CRIM-TRACK: Sensor system for detection of criminal chemical substances

Detection of illegal compounds requires a reliable, selective and sensitive detection device. The successful device features automated target acquisition, identification and signal processing. It is portable, fast, user friendly, sensitive, specific, and cost efficient. LEAs are in need of such technology. CRIM-TRACK is developing a sensing device based on these requirements. We engage highly skilled specialists from research institutions, industry, SMEs and LEAs and rely on a team of end users to benefit maximally from our prototypes. Currently we can detect minute quantities of drugs, explosives and precursors thereof in laboratory settings. Using colorimetric technology we have developed prototypes that employ disposable sensing chips. Ease of operation and intuitive sensor response are highly prioritized features that we implement as we gather data to feed into machine learning. With machine learning our ability to detect threat compounds amidst harmless substances improves. Different end users prefer their equipment optimized for their specific field. In an explosives-detecting scenario, the end user may prefer false positives over false negatives, while the opposite may be true in a drug-detecting scenario. Such decisions will be programmed to match user preference. Sensor output can be as detailed as the sensor allows. The user can be informed of the statistics behind the detection, identities of all detected substances, and quantities thereof. The response can also be simplified to “yes” vs. “no”. The technology under development in CRIM-TRACK will provide custom officers, police and other authorities with an effective tool to control trafficking of illegal drugs and drug precursors

Primary alkylphosphine–borane polymers: Synthesis, low glass transition temperature, and a predictive capability thereof

With a multitude of potential applications, poly(phosphine–borane)s are an interesting class of polymer comprising main-group elements within the inorganic polymer backbone. A new family of primary alkylphosphine–borane polymers was synthesized by a solvent-free rhodium-catalyzed dehydrocoupling reaction and characterized by conventional chemicophysical techniques. The thermal stability of the polymers is strongly affected by the size and shape of the alkyl side chain with longer substituents imparting greater stability. The polymers show substantial stability toward UV illumination and immersion in water; however, they undergo a loss of alkylphosphine units during thermal degradation. The polymers exhibit glass transition temperatures (Tg) as low as −70 °C. A group interaction model (GIM) framework was developed to allow the semiquantitative prediction of Tg values, and the properties of the materials in this study were used to validate the model

Low-frequency cortical activity is a neuromodulatory target that tracks recovery after stroke.

Recent work has highlighted the importance of transient low-frequency oscillatory (LFO; <4 Hz) activity in the healthy primary motor cortex during skilled upper-limb tasks. These brief bouts of oscillatory activity may establish the timing or sequencing of motor actions. Here, we show that LFOs track motor recovery post-stroke and can be a physiological target for neuromodulation. In rodents, we found that reach-related LFOs, as measured in both the local field potential and the related spiking activity, were diminished after stroke and that spontaneous recovery was closely correlated with their restoration in the perilesional cortex. Sensorimotor LFOs were also diminished in a human subject with chronic disability after stroke in contrast to two non-stroke subjects who demonstrated robust LFOs. Therapeutic delivery of electrical stimulation time-locked to the expected onset of LFOs was found to significantly improve skilled reaching in stroke animals. Together, our results suggest that restoration or modulation of cortical oscillatory dynamics is important for the recovery of upper-limb function and that they may serve as a novel target for clinical neuromodulation

Anatomical study of the female reproductive system and bacteriome of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, (Insecta: Hemiptera, Liviidae) using micro-computed tomography

Huanglongbing (HLB) (citrus greening disease) is one of the most serious bacterial diseases of citrus. It is caused by (1) Candidatus Liberibacter africanus, transmitted by Trioza erytreae and (2) C.L. asiaticus and C.L. americanus, transmitted by Diaphorina citri. As part of a multidisciplinary project on D. citri (www.citrusgreening.org), we made a detailed study, using micro-computed tomography, of the female abdominal terminalia, reproductive system (ovaries, accessory glands, spermatheca, colleterial (= cement) gland, connecting ducts, and ovipositor) and bacteriome, which we present here. New terms and structures are introduced and described, particularly concerning the spermatheca, ovipositor and bacteriome. The quality of images and bacteriome reconstructions are comparable, or clearer, than those previously published using a synchrotron or fuorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). This study: reviews knowledge of the female reproductive system and bacteriome organ in D. citri; represents the frst detailed morphological study of D. citri to use micro-CT; and extensively revises existing morphological information relevant to psylloids, hemipterans and insects in general. High quality images and supplementary videos represent a signifcant advance in knowledge of psylloid anatomy and are useful tools for future research and as educational aids.Kansas State University (KSU) S15192.01University of Granada, USDA-NIFA S15192.01 2014-70016-2302

The multiplicity of performance management systems:Heterogeneity in multinational corporations and management sense-making

This field study examines the workings of multiple performance measurement systems (PMSs) used within and between a division and Headquarters (HQ) of a large European corporation. We explore how multiple PMSs arose within the multinational corporation. We first provide a first‐order analysis which explains how managers make sense of the multiplicity and show how an organization's PMSs may be subject to competing processes for control that result in varied systems, all seemingly functioning, but with different rationales and effects. We then provide a second‐order analysis based on a sense‐making perspective that highlights the importance of retrospective understandings of the organization's history and the importance of various legitimacy expectations to different parts of the multinational. Finally, we emphasize the role of social skill in sense‐making that enables the persistence of multiple systems and the absence of overt tensions and conflict within organizations

Light Yield in DarkSide-10: a Prototype Two-phase Liquid Argon TPC for Dark Matter Searches

As part of the DarkSide program of direct dark matter searches using liquid argon TPCs, a prototype detector with an active volume containing 10 kg of liquid argon, DarkSide-10, was built and operated underground in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. A critically important parameter for such devices is the scintillation light yield, as photon statistics limits the rejection of electron-recoil backgrounds by pulse shape discrimination. We have measured the light yield of DarkSide-10 using the readily-identifiable full-absorption peaks from gamma ray sources combined with single-photoelectron calibrations using low-occupancy laser pulses. For gamma lines of energies in the range 122-1275 keV, we get consistent light yields averaging 8.887+-0.003(stat)+-0.444(sys) p.e./keVee. With additional purification, the light yield measured at 511 keV increased to 9.142+-0.006(stat) p.e./keVee.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Effects of sleep deprivation on neural functioning: an integrative review

Sleep deprivation has a broad variety of effects on human performance and neural functioning that manifest themselves at different levels of description. On a macroscopic level, sleep deprivation mainly affects executive functions, especially in novel tasks. Macroscopic and mesoscopic effects of sleep deprivation on brain activity include reduced cortical responsiveness to incoming stimuli, reflecting reduced attention. On a microscopic level, sleep deprivation is associated with increased levels of adenosine, a neuromodulator that has a general inhibitory effect on neural activity. The inhibition of cholinergic nuclei appears particularly relevant, as the associated decrease in cortical acetylcholine seems to cause effects of sleep deprivation on macroscopic brain activity. In general, however, the relationships between the neural effects of sleep deprivation across observation scales are poorly understood and uncovering these relationships should be a primary target in future research

Epidemiology, practice of ventilation and outcome for patients at increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications

BACKGROUND Limited information exists about the epidemiology and outcome of surgical patients at increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), and how intraoperative ventilation was managed in these patients. OBJECTIVES To determine the incidence of surgical patients at increased risk of PPCs, and to compare the intraoperative ventilation management and postoperative outcomes with patients at low risk of PPCs. DESIGN This was a prospective international 1-week observational study using the ‘Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia risk score’ (ARISCAT score) for PPC for risk stratification. PATIENTS AND SETTING Adult patients requiring intraoperative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals across 29 countries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome was the incidence of patients at increased risk of PPCs based on the ARISCAT score. Secondary outcomes included intraoperative ventilatory management and clinical outcomes. RESULTS A total of 9864 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The incidence of patients at increased risk was 28.4%. The most frequently chosen tidal volume (VT) size was 500 ml, or 7 to 9 ml kg1 predicted body weight, slightly lower in patients at increased risk of PPCs. Levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) were slightly higher in patients at increased risk of PPCs, with 14.3% receiving more than 5 cmH2O PEEP compared with 7.6% in patients at low risk of PPCs (P < 0.001). Patients with a predicted preoperative increased risk of PPCs developed PPCs more frequently: 19 versus 7%, relative risk (RR) 3.16 (95% confidence interval 2.76 to 3.61), P < 0.001) and had longer hospital stays. The only ventilatory factor associated with the occurrence of PPCs was the peak pressure. CONCLUSION The incidence of patients with a predicted increased risk of PPCs is high. A large proportion of patients receive high VT and low PEEP levels. PPCs occur frequently in patients at increased risk, with worse clinical outcome