Tracking an underwater target

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2007.Autonomous underwater vehicles are becoming an important part in marine research. In order to help bring down the cost of running a research mission with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), the method of tracking the AUV can be improved. An autonomous surface vessel (ASV), equipped with both acoustic instrumentation and wireless or radio communication technology, can successfully track the AUV and interface with scientists. An ASV named RoBoat, built at MIT in undergraduate classes using a kayak hull, is vessel that can be controlled remotely. To help RoBoat become fully autonomous, a program must be created to take in the data from the underwater acoustic sensors and output commands that the kayak can follow. This thesis studies the homing rules that govern the kayak, under realistic tracking scenarios. The kayak dynamics were modeled and the response to several AUV paths was simulated. The simulation uses many of the kayak properties to be able to create a model that can be used with this specific ASV. The AUV is modeled as a single point target and follows four different common trajectories: a straight line, a line with a delayed start, a simple turn and a lawnmower configuration.(cont.) There were several quantities varied throughout these four cases in order to understand more about the nature of the model; these quantities are the speed of the vehicles, the thrust control gain, the heading control gains and in the lawnmower case the distance between a turn around. With this controller, the kayak responded in predictable ways. An decrease in speed and an increase in the thrust control gain will both lead to smaller trailing distance. Both quantities had large effects on the response and path of the kayak. The heading control gains had very little effect in any of the situations. When the kayak encounters sharp turns, it can overshoot the target path, but will settle within fifty seconds. Within these scenarios encountered, the kayak did not fail its mission; the kayak always stabilizes to a reasonable path.by Christina Gomez.S.B

Impact of breast cancer subtypes on 3-year survival among adolescent and young adult women.

IntroductionYoung women have poorer survival after breast cancer than do older women. It is unclear whether this survival difference relates to the unique distribution of hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-defined molecular breast cancer subtypes among adolescent and young adult (AYA) women aged 15 to 39 years. The purpose of our study was to examine associations between breast cancer subtypes and short-term survival in AYA women, as well as to determine whether the distinct molecular subtype distribution among AYA women explains the unfavorable overall breast cancer survival statistics reported for AYA women compared with older women.MethodsData for 5,331 AYA breast cancers diagnosed between 2005 and 2009 were obtained from the California Cancer Registry. Survival by subtype (triple-negative; HR+/HER2-; HR+/HER2+; HR-/HER2+) and age-group (AYA versus 40- to 64-year-olds) was analyzed with Cox proportional hazards regression with follow-up through 2010.ResultsWith up to 6 years of follow-up and a mean survival time of 3.1 years (SD = 1.5 years), AYA women diagnosed with HR-/HER + and triple-negative breast cancer experienced a 1.6-fold and 2.7-fold increased risk of death, respectively, from all causes (HR-/HER + hazard ratio: 1.55; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10 to 2.18; triple-negative HR: 2.75; 95% CI, 2.06 to 3.66) and breast cancer (HR-/HER + hazard ratio: 1.63; 95% CI, 1.12 to 2.36; triple-negative hazard ratio: 2.71; 95% CI, 1.98 to 3.71) than AYA women with HR+/HER2- breast cancer. AYA women who resided in lower socioeconomic status neighborhoods, had public health insurance, and were of Black, compared with White, race/ethnicity experienced worse survival. This race/ethnicity association was attenuated somewhat after adjusting for breast cancer subtypes (hazard ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 0.98 to 1.82). AYA women had similar all-cause and breast cancer-specific short-term survival as older women for all breast cancer subtypes and across all stages of disease.ConclusionsAmong AYA women with breast cancer, short-term survival varied by breast cancer subtypes, with the distribution of breast cancer subtypes explaining some of the poorer survival observed among Black, compared with White, AYA women. Future studies should consider whether distribution of breast cancer subtypes and other factors, including differential receipt of treatment regimens, influences long-term survival in young compared with older women

The Research Informed Teaching Project at Staffordshire University 2013-2016: Conference Paper: Enhancing Students’ Skills Development in Contract Law through an Online Simulation (MLX)

Description of Session & Abstract. In this session at the Association of Law Teachers (ALT) annual conference 2016, members of the RiT project team and colleagues from Pearson Education, notably Kerry George and Prof. Stephen Gomez - who have been working with the SU RiT team - presented preliminary finding from a collaborative study of the use of a new digital, online learning resource called MyLegalExperience (MLX) to assist student learning in Contract Law. The presentation drew on the work of Judith Tillson, lead researcher for the work being done with Pearson on MLX, and Prof Stephen Gomez. The session started with some background, describing the challenges faced with traditional teaching methods of applying Contract Law to practical advice needs for clients; and then explaining the use of an online system to address these challenges. Emphasis was placed on how collaboration between tutor, student and content provider can be facilitated through technology. As well as a demonstration, questions from delegates were taken by the presenters. Abstract. The RiT project has been interested in a range of issues since it started in 2013, including the support that Law students get from on-line systems and services which support their research, teaching, and learning, and the application of knowledge. Previous presentations by the team at ALT conferences, including those at Nottingham and Cardiff, have been concerned with the use of on-lines systems and the development and deployment of research and research-related skills, and assessment aspects. The MLX project focuses on the problems students can have with putting their knowledge into practice, for instance when advising clients about legal matters. The context is that students are requesting more opportunities to practice and to obtain greater feedback, including more individual, personalised comments from tutors. With the increase in student numbers, all these requirements have an impact on tutor workload. New internet technologies have the potential for addressing these issues but lecturers either do not have the time or web skills to produce sophisticated online systems at a standard expected by their students who are used to professional software on the internet. The RiT project team, notably Judith Tillson, have teamed up with Pearson, the education publishers, to consider these challenges, and to trial MLX. The MLX system provides an online simulation designed to support students’ engagement and skills development in Contract Law across 6 topics. However, only two topics have been used in this particular trial, as it has been managed by Judith. In each topic, students play a legal advisory role, and complete practical tasks in response to the issues raised by a fictional client. Each topic consists of four scaffolded activities that build up in complexity as students work through them. The activities are: 1. Issue spotting - students answer a series of self-assessed MCQs (multiple choice questions) to identify the legal issues and legal principles from the facts related to Contract Law. 2. Analysing the Law - students fill in the blanks to identify the legal issues and legal principles from the facts. 3. Applying legal advice – this involves a practical task designed to put knowledge into practice by students uploading a piece of work which is then marked by the lecturer who gives feedback to be used to feed forward as assessment for learning as the basis of the fourth activity below. 4. Reflection- model answer and reflective MCQs to compare work completed in activity 3 to the model answer to facilitate self-assessment as a link to self-organised learning. Judith and the team have been exploring the effectiveness or efficacy of MLX in supporting learning through a simulation in the manner described above. Though we are using a specific learning resource (i.e. MLX) in the study, it is intended that we will establish a pedagogy that can be applied in other contexts. The project has been run by Judith in a live module in 2015-16 using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to assess students’ attitudes and perspectives, as well as data analytics to measure student engagement and performance both in MLX and in summative module assignments. Judith has also been using an innovative Twitter approach to charting student attitudes throughout their usage of MLX. Project Findings. Preliminary findings were provided in the course of the presentation. Further work is being undertaken by Judith and Christine, and it is hoped the results will feature in an article in The Law Teacher in 2017-18 and in other outputs

Advertising of ultra-processed foods and beverages: children as a vulnerable population

La rápida transición nutricional en América Latina tiene como resultado el aumento pronunciado de sobrepeso y obesidad en los niños. Evidencia reciente muestra que la publicidad de comidas y bebidas ejerce gran influencia en las preferencias alimenticias de los niños. Esta población se torna centro de atención para la industria de alimentos ultra procesados y bebidas, productos comercializados agresivamente. En los países de América Latina, sólo existen reglamentos ineficientes para la publicidad de bebidas y alimentos ultra procesados, y el discurso de auto regulación prevalece sobre los reglamentos legales. Este comentario explora el importante papel de la publicidad en el desarrollo de patrones de dietas no saludables y en la obesidad de niños en América Latina, así como la necesidad de acción gubernamental y participación social en la resolución de este problema de salud pública.A rápida transição nutricional na América Latina tem como resultado o aumento pronunciado de sobrepeso e obesidade nas crianças. Evidência recente mostra que a publicidade de comidas e bebidas tem grande influência nas preferências alimentares das crianças. Essa população torna-se alvo da indústria de alimentos ultraprocessados e bebidas, produtos comercializados agressivamente. Nos países da América Latina, só existem regulamentos ineficientes para a publicidade de bebidas e alimentos ultraprocessados, e o discurso de auto-regulação prevalece sobre os regulamentos legais. Este comentário explora o papel importante da publicidade no desenvolvimento de padrões de dietas não saudáveis e na obesidade das crianças na América Latina, bem como a necessidade de ação governamental e participação social na resolução desse problema de saúde pública.The rapid nutrition transition occurring in Latin America has resulted in a sharp increase of childhood overweight and obesity. Recent evidence has shown that food and beverage advertising has a great influence on children’s eating behavior. This population has become a key target market for the ultra-processed foods and beverages industry, which is marketing products in an aggressive way. Evidence shows that Latin American countries have poor regulation of ultra-processed foods and beverages advertising, where the discourse of self-regulation still prevails over statutory regulations. The following commentary explores how advertising might play an important role in developing unhealthy dietary patterns and obesity in Latin American children, as well as the urgent need for government action and the involvement of civil society to tackle this public health issue

Automated Device to Enable Passive Pronation and Supination Activities of the Hand for Experimental Testing with Cadaveric Specimens: A Collaboration Between The University of New Mexico and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

In cadaveric research, reproducing physiological conditions under which the specimens would be loaded in vivo is essential to achieve clinical applicability. This is a collaborative study bringing together engineers from The University of New Mexico and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. We describe development of an automated device to enable passive pronation and supination of the hand (rotation achieved through direct manipulation) for use in cadaveric experimental testing of the hand, wrist, forearm, or elbow. We present a brief motivation for development of this device, design details, an overview of one possible application, and ways to use this device for active pronation and supination activities (rotation achieved through tendon loading). We aim to provide the necessary information for reproduction of this device by other institutions for similar testing purposes

Parenting young children with developmental disabilities: Experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

High-stress events (e.g., natural disasters, political unrest, disease) significantly impact the lives of children and families. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is one event that has brought numerous hardships to families and children with developmental disabilities (DD), likely exacerbating already heightened levels of stress. For this study, we interviewed mothers living in the U.S. (N = 14) of 2- to 8-year-old children with DD about how COVID-19 has affected their family life. The interviews examined how the pandemic impacted (a) their child’s educational, therapeutic, and medical services, (b) their stress and resiliency, and (c) their parenting role as an advocate, educator, and interventionist. The results of our thematic analysis of the qualitative data highlight four domains with themes that describe families’ experiences as indicated by the mothers interviewed. Voices of families are essential in the delivery of effective and ethical early intervention for young children with disabilities. Based on the data from these interviews with mothers, suggestions for family-focused intervention to support families during high-stress events are discussed. As the long-term effects of the pandemic remain unknown, suggestions for future research to continue to examine the impact of high-stress experiences on young children with DD and their families are also presented

A comprehensive quality assurance protocol for electromagnetic tracking in brachytherapy

BACKGROUND: Electromagnetic tracking (EMT) systems have proven to be a valuable source of information regarding the location and geometry of applicators in patients undergoing brachytherapy (BT). As an important element of an enhanced and individualized pre-treatment verification, EMT can play a pivotal role in detecting treatment errors and uncertainties to increase patient safety.PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is two-fold: to design, develop and test a dedicated measurement protocol for the use of EMT-enabled afterloaders in BT and to collect and compare the data acquired from three different radiation oncology centers in different clinical environments.METHODS: A novel quality assurance (QA) phantom composed of a scaffold with supports to fix the field generator, different BT applicators, and reference sensors (sensor verification tools) was used to assess the precision (jitter error) and accuracy (relative distance errors and target registration error) of the EMT sensor integrated into an afterloader prototype. Measurements were repeated in different environments where EMT measurements are likely to be performed, namely an electromagnetically clean laboratory, a BT suite, an operating room, and, if available, a CT suite and an MRI suite dedicated to BT.RESULTS: The mean positional jitter was consistently under 0.1 mm across all measurement points, with a slight trend of increased jitter at greater distances from the field generator. The mean variability of sensor positioning in the tested tandem and ring gynecological applicator was also below 0.1 mm. The tracking accuracy close to the center of the measurement volume was higher than at its edges. The relative distance error at the center was 0.2-0.3 mm with maximum values reaching 1.2-1.8 mm, but up to 5.5 mm for measurement points close to the edges. In general, similar accuracy results were obtained in the clinical environments and in all investigated institutions (median distance error 0.1-0.4 mm, maximum error 1.0-2.0 mm), however, errors were found to be larger in the CT suite (median distance error up to 1.0 mm, maximum error up to 3.6 mm).CONCLUSION: The presented quality assessment protocol for EMT systems in BT has demonstrated that EMT offers a high-accuracy determination of the applicator/implant geometry even in clinical environments. In addition to that, it has provided valuable insights into the performance of EMT-enabled afterloaders across different radiation oncology centers.</p