330 research outputs found
The six sigma approach in performance management to reduce injury rate at work
This case study uses the Six Sigma process framework in performance management to explore and improve the injury rate of an international waste disposal firm. The results indicate that an employee-management consensus approach to continuous improvement in safety management in the workplace is essential. The evidence from this case suggested that the DMAIC Six Sigma process and analysis tool such as the fishbone diagram can be easily adopted as measurements in the workplace. Furthermore the case shows that management commitment and employee ownership of the Six Sigma program is the key to continuous improvement, and the development of a safety culture and a learning organisation
Inkjet printed LED based pH chemical sensor for gas sensing
Predictable behaviour is a critical factor when developing a sensor for potential deployment within a wireless sensor network (WSN). The work presented here details the fabrication and performance of an optical chemical sensor for gaseous acetic acid analysis, which was constructed using inkjet printed deposition of a colorimetric chemical sensor. The chemical sensor comprised a pH indicator dye (bromophenol blue), phase transfer salt tetrahexylammonium bromide and polymer ethyl cellulose dissolved in 1-butanol. A paired emitter-detector diode (PEDD) optical detector was employed to monitor responses of the colorimetric chemical sensor as it exhibits good sensitivity, low power consumption, is low cost, accurate and has excellent signal to noise ratios. The chemical sensor formulation was printed directly onto the surface the emitter LED, and the resulting chemical sensors characterised with respect to their layer thickness, response time and recovery time. The fabrication reproducibility of inkjet printed chemical sensors in comparison to drop casted chemical sensors was investigated. Colorimetric chemical sensors produced by inkjet printing, exhibited an improved reproducibility for the detection of gaseous acetic acid with a relative standard deviation of 5.5 % in comparison to 68.0 % calculated for drop casted sensors (n = 10). The stability of the chemical sensor was also investigated through both intra and inter-day studies
The Benefits and Harms of Transmitting Into Space
Deliberate and unintentional radio transmissions from Earth propagate into
space. These transmissions could be detected by extraterrestrial watchers over
interstellar distances. Here, we analyze the harms and benefits of deliberate
and unintentional transmissions relevant to Earth and humanity. Comparing the
magnitude of deliberate radio broadcasts intended for messaging to
extraterrestrial intelligence (METI) with the background radio spectrum of
Earth, we find that METI attempts to date have much lower detectability than
emissions from current radio communication technologies on Earth. METI
broadcasts are usually transient and several orders of magnitude less powerful
than other terrestrial sources such as astronomical and military radars, which
provide the strongest detectable signals. The benefits of radio communication
on Earth likely outweigh the potential harms of detection by extraterrestrial
watchers; however, the uncertainty regarding the outcome of contact with
extraterrestrial beings creates difficulty in assessing whether or not to
engage in long-term and large-scale METI.Comment: Published in Space Polic
Antigenic variation and resistance to neutralization in poliovirus type 1.
Mutations have been identified in variants of poliovirus, type 1 (Mahoney) on the basis of their resistance to neutralization by individual monoclonal antibodies. The phenotypes of these variants were defined in terms of antibody binding; the pattern of epitopes expressed or able to be exploited for neutralization were complex. Single amino acid changes can have distant (in terms of linear sequence) and generalized effects on the antigenic structure of poliovirus and similarly constituted virions
Impact of severity, duration, and etiology of hyperthyroidism on bone turnover markers and bone mineral density in men
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hyperthyroidism is accompanied by osteoporosis with higher incidence of fracture rates. The present work aimed to study bone status in hyperthyroidism and to elucidate the impact of severity, duration, and etiology of hyperthyroidism on biochemical markers of bone turnover and bone mineral density (BMD).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty-two male patients with hyperthyroidism, 31 with Graves' disease (GD) and 21 with toxic multinodular goiter (TNG), with an age ranging from 23 to 65 years were included, together with 25 healthy euthyroid men with matched age as a control group. In addition to full clinical examination, patients and controls were subjected to measurement of BMD using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometery scanning of the lower half of the left radius. Also, some biochemical markers of bone turnover were done for all patients and controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Biochemical markers of bone turnover: included serum bone specific alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, carboxy terminal telopeptide of type l collagen also, urinary deoxypyridinoline cross-links (DXP), urinary DXP/urinary creatinine ratio and urinary calcium/urinary creatinine ratio were significantly higher in patients with GD and TNG compared to controls (P < 0.01). However, there was non-significant difference in these parameters between GD and TNG patients (P > 0.05). BMD was significantly lower in GD and TNG compared to controls, but the Z-score of BMD at the lower half of the left radius in patients with GD (-1.7 Âą 0.5 SD) was not significantly different from those with TNG (-1.6 Âą 0.6 SD) (>0.05). There was significant positive correlation between free T3 and free T4 with biochemical markers of bone turnover, but negative correlation between TSH and those biochemical markers of bone turnover. The duration of the thyrotoxic state positively correlated with the assessed bone turnover markers, but it is negatively correlated with the Z-score of BMD in the studied hyperthyroid patients (r = -0.68, P < 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Men with hyperthyroidism have significant bone loss with higher biochemical markers of bone turnover. The severity and the duration of the thyrotoxic state are directly related to the derangement of biochemical markers of bone turnover and bone loss.</p
Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section
ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum
pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7
TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are
based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi
Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and
Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times
the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls
faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the
branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06
+/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for
anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are
statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Fine motor skills predict maths ability better than they predict reading ability in the early primary school years
Fine motor skills have long been recognised as an important foundation for development in other domains. However, more precise insights into the role of fine motor skills, and their relationships to other skills in mediating early educational achievements, are needed to support the development of optimal educational interventions. We explored concurrent relationships between two components of fine motor skills, Fine Motor Precision and Fine Motor Integration, and early reading and maths development in two studies with primary school children of low-to-mid socio-economic status in the U.K. Two key findings were revealed. First, despite being in the first two years of primary school education, significantly better performance was found in reading compared to maths across both studies. This may reflect the protective effects of recent national-level interventions to promote early literacy skills in young children in the U.K. that have not been similarly promoted for maths. Second, fine motor skills were a better predictor of early maths ability than they were of early reading ability. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that fine motor skills did not significantly predict reading ability when verbal short-term memory was taken into account. In contrast, Fine Motor Integration remained a significant predictor of maths ability, even after the influence of nonverbal IQ had been accounted for. These results suggest that fine motor skills should have a pivotal role in educational interventions designed to support the development of early mathematical skills
Model for common growth of supermassive black holes, bulges and globular star clusters: ripping off Jeans clusters
It is assumed that a galaxy starts as a dark halo of a few million Jeans
clusters (JCs), each of which consists of nearly a trillion micro brown dwarfs,
MACHOs of Earth mass. JCs in the galaxy center heat up their MACHOs by tidal
forces, which makes them expand, so that coagulation and star formation occurs.
Being continuously fed by matter from bypassing JCs, the central star(s) may
transform into a super massive black hole. It has a fast growth during
the first mega years, and a slow growth at giga years. JCs disrupted
by a close encounter with this black hole can provide matter for the bulge.
Those that survive can be so agitated that they form stars inside them and
become globular star clusters. Thus black holes mostly arise together with
galactic bulges in their own environment and are about as old as the oldest
globular clusters. The age 13.2 Gyr of the star HE 1523-0901 puts forward that
the Galactic halo was sufficiently assembled at that moment. The star formation
rate has a maximum at black hole mass and bulge mass
. In case of merging supermassive black holes the JCs
passing near the galactic center provide ideal assistance to overcome the last
parsec.Comment: 6 pages latex. Matches published versio
Regulating STING in health and disease.
The presence of cytosolic double-stranded DNA molecules can trigger multiple innate immune signalling pathways which converge on the activation of an ER-resident innate immune adaptor named "STimulator of INterferon Genes (STING)". STING has been found to mediate type I interferon response downstream of cyclic dinucleotides and a number of DNA and RNA inducing signalling pathway. In addition to its physiological function, a rapidly increasing body of literature highlights the role for STING in human disease where variants of the STING proteins, as well as dysregulated STING signalling, have been implicated in a number of inflammatory diseases. This review will summarise the recent structural and functional findings of STING, and discuss how STING research has promoted the development of novel therapeutic approaches and experimental tools to improve treatment of tumour and autoimmune diseases
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