Autonomous mobile robot teams

This paper describes autonomous mobile robot teams performing tasks in unstructured environments. The behavior and the intelligence of the group is distributed, and the system does not include a central command base or leader. The novel concept of the Tropism-Based Cognitive Architecture is introduced, which is used by the robots in order to produce behavior transforming their sensory information to proper action. The results of a number of simulation experiments are presented. These experiments include worlds where the robot teams must locate, decompose, and gather objects, and defend themselves against hostile predators, while navigating around stationary and mobile obstacles

Roles of estrogen receptor-alpha in mediating life span: the hypothalamic deregulation hypothesis.

In several species caloric restriction (CR) extends life span. In this paper we integrate data from studies on CR and other sources to articulate the hypothalamic deregulation hypothesis by which estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-α) signaling in the hypothalamus and limbic system affects life span under the stress of CR in mammals. ER-α is one of two principal estrogen-binding receptors differentially expressed in the amygdala, hippocampus, and several key hypothalamic nuclei: the arcuate nucleus (ARN), preoptic area (POA), ventromedial nucleus (VMN), antero ventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV), paraventricular nucleus (PVN), supraoptic nucleus (SON), and suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Estradiol signaling via ER-α is essential in basal level functioning of reproductive cycle, sexually receptive behaviors, physiological stress responses, as well as sleep cycle, and other nonsexual behaviors. When an organism is placed under long-term CR, which introduces an external stress to this ER-α signaling, the reduction of ER-α expression is attenuated over time in the hypothalamus. This review paper seeks to characterize the downstream effects of ER-α in the hypothalamus and limbic system that affect normal endocrine functioning

Infrastructure A Major Barrier to Ecommerce Development and Adoption

Ecommerce (e-commerce) or electronic commerce is the purchasing, selling, and exchanging of goods and services over computer networks (such as the Internet) through which transactions or terms of sale are performed electronically. Ecommerce can be placed in several categories based on the parties involved in the transaction such as business to business or consumer to business. Use of technology enables buyers to purchase or sellers to access business market globally by use of internet though areas with no ICT infrastructure are faced with a lot of challenges ranging from lack of equipment, power connection and access to internet. Lack of ICT knowledge and skill, policies and laws to security concern are factors contributing to barriers to ecommerce development and adoption. The study in this research concentrated on lack of ICT infrastructure that denies most people universal access to internet that promotes use of ecommerce. The objective of the study was to; establish how lack of infrastructure affects adoption of ecommerce in rural areas  and  how lack of universal access to internet affects both buyer and seller. The study adopted a mixed methods paradigm with both quantitative and qualitative approaches (triangulation). Within the quantitative approach, the descriptive survey design was used, while within the qualitative approach, the exploratory   design was used.  Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used for data collection. Quantitative data has been analyzed using basic descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as independent - sample test and Analysis of Variance. Qualitative data from interviews has been analyzed by using the thematic analysis. The study finding will be useful to customer to business(C2B),business to customer (B2C) and business to business(B2B) in variety of business activities. Significance of the study is that it highlights on; why many people engaged in various business activities have not embraced use of ecommerce  due to lack of  ICT infrastructure

Interprofessional Education: Theoretical and Practical Considerations for Occupational Therapy Educators

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an integral part of occupational therapy education as programs across the United States incorporate IPE into existing courses and develop new, innovative curricula. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Commission on Education (COE) proposed in its 2015 position paper on IPE in occupational therapy curricula, that IPE is imperative for effective and ethical practice in today’s healthcare environment. Through participation in a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning program focusing on IPE, the authors examined broad constructs and practical implementation of IPE in occupational therapy education. As occupational therapy educators explore opportunities to collaborate with a diverse range of professions, this article provides information about key conceptual frameworks, approaches for faculty training and development, and methods for evaluating IPE outcomes

Accuracy of tumor segmentation from multi-parametric prostate MRI and 18F-choline PET/CT for focal prostate cancer therapy applications

Abstract Background The study aims to assess the accuracy of multi-parametric prostate MRI (mpMRI) and 18F-choline PET/CT in tumor segmentation for clinically significant prostate cancer. 18F-choline PET/CT and 3 T mpMRI were performed in 10 prospective subjects prior to prostatectomy. All subjects had a single biopsy-confirmed focus of Gleason ≥ 3+4 cancer. Two radiologists (readers 1 and 2) determined tumor boundaries based on in vivo mpMRI sequences, with clinical and pathologic data available. 18F-choline PET data were co-registered to T2-weighted 3D sequences and a semi-automatic segmentation routine was used to define tumor volumes. Registration of whole-mount surgical pathology to in vivo imaging was conducted utilizing two ex vivo prostate specimen MRIs, followed by gross sectioning of the specimens within a custom-made 3D-printed plastic mold. Overlap and similarity coefficients of manual segmentations (seg1, seg2) and 18F-choline-based segmented lesions (seg3) were compared to the pathologic reference standard. Results All segmentation methods greatly underestimated the true tumor volumes. Human readers (seg1, seg2) and the PET-based segmentation (seg3) underestimated an average of 79, 80, and 58% of the tumor volumes, respectively. Combining segmentation volumes (union of seg1, seg2, seg3 = seg4) decreased the mean underestimated tumor volume to 42% of the true tumor volume. When using the combined segmentation with 5 mm contour expansion, the mean underestimated tumor volume was significantly reduced to 0.03 ± 0.05 mL (2.04 ± 2.84%). Substantial safety margins up to 11–15 mm were needed to include all tumors when the initial segmentation boundaries were drawn by human readers or the semi-automated 18F-choline segmentation tool. Combining MR-based human segmentations with the metabolic information based on 18F-choline PET reduced the necessary safety margin to a maximum of 9 mm to cover all tumors entirely. Conclusions To improve the outcome of focal therapies for significant prostate cancer, it is imperative to recognize the full extent of the underestimation of tumor volumes by mpMRI. Combining metabolic information from 18F-choline with MRI-based segmentation can improve tumor coverage. However, this approach requires confirmation in further clinical studies.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142871/1/13550_2018_Article_377.pd

Managing Renal Cell Carcinoma Associated Paraneoplastic Syndrome with Nephron-sparing Surgery in a Patient with von Hippel-Lindau.

A patient with germline von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene alteration and history of multiple tumors present with classical paraneoplastic syndrome (PNS) associated with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). She underwent open nephron sparing surgery with resolution of symptoms. She remained without recurrence of RCC for the initial 2 years of her follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this case represents the first in which PNS was specifically resolved using a partial nephrectomy in a patient with VHL. This case report provides initial evidence for the potential role of nephron sparing surgery in the management of paraneoplastic symptoms associated with hereditary RCC

Implementation of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging technology for evaluation of patients with suspicion for prostate cancer in the clinical practice setting

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147814/1/bju14515_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147814/2/bju14515.pd

2-Hour Accelerated Diagnostic Protocol to Assess Patients With Chest Pain Symptoms Using Contemporary Troponins as the Only Biomarker

Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine whether a new accelerated diagnostic protocol (ADP) for possible cardiac chest pain could identify low-risk patients suitable for early discharge (with follow-up shortly after discharge). Background Patients presenting with possible acute coronary syndrome (ACS), who have a low short-term risk of adverse cardiac events may be suitable for early discharge and shorter hospital stays. Methods This prospective observational study tested an ADP that included pre-test probability scoring by the Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score, electrocardiography, and 0 + 2 h values of laboratory troponin I as the sole biomarker. Patients presenting with chest pain due to suspected ACS were included. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac event (MACE) within 30 days. Results Of 1,975 patients, 302 (15.3%) had a MACE. The ADP classified 392 patients (20%) as low risk. One (0.25%) of these patients had a MACE, giving the ADP a sensitivity of 99.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 98.1% to 99.9%), negative predictive value of 99.7% (95% CI: 98.6% to 100.0%), specificity of 23.4% (95% CI: 21.4% to 25.4%), and positive predictive value of 19.0% (95% CI: 17.2% to 21.0%). Many ADP negative patients had further investigations (74.1%), and therapeutic (18.3%) or procedural (2.0%) interventions during the initial hospital attendance and/or 30-day follow-up. Conclusions Using the ADP, a large group of patients was successfully identified as at low short-term risk of a MACE and therefore suitable for rapid discharge from the emergency department with early follow-up. This approach could decrease the observation period required for some patients with chest pain. (An observational study of the diagnostic utility of an accelerated diagnostic protocol using contemporary central laboratory cardiac troponin in the assessment of patients presenting to two Australasian hospitals with chest pain of possible cardiac origin; ACTRN12611001069943