Quality of Experience in UHD-1 Phase 2 television: the contribution of UHD+ HFR technology

A key factor to determine the quality of experience (QoE) of a video is its capability to convey the large spectrum of perceptual phenomena that our eyes can sense in real life. In order to meet this demand, the recent DVB UHD-1 Phase 2 specification employs new video features, such as higher spatial resolutions (4K/8K) and High Frame Rate (HFR). The first enables larger field of view and level of details, while the second offers sharper images of moving objects going well beyond the current frame rates. While the contribution of each of these technologies to QoE has been investigated individually, in this paper we are interested to study their interaction, and in quantifying the benefits to users from their combination. To this end, we conduct a subjective test on compressed UHD+HFR content on a recent display capable of reproducing 100 pictures per second at 2160p resolution, with the goal to assess the increase in QoE of UHD and HFR with respect to conventional video, both individually and in combination. The results indicate that for content with fast motion, at higher bitrates the combination of UHD and HFR significantly improves the QoE compared to that obtained when these features are used individually

Tolerance and efficacy of preventive gastrostomy feeding in pediatric oncology

BackgroundMalnutrition in pediatric oncology remains underestimated, although having a negative impact on outcome. Enteral nutrition (EN) using percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) may prevent or reverse malnutrition consequences. We aimed to evaluate both efficacy and safety of early EN during tumors treatment in children. Procedures Medical records of pediatric patients having a PEG tube inserted between 1995 and 2009 were retrospectively reviewed. We compared type and incidence of complications in Group 1, including 74 patients suffering from cancer, and control Group 2, including 57 patients with neurological impairment. Efficacy of EN was evaluated through nutritional parameters [Z-scores weight for height (W/H) and height for age (H/A)], post-operative complications and relapse rates. Statistical significance was set for P < 0.05. Results PEG tolerance was similar in both groups, as shown by comparable complication rates (62% vs. 76%, NS). EN allowed improvement or stabilization of Z-score W/H in 76% of oncologic patients. The final height loss was lower (−0.5 vs. −1.2 SD of Z-scores H/A) when EN was started at the beginning of the oncologic treatment. In bone tumors, EN prevented weight loss during chemotherapy, and tended to lessen surgical complications, relapses and deaths. Conclusions Early gastrostomy feeding represents a relatively safe way to prevent malnutrition in children with cancer, and might play a role in bone tumors oncological outcome. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these results and assess the impact of EN and PEG on quality of life

The Composition of Comets

This paper is the result of the International Cometary Workshop, held in Toulouse, France in April 2014, where the participants came together to assess our knowledge of comets prior to the ESA Rosetta Mission. In this paper, we look at the composition of the gas and dust from the comae of comets. With the gas, we cover the various taxonomic studies that have broken comets into groups and compare what is seen at all wavelengths. We also discuss what has been learned from mass spectrometers during flybys. A few caveats for our interpretation are discussed. With dust, much of our information comes from flybys. They include {\it in situ} analyses as well as samples returned to Earth for laboratory measurements. Remote sensing IR observations and polarimetry are also discussed. For both gas and dust, we discuss what instruments the Rosetta spacecraft and Philae lander will bring to bear to improve our understanding of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as "ground-truth" for our previous comprehensive studies. Finally, we summarize some of the initial Rosetta Mission findings.Comment: To appear in Space Science Review

A mesh adaptation strategy for complex wall-modeled turbomachinery LES

A mesh adaptation methodology for wall-modeled turbomachinery Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is proposed, simultaneously taking into account two quantities of interest: the average kinetic energy dissipation rate and the normalized wall distance y+. This strategy is first tested on a highly loaded transonic blade with separated flow, and is compared to wall-resolved LES results, as well as experimental data. The adaptation methodology allows to predict fairly well the boundary layer transition on the suction side and the recirculation bubble of the pressure side. The method is then tested on a real turbofan stage for which it is shown that the general operating point of the computation converges toward the experimental one. Furthermore, comparison of turbulence predictions with hot-wire anemometry show good agreement as soon as a first adaptation is performed, which confirms the efficiency of the proposed adaptation method

Using LES to Study Reacting Flows and Instabilities in Annular Combustion Chambers

Great prominence is put on the design of aeronautical gas turbines due to increasingly stringent regulations and the need to tackle rising fuel prices. This drive towards innovation has resulted sometimes in new concepts being prone to combustion instabilities. In the particular field of annular combustion chambers, these instabilities often take the form of azimuthal modes. To predict these modes, one must compute the full combustion chamber, which remained out of reach until very recently and the development of massively parallel computers. Since one of the most limiting factors in performing Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of real combustors is estimating the adequate grid, the effects of mesh resolution are investigated by computing full annular LES of a realistic helicopter combustion chamber on three grids, respectively made of 38, 93 and 336 million elements. Results are compared in terms of mean and fluctuating fields. LES captures self-established azimuthal modes. The presence and structure of the modes is discussed. This study therefore highlights the potential of LES for studying combustion instabilities in annular gas turbine combustors

Low Resistance Polycrystalline Diamond Thin Films Deposited by Hot Filament Chemical Vapour Deposition

Polycrystalline diamond thin films with outgrowing diamond (OGD) grains were deposited onto silicon wafers using a hydrocarbon gas (CH4) highly diluted with H2 at low pressure in a hot filament chemical vapour deposition (HFCVD) reactor with a range of gas flow rates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and SEM showed polycrystalline diamond structure with a random orientation. Polycrystalline diamond films with various textures were grown and (111) facets were dominant with sharp grain boundaries. Outgrowth was observed in flowerish character at high gas flow rates. Isolated single crystals with little openings appeared at various stages at low gas flow rates. Thus, changing gas flow rates had a beneficial influence on the grain size, growth rate and electrical resistivity. CVD diamond films gave an excellent performance for medium film thickness with relatively low electrical resistivity and making them potentially useful in many industrial applications

The antibiotic bedaquiline activates host macrophage innate immune resistance to bacterial infection

Antibiotics are widely used in the treatment of bacterial infections. Although known for their microbicidal activity, antibiotics may also interfere with the host's immune system. Here, we analyzed the effects of bedaquiline (BDQ), an inhibitor of the mycobacterial ATP synthase, on human macrophages. Genome-wide gene expression analysis revealed that BDQ reprogramed cells into potent bactericidal phagocytes. We found that 579 and 1,495 genes were respectively differentially expressed in naive- and M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages incubated with the drug, with an over-representation of lysosome-associated genes. BDQ treatment triggered a variety of antimicrobial defense mechanisms, including phagosome-lysosome fusion, and autophagy. These effects were associated with activation of transcription factor EB, involved in the transcription of lysosomal genes, resulting in enhanced intracellular killing of different bacterial species that were naturally insensitive to BDQ. Thus, BDQ could be used as a host-directed therapy against a wide range of bacterial infections

The Evolution of Volatile Production in Comet C-2009 P1(Garradd) During its 2011-2012 Apparition

We report observations at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths of comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd) from 2011 December 28 to 2012 April 24, using the Arizona Radio Observatory submillimeter telescope (SMT) and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). Garradd is a dynamically young long-period comet from the Oort Cloud, with a periodicity of 127,000 years, that reached perihelion on 2011 December 23 (at Heliocentric distance (Rh) = 1.55 Astronomical Units and delta = 20.1 Astronomical Units ) and made its closest approach to the Earth on 2012 March 05 (at Heliocentric distance (Rh) = 1.84 Astronomical Units and delta = 1.26 Astronomical Units). We obtained gas production rates, and molecular abundances relative to water for HCN, ortho-H2CO, CS, CO and CH3OH. A rotational temperature, T (sub rot) approximately equal to 50 degrees Kelvin, was determined by observing multiple methanol lines with the JCMT. By averaging the abundance ratio relative to water from the SMT and the JCMT we derive: CO: 7.03 plus or minus 1.84 percent, HCN: 0.04 plus or minus 0.01 percent, ortho H2CO: 0.14 plus or minus 0.03 percent as a parent molecule (and 0.28 plus or minus 0.06 percent as an extended source), CS: 0.03 plus or minus 0.01 percent and CH3OH: 3.11 for a range from plus 1:86 to minus 0.51 percent. We concluded that Garradd is normal in CH3OH, depleted in HCN, ortho-H2CO and CS and slightly enriched in CO with respect to typically observed cometary mixing ratios. We also studied the temporal evolution of HCN and CO and find that the production of HCN has a trend similar to water (but with short-term variation), with a decrease after perihelion, while that of CO shows contrary behavior: remaining constant or increasing after perihelion