853 research outputs found
State/federal interaction of LANDSAT system and related technical assistance
The history of state involvement in LANDSAT systems planning and related efforts is described. Currently 16 states have visual LANDSAT capabilities and 10 others are planning on developing such capabilities. The federal government's future plans for the LANDSAT system, the impacts of recent budget decisions on the systems, and the FY 82 budget process are examined
Fractal analysis of weld defect patterns obtained by radiographic tests
This paper presents a fractal analysis of radiographic patterns obtained from
specimens with three types of inserted welding defects: lack of fusion, lack of
penetration, and porosity. The study focused on patterns of carbon steel beads
from radiographs of the International Institute of Welding (IIW). The
radiographs were scanned using a greyscale with 256 levels, and the fractal
features of the surfaces constructed from the radiographic images were
characterized by means of Hurst, detrended-fluctuation, and minimal-cover
analyses. A Karhunen-Loeve transformation was then used to classify the curves
obtained from the fractal analyses of the various images, and a study of the
classification errors was performed. The obtained results indicate that fractal
analyses can be an effective additional tool for pattern recognition of weld
defects in radiographic tests.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. To appear AIP Conference Proceedings - QNDE 200
Evolution of populations expanding on curved surfaces
The expansion of a population into new habitat is a transient process that
leaves its footprints in the genetic composition of the expanding population.
How the structure of the environment shapes the population front and the
evolutionary dynamics during such a range expansion is little understood. Here,
we investigate the evolutionary dynamics of populations consisting of many
selectively neutral genotypes expanding on curved surfaces. Using a combination
of individual-based off-lattice simulations, geometrical arguments, and
lattice-based stepping-stone simulations, we characterise the effect of
individual bumps on an otherwise flat surface. Compared to the case of a range
expansion on a flat surface, we observe a transient relative increase, followed
by a decrease, in neutral genetic diversity at the population front. In
addition, we find that individuals at the sides of the bump have a dramatically
increased expected number of descendants, while their neighbours closer to the
bump's centre are far less lucky. Both observations can be explained using an
analytical description of straight paths (geodesics) on the curved surface.
Complementing previous studies of heterogeneous flat environments, the findings
here build our understanding of how complex environments shape the evolutionary
dynamics of expanding populations.Comment: This preprint has also been posted to http://www.biorxiv.org with
doi: 10.1101/406280. Seven pages with 5 figures, plus an appendix containing
3 pages with 1 figur
Children interpretation of emotional body language displayed by a robot
Previous results show that adults are able to interpret different key poses displayed by the robot and also that changing the head position affects the expressiveness of the key poses in a consistent way. Moving the head down leads to decreased arousal (the level of energy), valence (positive or negative) and stance (approaching or avoiding) whereas moving the head up produces an increase along these dimensions [1]. Hence, changing the head position during an interaction should send intuitive signals which could be used during an interaction. The ALIZ-E target group are children between the age of 8 and 11. Existing results suggest that they would be able to interpret human emotional body language [2, 3]. Based on these results, an experiment was conducted to test whether the results of [1] can be applied to children. If yes body postures and head position could be used to convey emotions during an interaction.Peer reviewe
Pulmonary arterial hypertension in interferonophaties: a case report and a review of the literature
Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension consists in an increase of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAPm 65 25 mmHg), and may lead to right ventricular failure. Pulmonary arterial hypertension can arise in several disorders, encompassing inflammatory conditions and connective tissue diseases. The occurrence of pulmonary arterial hypertension has recently been reported in monogenic interferonopathies and in systemic lupus erythematosus, highlighting the pathogenic role of type I interferons and paving the way to therapies aimed at inhibiting interferon signaling. Case: We describe a 17-year-old boy with DNase II deficiency, presenting a clinical picture with significant overlap with systemic lupus erythematosus. During treatment with the Janus kinase inhibitor ruxolitinib, he developed pulmonary arterial hypertension, raising the question whether it could represent a sign of insufficient disease control or a drug-related adverse event. The disease even worsened after drug withdrawal, but rapidly improved after starting the drug again at higher dosage. Summary and conclusion: Pulmonary arterial hypertension can complicate type I interferonopathies. We propose that ruxolitinib was beneficial in this case, but the wider role of Janus kinase inhibitors for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension is not clear. For this reason, a strict cardiologic evaluation must be part of the standard care of subjects with interferonopathies, especially when Janus kinase inhibitors are prescribed
Niobia supported on silica as a catalyst for Biodiesel production from waste oil
AbstractThe activity and stability of niobia supported
on silica catalyst have been tested in continuous
micro-pilot reactors, for biodiesel production starting
from acid vegetable oils. A catalyst was prepared
by the impregnation of silica pellets with a loading
of 12% of Nb and was extensively characterized.
The activity of this catalyst in both esterification and
transesterification was tested in a continuous micro-pilot
laboratory plant in which acid oil was fed (FFA 10% w/w)
at a temperature of 220°C and at a pressure of 60 bar.
The niobia based catalyst resulted in a very active
catalyst in both esterification (FFA conversion =
95-90%) and transesterification reactions (FAME
yield = 80-90%), and the activity remained
quite constant for more than 100 h on stream.
Notwithstanding this stability, a non-negligible leaching
phenomena has been detected, in the case of long-time
continuous runs, as the Nb concentration on the spent
catalyst resulted lower than that on the fresh one. The
obtained result confirms that the leaching of the active
specie is one of the most strong problem in heterogeneous
catalysis for biodiesel production
Cell-in-cell phenomenon in urinary sediment: a case report
The internalization of apoptotic cells by non-phagocytic cells has been observed in different tissues and could be an important mechanism for the elimination of dying cells. Here, we describe a probable event of phagocytosis of apoptotic cells mediated by urothelial cells in urinary sediment. A 90-years-old male patient was admitted unconscious to the hospital, visible signs included: pale skin and dry mucous membranes, presumptively diagnosed as dehydration. Blood test revealed anaemia (haemoglobin 130 g/L) and hyperglycaemia (glucose 7.8 mmol/L), urinalysis showed a picture of urinary tract infection (leukocyturia and bacteriuria). The microscopic analysis of urinary sediment revealed the presence of urothelial cells and leukocytes internalized in urothelial cells. Anti-CD68 (membrane marker of macrophages) was tested by immunocytochemistry and a negative result was observed. Based on the findings phagocytosis of apoptotic cells mediated by urothelial cells was identified. This phenomenon can be observed in urinary sediment and should not be confused with a neoplastic process since it is a physiological event of cell elimination
Misanthropic Person Memory when the Need to Self-Enhance is Absent
This research examined the role that the removal of the need or ability to self-enhance can play in the misanthropic processing of attributed behavioral information (i.e., remembering best negative, internally attributed behaviors and positive externally attributed behaviors). Experiment 1demonstrated that removing a person’s need to self-enhance by increasing his or her self-esteem eliminated misanthropic memory, whereas misanthropy was preserved for control participants and perceivers who had experienced a decrease in self-esteem. Furthermore, controlling for participants’ self-evaluations eliminated the memory pattern differences between the two experimental conditions. Experiment 2 demonstrated that canceling the ability to self-enhance by having perceivers form an impression of themselves eliminated the misanthropy effect. However, the misanthropy effect was replicated when perceivers learned about an unknown other. The results were discussed with regard to the situations and factors that can increase or reduce the need to self-enhance and their implications for social information processing.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68679/2/10.1177_0146167299025002011.pd
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