Quantitative detection of atropine-delayed gastric emptying in the horse by the ¹³C-octanoic acid breath test

The <sup>13</sup>C-octanoic acid breath test has been correlated significantly to radioscintigraphy for measurement of gastric emptying indices in healthy horses. The objective of this study was to investigate the validity of the test for measurement of equine delayed gastric emptying, prior to its potential clinical application for this purpose. A model of atropine- induced gastroparesis was used. Gastric emptying rate was measured twice in 8 horses using concurrent radioscintigraphy and/or breath test after treatment i.v. with either atropine (0.035 mg/kg bwt) or saline in randomised order. Analysis of both data sets demonstrated that the atropine treatment had caused a significant delay in gastric emptying rate. Paired breath test data showed an atropine-induced delay in gastric half-emptying time t(1/2)), with no overlap in the 99% Cl range (P<0.001). Significant correlations were found between scintigraphy and <sup>13</sup>C-octanoic acid breath test for calculation of both t(1/2) (P<0.01) and lag phase duration (P<0.05) in the atropine-delayed emptying results. The mean (s.d.) bias in breath test t(1/2) when compared with scintigraphy was 1.78 (0.58) h. The results demonstrated that the <sup>13</sup>C-octanoic acid breath test was an effective diagnostic modality for the measurement of equine delayed gastric emptying. The technique offers advantages to existing methods for clinical investigation, as it is noninvasive, not radioactive, quantitative and requires minimal equipment or training to perform

Teaching and Professional Fellowship Report 2002/3: Colour and Computing

An exploration of new teaching and learning methodologies relating material colour use to digital colour and the computer's speed, control, 'sensitivity' and new possibilities to develop colour ideas of practical use in the studio

Assessment of the effects of greywater discharge by using streeter-phelps model

Greywater is generated from household activities in bathroom, kitchen and laundry. Pollution of wastewater occurs when the greywater is discharged directly into the stream from the houses and accumulates in the drain. The organic pollutants and suspended particulate matter from greywater may cause depletion of oxygen content in the water which lead to unpleasant odours and increased organic matter degradation time. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of greywater discharged using the Streeter-Phelps model. The first objective of this study to determine the raw greywater characteristics and variations of greywater pollutants loading rate (BOD5). Secondly, the assessment of greywater pollution modelling was measured by using Streeter-Phelps model. The questionnaire were conducted to obtain the household demographic profiles and household activities practice data from respondents. Five sampling points which involve Drain1 to Drain5 for greywater study came from 48 households before mixing with stream. After greywater sampling, hydraulic and physicochemical parameters were measured at intervals from Station0 to Station7 along the stream after mixing with greywater discharge. The results of greywater quality were 172 mg/L for BOD5, 400 mg/L for COD, and 4.5 for pH. The results showed that the highest BOD5 loading rate for daily flow rate was observed at Drain3 with the values of 63 kg/day and 369 m3/day. These drains have a high frequency of household activities and number of occupants leads to high amount of pollutant loading rate produced from greywater drainage. The validity of the simulated DO from Streeter-Phelps model proved that the regression of Thomas slope method indicated a good fitting with laboratory analysis. Furthermore, the curve of the measured and simulated DO showed a gradual increase in the DO movement, indicating a rapid self-purification of the stream. The DO deficit (Dt) and time critical (tc) were 3.54 and 3.80 mg/L and 0.007 per day, respectively, as recorded at the distance of 10 m upstream (Station1) of the discharge point. Findings show that the degradable organic matter and travel time as a critical oxygen deficit point occurred at 10 m upstream as the kinetics of BOD reaction. Hence, the greywater discharge with mixing stream showed no risk of pollution occurrence near the river flow in this study

Evaluating the Impact of Critical Factors in Agile Continuous Delivery Process: A System Dynamics Approach

Continuous Delivery is aimed at the frequent delivery of good quality software in a speedy, reliable and efficient fashion – with strong emphasis on automation and team collaboration. However, even with this new paradigm, repeatability of project outcome is still not guaranteed: project performance varies due to the various interacting and inter-related factors in the Continuous Delivery 'system'. This paper presents results from the investigation of various factors, in particular agile practices, on the quality of the developed software in the Continuous Delivery process. Results show that customer involvement and the cognitive ability of the QA have the most significant individual effects on the quality of software in continuous delivery

Using the SF-36 with older adults: a cross-sectional community-based survey

OBJECTIVES: To assess the practicality and validity of using the SF-36 in a community-dwelling population over 65 years old, and obtain population scores in this age group. DESIGN: Postal survey, using a questionnaire booklet containing the SF-36 and other health related items, of all those aged 65 or over registered with twelve general practices. Non-respondents received up to two reminders at three-weekly intervals. SETTING: Twelve randomly selected general practices in Sheffield. SAMPLE: 9897 subjects aged 65 to 104. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores for the eight dimensions of the SF-36 and a modified version of the physical functioning dimension. RESULTS: The SF-36 achieved a response rate of 82% (n=8117) and dimension completion rates of 86.4% to 97.7%. Internal consistency measured by Cronbach’s a exceeded 0.80 for all dimensions except social functioning. These results compare favourably with postal surveys of younger adults. Scores for older adults were calculated by age and sex. Comparison with data from younger people showed how physical health declines steeply with age, in marked contrast with mental health. CONCLUSIONS: The SF-36 is a practical and valid instrument to use in postal surveys of older people living in the community. The population scores provided here may facilitate its use in future surveys of older adults

Combined High Power and High Frequency Operation of InGaAsP/InP Lasers at 1.3μm

A simultaneous operation of a semiconductor laser at high power and high speed was demonstrated in a buried crescent laser on a P-InP substrate. In a cavity length of 300μm, a maximum CW power of 130mW at room temperature was obtained in a junction-up mounting configuration. A 3dB bandwidth in excess of 12GHz at an output power of 52mW was observed

An action-related theory of causality

The paper begins with a discussion of Russell?s view that the notion of cause is unnecessary for science, and can therefore be eliminated. It is argued that this is true for theoretical physics, but untrue for medicine where the notion of cause plays a central role. Medical theories are closely connected with practical action (attempts to cure and prevent disease), whereas theoretical physics is more remote from applications. This suggests the view that causal laws are appropriate in a context where there is a close connection to action. This leads to a development of an action-related theory of causality which is similar to the agency theory of Menzies and Price, but differs from it in a number of respects, one of which is the following. Menzies and Price connect ?A causes B? with an action to produce B by instantiating A, but, particularly in the case of medicine, the law can also be linked to the action of trying to avoid B by ensuring that A is not instantiated. The action-related theory has in common with agency theory of Menzies and Price, the ability to explain causal asymmetry in a simple fashion, but the introduction of avoidance actions together with some ideas taken form Russell enable some of the objections to agency accounts of causality to be met. The paper begins with a discussion of Russell?s view that the notion of cause is unnecessary for science, and can therefore be eliminated. It is argued that this is true for theoretical physics, but untrue for medicine where the notion of cause plays a central role. Medical theories are closely connected with practical action (attempts to cure and prevent disease), whereas theoretical physics is more remote from applications. This suggests the view that causal laws are appropriate in a context where there is a close connection to action. This leads to a development of an action-related theory of causality which is similar to the agency theory of Menzies and Price, but differs from it in a number of respects, one of which is the following. Menzies and Price connect ?A causes B? with an action to produce B by instantiating A, but, particularly in the case of medicine, the law can also be linked to the action of trying to avoid B by ensuring that A is not instantiated. The action-related theory has in common with agency theory of Menzies and Price, the ability to explain causal asymmetry in a simple fashion, but the introduction of avoidance actions together with some ideas taken form Russell enable some of the objections to agency accounts of causality to be met

Adaptive Continuous time Markov Chain Approximation Model to General Jump-Diffusions

We propose a non-equidistant Q rate matrix formula and an adaptive numerical algorithm for a continuous time Markov chain to approximate jump-diffusions with affine or non-affine functional specifications. Our approach also accommodates state-dependent jump intensity and jump distribution, a flexibility that is very hard to achieve with other numerical methods. The Kologorov-Smirnov test shows that the proposed Markov chain transition density converges to the one given by the likelihood expansion formula as in Ait-Sahalia (2008). We provide numerical examples for European stock option pricing in Black and Scholes (1973), Merton (1976) and Kou (2002)

RF and IF mixer optimum matching impedances extracted by large-signal vectorial measurements

This paper introduces a new technique that allows us to measure the admittance conversion matrix of a two-port device,using a Nonlinear Vector Network Analyzer.This method is applied to extract the conversion matrix of a 0.2 µµµµm pHEMT,driven by a 4.8 GHz pump signal,at different power levels,using an intermediate frequency of 600 MHz.The issue on data inconsistency due to phase randomization among different measurements is discussed and a proper pre- processing algorithm is proposed to fix the problem. The output of this work consists of a comprehensive experimental evaluation of up-and down-conversion maximum gain,stability,and optimal RF and IF impedances