Regional target surveillance with cooperative robots using APFs

Target surveillance in a bounded environment has been a growing focus in the past few years, particularly with recent world events prompting the need for environmental monitoring using automated surveillance. Scenarios exist where the goal is to be able to track targets within a certain distance and yet maintain a proper distribution of the surveillance units to provide field coverage. Previous works in this area using mobile robots as the surveillance units have made assumptions of a global awareness capability provided by a central controller. Artificial Potential Fields (APFs) have been used in cooperative robots and swarm research for applications such as threat containment and related formation control without as much focus on the surveillance tasks. This thesis aims to extend the use of APFs to the concept of Regional Target Surveillance in a distributed algorithm among cooperative robots, with the utilization of Voronoi cells to aid in coverage control. This investigation proposes a system to utilize only the necessary number of robots with local awareness capability. Each of these robots integrates the use of a centroid force and a target force to provide a balanced coverage and target tracking performance. This is accomplished by implicitly defining three circular regions of responsibility for each robot, namely, the full sensing region, the target tracking region, and the centroid calculation region. The target tracking region is within the full sensing region and encompasses the centroid calculation region. The centroid calculation region is used to define the Voronoi cells and thus the centroid of the responsible field of each robot. By adjusting the relative size of the three regions, the system accomplishes implicit target handoff between robots, and, in turn, provides an overall balance between regional target tracking and environmental coverage for the surveillance goal. Matlab simulation results show that with a proper balance in the tradeoff between the tracking and coverage performance, the algorithm is scalable to larger field sizes with a similar robot density, while successfully accomplishing the surveillance tasks

Immunogenicity of a Killed Bivalent (O1 and O139) Whole Cell Oral Cholera Vaccine, Shanchol, in Haiti

Background: Studies of the immunogenicity of the killed bivalent whole cell oral cholera vaccine, Shanchol, have been performed in historically cholera-endemic areas of Asia. There is a need to assess the immunogenicity of the vaccine in Haiti and other populations without historical exposure to Vibrio cholerae. Methodology/Principal Findings We measured immune responses after administration of Shanchol, in 25 adults, 51 older children (6–17 years), and 47 younger children (1–5 years) in Haiti, where cholera was introduced in 2010. A≥4-fold increase in vibriocidal antibody titer against V. cholerae O1 Ogawa was observed in 91% of adults, 74% of older children, and 73% of younger children after two doses of Shanchol; similar responses were observed against the Inaba serotype. A≥2-fold increase in serum O-antigen specific polysaccharide IgA antibody levels against V. cholerae O1 Ogawa was observed in 59% of adults, 45% of older children, and 61% of younger children; similar responses were observed against the Inaba serotype. We compared immune responses in Haitian individuals with age- and blood group-matched individuals from Bangladesh, a historically cholera-endemic area. The geometric mean vibriocidal titers after the first dose of vaccine were lower in Haitian than in Bangladeshi vaccinees. However, the mean vibriocidal titers did not differ between the two groups after the second dose of the vaccine. Conclusions/Significance: A killed bivalent whole cell oral cholera vaccine, Shanchol, is highly immunogenic in Haitian adults and children. A two-dose regimen may be important in Haiti, and other populations lacking previous repeated exposures to V. cholerae

The Effects of Resistance and Aerobic Exercise Sequence on Energy Expenditure

Color poster with text, photographs, charts, and graphs.There has been little research to determine the optimal order of aerobic and resistance exercise with respect to the amount of calories expended, which may provide a rationale for considering the sequence of exercise when designing exercise programs. This study examines the effects of exercise sequence on energy expenditure during a single exercise bout.University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Program

Le cancer chez l’enfant

Résumé Objectif : Présenter les cancers pédiatriques les plus fréquents et déterminer les particularités de la prise en charge du cancer chez l’enfant comparativement à la population adulte. Décrire le rôle du pharmacien en hémato-oncologie pédiatrique. Sources des données : Les données proviennent d’une revue de la littérature médicale parue depuis l’année 2000, effectuée à l’aide de la base de données PubMed et de Google Scholar. Elles ont aussi été extraites d’ouvrages de référence sur le sujet. Le nom des différentes pathologies décrites dans cet article ont servi de mots clés ainsi que les termes cancer, oncology, pediatric et children. Sélection des études et extraction des données : Les données proviennent en majeure partie d’articles de revues, de lignes directrices, de protocoles de traitement et de recommandations d’experts. Analyse des données : Cet article décrit les huit cancers les plus fréquents touchant l’enfant. Pour chacun d’eux, il indique l’incidence, la survie, les signes et symptômes, les facteurs de risques, la façon de poser le diagnostic ainsi que les modalités de traitement. Conclusion : Le cancer qui frappe l’enfant est différent de celui qui affecte l’adulte. Les diagnostics, le pronostic, les objectifs de traitement, les modalités thérapeutiques, la tolérance aux différentes thérapies, la nécessité du suivi à long terme et l’approche du patient sont tout à fait particuliers à cette population. Abstract Objective: To discuss the most common malignancies in children. To explore the management of cancer in pediatrics in contrast to the adult population. To describe the role of the pharmacist in managing pediatric patients with cancer. Data sources: Literature was accessed through PubMed and Google Scholar (January 2000 – March 2013) using the search terms cancer, oncology, pediatric, and children. Reference citations from publications identified were reviewed. Study selection and data extraction: English and French language articles were reviewed. Data were obtained from review articles, guidelines, treatment protocols and expert recommendations. Data synthesis: This article describes the eight most common malignancies affecting children, discussing incidence, diagnosis, signs and symptoms, risk factors, prognosis and treatment modalities. Conclusion: Malignancies in children are different from those affecting adults. Specific approaches are needed toward this special population in terms of long-term follow-up. Key words: Cancer, child, hematology, oncology, pediatri

Antimicrobial resistance genes in the aquaculture sector: global reports and research gaps.

Aquaculture has been one of the fastest-growing food production systems over the last decade and increased intensification of production has created conditions that favour disease outbreaks. Antibiotics are commonly applied in the animal food sector to fight against antibacterial infections, however their inappropriate use contributes to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Investment in research and capacity-strengthening, in parallel to enforcing existing regulations around antimicrobial use, are potentially powerful tools in tackling the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) emanating from animal producing systems such as aquaculture. However, directing investment effectively is challenging due to the limited data available that hinders the identification of risk areas for current and future AMR emergence. Here, we aim to partially fulfill this gap by analyzing the current peer-reviewed literature reporting AMR genes in aquaculture food production systems and combining the data in a systematic map. Systematic searches of three bibliographic databases, a search engine, and 120 reviews returned 10 699 articles which were screened at title and abstract and then by full text (n = 1100). 218 articles, spanning 39 countries and 6 continents, met all inclusion criteria and were coded to retrieve bibliographic, methodology and study outcome data. AMR gene detections were associated with 44 families of fish and crustaceans and 75 genera of bacteria, with most studies employing primer-based methods to detect ARGs. A narrative synthesis explores implications for future research and policy as well as limitations of the systematic mapping methodology.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Use of RADARSAT-2 and ALOS-PALSAR SAR images for wetland mapping in New Brunswick

Our study tests the use of dual-polarized (HH, HV) RADARSAT-2 C-band and ALOS-PALSAR L-band SAR images for mapping wetland areas in New Brunswick. The study also uses LANDSAT-5 TM and DEM data. The resulting maps were compared to GPS field data as well as to two wetland maps currently in use by the Province of New Brunswick. Overall the Random Forests classifier gave better classification accuracies than the maximum likelihood classifier. The comparison with the 146 wetland truth sites shows that 73.3% are correctly identified over the LANDSAT-5 TM classified image. For the SAR-based classified images, the number of correctly identified wetland ground truth sites is higher when the image acquired during the flooding is considered, the difference being higher with the ALOS-PALSAR images than with the RADARSAT-2 images. The number of correctly identified sites is the highest when both the ALOS-PALSAR images and RADARSAT-2 images are used (98.6%). These percentages of correctly identified wetland sites are well above of those computed using the DNR wetland and forested wetland maps (44.5 %)