An Application of a Heuristic Network Algorithm to Cable Logging Layout Design

This paper describes a method for optimizing cable logging layouts using a heuristic network algorithm. A timber harvest unit layout is formulated as a network problem. Each grid cell containing timber volume to be harvested is identified as an individual entry node of the network. Mill locations or proposed timber exit locations are identified as destinations. Each origin will then be connected to one of the destinations through alternative links representing alternative cable corridors, harvesting equipment, landing locations, and truck road segments. A heuristic algorithm for network programming is used to solve the cost minimization network problem. A computerized model has been developed to implement the method. Logging feasibility and cost analysis modules are included in the model in order to evaluate the logging feasibility of alternative cable corridors and estimate yarding and transportation costs. The model was successfully applied to a harvest planning area to generate harvesting plans. This case study indicates that the planning method is best used for pre-planning since modeling assumptions with respect to tail spar availability and unconstrained road alignments may require modification of the plan before implementation

Temporomandibular arthropathies : a retrospective study with histopathological characteristics

To investigate the incidence of temporomandibular arthropathies diagnosed in a university center and to describe their histopathological characteristics. Temporomandibular arthropathy cases with corresponding slides were selected from an oral and maxillofacial surgical pathology service. Cases of exclusively articular disc disease were not included. The mean age was 31.3 years with a predominance of females (69.7%). Of these diagnoses, 53.6% were unilateral condylar hyperplasia, 17.8% were bony ankylosis, 14.3% were degenerative joint disease, 10.7% were osteochondroma, and 3.6% were synovial chondromatosis. Condylar hyperplasia presented as thick fibrocartilage and cartilage nests in the cancellous bone. Bony ankylosis exhibited lamellar bone and nests of chondrocytes. Degenerative joint disease presented as an irregular layer of fibrocartilage with areas of clustered chondrocytes and calcified cartilage. Osteochondroma of the condyle exhibited hyaline cartilage and areas of new bone formation. Synovial chondromatosis presented as immature cartilaginous tissue and randomly arranged chondrocytes. The pathological alterations verified in these arthropathies involved diseases that were predominantly proliferative, i.e., unilateral condylar hyperplasia, osteochondroma and synovial chondromatosis of the tumor or pseudotumor type and bony ankylosis associated with callus formation of the reparative type, and less frequent degenerative changes for which the disease is so named

AIDS Patient Death Caused by Novel Cryptococcus neoformans × C. gattii Hybrid

Interspecies hybrids of Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii have only recently been reported. We describe a novel C. neoformans × C. gattii hybrid strain (serotype AB) that was previously described as C. gattii and that caused a lethal infection in an AIDS patient from Canada

A prospective study of the transient decrease in ovarian cancer risk following childbirth

Epidemiologic evidence shows that the risk of ovarian cancer is decreased following childbirth. We examined the time points when the decreased risk of postpartum maternal ovarian cancer reaches the lowest point and whether the protective effect diminishes over time. A case-control study nested within the Swedish Fertility Register included 10,086 cases of epithelial ovarian cancer recorded in the Swedish Cancer Register from 1961 to 2001. From the Fertility Register, 49,249 eligible subjects matched to the cases by age were selected as controls. The analysis contrasted risk between adjacent parities through logistic regression models that included indicator variables representing each year of age, age at delivery, and time since delivery. Compared with nulliparous women, uniparous women had a transient decrease in maternal ovarian cancer risk at 2 years after delivery (spline-derived odds ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.95, for those delivered at age 25 years) and maintained a lower risk for 4 years postpartum. Similar transient decreases were observed in biparous women compared with uniparous women and in women with three parities compared with biparous women. The protective effect of childbearing seemed to diminish with time. The transient decrease in postpartum ovarian cancer risk may define the latent period required for pregnancy hormones in clearing out ovarian cells that have undergone early stages of malignant transformation. The period before the risk increases again could indicate the period required for ovarian cancer induction

Subject-Specific Ligament Models: Towards Real-Time Simulation of the Knee Joint

International audienceWe present an efficient finite element method to simulate a transversely isotropic non-linear material for ligaments. The approach relies on tetrahedral elements and exploits the geometry to optimize computation of the derivatives of the strain energy. To better support incompressibilty, deviatoric and dilational responses are uncoupled and a penalty term controls volume preservation. We derive stress and elasticity tensors required for implicit solvers and verify our model against the FEBio software using a variety of load scenarios with synthetic shapes. The maximum node positioning error for ligament materials is < 5% for strains under physiological conditions. To generate subject-specific ligament models, we propose a novel technique to estimate fiber orientation from segmented ligament geometry. The approach is based on an automatic centerline extraction and generation of the corresponding diffusion field. We present results for a medial collateral ligament segmented from standard MRI data. Results show the general viability of the method, but also the limitations of current MRI acquisitions. In the future, we hope to employ the presented techniques for real-time simulation of knee surgery

Developmental transcriptome of resting cell formation in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Functional classification of gene numbers up- and down-regulated during shock starvation in PBS. (PDF 1796 kb

Project Mobius - A novel solar aircraft for long duration flight

The work described in this proposal will involve an interdisciplinary team of students working together to develop the concept, configuration, and system for an innovative long endurance solar aircraft. Most solar aircraft built to date either have flight times limited by poor aerodynamics and small wing areas, or are extremely large and have suffered some catastrophic structural failures. Our project aims to take a new approach, using very lightweight composite materials and an unusual “joined wing” or “box wing” configuration that should increase aerodynamic efficiency while also providing the structural strength that solves the problem that has plagued other attempts. The team will prototype various aspects of the solar aircraft throughout the year, leading to an increasingly advanced aircraft that could potentially be used for missions, have commercial potential, or feature patentable design work. At the end of the project period this academic year we hope to be able to fly a long-duration (all day) mission as a culminating experience that exemplifies Learn By Doing on a high tech project relevant to a growing industry that many Cal Poly students will work in

Cross-correlating Carbon Monoxide Line-intensity Maps with Spectroscopic and Photometric Galaxy Surveys

Line-intensity mapping (LIM or IM) is an emerging field of observational work, with strong potential to fit into a larger effort to probe large-scale structure and small-scale astrophysical phenomena using multiple complementary tracers. Taking full advantage of such complementarity means, in part, undertaking line-intensity surveys with galaxy surveys in mind. We consider the potential for detection of a cross-correlation signal between COMAP and blind surveys based on photometric redshifts (as in COSMOS) or based on spectroscopic data (as with the HETDEX survey of Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters). We find that obtaining $\sigma_z/(1+z)\lesssim0.003$ accuracy in redshifts and $\gtrsim10^{-4}$ sources per Mpc$^3$ with spectroscopic redshift determination should enable a CO-galaxy cross spectrum detection significance at least twice that of the CO auto spectrum. Either a future targeted spectroscopic survey or a blind survey like HETDEX may be able to meet both of these requirements.Comment: 19 pages + appendix (31 pages total), 16 figures, 6 tables; accepted for publication in Ap

Whole-Brain Analysis of Cells and Circuits by Tissue Clearing and Light-Sheet Microscopy

In this photo essay, we present a sampling of technologies from laboratories at the forefront of whole-brain clearing and imaging for high-resolution analysis of cell populations and neuronal circuits. The data presented here were provided for the eponymous Mini-Symposium presented at the Society for Neuroscience's 2018 annual meeting

Status and promise of particle interferometry in heavy-ion collisions

After five years of running at RHIC, and on the eve of the LHC heavy-ion program, we highlight the status of femtoscopic measurements. We emphasize the role interferometry plays in addressing fundamental questions about the state of matter created in such collisions, and present an enumerated list of measurements, analyses and calculations that are needed to advance the field in the coming years