Towards portable muography with small-area, gas-tight glass Resistive Plate Chambers

Imaging techniques that use atmospheric muons, collectively named under the neologism "muography", have seen a tremendous growth in recent times, mainly due to their diverse range of applications. The most well-known ones include but are not limited to: volcanology, archaeology, civil engineering, nuclear reactor monitoring, nuclear waste characterization, underground mapping, etc. These methods are based on the attenuation or deviation of muons to image large and/or dense objects where conventional techniques cannot work or their use becomes challenging. In this context, we have constructed a muography telescope based on "mini glass-RPC planes" following a design similar to the glass-RPC detectors developed by the CALICE Collaboration and used by the TOMUVOL experiment in the context of volcano radiography, but with smaller active area (16 $\times$ 16 cm$^{2}$). The compact size makes it an attractive choice with respect to other detectors previously employed for imaging on similar scales. An important innovation in this design is that the detectors are sealed. This makes the detector more portable and solves the usual safety and logistic issues for gas detectors operated underground and/or inside small rooms. This paper provides an overview on our guiding principles, the detector development and our operational experiences. Drawing on the lessons learnt from the first prototype, we also discuss our future direction for an improved second prototype, focusing primarily on a recently adopted serigraphy technique for the resistive coating of the glass plates.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, XV Workshop on Resistive Plate Chambers and Related Detectors (RPC2020

Portable Resistive Plate Chambers for Muography in confined environments

Muography (or muon radiography) is an imaging technique that relies on the use of cosmogenic muons as a free and safe radiation source. It can be applied in various fields such as archaeology, civil engineering, geology, nuclear reactor monitoring, nuclear waste characterization, underground surveys, etc. In such applications, sometimes deploying muon detectors is challenging due to logistics, e.g. in a narrow underground tunnel or mine. Therefore, we are developing muon detectors whose design goals include portability, robustness, autonomy, versatility, and safety. Our portable muon detectors (or ``muoscopes'') are based on Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC), planar detectors that use ionization in a thin gas gap to detect cosmic muons. Prototype RPCs of active area $16 \times 16~cm^2$ and $28 \times 28~cm^2$ were built in our laboratories at Louvain-la-Neuve (UCLouvain) and Ghent (UGent) to test and compare various design options. Benefiting from the experience gained in building and operating these prototypes, we are proceeding towards the development of improved prototypes with more advanced technical layout and readiness. In this paper we provide the status of our performance studies, including the cross-validation of the two types of prototypes in a joint data taking, and an outline of the direction ahead

Analysis of Severity and Anatomical Distribution of Diabetic Foot Ulcers; A Single Unit Experience

Diabetes is the commonest cause of foot ulceration in developing countries leading to severe morbidity and mortality. The main aim of this study was to assess anatomical distribution of diabetic foot lesions, categorize it according to Wagner wound grading, find any association between smoking packs years and the severity of the foot lesions. Also to assess the relationship between the bony deformities and anatomical distribution of the ulcers. This was a cross sectional descriptive study conducted in a casualty surgical unit in a tertiary care teaching hospital for a period of 4 months. 91 diabetic patients with a diabetes related foot lesion were enrolled after simple randomization. Pretested interviewer administered questionnaire was used to gather data. Variety of soft tissue and bony changes of diabetic foot were assessed. Lesions were classified according to Wagner classification. Data was analysed using Epidata software. From the 91 participants, 55 (61 %) were males and 36 (39%) females. Mean age was at 60. 12 ± 10. 19 years. Median diabetes duration was 10 years (Interquartile range = 4.25 – 16.75). Wagner grade 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were17.7%, 40.65%, 28.8%, 13.3% and 0% respectively. Commonest ulcer location was margins of foot (31.87%). There was no statistically significant association between the pack years of cigarette smoking males and severity of foot lesions (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient = - 0.037, p = 0.82). Patients with claw and hammer toe deformities had their ulcers located in fingertips and toes (p = 0.0185). But there was no statistically significant association with flat foot deformity and ulcer distribution on any particular anatomical area in the foot (p = 0.0511). In conclusion there is a statistically significant association between toe deformities and ulcer occurrence in finger tips. No significant correlation between severity of smoking and severity of foot lesions among males is present.  KEYWORDS: Diabetic ulcers, Diabetic foot lesions, Wagner classification, Dlcer distributio

A framework for intelligent policy decision making based on a government data hub

Author ProofThe e-Oman Integration Platform is a data hub that enables data exchanges across government in response to transactions. With millions of transactions weekly, and thereby data exchanges, we propose to investigate the potential of gathering intelligence from these linked sources to help government officials make more informed decisions. A key feature of this data is the richness and accuracy, which increases the value of the learning outcome when augmented by other big and open data sources. We consider a high-level framework within a government context, taking into account issues related to the definition of public policies, data privacy, and the potential benefits to society. A preliminary, qualitative validation of the framework in the context of e-Oman is presented. This paper lays out foundational work into an ongoing research to implement government decision-making based on big data.“SmartEGOV: Harnessing EGOV for Smart Governance (Foundations, Methods, Tools)/NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000037”, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (EFDR

Case Report: melioidosis - poor compliance resulting in a relapse

No abstract availabl

Ecological implications of a flower size/number trade-off in tropical forest trees

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Using the SaTScan method to detect local malaria clusters for guiding malaria control programmes

Mpumalanga Province, South Africa is a low malaria transmission area that is subject to malaria epidemics. SaTScan methodology was used by the malaria control programme to detect local malaria clusters to assist disease control planning. The third season for case cluster identification overlapped with the first season of implementing an outbreak identification and response system in the area. SaTScan™ software using the Kulldorf method of retrospective space-time permutation and the Bernoulli purely spatial model was used to identify malaria clusters using definitively confirmed individual cases in seven towns over three malaria seasons. Following passive case reporting at health facilities during the 2002 to 2005 seasons, active case detection was carried out in the communities, this assisted with determining the probable source of infection. The distribution and statistical significance of the clusters were explored by means of Monte Carlo replication of data sets under the null hypothesis with replications greater than 999 to ensure adequate power for defining clusters. SaTScan detected five space-clusters and two space-time clusters during the study period. There was strong concordance between recognized local clustering of cases and outbreak declaration in specific towns. Both Albertsnek and Thambokulu reported malaria outbreaks in the same season as space-time clusters. This synergy may allow mutual validation of the two systems in confirming outbreaks demanding additional resources and cluster identification at local level to better target resources. Exploring the clustering of cases assisted with the planning of public health activities, including mobilizing health workers and resources. Where appropriate additional indoor residual spraying, focal larviciding and health promotion activities, were all also carried out