Biliary ascariasis from a rural setting: a case study.

Ascariasis is a common helminthic infestation in Malaysia, particularly in rural settings. Ascariasis lumbricoides normally lives in the upper small bowel without causing symptoms. Complications arise when these worms migrate into the bile duct (biliary ascariasis). A case of biliary ascariasis presenting as biliary colic is described. Patient presented with 2 days duration of right upper quandrant pain at the district hospital. Initial investigations were suggestive of acute cholecystitis and patient was treated with empirical antibiotics. However, due to worsening symptoms, she was transferred to the nearest tertiary setting. The diagnosis of helminthic biliary infestation was established using both ultrasound of the hepatobiliary system (HBS), CT-Scan abdomen and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Endoscopic removal of the worm led to rapid resolution of symptoms and patient was discharged home well

An Invisible Quantum Tripwire

We present here a quantum tripwire, which is a quantum optical interrogation technique capable of detecting an intrusion with very low probability of the tripwire being revealed to the intruder. Our scheme combines interaction-free measurement with the quantum Zeno effect in order to interrogate the presence of the intruder without interaction. The tripwire exploits a curious nonlinear behaviour of the quantum Zeno effect we discovered, which occurs in a lossy system. We also employ a statistical hypothesis testing protocol, allowing us to calculate a confidence level of interaction-free measurement after a given number of trials. As a result, our quantum intruder alert system is robust against photon loss and dephasing under realistic atmospheric conditions and its design minimizes the probabilities of false positives and false negatives as well as the probability of becoming visible to the intruder.Comment: Improved based on reviewers comments; 5 figure

Effects of strength training on olympic time-based sport performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

To evaluate the effect of strength training on Olympic time-based sports (OTBS) time-trial performance and provide an estimate of the impact of type of strength training, age, training status, and training duration on OTBS time-trial performance. Methods: A search on 3 electronic databases was conducted. The analysis comprised 32 effects in 28 studies. Posttest time-trial performance of intervention and control group from each study was used to estimate the standardized magnitude of impact of strength training on OTBS time-trial performance. Results: Strength training had a moderate positive effect on OTBS time-trial performance (effect size = 0.59, P < .01). Subgroup meta-analysis showed that heavy weight training (effect size = 0.30, P = .01) produced a significant effect, whereas other modes did not induce significant effects. Training status as factorial covariate was significant for well-trained athletes (effect size = 0.62, P = .04), but not for other training levels. Meta-regression analysis yielded nonsignificant relationship with age of the participants recruited (β = −0.04; 95% confidence interval, −0.08 to 0.004; P = .07) and training duration (β = −0.05; 95% confidence interval, −0.11 to 0.02; P = .15) as continuous covariates. Conclusion: Heavy weight training is an effective method for improving OTBS time--trial performance. Strength training has greatest impact on well-trained athletes regardless of age and training duration.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Navigating Our Past, Present, and Future using Mo‘olelo: Sitting beside Our Ancestors.

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

Virus Propagation in Multiple Profile Networks

Suppose we have a virus or one competing idea/product that propagates over a multiple profile (e.g., social) network. Can we predict what proportion of the network will actually get "infected" (e.g., spread the idea or buy the competing product), when the nodes of the network appear to have different sensitivity based on their profile? For example, if there are two profiles $\mathcal{A}$ and $\mathcal{B}$ in a network and the nodes of profile $\mathcal{A}$ and profile $\mathcal{B}$ are susceptible to a highly spreading virus with probabilities $\beta_{\mathcal{A}}$ and $\beta_{\mathcal{B}}$ respectively, what percentage of both profiles will actually get infected from the virus at the end? To reverse the question, what are the necessary conditions so that a predefined percentage of the network is infected? We assume that nodes of different profiles can infect one another and we prove that under realistic conditions, apart from the weak profile (great sensitivity), the stronger profile (low sensitivity) will get infected as well. First, we focus on cliques with the goal to provide exact theoretical results as well as to get some intuition as to how a virus affects such a multiple profile network. Then, we move to the theoretical analysis of arbitrary networks. We provide bounds on certain properties of the network based on the probabilities of infection of each node in it when it reaches the steady state. Finally, we provide extensive experimental results that verify our theoretical results and at the same time provide more insight on the problem

Topological data analysis of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and non-O157 survival in soils.

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 have been implicated in many foodborne illnesses caused by the consumption of contaminated fresh produce. However, data on their persistence in soils are limited due to the complexity in datasets generated from different environmental variables and bacterial taxa. There is a continuing need to distinguish the various environmental variables and different bacterial groups to understand the relationships among these factors and the pathogen survival. Using an approach called Topological Data Analysis (TDA); we reconstructed the relationship structure of E. coli O157 and non-O157 survival in 32 soils (16 organic and 16 conventionally managed soils) from California (CA) and Arizona (AZ) with a multi-resolution output. In our study, we took a community approach based on total soil microbiome to study community level survival and examining the network of the community as a whole and the relationship between its topology and biological processes. TDA produces a geometric representation of complex data sets. Network analysis showed that Shiga toxin negative strain E. coli O157:H7 4554 survived significantly longer in comparison to E. coli O157:H7 EDL 933, while the survival time of E. coli O157:NM was comparable to that of E. coli O157:H7 EDL 933 in all of the tested soils. Two non-O157 strains, E. coli O26:H11 and E. coli O103:H2 survived much longer than E. coli O91:H21 and the three strains of E. coli O157. We show that there are complex interactions between E. coli strain survival, microbial community structures, and soil parameters

Sprint kayaking performance enhancement by isometric strength training inclusion: a randomized controlled trial

Performing isometric strength training (IST) can enhance various sports performance. This study compared the effects of including IST on sprint kayaking performance as compared to traditional strength training. Twenty sprint kayaking athletes (age 22 +- 4 year, stature 1.71 +- 0.09 m, body mass 72.0 +- 11.4 kg) performed a 200-m kayak ergometer time trial (200mTT), isometric squat (IsoSqT), isometric bench press (IsoPress) and isometric prone bench pull (IsoPull) during the preand post-tests. Athletes were randomly assigned to either traditional strength training (TRAD) or IST group. Both groups performed a similar strength training program twice a week for six weeks. However, half the volume for squat, bench press and prone bench pull were replaced by IsoSqT, IsoPress and IsoPull, respectively, for the IST group. IsoSqT was performed at 90º knee angle, while IsoPress and IsoPull were performed at 90º and 120º elbow angles, respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evalaution and optimization of laser cutting parameters for plywood materials

Laser process parameters influence greatly the width of kerfs and quality of the cut edges. This article reports experiments on the laser plywood-cutting performance of a CW 1.5 kW CO2¬ Rofin laser, based on design of experiments (DOE). The laser was used to cut three thicknesses 3, 6 and 9 mm of plywood panels. The process factors investigated are: laser power, cutting speed, air pressure and focal point position. The aim of this work is to relate the cutting edge quality parameters namely: upper kerf (UK), lower kerf (LK), the ratio between upper to lower kerfs and the operating cost to the process parameters mentioned above. Mathematical models were developed to establish the relationship between the process parameters and the edge quality parameters, and special graphs were drawn for this purpose. Finally, a numerical optimization was performed to find out the optimal process setting at which both kerfs would lead to a ratio of about 1, and at which low cutting cost take place