Circularly Polarized Aperture Coupled Microstrip Antenna with Resonant Slots and a Screen

A broadband circularly polarized (CP) Aperture Coupled Microstrip Antenna (ACMSA) is described herein. In order to decrease the back radiation of the antenna due to resonant coupling slots (a cross-slot) in the ground plane, a three-layer structure with a screen is proposed. As a result, the back radiation of the antenna is reduced by more than 12 dB and its gain is increased by about 1.3 dB compared to the conventional two-layer ACMSA with nonresonant coupling slots. The antenna is designed to operate within the Ku-band. Keeping its simple and compact construction and high mechanical characteristics it can be used as an element of CP microstrip antenna arrays with various applications in the contemporary communication systems. A comparison with two similar CP antennas with resonant slots, a two-layer ACMSA and a three-layer ACMSA with a patch reflector is accomplished

Chemical composition and biological protein value of milk of Tsigai sheep and their F2 cross-breeds of Chios

The composition of milk was studied from purebred Tsigai sheep and F2 cross-breeds with Chios breed from 4th to 6th month of lactation, raised on a mountain pasture. The chemical analysis samples were taken from each sheep in the period of April-June. The content of fat, protein and amino acids was determined in individual samples and total sample formed by the milk yield from all animals, proportional to the daily milk yield from each individual. There is a tendency for higher milk yield and content of total protein and casein in milk of F2 cross-breeds of Chios in comparison with Tsigai sheep. Milk sheep from F2 crossbreeds of Chios had higher content of Lysine, as well as glutamic acid, methionine and leucine, in comparison to that form Tsigai sheep, respectively: 0.458±0.011. 1.389±0.040. 0.084±0.005 and 0.572±0.013. The milk chemical index in both groups of sheep was comparatively low and it constituted respectively 38.3% in Tsigai sheep and 35.4% in F2 cross-breeds, as a result of low concentrations of methionine and cysteine in milk. Biological value of milk obtained from Tsigai breed sheep and F2 milk cross-breeds of Chios had close values - respectively 92.01 and 91.87%. Results showed that the sward composition and the vegetation stage had an influence over the essential amino acids content in purebred Tsigai sheep and their cross-breeds with Chios breed

Recent advances in video analytics for rail network surveillance for security, trespass and suicide prevention— a survey

Railway networks systems are by design open and accessible to people, but this presents challenges in the prevention of events such as terrorism, trespass, and suicide fatalities. With the rapid advancement of machine learning, numerous computer vision methods have been developed in closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance systems for the purposes of managing public spaces. These methods are built based on multiple types of sensors and are designed to automatically detect static objects and unexpected events, monitor people, and prevent potential dangers. This survey focuses on recently developed CCTV surveillance methods for rail networks, discusses the challenges they face, their advantages and disadvantages and a vision for future railway surveillance systems. State-of-the-art methods for object detection and behaviour recognition applied to rail network surveillance systems are introduced, and the ethics of handling personal data and the use of automated systems are also considered

Glucose Availability and AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Link Energy Metabolism and Innate Immunity in the Bovine Endometrium

Defences against the bacteria that usually infect the endometrium of postpartum cattle are impaired when there is metabolic energy stress, leading to endometritis and infertility. The endometrial response to bacteria depends on innate immunity, with recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns stimulating inflammation, characterised by secretion of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and IL-8. How metabolic stress impacts tissue responses to pathogens is unclear, but integration of energy metabolism and innate immunity means that stressing one system might affect the other. Here we tested the hypothesis that homeostatic pathways integrate energy metabolism and innate immunity in bovine endometrial tissue. Glucose deprivation reduced the secretion of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 from ex vivo organ cultures of bovine endometrium challenged with the pathogen-associated molecular patterns lipopolysaccharide and bacterial lipopeptide. Endometrial inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide were also reduced by small molecules that activate or inhibit the intracellular sensor of energy, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). However, inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin, which is a more global metabolic sensor than AMPK, had little effect on inflammation. Similarly, endometrial inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide were not affected by insulin-like growth factor-1, which is an endocrine regulator of metabolism. Interestingly, the inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide increased endometrial glucose consumption and induced the Warburg effect, which could exacerbate deficits in glucose availability in the tissue. In conclusion, metabolic energy stress perturbed inflammatory responses to pathogen-associated molecular patterns in bovine endometrial tissue, and the most fundamental regulators of cellular energy, glucose availability and AMPK, had the greatest impact on innate immunity

Флюоресцентная гибридизация in situ: практическое применение в онкоурологии

Tumor markers for diagnosis of bladder cancer and defining the prognosis of the disease have been actively studied for past decade. FISH-study demonstrates the highest sensitivity and specificity. Abbot Company has developed a diagnostic test system «UroVision» which includes colored DNA-probes referring to 3, 7, 17 and 9p21 chromosomes. This system use provides clinicians with insights into an early diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of efficacy of anticancer therapy.

The Contribution of Social Networks to the Health and Self-Management of Patients with Long-Term Conditions: A Longitudinal Study

Evidence for the effectiveness of patient education programmes in changing individual self-management behaviour is equivocal. More distal elements of personal social relationships and the availability of social capital at the community level may be key to the mobilisation of resources needed for long-term condition self-management to be effective. Aim: To determine how the social networks of people with long-term conditions (diabetes and heart disease) are associated with health-related outcomes and changes in outcomes over time. Methods: Patients with chronic heart disease (CHD) or diabetes (n = 300) randomly selected from the disease registers of 19 GP practices in the North West of England. Data on personal social networks collected using a postal questionnaire, alongside face-to-face interviewing. Follow-up at 12 months via postal questionnaire using a self-report grid for network members identified at baseline. Analysis: Multiple regression analysis of relationships between health status, self-management and health economics outcomes, and characteristics of patients’ social networks. Results: Findings indicated that: (1) social involvement with a wider variety of people and groups supports personal self-management and physical and mental well-being; (2) support work undertaken by personal networks expands in accordance with health needs helping people to cope with their condition; (3) network support substitutes for formal care and can produce substantial saving in traditional health service utilisation costs. Health service costs were significantly (p0.01) reduced for patients receiving greater levels of illness work through their networks. Conclusions: Support for self-management which achieves desirable policy outcomes should be construed less as an individualised set of actions and behaviour and more as a social network phenomenon. This study shows the need for a greater focus on harnessing and sustaining the capacity of networks and the importance of social involvement with community groups and resources for producing a more desirable and cost-effective way of supporting long term illness management

Lack of privileged access to awareness for rewarding social scenes in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Reduced social motivation is hypothesised to underlie social behavioural symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The extent to which rewarding social stimuli are granted privileged access to awareness in ASD is currently unknown. We use continuous flash suppression to investigate whether individuals with and without ASD show privileged access to awareness for social over nonsocial rewarding scenes that are closely matched for stimulus features. Strong evidence for a privileged access to awareness for rewarding social over nonsocial scenes was observed in neurotypical adults. No such privileged access was seen in ASD individuals, and moderate support for the null model was noted. These results suggest that the purported deficits in social motivation in ASD may extend to early processing mechanisms