Hand gesture classification using 24 GHz FMCW dual polarised radar

All rights reserved. This paper evaluates the classification performance of a dual polarised on receive, 24 GHz Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar system to autonomously identify micro-Doppler signatures of unique hand gestures. We employ an Eigen subspace feature selection technique on the calculated signal subspace in order to classify each gesture. Measurements using the dual polarised radar, permitting simultaneous recording of both the co-pol and cross-pol returns, are evaluated with this processing technique and results are reported herein. Our analysis displays the challenges presented by the high variance in individuals gestures and the limited additional information the cross polarised returns have provided to the classifier. Classification performance comparisons are presented when co, cross and dual polarised data are provided to the classifier. With this technique we achieve autonomous classification performance of up to 84.6% when Eigenvalue derived features are used for classification

GoActive: a protocol for the mixed methods process evaluation of a school-based physical activity promotion programme for 13-14year old adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Process evaluations are critical for interpreting and understanding outcome trial results. By understanding how interventions function across different settings, process evaluations have the capacity to inform future dissemination of interventions. The complexity of Get others Active (GoActive), a 12-week, school-based physical activity intervention implemented in eight schools, highlights the need to investigate how implementation is achieved across a variety of school settings. This paper describes the mixed methods GoActive process evaluation protocol that is embedded within the outcome evaluation. In this detailed process evaluation protocol, we describe the flexible and pragmatic methods that will be used for capturing the process evaluation data. METHODS: A mixed methods design will be used for the process evaluation, including quantitative data collected in both the control and intervention arms of the GoActive trial, and qualitative data collected in the intervention arm. Data collection methods will include purposively sampled, semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews, direct observation, and participant questionnaires (completed by students, teachers, older adolescent mentors, and local authority-funded facilitators). Data will be analysed thematically within and across datasets. Overall synthesis of findings will address the process of GoActive implementation, and through which this process affects outcomes, with careful attention to the context of the school environment. DISCUSSION: This process evaluation will explore the experience of participating in GoActive from the perspectives of key groups, providing a greater understanding of the acceptability and process of implementation of the intervention across the eight intervention schools. This will allow for appraisal of the intervention's conceptual base, inform potential dissemination, and help optimise post-trial sustainability. The process evaluation will also assist in contextualising the trial effectiveness results with respect to how the intervention may or may not have worked and, if it was found to be effective, what might be required for it to be sustained in the 'real world'. Furthermore, it will offer suggestions for the development and implementation of future initiatives to promote physical activity within schools. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN, ISRCTN31583496 . Registered on 18 February 2014

The order of the quantum chromodynamics transition predicted by the standard model of particle physics

We determine the nature of the QCD transition using lattice calculations for physical quark masses. Susceptibilities are extrapolated to vanishing lattice spacing for three physical volumes, the smallest and largest of which differ by a factor of five. This ensures that a true transition should result in a dramatic increase of the susceptibilities.No such behaviour is observed: our finite-size scaling analysis shows that the finite-temperature QCD transition in the hot early Universe was not a real phase transition, but an analytic crossover (involving a rapid change, as opposed to a jump, as the temperature varied). As such, it will be difficult to find experimental evidence of this transition from astronomical observations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

The school policy, social, and physical environment and change in adolescent physical activity: An exploratory analysis using the LASSO.

PURPOSE: We examined the association between the school policy, social and physical environment and change in adolescent physical activity (PA) and explored how sex and socioeconomic status modified potential associations. METHODS: Data from the GoActive study were used for these analyses. Participants were adolescents (n = 1765, mean age±SD 13.2±0.4y) from the East of England, UK. Change in longitudinal accelerometer assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was the outcome. School policy, social and physical environment features (n = 267) were exposures. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator variable selection method (LASSO) was used to determine exposures most relevant to the outcome. Exposures selected by the LASSO were added to a multiple linear regression model with estimates of change in min/day of MVPA per 1-unit change in each exposure reported. Post-hoc analyses, exploring associations between change in variables selected by the LASSO and change in MVPA, were undertaken to further explain findings. FINDINGS: No school policy or physical environment features were selected by the LASSO as predictors of change in MVPA. The LASSO selected two school social environment variables (participants asking a friend to do physical activity; friend asking a participant to do physical activity) as potential predictors of change in MVPA but no significant associations were found in subsequent linear regression models for all participants (β [95%CI] -1.01 [-2.73;0.71] and 0.65 [-2.17;0.87] min/day respectively). In the post-hoc analyses, for every unit increase in change in participants asking a friend to do PA and change in a friend asking participants to do PA, an increase in MVPA of 2.78 (1.55;4.02) and 1.80 (0.48;3.11) min/day was predicted respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The school social environment is associated with PA during adolescence. Further exploration of how friendships during adolescence may be leveraged to support effective PA promotion in schools is warranted

A riot of rhythms: neuronal and glial circadian oscillators in the mediobasal hypothalamus

Background: In mammals, the synchronized activity of cell autonomous clocks in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) enables this structure to function as the master circadian clock, coordinating daily rhythms in physiology and behavior. However, the dominance of this clock has been challenged by the observations that metabolic duress can over-ride SCN controlled rhythms, and that clock genes are expressed in many brain areas, including those implicated in the regulation of appetite and feeding. The recent development of mice in which clock gene/protein activity is reported by bioluminescent constructs (luciferase or luc) now enables us to track molecular oscillations in numerous tissues ex vivo. Consequently we determined both clock activities and responsiveness to metabolic perturbations of cells and tissues within the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), a site pivotal for optimal internal homeostatic regulation. Results: Here we demonstrate endogenous circadian rhythms of PER2::LUC expression in discrete subdivisions of the arcuate (Arc) and dorsomedial nuclei (DMH). Rhythms resolved to single cells did not maintain long-term synchrony with one-another, leading to a damping of oscillations at both cell and tissue levels. Complementary electrophysiology recordings revealed rhythms in neuronal activity in the Arc and DMH. Further, PER2::LUC rhythms were detected in the ependymal layer of the third ventricle and in the median eminence/pars tuberalis (ME/PT). A high-fat diet had no effect on the molecular oscillations in the MBH, whereas food deprivation resulted in an altered phase in the ME/PT. Conclusion: Our results provide the first single cell resolution of endogenous circadian rhythms in clock gene expression in any intact tissue outside the SCN, reveal the cellular basis for tissue level damping in extra-SCN oscillators and demonstrate that an oscillator in the ME/PT is responsive to changes in metabolism

Thalamic inputs to dorsomedial striatum are involved in inhibitory control: evidence from the five-choice serial reaction time task in rats

Rationale Corticostriatal circuits are widely implicated in the top-down control of attention including inhibitory control and behavioural flexibility. However, recent neurophysiological evidence also suggests a role for thalamic inputs to striatum in behaviours related to salient, reward-paired cues. Objectives Here, we used designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) to investigate the role of parafascicular (Pf) thalamic inputs to the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) using the five-choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT) in rats. Methods The 5CSRTT requires sustained attention in order to detect spatially and temporally distributed visual cues and provides measures of inhibitory control related to impulsivity (premature responses) and compulsivity (perseverative responses). Rats underwent bilateral Pf injections of the DREADD vector, AAV2-CaMKIIa-HA-hM4D(Gi)-IRES-mCitrine. The DREADD agonist, clozapine N-oxide (CNO; 1 μl bilateral; 3 μM) or vehicle, was injected into DMS 1 h before behavioural testing. Task parameters were manipulated to increase attention load or reduce stimulus predictability respectively. Results We found that inhibition of the Pf-DMS projection significantly increased perseverative responses when stimulus predictability was reduced but had no effect on premature responses or response accuracy, even under increased attentional load. Control experiments showed no effects on locomotor activity in an open field. Conclusions These results complement previous lesion work in which the DMS and orbitofrontal cortex were similarly implicated in perseverative responses and suggest a specific role for thalamostriatal inputs in inhibitory control

Rare recurrence of a rare ovarian stromal tumor with luteinized cells: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Sex cord-stromal tumors of the ovary are uncommon. They behave unpredictably and often have a late recurrence, making counseling, management, and prediction of prognosis challenging.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 52-year-old Moroccan woman with an sex cord-stromal tumors underwent a bilateral oophorectomy. The histology was unusual but was likely to be a luteinized thecoma with suspicious features for invasion. Seven years later, after a gastrointestinal bleed, a metastasis within the small bowel mucosa was detected. This represents probable isolated hematogenous or lymphatic spread, which is highly unusual, especially in the absence of concurrent peritoneal disease.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the second reported case of an sex cord-stromal tumors recurring in small bowel mucosa and mimicking a primary colorectal tumor. This highlights the diverse nature and behavior of these tumors.</p