Flexible Control of Composite Parameters in Max/MSP

Fundamental to the development of musical or artistic creative work is the ability to transform raw materials. This ability implies the facility to master many facets of the material, and to shape it with plasticity. Computer music environments typically provide points of control to manipulate material by supplying parameters with controllable values. This capability to control the values of parameters is inadequate for many artistic endeavors, and does not reflect the analogous tools and methods of artists working with physical materials. Rather than viewing parameters in computer-based systems as single points of control, the authors posit that parameters must become more multifaceted and dynamic in order to serve the needs of artists. The authors propose an expanded notion of how to work with parameters in computer-centric environments for time-based art. A proposed partial solution to this problem is to give parameters additional properties that define their behavior. An example implementation of these ideas is presented in Jamoma

Characteristics and prognoses of patients treated by an anaesthesiologist-manned prehospital emergency care unit:A retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE: When planning and dimensioning an emergency medical system, knowledge of the population serviced is vital. The amount of literature concerning the prehospital population is sparse. In order to add to the current body of literature regarding prehospital treatment, thus aiding future public health planning, we describe the workload of a prehospital anaesthesiologist-manned mobile emergency care unit (MECU) and the total population it services in terms of factors associated with mortality. PARTICIPANTS: The study is a register-based study investigating all missions carried out by a MECU operating in a mixed urban/rural area in Denmark from 1 May 2006 to 31 December 2014. Information on missions was extracted from the local MECU registry and linked at the individual level to the Danish population-based databases, the National Patient Registry and the Civil Registration System. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome measures were number of missions and number of patient contacts. Secondary patient variables were mortality and association between mortality and age, sex, comorbidity, prior admission to hospital and response time. RESULTS: The MECU completed 41 513 missions (mean 13.1 missions/day) having 32 873 patient contacts, corresponding to 19.2 missions and 15.2 patient encounters per 1000 patient years. Patient variables: the median age was 57 years (range 0–108 years), 42.8% (42.3% to 43.4%) were women. For patients admitted to hospital alive, 30-day mortality was 5.7% (5.4% to 6.0%); 90-day mortality was 8.1% (7.8% to 8.5%) while 2-year mortality was 16.4% (16.0% to 16.8%). Increasing age, male sex, comorbidity and prior admission to hospital but not response time were associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality following an incident requiring the assistance of a MECU was high in the first 2 years following the incident. MECU response time assessed as a continuous parameter was not associated with patient outcome

Do male and female trauma patients receive the same prehospital care? : An observational follow-up study

Background: Trauma-related mortality can be lowered by efficient prehospital care. Less is known about whether gender influences the prehospital trauma care provided. The aim of this study was to explore gender-related differences in prehospital trauma care of severely injured trauma patients, with a special focus on triage, transportation, and interventions. Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study based on local trauma registries and hospital and ambulance records in Stockholm County, Sweden. A total of 383 trauma patients (279 males and 104 females) > 15years of age with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of > 15 transported to emergency care hospitals in the Stockholm area were included. Results: Male patients had a 2.75 higher odds ratio (95% CI, 1.2-6.2) for receiving the highest prehospital priority compared to females on controlling for injury mechanism and vital signs on scene. No significant difference between genders was detected regarding other aspects of the prehospital care provided. Conclusions: This study indicated that prehospital prioritization among severely injured late adolescent and adult trauma patients differs between genders. Knowledge of a more diffuse presentation of symptoms in female trauma patients despite severe injury may help to adapt and improve prehospital trauma care for this group.Peer reviewe

Investigating subcellular structures in micro-organisms using infrared spectroscopy-based techniques – comparison between the latest micro and nano infrared technologies

Infrared spectroscopy is a widely used method to investigate biological samples. The approach enables chemical information of molecules by evaluating the wavenumber dependent absorption of the sample. Infrared microscopic techniques such as Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIR) achieve chemically rich spectra with a spatial resolution at the diffraction limit. Nano infrared spectroscopy techniques such as Optical-probed hotothermal induced tnfrated microspectroscopy (O-PTIR) and Atomic Force Microscopy-based infraied spectroscopy (AFM-IR) circumvent the diffraction limit of infrared radiation, and the techniques are promising for obtaining high quality subcellular spatially resolved spectra. The aim of this thesis is to compare FTIR microscopy and nano infrared techniques for their ability to achieve subcellular resolved spectra in the analysis of biological cells. For FTIR microscopy, the newly developed approach of deep-learning empowered 3D infrared diffraction tomography is used. The method takes advantage of the scattering features that arise in infrared microspectroscopy. Scattering effects change the absorbance spectra of biological cells considerably, making it hard to analyze the chemical signatures in the sample. Thus, a lot of effort has been made to remove the scattering effect, such as extended multiplicative signal correction, and further by deep learning algorithms, which are less computationally expensive. Instead of looking at the scattering as a disturbing effect, deep-learning empowered 3D infrared diffraction tomography solves the inverse scattering problem and retrieves the pure absorbance spectrum of the cell wall and cell interior of biological cells. This is possible by taking advantage of scattering chemical features that are characteristic for the chemical and physical properties of the sample. The approach makes it possible to obtain subcellular information from structures of biological samples that have sizes below the diffraction limit of microspectroscopic instruments such as FTIR.We show in this thesis that with intact cells with a diameter size bigger than 5 μm such as Phaffia rhodozyma it is possible to get high chemical absorbance spectra of the cell wall and cell interior using the deep-learning empowered 3D infrared diffraction tomography. O-PTIR is theoretically limited by a green laser of 532 nm and the AFM-IR is only limited by the tip radius of the cantilever, giving a spatial resolution down to 50 nm. In order to obtain chemical information from the cell wall and cell interior, biological samples were sectioned. The cells were embedded in epoxy, which is necessary to make nanometer sections. The epoxy shows strong signals in the infrared absorbance spectra, leading to highly contaminated spectra. We show that it is impossible to correct for the epoxy and to obtain chemical information from the cell wall and cell interior from O-PTIR spectra. The AFM-IR sectioned cells were also strongly affected by epoxy, especially in the region between 1200 cm−1 and 1000 cm−1. However, we were successfully able to distinguish the cell wall and cell interior due to chemical differences in the spectra. In a recent study, in-depth measurements of intact biological cells were performed with OPTIR. The study claims that it is possible to obtain in-depth chemical information about intact cells. However, there are a lot of uncertainties with this technique. With a limited understanding of the optical instrumentation, it is impossible to be sure that the chemical information obtained by in-depth measurements originates from that focus point. Most likely, the signal comes from the whole laser path of the probe laser and not only from the measured depth of the sample. Therefore, it is not possible to use this approach to obtain subcellular chemical information. However, the technique allows high-quality signals from different depths, giving an approximation of the thickness of the cell

Forbedret formidling av kreftdiagnose

Bakgrunn/emne: Formidling av kreftdiagnose og andre budskap om dårlige nyheter oppleves som vanskelig av mange leger. Pasienter erfarer at måten det gjøres på ikke er optimal. Vår egen erfaring fra klinisk praksis tilsier at dette gjelder mange avdelinger og mange pasientgrupper. Kunnskapsgrunnlag: Svikter kommunikasjonen mellom lege og pasient når budskap om kreftdiagnose skal overbringes, fører dette til at pasientene opplever situasjonen som mer traumatisk. Pasienten har vanskelig for å få med seg informasjonen som blir gitt, og det kan føre til dårligere etterlevelse når det gjelder behandling og oppfølging. Legen opplever også sviktende kommunikasjon som vanskelig. Har legene retningslinjer å forholde seg til og trening i å kommunisere vanskelige budskap, opplever legene at jobben er enklere og de er mer tilfreds med egen innsats. ”The four habits approach to effective clinical communication” er et kommunikasjonsopplegg som er utviklet i USA, og tilpasset norske forhold gjennom modellen ”Fire gode vaner”. Modellen består av en retningslinje med fire gode vaner som legene kan følge, samt et opplegg med kurs og rollespill for trening på vanskelige situasjoner. Begrunnet tiltak og metode: Vi har planlagt å innføre modellen ”Fire gode vaner” for hvordan budskap om kreftdiagnose skal formidles til pasienten. Retningslinjen skal følges av legene når slike nyheter skal overbringes. Legene skal gjennomgå et kurs der det trenes på kommunikasjonsferdigheter og bruk av ”Fire gode vaner” i formidling av kreftdiagnose. Indikator er legenes mestringstillit i vanskelige kommunikasjonssituasjoner. Modellen er tidligere vist å fungere under norske forhold. Organisering: Vi benytter en trinnvis tilnærming til implementering av retningslinjen. De fire trinnene er å få med ledelsen, motivere de ansatte, kursing med rollespill og evaluering. Tiltaket videreføres med opplæring av nyansatte, både med informasjon om retningslinjen og kurs med jevne mellomrom. Resultater/vurdering: Modellen ”Fire gode vaner” er vist å bedre legers kommunikasjonsevner og gir økt mestringstillit hos leger som gjennomgår opplegget. På bakgrunn av den tilbakemeldingen vi fikk fra personer ved den aktuelle avdelingen, ser vi det som umulig å gjennomføre prosjektet der. Vi mener likevel dette er et godt tiltak for å bedre hvordan kreftdiagnose meddeles pasienter, og at prosjektet vil være gjennomførbart ved en annen avdeling

Role of FLT3 ITD PTPRC signaling in bone remodeling

Bone remodeling is a continuous process that occurs at every bone surface and helps to maintain the skeletal shape and quality. It involves osteoclasts, derived from the hematopoietic lineage, which initially resorb bone, followed by osteoblasts, derived from the mesenchymal lineage, which form new bone. A mouse model combining an oncogenic internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation in the Flt3 gene with inactivation of PTPRC activity showed abnormal bone structures with increased numbers of trabeculae. Furthermore, osteoclast and osteoblast numbers were altered in the femur of these mice compared to controls. Osteoclast differentiation was impaired in cells derived from mice carrying FLT3 ITD and the inactivation of PTPRC. During osteoclast differentiation, proliferation of these cells was higher compared to the controls, which was due to FLT3 ITD activity and its downstream target STAT5. The effect of FLT3 ITD and knockout of Ptprc on osteoblast differentiation was less substantial compared to the effect on osteoclasts. However, mineralization activity of osteoblasts was reduced. Analysis of gene expression in both osteoclasts and osteoblasts indicated a dysregulated crosstalk between these cell types, affecting multiple signaling pathways that influence osteoclast differentiation, osteoblast differentiation, and coupling of bone resorption and formation during bone remodeling. In conclusion, the presence of oncogenic FLT3 ITD in combination with the absence of PTPRC in mice led to alterations in the osteohematopoietic niche. These alterations affected the proliferation and differentiation processes of hematopoietic and mesenchymal cells, thereby affecting osteoclast and osteoblast activity, bone remodeling and causing a severe bone phenotype

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doi:10.1186/1757-7241-16

Defining and Evaluating Long-term Operability of Service Vessels in Exposed Aquaculture

Den norske oppdrettsnæringen er tradisjonelt gjennomført i skjermede sjø langs kysten, men har gradvis begynt å bevege seg mot mer utsatte områder på grunn av økende etterspørsel, mangel på produksjonsområde og bedre produksjonsmiljø. Dette har ført til nye utfordringer i bransjen, og som et resultat har et prosjekt som tar for seg utfordingene ved eksponert fiskeoppdrett, "EXPOSED", blitt initialisert. En av utfordringe prosjektet har lagt vekt på er fremtiden for oppdrettsfartøy. Når man flytter til mer utsatte farvann, følger det at fartøyets krav, for å utføre operasjoner med hell, er skjerpet. Det følger også at fartøyene er mer utsatt for ventetid på grunn av hardere værforhold. På grunn av dette er operabiliteten til et skip en viktig faktor, og avgjørende for videre forståelse og vekst i bransjen. I litteraturen er det ingen universell enighet om hva som definerer operabiliteten til et fartøy, og ulike studier vurderer operabiliteten med varierende definisjoner. For å kunne sammenligne ulike design på like vilkår med pålitelige resultater, er det viktig å utvikle standardiserte evalueringsmetoder og klare defiisjoner på hva begrepet operabilitet innebærer. Målet med denne studien er å øke innsikt og kunnskap om hva som definerer et service fartøy sin operabilitet i eksponert oppdrett. Dette gjøres ved å vurdere ulike definisjoner av operabilitet funnet i litteraturen. Gjennom en fartøyresponsanalyse av et service fartøy (Macho 40) defineres kvantitative operasjonsspesifike grenser for utføring av operasjonene. To forskjellige tilnærminger brukes til å oppnå de forskjellige definisjonene av operabilitet; en numerisk tilnærming og en simuleringsbasert tilnærming. Sammen med målte bølgedata fra en oceanografisk bøye og værmeldingsdata fra ECMWF, brukes operasjonsgrensene som input til analysen. Resultatene fra den numeriske tilnærmingen viser at vurderingen av værmeldingen har betydelig innvirkning på operabiliteten. Generelt reduseres operabiliteten når det tas hensyn til værvarsel, noe som indikerer at definisjon av operabiliteten uten å vurdere værvarsel utelukker viktige aspekter av usikkerhet fra det virkelige scenariet om bruk av værvarsel som et beslutningsverktøy. Videre viser studien at reisetid og operasjonstid også har en betydelig innvirkning på operabilitetsmålingene, og bør vurderes når man vurderer operabiliteten av et servicefartøy. Basert på resultatene fra den simuleringsbaserte tilnærmingen anbefales det å definere operabilitet som forholdet mellom operasjoner utført og operasjoner utført under perfekt vær, basert på en etterspørsel av operasjoner, for et servicefartøy i akvakultursektoren. Sammenligningen av resultatene som er oppnådd fra de to tilnærmingene, indikerer også sterkt at en simuleringsmodell er nødvendig for å fange operabiliteten av et servicefartøy. Dette skyldes en høy grad av kompleksitet til et servicefartøy's operasjonelle profil, noe som er vanskelig å implementere i en numerisk programmeringsmetode. I denne masteren er det utført et arbeid for å definere operabiliteten av et service skip i akvakulturindustrien. Flere definisjoner er vurdert og evaluert. For å oppnå statistikken som trengs for å beregne operabiliteten, en numerisk og en simuleringsbasert tilnærming har vært brukt. Betraktningen av værprognoser er implementert i vurderingen, som ikke har blitt vurdert før. Basert på evaluering og diskusjon av resultatene, er det foreslått en anbefaling for å definere operabiliteten. Resultatene er imidlertid påvirket av usikkerhet grunnet usikkerhet i værdata og driftsprofil. Også fordi simuleringsmodellen ikke er validert, er det umulig å avgjøre hvorvidt resultatene er "bedre" i forhold til hverandre. Resultatene er derfor betraktet som indikatorer på hvordan operabiliteten respondere til endringer i definisjon, i stedet for som eksakte verdier. Uansett, er målet om å øke innsikt og kunnskap om hva som definerer operabiliteten av service fartøy i eksponert akvakultur, oppnådd.Norwegian fish farming facilities are traditionally located in sheltered areas along the coast but has gradually started to move towards more exposed locations due to increasing demand, lack of production area and better production environment. This has led to new challenges within the industry, and as a result, the EXPOSED Aquaculture Operations center has been initialized. One of the issues addressed in the project is the future of fish farming vessels. When moving to more exposed waters, it follows that vessel requirements, to perform operations successfully, are sharpened. It also follows that the vessels are more exposed to waiting time due to more harsh and hostile waters. Because of this, the operability of ships is an essential factor, and crucial for further understanding and growth of the industry. In the literature, there is no universal agreement on what defines the operability of a service vessel, and different studies evaluate the operability with varying definitions. In order to compare different designs on equal terms with reliable results, it is important to develop standardized evaluation methods and clearly defined operability. The objective of this study is to increase insight and knowledge about what factors define the operability of service vessels in exposed aquaculture. This is done by evaluating different definitions of operability found in the literature. Through a vessel response analysis of the service vessel Macho 40, quantitative operational limits are determined for each operation the vessel can perform. Two different approaches are then used to obtain the different definitions of operability; a numerical approach and a simulation-based approach. Together with measured wave data from an oceanographic buoy and weather forecast data from ECMWF, the operational limits are used as input in the analysis. The results from the numerical approach show that the operability decreases when including weather forecast. This indicates that defining operability without considering weather forecast excludes essential aspects of uncertainty from the real-life scenario of using weather forecast as a decision-making tool. Further, the study shows that transit time and operation duration also have a significant impact on the operability measurement, and should be considered when assessing the operability of a service vessel. Based on the results from the simulation-based approach it is recommended to define operability as the ratio between operations performed and operations performed during perfect weather, based on an operation demand. The comparison of the results obtained from the two approaches also strongly indicate that a simulation model is necessary to capture the operability of a service vessel. This is highly due to the complex nature of a service vessel's operational profile, which is difficult to implement in a numerical programming approach. Efforts have been made in this thesis to define the operability of a service vessel in the aquaculture industry. Several definitions have been assessed and evaluated. To obtain the statistics needed to calculate the performance indicators, a numerical and a simulation-based approach have been used. The consideration of weather forecast has been implemented in the assessment, which has not been done before. Based on the evaluation and discussion of the results, a recommendation for defining operability have been proposed. However, the reliability of the results are affected by uncertainty regarding the weather data and operational profile. Also, because the simulation model is not validated, it is impossible to determine whether or not the results are "better" compared to each other. The results are therefore considered as indicators on how the operability respond to changes in definition, rather than exact values. Nevertheless, the objective of increasing insight and knowledge about what defines the operability of service vessels in exposed aquaculture have been obtained, and the simulation model presented in this thesis form a good basis for further study on operability. Improving the reliability of the weather data and operational profile of service vessels used as input in the analysis, is recommended for further work on defining operability