Inter-observer agreement of canine and feline paroxysmal event semiology and classification by veterinary neurology specialists and non-specialists

Background: Advances in mobile technology mean vets are now commonly presented with videos of paroxysmal events by clients, but the consistency of the interpretation of these videos has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the level of agreement between vets (both neurology specialists and non-specialists) on the description and classification of videos depicting paroxysmal events, without knowing any results of diagnostic workup. An online questionnaire study was conducted, where participants watched 100 videos of dogs and cats exhibiting paroxysmal events and answered questions regarding: epileptic seizure presence (yes/ no), seizure type, consciousness status, and the presence of motor, autonomic and neurobehavioural signs. Agreement statistics (percentage agreement and kappa) calculated for each variable, with prevalence indices calculated to aid their interpretation. Results: Only a fair level of agreement (kappa = 0.40) was found for epileptic seizure presence. Overall agreement of seizure type was moderate (kappa = 0.44), with primary generalised seizures showing the highest level of agreement (kappa = 0.60), and focal the lowest (kappa = 0.31). Fair agreement was found for consciousness status and the presence of autonomic signs (kappa = 0.21-0.40), but poor agreement for neurobehavioral signs (kappa = 0.16). Agreement for motor signs ranged from poor (kappa = <= 0.20) to moderate (kappa = 0.41-0.60). Differences between specialists and non-specialists were identified. Conclusions: The relatively low levels of agreement described here highlight the need for further discussions between neurology experts regarding classifying and describing epileptic seizures, and additional training of non-specialists to facilitate accurate diagnosis. There is a need for diagnostic tools (e.g. electroencephalogram) able to differentiate between epileptic and non-epileptic paroxysms

An energy efficient interference-aware routing protocol for underwater WSNs

Interference-aware routing protocol design for underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) is one of the key strategies in reducing packet loss in the highly hostile underwater environment. The reduced interference causes efficient utilization of the limited battery power of the sensor nodes that, in consequence, prolongs the entire network lifetime. In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient interference-aware routing (EEIAR) protocol for UWSNs. A sender node selects the best relay node in its neighborhood with the lowest depth and the least number of neighbors. Combination of the two routing metrics ensures that data packets are forwarded along the least interference paths to reach the final destination. The proposed work is unique in that it does not require the full dimensional localization information of sensor nodes and the network total depth is segmented to identify source, relay and neighbor nodes. Simulation results reveal better performance of the scheme than the counterparts DBR and EEDBR techniques in terms of energy efficiency, packet delivery ratio and end-to-end delay

Metachronal propulsion of a magnetized particle-fluid suspension in a ciliated channel with heat and mass transfer

Biologically inspired pumping systems are of great interest in modern engineering since they achieve enhanced efficiency and circumvent the need for moving parts and maintenance. Industrial applications also often feature two-phase flows. In this article, motivated by these applications, the pumping of an electrically conducting particle-fluid suspension due to metachronal wave propulsion of beating cilia in a two-dimensional channel with heat and mass transfer under a transverse magnetic field is investigated theoretically. The governing equations for mass and momentum conservation for fluid- and particle-phases are formulated by ignoring the inertial forces and invoking the long wavelength approximation. The Jeffrey viscoelastic model is employed to simulate non-Newtonian characteristics. The normalized resulting differential equations are solved analytically. Symbolic software is employed to evaluate the results and simulate the influence of different parameters on flow characteristics. Results are visualized graphically with carefully selected and viable data

Conserved Quantities in f(R)f(R) Gravity via Noether Symmetry

This paper is devoted to investigate $f(R)$ gravity using Noether symmetry approach. For this purpose, we consider Friedmann Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe and spherically symmetric spacetimes. The Noether symmetry generators are evaluated for some specific choice of $f(R)$ models in the presence of gauge term. Further, we calculate the corresponding conserved quantities in each case. Moreover, the importance and stability criteria of these models are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication in Chin. Phys. Let

Detecting Transits in Sparsely Sampled Surveys

The small sizes of low mass stars in principle provide an opportunity to find Earth-like planets and "super-Earths" in habitable zones via transits. Large area synoptic surveys like Pan-STARRS and LSST will observe large numbers of low mass stars, albeit with widely spaced (sparse) time sampling relative to the planets' periods and transit durations. We present simple analytical equations that can be used to estimate the feasibility of a survey by setting upper limits to the number of transiting planets that will be detected. We use Monte Carlo simulations to find upper limits for the number of transiting planets that may be discovered in the Pan-STARRS Medium Deep and 3-pi surveys. Our search for transiting planets and M-dwarf eclipsing binaries in the SDSS-II supernova data is used to illustrate the problems (and successes) in using sparsely sampled surveys.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, published in Proceedings of the Conference on Classification and Discovery in Large Astronomical Surveys, 200

Object Serialization and Deserialization Using XML

Interoperability of potentially heterogeneous databases has been an ongoing research issue for a number of years in the database community. With the trend towards globalization of data location and data access and the consequent requirement for the coexistence of new data stores with legacy systems, the cooperation and data interchange between data repositories has become increasingly important. The emergence of the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) as a database independent representation for data offers a suitable mechanism for transporting data between repositories. This paper describes a research activity within a group at CERN (called CMS) towards identifying and implementing database serialization and deserialization methods that can be used to replicate or migrate objects across the network between CERN and worldwide centres using XML to serialize the contents of multiple objects resident in object-oriented databases.Comment: 14 pages 7 figure

Gathered wild food plants among diverse religious groups in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan

Recent ethnobotanical studies have raised the hypothesis that religious affiliation can, in certain circumstances, influence the evolution of the use of wild food plants, given that it shapes kinship relations and vertical transmission of traditional/local environmental knowledge. The local population living in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan comprises very diverse religious and linguistic groups. A field study about the uses of wild food plants was conducted in the district. This field survey included 120 semi‐structured interviews in 27 villages, focusing on six religious groups (Sunni and Shia Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis). We documented a total of 77 wild food plants and one mushroom species which were used by the local population mainly as cooked vegetables and raw snacks. The cross‐religious comparison among six groups showed a high homogeneity of use among two Muslim groups (Shias and Sunnis), while the other four religious groups showed less extensive, yet diverse uses, staying within the variety of taxa used by Islamic groups. No specific plant cultural markers (i.e., plants gathered only by one community) could be identified, although there were a limited number of group‐specific uses of the shared plants. Moreover, the field study showed erosion of the knowledge among the non‐Muslim groups, which were more engaged in urban occupations and possibly underwent stronger cultural adaption to a modern lifestyle. The recorded traditional knowledge could be used to guide future development programs aimed at fostering food security and the valorization of the local bio‐cultural heritage