The effect of hyperbaric oxygen and blood platelet injection therapy on the healing of hamstring injuries in rugby players

There are a number of ultra-structural and immuno-histochemical studies involving hyperbaric oxygen treatment in skeletal muscle, as well as soft tissue healing. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in conjunction with blood platelet injection therapy, serves as a valuable addition to previously known and trusted rehabilitation techniques and protocols for the healing of musculoskeletal or soft tissue injuries. The primary aim of this case report is to describe the effect on the recovery time of hamstring injuries when combining hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection therapy with exercise rehabilitation. A retrospective, post-intervention data analysis was used in this case series report. Data, obtained through collaboration with a professional rugby union and an accredited Hyperbaric Medicine (HBOT) Centre, were analysed using the Statistical Programme for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The significance value was set at 5%. A significant decrease in the injury time of the hamstring injuries in rugby players was noted, with a 38% reduction in injury time in players with a grade-one injury, and 45.7% reduction in players with a grade-two injury. In terms of recurrent injuries, 62% of players with grade-one injuries remained uninjured after treatment, and the percentage of re-injured players with grade-two injuries was 0% after HBOT, PRP and physical therapy treatment. The notion that the healing time of hamstring injuries will decrease when HBOT and PRP are administered in conjunction with traditional rehabilitation therapy is indicated by the data of this report.http://www.ajol.info/journal_index.php?jid=153&ab=ajpherd2017-11-30am201

Transport characteristics of Pd Schottky barrier diodes on epitaxial n-GaSb as determined from temperature dependent current-voltage measurements

Please read abstract in the article.SA Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, National Research Foundation and the NMMU.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/tsfhb201

dc-Hydrogen plasma induced defects in bulk n-Ge

Bulk antimony doped germanium (n-Ge) has been exposed to a dc-hydrogen plasma. Capacitance-voltage depth profiles revealed extensive near surface passivation of the shallow donors as evidenced by ˜ a 1.5 orders of magnitude reduction in the free carrier concentration up to depth of ˜ 3.2 µm. DLTS and Laplace-DLTS revealed a prominent electron trap 0.30 eV below the conduction (Ec-0.30 eV). The concentration of this trap increased with plasma exposure time. The depth profile for this defect suggested a uniform distribution up to 1.2 µm. Annealing studies show that this trap, attributed to a hydrogen-related complex, is stable up to 200 °C. Hole traps, or vacancy-antimony centers, common in this material after high energy particle irradiation, were not observed after plasma exposure, an indication that this process does not create Frenkel (V-I) pairs.The South African Research Chair’s Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, National Research Foundation, as well as by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/phys

The MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey: I. Survey overview and highlights

Please abstract in the article.The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), the National Research Foundation (NRF), the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, US National Science Foundation, the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the DSI/NRF, the SARAO HCD programme, the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Innovation.http://www.aanda.orghj2022Physic

The SARAO MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Galactic Plane Survey

We present the SARAO MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey (SMGPS), a 1.3 GHz continuum survey of almost half of the Galactic Plane (251○ ≤l ≤ 358○ and 2○ ≤l ≤ 61○ at |b| ≤ 1 5). SMGPS is the largest, most sensitive and highest angular resolution 1 GHz survey of the Plane yet carried out, with an angular resolution of 8″ and a broadband RMS sensitivity of ∼10–20 μJy beam−1. Here we describe the first publicly available data release from SMGPS which comprises data cubes of frequency-resolved images over 908–1656 MHz, power law fits to the images, and broadband zeroth moment integrated intensity images. A thorough assessment of the data quality and guidance for future usage of the data products are given. Finally, we discuss the tremendous potential of SMGPS by showcasing highlights of the Galactic and extragalactic science that it permits. These highlights include the discovery of a new population of non-thermal radio filaments; identification of new candidate supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae and planetary nebulae; improved radio/mid-IR classification of rare Luminous Blue Variables and discovery of associated extended radio nebulae; new radio stars identified by Bayesian cross-matching techniques; the realisation that many of the largest radio-quiet WISE H II region candidates are not true H II regions; and a large sample of previously undiscovered background H I galaxies in the Zone of Avoidance

Practical system for realtime on-plant flotation froth visual parameter extraction

In plants where froth flotation is utilized to extract minerals from mined ore, the visual interpretation of the froth surface can be used to optimize the flotation process, thus yielding a more efficient extraction. We present a computer-based system that is able to extract a wide range of on-line static and dynamic visual parameters from the froth surface. The system has been installed in several refineries and performs well in both laboratory and industrial environments.Articl

Piecewise Laplacian-based Projection for Interactive Data Exploration and Organization

Multidimensional projection has emerged as an important visualization tool in applications involving the visual analysis of high-dimensional data. However, high precision projection methods are either computationally expensive or not flexible enough to enable feedback from user interaction into the projection process. A built-in mechanism that dynamically adapts the projection based on direct user intervention would make the technique more useful for a larger range of applications and data sets. In this paper we propose the Piecewise Laplacian-based Projection (PLP), a novel multidimensional projection technique, that, due to the local nature of its formulation, enables a versatile mechanism to interact with projected data and to allow interactive changes to alter the projection map dynamically, a capability unique of this technique. We exploit the flexibility provided by PLP in two interactive projection-based applications, one designed to organize pictures visually and another to build music playlists. These applications illustrate the usefulness of PLP in handling high-dimensional data in a flexible and highly visual way. We also compare PLP with the currently most promising projections in terms of precision and speed, showing that it performs very well also according to these quality criteria.Radiolog