Interventional bronchoscopy for benign tracheobronchial diseases under cardiopulmonary bypass support: case reports and literature review

The use of cardiopulmonary bypass as an adjunct to airway surgery for non-malignant diseases in adults is not well established in the UK. We are reporting two cases which demonstrate the additional benefits of using cardiopulmonary bypass during difficult bronchoscopy and complex airway stenting. The first case presents an emergency indication for cardiopulmonary bypass in a life-threatening but benign condition. The second case presented, utilises cardiopulmonary bypass standby as adjunct to a potentially life threatening procedure. A review of the literature is also provided

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Anonymization of Data from Field Operational Tests

Data anonymization is a rising topic and is included in the EU's ITS directive. It brings new requirements for products and projects. Plans to arrange Field Operational Tests on connected ITS systems and automated driving are part of the European H2020 research and innovation programme. Data sharing will be an important part of those projects, aiming at widely studying the test data. Without anonymization and other data post-processing techniques to strip the logs of personal and confidential information, data sharing cannot happen or at least will require extensive non-disclosure agreements between several organisations. This paper discusses the state of the art on data sharing and anonymization techniques for FOT data sets, concentrating especially on video and GPS data

Using task analysis to explore older novice participants’ experiences with a handheld touchscreen device

Access to online resources is becoming more important for engagement with society. However, older people with limited experience of digital interfaces can have significant difficulties with access. Touchscreen devices have shown potential to offer advantages to the older and novice user. Usability becomes increasingly important with age related changes in sensory perception, cognition and motor skills. This pilot study has investigated problems caused by lack of prior experience of digital interaction in novice older users. This paper reports their behaviour and errors using a tablet touchscreen device through attempting several tasks. Task analysis and actual user task sequences have been used to highlight the difficulties and errors made by the participants

See Yourself Write: A Simple Student Model to Make Students Think

This paper introduces See Yourself Write, a system with two components: (1) a template for tutors to provide feedback to their students on their foreign language writing, and (2) an inspectable student model which is automatically constructed for each student, based on the feedback given by the teacher. The student model holds feedback given to students across several assignments, and provides an individual evaluation of their performance. The model is designed to be viewed by the students to prompt them to reflect on and use the feedback received

Duplication and parallel evolution of the pancreatic ribonuclease gene (RNASE1) in folivorous non-colobine primates, the howler monkeys (Alouatta spp.)

In foregut-fermenting mammals (e.g., colobine monkeys, artiodactyl ruminants) the enzymes pancreatic ribonuclease (RNASE1) and lysozyme C (LYZ), originally involved in immune defense, have evolved new digestive functions. Howler monkeys are folivorous non-colobine primates that lack the multi-chambered stomachs of colobines and instead digest leaves using fermentation in the caeco-colic region. We present data on the RNASE1 and LYZ genes of four species of howler monkey (Alouatta spp.). We find that howler monkey LYZ is conserved and does not share the substitutions found in colobine and cow sequences, whereas RNASE1 was duplicated in the common ancestor of A. palliata, A. seniculus, A. sara, and A. pigra. While the parent gene (RNASE1) is conserved, the daughter gene (RNASE1B) has multiple amino acid substitutions that are parallel to those found in RNASE1B genes of colobines. The duplicated RNase in Alouatta has biochemical changes similar to those in colobines, suggesting a novel, possibly digestive function. These findings suggest that pancreatic ribonuclease has, in parallel, evolved a new role for digesting the products of microbial fermentation in both foregut- and hindgut-fermenting folivorous primates. This may be a vital digestive enzyme adaptation allowing howler monkeys to survive on leaves during periods of low fruit availability