Note: "Lock-in accelerometry" to follow sink dynamics in shaken granular matter

Understanding the penetration dynamics of intruders in granular beds is relevant not only for fundamental Physics, but also for geophysical processes and construction on sediments or granular soils in areas potentially affected by earthquakes. While the penetration of intruders in two dimensional (2D) laboratory granular beds can be followed using video recording, it is useless in three dimensional (3D) beds of non-transparent materials such as common sand. Here we propose a method to quantify the sink dynamics of an intruder into laterally shaken granular beds based on the temporal correlations between the signals from a reference accelerometer fixed to the shaken granular bed, and a probe accelerometer deployed inside the intruder. Due to its analogy with the working principle of a lock in amplifier, we call this technique Lock in accelerometry (LIA). During Earthquakes, some soils can lose their ability to sustain shear and deform, causing subsidence and sometimes substantial building damage due to deformation or tumblin

Acute radiation syndrome caused by accidental radiation exposure - therapeutic principles

Fortunately radiation accidents are infrequent occurrences, but since they have the potential of large scale events like the nuclear accidents of Chernobyl and Fukushima, preparatory planning of the medical management of radiation accident victims is very important. Radiation accidents can result in different types of radiation exposure for which the diagnostic and therapeutic measures, as well as the outcomes, differ. The clinical course of acute radiation syndrome depends on the absorbed radiation dose and its distribution. Multi-organ-involvement and multi-organ-failure need be taken into account. The most vulnerable organ system to radiation exposure is the hematopoietic system. In addition to hematopoietic syndrome, radiation induced damage to the skin plays an important role in diagnostics and the treatment of radiation accident victims. The most important therapeutic principles with special reference to hematopoietic syndrome and cutaneous radiation syndrome are reviewed

Hematological Changes as Prognostic Indicators of Survival: Similarities Between Gottingen Minipigs, Humans, and Other Large Animal Models

The animal efficacy rule addressing development of drugs for selected disease categories has pointed out the need to develop alternative large animal models. Based on this rule, the pathophysiology of the disease in the animal model must be well characterized and must reflect that in humans. So far, manifestations of the acute radiation syndrome (ARS) have been extensively studied only in two large animal models, the non-human primate (NHP) and the canine. We are evaluating the suitability of the minipig as an additional large animal model for development of radiation countermeasures. We have previously shown that the Gottingen minipig manifests hematopoietic ARS phases and symptoms similar to those observed in canines, NHPs, and humans.We establish here the LD50/30 dose (radiation dose at which 50% of the animals succumb within 30 days), and show that at this dose the time of nadir and the duration of cytopenia resemble those observed for NHP and canines, and mimic closely the kinetics of blood cell depletion and recovery in human patients with reversible hematopoietic damage (H3 category, METREPOL approach). No signs of GI damage in terms of diarrhea or shortening of villi were observed at doses up to 1.9 Gy. Platelet counts at days 10 and 14, number of days to reach critical platelet values, duration of thrombocytopenia, neutrophil stress response at 3 hours and count at 14 days, and CRP-to-platelet ratio were correlated with survival. The ratios between neutrophils, lymphocytes and platelets were significantly correlated with exposure to irradiation at different time intervals.As a non-rodent animal model, the minipig offers a useful alternative to NHP and canines, with attractive features including ARS resembling human ARS, cost, and regulatory acceptability. Use of the minipig may allow accelerated development of radiation countermeasures

Evaluation of bottom-up and top-down strategies for aggregated forecasts: state space models and arima applications

Abstract. In this research, we consider monthly series from the M4 competition to study the relative performance of top-down and bottom-up strategies by means of implementing forecast automation of state space and ARIMA models. For the bottomup strategy, the forecast for each series is developed individually and then these are combined to produce a cumulative forecast of the aggregated series. For the top-down strategy, the series or components values are first combined and then a single forecast is determined for the aggregated series. Based on our implementation, state space models showed a higher forecast performance when a top-down strategy is applied. ARIMA models had a higher forecast performance for the bottom-up strategy. For state space models the top-down strategy reduced the overall error significantly. ARIMA models showed to be more accurate when forecasts are first determined individually. As part of the development we also proposed an approach to improve the forecasting procedure of aggregation strategies

Inter- and intra-observer variability in Sonographic measurements of the cross-sectional diameters and area of the umbilical cord and its vessels during pregnancy

Background. The purpose of the study was to evaluate inter- and intra-observer variability in sonographic measurements of the cross-sectional area of the umbilical cord and the diameters of its vessels in low-risk pregnancies of 12 to 40 weeks of gestation. Methods. A prospective cross sectional study was performed in 221 pregnant women at different gestational ages. Measurements were carried out also by a second observer to evaluate inter-observer variability and repeated once again by the first observer to assess intra-observer variability. The linear correlation between the measurements (Spearman's coefficient of correlation) and their reliability through the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), the Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the limits of agreement proposed by Bland and Altman were evaluated. Results. The results showed that inter-observer and intra-observer variability did not show any significant difference between examiners. A good linear correlation between the measurements and reliability was obtained, with values of R, ICC and Cronbach's alpha all above the standard limits. Conclusion. It is possible to conclude that inter- and intra-observer variability in the measurements of the umbilical cord and its vessels was small; their reliability and agreement were good. © 2008 Barbieri et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

A framework for the integration of green and lean six sigma for superior sustainability performance

Evidence suggests that Lean, Six Sigma and Green approaches make a positive contribution to the economic, social and environmental (i.e. sustainability) performance of organizations. However, evidence also suggests that organizations have found their integration and implementation challenging. The purpose of this research is therefore to present a framework that methodically guides companies through a five stages and sixteen steps process to effectively integrate and implement the Green, Lean and Six Sigma approaches to improve their sustainability performance. To achieve this, a critical review of the existing literature in the subject area was conducted to build a research gap, and subsequently develop the methodological framework proposed. The paper presents the results from the application of the proposed framework in four organizations with different sizes and operating in a diverse range of industries. The results showed that the integration of Lean Six Sigma and Green helped the organizations to averagely reduce their resources consumption from 20% to 40% and minimize the cost of energy and mass streams by 7-12%. The application of the framework should be gradual, the companies should assess their weaknesses and strengths, set priorities, and identify goals for successful implementation. This paper is one of the very first researches that presents a framework to integrate Green and Lean Six Sigma at a factory level, and hence offers the potential to be expanded to multiple factories or even supply chains

Additive Anti-Tumor Effects of Lovastatin and Everolimus In Vitro through Simultaneous Inhibition of Signaling Pathways

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedThis work was supported by a research grant from the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (Förderprogramm für Forschung und Lehre [FöFoLe], grant number 865/829)

Stress, strain, and B‐type olivine fabric in the fore‐arc mantle: Sensitivity tests using high‐resolution steady‐state subduction zone models

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94925/1/jgrb15022.pd