First CRDS-measurements of water vapour continuum in the 940nm absorption band

Measurements of near-infrared water vapour continuum using continuous wave cavity ring down spectroscopy (cw- CRDS) have been performed at around 10611.6 and 10685:2 cm1. The continuum absorption coefficients for N2- broadening have been determined for two temperatures and wavenumbers. These results represent the first near-IR continuum laboratory data determined within the complex spectral environment in the 940nm water vapour band and are in reasonable agreement with simulations using the semiempirical CKD formulation

Just Because (Most) Hospitals Are Publishing Charges Does Not Mean Prices Are More Transparent

Background: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently mandated that all hospitals publish their charge description masters (CDMs) online, in a machine-readable format, by January 1, 2019. In addition, CMS recommended that CDM data be made available in a manner that was consumer friendly and accessible to patients. Objective: This study aimed to (1) examine all hospitals across the state of Pennsylvania to understand policy compliance and (2) use established metrics to measure accessibility and consumer friendliness of posted CDM data. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted to quantify hospital website compliance with the recent CMS policies requiring hospitals to publish their CDM. Data were collected from all Pennsylvania hospital websites. Consumer friendliness was assessed based on searchability, number of website clicks to data, and supplemental educational materials accompanying CDMs such as videos or text. Results: Most hospitals (189/234, 80.1%) were compliant, but significant variation in data presentation was observed. The mean number of website clicks to the CDM was 3.7 (SD 1.3; range: 1-8). A total of 23.1% of compliant hospitals provided no supplemental educational material with their CDM. Conclusions: Although disclosure of charges has improved, the data may not be sufficient to meaningfully influence patient decision making

Water quality and quantity assessment of pervious pavements performance in experimental car park areas

Pervious pavements have become one of the most used sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) techniques in car parks. This research paper presents the results of monitoring water quality from several experimental car park areas designed and constructed in Spain with bays made of interlocking concrete block pavement, porous asphalt, polymer-modified porous concrete and reinforced grass with plastic and concrete cells. Moreover, two different sub-base materials were used (limestone aggregates and basic oxygen furnace slag). This study therefore encompasses the majority of the materials used as permeable surfaces and sub-base layers all over the world. Effluent from the test bays was monitored for dissolved oxygen, pH, electric conductivity, total suspended solids, turbidity and total petroleum hydrocarbons in order to analyze the behaviour shown by each combination of surface and sub-base materials. In addition, permeability tests were undertaken in all car parks using the ‘Laboratorio Caminos Santander’ permeameter and the Cantabrian Portable Infiltrometer. All results are presented together with the influence of surface and sub-base materials on water quality indicators using bivariate correlation statistical analysis at a confidence level of 95%. The polymer-modified porous concrete surface course in combination with limestone aggregate sub-base presented the best performance

Abundance trend with condensation temperature for stars with different Galactic birth places

During the past decade, several studies reported a correlation between chemical abundances of stars and condensation temperature (also known as Tc trend). However, the real astrophysical nature of this correlation is still debated. The main goal of this work is to explore the possible dependence of the Tc trend on stellar Galactocentric distances, Rmean. We used high-quality spectra of about 40 stars observed with the HARPS and UVES spectrographs to derive precise stellar parameters, chemical abundances, and stellar ages. A differential line-by-line analysis was applied to achieve the highest possible precision in the chemical abundances. We confirm previous results that [X/Fe] abundance ratios depend on stellar age and that for a given age, some elements also show a dependence on Rmean. When using the whole sample of stars, we observe a weak hint that the Tc trend depends on Rmean. The observed dependence is very complex and disappears when only stars with similar ages are considered. To conclude on the possible dependence of the Tc trend on the formation place of stars, a larger sample of stars with very similar atmospheric parameters and stellar ages observed at different Galactocentric distances is neededComment: Accepted by A&

Distribution of basement membrane antigens in glomeruli of mice with autoimmune glomerulonephritis.

peer reviewedGlomerulonephritis was induced in mice by the repeated injection of human glomeruli or purified glomerular basement membrane. The glomerular basement membranes of nephritic animals were observed to develop subepithelial extensions, "spikes." Although normally Type IV collagen is found throughout the full thickness of basement membranes, the "spikes" reacted with antibodies to laminin but not with antibodies to Type IV collagen. It is proposed that in murine autoimmune glomerulonephritis, the visceral epithelial cells produce an excess of laminin

Reducción de dimensiones para clasificación de datos multidimensionales usando medidas de información

El enorme desarrollo tecnológico ha creado un concepto de información con áreas extensas de aplicación para tareas referentes al entrenamiento de sistemas automáticos. Este trabajo propone una metodología basada en el análisis de componentes independientes (ICA), que incluye el uso de medidas de información, para realizar reducción de dimensiones en conjuntos de datos multidimensionales. La metodología usa un principio de relevancia, con el fin de hallar la representación reducida mientras se conserva la estructura relacionada a la información inicial. La metodología se compara y se conjuga con un sistema básico de selección de características cuya función de evaluación usa la medida de entropía logrando mejores resultados en la clasificación

Reducción de dimensiones para clasificación de datos multidimensionales usando medidas de información

El enorme desarrollo tecnológico ha creado un concepto de información con áreas extensas de aplicación para tareas referentes al entrenamiento de sistemas automáticos. Este trabajo propone una metodología basada en el análisis de componentes independientes (ICA), que incluye el uso de medidas de información, para realizar reducción de dimensiones en conjuntos de datos multidimensionales. La metodología usa un principio de relevancia, con el fin de hallar la representación reducida mientras se conserva la estructura relacionada a la información inicial. La metodología se compara y se conjuga con un sistema básico de selección de características cuya función de evaluación usa la medida de entropía logrando mejores resultados en la clasificación

Reducción de dimensiones para clasificación de datos multidimensionales usando medidas de información

El enorme desarrollo tecnológico ha creado un concepto de información con áreas extensas de aplicación para tareas referentes al entrenamiento de sistemas automáticos. Este trabajo propone una metodología basada en el análisis de componentes independientes (ICA), que incluye el uso de medidas de información, para realizar reducción de dimensiones en conjuntos de datos multidimensionales. La metodología usa un principio de relevancia, con el fin de hallar la representación reducida mientras se conserva la estructura relacionada a la información inicial. La metodología se compara y se conjuga con un sistema básico de selección de características cuya función de evaluación usa la medida de entropía logrando mejores resultados en la clasificación