Role of advanced technology in the detection of sight-threatening eye disease in a UK community setting.

Background/aims: To determine the performance of combinations of structural and functional screening tests in detecting sight-threatening eye disease in a cohort of elderly subjects recruited from primary care. Methods: 505 subjects aged ≥60 years underwent frequency doubling technology (FDT) perimetry, iVue optical coherence tomography (iWellness and peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) scans) and intraocular pressure with the Ocular Response Analyzer, all performed by an ophthalmic technician. The reference standard was a full ophthalmic examination by an experienced clinician who was masked to the index test results. Subjects were classified as presence or absence of sight-threatening eye disease (clinically significant cataract, primary open-angle glaucoma, intermediate or advanced age-related macular degeneration and significant diabetic retinopathy). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between abnormal screening test results and the presence of sight-threatening eye disease. Results: 171 subjects (33.8%) had one or more sight-threatening eye diseases. The multivariate analysis found significant associations with any of the target conditions for visual acuity of <6/12, an abnormal FDT and peripapillary RNFL thickness outside the 99% normal limit. The sensitivity of this optimised screening panel was 61.3% (95% CI 53.5 to 68.7), with a specificity of 78.8% (95% CI 74.0 to 83.1), a positive predictive value of 59.5% (95% CI 53.7 to 65.2) and an overall diagnostic accuracy of 72.9% (95% CI 68.8 to 76.8). Conclusions: A subset of screening tests may provide an accurate and efficient means of population screening for significant eye disease in the elderly. This study provides useful preliminary data to inform the development of further larger, multicentre screening studies to validate this screening panel

Un modelo de programación linear entera para planificación de corta y de aclareo en masas de Pinus pinaster

The study addresses the special case of a management plan for maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) in common lands. The study area refers to 4,432 ha of maritime pine stands in North Portugal (Perímetro Florestal do Barroso in the county of Ribeira de Pena), distributed among five common lands called baldio areas. Those lands are co-managed by the Official Forest Services and the local communities, essentially for timber production, using empirical guidance. As the current procedure does not guarantee the best thinning and clear-cutting scheduling, it was considered important to develop “easy-to-use” models, supported by optimization techniques, to be employed by the forest managers in the harvest planning of these communitarian forests. Planning of the thinning and clear-cutting operations involved certain conditions, such as: (1) the optimal age for harvesting; (2) the maximum stand density permitted; (3) the minimum volume to be cut; (4) the guarantee of incomes for each of the five baldios in at least a two year period; (5) balanced incomes during the length of the projection period. In order to evaluate the sustainability of the wood resources, a set of constraints lower bounding the average ending age was additionally tested. The problem was formulated as an integer linear programming model where the incomes from thinning and clear-cutting are maximized while considering the constraints mentioned above. Five major scenarios were simulated. The simplest one allows for silvicultural constraints only, whereas the other four consider these constraints besides different management options. Two of them introduce joint management of all common areas with or without constraints addressing balanced distribution of incomes during the plan horizon, whilst the other two consider the same options but for individual management of the baldios. The proposed model is easy to apply, providing immediate advantages for short and mid-term planning periods compared to the empirical methods of harvest planning. Results showed that maximization of production is reached when there are silvicultural restrictions only and when forest management units are regarded as a joint undertaking. The individualized management with a balanced distribution of incomes is an interesting option as it does not drastically reduce the optimal solution while assuring benefits at least every two years.Este estudio trata de desarrollar un plan de gestión para una masa continua de pino marítimo en el Norte de Portugal (Perímetro Florestal do Barroso, en el municipio de Ribeira de Pena). El área de estudio ocupa 4.432 ha y se localiza en cinco zonas comunales denominadas áreas de baldío. Las zonas de baldíos las gestionan los Servicios Oficiales forestales y las comunidades locales, principalmente con el objetivo de producción de madera. La venta del material garantiza un importante rendimiento a las populaciones. Actualmente la gestión se hace de forma empírica, pero se ha considerado importante desarrollar un modelo, basado en técnicas de optimización, que pudiese ser utilizado fácilmente por los gestores. La planificación de las operaciones de corta y de aclareo de estas zonas debe tener en cuenta ciertas condiciones, como por ejemplo: (1) la edad óptima para la corta, (2) la densidad máxima de la masa, (3) el volumen mínimo a cortar, (4) la garantía de ingresos/rendimiento para cada uno de los cinco baldíos, al menos para un periodo de tiempo de dos años, (5) un equilibrio de ingresos/rendimiento durante la duración del plan de gestión. Con el fin de evaluar la sostenibilidad de los recursos madereros de las soluciones óptimas, se ha probado un conjunto de restricciones que limitan la edad final. La programación lineal entera se utilizó para abordar el problema, buscando maximizar los ingresos relacionados con el clareo y corta, teniendo en cuenta las limitaciones mencionadas anteriormente. Se simularon cinco escenarios principales. El más simple tuvo en cuenta solamente limitaciones silvícolas, mientras que los otros dos tienen en cuenta estas limitaciones, además de considerar diferentes opciones de manejo. En dos de ellos se considera la gestión conjunta de todas las zonas, con las opciones de garantizar, o no, una distribución regular de recetas, mientras que en los otros dos se considera la gestión individual de los baldíos, con las opciones ya referidas. Los resultados mostraron que se alcanza la maximización de la producción cuando hay sólo restricciones silvícolas y cuando las unidades de manejo forestal se consideran en conjunto

Characterisation of excavated plastics for thermochemical upcycling to platform chemicals and liquid fuels

In Europe there are ~500,000 landfills; plastics represent a consistent and significant proportion of waste in landfill (typically 5-25% w/w). This fraction remains in the landfill, along with other non-biodegradable materials, long after the readily biodegradable organics have degraded. During storage in landfill the plastics physicochemical structure is likely to change because of the occurrence of chemical and biochemical reactions, which can lead to their degradation. For instance, H2S and organic acids produced during the acetogenesis phase of landfill are known to degrade plastics, therefore it can be hypothesised that plastics excavated from landfill are not suitable for conventional recycling. The fate of plastics in landfill has not been largely investigated and limited data exists addressing the changes in chemical and physical properties. The aim of this work is to investigate the degradation of plastics in landfill by characterising chemical and physical properties of samples excavated from different landfill depths. Waste samples were extracted from landfills across the UK at depths of 5-40 m. These were sorted in order to determine the total plastic content and the percentage of each type of plastic present (i.e. PET, HDPE etc). The types of plastics were identified using near infrared [NIR] spectroscopy. The surface properties of the excavated plastics were characterised using SEM/EDS to analyse and evaluate their degradation and contamination levels. Chemical characterisation of each plastic fraction has been carried out by proximate and ultimate analyses. Finally, the surface contamination (metal content) of the plastics was determined by ICP. Fresh, non-landfilled, plastic samples matching the plastic types of those found in landfill were characterised for comparison. The data highlighted plastic type variation across the samples, largely dependent on the age of the excavated material. The extent of degradation, was found to depend on the type of plastic and depth of the sample. This work contributes to address the potential utilisation of excavated plastics, such as for upcycling to platform chemicals and/or liquid fuels through thermochemical conversion

MAGIC sensitivity to millisecond-duration optical pulses

The MAGIC telescopes are a system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) designed to observe very high energy (VHE) gamma rays above ~50 GeV. However, as IACTs are sensitive to Cherenkov light in the UV/blue and use photo-detectors with a time response well below the ms scale, MAGIC is also able to perform simultaneous optical observations. Through an alternative system installed in the central PMT of MAGIC II camera, the so-called central pixel, MAGIC is sensitive to short (1ms - 1s) optical pulses. Periodic signals from the Crab pulsar are regularly monitored. Here we report for the first time the experimental determination of the sensitivity of the central pixel to isolated 1-10 ms long optical pulses. The result of this study is relevant for searches of fast transients such as Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs).Comment: Proceedings of the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2017), Bexco, Busan, Korea (arXiv:1708.05153

Physico-chemical properties of excavated plastic from landfill mining and current recycling routes

In Europe over 5.25 billion tonnes of waste has been landfilled between 1995 and 2015. Among this large amount of waste, plastic represents typically 5–25 wt% which is significant and has the potential to be recycled and reintroduced into the circular economy. To date there is still however little information available of the opportunities and challenges in recovering plastics from landfill sites. In this review, the impacts of landfill chemistry on the degradation and/or contamination of excavated plastic waste are analysed. The feasibility of using excavated plastic waste as feedstock for upcycling to valuable chemicals or liquid fuels through thermochemical conversion is also critically discussed. The limited degradation that is experienced by many plastics in landfills (>20 years) which guarantee that large amount is still available is largely due to thermooxidative degradation and the anaerobic conditions. However, excavated plastic waste cannot be conventionally recycled due to high level of ash, impurities and heavy metals. Recent studies demonstrated that pyrolysis offers a cost effective alternative option to conventional recycling. The produced pyrolysis oil is expected to have similar characteristics to petroleum diesel oil. The production of valuable product from excavated plastic waste will also increase the feasibility of enhanced landfill mining projects. However, further studies are needed to investigate the uncertainties about the contamination level and degradation of excavated plastic waste and address their viability for being processed through pyrolysis

New combined CFH/MCP mutations and a rare clinical course in atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome

Atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS) is a rare, life-threatening, chronic, genetic disease due to uncontrolled alternative pathway complement activation. In this report, we discuss the case of a heterozygous carrier of a mutation on both factor H and membrane cofactor protein, who persistently presents haemolytic anaemia without need for blood transfusions, normal platelet count, normal renal function and no signs or symptoms of organ injury due to thrombotic microangiopathy 4 years after the diagnosis of aHUS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy in the neuropsychological assessment of spatial memory: A systematic review; 35123299

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive optical imaging technique that employs near-infrared light to measure cortical brain oxygenation. The use of fNIRS has increased exponentially in recent years. Spatial memory is defined as the ability to learn and use spatial information. This neuropsychological process is constantly used in our daily lives and can be measured by fNIRS but no research has reviewed whether this technique can be useful in the neuropsychological assessment of spatial memory. This study aimed to review empirical work on the use of fNIRS in the neuropsychological assessment of human spatial memory. We used four databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science, and a total of 18 articles were found to be eligible. Most of the articles assessed spatial or visuospatial working memory with a predominance in computer-based tasks, used fNIRS equipment of 16 channels and mainly measured the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The studies analysed found linear or quadratic relationships between working memory load and PFC activity, greater activation of PFC activity and worse behavioural results in healthy older people in comparison with healthy adults, and hyperactivation of PFC as a form of compensation in clinical samples. We conclude that fNIRS is compatible with the standard neuropsychological assessment of spatial memory, making it possible to complement behavioural results with data of cortical functional activity. © 202

Desenvolvimento do agroturismo em Cachoeiras de Macacu, RJ: subsídios ao planejamento da atividade agroturística associada à produção agropecuária de base familiar.

O Município de Cachoeiras de Macacu está situado numa região que exibe grande riqueza de atributos naturais, apresentando vocação para a exploração de atividades turísticas de cunho rural e ecológico, e ainda, por desenvolver agropecuária expressiva, apresenta potencial para explorar o segmento do turismo associado às atividades produtivas do meio rural (agricultura, pecuária e silvicultura), o agroturismo. Entretanto, para que a atividade seja sustentável, requer planejamento, sendo necessário um estudo prévio de viabilidade, que considere aspectos físicos, sociais, culturais, econômicos e ambientais. Face a isso, este estudo teve por objetivo fazer um levantamento diagnóstico sobre as potencialidades e limitações do Município de Cachoeiras de Macacu em relação ao agroturismo; e com base nisso, elaborar um plano preliminar para subsidiar o desenvolvimento da atividade. Para tanto, foram compilados dados secundários e primários. Os dados secundários consultados referem-se a resultados de pesquisas e estudos realizados nos últimos 10 anos na região pela Embrapa Solos e outras instituições de pesquisa e/ou ensino, e de projetos que complementam e integram temas de interesse comum. Os dados primários foram coletados junto aos atores locais (produtores rurais familiares e seus representantes, funcionários de instituições públicas, empreendedores rurais, proprietários de meios de hospedagem, entre outros), por meio de campanhas de campo realizadas entre 2012 e 2014, nas comunidades rurais produtivas com base na agricultura familiar. O conjunto de dados inventariados e a síntese do diagnóstico obtido serviram de base para a elaboração do plano preliminar. A presente versão intitulada: "Plano Preliminar para o Desenvolvimento do Agroturismo em Cachoeiras de Macacu, RJ" representa um primeiro passo para orientar o planejamento do agroturismo integrado à produção agropecuária de base familiar no município. Sua efetivação envolve os poderes públicos estaduais e municipais e deve ser impulsionado pela comunidade, para garantir que a atividade se desenvolva em harmonia com suas expectativas e anseios.bitstream/item/142637/1/BPD-244-Desenv-Agroturismo-Cach-Macacu.pd

Ortorretificação e classificação de imagens dos satélites de alta resolução World View2 e GeoEye.

In the processing of high-resolution images there are still difficulties. And, due to the fact of specific software for treating high resolution images presents high cost, it is necessary to test different types of classifiers and parameters available in softwares low cost or free market to classify high-resolution images. Based on these considerations, the present study was developed to orthorectify and to test different algorithms to classify high resolution images, in this case images of satellite Word View2 and GeoEye. There were tested the following supervised classifiers available in ENVI 4.8 software: Spectral Angle Mapper, Maximum Likelihood, Mahalanobis Distance, Minimum Distance and Parallelepiped, applying them to sampled areas of two watersheds included in the Atlantic Forest in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The results showed that the best classifier for most classes was the Maximum Likelihood (MAXVER) to both images and watersheds. In general, the greatest possibility of confusion was found between the classes: Initial Vegetation and Advanced to Medium Vegetation (0.20), Advanced to Medium Vegetation and Banana (0.28), Initial Vegetation and Agriculture (0.29), Initial Vegetation and Banana (0.38), Banana and Agriculture (0.50), Pasture and Agriculture (0.80). The MAXVER was the classifier that presented best Overall Accuracy (65,38% and 63,165 to each sampled area) and Kappa Coefficient (0,60 and 0,57). But, these values were considered unsatisfactory.Pages: 1379-138