Image Processing Instrumentation for Giardia lamblia Detection

Currently, the identification and enumeration of Giardia Iamblia cysts are based upon microscopic methods requiring individuals proficient in this area. It is a tedious process which consumes time that could be constructively used elsewhere. This project attempts to alleviate that burden by employing a computer to automatically process Indirect Fluorescent Antibody (IFA) prepared slides using digital image processing techniques. A computer controlled frame grabber, in conjunction with a CCD TV camera mounted on the epi-fluorescence microscope phototube, captures the light intensities of the objects in view under the microscope objective. The captured image is stored as pixels, with each pixel having a numerical value that can be altered using linear contrast enhancement and bit-slicing to emphasize the cysts and eliminate the majority of unwanted objects from the image. The altered image is then analyzed by a vector trace routine for typical area and perimeters characteristic to Giardia lamblia cysts. Objects in the image matching these characteristics are most likely cysts and are added to a running tally of the number of cysts present on the slide

Impacts Of Construction Events On The Project Equity Value Of The Channel Tunnel Project

With the growing strains on public resources, many governments in recent years have turned to the private sector for infrastructure project financing. The special purpose vehicles (SPVs) taking such projects usually have a 2-stage business model: a construction stage followed by an operating stage. However, the project risk in stage 1 is very high, and in most cases, the impacts of specific construction events on project risk and capital cost are unobservable due to lack of informational transparency. Eurotunnel (the Channel Tunnel project) is unique in that the share price data for the entire construction period is publicly available. Based on event study methodology, empirical tests were conducted for several well-documented Eurotunnel construction events to measure and assess the project risk and the impacts of such events on the SPV’s equity value. The test results show that: (1) during the construction stage, efforts to better manage the interests and incentives of contractors produce more significant positive impact from investors than efforts for cost containment; (2) during the construction stage, meeting the project deadline is a higher investor priority than containing construction cost; and (3) once the construction phase is complete, the investors’ priority then becomes the overall cost and the impact of construction events on the expected returns from investment. Finally, the level of risk and the potential conflicts of interest that arise during the construction phase of a mega infrastructure project are such that turning to IPOs to provide equity capital may not be appropriate

Cast-Gan: Learning to Remove Colour Cast from Underwater Images

Underwater images are degraded by blur and colour cast caused by the attenuation of light in water. To remove the colour cast with neural networks, images of the scene taken under white illumination are needed as reference for training, but are generally unavailable. As an alternative, one can use surrogate reference images taken close to the water surface or degraded images synthesised from reference datasets. However, the former still suffer from colour cast and the latter generally have limited colour diversity. To address these problems, we exploit open data and typical colour distributions of objects to create a synthetic image dataset that reflects degradations naturally occurring in underwater photography. We use this dataset to train Cast-GAN, a Generative Adversarial Network whose loss function includes terms that eliminate artefacts that are typical of underwater images enhanced with neural networks. We compare the enhancement results of Cast-GAN with four state-of-the-art methods and validate the cast removal with a subjective evaluation

Photoacoustic Imaging for Noninvasive Periodontal Probing Depth Measurements.

The periodontal probe is the gold standard tool for periodontal examinations, including probing depth measurements, but is limited by systematic and random errors. Here, we used photoacoustic ultrasound for high-spatial resolution imaging of probing depths. Specific contrast from dental pockets was achieved with food-grade cuttlefish ink as a contrast medium. Here, 39 porcine teeth (12 teeth with artificially deeper pockets) were treated with the contrast agent, and the probing depths were measured with novel photoacoustic imaging and a Williams periodontal probe. There were statistically significant differences between the 2 measurement approaches for distal, lingual, and buccal sites but not mesial. Bland-Altman analysis revealed that all bias values were < ±0.25 mm, and the coefficients of variation for 5 replicates were <11%. The photoacoustic imaging approach also offered 0.01-mm precision and could cover the entire pocket, as opposed to the probe-based approach, which is limited to only a few sites. This report is the first to use photoacoustic imaging for probing depth measurements with potential implications to the dental field, including tools for automated dental examinations or noninvasive examinations

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits in adolescent boys and response to teacher reward and discipline strategies

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and response to rewards and discipline in adolescent boys using a mixed methods approach. Participants comprised 39 boys aged between 12 and 13 years and eight teachers. Quantitative findings showed that CU traits were significantly related to punishment insensitivity, controlling for conduct problems, autism symptoms and hyperactivity. In contrast, there was no significant association between CU traits and reward sensitivity. Qualitative analysis indicated that teachers view children high in CU traits as responsive to fewer reward and discipline strategies, and strategies need to be implemented and monitored with care to avoid unintended, undesirable outcomes. However, time-out, praise, support from other staff and maintaining a positive teacher-child relationship were identified as effective strategies. Findings emphasise the need to carefully select, modify and implement existing evidence-based classroom behaviour management strategies with high CU children

Thermal stability of β-lactoglobulins A and B: Effect of SDS, urea, cysteine and N-ethylmaleimide

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to monitor changes in the secondary structure and thermal stability of β-lactoglobulin A and B in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), urea and cysteine. An increase in the thermal stabilities of both proteins was noted in the presence of 10 mM-SDS. In the presence of 50 mM-SDS, there was extensive denaturation of both variants. In general, the β-strand/β-sheet regions in the secondary structure of both variants were very susceptible to denaturation by SDS and cysteine, suggesting that these regions may be held by hydrophobic and disulphide bonds. At ambient temperature and physiological pH, a notable difference was observed in the 1636 and 1627 cm -1 regions of the FTIR spectra of the two β-Ig variants. The results suggest possible differences in the nature of the β-sheet/β-strand distribution/content of the two proteins. Urea and NEM at a concentration of 50 mM, had little effect on the secondary structure and denaturation of both variants. New findings are presented which further indicate that although the β-Ig B variant showed greater thermal stability than the A variant in all the cases studied, its denaturation temperature and secondary structure were affected to a greater extent by the protein perturbants than ß-Ig A.published_or_final_versio

A survey of befriending services for people with intellectual disabilities in the UK

Background: Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) may benefit from befriending services, which can help to widen their social networks and reduce social isolation. This study examined the characteristics and challenges encountered by befriending services in the United Kingdom and motivations and experiences of volunteers working with people with ID. // Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using two separate online surveys, one for befriending services and one for volunteers. // Results: Eight services and 58 volunteers (aged 15 to 72) responded to the survey. The two major issues faced by befriending services were related to funding and recruitment of volunteers. The most common volunteering motivation was “To give something back” (75.9%). While unemployed volunteers were more likely to be motivated by wanting to do something useful with their spare time (OR 3.62, 95% CI 1.09–12.05), young volunteers expressed wanting to gain work experience through volunteering (OR 11.37, 95% CI 1.31–98.59). Most volunteers reported that volunteering had a positive impact on them and would like to continue volunteering in the future. Both positive and negative volunteer experiences were explored. // Discussion: Volunteers experienced unique difficulties in interacting with service users with ID due to physical and cognitive barriers. More training and support could be provided to volunteers to help them manage these difficulties and to improve outcomes and experiences of both volunteers and individuals with ID. Policy guidance should be developed on how to set up high-quality befriending services for this group

Ancestry-Dependent Enrichment of Deleterious Homozygotes in Runs of Homozygosity.

Runs of homozygosity (ROH) are important genomic features that manifest when an individual inherits two haplotypes that are identical by descent. Their length distributions are informative about population history, and their genomic locations are useful for mapping recessive loci contributing to both Mendelian and complex disease risk. We have previously shown that ROH, and especially long ROH that are likely the result of recent parental relatedness, are enriched for homozygous deleterious coding variation in a worldwide sample of outbred individuals. However, the distribution of ROH in admixed populations and their relationship to deleterious homozygous genotypes is understudied. Here we analyze whole-genome sequencing data from 1,441 unrelated individuals from self-identified African American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican American populations. These populations are three-way admixed between European, African, and Native American ancestries and provide an opportunity to study the distribution of deleterious alleles partitioned by local ancestry and ROH. We re-capitulate previous findings that long ROH are enriched for deleterious variation genome-wide. We then partition by local ancestry and show that deleterious homozygotes arise at a higher rate when ROH overlap African ancestry segments than when they overlap European or Native American ancestry segments of the genome. These results suggest that, while ROH on any haplotype background are associated with an inflation of deleterious homozygous variation, African haplotype backgrounds may play a particularly important role in the genetic architecture of complex diseases for admixed individuals, highlighting the need for further study of these populations

RS-34 Phoenix (Peacekeeper Post Boost Propulsion System) Utilization Study

The Advanced Concepts Office (ACO) at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in conjunction with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne conducted a study to evaluate potential in-space applications for the Rocketdyne produced RS-34 propulsion system. The existing RS-34 propulsion system is a remaining asset from the decommissioned United States Air Force Peacekeeper ICBM program; specifically the pressure-fed storable bipropellant Stage IV Post Boost Propulsion System, renamed Phoenix. MSFC gained experience with the RS-34 propulsion system on the successful Ares I-X flight test program flown in October 2009. RS-34 propulsion system components were harvested from stages supplied by the USAF and used on the Ares I-X Roll control system (RoCS). The heritage hardware proved extremely robust and reliable and sparked interest for further utilization on other potential in-space applications. Subsequently, MSFC is working closely with the USAF to obtain all the remaining RS-34 stages for re-use opportunities. Prior to pursuit of securing the hardware, MSFC commissioned the Advanced Concepts Office to understand the capability and potential applications for the RS-34 Phoenix stage as it benefits NASA, DoD, and commercial industry. Originally designed, the RS-34 Phoenix provided in-space six-degrees-of freedom operational maneuvering to deploy multiple payloads at various orbital locations. The RS-34 Phoenix Utilization Study sought to understand how the unique capabilities of the RS-34 Phoenix and its application to six candidate missions: 1) small satellite delivery (SSD), 2) orbital debris removal (ODR), 3) ISS re-supply, 4) SLS kick stage, 5) manned GEO servicing precursor mission, and an Earth-Moon L-2 Waypoint mission. The small satellite delivery and orbital debris removal missions were found to closely mimic the heritage RS-34 mission. It is believed that this technology will enable a small, low-cost multiple satellite delivery to multiple orbital locations with a single boost. For both the small satellite delivery and the orbital debris mission candidates, the RS-34 Phoenix requires the least amount of modification to the existing hardware. The results of the RS-34 Phoenix Utilization Study show that the system is technically sufficient to successfully support all of the missions analyze