1,397 research outputs found
Where do we go from here? An assessment of navigation performance using a compass versus a GPS unit
The Global Positioning System (GPS) looks set to replace the traditional map and
compass for navigation tasks in military and civil domains. However, we may ask
whether GPS has a real performance advantage over traditional methods. We present
an exploratory study using a waypoint plotting task to compare the standard magnetic
compass against a military GPS unit, for both expert and non-expert navigators.
Whilst performance times were generally longer in setting up the GPS unit, once
navigation was underway the GPS was more efficient than the compass. For mediumto
long-term missions, this means that GPS could offer significant performance
benefits, although the compass remains superior for shorter missions.
Notwithstanding the performance times, significantly more errors, and more serious
errors, occurred when using the compass. Overall, then, the GPS offers some clear
advantages, especially for non-expert users. Nonetheless, concerns over the
development of cognitive maps remain when using GPS technologies
Esophageal perforation caused by external air-blast injury
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Esophageal perforation after external air-blast trauma is rarely presented in the emergency room. The diagnosis is often delayed more than 24 hours.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We review the literature and report a case of esophageal perforation caused by external air-blast injury.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Including the present case, a total of 5 cases of esophageal perforation were caused by external air-blast injury in English literature. Of them, the common presentations were chest pain and dyspnea. The treatment methods varied with each case. One patient died before diagnosis of esophageal perforation and the others survived after proper surgical management.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Early diagnosis and proper surgical management can reduce the morbidity and mortality of patients who suffered from esophageal perforation caused by external air-blast injury.</p
CPAP pressure and flow data at 2 positive pressure levels and multiple controlled breathing rates from a trial of 30 adults
Objectives: A unique dataset of airway flow/pressure from healthy subjects on Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) ventilation was collected. This data can be used to develop or validate models of pulmonary mechanics, and/or to develop methods to identify patient-specific parameters which cannot be measured non-invasively, during CPAP therapy. These models and values, particularly if available breath-to-breath in real-time, could assist clinicians in the prescription or optimisation of CPAP therapy, including optimising PEEP settings. Data description: Data was obtained from 30 subjects for model-based identification of patient-specific lung mechanics using a specially designed venturi sensor system comprising an array of differential and gauge pressure sensors. Relevant medical information was collected using a questionnaire, including: sex; age; weight; height; smoking history; and history of asthma. Subjects were tasked with breathing at five different rates (including passive), matched to an online pacing sound and video, at two different levels of PEEP (4 and 7 cmH2O) for between 50 and 180 s. Each data set comprises ~ 17 breaths of data, including rest periods between breathing rates and CPAP levels
Weakened magnetic braking as the origin of anomalously rapid rotation in old field stars
A knowledge of stellar ages is crucial for our understanding of many
astrophysical phenomena, and yet ages can be difficult to determine. As they
become older, stars lose mass and angular momentum, resulting in an observed
slowdown in surface rotation. The technique of 'gyrochronology' uses the
rotation period of a star to calculate its age. However, stars of known age
must be used for calibration, and, until recently, the approach was untested
for old stars (older than 1 gigayear, Gyr). Rotation periods are now known for
stars in an open cluster of intermediate age (NGC 6819; 2.5 Gyr old), and for
old field stars whose ages have been determined with asteroseismology. The data
for the cluster agree with previous period-age relations, but these relations
fail to describe the asteroseismic sample. Here we report stellar evolutionary
modelling, and confirm the presence of unexpectedly rapid rotation in stars
that are more evolved than the Sun. We demonstrate that models that incorporate
dramatically weakened magnetic braking for old stars can---unlike existing
models---reproduce both the asteroseismic and the cluster data. Our findings
might suggest a fundamental change in the nature of ageing stellar dynamos,
with the Sun being close to the critical transition to much weaker magnetized
winds. This weakened braking limits the diagnostic power of gyrochronology for
those stars that are more than halfway through their main-sequence lifetimes.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures in main paper, 6 extended data figures, 1 table.
Published in Nature, January 2016. Please see https://youtu.be/O6HzYgP5uyc
for a video description of the resul
Real-Time decision support using data mining to predict blood pressure critical events in intensive medicine patients
Patient blood pressure is an important vital signal to the physicians take a decision and to better understand the patient condition. In Intensive Care Units is possible monitoring the blood pressure due the fact of the patient being in continuous monitoring through bedside monitors and the use of sensors. The intensivist only have access to vital signs values when they look to the monitor or consult the values hourly collected. Most important is the sequence of the values collected, i.e., a set of highest or lowest values can signify a critical event and bring future complications to a patient as is Hypotension or Hypertension. This complications can leverage a set of dangerous diseases and side-effects. The main goal of this work is to predict the probability of a patient has a blood pressure critical event in the next hours by combining a set of patient data collected in real-time and using Data Mining classification techniques. As output the models indicate the probability (%) of a patient has a Blood Pressure Critical Event in the next hour. The achieved results showed to be very promising, presenting sensitivity around of 95%
Mathematical modeling of the metastatic process
Mathematical modeling in cancer has been growing in popularity and impact
since its inception in 1932. The first theoretical mathematical modeling in
cancer research was focused on understanding tumor growth laws and has grown to
include the competition between healthy and normal tissue, carcinogenesis,
therapy and metastasis. It is the latter topic, metastasis, on which we will
focus this short review, specifically discussing various computational and
mathematical models of different portions of the metastatic process, including:
the emergence of the metastatic phenotype, the timing and size distribution of
metastases, the factors that influence the dormancy of micrometastases and
patterns of spread from a given primary tumor.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, Revie
Individual rules for trail pattern formation in Argentine ants (Linepithema humile)
We studied the formation of trail patterns by Argentine ants exploring an
empty arena. Using a novel imaging and analysis technique we estimated
pheromone concentrations at all spatial positions in the experimental arena and
at different times. Then we derived the response function of individual ants to
pheromone concentrations by looking at correlations between concentrations and
changes in speed or direction of the ants. Ants were found to turn in response
to local pheromone concentrations, while their speed was largely unaffected by
these concentrations. Ants did not integrate pheromone concentrations over
time, with the concentration of pheromone in a 1 cm radius in front of the ant
determining the turning angle. The response to pheromone was found to follow a
Weber's Law, such that the difference between quantities of pheromone on the
two sides of the ant divided by their sum determines the magnitude of the
turning angle. This proportional response is in apparent contradiction with the
well-established non-linear choice function used in the literature to model the
results of binary bridge experiments in ant colonies (Deneubourg et al. 1990).
However, agent based simulations implementing the Weber's Law response function
led to the formation of trails and reproduced results reported in the
literature. We show analytically that a sigmoidal response, analogous to that
in the classical Deneubourg model for collective decision making, can be
derived from the individual Weber-type response to pheromone concentrations
that we have established in our experiments when directional noise around the
preferred direction of movement of the ants is assumed.Comment: final version, 9 figures, submitted to Plos Computational Biology
(accepted
Mapping an atlas of tissue-specific drosophila melanogaster metabolomes by high resolution mass spectrometry
Metabolomics can provide exciting insights into organismal function, but most work on simple models has focussed on the whole organism metabolome, so missing the contributions of individual tissues. Comprehensive metabolite profiles for ten tissues from adult Drosophila melanogaster were obtained here by two chromatographic methods, a hydrophilic interaction (HILIC) method for polar metabolites and a lipid profiling method also based on HILIC, in combination with an Orbitrap Exactive instrument. Two hundred and forty two polar metabolites were putatively identified in the various tissues, and 251 lipids were observed in positive ion mode and 61 in negative ion mode. Although many metabolites were detected in all tissues, every tissue showed characteristically abundant metabolites which could be rationalised against specific tissue functions. For example, the cuticle contained high levels of glutathione, reflecting a role in oxidative defence; the alimentary canal (like vertebrate gut) had high levels of acylcarnitines for fatty acid metabolism, and the head contained high levels of ether lipids. The male accessory gland uniquely contained decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine. These data thus both provide valuable insights into tissue function, and a reference baseline, compatible with the FlyAtlas.org transcriptomic resource, for further metabolomic analysis of this important model organism, for example in the modelling of human inborn errors of metabolism, aging or metabolic imbalances such as diabetes
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