Religion, Law, War

This course will expose participants to fundamental understanding of religion, law and war focusing on the nexus of the three. It will do so in a highly participatory manner. The course will focus on the three terms separately and in relation to each other. As both CORE and Diplomacy course, students from different background will be encouraged to learn from one another and be aware of their own learning. The course will encourage a critical subjective response from participants. It will invite an analysis of three original documents: the Vatican II document ‘Nostra Aetate’; the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights; and the UNESCO document on peace as well as actual cases of interest

A Multi-Resolution t-Mixture Model Approach to Robust Group-wise Alignment of Shapes

A novel probabilistic, group-wise rigid registration framework is proposed in this study, to robustly align and establish correspondence across anatomical shapes represented as unstructured point sets. Student’s t-mixture model (TMM) is employed to exploit their inherent robustness to outliers. The primary application for such a framework is the automatic construction of statistical shape models (SSMs) of anatomical structures, from medical images. Tools used for automatic segmentation and landmarking of medical images often result in segmentations with varying proportions of outliers. The proposed approach is able to robustly align shapes and establish valid correspondences in the presence of considerable outliers and large variations in shape. A multi-resolution registration (mrTMM) framework is also formulated, to further improve the performance of the proposed TMM-based registration method. Comparisons with a state-of-the art approach using clinical data show that the mrTMM method in particular, achieves higher alignment accuracy and yields SSMs that generalise better to unseen shapes

Determination of cerebellar volume in children and adolescents with magnetic resonance images

Recent studies show that the cerebellum contributes to higher cognitive functions as well as its role on motor system. It is thought that higher cognitive functions continue to develop during childhood and adolescence; therefore, cerebellum develops significantly during these periods. For that reason, this study was carried out in order to determine cerebellar volumes of 90 healthy individuals (40 males, 50 females) aged between 6 and 17 years according to their gender. The individuals were divided into three age groups of 6&#8211;9, 10&#8211; &#8211;13, and 14&#8211;17 years, and their cerebellar volumes were found by means of stereological methods using their magnetic resonance images. The cerebellar volumes found were compared among the groups without discriminating genders, among groups according to gender, and again according to gender within each age group. The general average cerebellar volume of the age group 10&#8211;13 years was significantly higher than the other two age groups (p < 0.05). When the groups were compared according to gender, there was no important difference between the groups in women (p > 0.05); as for men, cerebellar volume only in the age group 10&#8211;13 years was significantly higher than that in age group 6&#8211;9 (p < 0.05). When cerebellar volume for ages 6&#8211;17 years was compared according to gender (without dividing into age group) there was no significant difference between men and women (p > 0.05). It was seen that the cerebellum develops from childhood to adolescence, and reaches peak levels between the ages 10&#8211;13 years for both genders

Enhanced memory effect with embedded graphene nanoplatelets in znO charge trapping layer

Cataloged from PDF version of article.A charge trapping memory with graphene nanoplatelets embedded in atomic layer deposited ZnO (GNIZ) is demonstrated. The memory shows a large threshold voltage Vt shift (4 V) at low operating voltage (6/-6 V), good retention (>10 yr), and good endurance characteristic (>104 cycles). This memory performance is compared to control devices with graphene nanoplatelets (or ZnO) and a thicker tunnel oxide. These structures showed a reduced Vt shift and retention characteristic. The GNIZ structure allows for scaling down the tunnel oxide thickness along with improving the memory window and retention of data. The larger Vt shift indicates that the ZnO adds available trap states and enhances the emission and retention of charges. The charge emission mechanism in the memory structures with graphene nanoplatelets at an electric field E ¥ 5.57 MV/cm is found to be based on Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. The fabrication of this memory device is compatible with current semiconductor processing, therefore, has great potential in low-cost nano-memory applications. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC

Enhanced memory effect via quantum confinement in 16 nm InN nanoparticles embedded in ZnO charge trapping layer

Cataloged from PDF version of article.In this work, the fabrication of charge trapping memory cells with laser-synthesized indium-nitride nanoparticles (InN-NPs) embedded in ZnO charge trapping layer is demonstrated. Atomic layer deposited Al2O3 layers are used as tunnel and blocking oxides. The gate contacts are sputtered using a shadow mask which eliminates the need for any lithography steps. High frequency C-Vgate measurements show that a memory effect is observed, due to the charging of the InN-NPs. With a low operating voltage of 4 V, the memory shows a noticeable threshold voltage (Vt) shift of 2 V, which indicates that InN-NPs act as charge trapping centers. Without InN-NPs, the observed memory hysteresis is negligible. At higher programming voltages of 10 V, a memory window of 5 V is achieved and the Vt shift direction indicates that electrons tunnel from channel to charge storage layer. © 2014 AIP Publishing LL

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in hospital settings across European borders:a scoping review comparing the epidemiology in the Netherlands and Germany

The rising prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is a matter of concern in hospital settings across Europe without a distinct geographical pattern. In this scoping review, we compared the epidemiology of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp. in hospitals in the Netherlands and Germany, between 1991 and 2022. We searched PubMed and summarized the national antibiotic resistance surveillance data of the two countries. We included 46 studies and summarized national surveillance data from the NethMap in the Netherlands, the National Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance database in Germany, and the EARS-Net data. In total, 12 studies were conducted in hospitals in the Netherlands, 32 were conducted in German hospitals, and an additional two studies were conducted in a cross-border setting. The most significant difference between the two countries was that studies in Germany showed an increasing trend in the prevalence of VRE in hospitals, and no such trend was observed in studies in the Netherlands. Furthermore, in both Dutch and German hospitals, it has been revealed that the molecular epidemiology of VREfm has shifted from a predominance of vanA towards vanB over the years. According to national surveillance reports, vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus faecium clinical isolates fluctuates below 1% in Dutch hospitals, whereas it follows an increasing trend in German hospitals (above 20%), as supported by individual studies. This review demonstrates that VRE is more frequently encountered in German than in Dutch hospitals and discusses the underlying factors for the difference in VRE occurrence in these two neighboring countries by comparing differences in healthcare systems, infection prevention control (IPC) guidelines, and antibiotic use in the Netherlands and Germany

Automatic coronary calcium scoring in chest CT using a deep neural network in direct comparison with non-contrast cardiac CT:A validation study

Purpose: To evaluate deep-learning based calcium quantification on Chest CT scans compared with manual evaluation, and to enable interpretation in terms of the traditional Agatston score on dedicated Cardiac CT. Methods: Automated calcium quantification was performed using a combination of deep-learning convolution neural networks with a ResNet-architecture for image features and a fully connected neural network for spatial coordinate features. Calcifications were identified automatically, after which the algorithm automatically excluded all non-coronary calcifications using coronary probability maps and aortic segmentation. The algorithm was first trained on cardiac-CTs and refined on non-triggered chest-CTs. This study used on 95 patients (cohort 1), who underwent both dedicated calcium scoring and chest-CT acquisitions using the Agatston score as reference standard and 168 patients (cohort 2) who underwent chest-CT only using qualitative expert assessment for external validation. Results from the deep-learning model were compared to Agatston-scores(cardiac-CTs) and manually determined calcium volumes(chest-CTs) and risk classifications. Results: In cohort 1, the Agatston score and AI determined calcium volume shows high correlation with a correlation coefficient of 0.921(p < 0.001) and R-2 of 0.91. According to the Agatston categories, a total of 67(70 %) were correctly classified with a sensitivity of 91 % and specificity of 92 % in detecting presence of coronary calcifications. Manual determined calcium volume on chest-CT showed excellent correlation with the AI volumes with a correlation coefficient of 0.923(p < 0.001) and R-2 of 0.96, no significant difference was found (p = 0.247). According to qualitative risk classifications in cohort 2, 138(82 %) cases were correctly classified with a k-coefficient of 0.74, representing good agreement. All wrongly classified scans (30(18 %)) were attributed to an adjacent category. Conclusion: Artificial intelligence based calcium quantification on chest-CTs shows good correlation compared to reference standards. Fully automating this process may reduce evaluation time and potentially optimize clinical calcium scoring without additional acquisitions

Oxidative stress biomarkers and acetylcholinesterase activity in human erythrocytes exposed to clomazone (in vitro)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of clomazone herbicide on oxidative stress biomarkers and acetylcholinesterase activity in human erythrocytes in in vitro conditions. The activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), as well as the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured in human erythrocytes exposed (in vitro) to clomazone at varying concentrations in the range of 0, 100, 250 and 500 µg/L for 1 h at 37 °C.TBARS levels were significantly higher in erythrocytes incubated with clomazone at 100, 250 and 500 µg/L. However, erythrocyte CAT and AChE activities were decreased at all concentrations tested. SOD activity was increased only at 100 µg/L of clomazone. GSH levels did not change with clomazone exposure. These results clearly showed clomazone to induce oxidative stress and AChE inhibition in human erythrocytes (in vitro). We, thus, suggest a possible role of ROS on toxicity mechanism induced by clomazone in humans

Current mentorship practices in the training of the next generation of clinical microbiology and infectious disease specialists : an international cross-sectional survey

The purpose of this study was to describe the current practice of mentorship in clinical microbiology (CM) and infectious diseases (ID) training, to identify possible areas for improvement and to assess the factors that are associated with satisfactory mentorship. An international cross-sectional survey containing 35 questions was answered by 317 trainees or specialists who recently completed clinical training. Overall, 179/317 (56%) trainees were satisfied with their mentors, ranging from 7/9 (78%) in non-European countries, 39/53 (74%) in Northern Europe, 13/22 (59%) in Eastern Europe, 61/110 (56%) in Western Europe, 37/76 (49%) in South-Western Europe to 22/47 (47%) in South-Eastern Europe. However, only 115/317 (36%) respondents stated that they were assigned an official mentor during their training. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the satisfaction of trainees was significantly associated with having a mentor who was a career model (OR 6.4, 95%CI 3.5–11.7), gave constructive feedback on work performance (OR 3.3, 95%CI 1.8–6.2), and knew the family structure of the mentee (OR 5.5, 95%CI 3.0–10.1). If trainees felt overburdened, 70/317 (22%) felt that they could not talk to their mentors. Moreover, 67/317 (21%) stated that they could not talk to their mentor when unfairly treated and 59/317 (19%) felt uncertain. Training boards and authorities responsible for developing and monitoring CM&ID training programmes should invest in the development of high-quality mentorship programmes for trainees in order to contribute to the careers of the next generation of professionals.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe