325 research outputs found
Neuro-inspired system for real-time vision sensor tilt correction
Neuromorphic engineering tries to mimic biological
information processing. Address-Event-Representation (AER)
is an asynchronous protocol for transferring the information of
spiking neuro-inspired systems. Currently AER systems are able
sense visual and auditory stimulus, to process information, to
learn, to control robots, etc. In this paper we present an AER
based layer able to correct in real time the tilt of an AER vision
sensor, using a high speed algorithmic mapping layer. A codesign
platform (the AER-Robot platform), with a Xilinx
Spartan 3 FPGA and an 8051 USB microcontroller, has been
used to implement the system. Testing it with the help of the
USBAERmini2 board and the jAER software.Junta de Andalucía P06-TIC-01417Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TEC2006-11730-C03-02Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2009-10639-C04-0
Health-related quality of life after angioplasty and stent placement in patients with iliac artery occlusive disease: results of a randomized controlled clinical trial.
BACKGROUND: To assess the quality of life in patients with iliac artery
occlusive disease, we compared primary stent placement versus primary
angioplasty followed by selective stent placement in a multicenter
randomized controlled trial. METHODS AND RESULTS: Quality-of-life
assessments were completed by 254 patients in a telephone interview.
Assessment measures consisted of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0, time
tradeoff, standard gamble, rating scale, health utilities index, and
EuroQol-5D. The interviews were performed before treatment and after 1, 3,
12, and 24 months. When the 2 treatments were compared, no significant
difference was observed (P>0.05). All measurements showed a significant
improvement in the quality of life after treatment (P<0.05). The RAND
36-Item Health Survey measures physical functioning, role limitations
caused by physical problems, and bodily pain and the EuroQol-5D were the
most sensitive to the impact of revascularization. CONCLUSIONS:
Health-related quality of life improves equally after primary stent
placement and primary angioplasty with selective stent placement in the
treatment of intermittent claudication caused by iliac artery occlusive
disease
Balloon dilation and stent implantation for treatment of femoropopliteal arterial disease: meta-analysis
PURPOSE: To perform a meta-analysis of long-term results of balloon
dilation and stent implantation in the treatment of femoropopliteal
arterial disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The English-language literature
was searched for studies published between 1993 and 2000. Inclusion
criteria for articles were presentation of long-term primary patency
rates, standard errors (explicitly reported or derivable), and baseline
characteristics of the study population. Two reviewers independently
extracted data, and discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Primary
patency rates were combined by using a technique that allows adjustment
for differences across study populations. Analyses were adjusted for
lesion type and clinical indication. RESULTS: Nineteen studies met the
inclusion criteria, representing 923 balloon dilations and 473 stent
implantations. Combined 3-year patency rates after balloon dilation were
61% (standard error, 2.2%) for stenoses and claudication, 48% (standard
error, 3.3%) for occlusions and claudication, 43% (standard error, 4.1%)
for stenoses and critical ischemia, and 30% (standard error, 3.7%) for
occlusions and critical ischemia. The 3-year patency rates after stent
implantation were 63%-66% (standard error, 4.1%) and were independent of
clinical indication and lesion type. Funnel plots demonstrated an
asymmetric distribution of the data points associated with stent studies.
CONCLUSION: Balloon dilation and stent implantation for claudication and
stenosis yield similar long-term patency rates. For more severe
femoropopliteal disease, the results of stent implantation seem more
favorable. Publication bias could not be ruled out
Is the new "new" digital journalism a type of activism? An analysis of "Jot Down", "Gatopardo" and "The New Yorker"
Digitization and the economic crisis have led journalism to a new paradigm (Albalad, 2018). Contents and customs have changed, supporting media has changed, new journalistic models are hybrids and the mainstream media do not always deal with the issues that society demands (Sims, 2018). With a knowledge of tradition, but following the path of innovation, narrative journalism emerges as a possible response to this state of affairs. The objective of this analysis is to identify the challenges facing narrative journalism and narrative journalists themselves in this regard. We analyse their formats, routines and content, study how their digitally existence (Drok & Hermans, 2016) and ask ourselves if they constitute a platform for journalistic activism. Three magazines were identified for the selection of case studies: Jot Down, Gatopardo and The New Yorker. Their digital models, content and literary quality are the principal reasons for their selection, in addition to their different seniorities, geographical backgrounds and formats. By deploying a qualitative research methodology based on content analysis (Voutsina, 2018), in-depth interviews (Johnson, 2002), non-participant observation and document review, this analysis suggests that the new new digital journalism is a kind of activist journalism that upholds the traditions of reporting, narrative journalism and literary quality. This study is based on two theoretical premises: narrative journalism, exemplified by authors such as Sims (1996) and Herrscher (2012) and digital journalism, represented by writers such as Rost (2006) and Domingo & Heinonen (2008)
Outcomes measurement in rehabilitation. Key training need in the 21st century
Herrera-Ligero, C.; Bermejo Bosch, I.; Chaler Vilaseca, J. (2022). La medida de resultados en rehabilitación. Necesidad formativa clave en el siglo XXI. Rehabilitación. 56(3):169-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rh.2022.02.00716917256
Detecting metal-rich intermediate-age globular clusters in NGC4570 using K-band photometry
“The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com”. Copyright Springer. DOI: 10.1007/s10509-009-0093-8Globular cluster systems (GCSs) of most early-type galaxies feature two peaks in their optical colour distributions. Blue-peak globular clusters (GCs) are believed to be old and metal-poor, whereas the ages, metallicities, and the origin of the red-peak GCs are still being debated. We obtained deep K-band photometry and combined it with Hubble Space Telescope observations in g and z to yield a full spectral energy distribution from the optical to the near-infrared. This now allows us to break the age–metallicity degeneracy. We used our evolutionary synthesis models galev for star clusters to compute a large grid of models with different metallicities and a wide range of ages. Comparing these models to our observations revealed a large population of intermediate-age (1–3 Gyr) and metal-rich (≈solar-metallicity) GCs, that will give us further insights into the formation history of this galaxy.Peer reviewe
Antigenicity and immunogenicity of recombinant envelope glycoproteins of SIVmac32H with different in vivo passage histories.
Shortly after infection of two rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) either with a SIVmac32H challenge stock or with the same virus that had been passaged in another rhesus monkey for 11 months, SIV-envelope genes were cloned from their peripheral blood mononuclear cells and subsequently expressed by recombinant vaccinia viruses. The molecular weights and antigenicities of the thus produced envelope glycoproteins were largely identical to those of the native SIV. The envelope glycoprotein derived from the in vivo passaged virus proved to be poorly recognized by virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies directed against one of the seven antigenic sites for which monoclonal antibodies were available. Immunization studies in rats showed that this protein was also less efficient in inducing antibodies against this antigenic site, and that it induced significantly lower levels of virus neutralizing antibodies than the other SIV-envelope glycoprotein. The immunogenicity of the SIV-envelope glycoprotein incorporated into immune stimulating complexes (iscoms) was compared to that of the same protein presented with Quil A or MDP-tsl
Stent placement for renal arterial stenosis: where do we stand? A meta-analysis
PURPOSE: To perform a meta-analysis of renal arterial stent placement in
comparison with renal percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) in
patients with renal arterial stenosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Studies
dealing with renal arterial stent placement (14 articles; 678 patients)
and renal PTA (10 articles; 644 patients) published up to August 1998 were
selected. A random-effects model was used to pool the data. RESULTS: Renal
arterial stent placement proved highly successful, with an initial
adequate performance in 98% and major complications in 11%. The overall
cure rate for hypertension was 20%, whereas hypertension was improved in
49%. Renal function improved in 30% and stabilized in 38% of patients. The
restenosis rate at follow-up of 6-29 months was 17%. Stent placement had a
higher technical success rate and a lower restenosis rate than did renal
PTA (98% vs 77% and 17% vs 26%, respectively; P <.001). The complication
rate was not different between the two treatments. The cure rate for
hypertension was higher and the improvement rate for renal function was
lower after stent placement than after renal PTA (20% vs 10% and 30% vs
38%, respectively; P <.001). CONCLUSION: Renal arterial stent placement is
technically superior and clinically comparable to renal PTA alone
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