Heliotracking Device using Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators

Many living organisms in nature respond to light stimulus and track the light source. Inspired by this, and to maximize the light-harvesting ability of solar cells, here, a spontaneous helio-tracking device based on the differential light-induced actuation of liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) is demonstrated. The synthesis of the actuator material involves a robust thiol “click” polymerization, while the addition of indocyanine green (ICG) dye imparts the sensitivity to broad-spectrum and near-infrared light. Highly reproducible thermal and photo-induced linear actuation is demonstrated. The device is based on a freely pivoting payload platform held in place by several linear LCE actuators around the 360° circumference. The side of the device, which is exposed to light, has the actuators contracting and tilting the platform toward the light source. As the light source (e.g., the Sun) is moving around the device, the platform tilt followed, always exposing the payload face to the light; in the dark, the device recovers its neutral position

COLCONF: Collaborative ConvNet Features-based Robust Visual Place Recognition for Varying Environments

Several deep learning features were recently proposed for visual place recognition (VPR) purpose. Some of them use the information laid in the image sequences, while others utilize the regions of interest (ROIs) that reside in the feature maps produced by the CNN models. It was shown in the literature that features produced from a single layer cannot meet multiple visual challenges. In this work, we present a new collaborative VPR approach, taking the advantage of ROIs feature maps gathered and combined from two different layers in order to improve the recognition performance. An extensive analysis is made on extracting ROIs and the way the performance can differ from one layer to another. Our approach was evaluated over several benchmark datasets including those with viewpoint and appearance challenges. Results have confirmed the robustness of the proposed method compared to the state-of-the-art methods. The area under curve (AUC) and the mean average precision (mAP) measures achieve an average of 91% in comparison with 86% for Max Flow and 72% for CAMAL

Relationship between Sera Vitamin D, Calcium, and Magnesium Levels in Pregnant Women with and without Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a significant mental health case after childbirth, distinguished by behavioral changes and emotional disturbance. PPD is a significant public issue estimated to affect 10–15% of women worldwide. The study's objective was to investigate whether low sera concentrations of vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium during the third trimester of pregnancy are associated with PPD. The study population included eighty pregnant women between the ages of 25 to 35 years. They were divided into two groups (control and depressed group). Simple samples technique collecting was used for serum collecting from the two groups. When the blood samples were taken, vitamin D level was determined using an ELISA device. Calcium and magnesium were measured by using the spectrophotometric method. A health questionnaire structure was used for screening depression after birth. After measuring pregnancy serum concentrations of vitamin D of (40) pregnant control and (40) pregnant with PPD, we found that there was no significant relationship between vitamin D concentrations and risk of PPD (p= 0.6497). Statistical analysis indicated the significant differences (p= 0.0003) between sera calcium levels of the control group as compared with the depressed group. Significant differences (p= 0.0005) in magnesium levels between the two groups were observed. Our study detected that vitamin D concentrations in the serum of women during their last trimester of pregnancy had no statistical link with their risk of PPD. Whereas direct associated with calcium and magnesium deficiency in the third trimester of pregnancy and the incidence of PPD were reported

Bibliometric analysis of global migration health research in peer-reviewed literature (2000-2016).

BACKGROUND: The health of migrants has become an important issue in global health and foreign policy. Assessing the current status of research activity and identifying gaps in global migration health (GMH) is an important step in mapping the evidence-base and on advocating health needs of migrants and mobile populations. The aim of this study was to analyze globally published peer-reviewed literature in GMH. METHODS: A bibliometric analysis methodology was used. The Scopus database was used to retrieve documents in peer-reviewed journals in GMH for the study period from 2000 to 2016. A group of experts in GMH developed the needed keywords and validated the final search strategy. RESULTS: The number of retrieved documents was 21,457. Approximately one third (6878; 32.1%) of the retrieved documents were published in the last three years of the study period. In total, 5451 (25.4%) documents were about refugees and asylum seekers, while 1328 (6.2%) were about migrant workers, 440 (2.1%) were about international students, 679 (3.2%) were about victims of human trafficking/smuggling, 26 (0.1%) were about patients' mobility across international borders, and the remaining documents were about unspecified categories of migrants. The majority of the retrieved documents (10,086; 47.0%) were in psychosocial and mental health domain, while 2945 (13.7%) documents were in infectious diseases, 6819 (31.8%) documents were in health policy and systems, 2759 (12.8%) documents were in maternal and reproductive health, and 1918 (8.9%) were in non-communicable diseases. The contribution of authors and institutions in Asian countries, Latin America, Africa, Middle East, and Eastern European countries was low. Literature in GMH represents the perspectives of high-income migrant destination countries. CONCLUSION: Our heat map of research output shows that despite the ever-growing prominence of human mobility across the globe, and Sustainable Development Goals of leaving no one behind, research output on migrants' health is not consistent with the global migration pattern. A stronger evidence base is needed to enable authorities to make evidence-informed decisions on migration health policy and practice. Research collaboration and networks should be encouraged to prioritize research in GMH

The Incidence of Postpartum Metritis and Retained Placenta in Cattle and Buffalo Cows in some Villages Around Baghdad

This survey aimed to investigate the incidence rate of some reproductive problems especially retained placenta and metritis in cattle and buffalo cows to design appropriate manners for correction and treatment of such disorders of those two important animals in Iraq. A field survey was carried out on 257 cattle cows during 2011 and 290 during 2012 and 383 local water buffalo cows (Bubalus bubalis), during 2011 and 404 during 2012 in some villages around Baghdad (Al-Fudalia, 7 Nisan and Basmaia) where animals were reared. A complete data about case history, owner complains, clinical examinations for reproductive status, were documented by private clinics during 2011 - 2012. Results revealed that retained placenta percentage in cattle was 12.84, 12.41% during 2011, 2012 respectively, whereas it was 12.53, 12.62% during 2011, 2012 respectively in buffalo cows, in the case of uterine infections percentages, buffalo exhibited the highest percentages (40.46,37.87 %) during 2011, 2012 respectively in the comparison with cattle which showed 35.40, 35.17 % during 2011,2012 respectively. Highly significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) between species were observed yearly and during some months during the years of study. We concluded that management programs differences and environmental changes may lead to monthly and yearly differences in reproductive disorders capability

COVID-19 pandemic and the cyberthreat landscape: Research challenges and opportunities

Although cyber technologies benefit our society, there are also some related cybersecurity risks. For example, cybercriminals may exploit vulnerabilities in people, processes, and technologies during trying times, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, to identify opportunities that target vulnerable individuals, organizations (e.g., medical facilities), and systems. In this paper, we examine the various cyberthreats associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. We also determine the attack vectors and surfaces of cyberthreats. Finally, we will discuss and analyze the insights and suggestions generated by different cyberattacks against individuals, organizations, and systems

Ectopic cardiovascular fat in middle-aged men: effects of race/ethnicity, overall and central adiposity. The ERA JUMP study.

Background/objectivesHigher volumes of ectopic cardiovascular fat (ECF) are associated with greater risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Identifying factors that are associated with ECF volumes may lead to new preventive efforts to reduce risk of CHD. Significant racial/ethnic differences exist for overall and central adiposity measures, which are known to be associated with ECF volumes. Whether racial/ethnic differences also exist for ECF volumes and their associations with these adiposity measures remain unclear.Subjects/methodsBody mass index (BMI), computerized tomography-measured ECF volumes (epicardial, pericardial and their summation) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were examined in a community-based sample of 1199 middle-aged men (24.2% Caucasians, 7.0% African-Americans, 23.6% Japanese-Americans, 22.0% Japanese, 23.2% Koreans).ResultsSignificant racial/ethnic differences existed in ECF volumes and their relationships with BMI and VAT. ECF volumes were the highest among Japanese-Americans and the lowest among African-Americans. The associations of BMI and VAT with ECF differed by racial/ethnic groups. Compared with Caucasians, for each 1-unit increase in BMI, African-Americans had lower, whereas Koreans had higher increases in ECF volumes (P-values<0.05 for both). Meanwhile, compared with Caucasians, for each 1-unit increase in log-transformed VAT, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans and Japanese had similar increases, whereas Koreans had a lower increase in ECF volumes (P-value<0.05).ConclusionsRacial/ethnic groups differed in their propensity to accumulate ECF at increasing level of overall and central adiposity. Future studies should evaluate whether reducing central adiposity or overall weight will decrease ECF volumes more in certain racial/ethnic groups. Evaluating these questions might help in designing race-specific prevention strategy of CHD risk associated with higher ECF