An Automatic Technique for MRI Based Murine Abdominal Fat Measurement

Because of the well-known relationship between obesity and high incidence of diseases, fat related research using mice models is being widely investigated in preclinical experiments. In the present study, we developed a technique to automatically measure mice abdominal adipose volume and determine the depot locations using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Our technique includes an innovative method to detect fat tissues from MR images which not only utilizes the T1 weighted intensity information, but also takes advantage of the transverse relaxation time(T2) calculated from the multiple echo data. The technique contains both a fat optimized MRI imaging acquisition protocol that works well at 7T and a newly designed post processing methodology that can automatically accomplish the fat extraction and depot recognition without user intervention in the segmentation procedure. The post processing methodology has been integrated into easy-to-use software that we have made available via free download. The method was validated by comparing automated results with two independent manual analyses in 26 mice exhibiting different fat ratios from the obesity research project. The comparison confirms a close agreement between the results in total adipose tissue size and voxel-by-voxel overlaps

The sustainability of European agricultural firms

There has been an undeniable and remarkable performance of the global food system over the last fifty years. During this period, total food supply has increased almost threefold, whereas population has only increase in a twofold ratio, along with very significant shifts in diet related to the economic development. European agricultural activity plays an important role in European and world food security through the agricultural production, supply and international trade. The main aim of this paper was analyses the agricultural sustainability of the twenty-eight Member States of the European Union in terms of economics, environmental, social and political activity. Information and data comes from FADN database from the European Commission related to the year 2013, because is the last information available. The methodology includes the min-max approach based on the four components of sustainability, namely, economic, social, environmental and politics. We include the new component of politics in the sustainability because European agricultural are high subsidised and these subsidies have impacts on European agricultural sustainability. All the referred components of sustainability were based on various indicators in each component based on the literature. The minmax approach was employed to normalise the selected indicators expressed in variety dimensions for their need to be put on a common basis. Multivariate methods, namely Component Principal Analysis was used to estimate weights for the selected indicators to construct sub-indices and then the subindices were aggregated into the farm relative sustainability index. After, cluster analysis was used to form homogeneous groups of European countries according the agricultural sustainability indices. The results confirm three groups of European countries, namely, the North and Central countries; the New Member States and the Mediterranean counties. The results confirm that European agriculture firms and respective countries had a medium sustainability. The results also confirm that Northern European countries and the New Member States (of Eastern Europe) presents the highest levels of economic and political sub-indices of sustainability, confirming the high level of support for EU agricultural policies. However, are the Mediterranean countries (Southern Europe) that presents the highest environmental sustainability sub-indices. The main conclusion highlines confirms the importance of the sustainability as a tool to better adjust agricultural policies among the European Member States and around the word in other sectorial firms, for better adjust sectorial policies.N/

A conformational study of peptides with the general structure Ac-L-Xaa-Pro-D-Xaa-L-Xaa-NH_2: spectroscopic evidence for a peptide with significant β-turn character in water and in dimethyl sulfoxide

Several tetrapeptides, Ac-Val-Pro-D-Ser-His-NH_2, in particular, show significant type II β-turn character in water and in dimethyl sulfoxide. Evidence for this turn population is provided by 2D-rotating frame nuclear Overhauser effect (ROESY) spectroscopy, ^1H NMR amide temperature coefficients, and circular dichroism (CD) studies. To further investigate which residues specifically contribute to the integrity of the turn, studies on 10 tetrapeptides, having the general sequence AC-LXaa-Pro-D-Xaa-L-Xaa-NH_2, are described. The results show the effects of sequence variations on the type II β-turn forming propensity of these peptides in solution. Conclusions from these studies indicate that a cooperative effect between a sterically hindered, β-branched amino acid at the (i) position and a small, non-β-branched D-amino acid at the (i+2) position promotes turn formation. Implications for use of these sequences as structural nucleation elements in de novo protein design are discussed

Satellite estimates of shortwave surface radiation and atmospheric meteorology for the BOREAS experiment region

This report provides background data for the Boreal Ecosystem Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) sites, including daily, seasonal, interannual, and spatial variability of shortwave (SW) radiation at the Earth's surface. This background data, from the Version 1.1 SW data set, was provided by the Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) Climatology Project established by the World Climate Research Program (WCRP)

Magnetron Development

Contains reports on two research projects

Magnetron Development

Contains reports on three research projects

Tube Research and Development

Contains reports on two research projects

Spelling in adolescents with dyslexia: errors and modes of assessment

In this study we focused on the spelling of high-functioning students with dyslexia. We made a detailed classification of the errors in a word and sentence dictation task made by 100 students with dyslexia and 100 matched control students. All participants were in the first year of their bachelor’s studies and had Dutch as mother tongue. Three main error categories were distinguished: phonological, orthographic, and grammatical errors (on the basis of morphology and language-specific spelling rules). The results indicated that higher-education students with dyslexia made on average twice as many spelling errors as the controls, with effect sizes of d ≥ 2. When the errors were classified as phonological, orthographic, or grammatical, we found a slight dominance of phonological errors in students with dyslexia. Sentence dictation did not provide more information than word dictation in the correct classification of students with and without dyslexia

Occupational therapists’ views of using a virtual reality interior design application within the pre-discharge home visit process

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: A key role of Occupational Therapists (OTs) is to carry out pre-discharge home visits (PHV) and propose appropriate adaptations to the home environment, to enable patients to function independently after hospital-home discharge. However, research shows that more than 50% of specialist equipment installed as part of home adaptations is not used by patients. A key reason for this is that decisions about home adaptations are often made without adequate collaboration and consultation with the patient. Consequently, there is an urgent need to seek out new and innovative uses of technology to facilitate patient/practitioner collaboration, engagement and shared decision making in the PHV process. Virtual reality interior design applications (VRIDAs) primarily allow users to simulate the home environment and visualise changes prior to implementing them. Customised VRIDAs, which also model specialist occupational therapy equipment, could become a valuable tool to facilitate improved patient/practitioner collaboration if developed effectively and integrated into the PHV process. Objective: To explore the perceptions of occupational therapists with regards to using VRIDAs as an assistive tool within the PHV process. Methods: Task-oriented interactive usability sessions, utilising the think-aloud protocol and subsequent semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven Occupational Therapists who possessed significant experience across a range of clinical settings. Template analysis was carried out on the think-aloud and interview data. Analysis was both inductive and driven by theory, centring around the parameters that impact upon the acceptance, adoption and use of this technology in practice as indicated by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Results: OTs’ perceptions were identified relating to three core themes: (1) perceived usefulness (PU), (2) perceived ease of use (PEoU), and (3) actual use (AU). Regarding PU, OTs believed VRIDAs had promising potential to increase understanding, enrich communications and patient involvement, and improved patient/practitioner shared understanding. However, it was unlikely that VRIDAs would be suitable for use with cognitively impaired patients. For PEoU, all OTs were able to use the software and complete the tasks successfully, however, participants noted numerous specialist equipment items that could be added to the furniture library. AU perceptions were positive regarding use of the application across a range of clinical settings including children/young adults, long-term conditions, neurology, older adults, and social services. However, some “fine tuning” may be necessary if the application is to be optimally used in practice. Conclusions: Participants perceived the use of VRIDAs in practice would enhance levels of patient/practitioner collaboration and provide a much needed mechanism via which patients are empowered to become more equal partners in decisions made about their care. Further research is needed to explore patient perceptions of VRIDAs, to make necessary customisations accordingly, and to explore deployment of the application in a collaborative patient/practitioner-based context