207 research outputs found
Computer-aided diagnosis of emphysema in COPD patients: neural-network-based analysis of lung shape in digital chest radiographs.
Pharmacological treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: current practice and novel perspectives
Real-time optical manipulation of cardiac conduction in intact hearts
Optogenetics has provided new insights in cardiovascular research, leading to new methods for cardiac pacing, resynchronization therapy and cardioversion. Although these interventions have clearly demonstrated the feasibility of cardiac manipulation, current optical stimulation strategies do not take into account cardiac wave dynamics in real time. Here, we developed an allâoptical platform complemented by integrated, newly developed software to monitor and control electrical activity in intact mouse hearts. The system combined a wideâfield mesoscope with a digital projector for optogenetic activation. Cardiac functionality could be manipulated either in freeârun mode with submillisecond temporal resolution or in a closedâloop fashion: a tailored hardware and software platform allowed realâtime intervention capable of reacting within 2 ms. The methodology was applied to restore normal electrical activity after atrioventricular block, by triggering the ventricle in response to optically mapped atrial activity with appropriate timing. Realâtime intraventricular manipulation of the propagating electrical wavefront was also demonstrated, opening the prospect for realâtime resynchronization therapy and cardiac defibrillation. Furthermore, the closedâloop approach was applied to simulate a reâentrant circuit across the ventricle demonstrating the capability of our system to manipulate heart conduction with high versatility even in arrhythmogenic conditions. The development of this innovative optical methodology provides the first proofâofâconcept that a realâtime optically based stimulation can control cardiac rhythm in normal and abnormal conditions, promising a new approach for the investigation of the (patho)physiology of the heart
Drift simulation of MH370 debris using superensemble techniques
On 7 March 2014 (UTC), Malaysia Airlines flight 370 vanished without a trace.
The aircraft is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, but
despite extensive search operations the location of the wreckage is still
unknown. The first tangible evidence of the accident was discovered almost
17 months after the disappearance. On 29 July 2015, a small piece of the right
wing of the aircraft was found washed up on the island of RĂ©union,
approximately 4000âŻkm from the assumed crash site. Since then a number of
other parts have been found in Mozambique, South Africa and on Rodrigues Island.
This paper presents a numerical simulation using high-resolution
oceanographic and meteorological data to predict the movement of floating
debris from the accident. Multiple model realisations are used with different
starting locations and wind drag parameters. The model realisations are
combined into a superensemble, adjusting the model weights to best represent
the discovered debris. The superensemble is then used to predict the
distribution of marine debris at various moments in time. This approach can
be easily generalised to other drift simulations where observations are
available to constrain unknown input parameters.
The distribution at the time of the accident shows that the discovered debris
most likely originated from the wide search area between 28Â and
35° S. This partially overlaps with the current underwater search
area, but extends further towards the north. Results at later times show that
the most probable locations to discover washed-up debris are along the
African east coast, especially in the area around Madagascar. The debris
remaining at sea in 2016 is spread out over a wide area and its distribution
changes only slowly
Phenotypic and Molecular Characterization of Two Enterobacter Strains, Isolated from a Phytodepuration- Based Wastewater Treatment Plant in Prato (Tuscany, Italy)
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