METHOD FOR STARTING GROUP CHAT AMONG USERS IN PROXIMITY

A method for starting group chat among users using proximity sensing in a communication device is disclosed. The application will allow quick formation of a group using proximity sensing that can be used for communication among the group members. The application for creating groups using the method illustrated can be implemented in any communication device such as phone, computer, laptop etc. or any wearable communication device such as a watch

WEARABLE FULL FIELD AUGMENTED REALITY DISPLAY WITH WAVELENGTH-SELECTIVE MAGNIFICATION

A head mounted display (HMD) incorporates lenses that operate as pass-through optics for most wavelengths, but for incident light at certain wavelength(s), the lenses operate to effectively magnify such light. As such, when a user wearing the HMD device looks at a display device configured to display certain content using light having the specified wavelength, the displayed content is magnified and superimposed on the rest of the scene in the field of view. As such, the HMD device enables smaller screens to effectively present as much larger screens to the user, without requiring optics that magnify everything within the field of view indiscriminately

Polymer crystallinity and crystallization kinetics via benchtop 1 H NMR relaxometry: Revisited method, data analysis, and experiments on common polymers

Semi-crystalline polymers play an enormously important role in materials science, engineering, and nature. Two-thirds of all synthetic polymers have the ability to crystallize which allows for the extensive use of these materials in a variety of applications as molded parts, films, or fibers. Here, we present a study on the applicability of benchtop 1H NMR relaxometry to obtain information on the bulk crystallinity and crystallization kinetics of the most relevant synthetic semi-crystalline polymers. In the first part, we investigated the temperature-dependent relaxation behavior and identified T=Tg+100 K as the minimum relative temperature difference with respect to Tg for which the mobility contrast between crystalline and amorphous protons is sufficient for an unambiguous determination of polymer crystallinity. The obtained bulk crystallinities from 1 H NMR were compared to results from DSC and XRD, and all three methods showed relatively good agreement for all polymers. In the second part, we focused on the determination of the crystallization kinetics, i.e., monitoring of isothermal crystallization, which required a robust design of the pulse sequence, precise temperature calibration, and careful data analysis. We found the combination of a magic sandwich echo (MSE) with a short acquisition time followed by a CarrPurcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) echo train with short pulse timings to be the most suitable for monitoring crystallization. This study demonstrates the application of benchtop 1H NMR relaxometry to investigate the bulk crystallinity and crystallization kinetics of polymers, which can lead to its optimal use as an in situ technique in research, quality control, and processing labs

Polymer crystallinity and crystallization kinetics via benchtop 1 H NMR relaxometry: Revisited method, data analysis, and experiments on common polymers

Semi-crystalline polymers play an enormously important role in materials science, engineering, and nature. Two-thirds of all synthetic polymers have the ability to crystallize which allows for the extensive use of these materials in a variety of applications as molded parts, films, or fibers. Here, we present a study on the applicability of benchtop 1H NMR relaxometry to obtain information on the bulk crystallinity and crystallization kinetics of the most relevant synthetic semi-crystalline polymers. In the first part, we investigated the temperature-dependent relaxation behavior and identified T=Tg+100 K as the minimum relative temperature difference with respect to Tg for which the mobility contrast between crystalline and amorphous protons is sufficient for an unambiguous determination of polymer crystallinity. The obtained bulk crystallinities from 1 H NMR were compared to results from DSC and XRD, and all three methods showed relatively good agreement for all polymers. In the second part, we focused on the determination of the crystallization kinetics, i.e., monitoring of isothermal crystallization, which required a robust design of the pulse sequence, precise temperature calibration, and careful data analysis. We found the combination of a magic sandwich echo (MSE) with a short acquisition time followed by a CarrPurcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) echo train with short pulse timings to be the most suitable for monitoring crystallization. This study demonstrates the application of benchtop 1H NMR relaxometry to investigate the bulk crystallinity and crystallization kinetics of polymers, which can lead to its optimal use as an in situ technique in research, quality control, and processing labs

Group, field and isolated early-type galaxies I. Observations and nuclear data

This is the first paper of a series on the investigation of stellar population properties and galaxy evolution of an observationally homogeneous sample of early-type galaxies in groups, field and isolated galaxies. We present high S/N long-slit spectroscopy of 86 nearby elliptical and S0 galaxies. 8 of them are isolated, selected according to a rigorous criterion. This survey has the advantage of covering a larger wavelength range than normally found in the literature, including [OIII]5007 and Halpha, both important for emission correction. Among the 86 galaxies with S/N>15 (per resolution element, for r_e/8 central aperture), 57 have their Hbeta-index corrected for emission, average correction is 0.190A in Hbeta; 42 galaxies reveal [OIII]5007 emission, of which 16 also show obvious Halpha emission. Most of the galaxies in the sample do not show obvious signs of disturbances nor tidal features in the morphologies, although 11 belong to the Arp catalogue of peculiar galaxies; only 3 of them (NGC750, NGC751, NGC3226) seem to be strongly interacting. We present the measurement of 25 central line-strength indices calibrated to the Lick/IDS system. Kinematic information is obtained for the sample. We analyse the line-strength index vs velocity dispersion relations for our sample of mainly low density environment galaxies, and compare the slope of the relations with cluster galaxies from the literature. Our main findings are that the index-sigma_0 relations presented for low-density regions are not significantly different from those of cluster E/S0s. The slope of the index-sigma_0 relations does not seem to change for early-type galaxies of different environmental densities, but the scatter of the relations seems larger for group, field and isolated galaxies than for cluster galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in the MNRA

TRAWLING: a Transcriptome Reference Aware of spLIciNG events

Alternative splicing is critical for human gene expression regulation and plays an important role in multiple human diseases. In this context, RNA sequencing has emerged as powerful approach to detect alternative splicing events. In parallel, fast alignment-free methods have emerged as a viable alternative to quantify gene and transcript level abundance from RNAseq data. However, the ability to detect differential splicing events is dependent on the annotation of the transcript reference provided by the user. Here, we introduce a new reference transcriptome aware of splicing events, TRAWLING, which simplifies the detection of aberrant splicing events in a fast and simple way. In addition, we evaluate the performances and the benefits of aligning transcriptome data to TRAWLING using three different RNA sequencing datasets: whole transcriptome sequencing, single cell RNA sequencing and Digital RNA with pertUrbation of Genes. Collectively, our comprehensive evaluation underlines the value of using TRAWLING in transcriptomic data analysis

Robotic versus laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy: multicentre analysis.

BACKGROUND The role of minimally invasive distal pancreatectomy is still unclear, and whether robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP) offers benefits over laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) is unknown because large multicentre studies are lacking. This study compared perioperative outcomes between RDP and LDP. METHODS A multicentre international propensity score-matched study included patients who underwent RDP or LDP for any indication in 21 European centres from six countries that performed at least 15 distal pancreatectomies annually (January 2011 to June 2019). Propensity score matching was based on preoperative characteristics in a 1 : 1 ratio. The primary outcome was the major morbidity rate (Clavien-Dindo grade IIIa or above). RESULTS A total of 1551 patients (407 RDP and 1144 LDP) were included in the study. Some 402 patients who had RDP were matched with 402 who underwent LDP. After matching, there was no difference between RDP and LDP groups in rates of major morbidity (14.2 versus 16.5 per cent respectively; P = 0.378), postoperative pancreatic fistula grade B/C (24.6 versus 26.5 per cent; P = 0.543) or 90-day mortality (0.5 versus 1.3 per cent; P = 0.268). RDP was associated with a longer duration of surgery than LDP (median 285 (i.q.r. 225-350) versus 240 (195-300) min respectively; P < 0.001), lower conversion rate (6.7 versus 15.2 per cent; P < 0.001), higher spleen preservation rate (81.4 versus 62.9 per cent; P = 0.001), longer hospital stay (median 8.5 (i.q.r. 7-12) versus 7 (6-10) days; P < 0.001) and lower readmission rate (11.0 versus 18.2 per cent; P = 0.004). CONCLUSION The major morbidity rate was comparable between RDP and LDP. RDP was associated with improved rates of conversion, spleen preservation and readmission, to the detriment of longer duration of surgery and hospital stay

Robotic versus laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy: multicentre analysis

Background: The role of minimally invasive distal pancreatectomy is still unclear, and whether robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP) offers benefits over laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) is unknown because large multicentre studies are lacking. This study compared perioperative outcomes between RDP and LDP. Methods: A multicentre international propensity score-matched study included patients who underwent RDP or LDP for any indication in 21 European centres from six countries that performed at least 15 distal pancreatectomies annually (January 2011 to June 2019). Propensity score matching was based on preoperative characteristics in a 1 : 1 ratio. The primary outcome was the major morbidity rate (Clavien-Dindo grade IIIa or above). Results: A total of 1551 patients (407 RDP and 1144 LDP) were included in the study. Some 402 patients who had RDP were matched with 402 who underwent LDP. After matching, there was no difference between RDP and LDP groups in rates of major morbidity (14.2 versus 16.5 per cent respectively; P = 0.378), postoperative pancreatic fistula grade B/C (24.6 versus 26.5 per cent; P = 0.543) or 90-day mortality (0.5 versus 1.3 per cent; P = 0.268). RDP was associated with a longer duration of surgery than LDP (median 285 (i.q.r. 225-350) versus 240 (195-300) min respectively; P < 0.001), lower conversion rate (6.7 versus 15.2 per cent; P < 0.001), higher spleen preservation rate (81.4 versus 62.9 per cent; P = 0.001), longer hospital stay (median 8.5 (i.q.r. 7-12) versus 7 (6-10) days; P < 0.001) and lower readmission rate (11.0 versus 18.2 per cent; P = 0.004). Conclusion: The major morbidity rate was comparable between RDP and LDP. RDP was associated with improved rates of conversion, spleen preservation and readmission, to the detriment of longer duration of surgery and hospital stay