The effects of shadow visibility on image interpretability

An empirical approach to measuring and predicting the effects of target scene shadows on image interpretability is described. A simulated aerial imagery data base is utilized to quantify image interpretability and computed graphics form the basis of the predictor algorithms. A technique to quantify the relative visibilities of individual line segment images is developed. Three categories of predictors are proposed and utilize line segment visibility to predict image interpretability. The success of the algorithms are tested using regression analysis procedures

A 5-year profile of the incidence of total joint replacement in South Africa (1985 - 1989)

This survey was conducted to determine the number of total joint replacements (TJRs) carried out annually in South Africa from 1985 to 1989 and the nwnber of surgeons performing these procedures. During this period there was a 28% increase in the number of TJRs performed annually with an average increase of 20% in total hip replacements and 40% in total knee replacements. The number of surgeons involved in joint replacement during the survey period decreased by 7% in state-subsidised institutions but increased by 57% in the private sector. This is reflected in the number of TJRs performed each year, which has remained static in the state institutions but exhibits a threefold increase in the private sector. This probably reflects a shift in emphasis in state health care policy

Cataract and optic disk drusen in a patient with glycogenosis and di George syndrome: clinical and molecular report

Background We report the ophthalmic findings of a patient with type Ia glycogen storage disease (GSD Ia), DiGeorge syndrome (DGS), cataract and optic nerve head drusen (ONHD). Case presentation A 26-year-old white woman, born at term by natural delivery presented with a post-natal diagnosis of GSD Ia. Genetic testing by array-comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) for DGS was required because of her low levels of serum calcium. The patient has been followed from birth, attending the day-hospital every six months at the San Paolo Hospital, Milan, outpatient clinic for metabolic diseases and previously at another eye center. During the last day-hospital visit, a complete eye examination showed ONHD and cataract in both eyes. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was subsequently done to check for any association between the eye problems and metabolic aspects. Conclusions This is the first description of ocular changes in a patient with GSD Ia and DGS. Mutations explaining GSD Ia and DGS were found but no specific causative mutation for cataract and ONHD. The metabolic etiology of her lens changes is known, whereas the pathogenesis of ONHD is not clear. Although the presence of cataract and ONHD could be a coincidence; the case reported could suggest that hypocalcemia due to DGS could be the common biochemical pathway

Energy expenditure in female workers in a textile factory

Autori su ispitivali energetske rashode radnica na tri radna mjesta, i to: šivanje električnim strojem, krojenje električnom pilom i rad na tkalačkom stroju za izradu vrpce. Ispitivanja su vršena standardnim metodama, određivanjem energetskih ekvivalenata za pojedine specifične radnje, izradom vremenskih tablica i preračunavanjem utrošenih kalorija po pojedinim radnim satima. Utrošeno radno vrijeme podijeljeno je na djelatnosti A, B i C. A = rad, osnovni za radno mjesto, B = priprema za izvršavanje osnovnog rada i C = odmor spontani i službeni. Energetska rashodi radnica u tekstilnoj industriji pokazuju velike razlike (do 500 kal.) po pojedinim radnim mjestima. Taj podatak omogućava da se i u ovakvim pogonima lake industrije izvrši diferencijacija radnih mjesta po njihovoj energetskoj opterećenosti. Osim toga ističu potrebu da se ispita mogućnost poboljšanja samog rada, kako bi se uz manji energetski utrošak mogao postići isti radni efekt.The authors have studied the problem of energy expenditure in female workers in a textile factory, by using standard methods. Data evaluated so far show that there is a great difference in energy expenditure for different works in this factory. lt is possible to differentiate the heaviness of work done in this industry, and it is necessary to investigate what should be done to reduce the energy expenditure to a lower level

Energy expenditure in textile workers

Određivani su energetski ekvivalenti za pojedine aktivnosti u tekstilnoj industriji. Ispitivanje je izvršeno kod 17 radnika i radnika poduzeća »Nada Dimić« u Zagrebu. Ukupno je ispitano 80 uzoraka izdahnutog zraka za devet aktivnosti specifičnih za takvo poduzeće. Analiza izdahnutog zraka vršena je metodom po Scholanderu. Dobiveni energetski ekvivalenti pokazuju da je raspon kalorija koje se troše za pojedine radnje dosta velik, pa da u prosjeku varira od 1,56 do 5,63 kal/min, ali se većina radova nalazi na donjoj granici rashoda.The examination of energy expenditure requirement was carried out in a textile factory in Zagreb. 17 workers, women and men, were examined by a Franz-Müller respirometer. Expired air samples were taken and analysed after Scholander. The results shown in calories per minute include values for basal metabolism. The energy expenditure was high only in few cases; in all others the values were very low, corresponding to the values obtained by other authors

Towards Minimal Barcodes

In the setting of persistent homology computation, a useful tool is the persistence barcode representation in which pairs of birth and death times of homology classes are encoded in the form of intervals. Starting from a polyhedral complex K (an object subdivided into cells which are polytopes) and an initial order of the set of vertices, we are concerned with the general problem of searching for filters (an order of the rest of the cells) that provide a minimal barcode representation in the sense of having minimal number of “k-significant” intervals, which correspond to homology classes with life-times longer than a fixed number k. As a first step, in this paper we provide an algorithm for computing such a filter for k = 1 on the Hasse diagram of the poset of faces of K

Integrative transcriptomic analysis in human and mouse model of anaphylaxis identifies gene signatures associated with cell movement, migration and neuroinflammatory signalling

Background: Anaphylaxis is an acute life-threatening allergic reaction and a concern at a global level; therefore, further progress in understanding the underlying mechanisms and more effective strategies for diagnosis, prevention and management are needed. Objective: We sought to identify the global architecture of blood transcriptomic features of anaphylaxis by integrating expression data from human patients and mouse model of anaphylaxis. Methods: Bulk RNA-sequencings of peripheral whole blood were performed in: i) 14 emergency department (ED) patients with acute anaphylaxis, predominantly to Hymenoptera venom, ii) 11 patients with peanut allergy undergoing double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) to peanut, iii) murine model of IgE-mediated anaphylaxis. Integrative characterisation of differential gene expression, immune cell-type-specific gene expression profiles, and functional and pathway analysis was undertaken. Results: 1023 genes were commonly and significantly dysregulated during anaphylaxis in ED and DBPCFC patients; of those genes, 29 were also dysregulated in the mouse model. Cell-type-specific gene expression profiles showed a rapid downregulation of blood basophil and upregulation of neutrophil signature in ED and DBPCFC patients and the mouse model, but no consistent and/or significant differences were found for other blood cells. Functional and pathway analysis demonstrated that human and mouse blood transcriptomic signatures of anaphylaxis follow trajectories of upregulation of cell movement, migration and neuroinflammatory signalling, and downregulation of lipid activating nuclear receptors signalling. Conclusion: Our study highlights the matched and extensive blood transcriptomic changes and suggests the involvement of discrete cellular components and upregulation of migration and neuroinflammatory pathways during anaphylaxis

Just a wind-up? Ethnicity, religion and prejudice in Scottish football-related comedy

This article probes how media representations of football in Scotland sustain the hegemonic ideologies associated with ethnicity and religion. The paper probes the football-related comedy output of one radio programme; radio output and football comedy are both neglected cultural material in studies of sport in Scotland. It argues that ambiguity and allusive language in comedy construct multiple interpretative possibilities that can demean the social and cultural identity of particular groups in society. The discussion analyses specific sketches from the Scottish radio comedy show Watson's Wind Up. It is concluded that although humorous, these sketches reveal how ideas, myths and stereotypes that coalesce round Celtic FC and the Irish-descended and Catholic communities in Scotland reinforce and sustain anti-Irish and anti-Catholic bigotry

Inherited variants in CHD3 show variable expressivity in Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome

Purpose Common diagnostic next-generation sequencing strategies are not optimized to identify inherited variants in genes associated with dominant neurodevelopmental disorders as causal when the transmitting parent is clinically unaffected, leaving a significant number of cases with neurodevelopmental disorders undiagnosed. Methods We characterized 21 families with inherited heterozygous missense or protein-truncating variants in CHD3, a gene in which de novo variants cause Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome. Results Computational facial and Human Phenotype Ontology–based comparisons showed that the phenotype of probands with inherited CHD3 variants overlaps with the phenotype previously associated with de novo CHD3 variants, whereas heterozygote parents are mildly or not affected, suggesting variable expressivity. In addition, similarly reduced expression levels of CHD3 protein in cells of an affected proband and of healthy family members with a CHD3 protein-truncating variant suggested that compensation of expression from the wild-type allele is unlikely to be an underlying mechanism. Notably, most inherited CHD3 variants were maternally transmitted. Conclusion Our results point to a significant role of inherited variation in Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome, a finding that is critical for correct variant interpretation and genetic counseling and warrants further investigation toward understanding the broader contributions of such variation to the landscape of human disease