236 research outputs found
Optimization of thermal parameters of frozen ground using surface geoelectrical data from permafrost monitoring and surface temperature measurements
An Intervention to Promote Navajo Gardening, Nutrition, and Community Wellness
The rates of diabetes and obesity in Navajo communities are higher than national rates. A healthy diet of fresh fruits and vegetables will help to prevent and reduce such rates. So the project focuses on promoting gardening to make vegetables and fruits more accessible at the comfort of oneâs own home. Previous research in this area shows that gardeners consume 2 more servings of fruits and vegetables than nongardeners. Thirty participants were recruited by flyer distribution at chapter houses, senior centers, and community centers, from four Navajo targeted areas: Shiprock, NM; Tsaile, AZ; Lukachukai, AZ, and Hogback, NM. With the involvement of the participants, we build gardens at each home. Once the garden is complete, the participants will independently maintain it, and monthly check ups will be conducted. Workshops on gardening techniques will be provided so that participants will be able to independently sustain their garden. Each participant had to sign a consent form prior to conducting any gardening activity. In addition, an interview and a survey was conducted with each participant. The survey questioned the participantsâ eating habits, focusing on the regularity of fruit and vegetable consumption, the consumption of sodas and other sugary drinks, etc. An additional two surveys will be conducted, one taken midway of the project and the other at the conclusion of the project. The three surveys dispersed throughout the project will document changes in the participantsâ eating habits. Our long term goal is increasing servings of vegetables and fruits consumed, and to ensure sustainable gardens at homes
Coupled thermo-geophysical inversion for high-latitude permafrost monitoring:assessment of the method and practical considerations
One step: In situ synthesis of ZnS/N and S co-doped carbon composites via salt templating for lithium-ion battery applications
HighâVoltage Aqueous MgâIon Batteries Enabled by Solvation Structure Reorganization
Herein, an eco-friendly and high safety aqueous Mg-ion electrolyte (AME) with a wide electrochemical stability window (ESW) 3.7 V, containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) and low-concentration salt (0.8 m Mg(TFSI)), is proposed by solvation structure reorganization of AME. The PEG agent significantly alters the Mg solvation and hydrogen bonds network of AMEs and forms the direct coordination of Mg and TFSI-, thus enhancing the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of electrolytes. As an exemplary material, VO nanowires are tested in this new AME and exhibit initial high discharge/charge capacity of 359/326 mAh g and high capacity retention of 80% after 100 cycles. The high crystalline -VO shows two 2-phase transition processes with the formation of -MgVO and Mg-rich MgVO (x 1.0) during the first discharge. Mg-rich MgVO (x 1.0) phase formed through electrochemical Mg-ion intercalation at room temperature is for the first time observed via XRD. Meanwhile, the cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) in aqueous Mg-ion batteries is revealed for the first time. MgF originating from the decomposition of TFSI- is identified as the dominant component. This work offers a new approach for designing high-safety, low-cost, eco-friendly, and large ESW electrolytes for practical and novel aqueous multivalent batteries
Resonant elastic X-ray scattering of antiferromagnetic superstructures in EuPtSi
We report resonant elastic X-ray scattering (REXS) of long-range magnetic
order in EuPtSi, combining different scattering geometries with
full linear polarization analysis to unambiguously identify magnetic scattering
contributions. At low temperatures, EuPtSi stabilizes type A
antiferromagnetism featuring various long-wavelength modulations. For magnetic
fields applied in the hard magnetic basal plane, well-defined regimes of
cycloidal, conical, and fan-like superstructures may be distinguished that
encompass a pocket of commensurate type A order without superstructure. For
magnetic field applied along the easy axis, the phase diagram comprises the
cycloidal and conical superstructures only. Highlighting the power of polarized
REXS, our results reveal a combination of magnetic phases that suggest a highly
unusual competition between antiferromagnetic exchange interactions with
Dzyaloshinsky--Moriya spin--orbit coupling of similar strength
Closure of a Large Chronic Wound through Transplantation of Gene-Corrected Epidermal Stem Cells
Generalized junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB) is caused by mutations in LAMA3,LAMB3,or
LAMC2,which together encode laminin-332, a hetero-trimeric protein consisting ofa3,b3, andg2chain. In nonlethal generalized intermediate JEB, laminin-332 is highly reduced, and hemidesmosomes are rudimentary or completely absent, leading to blister formation within the lamina lucida of the basement membrane upon minor trauma. The resulting chronic skin wounds invariably develop recurrent infections and scarring, which greatly impair patientsâ quality of life. We report on a patient in whom gene-corrected epidermal sheets were transplanted onto a large nonhealing epidermal ulceration following a good manufacturing practice protoco
Scoping studies to establish the capability and utility of a real-time bioaerosol sensor to characterise emissions from environmental sources
A novel dual excitation wavelength based bioaerosol sensor with multiple fluorescence bands called Spectral Intensity Bioaerosol Sensor (SIBS) has been assessed across five contrasting outdoor environments. The mean concentrations of total and fluorescent particles across the sites were highly variable being the highest at the agricultural farm (2.6âŻcmâ3 and 0.48âŻcmâ3, respectively) and the composting site (2.32âŻcmâ3 and 0.46âŻcmâ3, respectively) and the lowest at the dairy farm (1.03âŻcmâ3 and 0.24âŻcmâ3, respectively) and the sewage treatment works (1.03âŻcmâ3 and 0.25âŻcmâ3, respectively). In contrast, the number-weighted fluorescent fraction was lowest at the agricultural site (0.18) in comparison to the other sites indicating high variability in nature and magnitude of emissions from environmental sources. The fluorescence emissions data demonstrated that the spectra at different sites were multimodal with intensity differences largely at wavelengths located in secondary emission peaks for λex 280 and λex 370. This finding suggests differences in the molecular composition of emissions at these sites which can help to identify distinct fluorescence signature of different environmental sources. Overall this study demonstrated that SIBS provides additional spectral information compared to existing instruments and capability to resolve spectrally integrated signals from relevant biological fluorophores could improve selectivity and thus enhance discrimination and classification strategies for real-time characterisation of bioaerosols from environmental sources. However, detailed lab-based measurements in conjunction with real-world studies and improved numerical methods are required to optimise and validate these highly resolved spectral signatures with respect to the diverse atmospherically relevant biological fluorophores
Validation of a proxyâreported SARCâF questionnaire for current and retrospective screening of sarcopeniaârelated functional impairments
BACKGROUND: The strength, assistance walking, rise from a chair, climb stairs, and falls (SARCâF) questionnaire is a wellâestablished instrument for screening of sarcopenia and sarcopeniaârelated functional impairments. As it is based on selfâreporting, its use precludes patients who are unable to answer the questionnaire as a consequence of severe acute diseases or cognitive impairment. Therefore, we aimed to validate a proxyâreported version of the SARCâF for both adâhoc as well as retrospective screening for severe sarcopeniaârelated functional impairments. METHODS: Patients aged â„60 years completed the SARCâF and performed the short physical performance battery (SPPB) at baseline (T1). Proxies in Cohort A gave a simultaneous assessment of the patients' functional status with the proxyâreported SARCâF at T1 and again, retrospectively, after 3 months (T2). Proxies in Cohort B only completed the SARCâF retrospectively at T2. The questionnaires' performances were assessed through sensitivity/specificity analyses and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. For nonâinferiority analyses, results of both the patientâreported and proxyâreported SARCâF were correlated with the SPPB total score as well as the results of the chairârise test subcategory; the respective correlation coefficients were tested against each other. RESULTS: One hundred and four patients and 135 proxies participated. Using a SPPB score < 9 points as the reference standard, the proxyâreported SARCâF identified patients at high risk for sarcopeniaârelated functional impairment with a sensitivity of 0.81 (adâhoc), 0.88 (retrospective Cohort A), and 0.87 (retrospective Cohort B) as well as a specificity of 0.89 (adâhoc), 0.78 (retrospective Cohort A), and 0.64 (retrospective Cohort B). Areas under the ROC curves were â„ 0.9 for the adâhoc proxyâreported SARCâF and the retrospective proxyâreported SARCâF in both cohorts. The proxyâreported SARCâF showed a nonâinferior correlation with the SPPB compared with the patientâreported SARCâF for adâhoc (P = <0.001) as well as retrospective screening for severe sarcopeniaârelated functional impairment in both Cohorts A (P = 0.007) and B (P = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: Proxyâreported SARCâF is a valid instrument for both adâhoc as well as retrospective screening for sarcopeniaârelated functional impairment and could become the standard tool for evaluating this risk in older adults with severe acute disease, for example, in patients with quickly evolving haematological conditions
Semantic IoT Solutions - A Developer Perspective
Semantic technologies have recently gained significant support in a number of communities,
in particular the IoT community. An important problem to be solved is that, on the one hand,
it is clear that the value of IoT increases significantly with the availability of information from
a wide variety of domains. On the other hand, existing solutions target specific applications
or application domains and there is no easy way of sharing information between the
resulting silos. Thus, a solution is needed to enable interoperability across information silos.
As there is a huge heterogeneity regarding IoT technologies on the lower levels, the
semantic level is seen as a promising approach for achieving interoperability (i.e. semantic
interoperability) to unify IoT device description, data, bring common interaction, data
exploration, etc.This work has received funding from the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements No.732240 (SynchroniCity) and No. 688467 (VICINITY); from ETSI under Specialist Task Forces 534, 556, 566 and 578. This work is partially funded by Hazards SEES NSF Award EAR 1520870, and KHealth NIH 1 R01 HD087132-01
- âŠ