclusions Increased maternal night-fasting intervals and reduced eating episodes per day were associated with decreased fasting glucose and 2-hour glucose, respectively, in the late-second trimester of pregnancy. This points to potential alternative strategies to improve glycemic control in pregnant women. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01174875. PMID:27798346

Chemometrics-enhanced high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection strategy for simultaneous determination of eight co-eluted compounds in ten kinds of Chinese teas using second-order calibration method based on alternating trilinear decomposition algorithm.

PubMed

Yin, Xiao-Li; Wu, Hai-Long; Gu, Hui-Wen; Zhang, Xiao-Hua; Sun, Yan-Mei; Hu, Yong; Liu, Lu; Rong, Qi-Ming; Yu, Ru-Qin

2014-10-17

In this work, an attractive chemometrics-enhanced high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) strategy was proposed for simultaneous and fast determination of eight co-eluted compounds including gallic acid, caffeine and six catechins in ten kinds of Chinese teas by using second-order calibration method based on alternating trilinear decomposition (ATLD) algorithm. This new strategy proved to be a useful tool for handling the co-eluted peaks, uncalibrated interferences and baseline drifts existing in the process of chromatographic separation, which benefited from the "second-order advantages", making the determination of gallic acid, caffeine and six catechins in tea infusions within 8 min under a simple mobile phase condition. The average recoveries of the analytes on two selected tea samples ranged from 91.7 to 103.1% with standard deviations (SD) ranged from 1.9 to 11.9%. Figures of merit including sensitivity (SEN), selectivity (SEL), root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) and limit of detection (LOD) have been calculated to validate the accuracy of the proposed method. To further confirm the reliability of the method, a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method based on LC-MS/MS was employed for comparison and the obtained results of both methods were consistent with each other. Furthermore, as a universal strategy, this new proposed analytical method was applied for the determination of gallic acid, caffeine and catechins in several other kinds of Chinese teas, including different levels and varieties. Finally, based on the quantitative results, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to conduct a cluster analysis for these Chinese teas. The green tea, Oolong tea and Pu-erh raw tea samples were classified successfully. All results demonstrated that the proposed method is accurate, sensitive, fast, universal and ideal for the rapid, routine analysis and discrimination of gallic acid, caffeine and catechins in Chinese tea samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fast and robust online adaptive planning in stereotactic MR-guided adaptive radiation therapy (SMART) for pancreatic cancer.

PubMed

Bohoudi, O; Bruynzeel, A M E; Senan, S; Cuijpers, J P; Slotman, B J; Lagerwaard, F J; Palacios, M A

2017-12-01

To implement a robust and fast stereotactic MR-guided adaptive radiation therapy (SMART) online strategy in locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). SMART strategy for plan adaptation was implemented with the MRIdian system (ViewRay Inc.). At each fraction, OAR (re-)contouring is done within a distance of 3cm from the PTV surface. Online plan re-optimization is based on robust prediction of OAR dose and optimization objectives, obtained by building an artificial neural network (ANN). Proposed limited re-contouring strategy for plan adaptation (SMART 3CM ) is evaluated by comparing 50 previously delivered fractions against a standard (re-)planning method using full-scale OAR (re-)contouring (FULLOAR). Plan quality was assessed using PTV coverage (V 95% , D mean , D 1cc ) and institutional OAR constraints (e.g. V 33Gy ). SMART 3CM required a significant lower number of optimizations than FULLOAR (4 vs 18 on average) to generate a plan meeting all objectives and institutional OAR constraints. PTV coverage with both strategies was identical (mean V 95% =89%). Adaptive plans with SMART 3CM exhibited significant lower intermediate and high doses to all OARs than FULLOAR, which also failed in 36% of the cases to adhere to the V 33Gy dose constraint. SMART 3CM approach for LAPC allows good OAR sparing and adequate target coverage while requiring only limited online (re-)contouring from clinicians. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fast Growth of GaN Epilayers via Laser-Assisted Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition for Ultraviolet Photodetector Applications.

PubMed

Rabiee Golgir, Hossein; Li, Da Wei; Keramatnejad, Kamran; Zou, Qi Ming; Xiao, Jun; Wang, Fei; Jiang, Lan; Silvain, Jean-François; Lu, Yong Feng

2017-06-28

In this study, we successfully developed a carbon dioxide (CO 2 )-laser-assisted metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (LMOCVD) approach to fast synthesis of high-quality gallium nitride (GaN) epilayers on Al 2 O 3 [sapphire(0001)] substrates. By employing a two-step growth procedure, high crystallinity and smooth GaN epilayers with a fast growth rate of 25.8 μm/h were obtained. The high crystallinity was confirmed by a combination of techniques, including X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. By optimizing growth parameters, the ∼4.3-μm-thick GaN films grown at 990 °C for 10 min showed a smooth surface with a root-mean-square surface roughness of ∼1.9 nm and excellent thickness uniformity with sharp GaN/substrate interfaces. The full-width at half-maximum values of the GaN(0002) X-ray rocking curve of 313 arcsec and the GaN(101̅2) X-ray rocking curve of 390 arcsec further confirmed the high crystallinity of the GaN epilayers. We also fabricated ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors based on the as-grown GaN layers, which exhibited a high responsivity of 0.108 A W -1 at 367 nm and a fast response time of ∼125 ns, demonstrating its high optical quality with potential in optoelectronic applications. Our strategy thus provides a simple and cost-effective means toward fast and high-quality GaN heteroepitaxy growth suitable for fabricating high-performance GaN-based UV detectors.

Gadolinium-based nanoparticles to improve the hadrontherapy performances.

PubMed

Porcel, Erika; Tillement, Olivier; Lux, François; Mowat, Pierre; Usami, Noriko; Kobayashi, Katsumi; Furusawa, Yoshiya; Le Sech, Claude; Li, Sha; Lacombe, Sandrine

2014-11-01

Nanomedicine is proposed as a novel strategy to improve the performance of radiotherapy. High-Z nanoparticles are known to enhance the effects of ionizing radiation. Recently, multimodal nanoparticles such as gadolinium-based nanoagents were proposed to amplify the effects of x-rays and g-rays and to improve MRI diagnosis. For tumors sited in sensitive tissues, childhood cases and radioresistant cancers, hadrontherapy is considered superior to x-rays and g-rays. Hadrontherapy, based on fast ion radiation, has the advantage of avoiding damage to the tissues behind the tumor; however, the damage caused in front of the tumor is its major limitation. Here, we demonstrate that multimodal gadolinium-based nanoparticles amplify cell death with fast ions used as radiation. Molecular scale experiments give insights into the mechanisms underlying the amplification of radiation effects. This proof-of-concept opens up novel perspectives for multimodal nanomedicine in hadrontherapy, ultimately reducing negative radiation effects in healthy tissues in front of the tumor. Gadolinium-chelating polysiloxane nanoparticles were previously reported to amplify the anti-tumor effects of x-rays and g-rays and to serve as MRI contrast agents. Fast ion radiation-based hadrontherapy avoids damage to the tissues behind the tumor, with a major limitation of tissue damage in front of the tumor. This study demonstrates a potential role for the above nanoagents in optimizing hadrontherapy with preventive effects in healthy tissue and amplified cell death in the tumor. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The alkaline tide goes out and the nitrogen stays in after feeding in the dogfish shark, Squalus acanthias.

PubMed

Wood, Chris M; Bucking, Carol; Fitzpatrick, John; Nadella, Sunita

2007-11-15

In light of previous work showing a marked metabolic alkalosis ("alkaline tide") in the bloodstream after feeding in the dogfish shark (Squalus acanthias), we evaluated whether there was a corresponding net base excretion to the water at this time. In the 48 h after a natural voluntary meal (teleost tissue, averaging 5.5% of body weight), dogfish excreted 10,470 micromol kg(-1) more base (i.e. HCO3- equivalents) than the fasted control animals (which exhibited a negative base excretion of -2160 micromol kg(-1)). This large activation of branchial base excretion after feeding thereby prevented a potentially fatal alkalinization of the body fluids by the alkaline tide. The rate peaked at 330 micromol kg(-1) h(-1) at 12.5-24 h after the meal. Despite a prolonged 1.7-fold elevation in MO2 after feeding ("specific dynamic action"), urea-N excretion decreased by 39% in the same 48 h period relative to fasted controls. In contrast, ammonia-N excretion did not change appreciably. The N/O2 ratio declined from 0.51 in fasted animals to 0.19 in fed sharks, indicating a stimulation of N-anabolic processes at this time. These results, which differ greatly from those in teleost fish, are interpreted in terms of the fundamentally different ureotelic osmoregulatory strategy of elasmobranchs, and recent discoveries on base excretion and urea-retention mechanisms in elasmobranch gills.

Strategy quantification using body worn inertial sensors in a reactive agility task.

PubMed

Eke, Chika U; Cain, Stephen M; Stirling, Leia A

2017-11-07

Agility performance is often evaluated using time-based metrics, which provide little information about which factors aid or limit success. The objective of this study was to better understand agility strategy by identifying biomechanical metrics that were sensitive to performance speed, which were calculated with data from an array of body-worn inertial sensors. Five metrics were defined (normalized number of foot contacts, stride length variance, arm swing variance, mean normalized stride frequency, and number of body rotations) that corresponded to agility terms defined by experts working in athletic, clinical, and military environments. Eighteen participants donned 13 sensors to complete a reactive agility task, which involved navigating a set of cones in response to a vocal cue. Participants were grouped into fast, medium, and slow performance based on their completion time. Participants in the fast group had the smallest number of foot contacts (normalizing by height), highest stride length variance (normalizing by height), highest forearm angular velocity variance, and highest stride frequency (normalizing by height). The number of body rotations was not sensitive to speed and may have been determined by hand and foot dominance while completing the agility task. The results of this study have the potential to inform the development of a composite agility score constructed from the list of significant metrics. By quantifying the agility terms previously defined by expert evaluators through an agility score, this study can assist in strategy development for training and rehabilitation across athletic, clinical, and military domains. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climbing favours the tripod gait over alternative faster insect gaits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramdya, Pavan; Thandiackal, Robin; Cherney, Raphael; Asselborn, Thibault; Benton, Richard; Ijspeert, Auke Jan; Floreano, Dario

2017-02-01

To escape danger or catch prey, running vertebrates rely on dynamic gaits with minimal ground contact. By contrast, most insects use a tripod gait that maintains at least three legs on the ground at any given time. One prevailing hypothesis for this difference in fast locomotor strategies is that tripod locomotion allows insects to rapidly navigate three-dimensional terrain. To test this, we computationally discovered fast locomotor gaits for a model based on Drosophila melanogaster. Indeed, the tripod gait emerges to the exclusion of many other possible gaits when optimizing fast upward climbing with leg adhesion. By contrast, novel two-legged bipod gaits are fastest on flat terrain without adhesion in the model and in a hexapod robot. Intriguingly, when adhesive leg structures in real Drosophila are covered, animals exhibit atypical bipod-like leg coordination. We propose that the requirement to climb vertical terrain may drive the prevalence of the tripod gait over faster alternative gaits with minimal ground contact.

Production of hydrogen from biomass by catalytic steam reforming of fast pyrolysis oil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Czernik, S.; Wang, D.; Chornet, E.

1998-08-01

Hydrogen is the prototype of the environmentally cleanest fuel of interest for power generation using fuel cells and for transportation. The thermochemical conversion of biomass to hydrogen can be carried out through two distinct strategies: (a) gasification followed by water-gas shift conversion, and (b) catalytic steam reforming of specific fractions derived from fast pyrolysis and aqueous/steam processes of biomass. This paper presents the latter route that begins with fast pyrolysis of biomass to produce bio-oil. This oil (as a whole or its selected fractions) can be converted to hydrogen via catalytic steam reforming followed by a water-gas shift conversion step.more » Such a process has been demonstrated at the bench scale using model compounds, poplar oil aqueous fraction, and the whole pyrolysis oil with commercial Ni-based steam reforming catalysts. Hydrogen yields as high as 85% have been obtained. Catalyst initial activity can be recovered through regeneration cycles by steam or CO{sub 2} gasification of carbonaceous deposits.« less

Climbing favours the tripod gait over alternative faster insect gaits

PubMed Central

Ramdya, Pavan; Thandiackal, Robin; Cherney, Raphael; Asselborn, Thibault; Benton, Richard; Ijspeert, Auke Jan; Floreano, Dario

2017-01-01

To escape danger or catch prey, running vertebrates rely on dynamic gaits with minimal ground contact. By contrast, most insects use a tripod gait that maintains at least three legs on the ground at any given time. One prevailing hypothesis for this difference in fast locomotor strategies is that tripod locomotion allows insects to rapidly navigate three-dimensional terrain. To test this, we computationally discovered fast locomotor gaits for a model based on Drosophila melanogaster. Indeed, the tripod gait emerges to the exclusion of many other possible gaits when optimizing fast upward climbing with leg adhesion. By contrast, novel two-legged bipod gaits are fastest on flat terrain without adhesion in the model and in a hexapod robot. Intriguingly, when adhesive leg structures in real Drosophila are covered, animals exhibit atypical bipod-like leg coordination. We propose that the requirement to climb vertical terrain may drive the prevalence of the tripod gait over faster alternative gaits with minimal ground contact. PMID:28211509

Insulin analogs with improved pharmacokinetic profiles.

PubMed

Brange; Vølund

1999-02-01

The aim of insulin replacement therapy is to normalize blood glucose in order to reduce the complications of diabetes. The pharmacokinetics of the traditional insulin preparations, however, do not match the profiles of physiological insulin secretion. The introduction of the rDNA technology 20 years ago opened new ways to create insulin analogs with altered properties. Fast-acting analogs are based on the idea that an insulin with less tendency to self-association than human insulin would be more readily absorbed into the systemic circulation. Protracted-acting analogs have been created to mimic the slow, steady rate of insulin secretion in the fasting state. The present paper provides a historical review of the efforts to change the physicochemical and pharmacological properties of insulin in order to improve insulin therapy. The available clinical studies of the new insulins are surveyed and show, together with modeling results, that new strategies for optimal basal-bolus treatment are required for utilization of the new fast-acting analogs.

Neuromodulation and Synaptic Plasticity for the Control of Fast Periodic Movement: Energy Efficiency in Coupled Compliant Joints via PCA.

PubMed

Stratmann, Philipp; Lakatos, Dominic; Albu-Schäffer, Alin

2016-01-01

There are multiple indications that the nervous system of animals tunes muscle output to exploit natural dynamics of the elastic locomotor system and the environment. This is an advantageous strategy especially in fast periodic movements, since the elastic elements store energy and increase energy efficiency and movement speed. Experimental evidence suggests that coordination among joints involves proprioceptive input and neuromodulatory influence originating in the brain stem. However, the neural strategies underlying the coordination of fast periodic movements remain poorly understood. Based on robotics control theory, we suggest that the nervous system implements a mechanism to accomplish coordination between joints by a linear coordinate transformation from the multi-dimensional space representing proprioceptive input at the joint level into a one-dimensional controller space. In this one-dimensional subspace, the movements of a whole limb can be driven by a single oscillating unit as simple as a reflex interneuron. The output of the oscillating unit is transformed back to joint space via the same transformation. The transformation weights correspond to the dominant principal component of the movement. In this study, we propose a biologically plausible neural network to exemplify that the central nervous system (CNS) may encode our controller design. Using theoretical considerations and computer simulations, we demonstrate that spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) for the input mapping and serotonergic neuromodulation for the output mapping can extract the dominant principal component of sensory signals. Our simulations show that our network can reliably control mechanical systems of different complexity and increase the energy efficiency of ongoing cyclic movements. The proposed network is simple and consistent with previous biologic experiments. Thus, our controller could serve as a candidate to describe the neural control of fast, energy-efficient, periodic movements involving multiple coupled joints.

Neuromodulation and Synaptic Plasticity for the Control of Fast Periodic Movement: Energy Efficiency in Coupled Compliant Joints via PCA

PubMed Central

Stratmann, Philipp; Lakatos, Dominic; Albu-Schäffer, Alin

2016-01-01

There are multiple indications that the nervous system of animals tunes muscle output to exploit natural dynamics of the elastic locomotor system and the environment. This is an advantageous strategy especially in fast periodic movements, since the elastic elements store energy and increase energy efficiency and movement speed. Experimental evidence suggests that coordination among joints involves proprioceptive input and neuromodulatory influence originating in the brain stem. However, the neural strategies underlying the coordination of fast periodic movements remain poorly understood. Based on robotics control theory, we suggest that the nervous system implements a mechanism to accomplish coordination between joints by a linear coordinate transformation from the multi-dimensional space representing proprioceptive input at the joint level into a one-dimensional controller space. In this one-dimensional subspace, the movements of a whole limb can be driven by a single oscillating unit as simple as a reflex interneuron. The output of the oscillating unit is transformed back to joint space via the same transformation. The transformation weights correspond to the dominant principal component of the movement. In this study, we propose a biologically plausible neural network to exemplify that the central nervous system (CNS) may encode our controller design. Using theoretical considerations and computer simulations, we demonstrate that spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) for the input mapping and serotonergic neuromodulation for the output mapping can extract the dominant principal component of sensory signals. Our simulations show that our network can reliably control mechanical systems of different complexity and increase the energy efficiency of ongoing cyclic movements. The proposed network is simple and consistent with previous biologic experiments. Thus, our controller could serve as a candidate to describe the neural control of fast, energy-efficient, periodic movements involving multiple coupled joints. PMID:27014051

Fast and Accurate Construction of Ultra-Dense Consensus Genetic Maps Using Evolution Strategy Optimization

PubMed Central

Mester, David; Ronin, Yefim; Schnable, Patrick; Aluru, Srinivas; Korol, Abraham

2015-01-01

Our aim was to develop a fast and accurate algorithm for constructing consensus genetic maps for chip-based SNP genotyping data with a high proportion of shared markers between mapping populations. Chip-based genotyping of SNP markers allows producing high-density genetic maps with a relatively standardized set of marker loci for different mapping populations. The availability of a standard high-throughput mapping platform simplifies consensus analysis by ignoring unique markers at the stage of consensus mapping thereby reducing mathematical complicity of the problem and in turn analyzing bigger size mapping data using global optimization criteria instead of local ones. Our three-phase analytical scheme includes automatic selection of ~100-300 of the most informative (resolvable by recombination) markers per linkage group, building a stable skeletal marker order for each data set and its verification using jackknife re-sampling, and consensus mapping analysis based on global optimization criterion. A novel Evolution Strategy optimization algorithm with a global optimization criterion presented in this paper is able to generate high quality, ultra-dense consensus maps, with many thousands of markers per genome. This algorithm utilizes "potentially good orders" in the initial solution and in the new mutation procedures that generate trial solutions, enabling to obtain a consensus order in reasonable time. The developed algorithm, tested on a wide range of simulated data and real world data (Arabidopsis), outperformed two tested state-of-the-art algorithms by mapping accuracy and computation time. PMID:25867943

A Fast Synthetic Aperture Radar Raw Data Simulation Using Cloud Computing

PubMed Central

Li, Zhixin; Su, Dandan; Zhu, Haijiang; Li, Wei; Zhang, Fan; Li, Ruirui

2017-01-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) raw data simulation is a fundamental problem in radar system design and imaging algorithm research. The growth of surveying swath and resolution results in a significant increase in data volume and simulation period, which can be considered to be a comprehensive data intensive and computing intensive issue. Although several high performance computing (HPC) methods have demonstrated their potential for accelerating simulation, the input/output (I/O) bottleneck of huge raw data has not been eased. In this paper, we propose a cloud computing based SAR raw data simulation algorithm, which employs the MapReduce model to accelerate the raw data computing and the Hadoop distributed file system (HDFS) for fast I/O access. The MapReduce model is designed for the irregular parallel accumulation of raw data simulation, which greatly reduces the parallel efficiency of graphics processing unit (GPU) based simulation methods. In addition, three kinds of optimization strategies are put forward from the aspects of programming model, HDFS configuration and scheduling. The experimental results show that the cloud computing based algorithm achieves 4× speedup over the baseline serial approach in an 8-node cloud environment, and each optimization strategy can improve about 20%. This work proves that the proposed cloud algorithm is capable of solving the computing intensive and data intensive issues in SAR raw data simulation, and is easily extended to large scale computing to achieve higher acceleration. PMID:28075343

Early-Life Stressors, Personality Development, and Fast Life Strategies: An Evolutionary Perspective on Malevolent Personality Features.

PubMed

Csathó, Árpád; Birkás, Béla

2018-01-01

Life history theory posits that behavioral adaptation to various environmental (ecological and/or social) conditions encountered during childhood is regulated by a wide variety of different traits resulting in various behavioral strategies. Unpredictable and harsh conditions tend to produce fast life history strategies, characterized by early maturation, a higher number of sexual partners to whom one is less attached, and less parenting of offspring. Unpredictability and harshness not only affects dispositional social and emotional functioning, but may also promote the development of personality traits linked to higher rates of instability in social relationships or more self-interested behavior. Similarly, detrimental childhood experiences, such as poor parental care or high parent-child conflict, affect personality development and may create a more distrustful, malicious interpersonal style. The aim of this brief review is to survey and summarize findings on the impact of negative early-life experiences on the development of personality and fast life history strategies. By demonstrating that there are parallels in adaptations to adversity in these two domains, we hope to lend weight to current and future attempts to provide a comprehensive insight of personality traits and functions at the ultimate and proximate levels.

Adoption and diffusion of zoning bylaws banning fast food drive-through services across Canadian municipalities.

PubMed

Nykiforuk, Candace I J; Campbell, Elizabeth J; Macridis, Soultana; McKennitt, Daniel; Atkey, Kayla; Raine, Kim D

2018-01-15

Healthy public policy is an important tool for creating environments that support human health and wellbeing. At the local level, municipal policies, such as zoning bylaws, provide an opportunity for governments to regulate building location and the type of services offered. Across North America, there has been a recent proliferation of municipal bylaws banning fast food drive-through services. Research on the utilization of this policy strategy, including bylaw adopters and adopter characteristics, is limited within the Canadian context. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize Canadian municipalities based on level of policy innovation and nature of their adopted bylaw banning fast food drive-through services. A multiple case history methodology was utilized to identify and analyse eligible municipal bylaws, and included development of a chronological timeline and map of adopter municipalities within Canada. Grey literature and policy databases were searched for potential adopters of municipal fast food drive-through service bylaws. Adopters were confirmed through evidence of current municipal bylaws. Geographic diffusion and diffusion of innovations theories provided a contextual framework for analysis of bylaw documents. Analysis included assignment of adopter-types, extent and purpose of bans, and policy learning activities of each adopter municipality. From 2002 to 2016, 27 municipalities were identified as adopters: six innovators and twenty-one early adopters. Mapping revealed parallel geographic diffusion patterns in western and eastern Canada. Twenty-two municipalities adopted a partial ban and five adopted a full ban. Rationales for the drive-through bans included health promotion, environmental concerns from idling, community character and aesthetics, traffic concerns, and walkability. Policy learning, including research and consultation with other municipalities, was performed by nine early adopters. This study detailed the adoption of fast food drive-through bylaws across Canada. Understanding the adopter-type characteristics of municipalities and the nature of their bylaws can assist other jurisdictions in similar policy efforts. While the implications for research and practice are evolving and dynamic, fast food drive-through service bans may play a role in promoting healthier food environments. Further research is required to determine the viability of this strategy for health promotion and chronic disease prevention.

A pragmatic cluster randomised trial evaluating three implementation interventions

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Implementation research is concerned with bridging the gap between evidence and practice through the study of methods to promote the uptake of research into routine practice. Good quality evidence has been summarised into guideline recommendations to show that peri-operative fasting times could be considerably shorter than patients currently experience. The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of three strategies for the implementation of recommendations about peri-operative fasting. Methods A pragmatic cluster randomised trial underpinned by the PARIHS framework was conducted during 2006 to 2009 with a national sample of UK hospitals using time series with mixed methods process evaluation and cost analysis. Hospitals were randomised to one of three interventions: standard dissemination (SD) of a guideline package, SD plus a web-based resource championed by an opinion leader, and SD plus plan-do-study-act (PDSA). The primary outcome was duration of fluid fast prior to induction of anaesthesia. Secondary outcomes included duration of food fast, patients’ experiences, and stakeholders’ experiences of implementation, including influences. ANOVA was used to test differences over time and interventions. Results Nineteen acute NHS hospitals participated. Across timepoints, 3,505 duration of fasting observations were recorded. No significant effect of the interventions was observed for either fluid or food fasting times. The effect size was 0.33 for the web-based intervention compared to SD alone for the change in fluid fasting and was 0.12 for PDSA compared to SD alone. The process evaluation showed different types of impact, including changes to practices, policies, and attitudes. A rich picture of the implementation challenges emerged, including inter-professional tensions and a lack of clarity for decision-making authority and responsibility. Conclusions This was a large, complex study and one of the first national randomised controlled trials conducted within acute care in implementation research. The evidence base for fasting practice was accepted by those participating in this study and the messages from it simple; however, implementation and practical challenges influenced the interventions’ impact. A set of conditions for implementation emerges from the findings of this study, which are presented as theoretically transferable propositions that have international relevance. Trial registration ISRCTN18046709 - Peri-operative Implementation Study Evaluation (POISE). PMID:22935241

Fast-Cycle Curriculum Development Strategies for E-Business Programs: The Bentley College Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fedorowicz, Jane; Gogan, Janis L.

2001-01-01

Presents two types of fast-cycle curriculum development processes: research driven and stakeholder driven. Illustrates their application in the Bentley College business school's new course modules, elective courses, and graduate program on electronic commerce. (Contains 19 references.) (SK)

Visual and portable strategy for copper(II) detection based on a striplike poly(thymine)-caged and microwell-printed hydrogel.

PubMed

Qing, Zhihe; Mao, Zhengui; Qing, Taiping; He, Xiaoxiao; Zou, Zhen; He, Dinggeng; Shi, Hui; Huang, Jin; Liu, Jianbo; Wang, Kemin

2014-11-18

Due to its importance to develop strategies for copper(II) (Cu(2+)) detection, we here report a visual and portable strategy for Cu(2+) detection based on designing and using a strip-like hydrogel. The hydrogel is functionalized through caging poly(thymine) as probes, which can effectively template the formation of fluorescent copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) in the presence of the reductant (ascorbate) and Cu(2+). On the hydrogel's surface, uniform wells of microliter volume (microwells) are printed for sample-injection. When the injected sample is stained by Cu(2+), fluorescent CuNPs will be in situ templated by poly T in the hydrogel. With ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, the red fluorescence of CuNPs can be observed by naked-eye and recorded by a common camera without complicated instruments. Thus, the strategy integrates sample-injection, reaction and indication with fast signal response, providing an add-and-read manner for visual and portable detection of Cu(2+), as well as a strip-like strategy. Detection ability with a detectable minimum concentration of 20 μM and practically applicable properties have been demonstrated, such as resistance to environmental interference and good constancy, indicating that the strategy holds great potential and significance for popular detection of Cu(2+), especially in remote regions. We believe that the strip-like hydrogel-based methodology is also applicable to other targets by virtue of altering probes.

An Energy Integrated Dispatching Strategy of Multi- energy Based on Energy Internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Weixia; Han, Jun

2018-01-01

Energy internet is a new way of energy use. Energy internet achieves energy efficiency and low cost by scheduling a variety of different forms of energy. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is an advanced algorithm with few parameters, high computational precision and fast convergence speed. By improving the parameters ω, c1 and c2, PSO can improve the convergence speed and calculation accuracy. The objective of optimizing model is lowest cost of fuel, which can meet the load of electricity, heat and cold after all the renewable energy is received. Due to the different energy structure and price in different regions, the optimization strategy needs to be determined according to the algorithm and model.

Velocity-free attitude coordinated tracking control for spacecraft formation flying.

PubMed

Hu, Qinglei; Zhang, Jian; Zhang, Youmin

2018-02-01

This article investigates the velocity-free attitude coordinated tracking control scheme for a group of spacecraft with the assumption that the angular velocities of the formation members are not available in control feedback. Initially, an angular velocity observer is constructed based on each individual's attitude quarternion. Then, the distributed attitude coordinated control law is designed by using the observed states, in which adaptive control method is adopted to handle the external disturbances. Stability of the overall closed-loop system is analyzed theoretically, which shows the system trajectory converges to a small set around origin with fast convergence rate. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate fast convergence and improved tracking performance of the proposed control strategy. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Initial Impact of the Fast Track Prevention Trial for Conduct Problems: II. Classroom Effects

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

This study examined the effectiveness of the universal component of the Fast Track prevention model: the PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) curriculum and teacher consultation. This randomized clinical trial involved 198 intervention and 180 comparison classrooms from neighborhoods with greater than average crime in 4 U.S. locations. In the intervention schools, Grade 1 teachers delivered a 57-lesson social competence intervention focused on self-control, emotional awareness, peer relations, and problem solving. Findings indicated significant effects on peer ratings of aggression and hyperactive–disruptive behavior and observer ratings of classroom atmosphere. Quality of implementation predicted variation in assessments of classroom functioning. The results are discussed in terms of both the efficacy of universal, school-based prevention models and the need to examine comprehensive, multiyear programs. PMID:10535231

A fast button surface defects detection method based on convolutional neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lizhe; Cao, Danhua; Wu, Songlin; Wu, Yubin; Wei, Taoran

2018-01-01

Considering the complexity of the button surface texture and the variety of buttons and defects, we propose a fast visual method for button surface defect detection, based on convolutional neural network (CNN). CNN has the ability to extract the essential features by training, avoiding designing complex feature operators adapted to different kinds of buttons, textures and defects. Firstly, we obtain the normalized button region and then use HOG-SVM method to identify the front and back side of the button. Finally, a convolutional neural network is developed to recognize the defects. Aiming at detecting the subtle defects, we propose a network structure with multiple feature channels input. To deal with the defects of different scales, we take a strategy of multi-scale image block detection. The experimental results show that our method is valid for a variety of buttons and able to recognize all kinds of defects that have occurred, including dent, crack, stain, hole, wrong paint and uneven. The detection rate exceeds 96%, which is much better than traditional methods based on SVM and methods based on template match. Our method can reach the speed of 5 fps on DSP based smart camera with 600 MHz frequency.

Flight-management strategies for escape from microburst encounters. M.S. Thesis - George Washington Univ.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinton, David A.

1988-01-01

An effort is underway by NASA, FAA, and industry to reduce the threat of convective microburst wind shear phenomena to aircraft. The goal is to develop and test a candidate set of strategies for recovery from inadvertent microburst encounters during takeoff. Candidate strategies were developed and evaluated using a fast-time simulation consisting of a simple point-mass performance model of a transport-category airplane and an analytical microburst model. The results indicate that the recovery strategy characteristics that best utilize available airplane energy include an initial reduction in pitch attitude to reduce the climb rate, followed by an increase in pitch up to the stick shaker angle of attack. The stick shaker angle of attack should be reached just as the airplane is exiting the microburst. The shallowest angle of climb necessary for obstacle clearance should be used. If the altitude is higher than necessary, an intentional descent to reduce the airspeed deceleration should be used. Of the strategies tested, two flight-path-angle based strategies had the highest recovery altitudes and the least sensitivity to variations in the encounter scenarios.

Point target detection utilizing super-resolution strategy for infrared scanning oversampling system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Longguang; Lin, Zaiping; Deng, Xinpu; An, Wei

2017-11-01

To improve the resolution of remote sensing infrared images, infrared scanning oversampling system is employed with information amount quadrupled, which contributes to the target detection. Generally the image data from double-line detector of infrared scanning oversampling system is shuffled to a whole oversampled image to be post-processed, whereas the aliasing between neighboring pixels leads to image degradation with a great impact on target detection. This paper formulates a point target detection method utilizing super-resolution (SR) strategy concerning infrared scanning oversampling system, with an accelerated SR strategy proposed to realize fast de-aliasing of the oversampled image and an adaptive MRF-based regularization designed to achieve the preserving and aggregation of target energy. Extensive experiments demonstrate the superior detection performance, robustness and efficiency of the proposed method compared with other state-of-the-art approaches.

Fast-ball sports experts depend on an inhibitory strategy to reprogram their movement timing.

PubMed

Nakamoto, Hiroki; Ikudome, Sachi; Yotani, Kengo; Maruyama, Atsuo; Mori, Shiro

2013-07-01

The purpose of our study was to clarify whether an inhibitory strategy is used for reprogramming of movement timing by experts in fast-ball sports when they correct their movement timing due to unexpected environmental changes. We evaluated the influence of disruption of inhibitory function of the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) on reprogramming of movement timing of experts and non-experts in fast-ball sports. The task was to manually press a button to coincide with the arrival of a moving target. The target moved at a constant velocity, and its velocity was suddenly either increased or decreased in some trials. The task was performed either with or without transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which was delivered to the region of the rIFG. Under velocity change conditions without TMS, the experts showed significantly smaller timing errors and a higher rate of reprogramming of movement timing than the non-experts. Moreover, TMS application during the task significantly diminished the expert group's performance, but not the control group, particularly in the condition where the target velocity decreases. These results suggest that experts use an inhibitory strategy for reprogramming of movement timing. In addition, the rIFG inhibitory function contributes to the superior movement correction of experts in fast-ball sports.

AlN based piezoelectric micromirror.

PubMed

Shao, Jian; Li, Qi; Feng, Chuhuan; Li, Wei; Yu, Hongbin

2018-03-01

Aiming to pursue a micromirror possessing many desired characteristics, such as linear control, low power consumption, fast response, and easy fabrication, a new piezoelectric actuation strategy is presented. Different from conventional piezoelectric actuation cases, we first propose using AlN film as the active layer for actuating the micromirror. Owing to its good CMOS compatible deposition and patterning techniques, the AlN based piezoelectric micromirror has been successfully fabricated with a modified silicon-on-insulator-based microelectromechanical system (MEMS) process. At the same time, various mirror movement modes operating at high frequencies and excellent linear relationship between the movement and the control signal both have been experimentally demonstrated.

Catheter-based interventions for acute ischaemic stroke.

PubMed

Widimsky, Petr; Hopkins, L Nelson

2016-10-21

Catheter-based interventions for acute ischaemic stroke currently include clot removal (usually from the medial cerebral artery) with modern stent-retrievers and in one of five patients (who have simultaneous or stand-alone internal carotid occlusion) also extracranial carotid intervention. Several recently published randomized trials clearly demonstrated superiority of catheter-based interventions (with or without bridging thrombolysis) over best medical therapy alone. The healthcare systems should adopt the new strategies for acute stroke treatment (including fast track to interventional lab) to offer the benefits to all suitable acute stroke patients. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.

Experiences with Lean Six Sigma as improvement strategy to reduce parenteral medication administration errors and associated potential risk of harm.

PubMed

van de Plas, Afke; Slikkerveer, Mariëlle; Hoen, Saskia; Schrijnemakers, Rick; Driessen, Johanna; de Vries, Frank; van den Bemt, Patricia

2017-01-01

In this controlled before-after study the effect of improvements, derived from Lean Six Sigma strategy, on parenteral medication administration errors and the potential risk of harm was determined. During baseline measurement, on control versus intervention ward, at least one administration error occurred in 14 (74%) and 6 (46%) administrations with potential risk of harm in 6 (32%) and 1 (8%) administrations. Most administration errors with high potential risk of harm occurred in bolus injections: 8 (57%) versus 2 (67%) bolus injections were injected too fast with a potential risk of harm in 6 (43%) and 1 (33%) bolus injections on control and intervention ward. Implemented improvement strategies, based on major causes of too fast administration of bolus injections, were: Substitution of bolus injections by infusions, education, availability of administration information and drug round tabards. Post intervention, on the control ward in 76 (76%) administrations at least one error was made (RR 1.03; CI95:0.77-1.38), with a potential risk of harm in 14 (14%) administrations (RR 0.45; CI95:0.20-1.02). In 40 (68%) administrations on the intervention ward at least one error occurred (RR 1.47; CI95:0.80-2.71) but no administrations were associated with a potential risk of harm. A shift in wrong duration administration errors from bolus injections to infusions, with a reduction of potential risk of harm, seems to have occurred on the intervention ward. Although data are insufficient to prove an effect, Lean Six Sigma was experienced as a suitable strategy to select tailored improvements. Further studies are required to prove the effect of the strategy on parenteral medication administration errors.

Experiences with Lean Six Sigma as improvement strategy to reduce parenteral medication administration errors and associated potential risk of harm

PubMed Central

van de Plas, Afke; Slikkerveer, Mariëlle; Hoen, Saskia; Schrijnemakers, Rick; Driessen, Johanna; de Vries, Frank; van den Bemt, Patricia

2017-01-01

In this controlled before-after study the effect of improvements, derived from Lean Six Sigma strategy, on parenteral medication administration errors and the potential risk of harm was determined. During baseline measurement, on control versus intervention ward, at least one administration error occurred in 14 (74%) and 6 (46%) administrations with potential risk of harm in 6 (32%) and 1 (8%) administrations. Most administration errors with high potential risk of harm occurred in bolus injections: 8 (57%) versus 2 (67%) bolus injections were injected too fast with a potential risk of harm in 6 (43%) and 1 (33%) bolus injections on control and intervention ward. Implemented improvement strategies, based on major causes of too fast administration of bolus injections, were: Substitution of bolus injections by infusions, education, availability of administration information and drug round tabards. Post intervention, on the control ward in 76 (76%) administrations at least one error was made (RR 1.03; CI95:0.77-1.38), with a potential risk of harm in 14 (14%) administrations (RR 0.45; CI95:0.20-1.02). In 40 (68%) administrations on the intervention ward at least one error occurred (RR 1.47; CI95:0.80-2.71) but no administrations were associated with a potential risk of harm. A shift in wrong duration administration errors from bolus injections to infusions, with a reduction of potential risk of harm, seems to have occurred on the intervention ward. Although data are insufficient to prove an effect, Lean Six Sigma was experienced as a suitable strategy to select tailored improvements. Further studies are required to prove the effect of the strategy on parenteral medication administration errors. PMID:28674608

A novel directional asymmetric sampling search algorithm for fast block-matching motion estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yue-e.; Wang, Qiang

2011-11-01

This paper proposes a novel directional asymmetric sampling search (DASS) algorithm for video compression. Making full use of the error information (block distortions) of the search patterns, eight different direction search patterns are designed for various situations. The strategy of local sampling search is employed for the search of big-motion vector. In order to further speed up the search, early termination strategy is adopted in procedure of DASS. Compared to conventional fast algorithms, the proposed method has the most satisfactory PSNR values for all test sequences.

Electrochemical Genosensing of Circulating Biomarkers

PubMed Central

Campuzano, Susana; Yáñez-Sedeño, Paloma; Pingarrón, José Manuel

2017-01-01

Management and prognosis of diseases requires the measurement in non- or minimally invasively collected samples of specific circulating biomarkers, consisting of any measurable or observable factors in patients that indicate normal or disease-related biological processes or responses to therapy. Therefore, on-site, fast and accurate determination of these low abundance circulating biomarkers in scarcely treated body fluids is of great interest for health monitoring and biological applications. In this field, electrochemical DNA sensors (or genosensors) have demonstrated to be interesting alternatives to more complex conventional strategies. Currently, electrochemical genosensors are considered very promising analytical tools for this purpose due to their fast response, low cost, high sensitivity, compatibility with microfabrication technology and simple operation mode which makes them compatible with point-of-care (POC) testing. In this review, the relevance and current challenges of the determination of circulating biomarkers related to relevant diseases (cancer, bacterial and viral infections and neurodegenerative diseases) are briefly discussed. An overview of the electrochemical nucleic acid–based strategies developed in the last five years for this purpose is given to show to both familiar and non-expert readers the great potential of these methodologies for circulating biomarker determination. After highlighting the main features of the reported electrochemical genosensing strategies through the critical discussion of selected examples, a conclusions section points out the still existing challenges and future directions in this field. PMID:28420103

Fast and simultaneous determination of 12 polyphenols in apple peel and pulp by using chemometrics-assisted high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection.

PubMed

Wang, Tong; Wu, Hai-Long; Xie, Li-Xia; Zhu, Li; Liu, Zhi; Sun, Xiao-Dong; Xiao, Rong; Yu, Ru-Qin

2017-04-01

In this work, a smart chemometrics-enhanced strategy, high-performance liquid chromatography, and diode array detection coupled with second-order calibration method based on alternating trilinear decomposition algorithm was proposed to simultaneously quantify 12 polyphenols in different kinds of apple peel and pulp samples. The proposed strategy proved to be a powerful tool to solve the problems of coelution, unknown interferences, and chromatographic shifts in the process of high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, making it possible for the determination of 12 polyphenols in complex apple matrices within 10 min under simple conditions of elution. The average recoveries with standard deviations, and figures of merit including sensitivity, selectivity, limit of detection, and limit of quantitation were calculated to validate the accuracy of the proposed method. Compared to the quantitative analysis results from the classic high-performance liquid chromatography method, the statistical and graphical analysis showed that our proposed strategy obtained more reliable results. All results indicated that our proposed method used in the quantitative analysis of apple polyphenols was an accurate, fast, universal, simple, and green one, and it was expected to be developed as an attractive alternative method for simultaneous determination of multitargeted analytes in complex matrices. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Evaluation of partial k-space strategies to speed up time-domain EPR imaging.

PubMed

Subramanian, Sankaran; Chandramouli, Gadisetti V R; McMillan, Alan; Gullapalli, Rao P; Devasahayam, Nallathamby; Mitchell, James B; Matsumoto, Shingo; Krishna, Murali C

2013-09-01

Narrow-line spin probes derived from the trityl radical have led to the development of fast in vivo time-domain EPR imaging. Pure phase-encoding imaging modalities based on the single-point imaging scheme have demonstrated the feasibility of three-dimensional oximetric images with functional information in minutes. In this article, we explore techniques to improve the temporal resolution and circumvent the relatively short biological half-lives of trityl probes using partial k-space strategies. There are two main approaches: one involves the use of the Hermitian character of the k-space by which only part of the k-space is measured and the unmeasured part is generated using the Hermitian symmetry. This approach is limited in success by the accuracy of numerical estimate of the phase roll in the k-space that corrupts the Hermiticy. The other approach is to measure only a judicially chosen reduced region of k-space (a centrosymmetric ellipsoid region) that more or less accounts for >70% of the k-space energy. Both of these aspects were explored in Fourier transform-EPR imaging with a doubling of scan speed demonstrated by considering ellipsoid geometry of the k-space. Partial k-space strategies help improve the temporal resolution in studying fast dynamics of functional aspects in vivo with infused spin probes. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Improve Student Behavior. K-6 Fast Flip Facts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollas, Betty

This flip book presents strategies for managing elementary student behavior while building community in the classroom. The first strategy explains how to remain calm and professional when facing a particularly challenging student by breathing and relaxing and reframing and retaining. The second strategy involves disengaging "smart talk" by using…

Recycling antibiotics into GUMBOS: A new combination strategy to combat multi-drug resistant bacteria

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria, coupled with the lack of new antibiotics in development, is fast evolving into a global crisis. New strategies utilizing existing antibacterial agents are urgently needed. We propose one such strategy in which four outmoded ß-lactam antibiotics (amp...

Optically Based Rapid Screening Method for Proven Optimal Treatment Strategies Before Treatment Begins

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

lifetime ( t2 ) corresponds to protein- bound NADH (23). Conversely, protein-bound FAD corre- sponds to the short lifetime, whereas free FAD corresponds...single photon counting (TCSPC) electronics (SPC-150, Becker and Hickl). TCSPC uses a fast detector PMT to measure the time between a laser pulse and... Becker and Hickl). A binning of nine surrounding pixels was used. Then, the fluorescence lifetime components were computed for each pixel by deconvolving

Will Climate Change the Future of Homeland Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

coming decades.”6 The global consequences of this finding “could produce drastic effects , such as the collapse of ice sheets, a rapid rise in sea...events that “occur over time and slowly deteriorate a society’s and a population’s capacity to withstand the effects of the hazard or threat.”9 The...legislation, strategies, policies, and practice in disaster consequence management becomes evident. This cause and effect model is primarily based on fast

Improving the position control of a two degrees of freedom robotic sensing antenna using fractional-order controllers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feliu-Talegon, D.; Feliu-Batlle, V.

2017-06-01

Flexible links combined with force and torque sensors can be used to detect obstacles in mobile robotics, as well as for surface and object recognition. These devices, called sensing antennae, perform an active sensing strategy in which a servomotor system moves the link back and forth until it hits an object. At this instant, information of the motor angles combined with force and torque measurements allow calculating the positions of the hitting points, which are valuable information about the object surface. In order to move the antenna fast and accurately, this article proposes a new closed-loop control for driving this flexible link-based sensor. The control strategy is based on combining a feedforward term and a feedback phase-lag compensator of fractional order. We demonstrate that some drawbacks of the control of these sensing devices like the apparition of spillover effects when a very fast positioning of the antenna tip is desired, and actuator saturation caused by high-frequency sensor noise, can be significantly reduced by using our newly proposed fractional-order controllers. We have applied these controllers to the position control of a prototype of sensing antenna and experiments have shown the improvements attained with this technique in the accurate and vibration free motion of its tip (the fractional-order controller reduced ten times the residual vibration obtained with the integer-order controller).

Implementing a Cancer Fast-track Programme between primary and specialised care in Catalonia (Spain): a mixed methods study

PubMed Central

Prades, J; Espinàs, J A; Font, R; Argimon, J M; Borràs, J M

2011-01-01

Background: The Cancer Fast-track Programme's aim was to reduce the time that elapsed between well-founded suspicion of breast, colorectal and lung cancer and the start of initial treatment in Catalonia (Spain). We sought to analyse its implementation and overall effectiveness. Methods: A quantitative analysis of the programme was performed using data generated by the hospitals on the basis of seven fast-track monitoring indicators for the period 2006–2009. In addition, we conducted a qualitative study, based on 83 semistructured interviews with primary and specialised health professionals and health administrators, to obtain their perception of the programme's implementation. Results: About half of all new patients with breast, lung or colorectal cancer were diagnosed via the fast track, though the cancer detection rate declined across the period. Mean time from detection of suspected cancer in primary care to start of initial treatment was 32 days for breast, 30 for colorectal and 37 for lung cancer (2009). Professionals associated with the implementation of the programme showed that general practitioners faced with suspicion of cancer had changed their conduct with the aim of preventing lags. Furthermore, hospitals were found to have pursued three specific implementation strategies (top-down, consensus-based and participatory), which made for the cohesion and sustainability of the circuits. Conclusion: The programme has contributed to speeding up diagnostic assessment and treatment of patients with suspicion of cancer, and to clarifying the patient pathway between primary and specialised care. PMID:21829194

a Framework for Voxel-Based Global Scale Modeling of Urban Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gehrung, Joachim; Hebel, Marcus; Arens, Michael; Stilla, Uwe

2016-10-01

The generation of 3D city models is a very active field of research. Modeling environments as point clouds may be fast, but has disadvantages. These are easily solvable by using volumetric representations, especially when considering selective data acquisition, change detection and fast changing environments. Therefore, this paper proposes a framework for the volumetric modeling and visualization of large scale urban environments. Beside an architecture and the right mix of algorithms for the task, two compression strategies for volumetric models as well as a data quality based approach for the import of range measurements are proposed. The capabilities of the framework are shown on a mobile laser scanning dataset of the Technical University of Munich. Furthermore the loss of the compression techniques is evaluated and their memory consumption is compared to that of raw point clouds. The presented results show that generation, storage and real-time rendering of even large urban models are feasible, even with off-the-shelf hardware.

Challenges in knowledge translation: the early years of Cancer Care Ontario's Program in Evidence-Based Care.

PubMed

Browman, G P

2012-02-01

Cancer Care Ontario's Program in Evidence-Based Care (pebc) was formalized in 1997 to produce clinical practice guidelines for cancer management for the Province of Ontario. At the time, the gap between guideline development and implementation was beginning to be acknowledged. The Program implemented strategies to promote use of guidelines. The program had to overcome numerous social challenges to survive. Prospective strategies useful to practitioners-including participation, transparent communication, a methodological vision, and methodology skills development offerings-were used to create a culture of research-informed oncology practice within a broad community of practitioners.Reactive strategies ensured the survival of the program in the early years, when some within the influential academic community and among decision-makers were skeptical about the feasibility of a rigorous methodologic approach meeting the fast turnaround times necessary for policy. The paper details the pebc strategies within the context of what was known about knowledge translation (kt) at the time, and it tries to identify key success factors. Many of the barriers faced in the implementation of kt-and the strategies for overcoming them-are unavailable in the public domain because the relevant reporting does not fit the traditional paradigm for publication. Telling the "stories behind the story" should be encouraged to enhance the practice of kt beyond the science.

Biopolymer-based strategies in the design of smart medical devices and artificial organs.

PubMed

Altomare, Lina; Bonetti, Lorenzo; Campiglio, Chiara E; De Nardo, Luigi; Draghi, Lorenza; Tana, Francesca; Farè, Silvia

2018-06-01

Advances in regenerative medicine and in modern biomedical therapies are fast evolving and set goals causing an upheaval in the field of materials science. This review discusses recent developments involving the use of biopolymers as smart materials, in terms of material properties and stimulus-responsive behavior, in the presence of environmental physico-chemical changes. An overview on the transformations that can be triggered in natural-based polymeric systems (sol-gel transition, polymer relaxation, cross-linking, and swelling) is presented, with specific focus on the benefits these materials can provide in biomedical applications.

Total variation approach for adaptive nonuniformity correction in focal-plane arrays.

PubMed

Vera, Esteban; Meza, Pablo; Torres, Sergio

2011-01-15

In this Letter we propose an adaptive scene-based nonuniformity correction method for fixed-pattern noise removal in imaging arrays. It is based on the minimization of the total variation of the estimated irradiance, and the resulting function is optimized by an isotropic total variation approach making use of an alternating minimization strategy. The proposed method provides enhanced results when applied to a diverse set of real IR imagery, accurately estimating the nonunifomity parameters of each detector in the focal-plane array at a fast convergence rate, while also forming fewer ghosting artifacts.

Robust image matching via ORB feature and VFC for mismatch removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Tao; Fu, Wenxing; Fang, Bin; Hu, Fangyu; Quan, Siwen; Ma, Jie

2018-03-01

Image matching is at the base of many image processing and computer vision problems, such as object recognition or structure from motion. Current methods rely on good feature descriptors and mismatch removal strategies for detection and matching. In this paper, we proposed a robust image match approach based on ORB feature and VFC for mismatch removal. ORB (Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF) is an outstanding feature, it has the same performance as SIFT with lower cost. VFC (Vector Field Consensus) is a state-of-the-art mismatch removing method. The experiment results demonstrate that our method is efficient and robust.

Reprising Ramadan-Related Angina Pectoris: A Potential Strategy for Risk Reduction.

PubMed

Siegel, Arthur J; Bhatti, Nasir A; Wasfy, Jason H

2016-11-10

BACKGROUND A preponderance of evidence supports short-term aspirin usage to reduce transiently increased cardiovascular risk in clinical conditions that promote acute myocardial ischemia. CASE REPORT We report on the case of a 69-year-old male of Muslim Indian heritage with multiple cardiovascular risk factors who experienced the onset of angina pectoris while fasting for Ramadan for more than 16 hours daily for 30 days in July 2015. While symptom free for 2 months on medical management after ending his fast, he underwent quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery for severe 4-vessel disease following an acute anterior myocardial infarction. A percutaneous coronary intervention with stent placement was subsequently required for persistent myocardial ischemia on stress-MIBI testing due to occlusion of the graft to left anterior descending artery. Presently asymptomatic, he decided to forgo fasting for Ramadan in June 2016. CONCLUSIONS Based on this case, measures for primary cardiovascular prevention among the 1.2 billion susceptible males at similar high short-term cardiac risk while fasting for Ramadan are proposed. The value of aspirin for attenuating high short-term cardiovascular risk in clinical conditions conferring transient inflammatory stress is considered. Low-dose aspirin usage at evening meals while fasting for Ramadan is prudent for primary cardiovascular protection of males who may have non-obstructive coronary atherosclerosis to mitigate the risk for rupture of potentially vulnerable plaques. Based in part on conclusive evidence for protection of middle-aged males from first myocardial infarction in a randomized prospective primary prevention trial, this measure is concordant with recommendations from sub-specialty societies for primary cardiovascular prevention for persons at above-average risk demonstrated by validated biomarkers and from the United States Preventive Services Task Force.

Accelerated Leadership Development: Fast Tracking School Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earley, Peter; Jones, Jeff

2010-01-01

"Accelerated Leadership Development" captures and communicates the lessons learned from successful fast-track leadership programmes in the private and public sector, and provides a model which schools can follow and customize as they plan their own leadership development strategies. As large numbers of headteachers and other senior staff…

Short-term feed deprivation alters immune status of surface mucosa in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Short-term feed deprivation (or fasting) is a common occurrence in aquacultured fish species whether due to season, production strategies, or disease. In channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fasting impacts susceptibility to several bacterial pathogens including Flavobacterium columnare, the causat...

Fasting for weight loss: an effective strategy or latest dieting trend?

PubMed

Johnstone, A

2015-05-01

With the increasing obesity epidemic comes the search for effective dietary approaches for calorie restriction and weight loss. Here I examine whether fasting is the latest 'fad diet' as portrayed in popular media and discuss whether it is a safe and effective approach or whether it is an idiosyncratic diet trend that promotes short-term weight loss, with no concern for long-term weight maintenance. Fasting has long been used under historical and experimental conditions and has recently been popularised by 'intermittent fasting' or 'modified fasting' regimes, in which a very low-calorie allowance is allowed, on alternate days (ADF) or 2 days a week (5:2 diet), where 'normal' eating is resumed on non-diet days. It is a simple concept, which makes it easy to follow with no difficult calorie counting every other day. This approach does seem to promote weight loss, but is linked to hunger, which can be a limiting factor for maintaining food restriction. The potential health benefits of fasting can be related to both the acute food restriction and chronic influence of weight loss; the long-term effect of chronic food restriction in humans is not yet clear, but may be a potentially interesting future dietary strategy for longevity, particularly given the overweight epidemic. One approach does not fit all in the quest to achieve body weight control, but this could be a dietary strategy for consideration. With the obesity epidemic comes the search for dietary strategies to (i) prevent weight gain, (ii) promote weight loss and (iii) prevent weight regain. With over half of the population of the United Kingdom and other developed countries being collectively overweight or obese, there is considerable pressure to achieve these goals, from both a public health and a clinical perspective. Certainly not one dietary approach will solve these complex problems. Although there is some long-term success with gastric surgical options for morbid obesity, there is still a requirement for dietary approaches for weight management for the overweight and obese population, particularly as invasive interventions carry post-operative risk of death due to complications. Effective dietary interventions are required that promote long-term adherence and sustained beneficial effects on metabolic and disease markers. In general, such interventions need to be palatable and satiating, meet minimal nutritional requirements, promote loss of fat and preserve lean body mass, ensure long-term safety, be simple to administer and monitor and have widespread public health utility. Intermittent fasting or alternate day fasting may be an option for achieving weight loss and maintenance.

Life history strategy and young adult substance use.

PubMed

Richardson, George B; Chen, Ching-Chen; Dai, Chia-Liang; Swoboda, Christopher M

2014-11-03

This study tested whether life history strategy (LHS) and its intergenerational transmission could explain young adult use of common psychoactive substances. We tested a sequential structural equation model using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. During young adulthood, fast LHS explained 61% of the variance in overall liability for substance use. Faster parent LHS predicted poorer health and lesser alcohol use, greater neuroticism and cigarette smoking, but did not predict fast LHS or overall liability for substance use among young adults. Young adult neuroticism was independent of substance use controlling for fast LHS. The surprising finding of independence between parent and child LHS casts some uncertainty upon the identity of the parent and child LHS variables. Fast LHS may be the primary driver of young adult use of common psychoactive substances. However, it is possible that the young adult fast LHS variable is better defined as young adult mating competition. We discuss our findings in depth, chart out some intriguing new directions for life history research that may clarify the dimensionality of LHS and its mediation of the intergenerational transmission of substance use, and discuss implications for substance abuse prevention and treatment.

DAGAN: Deep De-Aliasing Generative Adversarial Networks for Fast Compressed Sensing MRI Reconstruction.

PubMed

Yang, Guang; Yu, Simiao; Dong, Hao; Slabaugh, Greg; Dragotti, Pier Luigi; Ye, Xujiong; Liu, Fangde; Arridge, Simon; Keegan, Jennifer; Guo, Yike; Firmin, David; Keegan, Jennifer; Slabaugh, Greg; Arridge, Simon; Ye, Xujiong; Guo, Yike; Yu, Simiao; Liu, Fangde; Firmin, David; Dragotti, Pier Luigi; Yang, Guang; Dong, Hao

2018-06-01

Compressed sensing magnetic resonance imaging (CS-MRI) enables fast acquisition, which is highly desirable for numerous clinical applications. This can not only reduce the scanning cost and ease patient burden, but also potentially reduce motion artefacts and the effect of contrast washout, thus yielding better image quality. Different from parallel imaging-based fast MRI, which utilizes multiple coils to simultaneously receive MR signals, CS-MRI breaks the Nyquist-Shannon sampling barrier to reconstruct MRI images with much less required raw data. This paper provides a deep learning-based strategy for reconstruction of CS-MRI, and bridges a substantial gap between conventional non-learning methods working only on data from a single image, and prior knowledge from large training data sets. In particular, a novel conditional Generative Adversarial Networks-based model (DAGAN)-based model is proposed to reconstruct CS-MRI. In our DAGAN architecture, we have designed a refinement learning method to stabilize our U-Net based generator, which provides an end-to-end network to reduce aliasing artefacts. To better preserve texture and edges in the reconstruction, we have coupled the adversarial loss with an innovative content loss. In addition, we incorporate frequency-domain information to enforce similarity in both the image and frequency domains. We have performed comprehensive comparison studies with both conventional CS-MRI reconstruction methods and newly investigated deep learning approaches. Compared with these methods, our DAGAN method provides superior reconstruction with preserved perceptual image details. Furthermore, each image is reconstructed in about 5 ms, which is suitable for real-time processing.

Fasting and Fast Food Diet Play an Opposite Role in Mice Brain Aging.

PubMed

Castrogiovanni, Paola; Li Volti, Giovanni; Sanfilippo, Cristina; Tibullo, Daniele; Galvano, Fabio; Vecchio, Michele; Avola, Roberto; Barbagallo, Ignazio; Malaguarnera, Lucia; Castorina, Sergio; Musumeci, Giuseppe; Imbesi, Rosa; Di Rosa, Michelino

2018-01-20

Fasting may be exploited as a possible strategy for prevention and treatment of several diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and aging. On the other hand, high-fat diet (HFD) represents a risk factor for several diseases and increased mortality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of fasting on mouse brain aging transcriptome and how HFD regulates such pathways. We used the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, in order to identify suitable microarray datasets comparing mouse brain transcriptome under fasting or HFD vs aged mouse brain transcriptome. Three microarray datasets were selected for this study, GSE24504, GSE6285, and GSE8150, and the principal molecular mechanisms involved in this process were evaluated. This analysis showed that, regardless of fasting duration, mouse brain significantly expressed 21 and 30 upregulated and downregulated genes, respectively. The involved biological processes were related to cell cycle arrest, cell death inhibition, and regulation of cellular metabolism. Comparing mouse brain transcriptome under fasting and aged conditions, we found out that the number of genes in common increased with the duration of fasting (222 genes), peaking at 72 h. In addition, mouse brain transcriptome under HFD resembles for the 30% the one of the aged mice. Furthermore, several molecular processes were found to be shared between HFD and aging. In conclusion, we suggest that fasting and HFD play an opposite role in brain transcriptome of aged mice. Therefore, an intermittent diet could represent a possible clinical strategy to counteract aging, loss of memory, and neuroinflammation. Furthermore, low-fat diet leads to the inactivation of brain degenerative processes triggered by aging.

Early Pregnancy Biochemical Predictors of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

PubMed

Powe, Camille E

2017-02-01

Universal oral glucose tolerance-based screening is employed to identify pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), as treatment of this condition decreases the risk of associated complications. A simple and accurate blood test which identifies women at low or high risk for GDM in the first trimester would have the potential to decrease costs and improve outcomes through prevention or treatment. This review summarizes published data on early pregnancy biomarkers which have been tested as predictors of GDM. A large number of first-trimester biochemical predictors of GDM have been reported, mostly in small case-control studies. These include glycemic markers (fasting glucose, post-load glucose, hemoglobin A1C), inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha), insulin resistance markers (fasting insulin, sex hormone-binding globulin), adipocyte-derived markers (adiponectin, leptin), placenta-derived markers (follistatin-like-3, placental growth factor, placental exosomes), and others (e.g., glycosylated fibronectin, soluble (pro)renin receptor, alanine aminotransferase, ferritin). A few large studies suggest that first-trimester fasting glucose or hemoglobin A1C may be useful for identifying women who would benefit from early GDM treatment. To translate the findings from observational studies of first-trimester biomarkers for GDM to clinical practice, trials or cost-effectiveness analyses of screening and treatment strategies based on these novel biomarkers are needed.

Cleaner production: Minimizing hazardous waste in Indonesia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bratasida, D.L.

In the second long-term development plan, industry plays a significant role in economic growth. In Indonesia, industries grow very fast; such fast growth can adversely effect the environment. Exploitation of assets can mean depletion of natural resources and energy, which, if incorrectly managed, can endanger human life and the environment. The inefficient use of natural resources will accelerate their exhaustion and generate pollution, resulting in environmental damage and threats to economic development and human well being. In recent years, changes in the approach used to control pollution have been necessary because of the increasing seriousness of the problems. Initial environmentalmore » management strategies were based on a carrying capacity approach; the natural assimilative capacity accommodated the pollution load that was applied. The environmental management strategies adopted later included technologies applied to the end of the discharge point (so-called {open_quotes}end-of-pipe{close_quotes} treatments). Until now, environmental management strategies focused on end-of-pipe approaches that control pollutants after they are generated. These approaches concentrate on waste treatment and disposal to control pollution and environmental degradation. However, as industry develops, waste volumes continue to increase, thereby creating further environmental problems. In addition, the wastes produced tend to have more complex characteristics and are potentially more difficult to treat for a reasonable cost. There are often technical and financial obstacles to regulatory compliance if waste treatment is relied on as the only means of achieving environmental objectives. Consequently, the reactive end-of-pipe treatment approach has been changed to a proactive cleaner production approach. This approach is based on the concept of sustainable development and is designed to prevent pollution as well as to protect natural resources and the quality of the environment.« less

Mass spectrometry for the biophysical characterization of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.

PubMed

Zhang, Hao; Cui, Weidong; Gross, Michael L

2014-01-21

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are powerful therapeutics, and their characterization has drawn considerable attention and urgency. Unlike small-molecule drugs (150-600 Da) that have rigid structures, mAbs (∼150 kDa) are engineered proteins that undergo complicated folding and can exist in a number of low-energy structures, posing a challenge for traditional methods in structural biology. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based biophysical characterization approaches can provide structural information, bringing high sensitivity, fast turnaround, and small sample consumption. This review outlines various MS-based strategies for protein biophysical characterization and then reviews how these strategies provide structural information of mAbs at the protein level (intact or top-down approaches), peptide, and residue level (bottom-up approaches), affording information on higher order structure, aggregation, and the nature of antibody complexes. Copyright © 2013 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

FRODOCK 2.0: fast protein-protein docking server.

PubMed

Ramírez-Aportela, Erney; López-Blanco, José Ramón; Chacón, Pablo

2016-08-01

The prediction of protein-protein complexes from the structures of unbound components is a challenging and powerful strategy to decipher the mechanism of many essential biological processes. We present a user-friendly protein-protein docking server based on an improved version of FRODOCK that includes a complementary knowledge-based potential. The web interface provides a very effective tool to explore and select protein-protein models and interactively screen them against experimental distance constraints. The competitive success rates and efficiency achieved allow the retrieval of reliable potential protein-protein binding conformations that can be further refined with more computationally demanding strategies. The server is free and open to all users with no login requirement at http://frodock.chaconlab.org pablo@chaconlab.org Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Analytical strategies based on quantum dots for heavy metal ions detection.

PubMed

Vázquez-González, Margarita; Carrillo-Carrion, Carolina

2014-01-01

Heavy metal contamination is one of the major concerns to human health because these substances are toxic and retained by the ecological system. Therefore, in recent years, there has been a pressing need for fast and reliable methods for the analysis of heavy metal ions in environmental and biological samples. Quantum dots (QDs) have facilitated the development of sensitive sensors over the past decade, due to their unique photophysical properties, versatile surface chemistry and ligand binding ability, and the possibility of the encapsulation in different materials or attachment to different functional materials, while retaining their native luminescence property. This paper comments on different sensing strategies with QD for the most toxic heavy metal ions (i.e., cadmium, Cd2+; mercury, Hg2+; and lead, Pb2+). Finally, the challenges and outlook for the QD-based sensors for heavy metals ions are discussed.

Fast imputation using medium- or low-coverage sequence data

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Direct imputation from raw sequence reads can be more accurate than calling genotypes first and then imputing, especially if read depth is low or error rates high, but different imputation strategies are required than those used for data from genotyping chips. A fast algorithm to impute from lower t...

Incident Management, Fast-Trac, Phase Iib Deliverables, #20. The Model Analysis Report On The Benefits Of Scats In Alleviating The Impacts Of Incidents

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-01-01

FAST-TRAC : SELECTING THE MOST APPROPRIATE TRAFFIC CONTROL STRATEGY FOR INCIDENT CONGESTION MANAGEMENT CAN HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE EXTENT AND DURATION OF THE RESULTING CONGESTION. THIS RESEARCH INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTIVENESSES OF SEVERAL CONTRO...

A vision-based system for fast and accurate laser scanning in robot-assisted phonomicrosurgery.

PubMed

Dagnino, Giulio; Mattos, Leonardo S; Caldwell, Darwin G

2015-02-01

Surgical quality in phonomicrosurgery can be improved by open-loop laser control (e.g., high-speed scanning capabilities) with a robust and accurate closed-loop visual servoing systems. A new vision-based system for laser scanning control during robot-assisted phonomicrosurgery was developed and tested. Laser scanning was accomplished with a dual control strategy, which adds a vision-based trajectory correction phase to a fast open-loop laser controller. The system is designed to eliminate open-loop aiming errors caused by system calibration limitations and by the unpredictable topology of real targets. Evaluation of the new system was performed using CO(2) laser cutting trials on artificial targets and ex-vivo tissue. This system produced accuracy values corresponding to pixel resolution even when smoke created by the laser-target interaction clutters the camera view. In realistic test scenarios, trajectory following RMS errors were reduced by almost 80 % with respect to open-loop system performances, reaching mean error values around 30 μ m and maximum observed errors in the order of 60 μ m. A new vision-based laser microsurgical control system was shown to be effective and promising with significant positive potential impact on the safety and quality of laser microsurgeries.

In Situ Localized Growth of Ordered Metal Oxide Hollow Sphere Array on Microheater Platform for Sensitive, Ultra-Fast Gas Sensing.

PubMed

Rao, Ameya; Long, Hu; Harley-Trochimczyk, Anna; Pham, Thang; Zettl, Alex; Carraro, Carlo; Maboudian, Roya

2017-01-25

A simple and versatile strategy is presented for the localized on-chip synthesis of an ordered metal oxide hollow sphere array directly on a low power microheater platform to form a closely integrated miniaturized gas sensor. Selective microheater surface modification through fluorinated monolayer self-assembly and its subsequent microheater-induced thermal decomposition enables the position-controlled deposition of an ordered two-dimensional colloidal sphere array, which serves as a sacrificial template for metal oxide growth via homogeneous chemical precipitation; this strategy ensures control in both the morphology and placement of the sensing material on only the active heated area of the microheater platform, providing a major advantage over other methods of presynthesized nanomaterial integration via suspension coating or printing. A fabricated tin oxide hollow sphere-based sensor shows high sensitivity (6.5 ppb detection limit) and selectivity toward formaldehyde, and extremely fast response (1.8 s) and recovery (5.4 s) times. This flexible and scalable method can be used to fabricate high performance miniaturized gas sensors with a variety of hollow nanostructured metal oxides for a range of applications, including combining multiple metal oxides for superior sensitivity and tunable selectivity.

a Study on Automatic Uav Image Mosaic Method for Paroxysmal Disaster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, M.; Li, D.; Fan, D.

2012-07-01

As everyone knows, some paroxysmal disasters, such as flood, can do a great damage in short time. Timely, accurate, and fast acquisition of sufficient disaster information is the prerequisite facing with disaster emergency. Due to UAV's superiority in acquiring disaster data, UAV, a rising remote sensed data has gradually become the first choice for departments of disaster prevention and mitigation to collect the disaster information at first hand. In this paper, a novel and fast strategy is proposed for registering and mosaicing UAV data. Firstly, the original images will not be zoomed in to be 2 times larger ones at the initial course of SIFT operator, and the total number of the pyramid octaves in scale space is reduced to speed up the matching process; sequentially, RANSAC(Random Sample Consensus) is used to eliminate the mismatching tie points. Then, bundle adjustment is introduced to solve all of the camera geometrical calibration parameters jointly. Finally, the best seamline searching strategy based on dynamic schedule is applied to solve the dodging problem arose by aeroplane's side-looking. Beside, a weighted fusion estimation algorithm is employed to eliminate the "fusion ghost" phenomenon.

Improved Accuracy of the Inherent Shrinkage Method for Fast and More Reliable Welding Distortion Calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendizabal, A.; González-Díaz, J. B.; San Sebastián, M.; Echeverría, A.

2016-07-01

This paper describes the implementation of a simple strategy adopted for the inherent shrinkage method (ISM) to predict welding-induced distortion. This strategy not only makes it possible for the ISM to reach accuracy levels similar to the detailed transient analysis method (considered the most reliable technique for calculating welding distortion) but also significantly reduces the time required for these types of calculations. This strategy is based on the sequential activation of welding blocks to account for welding direction and transient movement of the heat source. As a result, a significant improvement in distortion prediction is achieved. This is demonstrated by experimentally measuring and numerically analyzing distortions in two case studies: a vane segment subassembly of an aero-engine, represented with 3D-solid elements, and a car body component, represented with 3D-shell elements. The proposed strategy proves to be a good alternative for quickly estimating the correct behaviors of large welded components and may have important practical applications in the manufacturing industry.

Compressed sparse tensor based quadrature for vibrational quantum mechanics integrals

DOE PAGES

Rai, Prashant; Sargsyan, Khachik; Najm, Habib N.

2018-03-20

A new method for fast evaluation of high dimensional integrals arising in quantum mechanics is proposed. Here, the method is based on sparse approximation of a high dimensional function followed by a low-rank compression. In the first step, we interpret the high dimensional integrand as a tensor in a suitable tensor product space and determine its entries by a compressed sensing based algorithm using only a few function evaluations. Secondly, we implement a rank reduction strategy to compress this tensor in a suitable low-rank tensor format using standard tensor compression tools. This allows representing a high dimensional integrand function asmore » a small sum of products of low dimensional functions. Finally, a low dimensional Gauss–Hermite quadrature rule is used to integrate this low-rank representation, thus alleviating the curse of dimensionality. Finally, numerical tests on synthetic functions, as well as on energy correction integrals for water and formaldehyde molecules demonstrate the efficiency of this method using very few function evaluations as compared to other integration strategies.« less

Combined multi-spectrum and orthogonal Laplacianfaces for fast CB-XLCT imaging with single-view data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Haibo; Geng, Guohua; Chen, Yanrong; Qu, Xuan; Zhao, Fengjun; Hou, Yuqing; Yi, Huangjian; He, Xiaowei

2017-12-01

Cone-beam X-ray luminescence computed tomography (CB-XLCT) is an attractive hybrid imaging modality, which has the potential of monitoring the metabolic processes of nanophosphors-based drugs in vivo. Single-view data reconstruction as a key issue of CB-XLCT imaging promotes the effective study of dynamic XLCT imaging. However, it suffers from serious ill-posedness in the inverse problem. In this paper, a multi-spectrum strategy is adopted to relieve the ill-posedness of reconstruction. The strategy is based on the third-order simplified spherical harmonic approximation model. Then, an orthogonal Laplacianfaces-based method is proposed to reduce the large computational burden without degrading the imaging quality. Both simulated data and in vivo experimental data were used to evaluate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed method. The results are satisfactory in terms of both location and quantitative recovering with computational efficiency, indicating that the proposed method is practical and promising for single-view CB-XLCT imaging.

Compressed sparse tensor based quadrature for vibrational quantum mechanics integrals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rai, Prashant; Sargsyan, Khachik; Najm, Habib N.

A new method for fast evaluation of high dimensional integrals arising in quantum mechanics is proposed. Here, the method is based on sparse approximation of a high dimensional function followed by a low-rank compression. In the first step, we interpret the high dimensional integrand as a tensor in a suitable tensor product space and determine its entries by a compressed sensing based algorithm using only a few function evaluations. Secondly, we implement a rank reduction strategy to compress this tensor in a suitable low-rank tensor format using standard tensor compression tools. This allows representing a high dimensional integrand function asmore » a small sum of products of low dimensional functions. Finally, a low dimensional Gauss–Hermite quadrature rule is used to integrate this low-rank representation, thus alleviating the curse of dimensionality. Finally, numerical tests on synthetic functions, as well as on energy correction integrals for water and formaldehyde molecules demonstrate the efficiency of this method using very few function evaluations as compared to other integration strategies.« less

Research on Precision Tracking on Fast Steering Mirror and Control Strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di, Lin; Yi-ming, Wu; Fan, Zhu

2018-01-01

Fast steering mirror is a device used for controlling the beam direction precisely. Due to the short travel of the push-pull FSM, a compound fast steering mirror system driven by both limited-angle voice coil motor and push-pull FSM together is proposed. In the compound FSM system, limited-angle voice coil motor quickly swings at wide angle, while the push-pull FSM do high frequency movement in a small range, which provides the system with the high bandwidth and long travel. In the control strategy, the method of combining feed-forward control in Kalman filtering with auto-disturbance rejection control is used to improve trajectory tracking accuracy. The simulation result shows that tracking accuracy measured by the compound method can be improved by more than 5 times than that of the conventional PID.

Positive position control of robotic manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baz, A.; Gumusel, L.

1989-01-01

The present, simple and accurate position-control algorithm, which is applicable to fast-moving and lightly damped robot arms, is based on the positive position feedback (PPF) strategy and relies solely on position sensors to monitor joint angles of robotic arms to furnish stable position control. The optimized tuned filters, in the form of a set of difference equations, manipulate position signals for robotic system performance. Attention is given to comparisons between this PPF-algorithm controller's experimentally ascertained performance characteristics and those of a conventional proportional controller.

Two-photon imaging of spatially extended neuronal network dynamics with high temporal resolution.

PubMed

Lillis, Kyle P; Eng, Alfred; White, John A; Mertz, Jerome

2008-07-30

We describe a simple two-photon fluorescence imaging strategy, called targeted path scanning (TPS), to monitor the dynamics of spatially extended neuronal networks with high spatiotemporal resolution. Our strategy combines the advantages of mirror-based scanning, minimized dead time, ease of implementation, and compatibility with high-resolution low-magnification objectives. To demonstrate the performance of TPS, we monitor the calcium dynamics distributed across an entire juvenile rat hippocampus (>1.5mm), at scan rates of 100 Hz, with single cell resolution and single action potential sensitivity. Our strategy for fast, efficient two-photon microscopy over spatially extended regions provides a particularly attractive solution for monitoring neuronal population activity in thick tissue, without sacrificing the signal-to-noise ratio or high spatial resolution associated with standard two-photon microscopy. Finally, we provide the code to make our technique generally available.

Site-directed antibody immobilization using a protein A-gold binding domain fusion protein for enhanced SPR immunosensing.

PubMed

de Juan-Franco, Elena; Caruz, Antonio; Pedrajas, J R; Lechuga, Laura M

2013-04-07

We have implemented a novel strategy for the oriented immobilization of antibodies onto a gold surface based on the use of a fusion protein, the protein A-gold binding domain (PAG). PAG consists of a gold binding peptide (GBP) coupled to the immunoglobulin-binding domains of staphylococcal protein A. This fusion protein provides an easy and fast oriented immobilization of antibodies preserving its native structure, while leaving the antigen binding sites (Fab) freely exposed. Using this immobilization strategy, we have demonstrated the performance of the immunosensing of the human Growth Hormone by SPR. A limit of detection of 90 ng mL(-1) was obtained with an inter-chip variability lower than 7%. The comparison of this method with other strategies for the direct immobilization of antibodies over gold surfaces has showed the enhanced sensitivity provided by the PAG approach.

An audit of local government planning tools for their potential use in addressing community food and nutrition issues.

PubMed

Good, Elizabeth; Hammond, Melinda; Martin, Caroline; Burns, Catherine; Groos, Anita

2010-04-01

This project aimed to identify how local government planning tools could be used to influence physical and policy environments to support healthy eating behaviours in communities. An audit of Queensland's legislative and non-legislative local government planning tools was conducted by a public health nutritionist to assess their potential use in addressing strategies to achieve positive nutrition outcomes. Ten strategies were identified and covered the following themes: improving access to healthy foods and drinks; increasing access to breastfeeding facilities; decreasing fast food outlet density; and unhealthy food advertising. The audit found that all of the 10 strategies to achieve positive nutrition outcomes could be considered through three or more of the planning tools. Based on the findings of this audit, local government planning tools provide opportunities to address food and nutrition issues and contribute toward creating physical and policy environments that support healthy eating behaviours.

A novel strategy with standardized reference extract qualification and single compound quantitative evaluation for quality control of Panax notoginseng used as a functional food.

PubMed

Li, S P; Qiao, C F; Chen, Y W; Zhao, J; Cui, X M; Zhang, Q W; Liu, X M; Hu, D J

2013-10-25

Root of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen (Sanqi in Chinese) is one of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) based functional food. Saponins are the major bioactive components. The shortage of reference compounds or chemical standards is one of the main bottlenecks for quality control of TCMs. A novel strategy, i.e. standardized reference extract based qualification and single calibrated components directly quantitative estimation of multiple analytes, was proposed to easily and effectively control the quality of natural functional foods such as Sanqi. The feasibility and credibility of this methodology were also assessed with a developed fast HPLC method. Five saponins, including ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rd and notoginsenoside R1 were rapidly separated using a conventional HPLC in 20 min. The quantification method was also compared with individual calibration curve method. The strategy is feasible and credible, which is easily and effectively adapted for improving the quality control of natural functional foods such as Sanqi. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Promoters and Barriers to Fruit, Vegetable, and Fast-Food Consumption Among Urban, Low-Income African Americans—A Qualitative Approach

PubMed Central

Barg, Frances K.; Long, Judith A.

2010-01-01

To identify promoters of and barriers to fruit, vegetable, and fast-food consumption, we interviewed low-income African Americans in Philadelphia. Salient promoters and barriers were distinct from each other and differed by food type: taste was a promoter and cost a barrier to all foods; convenience, cravings, and preferences promoted consumption of fast foods; health concerns promoted consumption of fruits and vegetables and avoidance of fast foods. Promoters and barriers differed by gender and age. Strategies for dietary change should consider food type, gender, and age. PMID:20167885

The Worm Propagation Model with Dual Dynamic Quarantine Strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Yu; Xie, Xiao-Wu; Guo, Hao; Gao, Fu-Xiang; Yu, Ge

Internet worms are becoming more and more harmful with the rapid development of the Internet. Due to the extremely fast spread and great destructive power of network worms, strong dynamic quarantine strategies are necessary. Inspired by the real-world approach to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, this paper proposes a quarantine strategy based on dynamic worm propagation model: the SIQRV dual quarantine model. This strategy uses dynamic quarantine method to make the vulnerable host and infected host quarantined, and then release them after a certain period of time, regardless of whether quarantined host security is checked. Through mathematic modeling, it has been found that when the basic reproduction number R0 is less than a critical value, the system will stabilize in the disease-free equilibrium, that is, in theory, the infected hosts will be completely immune. Finally, by comparing the simulation results and numerical analysis, the basic agreement between the two curves supports the validity of the mathematical model. Our future work will be focusing on taking both the delay and double-quarantine strategy into account and further expanding the scale of our simulation work.

Reducing abrupt climate change risk using the Montreal Protocol and other regulatory actions to complement cuts in CO2 emissions.

PubMed

Molina, Mario; Zaelke, Durwood; Sarma, K Madhava; Andersen, Stephen O; Ramanathan, Veerabhadran; Kaniaru, Donald

2009-12-08

Current emissions of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) have already committed the planet to an increase in average surface temperature by the end of the century that may be above the critical threshold for tipping elements of the climate system into abrupt change with potentially irreversible and unmanageable consequences. This would mean that the climate system is close to entering if not already within the zone of "dangerous anthropogenic interference" (DAI). Scientific and policy literature refers to the need for "early," "urgent," "rapid," and "fast-action" mitigation to help avoid DAI and abrupt climate changes. We define "fast-action" to include regulatory measures that can begin within 2-3 years, be substantially implemented in 5-10 years, and produce a climate response within decades. We discuss strategies for short-lived non-CO(2) GHGs and particles, where existing agreements can be used to accomplish mitigation objectives. Policy makers can amend the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) with high global warming potential. Other fast-action strategies can reduce emissions of black carbon particles and precursor gases that lead to ozone formation in the lower atmosphere, and increase biosequestration, including through biochar. These and other fast-action strategies may reduce the risk of abrupt climate change in the next few decades by complementing cuts in CO(2) emissions.

Flash glucose monitoring system may benefit children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes during fasting at Ramadan.

PubMed

Al-Agha, Abdulmoein E; Kafi, Shahd E; Zain Aldeen, Abdullah M; Khadwardi, Raghdah H

2017-04-01

To assess the benefit of using the flash glucose monitoring system (FGMS) in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) during Ramadan fasting. Methods: A prospective pilot study of 51 participants visited the pediatric diabetes clinic at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from between June until and July 2016. The FreeStyle® Libre™ FGMS (Abbott Diabetes Care, Alameda, CA, USA) was used. Hypoglycemia was defined as glucose values of less than 70 mg/dL, while hyperglycemia as glucose values of more than 150 mg/dL for all participants based on our institute's protocol. Results: Participants were able to fast for 67.0% of the total days eligible for fasting, whereas they did not fast on 33% of the days due to either hypoglycemia (15.4%) or non-diabetes-related reasons (17.6 %). None of the participants developed severe hypoglycemia. The mean number of hyperglycemic episodes during fasting hours was 1.29, per day, which was higher than that of hypoglycemic episodes (0.7). None of the participants developed diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Glycemic control with mean of estimated hemoglobin A1C reading during Ramadan (8.16 ± 1.64% [pre study]) to 8.2 ± 1.63% [post study] p=0.932. Conclusions: Children and adolescents with T1DM who use the FGMS could fast without the risk of life-threatening episodes of severe hypoglycemia (namely seizure, coma), or DKA during Ramadan. Adequate education and good glycemic control prior to Ramadan are important strategies in combination with the use of an FGMS to achieve better outcome.

Single Broadband Phase-Shaped Pulse Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy for Standoff Trace Explosive Detection.

PubMed

Glenn, Rachel; Dantus, Marcos

2016-01-07

Recent success with trace explosives detection based on the single ultrafast pulse excitation for remote stimulated Raman scattering (SUPER-SRS) prompts us to provide new results and a Perspective that describes the theoretical foundation of the strategy used for achieving the desired sensitivity and selectivity. SUPER-SRS provides fast and selective imaging while being blind to optical properties of the substrate such as color, texture, or laser speckle. We describe the strategy of combining coherent vibrational excitation with a reference pulse in order to detect stimulated Raman gain or loss. A theoretical model is used to reproduce experimental spectra and to determine the ideal pulse parameters for best sensitivity, selectivity, and resolution when detecting one or more compounds simultaneously.

Application of neural networks with novel independent component analysis methodologies to a Prussian blue modified glassy carbon electrode array.

PubMed

Wang, Liang; Yang, Die; Fang, Cheng; Chen, Zuliang; Lesniewski, Peter J; Mallavarapu, Megharaj; Naidu, Ravendra

2015-01-01

Sodium potassium absorption ratio (SPAR) is an important measure of agricultural water quality, wherein four exchangeable cations (K(+), Na(+), Ca(2+) and Mg(2+)) should be simultaneously determined. An ISE-array is suitable for this application because its simplicity, rapid response characteristics and lower cost. However, cross-interferences caused by the poor selectivity of ISEs need to be overcome using multivariate chemometric methods. In this paper, a solid contact ISE array, based on a Prussian blue modified glassy carbon electrode (PB-GCE), was applied with a novel chemometric strategy. One of the most popular independent component analysis (ICA) methods, the fast fixed-point algorithm for ICA (fastICA), was implemented by the genetic algorithm (geneticICA) to avoid the local maxima problem commonly observed with fastICA. This geneticICA can be implemented as a data preprocessing method to improve the prediction accuracy of the Back-propagation neural network (BPNN). The ISE array system was validated using 20 real irrigation water samples from South Australia, and acceptable prediction accuracies were obtained. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

BECCS Market Launch Strategy Aiming to Help Ensure Reliable Grid Power at High Penetrations of IRE (Intermittent Renewable Electricity)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

WIlliams, R. H.

2017-12-01

Despite its recognized importance for carbon (C)-mitigation, progress in advancing biomass energy with CO2 capture and sequestration (BECCS) has been slow. A BECCS market launch strategy based on technologies ready for commercial-scale demonstration is discussed—based on co-gasification of coal and biomass to make H2 with CCS. H2 so produced would be a key element of a H2 balancing capacity (H2-BC) strategy for ensuring reliable grid power at high IRE penetrations. High grid penetrations of IRE must be complemented by fast-ramping balancing (backup and/or storage) capacity (BC) to ensure reliable grid power. BC provided now by natural gas-fired gas turbine combined cycle and combustion turbine units would eventually have to be decarbonized to realize C-mitigation goals, via CCS or other means. Capital-intensive CCS energy systems require baseload operation to realize favourable economics, but at high IRE penetrations, BC plants must be operated at low capacity factors. A H2-BC strategy is a promising way to address this challenge. The elements of a H2-BC system are: (a) H2 production from carbonaceous feedstocks in baseload plants with CCS; (b) H2 consumption in fast-ramping BC units that operate at low capacity factors; (c) Buffer underground H2 storage to enable decoupling baseload H2 production from highly variable H2 consumption by BC units. The concept is likely to "work" because underground H2 storage is expected to be inexpensive. A H2 production analysis is presented for a negative GHG-emitting H2-BC system based on cogasification of corn stover and coal, with captured CO2 used for enhanced oil recovery. The technical readiness of each system component is discussed, and preliminary insights are offered as to the conditions under which the corresponding H2-BC system might compete with natural gas in providing backup for IRE on US electric grids. Public policy to help advance this strategy might be forthcoming, because 2 US Senate bills with broad bipartisan support might become law soon: (a) S.1535, which extends and expands 45Q tax credits for CO2 EOR; and (b) S.1460. Inter alia, S.1460 authorizes DOE to spend $22 million/year during 2018-2022 to support of Front End Engineering and Design studies for net-negative CO2 emissions projects based on thermochemical coal/biomass coprocessing with CCS.

Fuel Cycle Analysis Framework Base Cases for the IAEA/INPRO GAINS Collaborative Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brent Dixon

Thirteen countries participated in the Collaborative Project GAINS “Global Architecture of Innovative Nuclear Energy Systems Based on Thermal and Fast Reactors Including a Closed Fuel Cycle”, which was the primary activity within the IAEA/INPRO Program Area B: “Global Vision on Sustainable Nuclear Energy” for the last three years. The overall objective of GAINS was to develop a standard framework for assessing future nuclear energy systems taking into account sustainable development, and to validate results through sample analyses. This paper details the eight scenarios that constitute the GAINS framework base cases for analysis of the transition to future innovative nuclear energymore » systems. The framework base cases provide a reference for users of the framework to start from in developing and assessing their own alternate systems. Each base case is described along with performance results against the GAINS sustainability evaluation metrics. The eight cases include four using a moderate growth projection and four using a high growth projection for global nuclear electricity generation through 2100. The cases are divided into two sets, addressing homogeneous and heterogeneous scenarios developed by GAINS to model global fuel cycle strategies. The heterogeneous world scenario considers three separate nuclear groups based on their fuel cycle strategies, with non-synergistic and synergistic cases. The framework base case analyses results show the impact of these different fuel cycle strategies while providing references for future users of the GAINS framework. A large number of scenario alterations are possible and can be used to assess different strategies, different technologies, and different assumptions about possible futures of nuclear power. Results can be compared to the framework base cases to assess where these alternate cases perform differently versus the sustainability indicators.« less

The Effects of a Multiyear Universal Social-Emotional Learning Program: The Role of Student and School Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bierman, Karen L.; Coie, John D.; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Greenberg, Mark T.; Lochman, John E.; McMahon, Robert J.; Pinderhughes, Ellen

2010-01-01

Objective: This article examines the impact of a universal social-emotional learning program, the Fast Track PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum and teacher consultation, embedded within the Fast Track selective prevention model. Method: The longitudinal analysis involved 2,937 children of multiple ethnicities who remained…

Novel design strategy for checkpoint kinase 2 inhibitors using pharmacophore modeling, combinatorial fusion, and virtual screening.

PubMed

Lin, Chun-Yuan; Wang, Yen-Ling

2014-01-01

Checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2) has a great effect on DNA-damage and plays an important role in response to DNA double-strand breaks and related lesions. In this study, we will concentrate on Chk2 and the purpose is to find the potential inhibitors by the pharmacophore hypotheses (PhModels), combinatorial fusion, and virtual screening techniques. Applying combinatorial fusion into PhModels and virtual screening techniques is a novel design strategy for drug design. We used combinatorial fusion to analyze the prediction results and then obtained the best correlation coefficient of the testing set (r test) with the value 0.816 by combining the Best(train)Best(test) and Fast(train)Fast(test) prediction results. The potential inhibitors were selected from NCI database by screening according to Best(train)Best(test) + Fast(train)Fast(test) prediction results and molecular docking with CDOCKER docking program. Finally, the selected compounds have high interaction energy between a ligand and a receptor. Through these approaches, 23 potential inhibitors for Chk2 are retrieved for further study.

Sleep-mediated memory consolidation depends on the level of integration at encoding.

PubMed

Himmer, Lea; Müller, Elias; Gais, Steffen; Schönauer, Monika

2017-01-01

There is robust evidence that sleep facilitates declarative memory consolidation. Integration of newly acquired memories into existing neocortical knowledge networks has been proposed to underlie this effect. Here, we test whether sleep affects memory retention for word-picture associations differently when it was learned explicitly or using a fast mapping strategy. Fast mapping is an incidental form of learning that references new information to existing knowledge and possibly allows neocortical integration already during encoding. If the integration of information into neocortical networks is a main function of sleep-dependent memory consolidation, material learned via fast mapping should therefore benefit less from sleep. Supporting this idea, we find that sleep has a protective effect on explicitly learned associations. In contrast, memory for associations learned by fast mapping does not benefit from sleep and remains stable regardless of whether sleep or wakefulness follows learning. Our results thus indicate that the need for sleep-mediated consolidation depends on the strategy used for learning and might thus be related to the level of integration of newly acquired memory achieved during encoding. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

77 FR 42780 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-20

... strategies effectively via STOs,\\8\\ particularly in the current fast and volatile multi-faceted trading and... proposal, to allow execution of more effective trading and hedging strategies on the Exchange. See... strategies on the Exchange. The Exchange believes that this precision is increasingly necessary, and in fact...

"Teacher, the Tape Is Too Fast!" Extensive Listening in ELT

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renandya, Willy A.; Farrell, Thomas S. C.

2011-01-01

For many years, research effort has been devoted to understanding the nature of listening strategies and how listening strategies used by good listeners can be taught to so-called ineffective listeners. As a result of this line of research, strategy training activities have now become a standard feature of most modern listening coursebooks.…

A fast and fully automatic registration approach based on point features for multi-source remote-sensing images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Le; Zhang, Dengrong; Holden, Eun-Jung

2008-07-01

Automatic registration of multi-source remote-sensing images is a difficult task as it must deal with the varying illuminations and resolutions of the images, different perspectives and the local deformations within the images. This paper proposes a fully automatic and fast non-rigid image registration technique that addresses those issues. The proposed technique performs a pre-registration process that coarsely aligns the input image to the reference image by automatically detecting their matching points by using the scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) method and an affine transformation model. Once the coarse registration is completed, it performs a fine-scale registration process based on a piecewise linear transformation technique using feature points that are detected by the Harris corner detector. The registration process firstly finds in succession, tie point pairs between the input and the reference image by detecting Harris corners and applying a cross-matching strategy based on a wavelet pyramid for a fast search speed. Tie point pairs with large errors are pruned by an error-checking step. The input image is then rectified by using triangulated irregular networks (TINs) to deal with irregular local deformations caused by the fluctuation of the terrain. For each triangular facet of the TIN, affine transformations are estimated and applied for rectification. Experiments with Quickbird, SPOT5, SPOT4, TM remote-sensing images of the Hangzhou area in China demonstrate the efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed technique for multi-source remote-sensing image registration.

Optimization strategies based on sequential quadratic programming applied for a fermentation process for butanol production.

PubMed

Pinto Mariano, Adriano; Bastos Borba Costa, Caliane; de Franceschi de Angelis, Dejanira; Maugeri Filho, Francisco; Pires Atala, Daniel Ibraim; Wolf Maciel, Maria Regina; Maciel Filho, Rubens

2009-11-01

In this work, the mathematical optimization of a continuous flash fermentation process for the production of biobutanol was studied. The process consists of three interconnected units, as follows: fermentor, cell-retention system (tangential microfiltration), and vacuum flash vessel (responsible for the continuous recovery of butanol from the broth). The objective of the optimization was to maximize butanol productivity for a desired substrate conversion. Two strategies were compared for the optimization of the process. In one of them, the process was represented by a deterministic model with kinetic parameters determined experimentally and, in the other, by a statistical model obtained using the factorial design technique combined with simulation. For both strategies, the problem was written as a nonlinear programming problem and was solved with the sequential quadratic programming technique. The results showed that despite the very similar solutions obtained with both strategies, the problems found with the strategy using the deterministic model, such as lack of convergence and high computational time, make the use of the optimization strategy with the statistical model, which showed to be robust and fast, more suitable for the flash fermentation process, being recommended for real-time applications coupling optimization and control.

Are strategies in physics discrete? A remote controlled investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heck, Robert; Sherson, Jacob F.; www. scienceathome. org Team; players Team

2017-04-01

In science, strategies are formulated based on observations, calculations, or physical insight. For any given physical process, often several distinct strategies are identified. Are these truly distinct or simply low dimensional representations of a high dimensional continuum of solutions? Our online citizen science platform www.scienceathome.org used by more than 150,000 people recently enabled finding solutions to fast, 1D single atom transport [Nature2016]. Surprisingly, player trajectories bunched into discrete solution strategies (clans) yielding clear, distinct physical insight. Introducing the multi-dimensional vector in the direction of other local maxima we locate narrow, high-yield ``bridges'' connecting the clans. This demonstrates for this problem that a continuum of solutions with no clear physical interpretation does in fact exist. Next, four distinct strategies for creating Bose-Einstein condensates were investigated experimentally: hybrid and crossed dipole trap configurations in combination with either large volume or dimple loading from a magnetic trap. We find that although each conventional strategy appears locally optimal, ``bridges'' can be identified. In a novel approach, the problem was gamified allowing 750 citizen scientists to contribute to the experimental optimization yielding nearly a factor two improvement in atom number.

Strategies to Make Ramadan Fasting Safer in Type 2 Diabetics

PubMed Central

Lee, Shaun Wen Huey; Lee, Jun Yang; Tan, Christina San San; Wong, Chee Piau

2016-01-01

Abstract Ramadan is the holy month for Muslims whereby they fast from predawn to after sunset and is observed by all healthy Muslim adults as well as a large population of type 2 diabetic Muslims. To determine the comparative effectiveness of various strategies that have been used for type 2 diabetic Muslim who fast during Ramadan. A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies (RCT) as well as observational studies for patients with type 2 diabetes who fasted during Ramadan was conducted. Eight databases were searched from January 1980 through October 2015 for relevant studies. Two reviewers independently screened and assessed study for eligibility, assessed the risk of bias, and extracted relevant data. A network meta-analysis for each outcome was fitted separately, combining direct and indirect evidence for each comparison. Twenty-nine studies, 16 RCTs and 13 observational studies each met the inclusion criteria. The most common strategy used was drug changes during the Ramadan period, which found that the use of DPP-4 (Dipeptidyl peptidase inhibitor -4) inhibitors were associated with a reduction in incidence of experiencing hypoglycemia during Ramadan in both RCTs (pooled relative risk: 0.56; 95% confidence interval: 0.44–0.72) as well as in observational studies (pooled relative risk: 0.27; 0.09–0.75). Ramadan-focused education was shown to be beneficial in reducing hypoglycemia in observational studies but not RCTs (0.25 versus 1.00). Network meta-analyses suggest that incretin mimetics can reduce the risk of hypoglycemia by nearly 1.5 times. The newer antidiabetic agents appear to lower the risk of hypoglycemia and improved glycemic control when compared with sulfonylureas. Ramadan-focused education shows to be a promising strategy but more rigorous examination from RCTs are required. PMID:26765440

Two biomechanical strategies for locomotor adaptation to split-belt treadmill walking in subjects with and without transtibial amputation.

PubMed

Selgrade, Brian P; Toney, Megan E; Chang, Young-Hui

2017-02-28

Locomotor adaptation is commonly studied using split-belt treadmill walking, in which each foot is placed on a belt moving at a different speed. As subjects adapt to split-belt walking, they reduce metabolic power, but the biomechanical mechanism behind this improved efficiency is unknown. Analyzing mechanical work performed by the legs and joints during split-belt adaptation could reveal this mechanism. Because ankle work in the step-to-step transition is more efficient than hip work, we hypothesized that control subjects would reduce hip work on the fast belt and increase ankle work during the step-to-step transition as they adapted. We further hypothesized that subjects with unilateral, trans-tibial amputation would instead increase propulsive work from their intact leg on the slow belt. Control subjects reduced hip work and shifted more ankle work to the step-to-step transition, supporting our hypothesis. Contrary to our second hypothesis, intact leg work, ankle work and hip work in amputees were unchanged during adaptation. Furthermore, all subjects increased collisional energy loss on the fast belt, but did not increase propulsive work. This was possible because subjects moved further backward during fast leg single support in late adaptation than in early adaptation, compensating by reducing backward movement in slow leg single support. In summary, subjects used two strategies to improve mechanical efficiency in split-belt walking adaptation: a CoM displacement strategy that allows for less forward propulsion on the fast belt; and, an ankle timing strategy that allows efficient ankle work in the step-to-step transition to increase while reducing inefficient hip work. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Different ketogenesis strategies lead to disparate seizure outcomes.

PubMed

Dolce, Alison; Santos, Polan; Chen, Weiran; Hoke, Ahmet; Hartman, Adam L

2018-07-01

Despite the introduction of new medicines to treat epilepsy over the last 50 years, the number of patients with poorly-controlled seizures remains unchanged. Metabolism-based therapies are an underutilized treatment option for this population. We hypothesized that two different means of systemic ketosis, the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting, would differ in their acute seizure test profiles and mitochondrial respiration. Male NIH Swiss mice (aged 3-4 weeks) were fed for 12-13 days using one of four diet regimens: ketogenic diet (KD), control diet matched to KD for protein content and micronutrients (CD), or CD with intermittent fasting (24 h feed/24 h fast) (CD-IF), tested post-feed or post-fast. Mice were subject to the 6 Hz threshold test or, in separate cohorts, after injection of kainic acid in doses based on their weight (Cohort I) or a uniform dose regardless of weight (Cohort II). Mitochondrial respiration was tested in brain tissue isolated from similarly-fed seizure-naïve mice. KD mice were protected against 6 Hz-induced seizures but had more severe seizure scores in the kainic acid test (Cohorts I & II), the opposite of CD-IF mice. No differences were noted in mitochondrial respiration between diet regimens. KD and CD-IF do not share identical antiseizure mechanisms. These differences were not explained by differences in mitochondrial respiration. Nevertheless, both KD and CD-IF regimens protected against different types of seizures, suggesting that mechanisms underlying CD-IF seizure protection should be explored further. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Oscillation of the velvet worm slime jet by passive hydrodynamic instability

PubMed Central

Concha, Andrés; Mellado, Paula; Morera-Brenes, Bernal; Sampaio Costa, Cristiano; Mahadevan, L; Monge-Nájera, Julián

2015-01-01

The rapid squirt of a proteinaceous slime jet endows velvet worms (Onychophora) with a unique mechanism for defence from predators and for capturing prey by entangling them in a disordered web that immobilizes their target. However, to date, neither qualitative nor quantitative descriptions have been provided for this unique adaptation. Here we investigate the fast oscillatory motion of the oral papillae and the exiting liquid jet that oscillates with frequencies f~30–60 Hz. Using anatomical images, high-speed videography, theoretical analysis and a physical simulacrum, we show that this fast oscillatory motion is the result of an elastohydrodynamic instability driven by the interplay between the elasticity of oral papillae and the fast unsteady flow during squirting. Our results demonstrate how passive strategies can be cleverly harnessed by organisms, while suggesting future oscillating microfluidic devices, as well as novel ways for micro and nanofibre production using bioinspired strategies. PMID:25780995

Differences in consumer use of food labels by weight loss strategies and demographic characteristics.

PubMed

Bleich, Sara N; Wolfson, Julia A

2015-12-22

Little is known about national patterns in the use of fast food and packaged food labels among adults by weight loss strategies and demographic characteristics. We analyzed the Consumer Behavior Module in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2010 among adults (N = 9,690). For each of the outcome variables - use of packed food and fast food menu labels - multiple logistic regressions were used to adjust for potential differences in population characteristics by weight loss activities and demographic characteristics. Overall, 69 percent of adults reported they would use fast food information and 76 percent reported using the nutrition facts panel on packaged foods. Adults trying to lose weight had a greater likelihood of reporting use of nutrition information to choose fast foods (OR = 1.72; 95 % CI: 1.29, 2.29) and using the nutrition facts panel on food labels (OR = 1.92; 95 % CI: 1.60, 2.30). Black and Hispanic adults were more likely to report using ingredients lists on packaged foods compared to Whites (White -63 %, Black/Hispanic -68 %, p < 0.05). Regardless of weight loss activities or demographic characteristics, a majority of adults report they would use fast food nutrition information.

Logistical constraints lead to an intermediate optimum in outbreak response vaccination

PubMed Central

Shea, Katriona; Ferrari, Matthew

2018-01-01

Dynamic models in disease ecology have historically evaluated vaccination strategies under the assumption that they are implemented homogeneously in space and time. However, this approach fails to formally account for operational and logistical constraints inherent in the distribution of vaccination to the population at risk. Thus, feedback between the dynamic processes of vaccine distribution and transmission might be overlooked. Here, we present a spatially explicit, stochastic Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Vaccinated model that highlights the density-dependence and spatial constraints of various diffusive strategies of vaccination during an outbreak. The model integrates an agent-based process of disease spread with a partial differential process of vaccination deployment. We characterize the vaccination response in terms of a diffusion rate that describes the distribution of vaccination to the population at risk from a central location. This generates an explicit trade-off between slow diffusion, which concentrates effort near the central location, and fast diffusion, which spreads a fixed vaccination effort thinly over a large area. We use stochastic simulation to identify the optimum vaccination diffusion rate as a function of population density, interaction scale, transmissibility, and vaccine intensity. Our results show that, conditional on a timely response, the optimal strategy for minimizing outbreak size is to distribute vaccination resource at an intermediate rate: fast enough to outpace the epidemic, but slow enough to achieve local herd immunity. If the response is delayed, however, the optimal strategy for minimizing outbreak size changes to a rapidly diffusive distribution of vaccination effort. The latter may also result in significantly larger outbreaks, thus suggesting a benefit of allocating resources to timely outbreak detection and response. PMID:29791432

Implications of life-history strategies for obesity

PubMed Central

Maner, Jon K.; Dittmann, Andrea; Meltzer, Andrea L.; McNulty, James K.

2017-01-01

The association between low socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity is well documented. In the current research, a life history theory (LHT) framework provided an explanation for this association. Derived from evolutionary behavioral science, LHT emphasizes how variability in exposure to unpredictability during childhood gives rise to individual differences in a range of social psychological processes across the life course. Consistent with previous LHT research, the current findings suggest that exposure to unpredictability during childhood (a characteristic common to low SES environments) is associated with the adoption of a fast life-history strategy, one marked by impulsivity and a focus on short-term goals. We demonstrate that a fast life-history strategy, in turn, was associated with dysregulated weight-management behaviors (i.e., eating even in the absence of hunger), which were predictive of having a high body mass index (BMI) and being obese. In both studies, findings held while controlling for participants’ current socioeconomic status, suggesting that obesity is rooted in childhood experiences. A serial mediation model in study 2 confirmed that effects of childhood SES on adult BMI and obesity can be explained in part by exposure to unpredictability, the adoption of a fast life-history strategy, and dysregulated-eating behaviors. These findings suggest that weight problems in adulthood may be rooted partially in early childhood exposure to unpredictable events and environments. LHT provides a valuable explanatory framework for understanding the root causes of obesity. PMID:28739939

Measurement precision in a series of visual fields acquired by the standard and fast versions of the Swedish interactive thresholding algorithm: analysis of large-scale data from clinics.

PubMed

Saunders, Luke J; Russell, Richard A; Crabb, David P

2015-01-01

Swedish Interactive Thresholding Algorithm (SITA) testing strategies for the Humphrey Field Analyzer have become a clinical standard. Measurements from SITA Fast are thought to be more variable than SITA Standard, yet some clinics routinely use SITA Fast because it is quicker. To examine the measurement precision of the 2 SITA strategies across a range of sensitivities using a large number of visual field (VF) series from 4 glaucoma clinics in England. Retrospective cohort study at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, England; Gloucestershire Eye Unit at Cheltenham General Hospital; Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, England; and the Calderdale and Huddersfield National Health Service Foundation Trust that included 66,974 Humphrey 24-2 SITA Standard VFs (10,124 eyes) and 19,819 Humphrey 24-2 SITA Fast VFs (3654 eyes) recorded between May 20, 1997, and September 20, 2012. Pointwise ordinary least squares linear regression of measured sensitivity over time was conducted using VF series of 1 random eye from each patient. Residuals from the regression were pooled according to fitted sensitivities. For each sensitivity (decibel) level, the standard deviation of the residuals was used to estimate measurement precision and were compared for SITA Standard and SITA Fast. Simulations of progression from different VF baselines were used to evaluate how different levels of precision would affect time to detect VF progression. Median years required to detect progression. Median (interquartile range) patient age, follow-up, and series lengths for SITA Standard were 64 (53-72) years, 6.0 (4.0-8.5) years, and 6 (4-8) VFs, respectively; for SITA Fast, medians (interquartile range) were 70 (61-78) years, 5.1 (3.2-7.3) years, and 5 (4-6) VFs. Measurement precision worsened as sensitivity decreased for both test strategies. In the 20 to 5 dB range, SITA Fast was less precise than SITA Standard; this difference was largest between 15 to 10 dB, where variability in both methods peaked. Translated to median time to detection, differences in measurement precision were negligible, suggesting minimal effects on time to detect progression. Although SITA Standard is a more precise testing algorithm than SITA Fast at lower VF sensitivities, it is unlikely to make a sizeable difference to improving the time to detect VF progression.

A robust high resolution reversed-phase HPLC strategy to investigate various metabolic species in different biological models.

PubMed

D'Alessandro, Angelo; Gevi, Federica; Zolla, Lello

2011-04-01

Recent advancements in the field of omics sciences have paved the way for further expansion of metabolomics. Originally tied to NMR spectroscopy, metabolomic disciplines are constantly and growingly involving HPLC and mass spectrometry (MS)-based analytical strategies and, in this context, we hereby propose a robust and efficient extraction protocol for metabolites from four different biological sources which are subsequently analysed, identified and quantified through high resolution reversed-phase fast HPLC and mass spectrometry. To this end, we demonstrate the elevated intra- and inter-day technical reproducibility, ease of an MRM-based MS method, allowing simultaneous detection of up to 10 distinct features, and robustness of multiple metabolite detection and quantification in four different biological samples. This strategy might become routinely applicable to various samples/biological matrices, especially for low-availability ones. In parallel, we compare the present strategy for targeted detection of a representative metabolite, L-glutamic acid, with our previously-proposed chemical-derivatization through dansyl chloride. A direct comparison of the present method against spectrophotometric assays is proposed as well. An application of the proposed method is also introduced, using the SAOS-2 cell line, either induced or non-induced to express the TAp63 isoform of the p63 gene, as a model for determination of variations of glutamate concentrations.

On Multi-Objective Based Constitutive Modelling Methodology and Numerical Validation in Small-Hole Drilling of Al6063/SiCp Composites

PubMed Central

Xiang, Junfeng; Xie, Lijing; Gao, Feinong; Zhang, Yu; Yi, Jie; Wang, Tao; Pang, Siqin; Wang, Xibin

2018-01-01

Discrepancies in capturing material behavior of some materials, such as Particulate Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites, by using conventional ad hoc strategy make the applicability of Johnson-Cook constitutive model challenged. Despites applicable efforts, its extended formalism with more fitting parameters would increase the difficulty in identifying constitutive parameters. A weighted multi-objective strategy for identifying any constitutive formalism is developed to predict mechanical behavior in static and dynamic loading conditions equally well. These varying weighting is based on the Gaussian-distributed noise evaluation of experimentally obtained stress-strain data in quasi-static or dynamic mode. This universal method can be used to determine fast and directly whether the constitutive formalism is suitable to describe the material constitutive behavior by measuring goodness-of-fit. A quantitative comparison of different fitting strategies on identifying Al6063/SiCp’s material parameters is made in terms of performance evaluation including noise elimination, correlation, and reliability. Eventually, a three-dimensional (3D) FE model in small-hole drilling of Al6063/SiCp composites, using multi-objective identified constitutive formalism, is developed. Comparison with the experimental observations in thrust force, torque, and chip morphology provides valid evidence on the applicability of the developed multi-objective identification strategy in identifying constitutive parameters. PMID:29324688

A highly ordered mesostructured material containing regularly distributed phenols: preparation and characterization at a molecular level through ultra-fast magic angle spinning proton NMR spectroscopy.

PubMed

Roussey, Arthur; Gajan, David; Maishal, Tarun K; Mukerjee, Anhurada; Veyre, Laurent; Lesage, Anne; Emsley, Lyndon; Copéret, Christophe; Thieuleux, Chloé

2011-03-14

Highly ordered organic-inorganic mesostructured material containing regularly distributed phenols is synthesized by combining a direct synthesis of the functional material and a protection-deprotection strategy and characterized at a molecular level through ultra-fast magic angle spinning proton NMR spectroscopy.

Not So Fast! (and Not So Frugal!): Rethinking the Recognition Heuristic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oppenheimer, Daniel M.

2003-01-01

The "fast and frugal" approach to reasoning (Gigerenzer, G., & Todd, P. M. (1999). "Simple heuristics that make us smart." New York: Oxford University Press) claims that individuals use non-compensatory strategies in judgment--the idea that only one cue is taken into account in reasoning. The simplest and most important of these heuristics…

Fast or Frugal, but Not Both: Decision Heuristics under Time Pressure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bobadilla-Suarez, Sebastian; Love, Bradley C.

2018-01-01

Heuristics are simple, yet effective, strategies that people use to make decisions. Because heuristics do not require all available information, they are thought to be easy to implement and to not tax limited cognitive resources, which has led heuristics to be characterized as fast-and-frugal. We question this monolithic conception of heuristics…

Perioperative strategy in colonic surgery; LAparoscopy and/or FAst track multimodal management versus standard care (LAFA trial)

PubMed Central

Wind, Jan; Hofland, Jan; Preckel, Benedikt; Hollmann, Markus W; Bossuyt, Patrick MM; Gouma, Dirk J; van Berge Henegouwen, Mark I; Fuhring, Jan Willem; Dejong, Cornelis HC; van Dam, Ronald M; Cuesta, Miguel A; Noordhuis, Astrid; de Jong, Dick; van Zalingen, Edith; Engel, Alexander F; Goei, T Hauwy; de Stoppelaar, I Erica; van Tets, Willem F; van Wagensveld, Bart A; Swart, Annemiek; van den Elsen, Maarten JLJ; Gerhards, Michael F; de Wit, Laurens Th; Siepel, Muriel AM; van Geloven, Anna AW; Juttmann, Jan-Willem; Clevers, Wilfred; Bemelman, Willem A

2006-01-01

Background Recent developments in large bowel surgery are the introduction of laparoscopic surgery and the implementation of multimodal fast track recovery programs. Both focus on a faster recovery and shorter hospital stay. The randomized controlled multicenter LAFA-trial (LAparoscopy and/or FAst track multimodal management versus standard care) was conceived to determine whether laparoscopic surgery, fast track perioperative care or a combination of both is to be preferred over open surgery with standard care in patients having segmental colectomy for malignant disease. Methods/design The LAFA-trial is a double blinded, multicenter trial with a 2 × 2 balanced factorial design. Patients eligible for segmental colectomy for malignant colorectal disease i.e. right and left colectomy and anterior resection will be randomized to either open or laparoscopic colectomy, and to either standard care or the fast track program. This factorial design produces four treatment groups; open colectomy with standard care (a), open colectomy with fast track program (b), laparoscopic colectomy with standard care (c), and laparoscopic surgery with fast track program (d). Primary outcome parameter is postoperative hospital length of stay including readmission within 30 days. Secondary outcome parameters are quality of life two and four weeks after surgery, overall hospital costs, morbidity, patient satisfaction and readmission rate. Based on a mean postoperative hospital stay of 9 +/- 2.5 days a group size of 400 patients (100 each arm) can reliably detect a minimum difference of 1 day between the four arms (alfa = 0.95, beta = 0.8). With 100 patients in each arm a difference of 10% in subscales of the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire and social functioning can be detected. Discussion The LAFA-trial is a randomized controlled multicenter trial that will provide evidence on the merits of fast track perioperative care and laparoscopic colorectal surgery in patients having segmental colectomy for malignant disease. PMID:17134506

Neighborhood deprivation and access to fast-food retailing: a national study.

PubMed

Pearce, Jamie; Blakely, Tony; Witten, Karen; Bartie, Phil

2007-05-01

Obesogenic environments may be an important contextual explanation for the growing obesity epidemic, including its unequal social distribution. The objective of this study was to determine whether geographic access to fast-food outlets varied by neighborhood deprivation and school socioeconomic ranking, and whether any such associations differed to those for access to healthier food outlets. Data were collected on the location of fast-food outlets, supermarkets, and convenience stores across New Zealand. The data were geocoded and geographic information systems used to calculate travel distances from each census meshblock (i.e., neighborhood), and each school, to the closest fast-food outlet. Median travel distances are reported by a census-based index of socioeconomic deprivation for each neighborhood, and by a Ministry of Education measure of socioeconomic circumstances for each school. Analyses were repeated for outlets selling healthy food to allow comparisons. At the national level, statistically significant negative associations were found between neighborhood access to the nearest fast-food outlet and neighborhood deprivation (p<0.001) for both multinational fast-food outlets and locally operated outlets. The travel distances to both types of fast food outlet were at least twice as far in the least socially deprived neighborhoods compared to the most deprived neighborhoods. A similar pattern was found for outlets selling healthy food such as supermarkets and smaller food outlets (p<0.001). These relationships were broadly linear with travel distances tending to be shorter in more-deprived neighborhoods. There is a strong association between neighborhood deprivation and geographic access to fast food outlets in New Zealand, which may contribute to the understanding of environmental causes of obesity. However, outlets potentially selling healthy food (e.g., supermarkets) are patterned by deprivation in a similar way. These findings highlight the importance of considering all aspects of the food environment (healthy and unhealthy) when developing environmental strategies to address the obesity epidemic.

Fast single run of vanilla fingerprint markers on microfluidic-electrochemistry chip for confirmation of common frauds.

PubMed

Avila, Mónica; Zougagh, Mohammed; Escarpa, Alberto; Ríos, Angel

2009-10-01

A new strategy based on the fast separation of the fingerprint markers of Vanilla planifolia extracts and vanilla-related samples on microfluidic-electrochemistry chip is proposed. This methodology allowed the detection of all required markers for confirmation of common frauds in this field. The elution order was strategically connected with sequential sample screening and analyte confirmation steps, where first ethyl vanillin was detected to distinguish natural from adultered samples; second, vanillin as prominent marker in V. planifolia, but frequently added in its synthetic form; and third, the final detection of the fingerprint markers (p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillic acid, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid) of V. planifolia with confirmation purposes. The reliability of the proposed methodology was demonstrated in the confirmation the natural or non-natural origin of vanilla in samples using V. planifolia extracts and other selected food samples containing this flavor.

Optimization of memory use of fragment extension-based protein-ligand docking with an original fast minimum cost flow algorithm.

PubMed

Yanagisawa, Keisuke; Komine, Shunta; Kubota, Rikuto; Ohue, Masahito; Akiyama, Yutaka

2018-06-01

The need to accelerate large-scale protein-ligand docking in virtual screening against a huge compound database led researchers to propose a strategy that entails memorizing the evaluation result of the partial structure of a compound and reusing it to evaluate other compounds. However, the previous method required frequent disk accesses, resulting in insufficient acceleration. Thus, more efficient memory usage can be expected to lead to further acceleration, and optimal memory usage could be achieved by solving the minimum cost flow problem. In this research, we propose a fast algorithm for the minimum cost flow problem utilizing the characteristics of the graph generated for this problem as constraints. The proposed algorithm, which optimized memory usage, was approximately seven times faster compared to existing minimum cost flow algorithms. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Reducing abrupt climate change risk using the Montreal Protocol and other regulatory actions to complement cuts in CO2 emissions

PubMed Central

Molina, Mario; Zaelke, Durwood; Sarma, K. Madhava; Andersen, Stephen O.; Ramanathan, Veerabhadran; Kaniaru, Donald

2009-01-01

Current emissions of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) have already committed the planet to an increase in average surface temperature by the end of the century that may be above the critical threshold for tipping elements of the climate system into abrupt change with potentially irreversible and unmanageable consequences. This would mean that the climate system is close to entering if not already within the zone of “dangerous anthropogenic interference” (DAI). Scientific and policy literature refers to the need for “early,” “urgent,” “rapid,” and “fast-action” mitigation to help avoid DAI and abrupt climate changes. We define “fast-action” to include regulatory measures that can begin within 2–3 years, be substantially implemented in 5–10 years, and produce a climate response within decades. We discuss strategies for short-lived non-CO2 GHGs and particles, where existing agreements can be used to accomplish mitigation objectives. Policy makers can amend the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) with high global warming potential. Other fast-action strategies can reduce emissions of black carbon particles and precursor gases that lead to ozone formation in the lower atmosphere, and increase biosequestration, including through biochar. These and other fast-action strategies may reduce the risk of abrupt climate change in the next few decades by complementing cuts in CO2 emissions. PMID:19822751

An efficient and accurate 3D displacements tracking strategy for digital volume correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Bing; Wang, Bo; Wu, Dafang; Lubineau, Gilles

2014-07-01

Owing to its inherent computational complexity, practical implementation of digital volume correlation (DVC) for internal displacement and strain mapping faces important challenges in improving its computational efficiency. In this work, an efficient and accurate 3D displacement tracking strategy is proposed for fast DVC calculation. The efficiency advantage is achieved by using three improvements. First, to eliminate the need of updating Hessian matrix in each iteration, an efficient 3D inverse compositional Gauss-Newton (3D IC-GN) algorithm is introduced to replace existing forward additive algorithms for accurate sub-voxel displacement registration. Second, to ensure the 3D IC-GN algorithm that converges accurately and rapidly and avoid time-consuming integer-voxel displacement searching, a generalized reliability-guided displacement tracking strategy is designed to transfer accurate and complete initial guess of deformation for each calculation point from its computed neighbors. Third, to avoid the repeated computation of sub-voxel intensity interpolation coefficients, an interpolation coefficient lookup table is established for tricubic interpolation. The computational complexity of the proposed fast DVC and the existing typical DVC algorithms are first analyzed quantitatively according to necessary arithmetic operations. Then, numerical tests are performed to verify the performance of the fast DVC algorithm in terms of measurement accuracy and computational efficiency. The experimental results indicate that, compared with the existing DVC algorithm, the presented fast DVC algorithm produces similar precision and slightly higher accuracy at a substantially reduced computational cost.

Chromatic information and feature detection in fast visual analysis

DOE PAGES

Del Viva, Maria M.; Punzi, Giovanni; Shevell, Steven K.; ...

2016-08-01

The visual system is able to recognize a scene based on a sketch made of very simple features. This ability is likely crucial for survival, when fast image recognition is necessary, and it is believed that a primal sketch is extracted very early in the visual processing. Such highly simplified representations can be sufficient for accurate object discrimination, but an open question is the role played by color in this process. Rich color information is available in natural scenes, yet artist's sketches are usually monochromatic; and, black-andwhite movies provide compelling representations of real world scenes. Also, the contrast sensitivity ofmore » color is low at fine spatial scales. We approach the question from the perspective of optimal information processing by a system endowed with limited computational resources. We show that when such limitations are taken into account, the intrinsic statistical properties of natural scenes imply that the most effective strategy is to ignore fine-scale color features and devote most of the bandwidth to gray-scale information. We find confirmation of these information-based predictions from psychophysics measurements of fast-viewing discrimination of natural scenes. As a result, we conclude that the lack of colored features in our visual representation, and our overall low sensitivity to high-frequency color components, are a consequence of an adaptation process, optimizing the size and power consumption of our brain for the visual world we live in.« less

Chromatic information and feature detection in fast visual analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Del Viva, Maria M.; Punzi, Giovanni; Shevell, Steven K.

The visual system is able to recognize a scene based on a sketch made of very simple features. This ability is likely crucial for survival, when fast image recognition is necessary, and it is believed that a primal sketch is extracted very early in the visual processing. Such highly simplified representations can be sufficient for accurate object discrimination, but an open question is the role played by color in this process. Rich color information is available in natural scenes, yet artist's sketches are usually monochromatic; and, black-andwhite movies provide compelling representations of real world scenes. Also, the contrast sensitivity ofmore » color is low at fine spatial scales. We approach the question from the perspective of optimal information processing by a system endowed with limited computational resources. We show that when such limitations are taken into account, the intrinsic statistical properties of natural scenes imply that the most effective strategy is to ignore fine-scale color features and devote most of the bandwidth to gray-scale information. We find confirmation of these information-based predictions from psychophysics measurements of fast-viewing discrimination of natural scenes. As a result, we conclude that the lack of colored features in our visual representation, and our overall low sensitivity to high-frequency color components, are a consequence of an adaptation process, optimizing the size and power consumption of our brain for the visual world we live in.« less

Reducing acquisition times in multidimensional NMR with a time-optimized Fourier encoding algorithm

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Zhiyong; Department of Electronic Science, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plasma and Magnetic Resonance, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005; Smith, Pieter E. S.

Speeding up the acquisition of multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra is an important topic in contemporary NMR, with central roles in high-throughput investigations and analyses of marginally stable samples. A variety of fast NMR techniques have been developed, including methods based on non-uniform sampling and Hadamard encoding, that overcome the long sampling times inherent to schemes based on fast-Fourier-transform (FFT) methods. Here, we explore the potential of an alternative fast acquisition method that leverages a priori knowledge, to tailor polychromatic pulses and customized time delays for an efficient Fourier encoding of the indirect domain of an NMR experiment. Bymore » porting the encoding of the indirect-domain to the excitation process, this strategy avoids potential artifacts associated with non-uniform sampling schemes and uses a minimum number of scans equal to the number of resonances present in the indirect dimension. An added convenience is afforded by the fact that a usual 2D FFT can be used to process the generated data. Acquisitions of 2D heteronuclear correlation NMR spectra on quinine and on the anti-inflammatory drug isobutyl propionic phenolic acid illustrate the new method's performance. This method can be readily automated to deal with complex samples such as those occurring in metabolomics, in in-cell as well as in in vivo NMR applications, where speed and temporal stability are often primary concerns.« less

Active quantum plasmonics

PubMed Central

Marinica, Dana Codruta; Zapata, Mario; Nordlander, Peter; Kazansky, Andrey K.; M. Echenique, Pedro; Aizpurua, Javier; Borisov, Andrei G.

2015-01-01

The ability of localized surface plasmons to squeeze light and engineer nanoscale electromagnetic fields through electron-photon coupling at dimensions below the wavelength has turned plasmonics into a driving tool in a variety of technological applications, targeting novel and more efficient optoelectronic processes. In this context, the development of active control of plasmon excitations is a major fundamental and practical challenge. We propose a mechanism for fast and active control of the optical response of metallic nanostructures based on exploiting quantum effects in subnanometric plasmonic gaps. By applying an external dc bias across a narrow gap, a substantial change in the tunneling conductance across the junction can be induced at optical frequencies, which modifies the plasmonic resonances of the system in a reversible manner. We demonstrate the feasibility of the concept using time-dependent density functional theory calculations. Thus, along with two-dimensional structures, metal nanoparticle plasmonics can benefit from the reversibility, fast response time, and versatility of an active control strategy based on applied bias. The proposed electrical manipulation of light using quantum plasmonics establishes a new platform for many practical applications in optoelectronics. PMID:26824066

Superhydrophobic surfaces by electrochemical processes.

PubMed

Darmanin, Thierry; Taffin de Givenchy, Elisabeth; Amigoni, Sonia; Guittard, Frederic

2013-03-13

This review is an exhaustive representation of the electrochemical processes reported in the literature to produce superhydrophobic surfaces. Due to the intensive demand in the elaboration of superhydrophobic materials using low-cost, reproducible and fast methods, the use of strategies based on electrochemical processes have exponentially grown these last five years. These strategies are separated in two parts: the oxidation processes, such as oxidation of metals in solution, the anodization of metals or the electrodeposition of conducting polymers, and the reduction processed such as the electrodeposition of metals or the galvanic deposition. One of the main advantages of the electrochemical processes is the relative easiness to produce various surface morphologies and a precise control of the structures at a micro- or a nanoscale. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Antibody modeling using the prediction of immunoglobulin structure (PIGS) web server [corrected].

PubMed

Marcatili, Paolo; Olimpieri, Pier Paolo; Chailyan, Anna; Tramontano, Anna

2014-12-01

Antibodies (or immunoglobulins) are crucial for defending organisms from pathogens, but they are also key players in many medical, diagnostic and biotechnological applications. The ability to predict their structure and the specific residues involved in antigen recognition has several useful applications in all of these areas. Over the years, we have developed or collaborated in developing a strategy that enables researchers to predict the 3D structure of antibodies with a very satisfactory accuracy. The strategy is completely automated and extremely fast, requiring only a few minutes (∼10 min on average) to build a structural model of an antibody. It is based on the concept of canonical structures of antibody loops and on our understanding of the way light and heavy chains pack together.

TRANSP-based Trajectory Optimization of the Current Profile Evolution to Facilitate Robust Non-inductive Ramp-up in NSTX-U

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wehner, William; Schuster, Eugenio; Poli, Francesca

2016-10-01

Initial progress towards the design of non-inductive current ramp-up scenarios in the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) has been made through the use of TRANSP predictive simulations. The strategy involves, first, ramping the plasma current with high harmonic fast waves (HHFW) to about 400 kA, and then further ramping to 900 kA with neutral beam injection (NBI). However, the early ramping of neutral beams and application of HHFW leads to an undesirably peaked current profile making the plasma unstable to ballooning modes. We present an optimization-based control approach to improve on the non-inductive ramp-up strategy. We combine the TRANSP code with an optimization algorithm based on sequential quadratic programming to search for time evolutions of the NBI powers, the HHFW powers, and the line averaged density that define an open-loop actuator strategy that maximizes the non-inductive current while satisfying constraints associated with the current profile evolution for MHD stable plasmas. This technique has the potential of playing a critical role in achieving robustly stable non-inductive ramp-up, which will ultimately be necessary to demonstrate applicability of the spherical torus concept to larger devices without sufficient room for a central coil. Supported by the US DOE under the SCGSR Program.

Plug-in module acceleration feedback control for fast steering mirror-based beam stabilization systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Chao; Ren, Wei; Mao, Yao; Ren, Ge

2017-08-01

A plug-in module acceleration feedback control (Plug-In AFC) strategy based on the disturbance observer (DOB) principle is proposed for charge-coupled device (CCD)-based fast steering mirror (FSM) stabilization systems. In classical FSM tracking systems, dual-loop control (DLC), including velocity feedback and position feedback, is usually utilized to enhance the closed-loop performance. Due to the mechanical resonance of the system and CCD time delay, the closed-loop bandwidth is severely restricted. To solve this problem, cascade acceleration feedback control (AFC), which is a kind of high-precision robust control method, is introduced to strengthen the disturbance rejection property. However, in practical applications, it is difficult to realize an integral algorithm in an acceleration controller to compensate for the quadratic differential contained in the FSM acceleration model, resulting in a challenging controller design and a limited improvement. To optimize the acceleration feedback framework in the FSM system, different from the cascade AFC, the accelerometers are used to construct DOB to compensate for the platform vibrations directly. The acceleration nested loop can be plugged into the velocity loop without changing the system stability, and the controller design is quite simple. A series of comparative experimental results demonstrate that the disturbance rejection property of the CCD-based FSM can be effectively improved by the proposed approach.

Counting malaria parasites with a two-stage EM based algorithm using crowsourced data.

PubMed

Cabrera-Bean, Margarita; Pages-Zamora, Alba; Diaz-Vilor, Carles; Postigo-Camps, Maria; Cuadrado-Sanchez, Daniel; Luengo-Oroz, Miguel Angel

2017-07-01

Malaria eradication of the worldwide is currently one of the main WHO's global goals. In this work, we focus on the use of human-machine interaction strategies for low-cost fast reliable malaria diagnostic based on a crowdsourced approach. The addressed technical problem consists in detecting spots in images even under very harsh conditions when positive objects are very similar to some artifacts. The clicks or tags delivered by several annotators labeling an image are modeled as a robust finite mixture, and techniques based on the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm are proposed for accurately counting malaria parasites on thick blood smears obtained by microscopic Giemsa-stained techniques. This approach outperforms other traditional methods as it is shown through experimentation with real data.

PCTDSE: A parallel Cartesian-grid-based TDSE solver for modeling laser-atom interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Yongsheng; Zeng, Jiaolong; Yuan, Jianmin

2017-01-01

We present a parallel Cartesian-grid-based time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) solver for modeling laser-atom interactions. It can simulate the single-electron dynamics of atoms in arbitrary time-dependent vector potentials. We use a split-operator method combined with fast Fourier transforms (FFT), on a three-dimensional (3D) Cartesian grid. Parallelization is realized using a 2D decomposition strategy based on the Message Passing Interface (MPI) library, which results in a good parallel scaling on modern supercomputers. We give simple applications for the hydrogen atom using the benchmark problems coming from the references and obtain repeatable results. The extensions to other laser-atom systems are straightforward with minimal modifications of the source code.

Current Source Based on H-Bridge Inverter with Output LCL Filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blahnik, Vojtech; Talla, Jakub; Peroutka, Zdenek

2015-09-01

The paper deals with a control of current source with an LCL output filter. The controlled current source is realized as a single-phase inverter and output LCL filter provides low ripple of output current. However, systems incorporating LCL filters require more complex control strategies and there are several interesting approaches to the control of this type of converter. This paper presents the inverter control algorithm, which combines model based control with a direct current control based on resonant controllers and single-phase vector control. The primary goal is to reduce the current ripple and distortion under required limits and provides fast and precise control of output current. The proposed control technique is verified by measurements on the laboratory model.

Improving biomass pyrolysis economics by integrating vapor and liquid phase upgrading

DOE PAGES

Iisa, Kristiina; Robichaud, David J.; Watson, Michael J.; ...

2017-11-24

Partial deoxygenation of bio-oil by catalytic fast pyrolysis with subsequent coupling and hydrotreating can lead to improved economics and will aid commercial deployment of pyrolytic conversion of biomass technologies. Biomass pyrolysis efficiently depolymerizes and deconstructs solid plant matter into carbonaceous molecules that, upon catalytic upgrading, can be used for fuels and chemicals. Upgrading strategies include catalytic deoxygenation of the vapors before they are condensed (in situ and ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis), or hydrotreating following condensation of the bio-oil. In general, deoxygenation carbon efficiencies, one of the most important cost drivers, are typically higher for hydrotreating when compared to catalyticmore » fast pyrolysis alone. However, using catalytic fast pyrolysis as the primary conversion step can benefit the entire process chain by: (1) reducing the reactivity of the bio-oil, thereby mitigating issues with aging and transport and eliminating need for multi-stage hydroprocessing configurations; (2) producing a bio-oil that can be fractionated through distillation, which could lead to more efficient use of hydrogen during hydrotreating and facilitate integration in existing petroleum refineries; and (3) allowing for the separation of the aqueous phase. In this perspective, we investigate in detail a combination of these approaches, where some oxygen is removed during catalytic fast pyrolysis and the remainder removed by downstream hydrotreating, accompanied by carbon–carbon coupling reactions in either the vapor or liquid phase to maximize carbon efficiency toward value-driven products (e.g. fuels or chemicals). The economic impact of partial deoxygenation by catalytic fast pyrolysis will be explored in the context of an integrated two-stage process. In conclusion, improving the overall pyrolysis-based biorefinery economics by inclusion of production of high-value co-products will be examined.« less

Improving biomass pyrolysis economics by integrating vapor and liquid phase upgrading

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iisa, Kristiina; Robichaud, David J.; Watson, Michael J.

Partial deoxygenation of bio-oil by catalytic fast pyrolysis with subsequent coupling and hydrotreating can lead to improved economics and will aid commercial deployment of pyrolytic conversion of biomass technologies. Biomass pyrolysis efficiently depolymerizes and deconstructs solid plant matter into carbonaceous molecules that, upon catalytic upgrading, can be used for fuels and chemicals. Upgrading strategies include catalytic deoxygenation of the vapors before they are condensed (in situ and ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis), or hydrotreating following condensation of the bio-oil. In general, deoxygenation carbon efficiencies, one of the most important cost drivers, are typically higher for hydrotreating when compared to catalyticmore » fast pyrolysis alone. However, using catalytic fast pyrolysis as the primary conversion step can benefit the entire process chain by: (1) reducing the reactivity of the bio-oil, thereby mitigating issues with aging and transport and eliminating need for multi-stage hydroprocessing configurations; (2) producing a bio-oil that can be fractionated through distillation, which could lead to more efficient use of hydrogen during hydrotreating and facilitate integration in existing petroleum refineries; and (3) allowing for the separation of the aqueous phase. In this perspective, we investigate in detail a combination of these approaches, where some oxygen is removed during catalytic fast pyrolysis and the remainder removed by downstream hydrotreating, accompanied by carbon–carbon coupling reactions in either the vapor or liquid phase to maximize carbon efficiency toward value-driven products (e.g. fuels or chemicals). The economic impact of partial deoxygenation by catalytic fast pyrolysis will be explored in the context of an integrated two-stage process. In conclusion, improving the overall pyrolysis-based biorefinery economics by inclusion of production of high-value co-products will be examined.« less

Fast high resolution reconstruction in multi-slice and multi-view cMRI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velasco Toledo, Nelson; Romero Castro, Eduardo

2015-01-01

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) is an useful tool in diagnosis, prognosis and research since it functionally tracks the heart structure. Although useful, this imaging technique is limited in spatial resolution because heart is a constant moving organ, also there are other non controled conditions such as patient movements and volumetric changes during apnea periods when data is acquired, those conditions limit the time to capture high quality information. This paper presents a very fast and simple strategy to reconstruct high resolution 3D images from a set of low resolution series of 2D images. The strategy is based on an information reallocation algorithm which uses the DICOM header to relocate voxel intensities in a regular grid. An interpolation method is applied to fill empty places with estimated data, the interpolation resamples the low resolution information to estimate the missing information. As a final step a gaussian filter that denoises the final result. A reconstructed image evaluation is performed using as a reference a super-resolution reconstructed image. The evaluation reveals that the method maintains the general heart structure with a small loss in detailed information (edge sharpening and blurring), some artifacts related with input information quality are detected. The proposed method requires low time and computational resources.

RTDS implementation of an improved sliding mode based inverter controller for PV system.

PubMed

Islam, Gazi; Muyeen, S M; Al-Durra, Ahmed; Hasanien, Hany M

2016-05-01

This paper proposes a novel approach for testing dynamics and control aspects of a large scale photovoltaic (PV) system in real time along with resolving design hindrances of controller parameters using Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). In general, the harmonic profile of a fast controller has wide distribution due to the large bandwidth of the controller. The major contribution of this paper is that the proposed control strategy gives an improved voltage harmonic profile and distribute it more around the switching frequency along with fast transient response; filter design, thus, becomes easier. The implementation of a control strategy with high bandwidth in small time steps of Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) is not straight forward. This paper shows a good methodology for the practitioners to implement such control scheme in RTDS. As a part of the industrial process, the controller parameters are optimized using particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique to improve the low voltage ride through (LVRT) performance under network disturbance. The response surface methodology (RSM) is well adapted to build analytical models for recovery time (Rt), maximum percentage overshoot (MPOS), settling time (Ts), and steady state error (Ess) of the voltage profile immediate after inverter under disturbance. A systematic approach of controller parameter optimization is detailed. The transient performance of the PSO based optimization method applied to the proposed sliding mode controlled PV inverter is compared with the results from genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization technique. The reported real time implementation challenges and controller optimization procedure are applicable to other control applications in the field of renewable and distributed generation systems. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Gas Turbine Compressor Simulation Model for Inclusion of Active Control Strategies

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-06-01

family is based on a classic ,. ( feedback control system, i.e., a sensor /actuator pair and a suitable control law. Ffowcs Williams and Huang (1989...stabilized the 0,4 unstable flow in a small compression system by using a pressure 0 0.2 04 0.6 0 8 :, .4 16 . a) sensor located in the plenum and a...requirements: very fast response to frequency and a large number of sensors and actuators. The former conflicts with the use of analogic or AA = Kdp/dt

Cognitive niches: an ecological model of strategy selection.

PubMed

Marewski, Julian N; Schooler, Lael J

2011-07-01

How do people select among different strategies to accomplish a given task? Across disciplines, the strategy selection problem represents a major challenge. We propose a quantitative model that predicts how selection emerges through the interplay among strategies, cognitive capacities, and the environment. This interplay carves out for each strategy a cognitive niche, that is, a limited number of situations in which the strategy can be applied, simplifying strategy selection. To illustrate our proposal, we consider selection in the context of 2 theories: the simple heuristics framework and the ACT-R (adaptive control of thought-rational) architecture of cognition. From the heuristics framework, we adopt the thesis that people make decisions by selecting from a repertoire of simple decision strategies that exploit regularities in the environment and draw on cognitive capacities, such as memory and time perception. ACT-R provides a quantitative theory of how these capacities adapt to the environment. In 14 simulations and 10 experiments, we consider the choice between strategies that operate on the accessibility of memories and those that depend on elaborate knowledge about the world. Based on Internet statistics, our model quantitatively predicts people's familiarity with and knowledge of real-world objects, the distributional characteristics of the associated speed of memory retrieval, and the cognitive niches of classic decision strategies, including those of the fluency, recognition, integration, lexicographic, and sequential-sampling heuristics. In doing so, the model specifies when people will be able to apply different strategies and how accurate, fast, and effortless people's decisions will be.

Fast food restaurants and food stores: longitudinal associations with diet in young to middle-aged adults: the CARDIA study.

PubMed

Boone-Heinonen, Janne; Gordon-Larsen, Penny; Kiefe, Catarina I; Shikany, James M; Lewis, Cora E; Popkin, Barry M

2011-07-11

A growing body of cross-sectional, small-sample research has led to policy strategies to reduce food deserts--neighborhoods with little or no access to healthy foods--by limiting fast food restaurants and small food stores and increasing access to supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods. We used 15 years of longitudinal data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a cohort of US young adults (aged 18-30 years at baseline) (n = 5115), with linked time-varying geographic information system-derived food resource measures. Using repeated measures from 4 examination periods (n = 15,854 person-examination observations) and conditional regression (conditioned on the individual), we modeled fast food consumption, diet quality, and adherence to fruit and vegetable recommendations as a function of fast food chain, supermarket, or grocery store availability (counts per population) within less than 1.00 km, 1.00 to 2.99 km, 3.00 to 4.99 km, and 5.00 to 8.05 km of respondents' homes. Models were sex stratified, controlled for individual sociodemographic characteristics and neighborhood poverty, and tested for interaction by individual-level income. Fast food consumption was related to fast food availability among low-income respondents, particularly within 1.00 to 2.99 km of home among men (coefficient, 0.34; 95% confidence interval, 0.16-0.51). Greater supermarket availability was generally unrelated to diet quality and fruit and vegetable intake, and relationships between grocery store availability and diet outcomes were mixed. Our findings provide some evidence for zoning restrictions on fast food restaurants within 3 km of low-income residents but suggest that increased access to food stores may require complementary or alternative strategies to promote dietary behavior change.

Fast food restaurants and food stores: longitudinal associations with diet in young adults: The CARDIA Study

PubMed Central

Boone-Heinonen, Janne; Gordon-Larsen, Penny; Kiefe, Catarina I.; Shikany, James M.; Lewis, Cora E.; Popkin, Barry M.

2011-01-01

Background A growing body of cross-sectional, small-sample research has led to policy strategies to reduce food deserts – neighborhoods with little or no access to healthy foods – by limiting fast food restaurants and small food stores and increasing access to supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods. Methods We used 15 years of longitudinal data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a cohort of U.S. young adults (n=5,115, 18–30 years at baseline), with linked time-varying geographic information system-derived food resource measures. Using repeated measures from four examination periods (n=15,854 person-exam observations) and conditional regression (conditioned on the individual), we modeled fast food consumption, diet quality, and meeting fruit and vegetable recommendations as a function of fast food chain, supermarket, or grocery store availability (counts per population) within 1 kilometer (km), 1–2.9km, 3–4.9km, and 5–8km of respondents’ homes. Models were sex-stratified, controlled for individual sociodemographics and neighborhood poverty, and tested for interaction by individual-level income. Results Fast food consumption was related to fast food availability in low-income respondents, particularly within 1–2.9km of homes among men [coefficient (95% CI) up to: 0.34 (0.16, 0.51)]. Greater supermarket availability was generally unrelated to diet quality and fruit and vegetable intake and relationships between grocery store availability and diet outcomes were mixed. Conclusions Our findings provide some evidence for zoning restrictions on fast food restaurants within 3km of low-income residents, but suggest that increased access to food stores may require complementary or alternative strategies to promote dietary behavior change. PMID:21747011

Fasting glucose measurement as a potential first step screening for glucose metabolism abnormalities in women with anovulatory polycystic ovary syndrome.

PubMed

Veltman-Verhulst, Susanne M; Goverde, Angelique J; van Haeften, Timon W; Fauser, Bart C J M

2013-08-01

Is routine screening by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) needed for all women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? Screening for glucose metabolism abnormalities of PCOS patients by an OGTT could potentially be limited to patients who present with a fasting glucose concentration between 6.1 and 7.0 mmol/l only. Women with PCOS are at increased risk of developing diabetes. This study proposes a stepwise screening strategy for (pre)diabetes for PCOS patients based on risk stratification by fasting plasma glucose. A cross-sectional study of 226 women diagnosed with anovulatory PCOS. A consecutive series of 226 patients, diagnosed with PCOS at the University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands, were screened for glucose metabolism abnormalities by OGTT (75 g glucose load). The majority of the 226 women (mean age: 29.6 ± 4.3 years; BMI: 27.3 ± 6.7 kg/m(2); 81% Caucasian) presented with a normal OGTT (169 women (75%)). Of the 57 (25%) women presenting with mild to moderate glucose abnormalities, 53 (93%) could be identified by fasting glucose concentrations only. Diabetes was diagnosed in a total of eight women (3.5%). In six women, the diagnosis was based on fasting glucose >7.0 mmol/l. The other two cases of diabetes initially presented with fasting glucose between 6.1 and 7.0 mmol/l and were diagnosed by OGTT assessment. No women diagnosed with diabetes presented with fasting glucose levels below 6.1 mmol/l. We therefore conclude that all diabetes patients could potentially be found by initial fasting glucose assessment followed by OGTT only in patients with fasting glucose between 6.1 and 7.0 mmol/l. Before general implementation can be advised, this screening algorithm should be validated in a prospective study of a similar or greater number of PCOS women. Our study comprised of a mostly Caucasian (81%) population, therefore generalization to other ethnic populations should be done with caution. No external finance was involved in this study. B.C.J.M.F. has received fees and grant support from the following companies (in alphabetic order); Andromed, Ardana, Ferring, Genovum, Merck Serono, MSD, Organon, Pantharei Bioscience, PregLem, Schering, Schering Plough, Serono and Wyeth. A.J.G. has received fees from Abbott, Bayer Schering and IBSA. T.W.H. has received fees from Merck, Sharpe & Dohme, GlaxoSmithKline, NovoNordisk and Eli Lilly. The authors declare complete independence from funders. NCT00821379.

Active learning methods for interactive image retrieval.

PubMed

Gosselin, Philippe Henri; Cord, Matthieu

2008-07-01

Active learning methods have been considered with increased interest in the statistical learning community. Initially developed within a classification framework, a lot of extensions are now being proposed to handle multimedia applications. This paper provides algorithms within a statistical framework to extend active learning for online content-based image retrieval (CBIR). The classification framework is presented with experiments to compare several powerful classification techniques in this information retrieval context. Focusing on interactive methods, active learning strategy is then described. The limitations of this approach for CBIR are emphasized before presenting our new active selection process RETIN. First, as any active method is sensitive to the boundary estimation between classes, the RETIN strategy carries out a boundary correction to make the retrieval process more robust. Second, the criterion of generalization error to optimize the active learning selection is modified to better represent the CBIR objective of database ranking. Third, a batch processing of images is proposed. Our strategy leads to a fast and efficient active learning scheme to retrieve sets of online images (query concept). Experiments on large databases show that the RETIN method performs well in comparison to several other active strategies.

Flammability as an ecological and evolutionary driver

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pausas, Juli G.; Keeley, Jon E.; Schwilk, Dylan W.

2017-01-01

We live on a flammable planet yet there is little consensus on the origin and evolution of flammability in our flora.We argue that part of the problem lies in the concept of flammability, which should not be viewed as a single quantitative trait or metric. Rather, we propose that flammability has three major dimensions that are not necessarily correlated: ignitability, heat release and fire spread rate. These major axes of variation are controlled by different plant traits and have differing ecological impacts during fire.At the individual plant scale, these traits define three flammability strategies observed in fire-prone ecosystems: the non-flammable, the fast-flammable and the hot-flammable strategy (with low ignitability, high flame spread rate and high heat release, respectively). These strategies increase the survival or reproduction under recurrent fires, and thus, plants in fire-prone ecosystems benefit from acquiring one of them; they represent different (alternative) ways to live under recurrent fires.Synthesis. This novel framework based on different flammability strategies helps us to understand variability in flammability across scales, and provides a basis for further research.

An Active Learning Mammalian Skeletal Muscle Lab Demonstrating Contractile and Kinetic Properties of Fast- and Slow-Twitch Muscle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Head, S. I.; Arber, M. B.

2013-01-01

The fact that humans possess fast and slow-twitch muscle in the ratio of approximately 50% has profound implications for designing exercise training strategies for power and endurance activities. With the growth of exercise and sport science courses, we have seen the need to develop an undergraduate student laboratory that demonstrates the basic…

Good, Fast, Cheap: How Centers of Teaching and Learning Can Capitalize in Today's Resource-Constrained Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Truong, Michael H.; Juillerat, Stephanie; Gin, Deborah H. C.

2016-01-01

This article provides leaders and educational developers of Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) with innovative and practical strategies on how to increase their centers' capacity and impact by focusing on quality, efficiency, and cost. This "good, fast, cheap" model represents a promising way that CTL can continue to grow, scale,…

Highly Efficient Oxygen-Storage Material with Intrinsic Coke Resistance for Chemical Looping Combustion-Based CO2 Capture.

PubMed

Imtiaz, Qasim; Kurlov, Alexey; Rupp, Jennifer Lilia Marguerite; Müller, Christoph Rüdiger

2015-06-22

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) and chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling (CLOU) are emerging thermochemical CO2 capture cycles that allow the capture of CO2 with a small energy penalty. Here, the development of suitable oxygen carrier materials is a key aspect to transfer these promising concepts to practical installations. CuO is an attractive material for CLC and CLOU because of its high oxygen-storage capacity (20 wt %), fast reaction kinetics, and high equilibrium partial pressure of oxygen at typical operating temperatures (850-1000 °C). However, despite its promising characteristics, its low Tammann temperature requires the development of new strategies to phase-stabilize CuO-based oxygen carriers. In this work, we report a strategy based on stabilization by co-precipitated ceria (CeO2-x ), which allowed us to increase the oxygen capacity, coke resistance, and redox stability of CuO-based oxygen carriers substantially. The performance of the new oxygen carriers was evaluated in detail and compared to the current state-of-the-art materials, that is, Al2 O3 -stabilized CuO with similar CuO loadings. We also demonstrate that the higher intrinsic oxygen uptake, release, and mobility in CeO2-x -stabilized CuO leads to a three times higher carbon deposition resistance compared to that of Al2 O3 -stabilized CuO. Moreover, we report a high cyclic stability without phase intermixing for CeO2-x -supported CuO. This was accompanied by a lower reduction temperature compared to state-of-the-art Al2 O3 -supported CuO. As a result of its high resistance towards carbon deposition and fast oxygen uncoupling kinetics, CeO2-x -stabilized CuO is identified as a very promising material for CLC- and CLOU-based CO2 capture architectures. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Korean adolescents' perceptions of nutrition and health towards fast foods in Busan area

PubMed Central

Yoon, Ji-young; Lee, Kyung-a

2008-01-01

Adolescents in Busan area were asked in a survey about their perception and attitudes towards fast food. Most respondents answered that they consume fast food once a month because it is fast, easily accessible and tasty. Although they perceived fast food as unhealthy and less nutritious, they were less aware of its effect on their health and nutritional status. The more knowledgeable respondents were about nutrition and health the less likely they were to choose fast food over other meals. However, respondents who had little or no knowledge about the nutritional factors of fast food accounted for 43.1%. As to their source of dietary information, students relied on themselves (31.0%), parents (20.5%) and friends (19.9%). The medium through which students got the most nutrition and health information was television (66.8%), followed by the Internet (36.7%) and magazines (29.7%). This study will enable educators to plan more effective strategies for improving the dietary knowledge of the adolescent population. PMID:20126603

Accessibility of fast food outlets is associated with fast food intake. A study in the Capital Region of Denmark.

PubMed

Bernsdorf, Kamille Almer; Lau, Cathrine Juel; Andreasen, Anne Helms; Toft, Ulla; Lykke, Maja; Glümer, Charlotte

2017-11-01

Literature suggests that people living in areas with a wealth of unhealthy fast food options may show higher levels of fast food intake. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were applied to examine the association between GIS-located fast food outlets (FFOs) and self-reported fast food intake among adults (+ 16 years) in the Capital Region of Denmark (N = 48,305). Accessibility of FFOs was measured both as proximity (distance to nearest FFO) and density (number of FFOs within a 1km network buffer around home). Odds of fast food intake ≥ 1/week increased significantly with increasing FFO density and decreased significantly with increasing distance to the nearest FFO for distances ≤ 4km. For long distances (>4km), odds increased with increasing distance, although this applied only for car owners. Results suggest that Danish health promotion strategies need to consider the contribution of the built environment to unhealthy eating. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A high-performance supercapacitor electrode based on N-doped porous graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Shuge; Liu, Zhen; Zhao, Bote; Zeng, Jianhuang; Hu, Hao; Zhang, Qiaobao; Chen, Dongchang; Qu, Chong; Dang, Dai; Liu, Meilin

2018-05-01

The development of high-performance supercapacitors (SCs) often faces some contradictory and competing requirements such as excellent rate capability, long cycling life, and high energy density. One effective strategy is to explore electrode materials of high capacitance, electrode architectures of fast charge and mass transfer, and electrolytes of wide voltage window. Here we report a facile and readily scalable strategy to produce high-performance N-doped graphene with a high specific capacitance (∼390 F g-1). A symmetric SC device with a wide voltage window of 3.5 V is also successfully fabricated based on the N-doped graphene electrode. More importantly, the as-assembled symmetric SC delivers a high energy density of 55 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 1800 W kg-1 while maintaining superior cycling life (retaining 96.6% of the initial capacitance after 20,000 cycles). Even at a power density as high as 8800 W kg-1, it still retains an energy density of 29 Wh kg-1, higher than those of previously reported graphene-based symmetric SCs.

Block Preconditioning to Enable Physics-Compatible Implicit Multifluid Plasma Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Edward; Shadid, John; Cyr, Eric; Miller, Sean

2017-10-01

Multifluid plasma simulations involve large systems of partial differential equations in which many time-scales ranging over many orders of magnitude arise. Since the fastest of these time-scales may set a restrictively small time-step limit for explicit methods, the use of implicit or implicit-explicit time integrators can be more tractable for obtaining dynamics at time-scales of interest. Furthermore, to enforce properties such as charge conservation and divergence-free magnetic field, mixed discretizations using volume, nodal, edge-based, and face-based degrees of freedom are often employed in some form. Together with the presence of stiff modes due to integrating over fast time-scales, the mixed discretization makes the required linear solves for implicit methods particularly difficult for black box and monolithic solvers. This work presents a block preconditioning strategy for multifluid plasma systems that segregates the linear system based on discretization type and approximates off-diagonal coupling in block diagonal Schur complement operators. By employing multilevel methods for the block diagonal subsolves, this strategy yields algorithmic and parallel scalability which we demonstrate on a range of problems.

Applying High-Speed Vision Sensing to an Industrial Robot for High-Performance Position Regulation under Uncertainties

PubMed Central

Huang, Shouren; Bergström, Niklas; Yamakawa, Yuji; Senoo, Taku; Ishikawa, Masatoshi

2016-01-01

It is traditionally difficult to implement fast and accurate position regulation on an industrial robot in the presence of uncertainties. The uncertain factors can be attributed either to the industrial robot itself (e.g., a mismatch of dynamics, mechanical defects such as backlash, etc.) or to the external environment (e.g., calibration errors, misalignment or perturbations of a workpiece, etc.). This paper proposes a systematic approach to implement high-performance position regulation under uncertainties on a general industrial robot (referred to as the main robot) with minimal or no manual teaching. The method is based on a coarse-to-fine strategy that involves configuring an add-on module for the main robot’s end effector. The add-on module consists of a 1000 Hz vision sensor and a high-speed actuator to compensate for accumulated uncertainties. The main robot only focuses on fast and coarse motion, with its trajectories automatically planned by image information from a static low-cost camera. Fast and accurate peg-and-hole alignment in one dimension was implemented as an application scenario by using a commercial parallel-link robot and an add-on compensation module with one degree of freedom (DoF). Experimental results yielded an almost 100% success rate for fast peg-in-hole manipulation (with regulation accuracy at about 0.1 mm) when the workpiece was randomly placed. PMID:27483274

A citizens' jury on regulation of McDonald's products and operations in Australia in response to a corporate health impact assessment.

PubMed

Anaf, Julia; Baum, Fran; Fisher, Matthew

2018-04-01

1) To report outcomes from a citizens' jury examining regulatory responses to the health impacts of McDonald's Australia; 2) To determine the value of using citizens' juries to develop policy recommendations based on the findings of health impact assessment of transnational corporations (TNCs). A citizens' jury engaged 15 randomly selected and demographically representative jurors from metropolitan Adelaide to deliberate on the findings of a Corporate Health Impact Assessment, and to decide on appropriate policy actions. Jurors unanimously called for government regulation to ensure that transnational fast food corporations pay taxes on profits in the country of income. A majority (two-thirds) also recommended government regulation to reduce fast food advertising, and improve standards of consumer information including a star-ratings system. A minority held the view that no further regulation is required of the corporate fast food industry in Australia. The jury's recommendations can help inform policy makers about the importance of ending the legal profit-shifting strategies by TNCs that affect taxation revenue. They also endorse regulating the fast food industry to provide healthier food, and employing forms of community education and awareness-raising. Implications for public health: Citizens' juries can play an important role in providing feedback and policy recommendations in response to the findings of a health impact assessment of transnational corporations. © 2018 The Authors.

CVD Prevention Through Policy: a Review of Mass Media, Food/Menu Labeling, Taxation/Subsidies, Built Environment, School Procurement, Worksite Wellness, and Marketing Standards to Improve Diet.

PubMed

Afshin, Ashkan; Penalvo, Jose; Del Gobbo, Liana; Kashaf, Michael; Micha, Renata; Morrish, Kurtis; Pearson-Stuttard, Jonathan; Rehm, Colin; Shangguan, Siyi; Smith, Jessica D; Mozaffarian, Dariush

2015-11-01

Poor diet is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease in the USA and globally. Evidence-based policies are crucial to improve diet and population health. We reviewed the effectiveness for a range of policy levers to alter diet and diet-related risk factors. We identified evidence to support benefits of focused mass media campaigns (especially for fruits, vegetables, salt), food pricing strategies (both subsidies and taxation, with stronger effects at lower income levels), school procurement policies (for increasing healthful or reducing unhealthful choices), and worksite wellness programs (especially when comprehensive and multicomponent). Evidence was inconclusive for food and menu labeling (for consumer or industry behavior) and changes in local built environment (e.g., availability or accessibility of supermarkets, fast food outlets). We found little empiric evidence evaluating marketing restrictions, although broad principles and large resources spent on marketing suggest utility. Widespread implementation and evaluation of evidence-based policy strategies, with further research on other strategies with mixed/limited evidence, are essential "population medicine" to reduce health and economic burdens and inequities of diet-related illness worldwide.

ReacKnock: Identifying Reaction Deletion Strategies for Microbial Strain Optimization Based on Genome-Scale Metabolic Network

PubMed Central

Xu, Zixiang; Zheng, Ping; Sun, Jibin; Ma, Yanhe

2013-01-01

Gene knockout has been used as a common strategy to improve microbial strains for producing chemicals. Several algorithms are available to predict the target reactions to be deleted. Most of them apply mixed integer bi-level linear programming (MIBLP) based on metabolic networks, and use duality theory to transform bi-level optimization problem of large-scale MIBLP to single-level programming. However, the validity of the transformation was not proved. Solution of MIBLP depends on the structure of inner problem. If the inner problem is continuous, Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) method can be used to reformulate the MIBLP to a single-level one. We adopt KKT technique in our algorithm ReacKnock to attack the intractable problem of the solution of MIBLP, demonstrated with the genome-scale metabolic network model of E. coli for producing various chemicals such as succinate, ethanol, threonine and etc. Compared to the previous methods, our algorithm is fast, stable and reliable to find the optimal solutions for all the chemical products tested, and able to provide all the alternative deletion strategies which lead to the same industrial objective. PMID:24348984

Strategy and Communication: A Framework for Future International Relations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roshwald, Mordecai

1984-01-01

World conditions make clarity of intent and substance essential in communications among governments. To avoid nuclear confrontation, strategy planners and policymakers should analyze their own communications as well as those of others with great care. Direct and fast communication among leaders can help to preserve peace. (Author/CS)

An International Academic Partnership through a Policy Implementation Lens: Top-Down, Bottom-Up or Somewhere in Between?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gieser, James D.

2015-01-01

Leaders of higher education institutions are eager to identify effective internationalization strategies in today's fast-paced, interconnected global environment. International academic partnerships are a common yet understudied strategy designed to take advantage of globalization's opportunities and to meet an institution's internationalization…

Dynamical measurements of motion behavior of free fluorescent sphere using the wide field temporal focusing microscopy with astigmatism method (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lien, Chi-Hsiang; Lin, Chun-Yu; Chen, Shean-Jen; Chien, Fan-Ching

2017-02-01

A three-dimensional (3D) single fluorescent particle tracking strategy based on temporal focusing multiphoton excitation microscopy (TFMPEM) combined with astigmatism imaging is proposed for delivering nanoscale-level axial information that reveals 3D trajectories of single fluorospheres in the axially-resolved multiphoton excitation volume without z-axis scanning. It provides the dynamical ability by measuring the diffusion coefficient of fluorospheres in glycerol solutions with a position standard deviation of 14 nm and 21 nm in the lateral and axial direction and a frame rate of 100 Hz. Moreover, the optical trapping force based on the TFMPEM is minimized to avoid the interference in the tracing measurements compared to that in the spatial focusing MPE approaches. Therefore, we presented a three dimensional single particle tracking strategy to overcome the limitation of the time resolution of the multiphoton imaging using fast frame rate of TFMPEM, and provide three dimensional locations of multiple particles using an astigmatism method.

Reference governors for controlled belt restraint systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Laan, E. P.; Heemels, W. P. M. H.; Luijten, H.; Veldpaus, F. E.; Steinbuch, M.

2010-07-01

Today's restraint systems typically include a number of airbags, and a three-point seat belt with load limiter and pretensioner. For the class of real-time controlled restraint systems, the restraint actuator settings are continuously manipulated during the crash. This paper presents a novel control strategy for these systems. The control strategy developed here is based on a combination of model predictive control and reference management, in which a non-linear device - a reference governor (RG) - is added to a primal closed-loop controlled system. This RG determines an optimal setpoint in terms of injury reduction and constraint satisfaction by solving a constrained optimisation problem. Prediction of the vehicle motion, required to predict future constraint violation, is included in the design and is based on past crash data, using linear regression techniques. Simulation results with MADYMO models show that, with ideal sensors and actuators, a significant reduction (45%) of the peak chest acceleration can be achieved, without prior knowledge of the crash. Furthermore, it is shown that the algorithms are sufficiently fast to be implemented online.

Microcontroller based resonance tracking unit for time resolved continuous wave cavity-ringdown spectroscopy measurements.

PubMed

Votava, Ondrej; Mašát, Milan; Parker, Alexander E; Jain, Chaithania; Fittschen, Christa

2012-04-01

We present in this work a new tracking servoloop electronics for continuous wave cavity-ringdown absorption spectroscopy (cw-CRDS) and its application to time resolved cw-CRDS measurements by coupling the system with a pulsed laser photolysis set-up. The tracking unit significantly increases the repetition rate of the CRDS events and thus improves effective time resolution (and/or the signal-to-noise ratio) in kinetics studies with cw-CRDS in given data acquisition time. The tracking servoloop uses novel strategy to track the cavity resonances that result in a fast relocking (few ms) after the loss of tracking due to an external disturbance. The microcontroller based design is highly flexible and thus advanced tracking strategies are easy to implement by the firmware modification without the need to modify the hardware. We believe that the performance of many existing cw-CRDS experiments, not only time-resolved, can be improved with such tracking unit without any additional modification to the experiment. © 2012 American Institute of Physics

The innovation policy of nanotechnology development and convergence for the new Korean government

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Seoung Hun; Lim, Jung Sun; Shin, Kwang Min; Kim, Chang Woo; Kang, Sang Kyu; Shin, Minsoo

2013-11-01

Since 2001, Korea has been establishing and executing policy for the development of nanotechnology in accordance with the National Comprehensive Development Plan of Nanotechnology (NCDPN) periods I, II, and III. NCDPN has been focused on innovation in wide spectrum of technology development, and NT-based convergence technologies are expected to contribute 35 % of the total GDP (about 5.02 billion won) with 1.2 million of job creation in KOREA at 2020. Establishment of new strategies for innovating and commercializing nanotechnology is an emerging global issue in major countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, and Korea, with particular concerns for safety in the implementations of nanotechnology (EHS). Under these circumstances, Korea needs to create a post-catch-up strategy beyond fast-follower approach, to compete effectively with nanotechnology-leading countries. This study analyzes the current status of Korean nanotechnology development and relevant policies, and suggests future policy directions for the new Korean government based on innovative competition theory.

Programmed coherent coupling in a synthetic DNA-based excitonic circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boulais, Étienne; Sawaya, Nicolas P. D.; Veneziano, Rémi; Andreoni, Alessio; Banal, James L.; Kondo, Toru; Mandal, Sarthak; Lin, Su; Schlau-Cohen, Gabriela S.; Woodbury, Neal W.; Yan, Hao; Aspuru-Guzik, Alán; Bathe, Mark

2018-02-01

Natural light-harvesting systems spatially organize densely packed chromophore aggregates using rigid protein scaffolds to achieve highly efficient, directed energy transfer. Here, we report a synthetic strategy using rigid DNA scaffolds to similarly program the spatial organization of densely packed, discrete clusters of cyanine dye aggregates with tunable absorption spectra and strongly coupled exciton dynamics present in natural light-harvesting systems. We first characterize the range of dye-aggregate sizes that can be templated spatially by A-tracts of B-form DNA while retaining coherent energy transfer. We then use structure-based modelling and quantum dynamics to guide the rational design of higher-order synthetic circuits consisting of multiple discrete dye aggregates within a DX-tile. These programmed circuits exhibit excitonic transport properties with prominent circular dichroism, superradiance, and fast delocalized exciton transfer, consistent with our quantum dynamics predictions. This bottom-up strategy offers a versatile approach to the rational design of strongly coupled excitonic circuits using spatially organized dye aggregates for use in coherent nanoscale energy transport, artificial light-harvesting, and nanophotonics.

Easy and Fast Reconstruction of a 3D Avatar with an RGB-D Sensor.

PubMed

Mao, Aihua; Zhang, Hong; Liu, Yuxin; Zheng, Yinglong; Li, Guiqing; Han, Guoqiang

2017-05-12

This paper proposes a new easy and fast 3D avatar reconstruction method using an RGB-D sensor. Users can easily implement human body scanning and modeling just with a personal computer and a single RGB-D sensor such as a Microsoft Kinect within a small workspace in their home or office. To make the reconstruction of 3D avatars easy and fast, a new data capture strategy is proposed for efficient human body scanning, which captures only 18 frames from six views with a close scanning distance to fully cover the body; meanwhile, efficient alignment algorithms are presented to locally align the data frames in the single view and then globally align them in multi-views based on pairwise correspondence. In this method, we do not adopt shape priors or subdivision tools to synthesize the model, which helps to reduce modeling complexity. Experimental results indicate that this method can obtain accurate reconstructed 3D avatar models, and the running performance is faster than that of similar work. This research offers a useful tool for the manufacturers to quickly and economically create 3D avatars for products design, entertainment and online shopping.

Theoretical gravity darkening as a function of optical depth. A first approach to fast rotating stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Claret, A.

2016-04-01

Aims: Recent observations of very fast rotating stars show systematic deviations from the von Zeipel theorem and pose a challenge to the theory of gravity-darkening exponents (β1). In this paper, we present a new insight into the problem of temperature distribution over distorted stellar surfaces to try to reduce these discrepancies. Methods: We use a variant of the numerical method based on the triangles strategy, which we previously introduced, to evaluate the gravity-darkening exponents. The novelty of the present method is that the theoretical β1 is now computed as a function of the optical depth, that is, β1 ≡ β1(τ). The stellar evolutionary models, which are necessary to obtain the physical conditions of the stellar envelopes/atmospheres inherent to the numerical method, are computed via the code GRANADA. Results: When the resulting theoretical β1(τ) are compared with the best accurate data of very fast rotators, a good agreement for the six systems is simultaneously achieved. In addition, we derive an equation that relates the locus of constant convective efficiency in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram with gravity-darkening exponents.

Decoupled macro/micro-manipulator for fast and precise assembly operations: design and experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodac, Agathe; Siegwart, Roland Y.

1999-08-01

This paper presents a high performance single arm robot configuration, based on a macro-manipulator coupled with a micro-manipulator. The system is well suited to fast and precise positioning tasks for repetitive pick and place applications in the manufacturing industry. Firstly, the paper focuses on the design of the micro-manipulator, particularly on the selection of the proper micro-actuator type and location. We show that the micro-manipulator's design with an actuator placed between endpoint and ground and with a flexible suspension system can reduce the dynamic coupling between the macro-manipulator and the micro- manipulator. The overall system performance can then be improved. We describe two different designs of compact and fast micro-manipulators composed of voice coil actuators and a monolithic flexure suspension with notch hinges. Secondly, the paper presents a control strategy that allows both correction of possible misalignments of the end-effector relative to the target and compensation of tip oscillations. The dynamic interaction is analyzed and stability is verified. Finally, experimental results demonstrate significant improvements in acceleration, endpoint accuracy and settling time achieved by the novel configuration of the macro/micro-manipulator.

Robust surface coating for a fast, facile fluorine-18 labeling of iron oxide nanoparticles for PET/MR dual-modality imaging

DOE PAGES

Sun, Ziyan; Cheng, Kai; Wu, Fengyu; ...

2016-10-31

Grafting a robust organic shell around inorganic nanoparticles can optimize their colloidal features to dramatically improve their physicochemical properties. Here, we have developed a polymer coating procedure for providing colloidal stability to the nanoparticles and, more importantly, for applying a fast, facile fluorine-18 labeling of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) for positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance (MR) dual-modality imaging. The structure of the amphiphilic polymer is based on a backbone of polyacrylic acid, conjugated with multiple oleylamines to form a comb-like branched structure. The dense polymer shell provides high colloidal stability to the IONPs against harsh conditions such as high temperature,more » low pH value, and high ion strength. By incorporating a 1,4,7-triazacyclononane (NOTA) chelator to the comb-like amphiphilic polymer for the chelation of aluminum fluoride ions, we applied a one-step radiolabeling approach for a fast, facile radiofluorination of magnetic nanoparticles. The new strategy can significantly reduce the procedure time and radiation exposure. In conclusion, the PET/MR dual modality imaging was successfully achieved in living subjects by using 18F labeled magnetic nanoparticles.« less

Robust surface coating for a fast, facile fluorine-18 labeling of iron oxide nanoparticles for PET/MR dual-modality imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sun, Ziyan; Cheng, Kai; Wu, Fengyu

Grafting a robust organic shell around inorganic nanoparticles can optimize their colloidal features to dramatically improve their physicochemical properties. Here, we have developed a polymer coating procedure for providing colloidal stability to the nanoparticles and, more importantly, for applying a fast, facile fluorine-18 labeling of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) for positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance (MR) dual-modality imaging. The structure of the amphiphilic polymer is based on a backbone of polyacrylic acid, conjugated with multiple oleylamines to form a comb-like branched structure. The dense polymer shell provides high colloidal stability to the IONPs against harsh conditions such as high temperature,more » low pH value, and high ion strength. By incorporating a 1,4,7-triazacyclononane (NOTA) chelator to the comb-like amphiphilic polymer for the chelation of aluminum fluoride ions, we applied a one-step radiolabeling approach for a fast, facile radiofluorination of magnetic nanoparticles. The new strategy can significantly reduce the procedure time and radiation exposure. In conclusion, the PET/MR dual modality imaging was successfully achieved in living subjects by using 18F labeled magnetic nanoparticles.« less

Design and usability of heuristic-based deliberation tools for women facing amniocentesis.

PubMed

Durand, Marie-Anne; Wegwarth, Odette; Boivin, Jacky; Elwyn, Glyn

2012-03-01

Evidence suggests that in decision contexts characterized by uncertainty and time constraints (e.g. health-care decisions), fast and frugal decision-making strategies (heuristics) may perform better than complex rules of reasoning. To examine whether it is possible to design deliberation components in decision support interventions using simple models (fast and frugal heuristics). The 'Take The Best' heuristic (i.e. selection of a 'most important reason') and 'The Tallying' integration algorithm (i.e. unitary weighing of pros and cons) were used to develop two deliberation components embedded in a Web-based decision support intervention for women facing amniocentesis testing. Ten researchers (recruited from 15), nine health-care providers (recruited from 28) and ten pregnant women (recruited from 14) who had recently been offered amniocentesis testing appraised evolving versions of 'your most important reason' (Take The Best) and 'weighing it up' (Tallying). Most researchers found the tools useful in facilitating decision making although emphasized the need for simple instructions and clear layouts. Health-care providers however expressed concerns regarding the usability and clarity of the tools. By contrast, 7 out of 10 pregnant women found the tools useful in weighing up the pros and cons of each option, helpful in structuring and clarifying their thoughts and visualizing their decision efforts. Several pregnant women felt that 'weighing it up' and 'your most important reason' were not appropriate when facing such a difficult and emotional decision. Theoretical approaches based on fast and frugal heuristics can be used to develop deliberation tools that provide helpful support to patients facing real-world decisions about amniocentesis. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Advanced development of non-discoloring EVA-based PV encapsulants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Holley, W.H.; Galica, J.P.; Argo, S.C.

1996-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was to better define the problem of field yellowing of EVA-based PV encapsulant, through laboratory study of probable chemical mechanisms and the development of stabilization strategies for protecting EVA from discoloration. EVA from fielded modules was analyzed for vinyl acetate content, unsaturation, and additive levels. These test results were then compared to results from Xenon Arc Weather-Ometer aged glass/EVA/glass laminates made in the laboratory. Variables evaluated in Weather-Ometer aged laminates included ``standard-cure`` A9918P EVA, ``fast-cure`` 15295P EVA, low iron glass superstrate containing cerium oxide, and systematic elimination or addition of specific additives. Six significant findingsmore » were revealed: 1) Improved ``standard-cure`` and ``fast-cure`` type EVA encapsulants, formulations X9903P and X15303P, respectively, showed little or no yellowing after extended Weather-Ometer exposure; 2) The use of {open_quote}{open_quote}fast-cure{close_quote}{close_quote} EVA reduced discoloration when compared with {open_quote}{open_quote}standard-cure{close_quote}{close_quote} A9918P EVA; 3) Glass superstrate containing cerium oxide resulted in a reduced rate of EVA discoloration; 4) {open_quote}{open_quote}Fast-cure{close_quote}{close_quote} EVA used with glass superstrate containing cerium oxide showed no visible yellowing after 32 weeks in the Weather-Ometer{emdash}a period estimated to be roughly equivalent to 20{endash}30 years of exposure in the Southwest; 5) Severely discolored EVA samples from the field showed no measurable loss of acetate group and little detectable unsaturation; and 6) EVA encapsulant with a Tefzel cover exhibited no yellowing after extended Weather-Ometer exposure. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}« less

Screening of pollution control and clean-up materials for river chemical spills using the multiple case-based reasoning method with a difference-driven revision strategy.

PubMed

Liu, Rentao; Jiang, Jiping; Guo, Liang; Shi, Bin; Liu, Jie; Du, Zhaolin; Wang, Peng

2016-06-01

In-depth filtering of emergency disposal technology (EDT) and materials has been required in the process of environmental pollution emergency disposal. However, an urgent problem that must be solved is how to quickly and accurately select the most appropriate materials for treating a pollution event from the existing spill control and clean-up materials (SCCM). To meet this need, the following objectives were addressed in this study. First, the material base and a case base for environment pollution emergency disposal were established to build a foundation and provide material for SCCM screening. Second, the multiple case-based reasoning model method with a difference-driven revision strategy (DDRS-MCBR) was applied to improve the original dual case-based reasoning model method system, and screening and decision-making was performed for SCCM using this model. Third, an actual environmental pollution accident from 2012 was used as a case study to verify the material base, case base, and screening model. The results demonstrated that the DDRS-MCBR method was fast, efficient, and practical. The DDRS-MCBR method changes the passive situation in which the choice of SCCM screening depends only on the subjective experience of the decision maker and offers a new approach to screening SCCM.

Nutritional Factors Affecting Abdominal Fat Deposition in Poultry: A Review

PubMed Central

Fouad, A. M.; El-Senousey, H. K.

2014-01-01

The major goals of the poultry industry are to increase the carcass yield and to reduce carcass fatness, mainly the abdominal fat pad. The increase in poultry meat consumption has guided the selection process toward fast-growing broilers with a reduced feed conversion ratio. Intensive selection has led to great improvements in economic traits such as body weight gain, feed efficiency, and breast yield to meet the demands of consumers, but modern commercial chickens exhibit excessive fat accumulation in the abdomen area. However, dietary composition and feeding strategies may offer practical and efficient solutions for reducing body fat deposition in modern poultry strains. Thus, the regulation of lipid metabolism to reduce the abdominal fat content based on dietary composition and feeding strategy, as well as elucidating their effects on the key enzymes associated with lipid metabolism, could facilitate the production of lean meat and help to understand the fat-lowering effects of diet and different feeding strategies. PMID:25050050

Identifying factors associated with fast food consumption among adolescents in Beijing China using a theory-based approach.

PubMed

Ma, R; Castellanos, D C; Bachman, J

2016-07-01

China is in the midst of the nutrition transition with increasing rates of obesity and dietary changes. One contributor is the increase in fast food chains within the country. The purpose of this study was to develop a theory-based instrument that explores influencing factors of fast food consumption in adolescents residing in Beijing, China. Cross-sectional study. Value expectancy and theory of planned behaviour were utilised to explore influencing factors of fast food consumption in the target population. There were 201 Chinese adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. Cronbach's alpha correlation coefficients were used to examine internal reliability of the theory-based questionnaire. Bivariate correlations and a MANOVA were utilised to determine the relationship between theory-based constructs, body mass index (BMI)-for-age and fast food intake frequency as well as to determine differences in theory-based scores among fast food consumption frequency groupings. The theory-based questionnaire showed good reliability. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the theory-based subcategory scores between fast food frequency groups. A significant positive correlation was observed between times per week fast food was consumed and each theory-based subscale score. Using BMI-for-age of 176 participants, 81% were normal weight and 19% were considered overweight or obese. Results showed consumption of fast food to be on average 1.50 ± 1.33 per week. The relationship between BMI-for-age and times per week fast food was consumed was not significant. As the nutrition transition continues and fast food chains expand, it is important to explore factors effecting fast food consumption in China. Interventions targeting influencing factors can be developed to encourage healthy dietary choice in the midst of this transition. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Accurate SERS detection of malachite green in aquatic products on basis of graphene wrapped flexible sensor.

PubMed

Ouyang, Lei; Yao, Ling; Zhou, Taohong; Zhu, Lihua

2018-10-16

Malachite Green (MG) is a banned pesticide for aquaculture products. As a required inspection item, its fast and accurate determination before the products' accessing market is very important. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a promising tool for MG sensing, but it requires the overcoming of several problems such as fairly poor sensitivity and reproducibility, especially laser induced chemical conversion and photo-bleaching during SERS observation. By using a graphene wrapped Ag array based flexible membrane sensor, a modified SERS strategy was proposed for the sensitive and accurate detection of MG. The graphene layer functioned as an inert protector for impeding chemical transferring of the bioproduct Leucomalachite Green (LMG) to MG during the SERS detection, and as a heat transmitter for preventing laser induced photo-bleaching, which enables the separate detection of MG and LMG in fish extracts. The combination of the Ag array and the graphene cover also produced plentiful densely and uniformly distributed hot spots, leading to analytical enhancement factor up to 3.9 × 10 8 and excellent reproducibility (relative standard deviation low to 5.8% for 70 runs). The proposed method was easily used for MG detection with limit of detection (LOD) as low as 2.7 × 10 -11  mol L -1 . The flexibility of the sensor enable it have a merit for in-field fast detection of MG residues on the scale of a living fish through a surface extraction and paste transferring manner. The developed strategy was successfully applied in the analysis of real samples, showing good prospects for both the fast inspection and quantitative detection of MG. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Strategies To Discover the Structural Components of Cyst and Oocyst Walls

PubMed Central

Bushkin, G. Guy; Chatterjee, Aparajita; Robbins, Phillips W.

2013-01-01

Cysts of Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica and oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium parvum are the infectious and sometimes diagnostic forms of these parasites. To discover the structural components of cyst and oocyst walls, we have developed strategies based upon a few simple assumptions. Briefly, the most abundant wall proteins are identified by monoclonal antibodies or mass spectrometry. Structural components include a sugar polysaccharide (chitin for Entamoeba, β-1,3-linked glucose for Toxoplasma, and β-1,3-linked GalNAc for Giardia) and/or acid-fast lipids (Toxoplasma and Cryptosporidium). Because Entamoeba cysts and Toxoplasma oocysts are difficult to obtain, studies of walls of nonhuman pathogens (E. invadens and Eimeria, respectively) accelerate discovery. Biochemical methods to dissect fungal walls work well for cyst and oocyst walls, although the results are often unexpected. For example, echinocandins, which inhibit glucan synthases and kill fungi, arrest the development of oocyst walls and block their release into the intestinal lumen. Candida walls are coated with mannans, while Entamoeba cysts are coated in a dextran-like glucose polymer. Models for cyst and oocyst walls derive from their structural components and organization within the wall. Cyst walls are composed of chitin fibrils and lectins that bind chitin (Entamoeba) or fibrils of the β-1,3-GalNAc polymer and lectins that bind the polymer (Giardia). Oocyst walls of Toxoplasma have two distinct layers that resemble those of fungi (β-1,3-glucan in the inner layer) or mycobacteria (acid-fast lipids in the outer layer). Oocyst walls of Cryptosporidium have a rigid bilayer of acid-fast lipids and inner layer of oocyst wall proteins. PMID:24096907

Biofilms promote altruism.

PubMed

Kreft, Jan-Ulrich

2004-08-01

The origin of altruism is a fundamental problem in evolution, and the maintenance of biodiversity is a fundamental problem in ecology. These two problems combine with the fundamental microbiological question of whether it is always advantageous for a unicellular organism to grow as fast as possible. The common basis for these three themes is a trade-off between growth rate and growth yield, which in turn is based on irreversible thermodynamics. The trade-off creates an evolutionary alternative between two strategies: high growth yield at low growth rate versus high growth rate at low growth yield. High growth yield at low growth rate is a case of an altruistic strategy because it increases the fitness of the group by using resources economically at the cost of decreased fitness, or growth rate, of the individual. The group-beneficial behaviour is advantageous in the long term, whereas the high growth rate strategy is advantageous in the short term. Coexistence of species requires differences between their niches, and niche space is typically divided into four 'axes' (time, space, resources, predators). This neglects survival strategies based on cooperation, which extend the possibilities of coexistence, arguing for the inclusion of cooperation as the fifth 'axis'. Here, individual-based model simulations show that spatial structure, as in, for example, biofilms, is necessary for the origin and maintenance of this 'primitive' altruistic strategy and that the common belief that growth rate but not yield decides the outcome of competition is based on chemostat models and experiments. This evolutionary perspective on life in biofilms can explain long-known biofilm characteristics, such as the structural organization into microcolonies, the often-observed lack of mixing among microcolonies, and the shedding of single cells, as promoting the origin and maintenance of the altruistic strategy. Whereas biofilms enrich altruists, enrichment cultures, microbiology's paradigm for isolating bacteria into pure culture, select for highest growth rate.

UNFOLD-SENSE: a parallel MRI method with self-calibration and artifact suppression.

PubMed

Madore, Bruno

2004-08-01

This work aims at improving the performance of parallel imaging by using it with our "unaliasing by Fourier-encoding the overlaps in the temporal dimension" (UNFOLD) temporal strategy. A self-calibration method called "self, hybrid referencing with UNFOLD and GRAPPA" (SHRUG) is presented. SHRUG combines the UNFOLD-based sensitivity mapping strategy introduced in the TSENSE method by Kellman et al. (5), with the strategy introduced in the GRAPPA method by Griswold et al. (10). SHRUG merges the two approaches to alleviate their respective limitations, and provides fast self-calibration at any given acceleration factor. UNFOLD-SENSE further includes an UNFOLD artifact suppression scheme to significantly suppress artifacts and amplified noise produced by parallel imaging. This suppression scheme, which was published previously (4), is related to another method that was presented independently as part of TSENSE. While the two are equivalent at accelerations < or = 2.0, the present approach is shown here to be significantly superior at accelerations > 2.0, with up to double the artifact suppression at high accelerations. Furthermore, a slight modification of Cartesian SENSE is introduced, which allows departures from purely Cartesian sampling grids. This technique, termed variable-density SENSE (vdSENSE), allows the variable-density data required by SHRUG to be reconstructed with the simplicity and fast processing of Cartesian SENSE. UNFOLD-SENSE is given by the combination of SHRUG for sensitivity mapping, vdSENSE for reconstruction, and UNFOLD for artifact/amplified noise suppression. The method was implemented, with online reconstruction, on both an SSFP and a myocardium-perfusion sequence. The results from six patients scanned with UNFOLD-SENSE are presented.

The effectiveness of robotic training depends on motor task characteristics.

PubMed

Marchal-Crespo, Laura; Rappo, Nicole; Riener, Robert

2017-12-01

Previous research suggests that the effectiveness of robotic training depends on the motor task to be learned. However, it is still an open question which specific task's characteristics influence the efficacy of error-modulating training strategies. Motor tasks can be classified based on the time characteristics of the task, in particular the task's duration (discrete vs. continuous). Continuous tasks require movements without distinct beginning or end. Discrete tasks require fast movements that include well-defined postures at the beginning and the end. We developed two games, one that requires a continuous movement-a tracking task-and one that requires discrete movements-a fast reaching task. We conducted an experiment with thirty healthy subjects to evaluate the effectiveness of three error-modulating training strategies-no guidance, error amplification (i.e., repulsive forces proportional to errors) and haptic guidance-on self-reported motivation and learning of the continuous and discrete games. Training with error amplification resulted in better motor learning than haptic guidance, besides the fact that error amplification reduced subjects' interest/enjoyment and perceived competence during training. Only subjects trained with error amplification improved their performance after training the discrete game. In fact, subjects trained without guidance improved the performance in the continuous game significantly more than in the discrete game, probably because the continuous task required greater attentional levels. Error-amplifying training strategies have a great potential to provoke better motor learning in continuous and discrete tasks. However, their long-lasting negative effects on motivation might limit their applicability in intense neurorehabilitation programs.

"One-for-All" Strategy in Fast Energy Storage: Production of Pillared MOF Nanorod-Templated Positive/Negative Electrodes for the Application of High-Performance Hybrid Supercapacitor.

PubMed

Qu, Chong; Liang, Zibin; Jiao, Yang; Zhao, Bote; Zhu, Bingjun; Dang, Dai; Dai, Shuge; Chen, Yu; Zou, Ruqiang; Liu, Meilin

2018-06-01

Currently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are intensively studied as active materials for electrochemical energy storage applications due to their tunable structure and exceptional porosities. Among them, water stable pillared MOFs with dual ligands have been reported to exhibit high supercapacitor (SC) performance. Herein, the "One-for-All" strategy is applied to synthesize both positive and negative electrodes of a hybrid SC (HSC) from a single pillared MOF. Specifically, Ni-DMOF-TM ([Ni(TMBDC)(DABCO) 0.5 ], TMBDC: 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, DABCO: 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]-octane) nanorods are directly grown on carbon fiber paper (CFP) (denoted as CFP@TM-nanorods) with the help of triethylamine and function as the positive electrode of HSC under alkaline electrolyte. Meanwhile, calcinated N-doped hierarchical porous carbon nanorods (CFP@TM-NPCs) are produced and utilized as the negative counter-electrode from a one-step heat treatment of CFP@TM-nanorods. After assembling these two electrodes together to make a hybrid device, the TM-nanorods//TM-NPCs exhibit a wide voltage window of 1.5 V with a high sloping discharge plateau between 1-1.2 V, indicating its great potential for practical applications. This as-described "One-for-All" strategy is widely applicable and highly reproducible in producing MOF-based electrode materials for HSC applications, which shortens the gap between experimental synthesis and practical application of MOFs in fast energy storage. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Motivated Strategies for Learning in Accelerated Second-Degree Nursing Students.

PubMed

El-Banna, Majeda M; Tebbenhoff, Billinda; Whitlow, Malinda; Wyche, Karen Fraser

Students in a second-degree accelerated BSN program experience a rigorous curriculum and fast-paced introduction to the nursing profession. This study examined the relationships among self-esteem, motivation, learning strategies, demographic characteristics, and academic achievement. The results indicated that all of the students had good self-esteem; some demographic characteristics influenced the type of motivation and learning strategies they endorsed but did not influence their current academic performance.

Long-Time Plasma Membrane Imaging Based on a Two-Step Synergistic Cell Surface Modification Strategy.

PubMed

Jia, Hao-Ran; Wang, Hong-Yin; Yu, Zhi-Wu; Chen, Zhan; Wu, Fu-Gen

2016-03-16

Long-time stable plasma membrane imaging is difficult due to the fast cellular internalization of fluorescent dyes and the quick detachment of the dyes from the membrane. In this study, we developed a two-step synergistic cell surface modification and labeling strategy to realize long-time plasma membrane imaging. Initially, a multisite plasma membrane anchoring reagent, glycol chitosan-10% PEG2000 cholesterol-10% biotin (abbreviated as "GC-Chol-Biotin"), was incubated with cells to modify the plasma membranes with biotin groups with the assistance of the membrane anchoring ability of cholesterol moieties. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated avidin was then introduced to achieve the fluorescence-labeled plasma membranes based on the supramolecular recognition between biotin and avidin. This strategy achieved stable plasma membrane imaging for up to 8 h without substantial internalization of the dyes, and avoided the quick fluorescence loss caused by the detachment of dyes from plasma membranes. We have also demonstrated that the imaging performance of our staining strategy far surpassed that of current commercial plasma membrane imaging reagents such as DiD and CellMask. Furthermore, the photodynamic damage of plasma membranes caused by a photosensitizer, Chlorin e6 (Ce6), was tracked in real time for 5 h during continuous laser irradiation. Plasma membrane behaviors including cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, and plasma membrane vesiculation could be dynamically recorded. Therefore, the imaging strategy developed in this work may provide a novel platform to investigate plasma membrane behaviors over a relatively long time period.

Prospective Player-Reported Injuries in Female Youth Fast-Pitch Softball Players

PubMed Central

Smith, Matthew V.; Davis, Randi; Brophy, Robert H.; Prather, Heidi; Garbutt, Jane; Wright, Rick W.

2015-01-01

Background: There is a scarcity of literature evaluating injuries in youth fast-pitch softball players. Purpose: To perform a descriptive analysis of player-reported injuries in youth fast-pitch softball position players and pitchers during a single select-level season. Study Design: Prospective observation cohort study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: Ninety-eight athletes (48 pitchers, 50 position players) were followed for a single select fast-pitch softball season. Study participants completed web-based surveys every 3 weeks reporting injuries related to participation in fast-pitch softball. Injury was defined as pain causing cessation of participation in the current game or practice that prevents the player’s return to that session or any pain that causes cessation of a player’s customary participation on the day after the day of onset. Results: The median age of the study participants was 14 years (range, 9-18 years). There were 49 reported injuries in 98 athletes. The average age was 13 years for those not injured and 14 years for those who were injured (P < 0.02). There were 31 injuries that were not related to pitching: 19 occurred in position players and 12 occurred in pitchers; 70% of these injuries were to the lower extremity. The proportion of injuries not related to pitching was significantly greater than the proportion of injuries related to pitching (P < 0.02). Eighteen injuries among the 48 pitchers (38%) were directly attributed to pitching. Among the 18 pitching injuries, 11 (61%) involved the shoulder. The majority (78%) of injuries related to pitching occurred in the first 6 weeks of the season. Conclusion: There was a high incidence of injury in this prospective cohort of youth select-level fast-pitch softball players. Better off-season and preseason conditioning may be a key factor for reducing pitching injuries. Clinical Relevance: Recognition of injury patterns in fast-pitch softball players is critical to developing strategies to keep these athletes competing safely. PMID:26502442

Prospective Player-Reported Injuries in Female Youth Fast-Pitch Softball Players.

PubMed

Smith, Matthew V; Davis, Randi; Brophy, Robert H; Prather, Heidi; Garbutt, Jane; Wright, Rick W

2015-01-01

There is a scarcity of literature evaluating injuries in youth fast-pitch softball players. To perform a descriptive analysis of player-reported injuries in youth fast-pitch softball position players and pitchers during a single select-level season. Prospective observation cohort study. Level 3. Ninety-eight athletes (48 pitchers, 50 position players) were followed for a single select fast-pitch softball season. Study participants completed web-based surveys every 3 weeks reporting injuries related to participation in fast-pitch softball. Injury was defined as pain causing cessation of participation in the current game or practice that prevents the player's return to that session or any pain that causes cessation of a player's customary participation on the day after the day of onset. The median age of the study participants was 14 years (range, 9-18 years). There were 49 reported injuries in 98 athletes. The average age was 13 years for those not injured and 14 years for those who were injured (P < 0.02). There were 31 injuries that were not related to pitching: 19 occurred in position players and 12 occurred in pitchers; 70% of these injuries were to the lower extremity. The proportion of injuries not related to pitching was significantly greater than the proportion of injuries related to pitching (P < 0.02). Eighteen injuries among the 48 pitchers (38%) were directly attributed to pitching. Among the 18 pitching injuries, 11 (61%) involved the shoulder. The majority (78%) of injuries related to pitching occurred in the first 6 weeks of the season. There was a high incidence of injury in this prospective cohort of youth select-level fast-pitch softball players. Better off-season and preseason conditioning may be a key factor for reducing pitching injuries. Recognition of injury patterns in fast-pitch softball players is critical to developing strategies to keep these athletes competing safely. © 2015 The Author(s).

Isotopic Evidence of a Wide Spectrum of Feeding Strategies in Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whale Baleen Records

PubMed Central

Holyoake, Carly; Coughran, Douglas; Nicol, Steve

2016-01-01

Our current understanding of Southern hemisphere humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) ecology assumes high-fidelity feeding on Antarctic krill in Antarctic waters during summer, followed by fasting during their annual migration to and from equatorial breeding grounds. An increase in the number of reported departures from this feeding/fasting model suggests that the current model may be oversimplified or, alternatively, undergoing contemporary change. Information about the feeding and fasting cycles of the two Australian breeding populations of humpback whales were obtained through stable isotope analysis of baleen plates from stranded adult individuals. Comparison of isotope profiles showed that individuals from the West Australian breeding population strongly adhered to the classical feeding model. By contrast, East Australian population individuals demonstrated greater heterogeneity in their feeding. On a spectrum from exclusive Antarctic feeding to exclusive feeding in temperate waters, three different strategies were assigned and discussed: classical feeders, supplemental feeders, and temperate zone feeders. Diversity in the inter-annual feeding strategies of humpback whales demonstrates the feeding plasticity of the species, but could also be indicative of changing dynamics within the Antarctic sea-ice ecosystem. This study presents the first investigation of trophodynamics in Southern hemisphere humpback whales derived from baleen plates, and further provides the first estimates of baleen plate elongation rates in the species. PMID:27244081

Isotopic Evidence of a Wide Spectrum of Feeding Strategies in Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whale Baleen Records.

PubMed

Eisenmann, Pascale; Fry, Brian; Holyoake, Carly; Coughran, Douglas; Nicol, Steve; Bengtson Nash, Susan

2016-01-01

Our current understanding of Southern hemisphere humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) ecology assumes high-fidelity feeding on Antarctic krill in Antarctic waters during summer, followed by fasting during their annual migration to and from equatorial breeding grounds. An increase in the number of reported departures from this feeding/fasting model suggests that the current model may be oversimplified or, alternatively, undergoing contemporary change. Information about the feeding and fasting cycles of the two Australian breeding populations of humpback whales were obtained through stable isotope analysis of baleen plates from stranded adult individuals. Comparison of isotope profiles showed that individuals from the West Australian breeding population strongly adhered to the classical feeding model. By contrast, East Australian population individuals demonstrated greater heterogeneity in their feeding. On a spectrum from exclusive Antarctic feeding to exclusive feeding in temperate waters, three different strategies were assigned and discussed: classical feeders, supplemental feeders, and temperate zone feeders. Diversity in the inter-annual feeding strategies of humpback whales demonstrates the feeding plasticity of the species, but could also be indicative of changing dynamics within the Antarctic sea-ice ecosystem. This study presents the first investigation of trophodynamics in Southern hemisphere humpback whales derived from baleen plates, and further provides the first estimates of baleen plate elongation rates in the species.

Model-based development of low-level control strategies for transient operation of solid oxide fuel cell systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorrentino, Marco; Pianese, Cesare

The exploitation of an SOFC-system model to define and test control and energy management strategies is presented. Such a work is motivated by the increasing interest paid to SOFC technology by industries and governments due to its highly appealing potentialities in terms of energy savings, fuel flexibility, cogeneration, low-pollution and low-noise operation. The core part of the model is the SOFC stack, surrounded by a number of auxiliary devices, i.e. air compressor, regulating pressure valves, heat exchangers, pre-reformer and post-burner. Due to the slow thermal dynamics of SOFCs, a set of three lumped-capacity models describes the dynamic response of fuel cell and heat exchangers to any operation change. The dynamic model was used to develop low-level control strategies aimed at guaranteeing targeted performance while keeping stack temperature derivative within safe limits to reduce stack degradation due to thermal stresses. Control strategies for both cold-start and warmed-up operations were implemented by combining feedforward and feedback approaches. Particularly, the main cold-start control action relies on the precise regulation of methane flow towards anode and post-burner via by-pass valves; this strategy is combined with a cathode air-flow adjustment to have a tight control of both stack temperature gradient and warm-up time. Results are presented to show the potentialities of the proposed model-based approach to: (i) serve as a support to control strategies development and (ii) solve the trade-off between fast SOFC cold-start and avoidance of thermal-stress caused damages.

Detection Strategies for Malingering with the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Its Underlying Dimensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vitacco, Michael J.; Jackson, Rebecca L.; Rogers, Richard; Neumann, Craig S.; Miller, Holly A.; Gabel, Jason

2008-01-01

Two of the most widely used measures for the assessment of malingering in forensic populations are the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST) and the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS). The underlying dimensions of the SIRS have been well established in the literature, but the structure of the M-FAST remains relatively…

U.S. Nuclear Cooperation with India: Issues for Congress

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-11-03

separation list: ! 8 indigenous Indian power reactors ! Fast Breeder test Reactor (FTBR) and Prototype Fast Breeder Reactors (PFBR) under construction...facilities like reprocessing and enrichment plants and breeder reactors could be viewed as providing a significant nonproliferation benefit because the... breeder reactors would support the 2002 U.S. National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction, in which the United States pledged to “continue to

U.S. Nuclear Cooperation with India: Issues for Congress

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-17

safeguards-irrelevant.” The following facilities and activities were not on the separation list: ! 8 indigenous Indian power reactors ! Fast Breeder ...test Reactor (FTBR) and Prototype Fast Breeder Reactors (PFBR) under construction ! Enrichment facilities ! Spent fuel reprocessing facilities (except...potential use in a bomb. In addition, safeguards on enrichment, reprocessing plants, and breeder reactors would support the 2002 U.S. National Strategy to

Strategies to Make Ramadan Fasting Safer in Type 2 Diabetics: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials and Observational Studies.

PubMed

Lee, Shaun Wen Huey; Lee, Jun Yang; Tan, Christina San San; Wong, Chee Piau

2016-01-01

Ramadan is the holy month for Muslims whereby they fast from predawn to after sunset and is observed by all healthy Muslim adults as well as a large population of type 2 diabetic Muslims.To determine the comparative effectiveness of various strategies that have been used for type 2 diabetic Muslim who fast during Ramadan.A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies (RCT) as well as observational studies for patients with type 2 diabetes who fasted during Ramadan was conducted. Eight databases were searched from January 1980 through October 2015 for relevant studies. Two reviewers independently screened and assessed study for eligibility, assessed the risk of bias, and extracted relevant data. A network meta-analysis for each outcome was fitted separately, combining direct and indirect evidence for each comparison.Twenty-nine studies, 16 RCTs and 13 observational studies each met the inclusion criteria. The most common strategy used was drug changes during the Ramadan period, which found that the use of DPP-4 (Dipeptidyl peptidase inhibitor -4) inhibitors were associated with a reduction in incidence of experiencing hypoglycemia during Ramadan in both RCTs (pooled relative risk: 0.56; 95% confidence interval: 0.44-0.72) as well as in observational studies (pooled relative risk: 0.27; 0.09-0.75). Ramadan-focused education was shown to be beneficial in reducing hypoglycemia in observational studies but not RCTs (0.25 versus 1.00). Network meta-analyses suggest that incretin mimetics can reduce the risk of hypoglycemia by nearly 1.5 times.The newer antidiabetic agents appear to lower the risk of hypoglycemia and improved glycemic control when compared with sulfonylureas. Ramadan-focused education shows to be a promising strategy but more rigorous examination from RCTs are required.

Self-assembly of three-dimensional interconnected graphene-based aerogels and its application in supercapacitors.

PubMed

Ji, Chen-Chen; Xu, Mao-Wen; Bao, Shu-Juan; Cai, Chang-Jun; Lu, Zheng-Jiang; Chai, Hui; Yang, Fan; Wei, Hua

2013-10-01

Homogeneously distributed self-assembling hybrid graphene-based aerogels with 3D interconnected pores, employing three types of carbohydrates (glucose, β-cyclodextrin, and chitosan), have been fabricated by a simple hydrothermal route. Using three types of carbohydrates as morphology oriented agents and reductants can effectively tailor the microstructures, physical properties, and electrochemical performances of the products. The effects of different carbohydrates on graphene oxide reduction to form graphene-based aerogels with different microcosmic morphologies and physical properties were also systemically discussed. The electrochemical behaviors of all graphene-based aerogel samples showed remarkably strong and stable performances, which indicated that all the 3D interpenetrating microstructure graphene-based aerogel samples with well-developed porous nanostructures and interconnected conductive networks could provide fast ionic channels for electrochemical energy storage. These results demonstrate that this strategy would offer an easy and effective way to fabricate graphene-based materials. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching Business Cases Online through Discussion Boards: Strategies and Best Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rollag, Keith

2010-01-01

What are the most effective and efficient ways to teach business cases online, specifically in asynchronous electronic discussion boards? This article describes several design strategies and approaches used by instructors at Babson College to structure and facilitate online case discussions in our blended Fast Track MBA program. (Contains 3 notes,…

“SNP Snappy”: A Strategy for Fast Genome-Wide Association Studies Fitting a Full Mixed Model

PubMed Central

Meyer, Karin; Tier, Bruce

2012-01-01

A strategy to reduce computational demands of genome-wide association studies fitting a mixed model is presented. Improvements are achieved by utilizing a large proportion of calculations that remain constant across the multiple analyses for individual markers involved, with estimates obtained without inverting large matrices. PMID:22021386

An implementation of differential evolution algorithm for inversion of geoelectrical data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balkaya, Çağlayan

2013-11-01

Differential evolution (DE), a population-based evolutionary algorithm (EA) has been implemented to invert self-potential (SP) and vertical electrical sounding (VES) data sets. The algorithm uses three operators including mutation, crossover and selection similar to genetic algorithm (GA). Mutation is the most important operator for the success of DE. Three commonly used mutation strategies including DE/best/1 (strategy 1), DE/rand/1 (strategy 2) and DE/rand-to-best/1 (strategy 3) were applied together with a binomial type crossover. Evolution cycle of DE was realized without boundary constraints. For the test studies performed with SP data, in addition to both noise-free and noisy synthetic data sets two field data sets observed over the sulfide ore body in the Malachite mine (Colorado) and over the ore bodies in the Neem-Ka Thana cooper belt (India) were considered. VES test studies were carried out using synthetically produced resistivity data representing a three-layered earth model and a field data set example from Gökçeada (Turkey), which displays a seawater infiltration problem. Mutation strategies mentioned above were also extensively tested on both synthetic and field data sets in consideration. Of these, strategy 1 was found to be the most effective strategy for the parameter estimation by providing less computational cost together with a good accuracy. The solutions obtained by DE for the synthetic cases of SP were quite consistent with particle swarm optimization (PSO) which is a more widely used population-based optimization algorithm than DE in geophysics. Estimated parameters of SP and VES data were also compared with those obtained from Metropolis-Hastings (M-H) sampling algorithm based on simulated annealing (SA) without cooling to clarify uncertainties in the solutions. Comparison to the M-H algorithm shows that DE performs a fast approximate posterior sampling for the case of low-dimensional inverse geophysical problems.

Fast Mechanically Driven Daughter Cell Separation Is Widespread in Actinobacteria.

PubMed

Zhou, Xiaoxue; Halladin, David K; Theriot, Julie A

2016-08-30

Dividing cells of the coccoid Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus undergo extremely rapid (millisecond) daughter cell separation (DCS) driven by mechanical crack propagation, a strategy that is very distinct from the gradual, enzymatically driven cell wall remodeling process that has been well described in several rod-shaped model bacteria. To determine if other bacteria, especially those in the same phylum (Firmicutes) or with similar coccoid shapes as S. aureus, might use a similar mechanically driven strategy for DCS, we used high-resolution video microscopy to examine cytokinesis in a phylogenetically wide range of species with various cell shapes and sizes. We found that fast mechanically driven DCS is rather rare in the Firmicutes (low G+C Gram positives), observed only in Staphylococcus and its closest coccoid relatives in the Macrococcus genus, and we did not observe this division strategy among the Gram-negative Proteobacteria In contrast, several members of the high-G+C Gram-positive phylum Actinobacteria (Micrococcus luteus, Brachybacterium faecium, Corynebacterium glutamicum, and Mycobacterium smegmatis) with diverse shapes ranging from coccoid to rod all undergo fast mechanical DCS during cell division. Most intriguingly, similar fast mechanical DCS was also observed during the sporulation of the actinobacterium Streptomyces venezuelae Much of our knowledge on bacterial cytokinesis comes from studying rod-shaped model organisms such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis Less is known about variations in this process among different bacterial species. While cell division in many bacteria has been characterized to some extent genetically or biochemically, few species have been examined using video microscopy to uncover the kinetics of cytokinesis and daughter cell separation (DCS). In this work, we found that fast (millisecond) DCS is exhibited by species in two independent clades of Gram-positive bacteria and is particularly prevalent among the Actinobacteria, a diverse group that includes significant pathogens as well as bacteria that generate medically important antibiotics. Copyright © 2016 Zhou et al.

Addressing the Child and Maternal Mortality Crisis in Haiti through a Central Referral Hospital Providing Countrywide Care

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Lee D; Judd, Thomas M; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A

2016-01-01

The neonatal, infant, child, and maternal mortality rates in Haiti are the highest in the Western Hemisphere, with rates similar to those found in Afghanistan and several African countries. We identify several factors that have perpetuated this health care crisis and summarize the literature highlighting the most cost-effective, evidence-based interventions proved to decrease these mortality rates in low- and middle-income countries. To create a major change in Haiti’s health care infrastructure, we are implementing two strategies that are unique for low-income countries: development of a countrywide network of geographic “community care grids” to facilitate implementation of frontline interventions, and the construction of a centrally located referral and teaching hospital to provide specialty care for communities throughout the country. This hospital strategy will leverage the proximity of Haiti to North America by mobilizing large numbers of North American medical volunteers to provide one-on-one mentoring for the Haitian medical staff. The first phase of this strategy will address the child and maternal health crisis. We have begun implementation of these evidence-based strategies that we believe will fast-track improvement in the child and maternal mortality rates throughout the country. We anticipate that, as we partner with private and public groups already working in Haiti, one day Haiti’s health care system will be among the leaders in that region. PMID:26934625

Ionic liquids in drug delivery.

PubMed

Shamshina, Julia L; Barber, Patrick S; Rogers, Robin D

2013-10-01

To overcome potential problems with solid-state APIs, such as polymorphism, solubility and bioavailability, pure liquid salt (ionic liquid) forms of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API-ILs) are considered here as a design strategy. After a critical review of the current literature, the recent development of the API-ILs strategy is presented, with a particular focus on the liquefaction of drugs. A variety of IL tools for control over the liquid salt state of matter are discussed including choice of counterion to produce an IL from a given API; the concept of oligomeric ions that enables liquefaction of solid ILs by changing the stoichiometry or complexity of the ions; formation of 'liquid co-crystals' where hydrogen bonding is the driving force in the liquefaction of a neutral acid-base complex; combining an IL strategy with the prodrug strategy to improve the delivery of solid APIs; using ILs as delivery agents via trapping a drug in a micelle and finally ILs designed with tunable hydrophilic-lipophilic balance that matches the structural requirements needed to solubilize poorly water-soluble APIs. The authors believe that API-IL approaches may save failed lead candidates, extend the patent life of current APIs, lead to new delivery options or even new pharmaceutical action. They encourage the pharmaceutical industry to invest more research into the API-IL platform as it could lead to fast-tracked approval based on similarities to the APIs already approved.

Addressing the Child and Maternal Mortality Crisis in Haiti through a Central Referral Hospital Providing Countrywide Care.

PubMed

Jacobs, Lee D; Judd, Thomas M; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A

2016-01-01

The neonatal, infant, child, and maternal mortality rates in Haiti are the highest in the Western Hemisphere, with rates similar to those found in Afghanistan and several African countries. We identify several factors that have perpetuated this health care crisis and summarize the literature highlighting the most cost-effective, evidence-based interventions proved to decrease these mortality rates in low- and middle-income countries.To create a major change in Haiti's health care infrastructure, we are implementing two strategies that are unique for low-income countries: development of a countrywide network of geographic "community care grids" to facilitate implementation of frontline interventions, and the construction of a centrally located referral and teaching hospital to provide specialty care for communities throughout the country. This hospital strategy will leverage the proximity of Haiti to North America by mobilizing large numbers of North American medical volunteers to provide one-on-one mentoring for the Haitian medical staff. The first phase of this strategy will address the child and maternal health crisis.We have begun implementation of these evidence-based strategies that we believe will fast-track improvement in the child and maternal mortality rates throughout the country. We anticipate that, as we partner with private and public groups already working in Haiti, one day Haiti's health care system will be among the leaders in that region.

Contemporary management and surveillance strategy after shunt or endoscopic third ventriculostomy procedures for hydrocephalus.

PubMed

Janjua, M Burhan; Hoffman, Caitlin E; Souweidane, Mark M

2017-11-01

The management of hydrocephalus can be challenging even in expert hands. Due to acute presentation, recurrence, accompanying complications, the need for urgent diagnosis; a robust management plan is an absolute necessity. We devised a novel time efficient surveillance strategy during emergency, and clinic follow up settings which has never been described in the literature. We searched all articles embracing management/surveillance protocol on pediatric hydrocephalus utilizing the terms "hydrocephalus follow up" or "surveillance protocol after hydrocephalus treatment". The authors present their own strategy based on vast experience in the hydrocephalus management at a single institution. The need for the diagnostic laboratory testing, age and presentation based radiological imaging, significance of neuro-opthalmological exam, and when to consider the emergent exploration have been discussed in detail. Moreover, a definitive triaging strategy has been described with the help of flow chart diagrams for clinicians, and the neurosurgeons in practice. The triage starts from detail history, physical exam, necessary labs, radiological imaging depending on the presentation, and the age of the child. A quick head CT scan helps after shunt surgery while, a FAST sequence MRI scan (fsMRI) is important in post ETV patients. The need for neuro-opthalmological exam, and the shunt series stays vital in asymptomatic patients during regular follow up. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The ontogenetic model of gravitation and weightlessness: theoretical and applied aspects].

PubMed

Meĭgal, A Iu

2011-01-01

In the review we discuss the earlier postulated [1] natural motor strategies which are dependent on gravitation and temperature and which evolve during the human life span. The first of them, FM-strategy is the characteristic of the intrauterine immersion in the amniotic fluid and ofmicrogravitation in the spaceflight (G - 0). It is based on domination of fast muscle fibers and phasic movements and forms the fetal strategy to survive in heating, strongly hypoxic, albeit normal for fetus, immersion. In the adults, adaptive response separately to microgravitation, heat stress and hypoxia also shifts muscle fiber properties to faster values. In accordance with that paradigm the process of parturition can be considered as equivalent to cosmonaut's/astronaut's transition from microgravitation back to Earth gravitation (G = 1) during landing. This new GE-strategy) is opposite to the FM-strategy, because it decreases the motor unit firing and "slows" the activity of muscle fibers. The next, SJ-strategy is the characteristic of normal ageing that causes further dominance of slow motor units, thus simulating hypergravitation (>1G). Cooling evokes similar adaptive reactions. The synergy of sensory inputs which act across the motor system within the above said motor strategies suggests their mutual substitution. Thus, even moderate cooling may serve as partial "surrogate" for gravitation (approximately 0.2G), that could be utilized as a prophylactic countermeasure for unfavorable effects of the long term space flight.

A study of optimization techniques in HDR brachytherapy for the prostate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pokharel, Ghana Shyam

Several studies carried out thus far are in favor of dose escalation to the prostate gland to have better local control of the disease. But optimal way of delivery of higher doses of radiation therapy to the prostate without hurting neighboring critical structures is still debatable. In this study, we proposed that real time high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy with highly efficient and effective optimization could be an alternative means of precise delivery of such higher doses. This approach of delivery eliminates the critical issues such as treatment setup uncertainties and target localization as in external beam radiation therapy. Likewise, dosimetry in HDR brachytherapy is not influenced by organ edema and potential source migration as in permanent interstitial implants. Moreover, the recent report of radiobiological parameters further strengthen the argument of using hypofractionated HDR brachytherapy for the management of prostate cancer. Firstly, we studied the essential features and requirements of real time HDR brachytherapy treatment planning system. Automating catheter reconstruction with fast editing tools, fast yet accurate dose engine, robust and fast optimization and evaluation engine are some of the essential requirements for such procedures. Moreover, in most of the cases we performed, treatment plan optimization took significant amount of time of overall procedure. So, making treatment plan optimization automatic or semi-automatic with sufficient speed and accuracy was the goal of the remaining part of the project. Secondly, we studied the role of optimization function and constraints in overall quality of optimized plan. We have studied the gradient based deterministic algorithm with dose volume histogram (DVH) and more conventional variance based objective functions for optimization. In this optimization strategy, the relative weight of particular objective in aggregate objective function signifies its importance with respect to other objectives. Based on our study, DVH based objective function performed better than traditional variance based objective function in creating a clinically acceptable plan when executed under identical conditions. Thirdly, we studied the multiobjective optimization strategy using both DVH and variance based objective functions. The optimization strategy was to create several Pareto optimal solutions by scanning the clinically relevant part of the Pareto front. This strategy was adopted to decouple optimization from decision such that user could select final solution from the pool of alternative solutions based on his/her clinical goals. The overall quality of treatment plan improved using this approach compared to traditional class solution approach. In fact, the final optimized plan selected using decision engine with DVH based objective was comparable to typical clinical plan created by an experienced physicist. Next, we studied the hybrid technique comprising both stochastic and deterministic algorithm to optimize both dwell positions and dwell times. The simulated annealing algorithm was used to find optimal catheter distribution and the DVH based algorithm was used to optimize 3D dose distribution for given catheter distribution. This unique treatment planning and optimization tool was capable of producing clinically acceptable highly reproducible treatment plans in clinically reasonable time. As this algorithm was able to create clinically acceptable plans within clinically reasonable time automatically, it is really appealing for real time procedures. Next, we studied the feasibility of multiobjective optimization using evolutionary algorithm for real time HDR brachytherapy for the prostate. The algorithm with properly tuned algorithm specific parameters was able to create clinically acceptable plans within clinically reasonable time. However, the algorithm was let to run just for limited number of generations not considered optimal, in general, for such algorithms. This was done to keep time window desirable for real time procedures. Therefore, it requires further study with improved conditions to realize the full potential of the algorithm.

Input-independent, Scalable and Fast String Matching on the Cray XMT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Villa, Oreste; Chavarría-Miranda, Daniel; Maschhoff, Kristyn J

2009-05-25

String searching is at the core of many security and network applications like search engines, intrusion detection systems, virus scanners and spam filters. The growing size of on-line content and the increasing wire speeds push the need for fast, and often real- time, string searching solutions. For these conditions, many software implementations (if not all) targeting conventional cache-based microprocessors do not perform well. They either exhibit overall low performance or exhibit highly variable performance depending on the types of inputs. For this reason, real-time state of the art solutions rely on the use of either custom hardware or Field-Programmable Gatemore » Arrays (FPGAs) at the expense of overall system flexibility and programmability. This paper presents a software based implementation of the Aho-Corasick string searching algorithm on the Cray XMT multithreaded shared memory machine. Our so- lution relies on the particular features of the XMT architecture and on several algorith- mic strategies: it is fast, scalable and its performance is virtually content-independent. On a 128-processor Cray XMT, it reaches a scanning speed of ≈ 28 Gbps with a performance variability below 10 %. In the 10 Gbps performance range, variability is below 2.5%. By comparison, an Intel dual-socket, 8-core system running at 2.66 GHz achieves a peak performance which varies from 500 Mbps to 10 Gbps depending on the type of input and dictionary size.« less

Fast-Solving Quasi-Optimal LS-S3VM Based on an Extended Candidate Set.

PubMed

Ma, Yuefeng; Liang, Xun; Kwok, James T; Li, Jianping; Zhou, Xiaoping; Zhang, Haiyan

2018-04-01

The semisupervised least squares support vector machine (LS-S 3 VM) is an important enhancement of least squares support vector machines in semisupervised learning. Given that most data collected from the real world are without labels, semisupervised approaches are more applicable than standard supervised approaches. Although a few training methods for LS-S 3 VM exist, the problem of deriving the optimal decision hyperplane efficiently and effectually has not been solved. In this paper, a fully weighted model of LS-S 3 VM is proposed, and a simple integer programming (IP) model is introduced through an equivalent transformation to solve the model. Based on the distances between the unlabeled data and the decision hyperplane, a new indicator is designed to represent the possibility that the label of an unlabeled datum should be reversed in each iteration during training. Using the indicator, we construct an extended candidate set consisting of the indices of unlabeled data with high possibilities, which integrates more information from unlabeled data. Our algorithm is degenerated into a special scenario of the previous algorithm when the extended candidate set is reduced into a set with only one element. Two strategies are utilized to determine the descent directions based on the extended candidate set. Furthermore, we developed a novel method for locating a good starting point based on the properties of the equivalent IP model. Combined with the extended candidate set and the carefully computed starting point, a fast algorithm to solve LS-S 3 VM quasi-optimally is proposed. The choice of quasi-optimal solutions results in low computational cost and avoidance of overfitting. Experiments show that our algorithm equipped with the two designed strategies is more effective than other algorithms in at least one of the following three aspects: 1) computational complexity; 2) generalization ability; and 3) flexibility. However, our algorithm and other algorithms have similar levels of performance in the remaining aspects.

Tunable synthesis of hierarchical NiCo2O4 nanosheets-decorated Cu/CuOx nanowires architectures for asymmetric electrochemical capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuang, Min; Zhang, Yu Xin; Li, Tong Tao; Li, Kai Feng; Zhang, Sheng Mao; Li, Gang; Zhang, Wei

2015-06-01

We demonstrate a facile and tunable preparative strategy of porous NiCo2O4 nanosheets-decorated Cu-based nanowires hybrids as high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. A fast faradic reaction has been realized by inducing elementary copper core in the composite, which assists in high electric conductivity of the cell and creates intimate channels for fast charge collection and electron transfer. As a result, this hybrid composite electrode displays high specific capacitance (578 F g-1 at current density of 1.0 A g-1) and rate capability (80.1% capacitance retention from 1 A g-1 to 10 A g-1). Additionally, asymmetric device is constructed from NiCo2O4/Cu-based NWs and activated graphene (AG) with an operation potential from 0 to 1.4 V. The asymmetric device exhibits an energy density of 12.6 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 344 W kg-1 and excellent long-term cycling stability (only 1.8% loss of its initial capacitance after 10,000 cycles). These attractive findings suggest that such unique NiCo2O4/Cu-based NWs hybrid architecture is promising for electrochemical applications as efficient electrode material.

High-level PC-based laser system modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Michael S.

1991-05-01

Since the inception of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) there have been a multitude of comparison studies done in an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness and relative sizes of complementary, and sometimes competitive, laser weapon systems. It became more and more apparent that what the systems analyst needed was not only a fast, but a cost effective way to perform high-level trade studies. In the present investigation, a general procedure is presented for the development of PC-based algorithmic systems models for laser systems. This procedure points out all of the major issues that should be addressed in the design and development of such a model. Issues addressed include defining the problem to be modeled, defining a strategy for development, and finally, effective use of the model once developed. Being a general procedure, it will allow a systems analyst to develop a model to meet specific needs. To illustrate this method of model development, a description of the Strategic Defense Simulation - Design To (SDS-DT) model developed and used by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is presented. SDS-DT is a menu-driven, fast executing, PC-based program that can be used to either calculate performance, weight, volume, and cost values for a particular design or, alternatively, to run parametrics on particular system parameters to perhaps optimize a design.

Effects of intermittent fasting on glucose and lipid metabolism.

PubMed

Antoni, Rona; Johnston, Kelly L; Collins, Adam L; Robertson, M Denise

2017-08-01

Two intermittent fasting variants, intermittent energy restriction (IER) and time-restricted feeding (TRF), have received considerable interest as strategies for weight-management and/or improving metabolic health. With these strategies, the pattern of energy restriction and/or timing of food intake are altered so that individuals undergo frequently repeated periods of fasting. This review provides a commentary on the rodent and human literature, specifically focusing on the effects of IER and TRF on glucose and lipid metabolism. For IER, there is a growing evidence demonstrating its benefits on glucose and lipid homeostasis in the short-to-medium term; however, more long-term safety studies are required. Whilst the metabolic benefits of TRF appear quite profound in rodents, findings from the few human studies have been mixed. There is some suggestion that the metabolic changes elicited by these approaches can occur in the absence of energy restriction, and in the context of IER, may be distinct from those observed following similar weight-loss achieved via modest continuous energy restriction. Mechanistically, the frequently repeated prolonged fasting intervals may favour preferential reduction of ectopic fat, beneficially modulate aspects of adipose tissue physiology/morphology, and may also impinge on circadian clock regulation. However, mechanistic evidence is largely limited to findings from rodent studies, thus necessitating focused human studies, which also incorporate more dynamic assessments of glucose and lipid metabolism. Ultimately, much remains to be learned about intermittent fasting (in its various forms); however, the findings to date serve to highlight promising avenues for future research.

Fast food in the diet: Implications and solutions for families.

PubMed

Fulkerson, Jayne A

2018-04-06

Fast food is omnipresent in the United States (U.S.) and contributes to poor dietary quality and poor health among youth and adults alike. Children need adults to teach them good eating habits to attain and maintain good health by introducing them to healthful foods and being good role models. The fast food industry, through vast funds and advertising, contribute to challenges parents face to provide healthful foods for their families and thwart our best efforts to meet health goals. Research shows fast food consumption is influenced by lack of cooking confidence, time pressures, and perceptions of ease and convenience. We need practical strategies to help parents and children make healthier food choices. As a product of conference proceedings, this paper provides a non-exhaustive narrative summary of the fast food marketplace and marketing, the contributions of fast food to diet and health, struggles with healthful eating among families, and possible solutions of how we can help children and parents empower themselves to have healthier lives. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Microfluidic study of fast gas-liquid reactions.

PubMed

Li, Wei; Liu, Kun; Simms, Ryan; Greener, Jesse; Jagadeesan, Dinesh; Pinto, Sascha; Günther, Axel; Kumacheva, Eugenia

2012-02-15

We present a new concept for studies of the kinetics of fast gas-liquid reactions. The strategy relies on the microfluidic generation of highly monodisperse gas bubbles in the liquid reaction medium and subsequent analysis of time-dependent changes in bubble dimensions. Using reactions of CO(2) with secondary amines as an exemplary system, we demonstrate that the method enables rapid determination of reaction rate constant and conversion, and comparison of various binding agents. The proposed approach addresses two challenges in studies of gas-liquid reactions: a mass-transfer limitation and a poorly defined gas-liquid interface. The proposed strategy offers new possibilities in studies of the fundamental aspects of rapid multiphase reactions, and can be combined with throughput optimization of reaction conditions.

The Swift Supergiant Fast X-Ray Transients Project:. [A Review, New Results and Future Perspectives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romano, P.; Mangano, V.; Ducci, L.; Esposito, P.; Vercellone, S.; Bocchino, F.; Burrows, D. N.; Kennea, J. A.; Krimm, H. A.; Gehrels, N.;

Fast-pulverization enabled simultaneous enhancement on cycling stability and rate capability of C@NiFe2O4 hierarchical fibrous bundle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zerui; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Xiaoling; Sun, Wenping; Dou, Shixue; Huang, Xin; Shi, Bi

2017-09-01

Electrochemical-grinding induced pulverization is the origin of capacity fading in NiFe2O4. Increasing current density normally accelerates the pulverization that deteriorates lithium storage properties of NiFe2O4. Here we show that the high current induced fast-pulverization can serve as an efficient activation strategy for quick and simultaneous enhancement on cycling stability and rate capability of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) that are densely packed on the hierarchically structured carbon nanofiber strand. At a high current density, the pulverization of NiFe2O4 NPs can be accomplished in a few cycles exposing more active surface. During the fast-pulverization, the hierarchically structured carbon nanofiber strand maintains conductive contact for the densely packed NiFe2O4 NPs regardless of charge or discharge, which also effectively suppresses the repetitive breaks and growths of solid-electrolyte-interphase (SEI) via multiple-level structural adaption that favourites the quick formation of a thin and dense SEI, thus providing strong interparticle connectivity with enhancement on cycling stability and rate capability (e.g. doubled capacity). Our findings demonstrate the potential importance of high current induced fast-pulverization as an efficient activation strategy for achieving durable electrode materials suffering from electrochemical-grinding effects.

Distinct mechanisms explain the control of reach speed planning: evidence from a race model framework.

PubMed

Venkataratamani, Prasanna Venkhatesh; Murthy, Aditya

2018-05-16

Previous studies have investigated the computational architecture underlying the voluntary control of reach movements that demands a change in position or direction of movement planning. Here we used a novel task, where subjects either had to increase or decrease the movement speed according to a change in target color that occurred randomly during a trial. The applicability of different race models to such a speed redirect task was assessed. We found that the predictions of an independent race model that instantiated an abort and re-plan strategy was consistent with all aspects of performance in the fast to slow speed condition. The results from modeling indicated a peculiar asymmetry, in that while the fast to slow speed change required inhibition, none of the standard race models were able to explain how movements changed from slow to fast speeds. Interestingly, a weighted averaging model that simulated the gradual merge of two kinematic plans explained behavior in the slow to fast speed task. In summary, our work shows how a race model framework can provide an understanding of how the brain controls of different aspects of reach movement planning and help distinguish between an abort and re-plan strategy from merging of plans.

Origin of the hungry caterpillar: Evolution of fasting in slug moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Limacodidae).

PubMed

Zaspel, J M; Weller, S J; Epstein, M E

2016-01-01

Studies of caterpillar defense strategy evolution typically focus on aposematic coloration, gregarious behavior, and/or chemical defense. In the slug moth family Limacodidae, the evolution of chemical defense is coupled to the life history trait of first instar feeding behaviors. In nettle caterpillars, the first instars fast and molt into a second instar that feeds. In contrast, gelatines and monkey slug larval forms feed in the first instar. This study focused on whether the evolution of fasting associated with the nettle morphology was a derived trait of single or multiple origins. Twenty-nine species of Limacodidae (including one Chrysopolominae) representing 27 genera and four outgroup species with known first and final instar morphologies and behaviors were included. Four out-group species representing Megalopygidae (1 sp), Dalceridae (1 sp) and Aididae (2 sp) were included. These were sequenced for three molecular markers for a total of 4073 bp, mitochondrial COI (∼1500 bp), 18S (∼1900 bp) and the D2 region of 28S (approximately 670 bp). Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses were conducted. The resulting phylogeny and comparative analysis of feeding strategy revealed that the nettle caterpillar morphology and behavior of larval fasting may have a single origin. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dual CRISPR-Cas9 Cleavage Mediated Gene Excision and Targeted Integration in Yarrowia lipolytica.

PubMed

Gao, Difeng; Smith, Spencer; Spagnuolo, Michael; Rodriguez, Gabriel; Blenner, Mark

2018-05-29

CRISPR-Cas9 technology has been successfully applied in Yarrowia lipolytica for targeted genomic editing including gene disruption and integration; however, disruptions by existing methods typically result from small frameshift mutations caused by indels within the coding region, which usually resulted in unnatural protein. In this study, a dual cleavage strategy directed by paired sgRNAs is developed for gene knockout. This method allows fast and robust gene excision, demonstrated on six genes of interest. The targeted regions for excision vary in length from 0.3 kb up to 3.5 kb and contain both non-coding and coding regions. The majority of the gene excisions are repaired by perfect nonhomologous end-joining without indel. Based on this dual cleavage system, two targeted markerless integration methods are developed by providing repair templates. While both strategies are effective, homology mediated end joining (HMEJ) based method are twice as efficient as homology recombination (HR) based method. In both cases, dual cleavage leads to similar or improved gene integration efficiencies compared to gene excision without integration. This dual cleavage strategy will be useful for not only generating more predictable and robust gene knockout, but also for efficient targeted markerless integration, and simultaneous knockout and integration in Y. lipolytica. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nonlinear hybrid modal synthesis based on branch modes for dynamic analysis of assembled structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xing-Rong; Jézéquel, Louis; Besset, Sébastien; Li, Lin; Sauvage, Olivier

2018-01-01

This paper describes a simple and fast numerical procedure to study the steady state responses of assembled structures with nonlinearities along continuous interfaces. The proposed strategy is based on a generalized nonlinear modal superposition approach supplemented by a double modal synthesis strategy. The reduced nonlinear modes are derived by combining a single nonlinear mode method with reduction techniques relying on branch modes. The modal parameters containing essential nonlinear information are determined and then employed to calculate the stationary responses of the nonlinear system subjected to various types of excitation. The advantages of the proposed nonlinear modal synthesis are mainly derived in three ways: (1) computational costs are considerably reduced, when analyzing large assembled systems with weak nonlinearities, through the use of reduced nonlinear modes; (2) based on the interpolation models of nonlinear modal parameters, the nonlinear modes introduced during the first step can be employed to analyze the same system under various external loads without having to reanalyze the entire system; and (3) the nonlinear effects can be investigated from a modal point of view by analyzing these nonlinear modal parameters. The proposed strategy is applied to an assembled system composed of plates and nonlinear rubber interfaces. Simulation results have proven the efficiency of this hybrid nonlinear modal synthesis, and the computation time has also been significantly reduced.

Fasting guidelines for diabetic children and adolescents

PubMed Central

Azad, Kiswhar; Mohsin, Fauzia; Zargar, Abdul Hamid; Zabeen, Bedowra; Ahmad, Jamal; Raza, Syed Abbas; Tayyeb, Samin; Bajaj, Sarita; Ishtiaq, Osama; Kalra, Sanjay

2012-01-01

Fasting during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of Islamic lunar calendar, is obligatory for all healthy adult and adolescent Muslims from the age of 12 years. Fasting starts from early dawn (Sohur/Sehri) till sunset (Iftar). During this period one has to abstain from eating and drinking. Islam has allowed many categories of people to be exempted from fasting, for example, young children, travelers, the sick, the elderly, pregnant, and lactating women. According to expert opinion, patients with type 1 diabetes (type 1 DM) who fast during Ramadan are at a very high risk to develop adverse events. However, some experienced physicians are of the opinion that fasting during Ramadan is safe for type 1 DM patients, including adolescents and older children, with good glycemic control who do regular self-monitoring and are under close professional supervision. The strategies to ensure safety of type 1 diabetic adolescents who are planning to fast include the following: Ramadan-focused medical education, pre-Ramadan medical assessment, following a healthy diet and physical activity pattern, modification in insulin regimen, and blood glucose monitoring as advised by the physician. PMID:22837907

Protein and lipid metabolism adjustments in silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) during different periods of fasting and refeeding.

PubMed

Marqueze, A; Garbino, C F; Trapp, M; Kucharski, L C; Fagundes, M; Ferreira, D; Koakoski, G; Rosa, J G S

2017-10-30

The fish may experience periods of food deprivation or starvation which produce metabolic changes. In this study, adult Rhamdia quelen males were subjected to fasting periods of 1, 7, 14, and 21 days and of refeeding 2, 4, 6, and 12 days. The results demonstrated that liver protein was depleted after 1 day of fasting, but recovered after 6 days of refeeding. After 14 days of fasting, mobilization in the lipids of the muscular tissue took place, and these reserves began to re-establish themselves after 4 days of refeeding. Plasmatic triglycerides increased after 1 day of fasting, and decreased following 2 days of refeeding. The glycerol in the plasma oscillated constantly during the different periods of fasting and refeeding. Changes in the metabolism of both protein and lipids during these periods can be considered as survival strategies used by R. quelen. The difference in the metabolic profile of the tissues, the influence of the period of fasting, and the type of reserves mobilized were all in evidence.

Energy-dense fast food products cost less: an observational study of the energy density and energy cost of Australian fast foods.

PubMed

Wellard, Lyndal; Havill, Michelle; Hughes, Clare; Watson, Wendy L; Chapman, Kathy

2015-12-01

To examine the association between energy cost and energy density of fast food products. Twenty Sydney outlets of the five largest fast food chains were surveyed four times. Price and kilojoule data were collected for all limited-time-only menu items (n=54) and a sample of standard items (n=67). Energy cost ($/kilojoule) and energy density (kilojoules/gram) of menu items were calculated. There was a significant inverse relationship between menu item energy density and energy cost (p<0.001). Salads had the highest energy cost, while value items, meals that included a dessert and family meals had the lowest. Fast food chains could provide a wider range of affordable, lower-energy foods, use proportional pricing of larger serve sizes, or change defaults in meals to healthier options. More research is required to determine the most effective strategy to reduce the negative impact of fast food on the population's diet. Current pricing in the fast food environment may encourage unhealthier purchases. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

Wide modulation bandwidth terahertz detection in 130 nm CMOS technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nahar, Shamsun; Shafee, Marwah; Blin, Stéphane; Pénarier, Annick; Nouvel, Philippe; Coquillat, Dominique; Safwa, Amr M. E.; Knap, Wojciech; Hella, Mona M.

2016-11-01

Design, manufacturing and measurements results for silicon plasma wave transistors based wireless communication wideband receivers operating at 300 GHz carrier frequency are presented. We show the possibility of Si-CMOS based integrated circuits, in which by: (i) specific physics based plasma wave transistor design allowing impedance matching to the antenna and the amplifier, (ii) engineering the shape of the patch antenna through a stacked resonator approach and (iii) applying bandwidth enhancement strategies to the design of integrated broadband amplifier, we achieve an integrated circuit of the 300 GHz carrier frequency receiver for wireless wideband operation up to/over 10 GHz. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of low cost 130 nm Si-CMOS technology, plasma wave transistors based fast/wideband integrated receiver operating at 300 GHz atmospheric window. These results pave the way towards future large scale (cost effective) silicon technology based terahertz wireless communication receivers.

A multi-frequency iterative imaging method for discontinuous inverse medium problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lei; Feng, Lixin

2018-06-01

The inverse medium problem with discontinuous refractive index is a kind of challenging inverse problem. We employ the primal dual theory and fast solution of integral equations, and propose a new iterative imaging method. The selection criteria of regularization parameter is given by the method of generalized cross-validation. Based on multi-frequency measurements of the scattered field, a recursive linearization algorithm has been presented with respect to the frequency from low to high. We also discuss the initial guess selection strategy by semi-analytical approaches. Numerical experiments are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

An approximate methods approach to probabilistic structural analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcclung, R. C.; Millwater, H. R.; Wu, Y.-T.; Thacker, B. H.; Burnside, O. H.

1989-01-01

A probabilistic structural analysis method (PSAM) is described which makes an approximate calculation of the structural response of a system, including the associated probabilistic distributions, with minimal computation time and cost, based on a simplified representation of the geometry, loads, and material. The method employs the fast probability integration (FPI) algorithm of Wu and Wirsching. Typical solution strategies are illustrated by formulations for a representative critical component chosen from the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) as part of a major NASA-sponsored program on PSAM. Typical results are presented to demonstrate the role of the methodology in engineering design and analysis.

A segmentation method for lung nodule image sequences based on superpixels and density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise

PubMed Central

Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Xiaolong; Qiang, Yan; Tian, Qi; Tang, Xiaoxian

2017-01-01

The fast and accurate segmentation of lung nodule image sequences is the basis of subsequent processing and diagnostic analyses. However, previous research investigating nodule segmentation algorithms cannot entirely segment cavitary nodules, and the segmentation of juxta-vascular nodules is inaccurate and inefficient. To solve these problems, we propose a new method for the segmentation of lung nodule image sequences based on superpixels and density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN). First, our method uses three-dimensional computed tomography image features of the average intensity projection combined with multi-scale dot enhancement for preprocessing. Hexagonal clustering and morphological optimized sequential linear iterative clustering (HMSLIC) for sequence image oversegmentation is then proposed to obtain superpixel blocks. The adaptive weight coefficient is then constructed to calculate the distance required between superpixels to achieve precise lung nodules positioning and to obtain the subsequent clustering starting block. Moreover, by fitting the distance and detecting the change in slope, an accurate clustering threshold is obtained. Thereafter, a fast DBSCAN superpixel sequence clustering algorithm, which is optimized by the strategy of only clustering the lung nodules and adaptive threshold, is then used to obtain lung nodule mask sequences. Finally, the lung nodule image sequences are obtained. The experimental results show that our method rapidly, completely and accurately segments various types of lung nodule image sequences. PMID:28880916

Characterization of Heavy Oxide Inorganic Scintillator Crystals for Direct Detection of Fast Neutrons Based on Inelastic Scattering

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

HEAVY OXIDE INORGANIC SCINTILLATOR CRYSTALS FOR DIRECT DETECTION OF FAST NEUTRONS BASED ON INELASTIC SCATTERING by Philip R. Rusiecki...HEAVY OXIDE INORGANIC SCINTILLATOR CRYSTALS FOR DIRECT DETECTION OF FAST NEUTRONS BASED ON INELASTIC SCATTERING 6. AUTHOR(S) Philip R. Rusiecki 7...ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) Heavy oxide inorganic scintillators may prove viable in the detection of fast neutrons based on the mechanism of

Ultrahigh pressure fast size exclusion chromatography for top-down proteomics.

PubMed

Chen, Xin; Ge, Ying

2013-09-01

Top-down MS-based proteomics has gained a solid growth over the past few years but still faces significant challenges in the LC separation of intact proteins. In top-down proteomics, it is essential to separate the high mass proteins from the low mass species due to the exponential decay in S/N as a function of increasing molecular mass. SEC is a favored LC method for size-based separation of proteins but suffers from notoriously low resolution and detrimental dilution. Herein, we reported the use of ultrahigh pressure (UHP) SEC for rapid and high-resolution separation of intact proteins for top-down proteomics. Fast separation of intact proteins (6-669 kDa) was achieved in < 7 min with high resolution and high efficiency. More importantly, we have shown that this UHP-SEC provides high-resolution separation of intact proteins using a MS-friendly volatile solvent system, allowing the direct top-down MS analysis of SEC-eluted proteins without an additional desalting step. Taken together, we have demonstrated that UHP-SEC is an attractive LC strategy for the size separation of proteins with great potential for top-down proteomics. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Chemomic and chemometric approach based on ultra-fast liquid chromatography with ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry to reveal the difference in the chemical composition between Da-Cheng-Qi decoction and its three constitutional herbal medicines.

PubMed

Wang, Mengru; Li, Yuanyuan; Huang, Yin; Tian, Yuan; Xu, Fengguo; Zhang, Zunjian

2014-05-01

Da-Cheng-Qi decoction (DCQT) is a traditional purgative Chinese decoction with a history of 2000 years. To study the effect of interactions between the ingredients on the overall chemical composition of DCQT, a chemomic and chemometric approach based on ultra-fast liquid chromatography with ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry was developed and validated. After mixing and decocting all four ingredients to make the DCQT, the concentrations of some chemicals are significantly different from those in single herb decoction and 24 of them were identified and tentatively characterized by comparing their data with those of standard compounds or literature data. No new chemicals were formed during mixing and decoction. Our findings indicated that there are interactions between these natural medicines during the mixing and preparation process. The 24 identified chemicals could be used as chemical markers for optimizing prescription and evaluation of consistent quality, and the strategy in the present study could be applied for other multiherb formulae. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The Effects of Time Delay and Increasing Prompt Hierarchy Strategies on the Acquisition of Purchasing Skills by Students with Severe Handicaps.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonnell, John

1987-01-01

Two teaching strategies (constant time delay and increasing prompt hierarchy assistance) were compared in teaching four severely handicapped high school students to purchase snack items at a convenience store and fast food restaurant. Results indicated the time delay procedure was more effective. (DB)

Adaptive Flexibility and Maladaptive Routines in Selecting Fast and Frugal Decision Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broder, Arndt; Schiffer, Stefanie

2006-01-01

Decision routines unburden the cognitive capacity of the decision maker. In changing environments, however, routines may become maladaptive. In 2 experiments with a hypothetical stock market game (n = 241), the authors tested whether decision routines tend to persist at the level of decision strategies rather than at the level of options in…

Transmutation of All German Transuranium under Nuclear Phase Out Conditions – Is This Feasible from Neutronic Point of View?

PubMed Central

Merk, Bruno; Litskevich, Dzianis

2015-01-01

The German government has decided for the nuclear phase out, but a decision on a strategy for the management of the highly radioactive waste is not defined yet. Partitioning and Transmutation (P&T) could be considered as a technological option for the management of highly radioactive waste, therefore a wide study has been conducted. In the study group objectives for P&T and the boundary conditions of the phase out have been discussed. The fulfillment of the given objectives is analyzed from neutronics point of view using simulations of a molten salt reactor with fast neutron spectrum. It is shown that the efficient transmutation of all existing transuranium isotopes would be possible from neutronic point of view in a time frame of about 60 years. For this task three reactors of a mostly new technology would have to be developed and a twofold life cycle consisting of a transmuter operation and a deep burn phase would be required. A basic insight for the optimization of the time duration of the deep burn phase is given. Further on, a detailed balance of different isotopic inventories is given to allow a deeper understanding of the processes during transmutation in the molten salt fast reactor. The effect of modeling and simulation is investigated based on three different modeling strategies and two different code versions. PMID:26717509

Transmutation of All German Transuranium under Nuclear Phase Out Conditions - Is This Feasible from Neutronic Point of View?

PubMed

Merk, Bruno; Litskevich, Dzianis

2015-01-01

The German government has decided for the nuclear phase out, but a decision on a strategy for the management of the highly radioactive waste is not defined yet. Partitioning and Transmutation (P&T) could be considered as a technological option for the management of highly radioactive waste, therefore a wide study has been conducted. In the study group objectives for P&T and the boundary conditions of the phase out have been discussed. The fulfillment of the given objectives is analyzed from neutronics point of view using simulations of a molten salt reactor with fast neutron spectrum. It is shown that the efficient transmutation of all existing transuranium isotopes would be possible from neutronic point of view in a time frame of about 60 years. For this task three reactors of a mostly new technology would have to be developed and a twofold life cycle consisting of a transmuter operation and a deep burn phase would be required. A basic insight for the optimization of the time duration of the deep burn phase is given. Further on, a detailed balance of different isotopic inventories is given to allow a deeper understanding of the processes during transmutation in the molten salt fast reactor. The effect of modeling and simulation is investigated based on three different modeling strategies and two different code versions.

Fast particle confinement with optimized coil currents in the W7-X stellarator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drevlak, M.; Geiger, J.; Helander, P.; Turkin, Y.

2014-07-01

One of the principal goals of the W7-X stellarator is to demonstrate good confinement of energetic ions at finite β. This confinement, however, is sensitive to the magnetic field configuration and is thus vulnerable to design modifications of the coil geometry. The collisionless drift orbit losses for 60 keV protons in W7-X are studied using the ANTS code. Particles in this energy range will be produced by the neutral beam injection (NBI) system being constructed for W7-X, and are particularly important because protons at this energy accurately mimick the behaviour of 3.5 MeV α-particles in a HELIAS reactor. To investigate the possibility of improved fast particle confinement, several approaches to adjust the coil currents (5 main field coil currents +2 auxiliary coil currents) were explored. These strategies include simple rules of thumb as well as computational optimization of various properties of the magnetic field. It is shown that significant improvement of collisionless fast particle confinement can be achieved in W7-X for particle populations similar to α particles produced in fusion reactions. Nevertheless, the experimental goal of demonstrating confinement improvement with rising plasma pressure using an NBI-generated population appears to be difficult based on optimization of the coil currents only. The principal reason for this difficulty is that the NBI deposition profile is broader than the region of good fast-ion confinement around the magnetic axis.

Culture-specific influences on body image and eating distress in a sample of urban Bulgarian women: the roles of faith and traditional fasting.

PubMed

Angelova, Rosa Angelova; Utermohlen, Virginia

2013-08-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of local culture on body image and eating distress in a sample of urban Bulgarian women. Specifically, we focused on two affiliated factors unique to the Bulgarian context: faith and traditional fasting. Findings revealed that women could be divided into two groups who behaved differently based on the severity of their eating disorder symptomatology. For women with higher EAT-40 scores (i.e., vulnerable women), faith seemed to have harmful effects, perhaps by virtue of motivating or reinforcing asceticism and dietary restraint. For these women fasting was likely but one strategy for weight management and the achievement of a desired thin figure consistent with the socio-cultural models. In contrast, among women with lower EAT-40 scores, faith seemed to have a protective effect against excessive dieting. These women were more likely to use fasting in the way intended by religious scripture, for faith-related reasons that have nothing to do with body image. This study contributes to the literature by emphasizing the importance of culturally unique factors that may be implicated in the relationship between body dissatisfaction and overt eating distress in the trans-cultural context. When expanded, this research can be of use in helping formulate custom interventions and public health policies aimed at preventing such conditions in Bulgaria and possibly in similar post-communist cultures. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differential Sensitivities of Fast- and Slow-Cycling Cancer Cells to Inosine Monophosphate Dehydrogenase 2 Inhibition by Mycophenolic Acid

PubMed Central

Chen, Kan; Cao, Wanlu; Li, Juan; Sprengers, Dave; Hernanda, Pratika Y; Kong, Xiangdong; van der Laan, Luc JW; Man, Kwan; Kwekkeboom, Jaap; Metselaar, Herold J; Peppelenbosch, Maikel P; Pan, Qiuwei

2015-01-01

As uncontrolled cell proliferation requires nucleotide biosynthesis, inhibiting enzymes that mediate nucleotide biosynthesis constitutes a rational approach to the management of oncological diseases. In practice, however, results of this strategy are mixed and thus elucidation of the mechanisms by which cancer cells evade the effect of nucleotide biosynthesis restriction is urgently needed. Here we explored the notion that intrinsic differences in cancer cell cycle velocity are important in the resistance toward inhibition of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) by mycophenolic acid (MPA). In short-term experiments, MPA treatment of fast-growing cancer cells effectively elicited G0/G1 arrest and provoked apoptosis, thus inhibiting cell proliferation and colony formation. Forced expression of a mutated IMPDH2, lacking a binding site for MPA but retaining enzymatic activity, resulted in complete resistance of cancer cells to MPA. In nude mice subcutaneously engrafted with HeLa cells, MPA moderately delayed tumor formation by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. Importantly, we developed a lentiviral vector–based Tet-on label-retaining system that enables to identify, isolate and functionally characterize slow-cycling or so-called label-retaining cells (LRCs) in vitro and in vivo. We surprisingly found the presence of LRCs in fast-growing tumors. LRCs were superior in colony formation, tumor initiation and resistance to MPA as compared with fast-cycling cells. Thus, the slow-cycling compartment of cancer seems predominantly responsible for resistance to MPA. PMID:26467706

Eucaloric Ketogenic Diet Reduces Hypoglycemia and Inflammation in Mice with Endotoxemia.

PubMed

Nandivada, Prathima; Fell, Gillian L; Pan, Amy H; Nose, Vania; Ling, Pei-Ra; Bistrian, Bruce R; Puder, Mark

2016-06-01

Dietary strategies to alter the immune response to acute inflammation have the potential to improve outcomes in critically ill patients. A eucaloric ketogenic diet (EKD), composed predominantly of fat with very small amounts of carbohydrate, can provide adequate caloric support while minimizing spikes in blood glucose and reducing oxidative stress. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an EKD on glycemic control and the inflammatory response after acute endotoxemia in mice. Mice received either an EKD or a carbohydrate-based control diet (CD) for 4 weeks. Animals subsequently underwent either a 2-h fast (postprandial) or an overnight fast (postabsorptive), and half of the animals in each diet group were randomized to receive either intraperitoneal lipopolysaccharide (1 mg/kg) or an equivalent volume of saline. Glycemic response, insulin resistance, inflammatory cytokine levels, and the expression of key inflammatory and metabolic genes were measured. After endotoxin challenge, hypoglycemia was more frequent in mice fed a CD than an EKD in the postprandial period. This was due in part to the preservation of hepatic glycogen stores despite endotoxin exposure and prolonged fasting in mice fed an EKD. Furthermore, mice fed the CD had higher levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the postabsorptive period, with a fivefold higher expression of hepatic NFκB compared to mice fed the EKD in both fasting periods. These results suggest that the unique metabolic state induced by an EKD can alter the response to acute inflammation in mice.

ADS Model in the TIRELIRE-STRATEGIE Fuel Cycle Simulation Code Application to Minor Actinides Transmutation Studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Garzenne, Claude; Massara, Simone; Tetart, Philippe

2006-07-01

Accelerator Driven Systems offer the advantage, thanks to the core sub-criticality, to burn highly radioactive elements such as americium and curium in a dedicated stratum, and then to avoid polluting with these elements the main part of the nuclear fleet, which is optimized for electricity production. This paper presents firstly the ADS model implemented in the fuel cycle simulation code TIRELIRE-STRATEGIE that we developed at EDF R and D Division for nuclear power scenario studies. Then we show and comment the results of TIRELIRE-STRATEGIE calculation of a transition scenario between the current French nuclear fleet, and a fast reactor fleetmore » entirely deployed towards the end of the 21. century, consistently with the EDF prospective view, with 3 options for the minor actinides management:1) vitrified with fission products to be sent to the final disposal; 2) extracted together with plutonium from the spent fuel to be transmuted in Generation IV fast reactors; 3) eventually extracted separately from plutonium to be incinerated in a ADSs double stratum. The comparison of nuclear fuel cycle material fluxes and inventories between these options shows that ADSs are not more efficient than critical fast reactors for reducing the high level waste radio-toxicity; that minor actinides inventory and fluxes in the fuel cycle are more than twice as high in case of a double ADSs stratum than in case of minor actinides transmutation in Generation IV FBRs; and that about fourteen 400 MWth ADS are necessary to incinerate minor actinides issued from a 60 GWe Generation IV fast reactor fleet, corresponding to the current French nuclear fleet installed power. (authors)« less

Efficient Compressed Sensing Based MRI Reconstruction using Nonconvex Total Variation Penalties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazzaro, D.; Loli Piccolomini, E.; Zama, F.

2016-10-01

This work addresses the problem of Magnetic Resonance Image Reconstruction from highly sub-sampled measurements in the Fourier domain. It is modeled as a constrained minimization problem, where the objective function is a non-convex function of the gradient of the unknown image and the constraints are given by the data fidelity term. We propose an algorithm, Fast Non Convex Reweighted (FNCR), where the constrained problem is solved by a reweighting scheme, as a strategy to overcome the non-convexity of the objective function, with an adaptive adjustment of the penalization parameter. We propose a fast iterative algorithm and we can prove that it converges to a local minimum because the constrained problem satisfies the Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz property. Moreover the adaptation of non convex l0 approximation and penalization parameters, by means of a continuation technique, allows us to obtain good quality solutions, avoiding to get stuck in unwanted local minima. Some numerical experiments performed on MRI sub-sampled data show the efficiency of the algorithm and the accuracy of the solution.

Validation approach for a fast and simple targeted screening method for 75 antibiotics in meat and aquaculture products using LC-MS/MS.

PubMed

Dubreil, Estelle; Gautier, Sophie; Fourmond, Marie-Pierre; Bessiral, Mélaine; Gaugain, Murielle; Verdon, Eric; Pessel, Dominique

2017-04-01

An approach is described to validate a fast and simple targeted screening method for antibiotic analysis in meat and aquaculture products by LC-MS/MS. The strategy of validation was applied for a panel of 75 antibiotics belonging to different families, i.e., penicillins, cephalosporins, sulfonamides, macrolides, quinolones and phenicols. The samples were extracted once with acetonitrile, concentrated by evaporation and injected into the LC-MS/MS system. The approach chosen for the validation was based on the Community Reference Laboratory (CRL) guidelines for the validation of screening qualitative methods. The aim of the validation was to prove sufficient sensitivity of the method to detect all the targeted antibiotics at the level of interest, generally the maximum residue limit (MRL). A robustness study was also performed to test the influence of different factors. The validation showed that the method is valid to detect and identify 73 antibiotics of the 75 antibiotics studied in meat and aquaculture products at the validation levels.

Design and usability of heuristic‐based deliberation tools for women facing amniocentesis

PubMed Central

Durand, Marie‐Anne; Wegwarth, Odette; Boivin, Jacky; Elwyn, Glyn

2011-01-01

Abstract Background  Evidence suggests that in decision contexts characterized by uncertainty and time constraints (e.g. health‐care decisions), fast and frugal decision‐making strategies (heuristics) may perform better than complex rules of reasoning. Objective  To examine whether it is possible to design deliberation components in decision support interventions using simple models (fast and frugal heuristics). Design  The ‘Take The Best’ heuristic (i.e. selection of a ‘most important reason’) and ‘The Tallying’ integration algorithm (i.e. unitary weighing of pros and cons) were used to develop two deliberation components embedded in a Web‐based decision support intervention for women facing amniocentesis testing. Ten researchers (recruited from 15), nine health‐care providers (recruited from 28) and ten pregnant women (recruited from 14) who had recently been offered amniocentesis testing appraised evolving versions of ‘your most important reason’ (Take The Best) and ‘weighing it up’ (Tallying). Results  Most researchers found the tools useful in facilitating decision making although emphasized the need for simple instructions and clear layouts. Health‐care providers however expressed concerns regarding the usability and clarity of the tools. By contrast, 7 out of 10 pregnant women found the tools useful in weighing up the pros and cons of each option, helpful in structuring and clarifying their thoughts and visualizing their decision efforts. Several pregnant women felt that ‘weighing it up’ and ‘your most important reason’ were not appropriate when facing such a difficult and emotional decision. Conclusion  Theoretical approaches based on fast and frugal heuristics can be used to develop deliberation tools that provide helpful support to patients facing real‐world decisions about amniocentesis. PMID:21241434

Feasibility study on AFR-100 fuel conversion from uranium-based fuel to thorium-based fuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heidet, F.; Kim, T.; Grandy, C.

2012-07-30

Although thorium has long been considered as an alternative to uranium-based fuels, most of the reactors built to-date have been fueled with uranium-based fuel with the exception of a few reactors. The decision to use uranium-based fuels was initially made based on the technology maturity compared to thorium-based fuels. As a result of this experience, lot of knowledge and data have been accumulated for uranium-based fuels that made it the predominant nuclear fuel type for extant nuclear power. However, following the recent concerns about the extent and availability of uranium resources, thorium-based fuels have regained significant interest worldwide. Thorium ismore » more abundant than uranium and can be readily exploited in many countries and thus is now seen as a possible alternative. As thorium-based fuel technologies mature, fuel conversion from uranium to thorium is expected to become a major interest in both thermal and fast reactors. In this study the feasibility of fuel conversion in a fast reactor is assessed and several possible approaches are proposed. The analyses are performed using the Advanced Fast Reactor (AFR-100) design, a fast reactor core concept recently developed by ANL. The AFR-100 is a small 100 MW{sub e} reactor developed under the US-DOE program relying on innovative fast reactor technologies and advanced structural and cladding materials. It was designed to be inherently safe and offers sufficient margins with respect to the fuel melting temperature and the fuel-cladding eutectic temperature when using U-10Zr binary metal fuel. Thorium-based metal fuel was preferred to other thorium fuel forms because of its higher heavy metal density and it does not need to be alloyed with zirconium to reduce its radiation swelling. The various approaches explored cover the use of pure thorium fuel as well as the use of thorium mixed with transuranics (TRU). Sensitivity studies were performed for the different scenarios envisioned in order to determine the best core performance characteristics for each of them. With the exception of the fuel type and enrichment, the reference AFR-100 core design characteristics were kept unchanged, including the general core layout and dimensions, assembly dimensions, materials and power rating. In addition, the mass of {sup 235}U required was kept within a reasonable range from that of the reference AFR-100 design. The core performance characteristics, kinetics parameters and reactivity feedback coefficients were calculated using the ANL suite of fast reactor analysis code systems. Orifice design calculations and the steady-state thermal-hydraulic analyses were performed using the SE2-ANL code. The thermal margins were evaluated by comparing the peak temperatures to the design limits for parameters such as the fuel melting temperature and the fuel-cladding eutectic temperature. The inherent safety features of AFR-100 cores proposed were assessed using the integral reactivity parameters of the quasi-static reactivity balance analysis. The design objectives and requirements, the computation methods used as well as a description of the core concept are provided in Section 2. The three major approaches considered are introduced in Section 3 and the neutronics performances of those approaches are discussed in the same section. The orifice zoning strategies used and the steady-state thermal-hydraulic performance are provided in Section 4. The kinetics and reactivity coefficients, including the inherent safety characteristics, are provided in Section 5, and the Conclusions in Section 6. Other scenarios studied and sensitivity studies are provided in the Appendix section.« less

Dual linear structured support vector machine tracking method via scale correlation filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Weisheng; Chen, Yanquan; Xiao, Bin; Feng, Chen

2018-01-01

Adaptive tracking-by-detection methods based on structured support vector machine (SVM) performed well on recent visual tracking benchmarks. However, these methods did not adopt an effective strategy of object scale estimation, which limits the overall tracking performance. We present a tracking method based on a dual linear structured support vector machine (DLSSVM) with a discriminative scale correlation filter. The collaborative tracker comprised of a DLSSVM model and a scale correlation filter obtains good results in tracking target position and scale estimation. The fast Fourier transform is applied for detection. Extensive experiments show that our tracking approach outperforms many popular top-ranking trackers. On a benchmark including 100 challenging video sequences, the average precision of the proposed method is 82.8%.

Position control of an electro-pneumatic system based on PWM technique and FLC.

PubMed

Najjari, Behrouz; Barakati, S Masoud; Mohammadi, Ali; Futohi, Muhammad J; Bostanian, Muhammad

2014-03-01

In this paper, modeling and PWM based control of an electro-pneumatic system, including the four 2-2 valves and a double acting cylinder are studied. Dynamic nonlinear behavior of the system, containing fast switching solenoid valves and a pneumatic cylinder, as well as electrical, magnetic, mechanical, and fluid subsystems are modeled. A DC-DC power converter is employed to improve solenoid valve performance and suppress system delay. Among different position control methods, a proportional integrator derivative (PID) controller and fuzzy logic controller (FLC) are evaluated. An experimental setup, using an AVR microcontroller is implemented. Simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategies. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Workers' strategies to cope with increasing deterioration of working conditions in the cleaning sector.

PubMed

Krzeslo, Estelle; Lebeer, Guy; De Troyer, Marianne

2014-01-01

Employees working for office-cleaning companies are directly affected by the growing competition in this sector. They face a heavier workload and heightened psychological pressure. A majority of these workers are less qualified women working part-time, with flexible and inconvenient schedules. The objective of the study is to highlight the workers' strategies to deal with fast work, schedule requirements and the consequent difficulties to reconcile their professional and private life commitments. This study is based on in-depth interviews. One hundred and twenty-five male and female workers responsible for cleaning offices. The themes generated from the results highlight a continued deterioration in working conditions in this sector. They also show that even approximate respect of the theoretical workload as calculated by the sub-contractor and the client company mainly depends on the workers' subjective strategies to accommodate increasingly fragmented work hours with their private lives. In conclusion, since these individual strategies are not enough to make up for the deterioration in work conditions, improving them requires sub-contractors and client companies to agree on organisational arrangements that take into account the reality of the employees' lives.

Fasting plasma zeaxanthin response to Fructus barbarum L. (wolfberry; Kei Tze) in a food-based human supplementation trial.

PubMed

Cheng, Chung Yuen; Chung, Wai Yuen; Szeto, Yim Tong; Benzie, Iris F F

2005-01-01

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common disorder that causes irreversible loss of central vision. Increased intake of foods containing zeaxanthin may be effective in preventing AMD because the macula accumulates zeaxanthin and lutein, oxygenated carotenoids with antioxidant and blue light-absorbing properties. Lycium barbarum L. is a small red berry known as Fructus lycii and wolfberry in the West, and Kei Tze and Gou Qi Zi in Asia. Wolfberry is rich in zeaxanthin dipalmitate, and is valued in Chinese culture for being good for vision. The aim of this study, which was a single-blinded, placebo-controlled, human intervention trial of parallel design, was to provide data on how fasting plasma zeaxanthin concentration changes as a result of dietary supplementation with whole wolfberries. Fasting blood was collected from healthy, consenting subjects; fourteen subjects took 15 g/d wolfberry (estimated to contain almost 3 mg zeaxanthin) for 28 d. Repeat fasting blood was collected on day 29. Age- and sex-matched controls (n 13) took no wolfberry. Responses in the two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. After supplementation, plasma zeaxanthin increased 2.5-fold: mean values on day 1 and 29 were 0.038 (sem 0.003) and 0.096 (sem 0.009) micromol/l (P<0.01), respectively, for the supplementation group; and 0.038 (sem 0.003) and 0.043 (sem 0.003) micromol/l (P>0.05), respectively, for the control group. This human supplementation trial shows that zeaxanthin in whole wolfberries is bioavailable and that intake of a modest daily amount markedly increases fasting plasma zeaxanthin levels. These new data will support further study of dietary strategies to maintain macular pigment density.

Coping with Physiological Oxidative Stress: A Review of Antioxidant Strategies in Seals

PubMed Central

Vázquez-Medina, José Pablo; Zenteno-Savín, Tania; Elsner, Robert; Ortiz, Rudy M.

2012-01-01

While diving, seals are exposed to apnea-induced hypoxemia and repetitive cycles of ischemia/reperfusion. While on land, seals experience sleep apnea, as well as prolonged periods of food and water deprivation. Prolonged fasting, sleep apnea, hypoxemia and ischemia/reperfusion increase oxidant production and oxidative stress in terrestrial mammals. In seals, however, neither prolonged fasting nor apnea-induced hypoxemia or ischemia/reperfusion increase systemic or local oxidative damage. The strategies seals evolved to cope with increased oxidant production are reviewed in the present manuscript. Among these strategies, high antioxidant capacity and the oxidant-mediated activation of hormetic responses against hypoxia and oxidative stress are discussed. In addition to expanding our knowledge of the evolution of antioxidant defenses and adaptive responses to oxidative stress, understanding the mechanisms that allow adapted mammals to avoid oxidative damage has the potential to advance our knowledge of oxidative stress-induced pathologies and to enhance the translative value of biomedical therapies in the long term. PMID:22327141

An Improved Ensemble of Random Vector Functional Link Networks Based on Particle Swarm Optimization with Double Optimization Strategy

PubMed Central

Ling, Qing-Hua; Song, Yu-Qing; Han, Fei; Yang, Dan; Huang, De-Shuang

2016-01-01

For ensemble learning, how to select and combine the candidate classifiers are two key issues which influence the performance of the ensemble system dramatically. Random vector functional link networks (RVFL) without direct input-to-output links is one of suitable base-classifiers for ensemble systems because of its fast learning speed, simple structure and good generalization performance. In this paper, to obtain a more compact ensemble system with improved convergence performance, an improved ensemble of RVFL based on attractive and repulsive particle swarm optimization (ARPSO) with double optimization strategy is proposed. In the proposed method, ARPSO is applied to select and combine the candidate RVFL. As for using ARPSO to select the optimal base RVFL, ARPSO considers both the convergence accuracy on the validation data and the diversity of the candidate ensemble system to build the RVFL ensembles. In the process of combining RVFL, the ensemble weights corresponding to the base RVFL are initialized by the minimum norm least-square method and then further optimized by ARPSO. Finally, a few redundant RVFL is pruned, and thus the more compact ensemble of RVFL is obtained. Moreover, in this paper, theoretical analysis and justification on how to prune the base classifiers on classification problem is presented, and a simple and practically feasible strategy for pruning redundant base classifiers on both classification and regression problems is proposed. Since the double optimization is performed on the basis of the single optimization, the ensemble of RVFL built by the proposed method outperforms that built by some single optimization methods. Experiment results on function approximation and classification problems verify that the proposed method could improve its convergence accuracy as well as reduce the complexity of the ensemble system. PMID:27835638

An Improved Ensemble of Random Vector Functional Link Networks Based on Particle Swarm Optimization with Double Optimization Strategy.

PubMed

Ling, Qing-Hua; Song, Yu-Qing; Han, Fei; Yang, Dan; Huang, De-Shuang

2016-01-01

For ensemble learning, how to select and combine the candidate classifiers are two key issues which influence the performance of the ensemble system dramatically. Random vector functional link networks (RVFL) without direct input-to-output links is one of suitable base-classifiers for ensemble systems because of its fast learning speed, simple structure and good generalization performance. In this paper, to obtain a more compact ensemble system with improved convergence performance, an improved ensemble of RVFL based on attractive and repulsive particle swarm optimization (ARPSO) with double optimization strategy is proposed. In the proposed method, ARPSO is applied to select and combine the candidate RVFL. As for using ARPSO to select the optimal base RVFL, ARPSO considers both the convergence accuracy on the validation data and the diversity of the candidate ensemble system to build the RVFL ensembles. In the process of combining RVFL, the ensemble weights corresponding to the base RVFL are initialized by the minimum norm least-square method and then further optimized by ARPSO. Finally, a few redundant RVFL is pruned, and thus the more compact ensemble of RVFL is obtained. Moreover, in this paper, theoretical analysis and justification on how to prune the base classifiers on classification problem is presented, and a simple and practically feasible strategy for pruning redundant base classifiers on both classification and regression problems is proposed. Since the double optimization is performed on the basis of the single optimization, the ensemble of RVFL built by the proposed method outperforms that built by some single optimization methods. Experiment results on function approximation and classification problems verify that the proposed method could improve its convergence accuracy as well as reduce the complexity of the ensemble system.

Nontargeted Screening Method for Illegal Additives Based on Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

PubMed

Fu, Yanqing; Zhou, Zhihui; Kong, Hongwei; Lu, Xin; Zhao, Xinjie; Chen, Yihui; Chen, Jia; Wu, Zeming; Xu, Zhiliang; Zhao, Chunxia; Xu, Guowang

2016-09-06

Identification of illegal additives in complex matrixes is important in the food safety field. In this study a nontargeted screening strategy was developed to find illegal additives based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). First, an analytical method for possible illegal additives in complex matrixes was established including fast sample pretreatment, accurate UHPLC separation, and HRMS detection. Second, efficient data processing and differential analysis workflow were suggested and applied to find potential risk compounds. Third, structure elucidation of risk compounds was performed by (1) searching online databases [Metlin and the Human Metabolome Database (HMDB)] and an in-house database which was established at the above-defined conditions of UHPLC-HRMS analysis and contains information on retention time, mass spectra (MS), and tandem mass spectra (MS/MS) of 475 illegal additives, (2) analyzing fragment ions, and (3) referring to fragmentation rules. Fish was taken as an example to show the usefulness of the nontargeted screening strategy, and six additives were found in suspected fish samples. Quantitative analysis was further carried out to determine the contents of these compounds. The satisfactory application of this strategy in fish samples means that it can also be used in the screening of illegal additives in other kinds of food samples.

Recommended Immunological Strategies to Screen for Botulinum Neurotoxin-Containing Samples.

PubMed

Simon, Stéphanie; Fiebig, Uwe; Liu, Yvonne; Tierney, Rob; Dano, Julie; Worbs, Sylvia; Endermann, Tanja; Nevers, Marie-Claire; Volland, Hervé; Sesardic, Dorothea; Dorner, Martin B

2015-11-26

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) cause the life-threatening neurological illness botulism in humans and animals and are divided into seven serotypes (BoNT/A-G), of which serotypes A, B, E, and F cause the disease in humans. BoNTs are classified as "category A" bioterrorism threat agents and are relevant in the context of the Biological Weapons Convention. An international proficiency test (PT) was conducted to evaluate detection, quantification and discrimination capabilities of 23 expert laboratories from the health, food and security areas. Here we describe three immunological strategies that proved to be successful for the detection and quantification of BoNT/A, B, and E considering the restricted sample volume (1 mL) distributed. To analyze the samples qualitatively and quantitatively, the first strategy was based on sensitive immunoenzymatic and immunochromatographic assays for fast qualitative and quantitative analyses. In the second approach, a bead-based suspension array was used for screening followed by conventional ELISA for quantification. In the third approach, an ELISA plate format assay was used for serotype specific immunodetection of BoNT-cleaved substrates, detecting the activity of the light chain, rather than the toxin protein. The results provide guidance for further steps in quality assurance and highlight problems to address in the future.

Recommended Immunological Strategies to Screen for Botulinum Neurotoxin-Containing Samples

PubMed Central

Simon, Stéphanie; Fiebig, Uwe; Liu, Yvonne; Tierney, Rob; Dano, Julie; Worbs, Sylvia; Endermann, Tanja; Nevers, Marie-Claire; Volland, Hervé; Sesardic, Dorothea; Dorner, Martin B.

2015-01-01

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) cause the life-threatening neurological illness botulism in humans and animals and are divided into seven serotypes (BoNT/A–G), of which serotypes A, B, E, and F cause the disease in humans. BoNTs are classified as “category A” bioterrorism threat agents and are relevant in the context of the Biological Weapons Convention. An international proficiency test (PT) was conducted to evaluate detection, quantification and discrimination capabilities of 23 expert laboratories from the health, food and security areas. Here we describe three immunological strategies that proved to be successful for the detection and quantification of BoNT/A, B, and E considering the restricted sample volume (1 mL) distributed. To analyze the samples qualitatively and quantitatively, the first strategy was based on sensitive immunoenzymatic and immunochromatographic assays for fast qualitative and quantitative analyses. In the second approach, a bead-based suspension array was used for screening followed by conventional ELISA for quantification. In the third approach, an ELISA plate format assay was used for serotype specific immunodetection of BoNT-cleaved substrates, detecting the activity of the light chain, rather than the toxin protein. The results provide guidance for further steps in quality assurance and highlight problems to address in the future. PMID:26703727

Label-free thioflavin T/G-quadruplex-based real-time strand displacement amplification for biosensing applications.

PubMed

Du, Yi-Chen; Zhu, Li-Na; Kong, De-Ming

2016-12-15

To promote application of strand-displacement amplification (SDA) techniques in biosensing, a label-free, real-time monitoring strategy for isothermal nucleic acid amplification reactions was designed. G-quadruplex structures were introduced into SDA products using specific recognition of G-quadruplexes by the fluorogenic dye thioflavin T. Performance was good for real-time monitoring of traditional SDA by a linear-amplification mechanism and for exponential cross-triggered SDA amplification. The strategy worked on a commercial real-time PCR instrument, making it suitable for biosensing platforms. As examples, two highly sensitive and specific biosensors were designed for analysis of the activity of uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) and the restriction endonuclease EcoRI. Detection limits were 6×10(-5)U/mL for UDG and 0.016U/mL for EcoRI. Detection of corresponding targets in complex matrices such as cell lysates or human serum was also demonstrated. Compared to traditional end-point detection methods, real-time SDA-based approaches have the advantages of simple, fast operation; high sensitivity; low risk of carryover contamination; and very high throughput. The introduction of real-time monitoring strategies may promote application of SDA reactions in biosensor design. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fast Numerical Methods for the Design of Layered Photonic Structures with Rough Interfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komarevskiy, Nikolay; Braginsky, Leonid; Shklover, Valery; Hafner, Christian; Lawson, John

2011-01-01

Modified boundary conditions (MBC) and a multilayer approach (MA) are proposed as fast and efficient numerical methods for the design of 1D photonic structures with rough interfaces. These methods are applicable for the structures, composed of materials with arbitrary permittivity tensor. MBC and MA are numerically validated on different types of interface roughness and permittivities of the constituent materials. The proposed methods can be combined with the 4x4 scattering matrix method as a field solver and an evolutionary strategy as an optimizer. The resulted optimization procedure is fast, accurate, numerically stable and can be used to design structures for various applications.

Solutions of large-scale electromagnetics problems involving dielectric objects with the parallel multilevel fast multipole algorithm.

PubMed

Ergül, Özgür

2011-11-01

Fast and accurate solutions of large-scale electromagnetics problems involving homogeneous dielectric objects are considered. Problems are formulated with the electric and magnetic current combined-field integral equation and discretized with the Rao-Wilton-Glisson functions. Solutions are performed iteratively by using the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA). For the solution of large-scale problems discretized with millions of unknowns, MLFMA is parallelized on distributed-memory architectures using a rigorous technique, namely, the hierarchical partitioning strategy. Efficiency and accuracy of the developed implementation are demonstrated on very large problems involving as many as 100 million unknowns.

Colony pace: a life-history trait affecting social insect epidemiology.

PubMed

Buechel, Séverine Denise; Schmid-Hempel, Paul

2016-01-13

Among colonies of social insects, the worker turnover rate (colony 'pace') typically shows considerable variation. This has epidemiological consequences for parasites, because in 'fast-paced' colonies, with short-lived workers, the time of parasite residence in a given host will be reduced, and further transmission may thus get less likely. Here, we test this idea and ask whether pace is a life-history strategy against infectious parasites. We infected bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) with the infectious gut parasite Crithidia bombi, and experimentally manipulated birth and death rates to mimic slow and fast pace. We found that fewer workers and, importantly, fewer last-generation workers that are responsible for rearing sexuals were infected in colonies with faster pace. This translates into increased fitness in fast-paced colonies, as daughter queens exposed to fewer infected workers in the nest are less likely to become infected themselves, and have a higher chance of founding their own colonies in the next year. High worker turnover rate can thus act as a strategy of defence against a spreading infection in social insect colonies. © 2016 The Author(s).

Associative memory or algorithmic search: a comparative study on learning strategies of bats and shrews.

PubMed

Page, Rachel A; von Merten, Sophie; Siemers, Björn M

2012-07-01

Two common strategies for successful foraging are learning to associate specific sensory cues with patches of prey ("associative learning") and using set decision-making rules to systematically scan for prey ("algorithmic search"). We investigated whether an animal's life history affects which of these two foraging strategies it is likely to use. Natterer's bats (Myotis nattereri) have slow life-history traits and we predicted they would be more likely to use associative learning. Common shrews (Sorex araneus) have fast life-history traits and we predicted that they would rely more heavily on routine-based search. Apart from their marked differences in life-history traits, these two mammals are similar in body size, brain weight, habitat, and diet. We assessed foraging strategy, associative learning ability, and retention time with a four-arm maze; one arm contained a food reward and was marked with four sensory stimuli. Bats and shrews differed significantly in their foraging strategies. Most bats learned to associate the sensory stimuli with the reward and remembered this association over time. Most shrews searched the maze using consistent decision-making rules, but did not learn or remember the association. We discuss these results in terms of life-history traits and other key differences between these species. Our results suggest a link between an animal's life-history strategy and its use of associative learning.

Validation of a Fast-Response Urban Micrometeorological Model to Assess the Performance of Urban Heat Island Mitigation Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nadeau, D.; Girard, P.; Overby, M.; Pardyjak, E.; Stoll, R., II; Willemsen, P.; Bailey, B.; Parlange, M. B.

2015-12-01

Urban heat islands (UHI) are a real threat in many cities worldwide and mitigation measures have become a central component of urban planning strategies. Even within a city, causes of UHI vary from one neighborhood to another, mostly due the spatial variability in surface thermal properties, building geometry, anthropogenic heat flux releases and vegetation cover. As a result, the performance of UHI mitigation measures also varies in space. Hence, there is a need to develop a tool to quantify the efficiency of UHI mitigation measures at the neighborhood scale. The objective of this ongoing study is to validate the fast-response micrometeorological model QUIC EnvSim (QES). This model can provide all information required for UHI studies with a fine spatial resolution (up to 0.5m) and short computation time. QES combines QUIC, a CFD-based wind solver and dispersion model, and EnvSim, composed of a radiation model, a land-surface model and a turbulent transport model. Here, high-resolution (1 m) simulations are run over a subset of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) campus including complex buildings, various surfaces properties and vegetation. For nearly five months in 2006-07, a dense network of meteorological observations (92 weather stations over 0.1 km2) was deployed over the campus and these unique data are used here as a validation dataset. We present validation results for different test cases (e.g., sunny vs cloudy days, different incoming wind speeds and directions) and explore the effect of a few UHI mitigation strategies on the spatial distribution of near-surface air temperatures. Preliminary results suggest that QES may be a valuable tool in decision-making regarding adaptation of urban planning to UHI.

Selective processing of auditory evoked responses with iterative-randomized stimulation and averaging: A strategy for evaluating the time-invariant assumption.

PubMed

Valderrama, Joaquin T; de la Torre, Angel; Medina, Carlos; Segura, Jose C; Thornton, A Roger D

2016-03-01

The recording of auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) at fast rates allows the study of neural adaptation, improves accuracy in estimating hearing threshold and may help diagnosing certain pathologies. Stimulation sequences used to record AEPs at fast rates require to be designed with a certain jitter, i.e., not periodical. Some authors believe that stimuli from wide-jittered sequences may evoke auditory responses of different morphology, and therefore, the time-invariant assumption would not be accomplished. This paper describes a methodology that can be used to analyze the time-invariant assumption in jittered stimulation sequences. The proposed method [Split-IRSA] is based on an extended version of the iterative randomized stimulation and averaging (IRSA) technique, including selective processing of sweeps according to a predefined criterion. The fundamentals, the mathematical basis and relevant implementation guidelines of this technique are presented in this paper. The results of this study show that Split-IRSA presents an adequate performance and that both fast and slow mechanisms of adaptation influence the evoked-response morphology, thus both mechanisms should be considered when time-invariance is assumed. The significance of these findings is discussed. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

FastQuery: A Parallel Indexing System for Scientific Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chou, Jerry; Wu, Kesheng; Prabhat,

2011-07-29

Modern scientific datasets present numerous data management and analysis challenges. State-of-the- art index and query technologies such as FastBit can significantly improve accesses to these datasets by augmenting the user data with indexes and other secondary information. However, a challenge is that the indexes assume the relational data model but the scientific data generally follows the array data model. To match the two data models, we design a generic mapping mechanism and implement an efficient input and output interface for reading and writing the data and their corresponding indexes. To take advantage of the emerging many-core architectures, we also developmore » a parallel strategy for indexing using threading technology. This approach complements our on-going MPI-based parallelization efforts. We demonstrate the flexibility of our software by applying it to two of the most commonly used scientific data formats, HDF5 and NetCDF. We present two case studies using data from a particle accelerator model and a global climate model. We also conducted a detailed performance study using these scientific datasets. The results show that FastQuery speeds up the query time by a factor of 2.5x to 50x, and it reduces the indexing time by a factor of 16 on 24 cores.« less

Interpolation by fast Wigner transform for rapid calculations of magnetic resonance spectra from powders.

PubMed

Stevensson, Baltzar; Edén, Mattias

2011-03-28

We introduce a novel interpolation strategy, based on nonequispaced fast transforms involving spherical harmonics or Wigner functions, for efficient calculations of powder spectra in (nuclear) magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The fast Wigner transform (FWT) interpolation operates by minimizing the time-consuming calculation stages, by sampling over a small number of Gaussian spherical quadrature (GSQ) orientations that are exploited to determine the spectral frequencies and amplitudes from a 10-70 times larger GSQ set. This results in almost the same orientational averaging accuracy as if the expanded grid was utilized explicitly in an order of magnitude slower computation. FWT interpolation is applicable to spectral simulations involving any time-independent or time-dependent and noncommuting spin Hamiltonian. We further show that the merging of FWT interpolation with the well-established ASG procedure of Alderman, Solum and Grant [J. Chem. Phys. 134, 3717 (1986)] speeds up simulations by 2-7 times relative to using ASG alone (besides greatly extending its scope of application), and between 1-2 orders of magnitude compared to direct orientational averaging in the absence of interpolation. Demonstrations of efficient spectral simulations are given for several magic-angle spinning scenarios in NMR, encompassing half-integer quadrupolar spins and homonuclear dipolar-coupled (13)C systems.

Hyperspectral imaging applied to complex particulate solids systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonifazi, Giuseppe; Serranti, Silvia

2008-04-01

HyperSpectral Imaging (HSI) is based on the utilization of an integrated hardware and software (HW&SW) platform embedding conventional imaging and spectroscopy to attain both spatial and spectral information from an object. Although HSI was originally developed for remote sensing, it has recently emerged as a powerful process analytical tool, for non-destructive analysis, in many research and industrial sectors. The possibility to apply on-line HSI based techniques in order to identify and quantify specific particulate solid systems characteristics is presented and critically evaluated. The originally developed HSI based logics can be profitably applied in order to develop fast, reliable and lowcost strategies for: i) quality control of particulate products that must comply with specific chemical, physical and biological constraints, ii) performance evaluation of manufacturing strategies related to processing chains and/or realtime tuning of operative variables and iii) classification-sorting actions addressed to recognize and separate different particulate solid products. Case studies, related to recent advances in the application of HSI to different industrial sectors, as agriculture, food, pharmaceuticals, solid waste handling and recycling, etc. and addressed to specific goals as contaminant detection, defect identification, constituent analysis and quality evaluation are described, according to authors' originally developed application.

Model-driven harmonic parameterization of the cortical surface: HIP-HOP.

PubMed

Auzias, G; Lefèvre, J; Le Troter, A; Fischer, C; Perrot, M; Régis, J; Coulon, O

2013-05-01

In the context of inter subject brain surface matching, we present a parameterization of the cortical surface constrained by a model of cortical organization. The parameterization is defined via an harmonic mapping of each hemisphere surface to a rectangular planar domain that integrates a representation of the model. As opposed to previous landmark-based registration methods we do not match folds between individuals but instead optimize the fit between cortical sulci and specific iso-coordinate axis in the model. This strategy overcomes some limitation to sulcus-based registration techniques such as topological variability in sulcal landmarks across subjects. Experiments on 62 subjects with manually traced sulci are presented and compared with the result of the Freesurfer software. The evaluation involves a measure of dispersion of sulci with both angular and area distortions. We show that the model-based strategy can lead to a natural, efficient and very fast (less than 5 min per hemisphere) method for defining inter subjects correspondences. We discuss how this approach also reduces the problems inherent to anatomically defined landmarks and open the way to the investigation of cortical organization through the notion of orientation and alignment of structures across the cortex.

New Trends in Food Allergens Detection: Toward Biosensing Strategies.

PubMed

Alves, Rita C; Barroso, M Fátima; González-García, María Begoña; Oliveira, M Beatriz P P; Delerue-Matos, Cristina

2016-10-25

Food allergens are a real threat to sensitized individuals. Although food labeling is crucial to provide information to consumers with food allergies, accidental exposure to allergenic proteins may result from undeclared allergenic substances by means of food adulteration, fraud or uncontrolled cross-contamination. Allergens detection in foodstuffs can be a very hard task, due to their presence usually in trace amounts, together with the natural interference of the matrix. Methods for allergens analysis can be mainly divided in two large groups: the immunological assays and the DNA-based ones. Mass spectrometry has also been used as a confirmatory tool. Recently, biosensors appeared as innovative, sensitive, selective, environmentally friendly, cheaper and fast techniques (especially when automated and/or miniaturized), able to effectively replace the classical methodologies. In this review, we present the advances in the field of food allergens detection toward the biosensing strategies and discuss the challenges and future perspectives of this technology.

Conditional fast expression and function of multimeric TRPV5 channels using Shield-1.

PubMed

Schoeber, Joost P H; van de Graaf, Stan F J; Lee, Kyu Pil; Wittgen, Hanneke G M; Hoenderop, Joost G J; Bindels, René J M

2009-01-01

A recently described novel controllable method to regulate protein expression is based on a mutated FK506-binding protein-12 (mtFKBP) that is unstable and rapidly degraded in mammalian cells. This instability can be conferred to other proteins directly fused to mtFKBP. Binding of a synthetic cell-permeant ligand (Shield-1) to mtFKBP reverses the instability, allowing conditional expression of mtFKBP-fused proteins. We adapted this strategy to study multimeric plasma membrane proteins using the ion channel TRPV5 as model protein. mtFKBP-TRPV5 forms functional ion channels and its expression can be controlled in a time- and dose-dependent fashion using Shield-1. Moreover, in the presence of Shield-1, mtFKBP-TRPV5 formed heteromultimeric channels with untagged TRPV5, which were codegraded upon washout of Shield-1, providing a strategy to study multimeric plasma membrane protein complexes without the need to destabilize all individual subunits.

The Effects of Ramadan Fasting on Body Composition, Blood Pressure, Glucose Metabolism, and Markers of Inflammation in NAFLD Patients: An Observational Trial.

PubMed

Aliasghari, Fereshteh; Izadi, Azimeh; Gargari, Bahram Pourghassem; Ebrahimi, Sara

2017-01-01

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease and is a serious global health problem. Regarding the increasing prevalence of NAFLD, finding various strategies to prevent and manage the disease is of great importance. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of caloric restriction during Ramadan fasting on anthropometric indices, fasting glucose, plasma insulin, insulin resistance, and inflammatory cytokines (C-reactive protein and interleukin 6) in patients with NAFLD. We conducted this study with 83 patients with NAFLD, 42 of whom decided to fast and 41 controls who decided not to fast for Ramadan, between June 18 and July 17, 2015. Anthropometric parameters were measured and a sample of venous blood was obtained for biochemical assays before and after Ramadan. There was a significant decrease in all anthropometric parameters as well as fasting glucose, plasma insulin, and insulin resistance. Relative to the nonfasting group, fasting significantly reduced circulating inflammatory, but changes in blood pressure after Ramadan were not significant. This study shows significant effects on parameters during Ramadan fasting such as anthropometric indices, fasting glucose, plasma insulin, and inflammatory cytokines in patients with NAFLD. The results of this study suggest that Ramadan fasting may be useful to improve NAFLD, so further studies are needed in this area.

A strategy for detecting the conservation of folding-nucleus residues in protein superfamilies.

PubMed

Michnick, S W; Shakhnovich, E

1998-01-01

Nucleation-growth theory predicts that fast-folding peptide sequences fold to their native structure via structures in a transition-state ensemble that share a small number of native contacts (the folding nucleus). Experimental and theoretical studies of proteins suggest that residues participating in folding nuclei are conserved among homologs. We attempted to determine if this is true in proteins with highly diverged sequences but identical folds (superfamilies). We describe a strategy based on comparisons of residue conservation in natural superfamily sequences with simulated sequences (generated with a Monte-Carlo sequence design strategy) for the same proteins. The basic assumptions of the strategy were that natural sequences will conserve residues needed for folding and stability plus function, the simulated sequences contain no functional conservation, and nucleus residues make native contacts with each other. Based on these assumptions, we identified seven potential nucleus residues in ubiquitin superfamily members. Non-nucleus conserved residues were also identified; these are proposed to be involved in stabilizing native interactions. We found that all superfamily members conserved the same potential nucleus residue positions, except those for which the structural topology is significantly different. Our results suggest that the conservation of the nucleus of a specific fold can be predicted by comparing designed simulated sequences with natural highly diverged sequences that fold to the same structure. We suggest that such a strategy could be used to help plan protein folding and design experiments, to identify new superfamily members, and to subdivide superfamilies further into classes having a similar folding mechanism.

Evaluation of the User Strategy on 2d and 3d City Maps Based on Novel Scanpath Comparison Method and Graph Visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolezalova, J.; Popelka, S.

2016-06-01

The paper is dealing with scanpath comparison of eye-tracking data recorded during case study focused on the evaluation of 2D and 3D city maps. The experiment contained screenshots from three map portals. Two types of maps were used - standard map and 3D visualization. Respondents' task was to find particular point symbol on the map as fast as possible. Scanpath comparison is one group of the eye-tracking data analyses methods used for revealing the strategy of the respondents. In cartographic studies, the most commonly used application for scanpath comparison is eyePatterns that output is hierarchical clustering and a tree graph representing the relationships between analysed sequences. During an analysis of the algorithm generating a tree graph, it was found that the outputs do not correspond to the reality. We proceeded to the creation of a new tool called ScanGraph. This tool uses visualization of cliques in simple graphs and is freely available at www.eyetracking.upol.cz/scangraph. Results of the study proved the functionality of the tool and its suitability for analyses of different strategies of map readers. Based on the results of the tool, similar scanpaths were selected, and groups of respondents with similar strategies were identified. With this knowledge, it is possible to analyse the relationship between belonging to the group with similar strategy and data gathered from the questionnaire (age, sex, cartographic knowledge, etc.) or type of stimuli (2D, 3D map).

A Novel Speed Compensation Method for ISAR Imaging with Low SNR

PubMed Central

Liu, Yongxiang; Zhang, Shuanghui; Zhu, Dekang; Li, Xiang

2015-01-01

In this paper, two novel speed compensation algorithms for ISAR imaging under a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) condition have been proposed, which are based on the cubic phase function (CPF) and the integrated cubic phase function (ICPF), respectively. These two algorithms can estimate the speed of the target from the wideband radar echo directly, which breaks the limitation of speed measuring in a radar system. With the utilization of non-coherent accumulation, the ICPF-based speed compensation algorithm is robust to noise and can meet the requirement of speed compensation for ISAR imaging under a low SNR condition. Moreover, a fast searching implementation strategy, which consists of coarse search and precise search, has been introduced to decrease the computational burden of speed compensation based on CPF and ICPF. Experimental results based on radar data validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. PMID:26225980

Signal Amplification Technologies for the Detection of Nucleic Acids: from Cell-Free Analysis to Live-Cell Imaging.

PubMed

Fozooni, Tahereh; Ravan, Hadi; Sasan, Hosseinali

2017-12-01

Due to their unique properties, such as programmability, ligand-binding capability, and flexibility, nucleic acids can serve as analytes and/or recognition elements for biosensing. To improve the sensitivity of nucleic acid-based biosensing and hence the detection of a few copies of target molecule, different modern amplification methodologies, namely target-and-signal-based amplification strategies, have already been developed. These recent signal amplification technologies, which are capable of amplifying the signal intensity without changing the targets' copy number, have resulted in fast, reliable, and sensitive methods for nucleic acid detection. Working in cell-free settings, researchers have been able to optimize a variety of complex and quantitative methods suitable for deploying in live-cell conditions. In this study, a comprehensive review of the signal amplification technologies for the detection of nucleic acids is provided. We classify the signal amplification methodologies into enzymatic and non-enzymatic strategies with a primary focus on the methods that enable us to shift away from in vitro detecting to in vivo imaging. Finally, the future challenges and limitations of detection for cellular conditions are discussed.

Enhanced corrosion resistance and cytocompatibility of biodegradable Mg alloys by introduction of Mg(OH)2 particles into poly (L-lactic acid) coating

PubMed Central

Shi, Yong-juan; Pei, Jia; Zhang, Jian; Niu, Jia-lin; Zhang, Hua; Guo, Sheng-rong; Li, Zhong-hua; Yuan, Guang-yin

2017-01-01

A strategy of suppressing the fast degradation behaviour of Mg-based biomaterials by the introduction of one of Mg degradation products Mg(OH)2 was proposed according to the following degradation mechanism, Mg + 2H2O ⇋ Mg(OH)2 + H2↑. Specifically, Mg(OH)2 submicron particles were mixed into poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) to synthesize a composite coating onto hydrofluoric acid-pretreated Mg-Nd-Zn-Zr alloy. The in vitro degradation investigations showed that the addition of Mg(OH)2 particles not only slowed down the corrosion of Mg matrix, but also retarded the formation of gas pockets underneath the polymer coating. Correspondingly, cytocompatibility results exhibited significant improvement of proliferation of endothelial cells, and further insights was gained into the mechanisms how the introduction of Mg(OH)2 particles into PLLA coating affected the magnesium alloy degradation and cytocompatibility. The present study provided a promising surface modification strategy to tailor the degradation behaviour of Mg-based biomaterials. PMID:28150751

Soviet Perceptions of War and Peace,

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-01-01

Scott and Harriet Fast Scott Publications for a Purpose ...................................... 98 Continuity and Change in Soviet Perceptions...and Harriet Scott examine Soviet military strategies and forces; I address and provide a historical overview of the concept of peaceful coexistence...15. Marshal V.D. Sokolovskiy, ed., Soviet Military Strategy, 3d ed. edited by Harriet F. Scott (New York: Crane, Russak and Co., 1975), pp. 334-361

The Subread aligner: fast, accurate and scalable read mapping by seed-and-vote

PubMed Central

Liao, Yang; Smyth, Gordon K.; Shi, Wei

2013-01-01

Read alignment is an ongoing challenge for the analysis of data from sequencing technologies. This article proposes an elegantly simple multi-seed strategy, called seed-and-vote, for mapping reads to a reference genome. The new strategy chooses the mapped genomic location for the read directly from the seeds. It uses a relatively large number of short seeds (called subreads) extracted from each read and allows all the seeds to vote on the optimal location. When the read length is <160 bp, overlapping subreads are used. More conventional alignment algorithms are then used to fill in detailed mismatch and indel information between the subreads that make up the winning voting block. The strategy is fast because the overall genomic location has already been chosen before the detailed alignment is done. It is sensitive because no individual subread is required to map exactly, nor are individual subreads constrained to map close by other subreads. It is accurate because the final location must be supported by several different subreads. The strategy extends easily to find exon junctions, by locating reads that contain sets of subreads mapping to different exons of the same gene. It scales up efficiently for longer reads. PMID:23558742

Turn-on fluorescence sensor based on single-walled-carbon-nanohorn-peptide complex for the detection of thrombin.

PubMed

Zhu, Shuyun; Liu, Zhongyuan; Hu, Lianzhe; Yuan, Yali; Xu, Guobao

2012-12-14

Proteases play a central role in several widespread diseases. Thus, there is a great need for the fast and sensitive detection of various proteolytic enzymes. Herein, we have developed a carbon nanotube (CNT)-based protease biosensing platform that uses peptides as a fluorescence probe for the first time. Single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) and thrombin were used to demonstrate this detection strategy. SWCNHs can adsorb a fluorescein-based dye (FAM)-labeled peptide (FAM-pep) and quench the fluorescence of FAM. In contrast, thrombin can cleave FAM-pep on SWCNHs and recover the fluorescence of FAM, which allows the sensitive detection of thrombin. This biosensor has a high sensitivity and selectivity toward thrombin, with a detection limit of 100 pM. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Dispersion-based stimulated Raman scattering spectroscopy, holography, and optical coherence tomography

PubMed Central

Robles, Francisco E.; Fischer, Martin C.; Warren, Warren S.

2016-01-01

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) enables fast, high resolution imaging of chemical constituents important to biological structures and functional processes, both in a label-free manner and using exogenous biomarkers. While this technology has shown remarkable potential, it is currently limited to point scanning and can only probe a few Raman bands at a time (most often, only one). In this work we take a fundamentally different approach to detecting the small nonlinear signals based on dispersion effects that accompany the loss/gain processes in SRS. In this proof of concept, we demonstrate that the dispersive measurements are more robust to noise compared to amplitude-based measurements, which then permit spectral or spatial multiplexing (potentially both, simultaneously). Finally, we illustrate how this method may enable different strategies for biochemical imaging using phase microscopy and optical coherence tomography. PMID:26832279

Cell membrane-based nanoparticles: a new biomimetic platform for tumor diagnosis and treatment.

PubMed

Li, Ruixiang; He, Yuwei; Zhang, Shuya; Qin, Jing; Wang, Jianxin

2018-01-01

Taking inspiration from nature, the biomimetic concept has been integrated into drug delivery systems in cancer therapy. Disguised with cell membranes, the nanoparticles can acquire various functions of natural cells. The cell membrane-coating technology has pushed the limits of common nano-systems (fast elimination in circulation) to more effectively navigate within the body. Moreover, because of the various functional molecules on the surface, cell membrane-based nanoparticles (CMBNPs) are capable of interacting with the complex biological microenvironment of the tumor. Various sources of cell membranes have been explored to camouflage CMBNPs and different tumor-targeting strategies have been developed to enhance the anti-tumor drug delivery therapy. In this review article we highlight the most recent advances in CMBNP-based cancer targeting systems and address the challenges and opportunities in this field.

Flexibility to contingency changes distinguishes habitual and goal-directed strategies in humans

PubMed Central

Keramati, Mehdi

2017-01-01

Decision-making in the real world presents the challenge of requiring flexible yet prompt behavior, a balance that has been characterized in terms of a trade-off between a slower, prospective goal-directed model-based (MB) strategy and a fast, retrospective habitual model-free (MF) strategy. Theory predicts that flexibility to changes in both reward values and transition contingencies can determine the relative influence of the two systems in reinforcement learning, but few studies have manipulated the latter. Therefore, we developed a novel two-level contingency change task in which transition contingencies between states change every few trials; MB and MF control predict different responses following these contingency changes, allowing their relative influence to be inferred. Additionally, we manipulated the rate of contingency changes in order to determine whether contingency change volatility would play a role in shifting subjects between a MB and MF strategy. We found that human subjects employed a hybrid MB/MF strategy on the task, corroborating the parallel contribution of MB and MF systems in reinforcement learning. Further, subjects did not remain at one level of MB/MF behaviour but rather displayed a shift towards more MB behavior over the first two blocks that was not attributable to the rate of contingency changes but rather to the extent of training. We demonstrate that flexibility to contingency changes can distinguish MB and MF strategies, with human subjects utilizing a hybrid strategy that shifts towards more MB behavior over blocks, consequently corresponding to a higher payoff. PMID:28957319

Flexibility to contingency changes distinguishes habitual and goal-directed strategies in humans.

PubMed

Lee, Julie J; Keramati, Mehdi

2017-09-01

Decision-making in the real world presents the challenge of requiring flexible yet prompt behavior, a balance that has been characterized in terms of a trade-off between a slower, prospective goal-directed model-based (MB) strategy and a fast, retrospective habitual model-free (MF) strategy. Theory predicts that flexibility to changes in both reward values and transition contingencies can determine the relative influence of the two systems in reinforcement learning, but few studies have manipulated the latter. Therefore, we developed a novel two-level contingency change task in which transition contingencies between states change every few trials; MB and MF control predict different responses following these contingency changes, allowing their relative influence to be inferred. Additionally, we manipulated the rate of contingency changes in order to determine whether contingency change volatility would play a role in shifting subjects between a MB and MF strategy. We found that human subjects employed a hybrid MB/MF strategy on the task, corroborating the parallel contribution of MB and MF systems in reinforcement learning. Further, subjects did not remain at one level of MB/MF behaviour but rather displayed a shift towards more MB behavior over the first two blocks that was not attributable to the rate of contingency changes but rather to the extent of training. We demonstrate that flexibility to contingency changes can distinguish MB and MF strategies, with human subjects utilizing a hybrid strategy that shifts towards more MB behavior over blocks, consequently corresponding to a higher payoff.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bromberger, Seth A.; Klymko, Christine F.; Henderson, Keith A.

Betweenness centrality is a graph statistic used to nd vertices that are participants in a large number of shortest paths in a graph. This centrality measure is commonly used in path and network interdiction problems and its complete form requires the calculation of all-pairs shortest paths for each vertex. This leads to a time complexity of O(jV jjEj), which is impractical for large graphs. Estimation of betweenness centrality has focused on performing shortest-path calculations on a subset of randomly- selected vertices. This reduces the complexity of the centrality estimation to O(jSjjEj); jSj < jV j, which can be scaled appropriatelymore » based on the computing resources available. An estimation strategy that uses random selection of vertices for seed selection is fast and simple to implement, but may not provide optimal estimation of betweenness centrality when the number of samples is constrained. Our experimentation has identi ed a number of alternate seed-selection strategies that provide lower error than random selection in common scale-free graphs. These strategies are discussed and experimental results are presented.« less

Rapid classification of pharmaceutical ingredients with Raman spectroscopy using compressive detection strategy with PLS-DA multivariate filters.

PubMed

Cebeci Maltaş, Derya; Kwok, Kaho; Wang, Ping; Taylor, Lynne S; Ben-Amotz, Dor

2013-06-01

Identifying pharmaceutical ingredients is a routine procedure required during industrial manufacturing. Here we show that a recently developed Raman compressive detection strategy can be employed to classify various widely used pharmaceutical materials using a hybrid supervised/unsupervised strategy in which only two ingredients are used for training and yet six other ingredients can also be distinguished. More specifically, our liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) based compressive detection instrument is trained using only the active ingredient, tadalafil, and the excipient, lactose, but is tested using these and various other excipients; microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate, titanium (IV) oxide, talc, sodium lauryl sulfate and hydroxypropyl cellulose. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) is used to generate the compressive detection filters necessary for fast chemical classification. Although the filters used in this study are trained on only lactose and tadalafil, we show that all the pharmaceutical ingredients mentioned above can be differentiated and classified using PLS-DA compressive detection filters with an accumulation time of 10ms per filter. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intelligent support of e-management for consumer-focused virtual enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra, Charu; Smirnov, Alexander V.

2000-10-01

The interest in consumer-focused virtual enterprises (VE) decision-making problem is growing fast. The purpose of this type of enterprise is to transform incomplete information about customer orders and available resources into-co-ordinated plans for production and replenishment of goods and services in the temporal network formed by collaborating units. This implies that information in the consumer-focused VE can be shared via Internet, Intranet, and Extranet for business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business service (B2B-S), and business-to-business goods (B2B-G) transactions. One of the goals of Internet-Based Management (e-management) is to facilitate transfer and sharing of data and knowledge in the context of enterprise collaboration. This paper discusses a generic framework of e-management that integrates intelligent information support group-decision making, and agreement modeling for a VE network. It offers the platform for design and modeling of diverse implementation strategies related to the type of agreement, optimization policies, decision-making strategies, organization structures, and information sharing strategies and mechanisms, and business policies for the VE.

Tissue expansion for breast reconstruction: Methods and techniques.

PubMed

Bertozzi, Nicolò; Pesce, Marianna; Santi, PierLuigi; Raposio, Edoardo

2017-09-01

In this work, the authors review recent data on the different methods and techniques of TE/implant-based reconstruction to determine the complication profiles and the advantages and disadvantages of the different techniques. This information will be valuable for surgeons performing breast reconstructions. A thorough literature review was conducted by the authors concerning the current strategy of tissue expander (TE)/implant-based breast reconstruction following breast cancer surgery. Loss of the breast can strongly affect a woman's personal and social life while breast reconstruction reduces the sense of mutilation felt by women after a mastectomy, and provides psychosocial as well as aesthetic benefits. TE/implant-based reconstruction is the most common breast reconstructive strategy, constituting almost 65% of all breast reconstructions in the US. Although numerous studies have been published on various aspects of alloplastic breast reconstructions, most studies are single-center observations. No evidence-based guidelines are available as yet. Conventional TE/implant-based reconstruction can be performed as a two-stage procedure either in the immediate or delayed setting. Moreover, the adjunctive use of acellular dermal matrix further broadened the alloplastic breast reconstruction indication and also enhanced aesthetic outcomes. TE/implant-based reconstruction has proved to be a safe, cost-effective, and reliable technique that can be performed in women with various comorbidities. Short operative time, fast recovery, and absence of donor site morbidity are other advantages over autologous breast reconstruction.

Enhancing Electrochemical Performance of Graphene Fiber-Based Supercapacitors by Plasma Treatment.

PubMed

Meng, Jie; Nie, Wenqi; Zhang, Kun; Xu, Fujun; Ding, Xin; Wang, Shiren; Qiu, Yiping

2018-04-25

Graphene fiber-based supercapacitors (GFSCs) hold high power density, fast charge-discharge rate, ultralong cycling life, exceptional mechanical/electrical properties, and safe operation conditions, making them very promising to power small wearable electronics. However, the electrochemical performance is still limited by the severe stacking of graphene sheets, hydrophobicity of graphene fibers, and complex preparation process. In this work, we develop a facile but robust strategy to easily enhance electrochemical properties of all-solid-state GFSCs by simple plasma treatment. We find that 1 min plasma treatment under an ambient condition results in 33.1% enhancement of areal specific capacitance (36.25 mF/cm 2 ) in comparison to the as-prepared GFSC. The energy density reaches 0.80 μW h/cm 2 in polyvinyl alcohol/H 2 SO 4 gel electrolyte and 18.12 μW h/cm 2 in poly(vinylidene difluoride)/ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate electrolyte, which are 22 times of that of as-prepared ones. The plasma-treated GFSCs also exhibit ultrahigh rate capability (69.13% for 40 s plasma-treated ones) and superior cycle stability (96.14% capacitance retention after 20 000 cycles for 1 min plasma-treated ones). This plasma strategy can be extended to mass-manufacture high-performance carbonaceous fiber-based supercapacitors, such as graphene and carbon nanotube-based ones.

Recruiting pregnant smokers into a clinical trial: using a network-model managed care organization versus community-based practices.

PubMed

Park, Elyse R; Quinn, Virginia P; Chang, Yuchiao; Regan, Susan; Loudin, Beverly; Cummins, Sharon; Perry, Kristin; Rigotti, Nancy A

2007-03-01

Recruiting pregnant smokers into smoking cessation intervention trials is challenging. Changes in health care systems offer new opportunities to overcome many of the obstacles encountered by researchers attempting to address the significant harm from maternal smoking. Investigators could facilitate smoking cessation study recruitment by collaborating with health care systems that systematically collect patient smoking status and record it in a centralized, retrievable fashion. This paper reports the results of utilizing this novel approach and compares it with a typical decentralized practice-based recruitment strategy. The study was conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts, from 2000 to 2005. Four hundred forty-two pregnant smokers were recruited for a randomized controlled trial of telephone-delivered smoking counseling from two sources: a network-model managed care health plan and community-based practices (CBP). At the health plan, study recruitment was built on an existing system that permitted pregnant smokers to be identified centrally. At the CBPs, identification and referral systems had to be developed at each practice specifically for the study. The two strategies were compared on the efficiency of recruitment, characteristics of enrollees, and study outcome and process measures. The health plan strategy generated referrals nearly twice as fast as the CBP strategy (30.4 vs. 17.0 per month), but because referrals were not timely, a large proportion of women from the plan were too advanced in pregnancy to be eligible to enroll in the study. As a result, the two strategies yielded a comparable enrollment rate. Participants from the health plan were older, better educated, less racially diverse, more likely to be living with the baby's father, and less likely to have smokers in their environment. These differences were largely explained by the socioeconomic diversity of women recruited from the CBPs. Smoking cessation outcomes did not differ by recruitment source. A recruitment strategy using a health plan's centralized system was more efficient than a practice-based recruitment strategy at identifying potential study participants, but less efficient at generating study participants from the referrals received. Importantly, participants recruited by the two strategies differed by socioeconomic, but not cessation-related, characteristics. To date, recruiting pregnant smokers into intervention studies remains resource intensive and time consuming. Participant identification and recruitment will be greatly enhanced by health system innovations such as implementation of electronic medical records.

Rank Order Coding: a Retinal Information Decoding Strategy Revealed by Large-Scale Multielectrode Array Retinal Recordings.

PubMed

Portelli, Geoffrey; Barrett, John M; Hilgen, Gerrit; Masquelier, Timothée; Maccione, Alessandro; Di Marco, Stefano; Berdondini, Luca; Kornprobst, Pierre; Sernagor, Evelyne

2016-01-01

How a population of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) encodes the visual scene remains an open question. Going beyond individual RGC coding strategies, results in salamander suggest that the relative latencies of a RGC pair encode spatial information. Thus, a population code based on this concerted spiking could be a powerful mechanism to transmit visual information rapidly and efficiently. Here, we tested this hypothesis in mouse by recording simultaneous light-evoked responses from hundreds of RGCs, at pan-retinal level, using a new generation of large-scale, high-density multielectrode array consisting of 4096 electrodes. Interestingly, we did not find any RGCs exhibiting a clear latency tuning to the stimuli, suggesting that in mouse, individual RGC pairs may not provide sufficient information. We show that a significant amount of information is encoded synergistically in the concerted spiking of large RGC populations. Thus, the RGC population response described with relative activities, or ranks, provides more relevant information than classical independent spike count- or latency- based codes. In particular, we report for the first time that when considering the relative activities across the whole population, the wave of first stimulus-evoked spikes is an accurate indicator of stimulus content. We show that this coding strategy coexists with classical neural codes, and that it is more efficient and faster. Overall, these novel observations suggest that already at the level of the retina, concerted spiking provides a reliable and fast strategy to rapidly transmit new visual scenes.

Fasting-induced liver GADD45β restrains hepatic fatty acid uptake and improves metabolic health.

PubMed

Fuhrmeister, Jessica; Zota, Annika; Sijmonsma, Tjeerd P; Seibert, Oksana; Cıngır, Şahika; Schmidt, Kathrin; Vallon, Nicola; de Guia, Roldan M; Niopek, Katharina; Berriel Diaz, Mauricio; Maida, Adriano; Blüher, Matthias; Okun, Jürgen G; Herzig, Stephan; Rose, Adam J

2016-06-01

Recent studies have demonstrated that repeated short-term nutrient withdrawal (i.e. fasting) has pleiotropic actions to promote organismal health and longevity. Despite this, the molecular physiological mechanisms by which fasting is protective against metabolic disease are largely unknown. Here, we show that, metabolic control, particularly systemic and liver lipid metabolism, is aberrantly regulated in the fasted state in mouse models of metabolic dysfunction. Liver transcript assays between lean/healthy and obese/diabetic mice in fasted and fed states uncovered "growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible" GADD45β as a dysregulated gene transcript during fasting in several models of metabolic dysfunction including ageing, obesity/pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, in both mice and humans. Using whole-body knockout mice as well as liver/hepatocyte-specific gain- and loss-of-function strategies, we revealed a role for liver GADD45β in the coordination of liver fatty acid uptake, through cytoplasmic retention of FABP1, ultimately impacting obesity-driven hyperglycaemia. In summary, fasting stress-induced GADD45β represents a liver-specific molecular event promoting adaptive metabolic function. © 2016 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.

Novel energy-saving strategies to multiple stressors in birds: the ultradian regulation of body temperature.

PubMed

Tattersall, Glenn J; Roussel, Damien; Voituron, Yann; Teulier, Loïc

2016-09-28

This study aimed to examine thermoregulatory responses in birds facing two commonly experienced stressors, cold and fasting. Logging devices allowing long-term and precise access to internal body temperature were placed within the gizzards of ducklings acclimated to cold (CA) (5°C) or thermoneutrality (TN) (25°C). The animals were then examined under three equal 4-day periods: ad libitum feeding, fasting and re-feeding. Through the analysis of daily as well as short-term, or ultradian, variations of body temperature, we showed that while ducklings at TN show only a modest decline in daily thermoregulatory parameters when fasted, they exhibit reduced surface temperatures from key sites of vascular heat exchange during fasting. The CA birds, on the other hand, significantly reduced their short-term variations of body temperature while increasing long-term variability when fasting. This phenomenon would allow the CA birds to reduce the energetic cost of body temperature maintenance under fasting. By analysing ultradian regulation of body temperature, we describe a means by which an endotherm appears to lower thermoregulatory costs in response to the combined stressors of cold and fasting. © 2016 The Author(s).

Novel energy-saving strategies to multiple stressors in birds: the ultradian regulation of body temperature

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

This study aimed to examine thermoregulatory responses in birds facing two commonly experienced stressors, cold and fasting. Logging devices allowing long-term and precise access to internal body temperature were placed within the gizzards of ducklings acclimated to cold (CA) (5°C) or thermoneutrality (TN) (25°C). The animals were then examined under three equal 4-day periods: ad libitum feeding, fasting and re-feeding. Through the analysis of daily as well as short-term, or ultradian, variations of body temperature, we showed that while ducklings at TN show only a modest decline in daily thermoregulatory parameters when fasted, they exhibit reduced surface temperatures from key sites of vascular heat exchange during fasting. The CA birds, on the other hand, significantly reduced their short-term variations of body temperature while increasing long-term variability when fasting. This phenomenon would allow the CA birds to reduce the energetic cost of body temperature maintenance under fasting. By analysing ultradian regulation of body temperature, we describe a means by which an endotherm appears to lower thermoregulatory costs in response to the combined stressors of cold and fasting. PMID:27655770

Evaluation of breeding strategies for polledness in dairy cattle using a newly developed simulation framework for quantitative and Mendelian traits.

PubMed

Scheper, Carsten; Wensch-Dorendorf, Monika; Yin, Tong; Dressel, Holger; Swalve, Herrmann; König, Sven

2016-06-29

Intensified selection of polled individuals has recently gained importance in predominantly horned dairy cattle breeds as an alternative to routine dehorning. The status quo of the current polled breeding pool of genetically-closely related artificial insemination sires with lower breeding values for performance traits raises questions regarding the effects of intensified selection based on this founder pool. We developed a stochastic simulation framework that combines the stochastic simulation software QMSim and a self-designed R program named QUALsim that acts as an external extension. Two traits were simulated in a dairy cattle population for 25 generations: one quantitative (QMSim) and one qualitative trait with Mendelian inheritance (i.e. polledness, QUALsim). The assignment scheme for qualitative trait genotypes initiated realistic initial breeding situations regarding allele frequencies, true breeding values for the quantitative trait and genetic relatedness. Intensified selection for polled cattle was achieved using an approach that weights estimated breeding values in the animal best linear unbiased prediction model for the quantitative trait depending on genotypes or phenotypes for the polled trait with a user-defined weighting factor. Selection response for the polled trait was highest in the selection scheme based on genotypes. Selection based on phenotypes led to significantly lower allele frequencies for polled. The male selection path played a significantly greater role for a fast dissemination of polled alleles compared to female selection strategies. Fixation of the polled allele implies selection based on polled genotypes among males. In comparison to a base breeding scenario that does not take polledness into account, intensive selection for polled substantially reduced genetic gain for this quantitative trait after 25 generations. Reducing selection intensity for polled males while maintaining strong selection intensity among females, simultaneously decreased losses in genetic gain and achieved a final allele frequency of 0.93 for polled. A fast transition to a completely polled population through intensified selection for polled was in contradiction to the preservation of high genetic gain for the quantitative trait. Selection on male polled genotypes with moderate weighting, and selection on female polled phenotypes with high weighting, could be a suitable compromise regarding all important breeding aspects.

Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus and Prediabetes in Dalseong-gun, Daegu City, Korea.

PubMed

Lee, Jung-Eun; Jung, Sung-Chang; Jung, Gui-Hwa; Ha, Sung-Woo; Kim, Bo-Wan; Chae, Shung-Chull; Park, Wee-Hyun; Lim, Ji-Sun; Yang, Jin-Hoon; Kam, Sin; Chun, Byung-Yeol; Kim, Jong-Yeon; Lee, Jung-Jeung; Lee, Kyeong-Soo; Ahn, Moon-Young; Kim, Young-Ae; Kim, Jung-Guk

2011-06-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the population-based prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and prediabetes in a rural district of Daegu City, Korea. Between August and November 2003, a community-based health survey of adults aged 20 years and older was performed in the rural district of Dalseong-gun in Daegu City. A total of 1,806 of all eligible individuals agreed to participate. Fasting plasma glucose was measured in all participants. Two hour oral glucose tolerance was measured in the 1,773 participants for whom there was neither an established diagnosis of DM nor evidence of DM according to fasting glucose levels. The prevalence of DM and prediabetes was determined according to the 2003 criteria of the American Diabetes Association. Subjects with prediabetes were classified into one of three categories of glucose intolerance: isolated impaired fasting glucose (IFG); isolated impaired glucose tolerance (IGT); or combined IFG and IGT. The prevalence of DM was 12.2%. The highest prevalence rates were observed in subjects in their seventies. A total of 34.7% of all subjects who were assigned a diagnosis of DM in the present study had not been diagnosed previously. The prevalence of prediabetes was 22.7%. The highest prevalence rates were observed in subjects in their fifties. The present study identified prevalence rates of 12.2% for DM (age-standardized prevalence rate [ASR], 6.8%), and 22.7% for prediabetes (ASR 18.5%). These results emphasize the need for community health promotion strategies to prevent or delay the onset of DM in individuals with prediabetes.

Fast analysis of doping agents in urine by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry I. Screening analysis.

PubMed

Badoud, F; Grata, E; Perrenoud, L; Avois, L; Saugy, M; Rudaz, S; Veuthey, J-L

2009-05-15

The general strategy to perform anti-doping analyses of urine samples starts with the screening for a wide range of compounds. This step should be fast, generic and able to detect any sample that may contain a prohibited substance while avoiding false negatives and reducing false positive results. The experiments presented in this work were based on ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Thanks to the high sensitivity of the method, urine samples could be diluted 2-fold prior to injection. One hundred and three forbidden substances from various classes (such as stimulants, diuretics, narcotics, anti-estrogens) were analysed on a C(18) reversed-phase column in two gradients of 9min (including two 3min equilibration periods) for positive and negative electrospray ionisation and detected in the MS full scan mode. The automatic identification of analytes was based on retention time and mass accuracy, with an automated tool for peak picking. The method was validated according to the International Standard for Laboratories described in the World Anti-Doping Code and was selective enough to comply with the World Anti-Doping Agency recommendations. In addition, the matrix effect on MS response was measured on all investigated analytes spiked in urine samples. The limits of detection ranged from 1 to 500ng/mL, allowing the identification of all tested compounds in urine. When a sample was reported positive during the screening, a fast additional pre-confirmatory step was performed to reduce the number of confirmatory analyses.

Weight Loss Strategies Associated With BMI in Overweight Adults With Type 2 Diabetes at Entry Into the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) Trial

PubMed Central

Raynor, Hollie A.; Jeffery, Robert W.; Ruggiero, Andrea M.; Clark, Jeanne M.; Delahanty, Linda M.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE—Intentional weight loss is recommended for those with type 2 diabetes, but the strategies patients attempt and their effectiveness for weight management are unknown. In this investigation we describe intentional weight loss strategies used and those related to BMI in a diverse sample of overweight participants with type 2 diabetes at enrollment in the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) clinical trial. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—This was a cross-sectional study of baseline weight loss strategies, including self-weighing frequency, eating patterns, and weight control practices, reported in 3,063 women and 2,082 men aged 45–74 years with BMI ≥25 kg/m2. RESULTS—Less than half (41.4%) of participants self-weighed ≥1/week. Participants ate breakfast 6.0 ± 1.8 days/week, ate 5.0 ± 3.1 meals/snacks per day, and ate 1.9 ± 2.7 fast food meals/week. The three most common weight control practices (increasing fruits and vegetables, cutting out sweets, and eating less high-carbohydrate foods) were reported by ∼60% of participants for ≥20 weeks over the previous year. Adjusted models showed that self-weighing less than once per week (B = 0.83), more fast food meals consumed per week (B = 0.14), and fewer breakfast meals consumed per week (B = −0.19) were associated (P < 0.05) with a higher BMI (R2 = 0.24). CONCLUSIONS—Regular self-weighing and breakfast consumption, along with infrequent consumption of fast food, were related to lower BMI in the Look AHEAD study population. PMID:18375417

Effect of pigment concentration on fastness and color values of thermal and UV curable pigment printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baysal, Gulcin; Kalav, Berdan; Karagüzel Kayaoğlu, Burçak

2017-10-01

In the current study, it is aimed to determine the effect of pigment concentration on fastness and colour values of thermal and ultraviolet (UV) curable pigment printing on synthetic leather. For this purpose, thermal curable solvent-based and UV curable water-based formulations were prepared with different pigment concentrations (3, 5 and 7%) separately and applied by screen printing technique using a screen printing machine. Samples printed with solvent-based formulations were thermally cured and samples printed with water-based formulations were cured using a UV curing machine equipped with gallium and mercury (Ga/Hg) lamps at room temperature. The crock fastness values of samples printed with solvent-based formulations showed that increase in pigment concentration was not effective on both dry and wet crock fastness values. On the other hand, in samples printed with UV curable water-based formulations, dry crock fastness was improved and evaluated as very good for all pigment concentrations. However, increasing the pigment concentration affected the wet crock fastness values adversely and lower values were observed. As the energy level increased for each irradiation source, the fastness values were improved. In comparison with samples printed with solvent-based formulations, samples printed with UV curable water-based formulations yielded higher K/S values at all pigment concentrations. The results suggested that, higher K/S values can be obtained in samples printed with UV curable water-based formulations at a lower pigment concentration compared to samples printed with solvent-based formulations.

Genomic Medicine Without Borders: Which Strategies Should Developing Countries Employ to Invest in Precision Medicine? A New "Fast-Second Winner" Strategy.

PubMed

Mitropoulos, Konstantinos; Cooper, David N; Mitropoulou, Christina; Agathos, Spiros; Reichardt, Jürgen K V; Al-Maskari, Fatima; Chantratita, Wasun; Wonkam, Ambroise; Dandara, Collet; Katsila, Theodora; Lopez-Correa, Catalina; Ali, Bassam R; Patrinos, George P

2017-11-01

Genomic medicine has greatly matured in terms of its technical capabilities, but the diffusion of genomic innovations worldwide faces significant barriers beyond mere access to technology. New global development strategies are sorely needed for biotechnologies such as genomics and their applications toward precision medicine without borders. Moreover, diffusion of genomic medicine globally cannot adhere to a "one-size-fits-all-countries" development strategy, in the same way that drug treatments should be customized. This begs a timely, difficult but crucial question: How should developing countries, and the resource-limited regions of developed countries, invest in genomic medicine? Although a full-scale investment in infrastructure from discovery to the translational implementation of genomic science is ideal, this may not always be feasible in all countries at all times. A simple "transplantation of genomics" from developed to developing countries is unlikely to be feasible. Nor should developing countries be seen as simple recipients and beneficiaries of genomic medicine developed elsewhere because important advances in genomic medicine have materialized in developing countries as well. There are several noteworthy examples of genomic medicine success stories involving resource-limited settings that are contextualized and described in this global genomic medicine innovation analysis. In addition, we outline here a new long-term development strategy for global genomic medicine in a way that recognizes the individual country's pressing public health priorities and disease burdens. We term this approach the "Fast-Second Winner" model of innovation that supports innovation commencing not only "upstream" of discovery science but also "mid-stream," building on emerging highly promising biomarker and diagnostic candidates from the global science discovery pipeline, based on the unique needs of each country. A mid-stream entry into innovation can enhance collective learning from other innovators' mistakes upstream in discovery science and boost the probability of success for translation and implementation when resources are limited. This à la carte model of global innovation and development strategy offers multiple entry points into the global genomics innovation ecosystem for developing countries, whether or not extensive and expensive discovery infrastructures are already in place. Ultimately, broadening our thinking beyond the linear model of innovation will help us to enable the vision and practice of genomics without borders in both developed and resource-limited settings.

Recruiting underrepresented groups into the Carbohydrates and Related Biomarkers (CARB) cancer prevention feeding study.

PubMed

Coronado, Gloria D; Ondelacy, Stephanie; Schwarz, Yvonne; Duggan, Catherine; Lampe, Johanna W; Neuhouser, Marian L

2012-07-01

Using data from a randomized, controlled feeding study, which aimed to recruit 88 participants (including 22 Hispanics and 22 African Americans), we examined strategies for recruiting individuals from underrepresented groups into research trials. Study eligibility criteria included participants who 1) were 18-45 years old; 2) had a body mass index (BMI) >18<24.9 or BMI>28.0 <40.0; 3); had no preexisting health conditions; 4) were non-smoking; 5) had normal fasting blood glucose level (<100 mg/dL); and 6) spoke English. Participants were recruited using two overarching methods: media-based strategies (flyers and posters, email announcements, announcements in local and campus newspapers, and the Internet) and in-person strategies (presentations in university classes and community events). Participants were enrolled March 2006-March 2009. We present the numbers of individuals requesting study information, completing pre-enrollment screening questionnaires, and enrolling in the study. A total of 1036 individuals requested study information, and 396 completed a pre-enrollment screening questionnaire; 90 enrolled in the study (22 Hispanics and 18 African Americans). Among enrolled participants, in-person recruitment strategies were reported by 39% of African Americans, 73% of Hispanics, and 30% of non-Hispanic Whites (P<0.001). In-person recruitment strategies were successful among Hispanics. Mass media recruitment strategies were successful among non-Hispanic Whites but enlisted relatively few Hispanic participants. Both strategies recruited nearly equal percentages of African Americans. These data suggest that different strategies are needed to effectively recruit racial/ethnic population subgroups into intervention studies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Do Adolescents Who Live or Go to School Near Fast Food Restaurants Eat More Frequently From Fast Food Restaurants?

PubMed Central

Forsyth, Ann; Wall, Melanie; Larson, Nicole; Story, Mary; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

2012-01-01

This population-based study examined whether residential or school neighborhood access to fast food restaurants is related to adolescents’ eating frequency of fast food. A classroom-based survey of racially/ethnically diverse adolescents (n=2,724) in 20 secondary schools in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota was used to assess eating frequency at five types of fast food restaurants. Black, Hispanic, and Native American adolescents lived near more fast food restaurants than white and Asian adolescents and also ate at fast food restaurants more often. After controlling for individual-level socio-demographics, adolescent males living near high numbers fast food restaurants ate more frequently from these venues compared to their peers. PMID:23064515

Recent progress in n-channel organic thin-film transistors.

PubMed

Wen, Yugeng; Liu, Yunqi

2010-03-26

Particular attention has been focused on n-channel organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) during the last few years, and the potentially cost-effective circuitry-based applications in flexible electronics, such as flexible radiofrequency identity tags, smart labels, and simple displays, will benefit from this fast development. This article reviews recent progress in performance and molecular design of n-channel semiconductors in the past five years, and limitations and practicable solutions for n-channel OTFTs are dealt with from the viewpoint of OTFT constitution and geometry, molecular design, and thin-film growth conditions. Strategy methodology is especially highlighted with an aim to investigate basic issues in this field.

Tetrazine-Based Cycloadditions: Application to Pretargeted Live Cell Imaging

PubMed Central

Devaraj, Neal K.; Weissleder, Ralph; Hilderbrand, Scott A.

2009-01-01

Bioorthogonal tetrazine cycloadditions have been applied to live cell labeling. Tetrazines react irreversibly with the strained dienophile norbornene forming dihydropyrazine products and dinitrogen. The reaction is high yielding, selective, and fast in aqueous media. Her2/neu receptors on live human breast cancer cells were targeted with a monoclonal antibody modified with a norbornene. Tetrazines conjugated to a near-infrared fluorochrome selectively and rapidly label the pretargeted antibody in the presence of serum. These findings indicate that this chemistry is suitable for in vitro labeling experiments, and suggests that it may prove a useful strategy for in vivo pretargeted imaging under numerous modalities. PMID:19053305

Allylic Amination and N-Arylation-Based Domino Reactions Providing Rapid Three-Component Strategies to Fused Pyrroles with Different Substituted Patterns

PubMed Central

Jiang, Bo; Li, Ying; Tu, Man-Su; Wang, Shu-Liang; Tu, Shu-Jiang; Li, Guigen

2012-01-01

New three-component domino reaction providing divergent approaches to multi-functionalized fused pyrroles with different substituted patterns have been established (40 examples). The direct C(sp3)–N bond formation was achieved through intermolecular allylic amination in a one-pot operation; and N-arylation of amines was realized by varying N-amino acid enaminones. The reaction is easy to perform simply by mixing three common reactants in acetic acid under microwave heating. The reaction proceeds at fast rates and can be finished within 30 min, which makes workup convenient to give good chemical yields. PMID:22852549

The Secondary Development of ABAQUS by using Python and the Application of the Advanced GA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Lilong; Zhao, Meiying

Realizing the secondary development of the ABAQUS based on the manual of ABAQUS. In order to overcome the prematurity and the worse convergence of the Simple Genetic Algorithm (SGA), a new strategy how to improve the efficiency of the SGA has been put forward. In the new GA, the selection probability and the mutation probability are self-adaptive. Taking the stability of the composite laminates as the target, the optimized laminates sequences and radius of the hatch are analyzed with the help of ABAQUS. Compared with the SGA, the new GA method shows a good consistency, fast convergence and practical feasibility.

Accelerating acquisition strategies for low-frequency conductivity imaging using MREIT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yizhuang; Seo, Jin Keun; Chauhan, Munish; Indahlastari, Aprinda; Ashok Kumar, Neeta; Sadleir, Rosalind

2018-02-01

We sought to improve efficiency of magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography data acquisition so that fast conductivity changes or electric field variations could be monitored. Undersampling of k-space was used to decrease acquisition times in spin-echo-based sequences by a factor of two. Full MREIT data were reconstructed using continuity assumptions and preliminary scans gathered without current. We found that phase data were reconstructed faithfully from undersampled data. Conductivity reconstructions of phantom data were also possible. Therefore, undersampled k-space methods can potentially be used to accelerate MREIT acquisition. This method could be an advantage in imaging real-time conductivity changes with MREIT.

An Exit Strategy Not a Winning Strategy? Intelligence Lessons from the British ’Emergency’ in South Arabia, 1963-67

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-14

comments came in so thick and fast that capturing them was itself a testing experience! In addition to the above Art of War team, I was very fortunate...via email throughout the research and writing period. Sincere thanks to all; nonetheless, all errors and omissions are my own. Finally, I must pay...

Construction of Silica-Based Micro/Nanoplatforms for Ultrasound Theranostic Biomedicine.

PubMed

Zhou, Yang; Han, Xiaoxia; Jing, Xiangxiang; Chen, Yu

2017-09-01

Ultrasound (US)-based biomedicine has been extensively explored for its applications in both diagnostic imaging and disease therapy. The fast development of theranostic nanomedicine significantly promotes the development of US-based biomedicine. This progress report summarizes and discusses the recent developments of rational design and fabrication of silica-based micro/nanoparticles for versatile US-based biomedical applications. The synthetic strategies and surface-engineering approaches of silica-based micro/nanoparticles are initially discussed, followed by detailed introduction on their US-based theranostic applications. They have been extensively explored in contrast-enhanced US imaging, US-based multi-modality imaging, synergistic high-intensity focused US (HIFU) ablation, sonosensitizer-enhanced sonodynamic therapy (SDT), as well as US-triggered chemotherapy. Their biological effects and biosafety have been briefly discussed to guarantee further clinical translation. Based on the high biocompatibility, versatile composition/structure and high performance in US-based theranostic biomedicine, these silica-based theranostic agents are expected to pave a new way for achieving efficient US-based theranostics of disease by taking the specific advantages of material science, nanotechnology and US-based biomedicine. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Association between neighbourhood fast-food and full-service restaurant density and body mass index: a cross-sectional study of Canadian adults.

PubMed

Hollands, Simon; Campbell, M Karen; Gilliland, Jason; Sarma, Sisira

2014-05-07

Frequent fast-food consumption is a well-known risk factor for obesity. This study sought to determine whether the availability of fast-food restaurants has an influence on body mass index (BMI). BMI and individual-level confounding variables were obtained from the 2007-08 Canadian Community Health Survey. Neighbourhood socio-demographic variables were acquired from the 2006 Canadian Census. The geographic locations of all restaurants in Canada were assembled from a validated business registry database. The density of fast-food, full-service and non-chain restaurants per 10,000 individuals was calculated for respondents' forward sortation area. Multivariable regression analyses were conducted to analyze the association between restaurant density and BMI. Fast-food, full-service and non-chain restaurant density variables were statistically significantly associated with BMI. Fast-food density had a positive association whereas full-service and non-chain restaurant density had a negative association with BMI (additional 10 fast-food restaurants per capita corresponded to a weight increase of 1 kilogram; p<0.001). These associations were primarily found in Canada's major urban jurisdictions. This research was the first to investigate the influence of fast-food and full-service restaurant density on BMI using individual-level data from a nationally representative Canadian survey. The finding of a positive association between fast-food restaurant density and BMI suggests that interventions aiming to restrict the availability of fast-food restaurants in local neighbourhoods may be a useful obesity prevention strategy.

FAST: FAST Analysis of Sequences Toolbox

PubMed Central

Lawrence, Travis J.; Kauffman, Kyle T.; Amrine, Katherine C. H.; Carper, Dana L.; Lee, Raymond S.; Becich, Peter J.; Canales, Claudia J.; Ardell, David H.

2015-01-01

FAST (FAST Analysis of Sequences Toolbox) provides simple, powerful open source command-line tools to filter, transform, annotate and analyze biological sequence data. Modeled after the GNU (GNU's Not Unix) Textutils such as grep, cut, and tr, FAST tools such as fasgrep, fascut, and fastr make it easy to rapidly prototype expressive bioinformatic workflows in a compact and generic command vocabulary. Compact combinatorial encoding of data workflows with FAST commands can simplify the documentation and reproducibility of bioinformatic protocols, supporting better transparency in biological data science. Interface self-consistency and conformity with conventions of GNU, Matlab, Perl, BioPerl, R, and GenBank help make FAST easy and rewarding to learn. FAST automates numerical, taxonomic, and text-based sorting, selection and transformation of sequence records and alignment sites based on content, index ranges, descriptive tags, annotated features, and in-line calculated analytics, including composition and codon usage. Automated content- and feature-based extraction of sites and support for molecular population genetic statistics make FAST useful for molecular evolutionary analysis. FAST is portable, easy to install and secure thanks to the relative maturity of its Perl and BioPerl foundations, with stable releases posted to CPAN. Development as well as a publicly accessible Cookbook and Wiki are available on the FAST GitHub repository at https://github.com/tlawrence3/FAST. The default data exchange format in FAST is Multi-FastA (specifically, a restriction of BioPerl FastA format). Sanger and Illumina 1.8+ FastQ formatted files are also supported. FAST makes it easier for non-programmer biologists to interactively investigate and control biological data at the speed of thought. PMID:26042145

Health effects of intermittent fasting: hormesis or harm? A systematic review.

PubMed

Horne, Benjamin D; Muhlestein, Joseph B; Anderson, Jeffrey L

2015-08-01

Intermittent fasting, alternate-day fasting, and other forms of periodic caloric desistance are gaining popularity in the lay press and among animal research scientists. Whether clinical evidence exists for or is strong enough to support the use of such dietary regimens as health interventions is unclear. This review sought to identify rigorous, clinically relevant research studies that provide high-quality evidence that therapeutic fasting regimens are clinically beneficial to humans. A systematic review of the published literature through January 2015 was performed by using sensitive search strategies to identify randomized controlled clinical trials that evaluated the effects of fasting on either clinically relevant surrogate outcomes (e.g., weight, cholesterol) or actual clinical event endpoints [e.g., diabetes, coronary artery disease (CAD)] and any other studies that evaluated the effects of fasting on clinical event outcomes. Three randomized controlled clinical trials of fasting in humans were identified, and the results were published in 5 articles, all of which evaluated the effects of fasting on surrogate outcomes. Improvements in weight and other risk-related outcomes were found in the 3 trials. Two observational clinical outcomes studies in humans were found in which fasting was associated with a lower prevalence of CAD or diabetes diagnosis. No randomized controlled trials of fasting for clinical outcomes were identified. Clinical research studies of fasting with robust designs and high levels of clinical evidence are sparse in the literature. Whereas the few randomized controlled trials and observational clinical outcomes studies support the existence of a health benefit from fasting, substantial further research in humans is needed before the use of fasting as a health intervention can be recommended. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

A Randomized Field Trial of the Fast ForWord Language Computer-Based Training Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borman, Geoffrey D.; Benson, James G.; Overman, Laura

2009-01-01

This article describes an independent assessment of the Fast ForWord Language computer-based training program developed by Scientific Learning Corporation. Previous laboratory research involving children with language-based learning impairments showed strong effects on their abilities to recognize brief and fast sequences of nonspeech and speech…

Haplotype-Based Association Analysis via Variance-Components Score Test

PubMed Central

Tzeng, Jung-Ying ; Zhang, Daowen 

2007-01-01

Haplotypes provide a more informative format of polymorphisms for genetic association analysis than do individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms. However, the practical efficacy of haplotype-based association analysis is challenged by a trade-off between the benefits of modeling abundant variation and the cost of the extra degrees of freedom. To reduce the degrees of freedom, several strategies have been considered in the literature. They include (1) clustering evolutionarily close haplotypes, (2) modeling the level of haplotype sharing, and (3) smoothing haplotype effects by introducing a correlation structure for haplotype effects and studying the variance components (VC) for association. Although the first two strategies enjoy a fair extent of power gain, empirical evidence showed that VC methods may exhibit only similar or less power than the standard haplotype regression method, even in cases of many haplotypes. In this study, we report possible reasons that cause the underpowered phenomenon and show how the power of the VC strategy can be improved. We construct a score test based on the restricted maximum likelihood or the marginal likelihood function of the VC and identify its nontypical limiting distribution. Through simulation, we demonstrate the validity of the test and investigate the power performance of the VC approach and that of the standard haplotype regression approach. With suitable choices for the correlation structure, the proposed method can be directly applied to unphased genotypic data. Our method is applicable to a wide-ranging class of models and is computationally efficient and easy to implement. The broad coverage and the fast and easy implementation of this method make the VC strategy an effective tool for haplotype analysis, even in modern genomewide association studies. PMID:17924336

Image recombination transform algorithm for superresolution structured illumination microscopy

PubMed Central

Zhou, Xing; Lei, Ming; Dan, Dan; Yao, Baoli; Yang, Yanlong; Qian, Jia; Chen, Guangde; Bianco, Piero R.

2016-01-01

Abstract. Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is an attractive choice for fast superresolution imaging. The generation of structured illumination patterns made by interference of laser beams is broadly employed to obtain high modulation depth of patterns, while the polarizations of the laser beams must be elaborately controlled to guarantee the high contrast of interference intensity, which brings a more complex configuration for the polarization control. The emerging pattern projection strategy is much more compact, but the modulation depth of patterns is deteriorated by the optical transfer function of the optical system, especially in high spatial frequency near the diffraction limit. Therefore, the traditional superresolution reconstruction algorithm for interference-based SIM will suffer from many artifacts in the case of projection-based SIM that possesses a low modulation depth. Here, we propose an alternative reconstruction algorithm based on image recombination transform, which provides an alternative solution to address this problem even in a weak modulation depth. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this algorithm in the multicolor superresolution imaging of bovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells in our developed projection-based SIM system, which applies a computer controlled digital micromirror device for fast fringe generation and multicolor light-emitting diodes for illumination. The merit of the system incorporated with the proposed algorithm allows for a low excitation intensity fluorescence imaging even less than 1  W/cm2, which is beneficial for the long-term, in vivo superresolved imaging of live cells and tissues. PMID:27653935

Manned and Unmanned Aircraft Effectiveness in Fast Attack Craft / Fast Inshore Attack Craft ASUW Kill Chain Execution

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

par. 4) Based on a RED projected size of 22.16 m, a sample calculation for the unadjusted single shot probability of kill for HELLFIRE missiles is...framework based on intelligent objects (SIMIO) environment to model a fast attack craft/fast inshore attack craft anti-surface warfare expanded kill chain...concept of operation efficiency. Based on the operational environment, low cost and less capable unmanned aircraft provide an alternative to the

Sparse reconstruction for quantitative bioluminescence tomography based on the incomplete variables truncated conjugate gradient method.

PubMed

He, Xiaowei; Liang, Jimin; Wang, Xiaorui; Yu, Jingjing; Qu, Xiaochao; Wang, Xiaodong; Hou, Yanbin; Chen, Duofang; Liu, Fang; Tian, Jie

2010-11-22

In this paper, we present an incomplete variables truncated conjugate gradient (IVTCG) method for bioluminescence tomography (BLT). Considering the sparse characteristic of the light source and insufficient surface measurement in the BLT scenarios, we combine a sparseness-inducing (ℓ1 norm) regularization term with a quadratic error term in the IVTCG-based framework for solving the inverse problem. By limiting the number of variables updated at each iterative and combining a variable splitting strategy to find the search direction more efficiently, it obtains fast and stable source reconstruction, even without a priori information of the permissible source region and multispectral measurements. Numerical experiments on a mouse atlas validate the effectiveness of the method. In vivo mouse experimental results further indicate its potential for a practical BLT system.

Automated sample area definition for high-throughput microscopy.

PubMed

Zeder, M; Ellrott, A; Amann, R

2011-04-01

High-throughput screening platforms based on epifluorescence microscopy are powerful tools in a variety of scientific fields. Although some applications are based on imaging geometrically defined samples such as microtiter plates, multiwell slides, or spotted gene arrays, others need to cope with inhomogeneously located samples on glass slides. The analysis of microbial communities in aquatic systems by sample filtration on membrane filters followed by multiple fluorescent staining, or the investigation of tissue sections are examples. Therefore, we developed a strategy for flexible and fast definition of sample locations by the acquisition of whole slide overview images and automated sample recognition by image analysis. Our approach was tested on different microscopes and the computer programs are freely available (http://www.technobiology.ch). Copyright © 2011 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

Sensor for In-Motion Continuous 3D Shape Measurement Based on Dual Line-Scan Cameras

PubMed Central

Sun, Bo; Zhu, Jigui; Yang, Linghui; Yang, Shourui; Guo, Yin

2016-01-01

The acquisition of three-dimensional surface data plays an increasingly important role in the industrial sector. Numerous 3D shape measurement techniques have been developed. However, there are still limitations and challenges in fast measurement of large-scale objects or high-speed moving objects. The innovative line scan technology opens up new potentialities owing to the ultra-high resolution and line rate. To this end, a sensor for in-motion continuous 3D shape measurement based on dual line-scan cameras is presented. In this paper, the principle and structure of the sensor are investigated. The image matching strategy is addressed and the matching error is analyzed. The sensor has been verified by experiments and high-quality results are obtained. PMID:27869731

Efficient airport detection using region-based fully convolutional neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Peng; Xu, Yuelei; Zhang, Xulei; Ma, Shiping; Li, Shuai; Lv, Chao

2018-04-01

This paper presents a model for airport detection using region-based fully convolutional neural networks. To achieve fast detection with high accuracy, we shared the conv layers between the region proposal procedure and the airport detection procedure and used graphics processing units (GPUs) to speed up the training and testing time. For lack of labeled data, we transferred the convolutional layers of ZF net pretrained by ImageNet to initialize the shared convolutional layers, then we retrained the model using the alternating optimization training strategy. The proposed model has been tested on an airport dataset consisting of 600 images. Experiments show that the proposed method can distinguish airports in our dataset from similar background scenes almost real-time with high accuracy, which is much better than traditional methods.

Electrochemical imaging of cells and tissues

PubMed Central

Lin, Tzu-En; Rapino, Stefania; Girault, Hubert H.

2018-01-01

The technological and experimental progress in electrochemical imaging of biological specimens is discussed with a view on potential applications for skin cancer diagnostics, reproductive medicine and microbial testing. The electrochemical analysis of single cell activity inside cell cultures, 3D cellular aggregates and microtissues is based on the selective detection of electroactive species involved in biological functions. Electrochemical imaging strategies, based on nano/micrometric probes scanning over the sample and sensor array chips, respectively, can be made sensitive and selective without being affected by optical interference as many other microscopy techniques. The recent developments in microfabrication, electronics and cell culturing/tissue engineering have evolved in affordable and fast-sampling electrochemical imaging platforms. We believe that the topics discussed herein demonstrate the applicability of electrochemical imaging devices in many areas related to cellular functions. PMID:29899947

Fast polyenergetic forward projection for image formation using OpenCL on a heterogeneous parallel computing platform.

PubMed

Zhou, Lili; Clifford Chao, K S; Chang, Jenghwa

2012-11-01

Simulated projection images of digital phantoms constructed from CT scans have been widely used for clinical and research applications but their quality and computation speed are not optimal for real-time comparison with the radiography acquired with an x-ray source of different energies. In this paper, the authors performed polyenergetic forward projections using open computing language (OpenCL) in a parallel computing ecosystem consisting of CPU and general purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) for fast and realistic image formation. The proposed polyenergetic forward projection uses a lookup table containing the NIST published mass attenuation coefficients (μ∕ρ) for different tissue types and photon energies ranging from 1 keV to 20 MeV. The CT images of interested sites are first segmented into different tissue types based on the CT numbers and converted to a three-dimensional attenuation phantom by linking each voxel to the corresponding tissue type in the lookup table. The x-ray source can be a radioisotope or an x-ray generator with a known spectrum described as weight w(n) for energy bin E(n). The Siddon method is used to compute the x-ray transmission line integral for E(n) and the x-ray fluence is the weighted sum of the exponential of line integral for all energy bins with added Poisson noise. To validate this method, a digital head and neck phantom constructed from the CT scan of a Rando head phantom was segmented into three (air, gray∕white matter, and bone) regions for calculating the polyenergetic projection images for the Mohan 4 MV energy spectrum. To accelerate the calculation, the authors partitioned the workloads using the task parallelism and data parallelism and scheduled them in a parallel computing ecosystem consisting of CPU and GPGPU (NVIDIA Tesla C2050) using OpenCL only. The authors explored the task overlapping strategy and the sequential method for generating the first and subsequent DRRs. A dispatcher was designed to drive the high-degree parallelism of the task overlapping strategy. Numerical experiments were conducted to compare the performance of the OpenCL∕GPGPU-based implementation with the CPU-based implementation. The projection images were similar to typical portal images obtained with a 4 or 6 MV x-ray source. For a phantom size of 512 × 512 × 223, the time for calculating the line integrals for a 512 × 512 image panel was 16.2 ms on GPGPU for one energy bin in comparison to 8.83 s on CPU. The total computation time for generating one polyenergetic projection image of 512 × 512 was 0.3 s (141 s for CPU). The relative difference between the projection images obtained with the CPU-based and OpenCL∕GPGPU-based implementations was on the order of 10(-6) and was virtually indistinguishable. The task overlapping strategy was 5.84 and 1.16 times faster than the sequential method for the first and the subsequent digitally reconstruction radiographies, respectively. The authors have successfully built digital phantoms using anatomic CT images and NIST μ∕ρ tables for simulating realistic polyenergetic projection images and optimized the processing speed with parallel computing using GPGPU∕OpenCL-based implementation. The computation time was fast (0.3 s per projection image) enough for real-time IGRT (image-guided radiotherapy) applications.

When does a strategy intervention overcome a failure of inhibition? Evidence from two left frontal brain tumour cases.

PubMed

Robinson, Gail A; Walker, David G; Biggs, Vivien; Shallice, Tim

2016-06-01

Initiation and inhibition of responses are crucial for appropriate behaviour across different settings. Initiation and inhibition difficulties are well documented following frontal damage, although task differences have limited our understanding. The Hayling Sentence Completion Test was designed to assess verbal initiation and inhibition within the same task. This study investigates the ability of two patients with left frontal tumours (KI: high grade glioma; PM: meningioma) to use a strategy to overcome profound suppression failures on the Hayling Test. KI and PM completed the Hayling Test and two experimental tasks. The Selection Investigation assessed verbal initiation on a sentence completion task that varied selection demands (high/low). The Suppression and Strategy Investigation assessed ability to implement four strategies aimed to override a suppression failure and facilitate production of an unconnected word. On the Hayling Test, KI and PM initiated responses to complete high constraint sentences, in contrast to impaired suppression. KI benefitted minimally from strategies to overcome suppression failure although one strategy (object naming) was partially successful. KI's errors revealed fast suppression errors, in contrast to slow no responses, and selection ability was also impaired for verbal initiation. PM, however, implemented each strategy 100% to overcome a suppression failure and had no difficulty completing sentences meaningfully, regardless of selection demands. This first investigation of strategy implementation to overcome profound suppression impairments provides insights into verbal initiation, inhibition, selection and strategy mechanisms, which has implications for neurorehabilitation. Specifically, both patients had profound inhibition deficits but KI also presented with a selection deficit and was unable to implement a strategy. By contrast, PM's selection ability was intact but she was unable to generate, rather than implement, a strategy. We suggest that KI has both fast, uncontrolled semantic output and response inhibition difficulty, whereas PM's difficulty is underpinned by motivational factors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How fast can stellar death throes go?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eldridge, J. J.

2018-04-01

Using evolving observing strategies and technologies we are catching supernovae closer and closer to the `b' of the `bang', thus unveiling new types of explosion mechanism that have not been studied in depth before.

Tethered gravity laboratories study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lucchetti, F.

1989-01-01

Variable Gravity Laboratory studies are discussed. The following subject areas are covered: (1) conceptual design and engineering analysis; (2) control strategies (fast crawling maneuvers, main perturbations and their effect upon the acceleration level); and (3) technology requirements.

Evolution of long-term coloration trends with biochemically unstable ingredients

PubMed Central

Davis, Sarah N.; Andrews, John E.; Badyaev, Alexander V.

2016-01-01

The evolutionarily persistent and widespread use of carotenoid pigments in animal coloration contrasts with their biochemical instability. Consequently, evolution of carotenoid-based displays should include mechanisms to accommodate or limit pigment degradation. In birds, this could involve two strategies: (i) evolution of a moult immediately prior to the mating season, enabling the use of particularly fast-degrading carotenoids and (ii) evolution of the ability to stabilize dietary carotenoids through metabolic modification or association with feather keratins. Here, we examine evolutionary lability and transitions between the two strategies across 126 species of birds. We report that species that express mostly unmodified, fast-degrading, carotenoids have pre-breeding moults, and a particularly short time between carotenoid deposition and the subsequent breeding season. Species that expressed mostly slow-degrading carotenoids in their plumage accomplished this through increased metabolic modification of dietary carotenoids, and the selective expression of these slow-degrading compounds. In these species, the timing of moult was not associated with carotenoid composition of plumage displays. Using repeated samples from individuals of one species, we found that metabolic modification of dietary carotenoids significantly slowed their degradation between moult and breeding season. Thus, the most complex and colourful ornamentation is likely the most biochemically stable in birds, and depends less on ecological factors, such as moult timing and migration tendency. We suggest that coevolution of metabolic modification, selective expression and biochemical stability of plumage carotenoids enables the use of unstable pigments in long-term evolutionary trends in plumage coloration. PMID:27194697

Fast Optimization of LiMgMnOx/La2O3 Catalysts for the Oxidative Coupling of Methane.

PubMed

Li, Zhinian; He, Lei; Wang, Shenliang; Yi, Wuzhong; Zou, Shihui; Xiao, Liping; Fan, Jie

2017-01-09

The development of efficient catalyst for oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reaction represents a grand challenge in direct conversion of methane into other useful products. Here, we reported that a newly developed combinatorial approach can be used for ultrafast optimization of La 2 O 3 -based multicomponent metal oxide catalysts in OCM reaction. This new approach integrated inkjet printing assisted synthesis (IJP-A) with multidimensional group testing strategy (m-GT) tactfully takes the place of conventionally high-throughput synthesis-and-screen experiment. Just within a week, 2048 formulated LiMgMnO x -La 2 O 3 catalysts in a 64·8·8·8·8 = 262 144 compositional space were fabricated by IJP-A in a four-round synthesis-and-screen process, and an optimized formulation has been successfully identified through only 4·8 = 32 times of tests via m-GT screening strategy. The screening process identifies the most promising ternary composition region is Li 0-0.48 Mg 0-6.54 Mn 0-0.62 -La 100 O x with an external C 2 yield of 10.87% at 700 °C. The yield of C 2 is two times as high as the pure nano-La 2 O 3 . The good performance of the optimized catalyst formulation has been validated by the manual preparation, which further prove the effectiveness of the new combinatorial methodology in fast discovery of heterogeneous catalyst.

Weaknesses in regional primary coronary angioplasty programs: is there still a role for a pharmaco-invasive approach?

PubMed

Danchin, Nicolas; Dos Santos Teixeira, Nelson; Puymirat, Etienne

2014-08-01

All guidelines recommend primary percutaneous coronary intervention as the default strategy for achieving reperfusion in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients. These recommendations are based upon randomized trials which compared primary percutaneous coronary intervention with stand-alone intravenous fibrinolysis. Since the time these trials were performed, however, it has been shown in further trials that use of rescue percutaneous coronary intervention in patients without signs of reperfusion after lysis, and routine coronary angiography within 24 h of the administration of lysis for all other patients, substantially improved the results of intravenous fibrinolytic treatment. This has led to proposing the pharmaco-invasive strategy as an alternative to primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Actually, it is not uncommon that circumstances prevent performing primary percutaneous coronary intervention within the recommended time limits set by the guidelines. In such cases, using a pharmaco-invasive strategy may constitute a valid alternative. Both the STREAM randomized trial and real-world experience, in particular the long-term results from the FAST-MI registry, suggest that the pharmaco-invasive strategy, when used in an appropriate population, compares favorably with primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Therefore, implementing a pharmaco-invasive strategy protocol may be an important complement to compensate for potential weaknesses in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction networks. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

A second order discontinuous Galerkin fast sweeping method for Eikonal equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Fengyan; Shu, Chi-Wang; Zhang, Yong-Tao; Zhao, Hongkai

2008-09-01

In this paper, we construct a second order fast sweeping method with a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) local solver for computing viscosity solutions of a class of static Hamilton-Jacobi equations, namely the Eikonal equations. Our piecewise linear DG local solver is built on a DG method developed recently [Y. Cheng, C.-W. Shu, A discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for directly solving the Hamilton-Jacobi equations, Journal of Computational Physics 223 (2007) 398-415] for the time-dependent Hamilton-Jacobi equations. The causality property of Eikonal equations is incorporated into the design of this solver. The resulting local nonlinear system in the Gauss-Seidel iterations is a simple quadratic system and can be solved explicitly. The compactness of the DG method and the fast sweeping strategy lead to fast convergence of the new scheme for Eikonal equations. Extensive numerical examples verify efficiency, convergence and second order accuracy of the proposed method.

A glucose biosensor based on partially unzipped carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Hu, Huifang; Feng, Miao; Zhan, Hongbing

2015-08-15

An amperometric glucose biosensor based on direct electron transfer of glucose oxidase (GOD) self-assembled on the surface of partially unzipped carbon nanotubes (PUCNTs) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) has been successfully fabricated. PUCNTs were synthesized via a facile chemical oxidative etching CNTs and used as a novel immobilization matrix for GOD. The cyclic voltammetric result of the PUCNT/GOD/GCE showed a pair of well-defined and quasi-reversible redox peaks with a formal potential of -0.470V and a peak to peak separation of 37mV, revealing that the fast direct electron transfer between GOD and the electrode has been achieved. It is notable that the glucose determination has been achieved in mediator-free condition. The developed biosensor displayed satisfactory analytical performance toward glucose including high sensitivity (19.50μA mM(-1)cm(-2)), low apparent Michaelis-Menten (5.09mM), a wide linear range of 0-17mM, and also preventing the interference from ascorbic acid, uric acid and dopamine usually coexisting with glucose in human blood. In addition, the biosensor acquired excellent storage stabilities. This facile, fast, environment-friendly and economical preparation strategy of PUCNT-GOD may provide a new platform for the fabrication of biocompatible glucose biosensors and other types of biosensors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A fast and low-cost genotyping method for hepatitis B virus based on pattern recognition in point-of-care settings

PubMed Central

Qiu, Xianbo; Song, Liuwei; Yang, Shuo; Guo, Meng; Yuan, Quan; Ge, Shengxiang; Min, Xiaoping; Xia, Ningshao

2016-01-01

A fast and low-cost method for HBV genotyping especially for genotypes A, B, C and D was developed and tested. A classifier was used to detect and analyze a one-step immunoassay lateral flow strip functionalized with genotype-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) on multiple capture lines in the form of pattern recognition for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. The fluorescent signals from the capture lines and the background of the strip were collected via multiple optical channels in parallel. A digital HBV genotyping model, whose inputs are the fluorescent signals and outputs are a group of genotype-specific digital binary codes (0/1), was developed based on the HBV genotyping strategy. Meanwhile, a companion decoding table was established to cover all possible pairing cases between the states of a group of genotype-specific digital binary codes and the HBV genotyping results. A logical analyzing module was constructed to process the detected signals in parallel without program control, and its outputs were used to drive a set of LED indicators, which determine the HBV genotype. Comparing to the nucleic acid analysis to HBV viruses, much faster HBV genotyping with significantly lower cost can be obtained with the developed method. PMID:27306485

Fluorimetric Mercury Test Strips with Suppressed "Coffee Stains" by a Bio-inspired Fabrication Strategy.

PubMed

Qiao, Yuchun; Shang, Jizhen; Li, Shuying; Feng, Luping; Jiang, Yao; Duan, Zhiqiang; Lv, Xiaoxia; Zhang, Chunxian; Yao, Tiantian; Dong, Zhichao; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Hua

2016-11-04

A fluorimetric Hg 2+ test strip has been developed using a lotus-inspired fabrication method for suppressing the "coffee stains" toward the uniform distribution of probe materials through creating a hydrophobic drying pattern for fast solvent evaporation. The test strips were first loaded with the model probes of fluorescent gold-silver nanoclusters and then dried in vacuum on the hydrophobic pattern. On the one hand, here, the hydrophobic constraining forces from the lotus surface-like pattern could control the exterior transport of dispersed nanoclusters on strips leading to the minimized "coffee stains". On the other hand, the vacuum-aided fast solvent evaporation could boost the interior Marangoni flow of probe materials on strips to expect the further improved probe distribution on strips. High aqueous stability and enhanced fluorescence of probes on test strips were realized by the hydrophilic treatment with amine-derivatized silicane. A test strips-based fluorimetry has thereby been developed for probing Hg 2+ ions in wastewater, showing the detection performances comparable to the classic instrumental analysis ones. Such a facile and efficient fabrication route for the bio-inspired suppression of "coffee stains" on test strips may expand the scope of applications of test strips-based "point-of-care" analysis methods or detection devices in the biomedical and environmental fields.

Novel Scalable 3-D MT Inverse Solver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuvshinov, A. V.; Kruglyakov, M.; Geraskin, A.

2016-12-01

We present a new, robust and fast, three-dimensional (3-D) magnetotelluric (MT) inverse solver. As a forward modelling engine a highly-scalable solver extrEMe [1] is used. The (regularized) inversion is based on an iterative gradient-type optimization (quasi-Newton method) and exploits adjoint sources approach for fast calculation of the gradient of the misfit. The inverse solver is able to deal with highly detailed and contrasting models, allows for working (separately or jointly) with any type of MT (single-site and/or inter-site) responses, and supports massive parallelization. Different parallelization strategies implemented in the code allow for optimal usage of available computational resources for a given problem set up. To parameterize an inverse domain a mask approach is implemented, which means that one can merge any subset of forward modelling cells in order to account for (usually) irregular distribution of observation sites. We report results of 3-D numerical experiments aimed at analysing the robustness, performance and scalability of the code. In particular, our computational experiments carried out at different platforms ranging from modern laptops to high-performance clusters demonstrate practically linear scalability of the code up to thousands of nodes. 1. Kruglyakov, M., A. Geraskin, A. Kuvshinov, 2016. Novel accurate and scalable 3-D MT forward solver based on a contracting integral equation method, Computers and Geosciences, in press.

USI: a fast and accurate approach for conceptual document annotation.

PubMed

Fiorini, Nicolas; Ranwez, Sylvie; Montmain, Jacky; Ranwez, Vincent

2015-03-14

Semantic approaches such as concept-based information retrieval rely on a corpus in which resources are indexed by concepts belonging to a domain ontology. In order to keep such applications up-to-date, new entities need to be frequently annotated to enrich the corpus. However, this task is time-consuming and requires a high-level of expertise in both the domain and the related ontology. Different strategies have thus been proposed to ease this indexing process, each one taking advantage from the features of the document. In this paper we present USI (User-oriented Semantic Indexer), a fast and intuitive method for indexing tasks. We introduce a solution to suggest a conceptual annotation for new entities based on related already indexed documents. Our results, compared to those obtained by previous authors using the MeSH thesaurus and a dataset of biomedical papers, show that the method surpasses text-specific methods in terms of both quality and speed. Evaluations are done via usual metrics and semantic similarity. By only relying on neighbor documents, the User-oriented Semantic Indexer does not need a representative learning set. Yet, it provides better results than the other approaches by giving a consistent annotation scored with a global criterion - instead of one score per concept.

Fast quantifying collision strength index of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer coverings on the fields based on near infrared hyperspectral imaging techniques

PubMed Central

Chen, Y. M.; Lin, P.; He, Y.; He, J. Q.; Zhang, J.; Li, X. L.

2016-01-01

A novel strategy based on the near infrared hyperspectral imaging techniques and chemometrics were explored for fast quantifying the collision strength index of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVAC) coverings on the fields. The reflectance spectral data of EVAC coverings was obtained by using the near infrared hyperspectral meter. The collision analysis equipment was employed to measure the collision intensity of EVAC materials. The preprocessing algorithms were firstly performed before the calibration. The algorithms of random frog and successive projection (SP) were applied to extracting the fingerprint wavebands. A correlation model between the significant spectral curves which reflected the cross-linking attributions of the inner organic molecules and the degree of collision strength was set up by taking advantage of the support vector machine regression (SVMR) approach. The SP-SVMR model attained the residual predictive deviation of 3.074, the square of percentage of correlation coefficient of 93.48% and 93.05% and the root mean square error of 1.963 and 2.091 for the calibration and validation sets, respectively, which exhibited the best forecast performance. The results indicated that the approaches of integrating the near infrared hyperspectral imaging techniques with the chemometrics could be utilized to rapidly determine the degree of collision strength of EVAC. PMID:26875544

Fast-ion D(alpha) measurements and simulations in DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Yadong

The fast-ion Dalpha diagnostic measures the Doppler-shifted Dalpha light emitted by neutralized fast ions. For a favorable viewing geometry, the bright interferences from beam neutrals, halo neutrals, and edge neutrals span over a small wavelength range around the Dalpha rest wavelength and are blocked by a vertical bar at the exit focal plane of the spectrometer. Background subtraction and fitting techniques eliminate various contaminants in the spectrum. Fast-ion data are acquired with a time evolution of ˜1 ms, spatial resolution of ˜5 cm, and energy resolution of ˜10 keV. A weighted Monte Carlo simulation code models the fast-ion Dalpha spectra based on the fast-ion distribution function from other sources. In quiet plasmas, the spectral shape is in excellent agreement and absolute magnitude also has reasonable agreement. The fast-ion D alpha signal has the expected dependencies on plasma and neutral beam parameters. The neutral particle diagnostic and neutron diagnostic corroborate the fast-ion Dalpha measurements. The relative spatial profile is in agreement with the simulated profile based on the fast-ion distribution function from the TRANSP analysis code. During ion cyclotron heating, fast ions with high perpendicular energy are accelerated, while those with low perpendicular energy are barely affected. The spatial profile is compared with the simulated profiles based on the fast-ion distribution functions from the CQL Fokker-Planck code. In discharges with Alfven instabilities, both the spatial profile and spectral shape suggests that fast ions are redistributed. The flattened fast-ion Dalpha profile is in agreement with the fast-ion pressure profile.

An embedded multi-core parallel model for real-time stereo imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Wenjing; Hu, Jian; Niu, Jingyu; Li, Chuanrong; Liu, Guangyu

2018-04-01

The real-time processing based on embedded system will enhance the application capability of stereo imaging for LiDAR and hyperspectral sensor. The task partitioning and scheduling strategies for embedded multiprocessor system starts relatively late, compared with that for PC computer. In this paper, aimed at embedded multi-core processing platform, a parallel model for stereo imaging is studied and verified. After analyzing the computing amount, throughout capacity and buffering requirements, a two-stage pipeline parallel model based on message transmission is established. This model can be applied to fast stereo imaging for airborne sensors with various characteristics. To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the parallel model, a parallel software was designed using test flight data, based on the 8-core DSP processor TMS320C6678. The results indicate that the design performed well in workload distribution and had a speed-up ratio up to 6.4.

High-resolution coupled physics solvers for analysing fine-scale nuclear reactor design problems.

PubMed

Mahadevan, Vijay S; Merzari, Elia; Tautges, Timothy; Jain, Rajeev; Obabko, Aleksandr; Smith, Michael; Fischer, Paul

2014-08-06

An integrated multi-physics simulation capability for the design and analysis of current and future nuclear reactor models is being investigated, to tightly couple neutron transport and thermal-hydraulics physics under the SHARP framework. Over several years, high-fidelity, validated mono-physics solvers with proven scalability on petascale architectures have been developed independently. Based on a unified component-based architecture, these existing codes can be coupled with a mesh-data backplane and a flexible coupling-strategy-based driver suite to produce a viable tool for analysts. The goal of the SHARP framework is to perform fully resolved coupled physics analysis of a reactor on heterogeneous geometry, in order to reduce the overall numerical uncertainty while leveraging available computational resources. The coupling methodology and software interfaces of the framework are presented, along with verification studies on two representative fast sodium-cooled reactor demonstration problems to prove the usability of the SHARP framework.

DNAzyme based gap-LCR detection of single-nucleotide polymorphism.

PubMed

Zhou, Li; Du, Feng; Zhao, Yongyun; Yameen, Afshan; Chen, Haodong; Tang, Zhuo

2013-07-15

Fast and accurate detection of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is thought more and more important for understanding of human physiology and elucidating the molecular based diseases. A great deal of effort has been devoted to developing accurate, rapid, and cost-effective technologies for SNP analysis. However most of those methods developed to date incorporate complicated probe labeling and depend on advanced equipment. The DNAzyme based Gap-LCR detection method averts any chemical modification on probes and circumvents those problems by incorporating a short functional DNA sequence into one of LCR primers. Two kinds of exonuclease are utilized in our strategy to digest all the unreacted probes and release the DNAzymes embedded in the LCR product. The DNAzyme applied in our method is a versatile tool to report the result of SNP detection in colorimetric or fluorometric ways for different detection purposes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High-resolution coupled physics solvers for analysing fine-scale nuclear reactor design problems

PubMed Central

Mahadevan, Vijay S.; Merzari, Elia; Tautges, Timothy; Jain, Rajeev; Obabko, Aleksandr; Smith, Michael; Fischer, Paul

2014-01-01

An integrated multi-physics simulation capability for the design and analysis of current and future nuclear reactor models is being investigated, to tightly couple neutron transport and thermal-hydraulics physics under the SHARP framework. Over several years, high-fidelity, validated mono-physics solvers with proven scalability on petascale architectures have been developed independently. Based on a unified component-based architecture, these existing codes can be coupled with a mesh-data backplane and a flexible coupling-strategy-based driver suite to produce a viable tool for analysts. The goal of the SHARP framework is to perform fully resolved coupled physics analysis of a reactor on heterogeneous geometry, in order to reduce the overall numerical uncertainty while leveraging available computational resources. The coupling methodology and software interfaces of the framework are presented, along with verification studies on two representative fast sodium-cooled reactor demonstration problems to prove the usability of the SHARP framework. PMID:24982250

Aqueous stream characterization from biomass fast pyrolysis and catalytic fast pyrolysis

DOE PAGES

Black, Brenna A.; Michener, William E.; Ramirez, Kelsey J.; ...

2016-09-05

Here, biomass pyrolysis offers a promising means to rapidly depolymerize lignocellulosic biomass for subsequent catalytic upgrading to renewable fuels. Substantial efforts are currently ongoing to optimize pyrolysis processes including various fast pyrolysis and catalytic fast pyrolysis schemes. In all cases, complex aqueous streams are generated containing solubilized organic compounds that are not converted to target fuels or chemicals and are often slated for wastewater treatment, in turn creating an economic burden on the biorefinery. Valorization of the species in these aqueous streams, however, offers significant potential for substantially improving the economics and sustainability of thermochemical biorefineries. To that end, heremore » we provide a thorough characterization of the aqueous streams from four pilot-scale pyrolysis processes: namely, from fast pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis with downstream fractionation, in situ catalytic fast pyrolysis, and ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis. These configurations and processes represent characteristic pyrolysis processes undergoing intense development currently. Using a comprehensive suite of aqueous-compatible analytical techniques, we quantitatively characterize between 12 g kg -1 of organic carbon of a highly aqueous catalytic fast pyrolysis stream and up to 315 g kg -1 of organic carbon present in the fast pyrolysis aqueous streams. In all cases, the analysis ranges between 75 and 100% of mass closure. The composition and stream properties closely match the nature of pyrolysis processes, with high contents of carbohydrate-derived compounds in the fast pyrolysis aqueous phase, high acid content in nearly all streams, and mostly recalcitrant phenolics in the heavily deoxygenated ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis stream. Overall, this work provides a detailed compositional analysis of aqueous streams from leading thermochemical processes -- analyses that are critical for subsequent development of selective valorization strategies for these waste streams.« less

Aqueous stream characterization from biomass fast pyrolysis and catalytic fast pyrolysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Black, Brenna A.; Michener, William E.; Ramirez, Kelsey J.

Here, biomass pyrolysis offers a promising means to rapidly depolymerize lignocellulosic biomass for subsequent catalytic upgrading to renewable fuels. Substantial efforts are currently ongoing to optimize pyrolysis processes including various fast pyrolysis and catalytic fast pyrolysis schemes. In all cases, complex aqueous streams are generated containing solubilized organic compounds that are not converted to target fuels or chemicals and are often slated for wastewater treatment, in turn creating an economic burden on the biorefinery. Valorization of the species in these aqueous streams, however, offers significant potential for substantially improving the economics and sustainability of thermochemical biorefineries. To that end, heremore » we provide a thorough characterization of the aqueous streams from four pilot-scale pyrolysis processes: namely, from fast pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis with downstream fractionation, in situ catalytic fast pyrolysis, and ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis. These configurations and processes represent characteristic pyrolysis processes undergoing intense development currently. Using a comprehensive suite of aqueous-compatible analytical techniques, we quantitatively characterize between 12 g kg -1 of organic carbon of a highly aqueous catalytic fast pyrolysis stream and up to 315 g kg -1 of organic carbon present in the fast pyrolysis aqueous streams. In all cases, the analysis ranges between 75 and 100% of mass closure. The composition and stream properties closely match the nature of pyrolysis processes, with high contents of carbohydrate-derived compounds in the fast pyrolysis aqueous phase, high acid content in nearly all streams, and mostly recalcitrant phenolics in the heavily deoxygenated ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis stream. Overall, this work provides a detailed compositional analysis of aqueous streams from leading thermochemical processes -- analyses that are critical for subsequent development of selective valorization strategies for these waste streams.« less

Effects of fasting and feeding on the fast-start swimming performance of southern catfish Silurus meridionalis.

PubMed

Yan, G J; He, X K; Cao, Z D; Fu, S J

2015-01-21

This study investigated the effects of fasting and feeding on the fast-start escape swimming performance of juvenile southern catfish Silurus meridionalis, a sit-and-wait forager that encounters extreme fasting and famine frequently during its lifespan. Ten to 30 days of fasting resulted in no significant change in most of the variables measured in the fast-start response except a 20-30% decrease in the escape distance during the first 120 ms (D 120ms ) relative to the control group (48 h after feeding). The ratio of the single-bend (SB) response (lower energetic expenditure) to the double-bend (DB) response increased significantly from 0% in the control group to 75 and 82·5% in the 20 and 30 day fasting groups, respectively. Satiated feeding (25% of body mass) resulted in a significantly lower (36·6%) maximum linear velocity (V max ) and a significantly lower (43·3%) D 120ms than in non-fed fish (control group, 48 h after feeding). Half-satiated feeding (12·5% of body mass), however, showed no significant effects on any of the measured variables of the fast-start response relative to control fish. It is suggested that the increase in the ratio of SB:DB responses with fasting in S. meridionalis may reflect a trade-off between energy conservation and maintaining high V max , while variables of fast-start performance were more sensitive to feeding than fasting might be an adaptive strategy to their foraging mode and food availability in their habitat. © 2015 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Reflection: an educational strategy to develop emotionally-competent nurse leaders.

PubMed

Horton-Deutsch, Sara; Sherwood, Gwen

2008-11-01

This paper explores educational strategies for nurses that focus on reflectivity and promote the development of self-awareness, relationship and communication skills and ability to lead with presence and compassion in the midst of change. Today nurses move rapidly from carefully-controlled educational experiences to a fast-paced clinical world of increasing patient complexity amid calls for improved quality of care. Making the transition to clinical competence and leadership in practice requires a strong sense of self and emotional intelligence. Pedagogies that integrate theoretical and data-based textbook learning with experiential learning and reflection are a foundation for the development of emotionally- and intellectually-competent leaders and requires new ways of assessing learner outcomes. Reflection is a key instructional strategy for preparing transformational nurse leaders for interdisciplinary settings where they lead patient care management. The remarkable global spread of reflection in nursing education, practice and research follows an emphasis on developing self-awareness as a leadership strategy for improving individual and organizational performance. Empirical, experiential and anecdotal evidence suggests that reflection has the potential to prepare emotionally-capable nurse leaders. As educators create more reflective and nurturing learning environments, they will promote the development of emotionally-competent nurse leaders who will, in turn, inspire individual and organizational growth and positive change in society.

DNA-Based Nanobiosensors as an Emerging Platform for Detection of Disease

PubMed Central

Abu-Salah, Khalid M.; Zourob, Mohammed M.; Mouffouk, Fouzi; Alrokayan, Salman A.; Alaamery, Manal A.; Ansari, Anees A.

2015-01-01

Detection of disease at an early stage is one of the biggest challenges in medicine. Different disciplines of science are working together in this regard. The goal of nanodiagnostics is to provide more accurate tools for earlier diagnosis, to reduce cost and to simplify healthcare delivery of effective and personalized medicine, especially with regard to chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes and cardiovascular diseases) that have high healthcare costs. Up-to-date results suggest that DNA-based nanobiosensors could be used effectively to provide simple, fast, cost-effective, sensitive and specific detection of some genetic, cancer, and infectious diseases. In addition, they could potentially be used as a platform to detect immunodeficiency, and neurological and other diseases. This review examines different types of DNA-based nanobiosensors, the basic principles upon which they are based and their advantages and potential in diagnosis of acute and chronic diseases. We discuss recent trends and applications of new strategies for DNA-based nanobiosensors, and emphasize the challenges in translating basic research to the clinical laboratory. PMID:26102488

Discussion and Practical Aspects on Control Allocation for a Multi-Rotor Helicopter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ducard, G. J. J.; Hua, M.-D.

2011-09-01

This paper presents practical methods to improve the flight performance of an unmanned multi-rotor helicopter by using an efficient control allocation strategy. The flying vehicle considered is an hexacopter. It is indeed particularly suited for long missions and for carrying a significant payload such as all the sensors needed in the context of cartography, photogrammetry, inspection, surveillance and transportation. Moreover, a stable flight is often required for precise data recording during the mission. Therefore, a high performance flight control system is required to operate the UAV. However, the flight performance of a multi-rotor vehicle is tightly dependent on the control allocation strategy that is used to map the virtual control vector v = [T, L, M, N ]T composed of the thrust and the torques in roll, pitch and yaw, respectively, to the propellers' speed. This paper shows that a control allocation strategy based on the classical approach of pseudo-inverse matrix only exploits a limited range of the vehicle capabilities to generate thrust and moments. Thus, in this paper, a novel approach is presented, which is based on a weighted pseudo-inverse matrix method capable of exploiting a much larger domain in v. The proposed control allocation algorithm is designed with explicit laws for fast operation and low computational load, suitable for a small microcontroller with limited floating-point operation capability.

Fast-cycling unit of root turnover in perennial herbaceous plants in a cold temperate ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Kai; Luke McCormack, M.; Li, Le; Ma, Zeqing; Guo, Dali

2016-01-01

Roots of perennial plants have both persistent portion and fast-cycling units represented by different levels of branching. In woody species, the distal nonwoody branch orders as a unit are born and die together relatively rapidly (within 1-2 years). However, whether the fast-cycling units also exist in perennial herbs is unknown. We monitored root demography of seven perennial herbs over two years in a cold temperate ecosystem and we classified the largest roots on the root collar or rhizome as basal roots, and associated finer laterals as secondary, tertiary and quaternary roots. Parallel to woody plants in which distal root orders form a fast-cycling module, basal root and its finer laterals also represent a fast-cycling module in herbaceous plants. Within this module, basal roots had a lifespan of 0.5-2 years and represented 62-87% of total root biomass, thus dominating annual root turnover (60%-81% of the total). Moreover, root traits including root length, tissue density, and biomass were useful predictors of root lifespan. We conclude that both herbaceous and woody plants have fast-cycling modular units and future studies identifying the fast-cycling module across plant species should allow better understanding of how root construction and turnover are linked to whole-plant strategies.

Pharmacokinetics of Dolutegravir When Administered With Mineral Supplements in Healthy Adult Subjects

PubMed Central

Song, Ivy; Borland, Julie; Arya, Niki; Wynne, Brian; Piscitelli, Stephen

2015-01-01

All commercially available integrase inhibitors are 2-metal binders and may be affected by co-administration with metal cations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of calcium and iron supplements on dolutegravir pharmacokinetics and strategies (dose separation and food) to attenuate the effects if significant reductions in dolutegravir exposure were observed. This was an open-label, crossover study that randomized 24 healthy subjects into 1 of 2 cohorts to receive 4 treatments: (1) dolutegravir alone, fasting; (2) dolutegravir with calcium carbonate or ferrous fumarate, fasting; (3) dolutegravir with calcium carbonate or ferrous fumarate with a moderate-fat meal; (4) dolutegravir administered 2 hours before calcium carbonate or ferrous fumarate, fasting. Plasma dolutegravir AUC(0–∞), Cmax, and C24 were reduced by 39%, 37%, and 39%, respectively, when co-administered with calcium carbonate while fasting and were reduced by 54%, 57%, and 56%, respectively, when co-administered with ferrous fumarate while fasting. Dolutegravir administration 2 hours before calcium or iron supplement administration (fasted), as well as administration with a meal, counteracted the effect. Dolutegravir and calcium or iron supplements can be co-administered if taken with a meal. Under fasted conditions, dolutegravir should be administered 2 hours before or 6 hours after calcium or iron supplements. PMID:25449994

Predictors of total calories purchased at fast-food restaurants: restaurant characteristics, calorie awareness, and use of calorie information.

PubMed

Brissette, Ian; Lowenfels, Ann; Noble, Corina; Spicer, Deborah

2013-01-01

To examine purchase patterns at fast-food restaurants and their relation to restaurant characteristics, customer characteristics, and use of calorie information. Cross-sectional survey. Fast-food restaurants in New York State. Adult fast-food restaurant customers (n = 1,094). Restaurant characteristics (fast-food chain type, presence of calorie labels, and poverty of location), participant characteristics (demographics, calorie knowledge, awareness, and use), and customer purchasing patterns (ordering low-calorie or no beverage, small or no fries, or < 3 items) were used as predictors of total calories purchased. Multiple regression. In a regression model including restaurant and customer characteristics, fast-food chain customer age, sex, calorie use, and calorie awareness were independently associated with total calories purchased (all P < .05; model R2 = .19). When 3 purchasing patterns were added to the model, calorie use (P = .005), but not calorie awareness, remained associated with total calories purchased. The 3 purchase patterns collectively accounted for the majority of variance in calorie totals (Δ model R2 = .40). Promoting use of calorie information, purchase strategies, and calorie awareness represents complementary ways to support lower-calorie choices at fast-food chains. Copyright © 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Governing childhood obesity: framing regulation of fast food advertising in the Australian print media.

PubMed

Henderson, Julie; Coveney, John; Ward, Paul; Taylor, Anne

2009-11-01

Childhood obesity is widely constructed as reaching epidemic proportions with consumption of fast food viewed as a contributing factor. This paper analyses media reporting of the regulation of fast food consumption to children. A media search of five Australian newspapers for the period January 2006 to June 2008 elicited 100 articles relating to the regulation of fast food advertising to children. Content and thematic analysis of the articles reveal conflicting perspectives on the role of the state; the level of accountability of the food and advertising industries; and responsibilities of parents for regulating fast food consumption in children. The Federal Government, food and advertising industries and free to air broadcasters favour industry self-regulation and personal responsibility for fast food consumption while the proponents of government regulation include consumer groups, state government health ministers, nutrition and public health academics and medical and health foundations. The regulation of fast food advertising to children is discussed in relation to ideas about governance and the public health strategies which follow from these ideas. The paper argues that all proposed solutions are indicative of a neoliberal approach to the governance of health insofar as the responsibility for regulation of food marketing is viewed as lying with industry and the regulation of lifestyle risk is viewed as an individual responsibility.

Intermittent fasting preserves beta-cell mass in obesity-induced diabetes via the autophagy-lysosome pathway.

PubMed

Liu, Haiyan; Javaheri, Ali; Godar, Rebecca J; Murphy, John; Ma, Xiucui; Rohatgi, Nidhi; Mahadevan, Jana; Hyrc, Krzysztof; Saftig, Paul; Marshall, Connie; McDaniel, Michael L; Remedi, Maria S; Razani, Babak; Urano, Fumihiko; Diwan, Abhinav

2017-01-01

Obesity-induced diabetes is characterized by hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and progressive beta cell failure. In islets of mice with obesity-induced diabetes, we observe increased beta cell death and impaired autophagic flux. We hypothesized that intermittent fasting, a clinically sustainable therapeutic strategy, stimulates autophagic flux to ameliorate obesity-induced diabetes. Our data show that despite continued high-fat intake, intermittent fasting restores autophagic flux in islets and improves glucose tolerance by enhancing glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, beta cell survival, and nuclear expression of NEUROG3, a marker of pancreatic regeneration. In contrast, intermittent fasting does not rescue beta-cell death or induce NEUROG3 expression in obese mice with lysosomal dysfunction secondary to deficiency of the lysosomal membrane protein, LAMP2 or haplo-insufficiency of BECN1/Beclin 1, a protein critical for autophagosome formation. Moreover, intermittent fasting is sufficient to provoke beta cell death in nonobese lamp2 null mice, attesting to a critical role for lysosome function in beta cell homeostasis under fasting conditions. Beta cells in intermittently-fasted LAMP2- or BECN1-deficient mice exhibit markers of autophagic failure with accumulation of damaged mitochondria and upregulation of oxidative stress. Thus, intermittent fasting preserves organelle quality via the autophagy-lysosome pathway to enhance beta cell survival and stimulates markers of regeneration in obesity-induced diabetes.

Local concentration of fast-food outlets is associated with poor nutrition and obesity.

PubMed

Kruger, Daniel J; Greenberg, Emily; Murphy, Jillian B; DiFazio, Lindsay A; Youra, Kathryn R

2014-01-01

We investigated the relationship of the local availability of fast-food restaurant locations with diet and obesity. We geocoded addresses of survey respondents and fast-food restaurant locations to assess the association between the local concentration of fast-food outlets, BMI, and fruit and vegetable consumption. The survey was conducted in Genesee County, Michigan. There were 1345 individuals included in this analysis, and the response rate was 25%. The Speak to Your Health! Community Survey included fruit and vegetable consumption items from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, height, weight, and demographics. We used ArcGIS to map fast-food outlets and survey respondents. Stepwise linear regressions identified unique predictors of body mass index (BMI) and fruit and vegetable consumption. Survey respondents had 8 ± 7 fast-food outlets within 2 miles of their home. Individuals living in close proximity to fast-food restaurants had higher BMIs t(1342) = 3.21, p < .001, and lower fruit and vegetable consumption, t(1342) = 2.67, p = .008. Individuals may be at greater risk for adverse consequences of poor nutrition because of the patterns in local food availability, which may constrain the success of nutrition promotion efforts. Efforts to decrease the local availability of unhealthy foods as well as programs to help consumers identify strategies for obtaining healthy meals at fast-food outlets may improve health outcomes.

Fast learning of simple perceptual discriminations reduces brain activation in working memory and in high-level auditory regions.

PubMed

Daikhin, Luba; Ahissar, Merav

2015-07-01

Introducing simple stimulus regularities facilitates learning of both simple and complex tasks. This facilitation may reflect an implicit change in the strategies used to solve the task when successful predictions regarding incoming stimuli can be formed. We studied the modifications in brain activity associated with fast perceptual learning based on regularity detection. We administered a two-tone frequency discrimination task and measured brain activation (fMRI) under two conditions: with and without a repeated reference tone. Although participants could not explicitly tell the difference between these two conditions, the introduced regularity affected both performance and the pattern of brain activation. The "No-Reference" condition induced a larger activation in frontoparietal areas known to be part of the working memory network. However, only the condition with a reference showed fast learning, which was accompanied by a reduction of activity in two regions: the left intraparietal area, involved in stimulus retention, and the posterior superior-temporal area, involved in representing auditory regularities. We propose that this joint reduction reflects a reduction in the need for online storage of the compared tones. We further suggest that this change reflects an implicit strategic shift "backwards" from reliance mainly on working memory networks in the "No-Reference" condition to increased reliance on detected regularities stored in high-level auditory networks.

Genetic variation of habitual coffee consumption and glycemic changes in response to weight-loss diet intervention: the Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies (POUNDS LOST) trial.

PubMed

Han, Liyuan; Ma, Wenjie; Sun, Dianjianyi; Heianza, Yoriko; Wang, Tiange; Zheng, Yan; Huang, Tao; Duan, Donghui; Bray, J George A; Champagne, Catherine M; Sacks, Frank M; Qi, Lu

2017-11-01

Background: Coffee consumption has been associated with glucose metabolism and risk of type 2 diabetes. Objective: We examined whether the genetic variation determining habitual coffee consumption affected glycemic changes in response to weight-loss dietary intervention. Design: A genetic risk score (GRS) was calculated based on 8 habitual coffee consumption-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms. We used general linear models to test changes in glycemic traits in groups randomly assigned to high- and low-fat diets according to tertiles of the GRS. Results: We observed significant interactions between the GRS and low compared with high dietary fat intake on 6-mo changes in fasting insulin and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) ( P -interaction = 0.023 and 0.022, respectively), adjusting for age, sex, race, physical activity, smoking, alcohol, seasonal variation, and baseline values of the respective outcomes. Participants with a higher GRS of habitual coffee consumption showed a greater reduction in fasting insulin and a marginally greater decrease in HOMA-IR in the low-fat diet intervention group. Conclusions: Our data suggest that participants with genetically determined high coffee consumption may benefit more by eating a low-fat diet in improving fasting insulin and HOMA-IR in a short term. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00072995 and NCT03258203. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dall'Anese, Emiliano

Past works that focused on addressing power-quality and reliability concerns related to renewable energy resources (RESs) operating with business-as-usual practices have looked at the design of Volt/VAr and Volt/Watt strategies to regulate real or reactive powers based on local voltage measurements, so that terminal voltages are within acceptable levels. These control strategies have the potential of operating at the same time scale of distribution-system dynamics, and can therefore mitigate disturbances precipitated fast time-varying loads and ambient conditions; however, they do not necessarily guarantee system-level optimality, and stability claims are mainly based on empirical evidences. On a different time scale, centralizedmore » and distributed optimal power flow (OPF) algorithms have been proposed to compute optimal steady-state inverter setpoints, so that power losses and voltage deviations are minimized and economic benefits to end-users providing ancillary services are maximized. However, traditional OPF schemes may offer decision making capabilities that do not match the dynamics of distribution systems. Particularly, during the time required to collect data from all the nodes of the network (e.g., loads), solve the OPF, and subsequently dispatch setpoints, the underlying load, ambient, and network conditions may have already changed; in this case, the DER output powers would be consistently regulated around outdated setpoints, leading to suboptimal system operation and violation of relevant electrical limits. The present work focuses on the synthesis of distributed RES-inverter controllers that leverage the opportunities for fast feedback offered by power-electronics interfaced RESs. The overarching objective is to bridge the temporal gap between long-term system optimization and real-time control, to enable seamless RES integration in large scale with stability and efficiency guarantees, while congruently pursuing system-level optimization objectives. The design of the control framework is based on suitable linear approximations of the AC power-flow equations as well as Lagrangian regularization methods. The proposed controllers enable an update of the power outputs at a time scale that is compatible with the underlying dynamics of loads and ambient conditions, and continuously drive the system operation towards OPF-based solutions.« less

Media exposure and parental mediation on fast-food consumption among children in metropolitan and suburban Indonesian.

PubMed

Lwin, May O; Malik, Shelly; Ridwan, Hardinsyah; Au, Cyndy Sook Sum

2017-01-01

Fast-food companies have been reproached for rising obesity levels due to aggressive marketing tactics targeted at children. They have countered that parents should be held responsible considering their critical role as nutritional gatekeepers. This study examined the comparative effects of media exposure and parental mediation on Indonesian children's fast food consumption and how the effects compare in the metropolitan versus suburban areas. The sample consisted of 394 child-mother pairs comprising grade three and four children and their mothers from two schools each in Jakarta and Bogor representing 40.9% metropolitan sample and 59.1% suburban sample, respectively. The children completed a guided inclass survey, while the mothers completed a paper-and-pen survey at home. Measures comprised children's weekly media exposure to broadcast media, computer and mobile games, print media, and online and social media, active and restrictive parental mediation strategies, children's fast food consumption and nutrition knowledge. The relationship of media exposure and parental mediation with children's fast food consumption was analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling. Fast food consumption was positively influenced by exposure to broadcast media among metropolitan children, and by exposure to online and social media among suburban children. Active parental mediation was related to lower fast food consumption, but only for suburban children. Active parental mediation is critical in preventing fast food consumption. The media play a key role in influencing fast food consumption, and hence, literacy education is important to alleviate the adverse effects of exposure to junk food marketing.

Poor textural image tie point matching via graph theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Xiuxiao; Chen, Shiyu; Yuan, Wei; Cai, Yang

2017-07-01

Feature matching aims to find corresponding points to serve as tie points between images. Robust matching is still a challenging task when input images are characterized by low contrast or contain repetitive patterns, occlusions, or homogeneous textures. In this paper, a novel feature matching algorithm based on graph theory is proposed. This algorithm integrates both geometric and radiometric constraints into an edge-weighted (EW) affinity tensor. Tie points are then obtained by high-order graph matching. Four pairs of poor textural images covering forests, deserts, bare lands, and urban areas are tested. For comparison, three state-of-the-art matching techniques, namely, scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT), speeded up robust features (SURF), and features from accelerated segment test (FAST), are also used. The experimental results show that the matching recall obtained by SIFT, SURF, and FAST varies from 0 to 35% in different types of poor textures. However, through the integration of both geometry and radiometry and the EW strategy, the recall obtained by the proposed algorithm is better than 50% in all four image pairs. The better matching recall improves the number of correct matches, dispersion, and positional accuracy.

A simple fluorescent probe for the fast sequential detection of copper and biothiols based on a benzothiazole derivative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Youming; Zhang, Xiangyang; Zhang, Chunxiang; Zhang, Youyu; Jin, Junling; Li, Haitao

2018-02-01

A simple benzothiazole fluorescent chemosensor was developed for the fast sequential detection of Cu2 + and biothiols through modulating the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process. The compound 1 exhibits highly selective and sensitive fluorescence ;on-off; recognition to Cu2 + with a 1:1 binding stoichiometry by ESIPT hinder. The in situ generated 1-Cu2 + complex can serve as an ;on-off; fluorescent probe for high selectivity toward biothiols via Cu2 + displacement approach, which exerts ESIPT recovery. It is worth pointing out that the 1-Cu2 + complex shows faster for cysteins (within 1 min) than other biothiols such as homocysteine (25 min) and glutathione (25 min). Moreover, the compound 1 displays 160 nm Stoke-shift for reversibly monitoring Cu2 + and biothiols. In addition, the probe is successfully used for fluorescent cellular imaging. This strategy via modulation the ESIPT state has been used for determination of Cu2 + and Cys with satisfactory results, which further demonstrates its value of practical applications.

Prevalence of Diabetes and Intermediate Hyperglycemia Among Adults From the First Multinational Study of Noncommunicable Diseases in Six Central American Countries

PubMed Central

Barcelo, Alberto; Gregg, Edward W.; Gerzoff, Robert B.; Wong, Roy; Perez Flores, Enrique; Ramirez-Zea, Manuel; Cafiero, Elizabeth; Altamirano, Lesbia; Ascencio Rivera, Melanie; de Cosio, Gerardo; de Maza, Martha Dinorah; del Aguila, Roberto; Emanuel, Englebert; Gil, Enrique; Gough, Ethan; Jenkins, Valerie; Orellana, Patrícia; Palma, Ruben; Palomo, Ruben; Pastora, Martha; Peña, Rodolfo; Pineda, Elia; Rodriguez, Bismark; Tacsan, Luis; Thompson, Loraine; Villagra, Lucy

2012-01-01

OBJECTIVE The increasing burdens of obesity and diabetes are two of the most prominent threats to the health of populations of developed and developing countries alike. The Central America Diabetes Initiative (CAMDI) is the first study to examine the prevalence of diabetes in Central America. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The CAMDI survey was a cross-sectional survey based on a probabilistic sample of the noninstitutionalized population of five Central American populations conducted between 2003 and 2006. The total sample population was 10,822, of whom 7,234 (67%) underwent anthropometry measurement and a fasting blood glucose or 2-h oral glucose tolerance test. RESULTS The total prevalence of diabetes was 8.5%, but was higher in Belize (12.9%) and lower in Honduras (5.4%). Of the screened population, 18.6% had impaired glucose tolerance/impaired fasting glucose. CONCLUSIONS As this population ages, the prevalence of diabetes is likely to continue to rise in a dramatic and devastating manner. Preventive strategies must be quickly introduced. PMID:22323417

Study on core radius minimization for long life Pb-Bi cooled CANDLE burnup scheme based fast reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Afifah, Maryam, E-mail: maryam.afifah210692@gmail.com; Su’ud, Zaki; Miura, Ryosuke

2015-09-30

Fast Breeder Reactor had been interested to be developed over the world because it inexhaustible source energy, one of those is CANDLE reactor which is have strategy in burn-up scheme, need not control roads for control burn-up, have a constant core characteristics during energy production and don’t need fuel shuffling. The calculation was made by basic reactor analysis which use Sodium coolant geometry core parameter as a reference core to study on minimum core reactor radius of CANDLE for long life Pb-Bi cooled, also want to perform pure coolant effect comparison between LBE and sodium in a same geometry design.more » The result show that the minimum core radius of Lead Bismuth cooled CANDLE is 100 cm and 500 MWth thermal output. Lead-Bismuth coolant for CANDLE reactor enable to reduce much reactor size and have a better void coefficient than Sodium cooled as the most coolant for FBR, then we will have a good point in safety analysis.« less

Fast-Response, Sensitivitive and Low-Powered Chemosensors by Fusing Nanostructured Porous Thin Film and IDEs-Microheater Chip

PubMed Central

Dai, Zhengfei; Xu, Lei; Duan, Guotao; Li, Tie; Zhang, Hongwen; Li, Yue; Wang, Yi; Wang, Yuelin; Cai, Weiping

2013-01-01

The chemiresistive thin film gas sensors with fast response, high sensitivity, low power consumption and mass-produced potency, have been expected for practical application. It requires both sensitive materials, especially exquisite nanomaterials, and efficient substrate chip for heating and electrical addressing. However, it is challenging to achieve repeatable microstructures across the films and low power consumption of substrate chip. Here we presented a new sensor structure via the fusion of metal-oxide nanoporous films and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensing chip. An interdigital-electrodes (IDEs) and microheater integrated MEMS structure is designed and employed as substrate chip to in-situ fabricate colloidal monolayer template-induced metal-oxide (egg. SnO2) nanoporous sensing films. This fused sensor demonstrates mW-level low power, ultrafast response (~1 s), and parts-per-billion lever detection for ethanol gas. Due to the controllable template strategy and mass-production potential, such micro/nano fused high-performance gas sensors will be next-generation key miniaturized/integrated devices for advanced practical applications. PMID:23591580

Electrochemical Functionalization of Graphene at the Nanoscale with Self-Assembling Diazonium Salts.

PubMed

Xia, Zhenyuan; Leonardi, Francesca; Gobbi, Marco; Liu, Yi; Bellani, Vittorio; Liscio, Andrea; Kovtun, Alessandro; Li, Rongjin; Feng, Xinliang; Orgiu, Emanuele; Samorì, Paolo; Treossi, Emanuele; Palermo, Vincenzo

2016-07-26

We describe a fast and versatile method to functionalize high-quality graphene with organic molecules by exploiting the synergistic effect of supramolecular and covalent chemistry. With this goal, we designed and synthesized molecules comprising a long aliphatic chain and an aryl diazonium salt. Thanks to the long chain, these molecules physisorb from solution onto CVD graphene or bulk graphite, self-assembling in an ordered monolayer. The sample is successively transferred into an aqueous electrolyte, to block any reorganization or desorption of the monolayer. An electrochemical impulse is used to transform the diazonium group into a radical capable of grafting covalently to the substrate and transforming the physisorption into a covalent chemisorption. During covalent grafting in water, the molecules retain the ordered packing formed upon self-assembly. Our two-step approach is characterized by the independent control over the processes of immobilization of molecules on the substrate and their covalent tethering, enabling fast (t < 10 s) covalent functionalization of graphene. This strategy is highly versatile and works with many carbon-based materials including graphene deposited on silicon, plastic, and quartz as well as highly oriented pyrolytic graphite.

In silico mining and PCR-based approaches to transcription factor discovery in non-model plants: gene discovery of the WRKY transcription factors in conifers.

PubMed

Liu, Jun-Jun; Xiang, Yu

2011-01-01

WRKY transcription factors are key regulators of numerous biological processes in plant growth and development, as well as plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Research on biological functions of plant WRKY genes has focused in the past on model plant species or species with largely characterized transcriptomes. However, a variety of non-model plants, such as forest conifers, are essential as feed, biofuel, and wood or for sustainable ecosystems. Identification of WRKY genes in these non-model plants is equally important for understanding the evolutionary and function-adaptive processes of this transcription factor family. Because of limited genomic information, the rarity of regulatory gene mRNAs in transcriptomes, and the sequence divergence to model organism genes, identification of transcription factors in non-model plants using methods similar to those generally used for model plants is difficult. This chapter describes a gene family discovery strategy for identification of WRKY transcription factors in conifers by a combination of in silico-based prediction and PCR-based experimental approaches. Compared to traditional cDNA library screening or EST sequencing at transcriptome scales, this integrated gene discovery strategy provides fast, simple, reliable, and specific methods to unveil the WRKY gene family at both genome and transcriptome levels in non-model plants.

A hierarchical classification approach for recognition of low-density (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in mixed plastic waste based on short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonifazi, Giuseppe; Capobianco, Giuseppe; Serranti, Silvia

2018-06-01

The aim of this work was to recognize different polymer flakes from mixed plastic waste through an innovative hierarchical classification strategy based on hyperspectral imaging, with particular reference to low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). A plastic waste composition assessment, including also LDPE and HDPE identification, may help to define optimal recycling strategies for product quality control. Correct handling of plastic waste is essential for its further "sustainable" recovery, maximizing the sorting performance in particular for plastics with similar characteristics as LDPE and HDPE. Five different plastic waste samples were chosen for the investigation: polypropylene (PP), LDPE, HDPE, polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). A calibration dataset was realized utilizing the corresponding virgin polymers. Hyperspectral imaging in the short-wave infrared range (1000-2500 nm) was thus applied to evaluate the different plastic spectral attributes finalized to perform their recognition/classification. After exploring polymer spectral differences by principal component analysis (PCA), a hierarchical partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model was built allowing the five different polymers to be recognized. The proposed methodology, based on hierarchical classification, is very powerful and fast, allowing to recognize the five different polymers in a single step.

Visual saliency-based fast intracoding algorithm for high efficiency video coding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Xin; Shi, Guangming; Zhou, Wei; Duan, Zhemin

2017-01-01

Intraprediction has been significantly improved in high efficiency video coding over H.264/AVC with quad-tree-based coding unit (CU) structure from size 64×64 to 8×8 and more prediction modes. However, these techniques cause a dramatic increase in computational complexity. An intracoding algorithm is proposed that consists of perceptual fast CU size decision algorithm and fast intraprediction mode decision algorithm. First, based on the visual saliency detection, an adaptive and fast CU size decision method is proposed to alleviate intraencoding complexity. Furthermore, a fast intraprediction mode decision algorithm with step halving rough mode decision method and early modes pruning algorithm is presented to selectively check the potential modes and effectively reduce the complexity of computation. Experimental results show that our proposed fast method reduces the computational complexity of the current HM to about 57% in encoding time with only 0.37% increases in BD rate. Meanwhile, the proposed fast algorithm has reasonable peak signal-to-noise ratio losses and nearly the same subjective perceptual quality.

Intermittent search strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bénichou, O.; Loverdo, C.; Moreau, M.; Voituriez, R.

2011-01-01

This review examines intermittent target search strategies, which combine phases of slow motion, allowing the searcher to detect the target, and phases of fast motion during which targets cannot be detected. It is first shown that intermittent search strategies are actually widely observed at various scales. At the macroscopic scale, this is, for example, the case of animals looking for food; at the microscopic scale, intermittent transport patterns are involved in a reaction pathway of DNA-binding proteins as well as in intracellular transport. Second, generic stochastic models are introduced, which show that intermittent strategies are efficient strategies that enable the minimization of search time. This suggests that the intrinsic efficiency of intermittent search strategies could justify their frequent observation in nature. Last, beyond these modeling aspects, it is proposed that intermittent strategies could also be used in a broader context to design and accelerate search processes.

Application of mathematical expectation (ME) strategy for detecting low frequency mutations: An example for evaluating 14-bp insertion/deletion (indel) within the bovine PRNP gene.

PubMed

Yang, Qing; Zhang, Sihuan; Liu, Liangliang; Cao, Xiukai; Lei, Chuzhao; Qi, Xinglei; Lin, Fengpeng; Qu, Weidong; Qi, Xingshan; Liu, Jiming; Wang, Rongmin; Chen, Hong; Lan, Xianyong

2016-09-02

The detection method based on the mathematical expectation (ME) strategy is fast and accuracy for low frequency mutation screening in large samples. Previous studies have found that the 14-bp insertion/deletion (indel) variants of the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) within bovine PRNP gene have been characterized with low frequency (≤5%) in global breeds outside China, which has not been determined in Chinese cattle breeds yet. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the 14-bp indel within PRNP gene in 5 major Chinese indigenous cattle breeds and to evaluate its associations with phenotypic traits. It was the first time to use ME strategy to detect low frequency indel polymorphisms and found that minor allele frequency was 0.038 (Qinchuan), 0.033 (Xianan), 0.013 (Nanyang), 0.003 (Jiaxian), and zero (Ji'an), respectively. Compared to the traditional detection method by which the sample was screened one by one, the reaction time by using the ME method was decreased 62.5%, 64.9%, 77.6%, 88.9% and 66.4%, respectively. In addition, the 14-bp indel was significantly associated with the growth traits in 2 cattle breeds, with the body length of Qinchuan cattle as well as the body weight and waistline of Xianan cattle. Our results have uncovered that the method based on ME strategy is rapid, reliable, and cost-effective for detecting the low frequency mutation as well as our findings provide a potential valuable theoretical basis for the marker-assisted selection (MAS) in beef cattle.

Pavement marking restriping strategy for ODOT district 11.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

This study was initiated by ODOT to evaluate the performance of four : pavement marking materials (fast dry traffic paint, polyester, extruded : thermoplastic and epoxy) in order to determine which materials are most : suitable for the environmental ...

Social dilemma structure hidden behind traffic flow with route selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanimoto, Jun; Nakamura, Kousuke

2016-10-01

Several traffic flows contain social dilemma structures. Herein, we explored a route-selection problem using a cellular automaton simulation dovetailed with evolutionary game theory. In our model, two classes of driver-agents coexist: D agents (defective strategy), which refer to traffic information for route selection to move fast, and C agents (cooperative strategy), which are insensitive to information and less inclined to move fast. Although no evidence suggests that the social dilemma structure in low density causes vehicles to move freely and that in high density causes traffic jams, we found a structure that corresponds to an n-person (multiplayer) Chicken (n-Chicken) game if the provided traffic information is inappropriate. If appropriate traffic information is given to the agents, the n-Chicken game can be solved. The information delivered to vehicles is crucial for easing the social dilemma due to urban traffic congestion when developing technologies to support the intelligent transportation system (ITS).