Radioactive and magnetic investigations

Age and growth pattern determination of manganese nodules were explored. Two methods are discussed: (1) measurement of the presence of radioactive iodine isotopes; which is effective only up to 3.105 years, and (2) measurements of magnetism. The growth rates of three nodules were determined. The surface of the nodule was recent, and the overall age of the nodule could be determined with accuracy of better than 30%. Measurement of paleomagnetic effect was attempted to determine wider age ranges, however, the measured sign changes could not be interpreted as paleomagnetic reversals

Trends in biomass, density and diversity of North Sea macrofauna

Total biomass and biomass of large taxonomic groups (polychaetes, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms) and species diversity of the macrofauna were determined for almost 200 North Sea stations sampled synoptically by seven vessels during Spring 1986 and for 120 additional stations sampled in earlier years by the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen. There exists a clear and significant decreasing trend in biomass with latitude, both in total biomass and for the different taxonomic groups. Apart from latitude, sediment composition and chlorophyll a content of the sediment also infuence total biomass and biomass of most groups significantly. Biomass increases consistently in finer sediments and sediments with a higher chlorophyll a content. The same trends are found for the results within laboratories. Some interaction exists, indicating weak laboratory and zonal effects. Diversity, as measured by Hill's diversity index N1 = (exp H′) shows a clear and significant trend with latitude. Towards the north of the North Sea diversity increases considerably. The trend is also found for laboratories separately and is everywhere equally strong. Also longitude and depth show an effect on diversity. Sediment variables have no clear influence on diversity. Other diversity measures show the same trend but are more variable than N1,. Total density tends to increase towards the north, but sediment related variables have a larger influence. Mean individual weight becomes considerably smaller towards the northern part of the North Sea

Automatic segmentation of myocardium from black-blood MR images using entropy and local neighborhood information.

By using entropy and local neighborhood information, we present in this study a robust adaptive Gaussian regularizing Chan-Vese (CV) model to segment the myocardium from magnetic resonance images with intensity inhomogeneity. By utilizing the circular Hough transformation (CHT) our model is able to detect epicardial and endocardial contours of the left ventricle (LV) as circles automatically, and the circles are used as the initialization. In the cost functional of our model, the interior and exterior energies are weighted by the entropy to improve the robustness of the evolving curve. Local neighborhood information is used to evolve the level set function to reduce the impact of the heterogeneity inside the regions and to improve the segmentation accuracy. An adaptive window is utilized to reduce the sensitivity to initialization. The Gaussian kernel is used to regularize the level set function, which can not only ensure the smoothness and stability of the level set function, but also eliminate the traditional Euclidean length term and re-initialization. Extensive validation of the proposed method on patient data demonstrates its superior performance over other state-of-the-art methods

The ICES North Sea Benthos Project 2000: Aims, Outcomes and Recommendations

The ICES Study Group on the North Sea Benthos Project 2000 undertook to integrate recent (1999–2002) macrobenthic infaunal and environmental data from various national sources. The main aim was to compare the outcome with that of the ICES North Sea Benthos Survey conducted in 1986, to identify any significant changes and their likely causes. In the process, the exercise yielded valuable lessons for the conduct of international collaborative programmes, as well as insights into the utility of a range of interpretational tools. These are timely in view of increasing requirements for periodic sea-wide assessments of quality status to meet international obligations, such as those under OSPAR, ICES, HELCOM, and EU auspices for European waters. This paper provides an overview of the work which, in contrast to the 1986 survey, was more reliant on the opportunistic gathering of existing data from various sources. This presented special challenges for locating willing contributors, and then for combining and managing the sources effectively, a task which was greatly facilitated by dedicated data management support. The range of interpretational approaches aimed at evaluating spatial patterns and changes over time are summarised and the overall conclusions are presented. North Sea benthic communities appear to exhibit traits both of resilience and adaptability over different scales but continue to be structured by predominantly natural forces. Finally, lessons learnt from the ICES NSBP 2000 initiative are reviewed, and recommendations are made for the conduct of future surveys on comparable scales in the North Sea and elsewhere

The Iowa Homemaker vol.6 no.8

Table of Contents Possibilities of the Modern Home by D. S. Jeffers, page 1 Old Fashioned Equipment, page 2 A Bit About Switzerland by Cleo Ftizsimmons, page 3 Types of Colonial Chairs by Gale Pugh, page 4 The Food Value of Milk by Helene Heye, page 5 Merrill Palmer by Frances Jones, page 6 4-H Club, page 7 Iowa State Home Economics Association Page, page 8 Editorial, page 9 Who’s There and Where, page 10 Farm and Home Week by Barbara Dewell, page 11 Sonny’s Room by Grace Bonnell, page 11 Eternal Question, page 12 Shall We Tell Stories? by Gwendolyn Hall, page 13 Fine Ware Made of Iowa City by Mary Yancy, page 1

Übung macht den Meister: Growth Mindset für den Musikunterricht

Das Growth Mindset spielt besonders in herausfordernden Situationen desMusiklernens eine Schlüsselrolle für die Persönlichkeitsentwicklung und Motivation.Dadurch hat es u.a. Auswirkungen auf die musikalische Aktivität undSchulleistungen von Schüler*innen. Während zum allgemeinen Konzept desGrowth Mindsets schon Interventionsstudien und Unterrichtsmaterialien existieren,fehlen Unterrichtseinheiten im Fach Musik, die berücksichtigen, dassgerade beim Musiklernen die Einstellung zu den eigenen Fähigkeiten von großerBedeutung sein kann. Basierend auf empirischen und theoretischen Erkenntnissenund Erfahrungen aus der Praxis wurde eine Unterrichtseinheit fürden Musikunterricht der Sekundarstufe zur Förderung des Growth Mindsetsentwickelt. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird diese Unterrichtseinheit vorgestelltund von ersten Ergebnissen einer Pilotierung berichtet

Sonographic evaluation of transjugular intrahepatic porto-systemic shunt

The purpose of this article is to review the role of sonography before, during and after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement. A sonographic assessment of the liver and abdomen is recommended before the procedure. We illustrate several important sonographic findings for the echographist, which may alter the procedure approach or even preclude transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement. The most challenging step during the procedure is the puncture of the right portal vein. Sonography can be a helpful tool in reducing the number of needle passes, thereby reducing the risk of hemorrhagic complications. Because of its non-invasive and costbenefit nature, sonography is useful for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt follow-up. A baseline study at 24 to 48 hours is recommended to discover procedure-related complications. Long-term follow-up is important to detect malfunction of the shunt. Doppler ultrasound is very accurate in detecting shunt thrombosis. However, no consensus exists on the optimal sonographic screening protocol for detecting stenosis. We describe three sonographic parameters to detect transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt stenosis with high sensitivity. Finally, additional sonographic parameters and potential pitfalls are provided in order to improve sensitivity

One Year Clinical Outcomes of Renal Artery Stenting: The Results of ODORI Registry

The safety, efficacy and long term clinical benefits of renal artery revascularization by stenting are still a matter of debate. The aim of our study was to define the safety and efficacy of renal artery stenting with the Tsunami peripheral stent (Terumo Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). The ODORI was a prospective, multicentre registry which enrolled 251 consecutive patients, (276 renal arteries) in 36 centres across Europe. The primary endpoint was acute procedural success defined as <30% residual stenosis after stent placement. Secondary endpoints included major adverse events, blood pressure control, serum creatinine level, and target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 6 and 12 months. Patients were 70 ± 10 years old, 59% were male, 33% had diabetes, and 96% hypertension. The main indications for renal stent implantation were hypertension in 83% and renal salvage in 39%. Direct stent implantation was performed in 76% of the cases. Acute success rate was 100% with residual stenosis of 2.5 ± 5.4%. Systolic/diastolic blood pressure decreased from a mean of 171/89 at baseline to 142/78 mmHg at 6 months (p < 0.0001 vs. baseline), and 141/80 mmHg at 12 months (p < 0.0001 vs. baseline). Mean serum creatinine concentration did not change significantly in the total population. However, there was significant improvement in the highest tercile (from 283 μmol/l at baseline to 205 and 209 μmol/l at 6 and 12 months respectively). At 12-months, rates of restenosis and TLR were 6.6 and 0.8% respectively. The 12 month cumulative rate of all major clinical adverse events was 6.4% while the rate of device or procedure related events was 2.4%. In hypertensive patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis Tsunami peripheral balloon-expandable stent provides a safe revascularization strategy, with a potential beneficial impact on hypertension control and renal function in the highest risk patients

Integrity of normal-appearing white matter: influence of age, visible lesion burden and hypertension in patients with small vessel disease

White matter hyperintensities accumulate with age and occur in patients with stroke, but their pathogenesis is poorly understood. We measured multiple magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers of tissue integrity in normal-appearing white matter and white matter hyperintensities in patients with mild stroke, to improve understanding of white matter hyperintensities origins. We classified white matter into white matter hyperintensities and normal-appearing white matter and measured fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, water content (T1-relaxation time) and blood–brain barrier leakage (signal enhancement slope from dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging). We studied the effects of age, white matter hyperintensities burden (Fazekas score) and vascular risk factors on each biomarker, in normal-appearing white matter and white matter hyperintensities, and performed receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis. Amongst 204 patients (34.3–90.9 years), all biomarkers differed between normal-appearing white matter and white matter hyperintensities (P < 0.001). In normal-appearing white matter and white matter hyperintensities, mean diffusivity and T1 increased with age (P < 0.001), all biomarkers varied with white matter hyperintensities burden (P < 0.001; P = 0.02 signal enhancement slope), but only signal enhancement slope increased with hypertension (P = 0.028). Fractional anisotropy showed complex age-white matter hyperintensities-tissue interactions; enhancement slope showed white matter hyperintensities-tissue interactions. Mean diffusivity distinguished white matter hyperintensities from normal-appearing white matter best at all ages. Blood–brain barrier leakage increases with hypertension and white matter hyperintensities burden at all ages in normal-appearing white matter and white matter hyperintensities, whereas water mobility and content increase as tissue damage accrues, suggesting that blood–brain barrier leakage mediates small vessel disease-related brain damage