A node-wise analysis of the uterine muscle networks for pregnancy monitoring

The recent past years have seen a noticeable increase of interest in the correlation analysis of electrohysterographic (EHG) signals in the perspective of improving the pregnancy monitoring. Here we propose a new approach based on the functional connectivity between multichannel (4x4 matrix) EHG signals recorded from the women abdomen. The proposed pipeline includes i) the computation of the statistical couplings between the multichannel EHG signals, ii) the characterization of the connectivity matrices, computed by using the imaginary part of the coherence, based on the graph-theory analysis and iii) the use of these measures for pregnancy monitoring. The method was evaluated on a dataset of EHGs, in order to track the correlation between EHGs collected by each electrode of the matrix (called node-wise analysis) and follow their evolution along weeks before labor. Results showed that the strength of each node significantly increases from pregnancy to labor. Electrodes located on the median vertical axis of the uterus seemed to be the more discriminant. We speculate that the network-based analysis can be a very promising tool to improve pregnancy monitoring.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted in the IEEE EMBC conferanc

Time to failure prediction in rubber components subjected to thermal ageing: A combined approach based upon the intrinsic defect concept and the fracture mechanics

In this contribution, we attempt to derive a tool allowing the prediction of the stretch ratioat failure in rubber components subjected to thermal ageing. To achieve this goal, the mainidea is to combine the fracture mechanics approach and the intrinsic defect concept. Using an accelerated ageing procedure for an Ethylene–Propylene–Diene Monomer (EPDM), it is first shown that the average molar mass of the elastically active chains (i.e. between crosslinks) can be used as the main indicator of the macromolecular network degradation. Byintroducing the time–temperature equivalence principle, a shift factor obeying to an Arrhenius law is derived, and master curves are built as well for the average molar mass as for the ultimate mechanical properties. Fracture mechanics tests are also achieved and the square root dependence of the fracture energy with the average molar mass is pointed out. Moreover, it is shown that the mechanical response could be approximated by the phantom network theory, which allows to relate the strain energy density function to the average molar mass. Assuming that the fracture of a smooth specimen is the consequence of a virtual intrinsic defect whose the size can be easily estimated, the stretch ratio at break can be therefore computed for any thermal ageing condition. The estimated values are found in a very nice agreement with EPDM experimental data, making this approach a useful tool when designing rubber components for moderate to high temperature environments

Pregnancy monitoring

International audienc

Intercultural communicative competence is essential for students of international business - but can it be taught? The case of third-year BCom students

Intercultural communicative competence is essential for graduates wishing to work in the business sector. Such competence has become desirable for graduates who see themselves working in “demanding and highly-challenging international environments” (Sain, Kužnin and Roje 2017, 55‒56). In spite of the need for well-developed intercultural competence in the workplace, students of Economic and Business Science are rarely deliberately equipped with an understanding of what language, culture and communication entail. Against this background, we investigated if an intervention, in the form of a 28-lecture undergraduate course, can develop third-year BCom students’ intercultural competence so as to prepare them to deal with the heterogeneity that they will encounter in the workplace (and elsewhere), both in multilingual and multi-cultural South Africa and abroad.Based on eight of the skills and attributes identified by Deardorff (2004) as being markers of interculturally competent individuals (such as knowledge of self and others, respect, critical thinking skills, and an awareness of the importance of being interculturally competent), students (n=18) were assessed prior to the commencement of the course and again upon completion thereof. Pre- and post-course questionnaires were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively, and data were coded according to the eight Deardorff (2004) markers of intercultural competence. Additionally, a focus group discussion (n = 5) was held at the end of the course. The data showed that development took place in the students’ attitudes, knowledge and skills related to intercultural communicative competence. Certain markers of intercultural communicative competence, however, showed more substantial development than others, the notable marker showing such development being critical thinking skills.The finding is that skills indicative of intercultural competence can indeed be developed by means of a curriculum in such a way that students think more critically about (i) cultural and linguistic diversity and (ii) their responsibility as future leaders to communicate optimally in diverse cultural settings. Deliberately including courses on intercultural communication in programmes for students (not only students in Humanities and Social Sciences) could contribute to personal and professional development of students and lead to graduates who are better prepared for a career in multicultural national and international business sectors. Likewise, the introduction of in-service training in intercultural communicative competence can be considered for those who are no longer students, thereby contributing to improved intercultural communication in the workplace

Thermal Performance of the LHC Connection Cryostat

The 16 connection cryostats for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) being built at CERN are designed to fill the gap existing between the dispersion suppressor zones and the standard arcs of the accelerator. The first connection cryostat was cold tested down to superfluid helium temperature in August 2005, and the measured thermal performance was as expected. This paper presents the test results and a new thermal modeling of the connection cryostat based on the measurement of the thermal resistances of the braids used for thermalisation, allowing the precise determination of cool down times and equilibrium temperatures of the shielding under various conditions such as lead heating

Inhibitors of nuclear factor kappa B cause apoptosis in cultured macrophages

The precise role of the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF- κB) in the regulation of cell survival and cell death is still unresolved and may depend on cell type and position in the cell cycle. The aim of this study was to determine if three pharmacologic inhibitors of NF-κB, pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, N-tosyl-L-lysl chloromethyl ketone and calpain I inhibitor, induce apoptosis in a murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) at doses similar to those required for NF-κB inhibition. We found that each of the three inhibitors resulted in a dose- and time-dependent increase in morphologic indices of apoptosis in unstimulated, LPS-stimulated and TNF-stimulated cells. Lethal doses were consistent with those required for NF- κB inhibition. We conclude that nuclear NF-κB activation may represent an important survival mechanism in macrophages

Performance of a thermally deformable mirror for correction of low-order aberrations in laser beams

The thermally deformable mirror is a device aiming at correcting beam-wavefront distortions for applications where classical mechanical methods are precluded by noise considerations, as in advanced gravitational wave interferometric detectors. This moderately low-cost technology can be easily implemented and controlled thanks to the good reproducibility of the actuation. By using a flexible printed circuit board technology, we demonstrate experimentally that a device of 61 actuators in thermal contact with the back surface of a high-reflective mirror is able to correct the low-order aberrations of a laser beam at 1064 nm and could be used to optimize the mode matching into Fabry-Perot cavities