334 research outputs found
Unwind: Interactive Fish Straightening
The ScanAllFish project is a large-scale effort to scan all the world's
33,100 known species of fishes. It has already generated thousands of
volumetric CT scans of fish species which are available on open access
platforms such as the Open Science Framework. To achieve a scanning rate
required for a project of this magnitude, many specimens are grouped together
into a single tube and scanned all at once. The resulting data contain many
fish which are often bent and twisted to fit into the scanner. Our system,
Unwind, is a novel interactive visualization and processing tool which
extracts, unbends, and untwists volumetric images of fish with minimal user
interaction. Our approach enables scientists to interactively unwarp these
volumes to remove the undesired torque and bending using a piecewise-linear
skeleton extracted by averaging isosurfaces of a harmonic function connecting
the head and tail of each fish. The result is a volumetric dataset of a
individual, straight fish in a canonical pose defined by the marine biologist
expert user. We have developed Unwind in collaboration with a team of marine
biologists: Our system has been deployed in their labs, and is presently being
used for dataset construction, biomechanical analysis, and the generation of
figures for scientific publication
Secular trends in reported portion size of food and beverages consumed by Irish adults
The present analysis aimed to investigate the changes in the reported portion sizes (PS) of foods and beverages commonly consumed by Irish adults (18â64 years) from the North South Ireland Food Consumption Survey (NSIFCS) (1997â2001) and the National Adult Nutrition Survey (NANS) (2008â10). Food PS, which are defined as the weight of food (g) consumed per eating occasion, were calculated for comparable foods and beverages in two nationally representative cross-sectional Irish food consumption surveys and were published in NSIFCS and NANS. Repeated measure mixed model analysis compared reported food PS at the total population level as well as subdivided by sex, age, BMI and social class. A total of thirteen commonly consumed foods were examined. The analysis demonstrated that PS significantly increased for five foods (âwhite sliced breadâ, âbrown/wholemeal breadsâ, âall meat, cookedâ, âpoultry, roastedâ and âmilkâ), significantly decreased for three (âpotatoesâ, âchips/wedgesâ and âham, slicedâ) and did not significantly change for five foods (âprocessed potato productsâ, âbacon/hamâ, âcheeseâ, âyogurtâ and âbutter/spreadsâ) between the NSIFCS and the NANS. The present study demonstrates that there was considerable variation in the trends in reported food PS over this period
Traumatic injury clinical trial evaluating tranexamic acid in children (TIC-TOC): study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND: Trauma is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children in the United States. The antifibrinolytic drug tranexamic acid (TXA) improves survival in adults with traumatic hemorrhage, however, the drug has not been evaluated in a clinical trial in severely injured children. We designed the Traumatic Injury Clinical Trial Evaluating Tranexamic Acid in Children (TIC-TOC) trial to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a confirmatory clinical trial that evaluates the effects of TXA in children with severe trauma and hemorrhagic injuries. METHODS: Children with severe trauma and evidence of hemorrhagic torso or brain injuries will be randomized to one of three arms: (1) TXA dose A (15Â mg/kg bolus dose over 20Â min, followed by 2Â mg/kg/hr infusion over 8Â h), (2) TXA dose B (30Â mg/kg bolus dose over 20Â min, followed by 4Â mg/kg/hr infusion over 8Â h), or (3) placebo. We will use permuted-block randomization by injury type: hemorrhagic brain injury, hemorrhagic torso injury, and combined hemorrhagic brain and torso injury. The trial will be conducted at four pediatric Level I trauma centers. We will collect the following outcome measures: global functioning as measured by the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) and Pediatric Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOS-E Peds), working memory (digit span test), total amount of blood products transfused in the initial 48Â h, intracranial hemorrhage progression at 24Â h, coagulation biomarkers, and adverse events (specifically thromboembolic events and seizures). DISCUSSION: This multicenter trial will provide important preliminary data and assess the feasibility of conducting a confirmatory clinical trial that evaluates the benefits of TXA in children with severe trauma and hemorrhagic injuries to the torso and/or brain. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT02840097 . Registered on 14 July 2016
Sheep Updates 2007 - part 4
This session covers eight papers from different authors:
GRAZING
1. The impact of high dietary salt and its implications for the management of livestock grazing saline land, Dean Thomas, Dominique Blache, Dean Revell, Hayley Norman, Phil Vercoe, Zoey Durmic, Serina Digby, Di Mayberry, Megan Chadwick, Martin Sillence and David Masters, CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, Faculty of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, WA.
2. Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands - outcomes from the WA1 research project, H.C. Norman1,2, D.G. Masters1,2, R. Silberstein1,2, F. Byrne2,3, P.G.H. Nichols2,4, J. Young3, L. Atkins1,2, M.G. Wilmot1,2, A.J. Rintoul1,2, T. Lambert1,2, D.R. McClements2,4, P. Raper4, P. Ward1,2, C. Walton5 and T. York6 1CSIRO Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Wembley, WA 2CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity. 3School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia. 4Department of Agriculture and Food WA. 5Condering Hills, Yealering. 6Anameka Farms, Tammin.
MEAT QUALITY
3. Development of intramuscular fat in prime lambs, young sheep and beef cattle, David Pethick1, David Hopkins2 and Malcolm McPhee3,1School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 2NSW Department of Primary Industries, Cowra, NSW,3NSW Dept. of Primary Industries, University of New England, Armidale, NSW,
4. Importance of drinking water temperature for managing heat stress in sheep, Savage DB, Nolan JV, Godwin IR, Aoetpah A, Nguyen T, Baillie N and Lawler C University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
EWE MANAGEMENT TOOLS
5. E - sheep Management of Pregnant Merino Ewes and their Finishing Lambs, Ken GeentyA, John SmithA, Darryl SmithB, Tim DyallA and Grant UphillA A Sheep CRC and CSIRO Livestock Industries, Chiswick, NSW B Turretfield Research Station, SARDI, Roseworthy, SA
6. Is it important to manage ewes to CS targets? John Young, Farming Systems Analysis Service, Kojonup, WA
MULESING
7. Mulesing accreditation - Vital for Wool\u27s Future, Dr Michael Paton, Department of Agriculture and Food WA,
8. Mulesing Alternatives, Jules Dorrian, Affiliation Project Manager Blowfly Control Australian Wool Inovatio
Problem-based learning in dental education: what's the evidence for and against... and is it worth the effort?
The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisherâs copy is included.All Australian dental schools have introduced problem-based learning (PBL) approaches to their programmes over the past decade, although the nature of the innovations has varied from school to school. Before one can ask whether PBL is better than the conventional style of education, one needs to consider three key issues. Firstly, we need to agree on what is meant by the term PBL; secondly, we need to decide what âbetterâ means when comparing educational approaches; and thirdly, we must look carefully at how PBL is implemented in given situations. It is argued that PBL fulfils, at least in theory, some important principles relating to the development of new knowledge. It also represents a change in focus from teachers and teaching in conventional programmes to learners and learning. Generally, students enjoy PBL programmes more than conventional programmes and feel they are more nurturing. There is also some evidence of an improvement in clinical and diagnostic reasoning ability associated with PBL curricula. The main negative points raised about PBL are the costs involved and mixed reports of insufficient grounding of students in the basic sciences. Financial restraints will probably preclude the introduction of pure or fully integrated PBL programmes in Australian dental schools. However, our research and experience, as well as other published literature, indicate that well-planned hybrid PBL programmes, with matching methods of assessment, can foster development of the types of knowledge, skills and attributes that oral health professionals will need in the future.T Winning and G Townsen
Movements of Wolves at the Northern Extreme of the Species' Range, Including during Four Months of Darkness
Information about wolf (Canis lupus) movements anywhere near the northern extreme of the species' range in the High Arctic (>75°N latitude) are lacking. There, wolves prey primarily on muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) and must survive 4 months of 24 hr/day winter darkness and temperatures reaching â53 C. The extent to which wolves remain active and prey on muskoxen during the dark period are unknown, for the closest area where information is available about winter wolf movements is >2,250 km south. We studied a pack of â„20 wolves on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada (80°N latitude) from July 2009 through mid-April 2010 by collaring a lead wolf with a Global Positioning System (GPS)/Argos radio collar. The collar recorded the wolf's precise locations at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. daily and transmitted the locations by satellite to our email. Straight-line distances between consecutive 12-hr locations varied between 0 and 76 km. Mean (SE) linear distance between consecutive locations (nâ=â554) was 11 (0.5) km. Total minimum distance traveled was 5,979 km, and total area covered was 6,640 km2, the largest wolf range reported. The wolf and presumably his pack once made a 263-km (straight-line distance) foray to the southeast during 19â28 January 2010, returning 29 January to 1 February at an average of 41 km/day straight-line distances between 12-hr locations. This study produced the first detailed movement information about any large mammal in the High Arctic, and the average movements during the dark period did not differ from those afterwards. Wolf movements during the dark period in the highest latitudes match those of the other seasons and generally those of wolves in lower latitudes, and, at least with the gross movements measurable by our methods, the 4-month period without direct sunlight produced little change in movements
Intelligent negotiation model for ubiquitous group decision scenarios
Supporting group decision-making in ubiquitous contexts is a complex task that must deal with a large amount of
factors to succeed. Here we propose an approach for an intelligent negotiation model to support the group decision-making process
specially designed for ubiquitous contexts. Our approach can be used by researchers that intend to include arguments, complex
algorithms and agents' modelling in a negotiation model. It uses a social networking logic due to the type of communication
employed by the agents and it intends to support the ubiquitous group decision-making process in a similar way to the real process,
which simultaneously preserves the amount and quality of intelligence generated in face-to-face meetings. We propose a new look
into this problematic by considering and defining strategies to deal with important points such as the type of attributes in the multicriteria
problems, agents' reasoning and intelligent dialogues.This work has been
supported by COMPETE Programme (operational
programme for competitiveness) within project
POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043, by National Funds
through the FCT â Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e a
Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and
Technology) within the Projects
UID/CEC/00319/2013, UID/EEA/00760/2013, and
the JoĂŁo Carneiro PhD grant with the reference
SFRH/BD/89697/2012 and by Project MANTIS -
Cyber Physical System Based Proactive Collaborative
Maintenance (ECSEL JU Grant nr. 662189).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Out of the Panopticon and into Exile:Visibility and Control in Distributed New Culture Organizations
This paper builds a theoretical argument for exile as an alternative metaphor to the panopticon, for conceptualizing visibility and control in the context of distributed ânew cultureâ organizations. Such organizations emphasize team relationships between employees who use digital technologies to stay connected with each other and the organization. I propose that in this context, a fear of exile â that is a fear of being left out, overlooked, ignored or banished â can act as a regulating force that inverts the radial spatial dynamic of the panopticon and shifts the responsibility for visibility, understood both in terms of competitive exposure and existential recognition, onto workers. As a consequence these workers enlist digital technologies to become visible at the real or imagined organizational centre. A conceptual appreciation of exile, as discussed in existential philosophy and postcolonial theory, is shown to offer productive grounds for future research on how a need for visibility in distributed, digitised, and increasingly precarious work environments regulates employee subjectivity, in a manner that is not captured under traditional theories of ICT-enabled surveillance in organizations
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