Temporal Leakage and Its Effects on Resolution in Deconvolution of Ultrasonic Signals

A common problem in ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation is the limitation imposed by the oscillatory nature of the ultrasonic pulse. Echoes from closely spaced reflectors often overlap and interfere, obscuring the true nature of the defect or layered system. Many deconvolution methods have been developed to remove the oscillatory response of the transducer from the received ultrasonic echo thereby improving the temporal resolution. While these methods have worked well on simulated signals, the results on real data have generally been much poorer [1-7]. Ultrasonic pulse shape variations, nonlinear effects or the breakdown of other model assumptions all contribute to this lower performance on real signals. An additional problem which has undergone little investigation is temporal leakage; it is very common and produces inaccuracy in the position and amplitude of deconvolved features. An understanding of its nature may help to improve resolution when deconvolving real signal

Eastern Range Extension of \u3ci\u3eLeptoglossus Occidentalis\u3c/i\u3e With a Key to Leptoglossus Species of America North of Mexico (Heteroptera: Coreidae)

Leptoglossus occidentalis is reported for the first time from Illinois and Michigan, and confirmed for Indiana. A key to the species of Leptoglossus occurring in America north of Mexico is presented

CaNaSTA - Crop Niche Selection for Tropical Agriculture, a Spatial Decision Support System

Farmers in the developing world frequently find themselves in uncertain and risky environments, often having to make decisions based on very little information. Risks for smallholder farmers are often critical because of their poverty. In addition, in the tropics and subtropics, the natural environment is spatially and temporally variable and often harsh, thereby increasing the uncertainty faced by these farmers. This research aims to improve forage adoption decisions in the developing world, thereby increasing sustainable intensification and ultimately contributing to increased sustainable world food production and the alleviation of under-nutrition

LeyGrain: A Participatory Action-Learning Model for Ley Pastures in Cropping Systems

Since the 1930s, crop/pasture rotation systems have been used in the wheat-sheep belt of temperate southern Australia to maintain the productivity and environmental sustainability of farming systems (Puckridge & French, 1983). Yet, in the northern grain belt of Australia, there is limited adoption of ley pastures, owing to inherently fertile and well-structured vertisol soils. However, soil fertility decline now costs the grain industry about $450 m per year. Legume-based leys are an option for improving soil OM and N and providing other benefits to cropping and livestock production systems (Lloyd et al., 1991). Despite strong one-on-one extension processes since the 1950s, the adoption of crop/pasture rotation systems is less than one-tenth of that in southern Australia

Quantitative nucleotide level analysis of regulation of translation in response to depolarization of cultured neural cells

Studies on regulation of gene expression have contributed substantially to understanding mechanisms for the long-term activity-dependent alterations in neural connectivity that are thought to mediate learning and memory. Most of these studies, however, have focused on the regulation of mRNA transcription. Here, we utilized high-throughput sequencing coupled with ribosome footprinting to globally characterize the regulation of translation in primary mixed neuronal-glial cultures in response to sustained depolarization. We identified substantial and complex regulation of translation, with many transcripts demonstrating changes in ribosomal occupancy independent of transcriptional changes. We also examined sequence-based mechanisms that might regulate changes in translation in response to depolarization. We found that these are partially mediated by features in the mRNA sequence—notably upstream open reading frames and secondary structure in the 5′ untranslated region—both of which predict downregulation in response to depolarization. Translationally regulated transcripts are also more likely to be targets of FMRP and include genes implicated in autism in humans. Our findings support the idea that control of mRNA translation plays an important role in response to neural activity across the genome

Sexual Attraction Toward Clients, Use of Supervision, and Prior Training: A Qualitative Study of Predoctoral Psychology Interns

Interviews were conducted with 13 predoctoral psychology interns about an experience of sexual attraction toward a client, use of supervision to address the sexual attraction, and prior training regarding sexual attraction. Results indicated that sexual attraction to clients consisted of physical and interpersonal aspects. Therapists believed they were more invested and attentive than usual to clients to whom they were sexually attracted, and they indicated that sexual attraction created distance, distraction, and loss of objectivity. In terms of supervision, only half of the participants disclosed their sexual attraction to supervisors, and supervisors seldom initiated the discussion. Furthermore, trainees found it helpful when supervisors normalized the sexual attraction and provided the opportunity to explore feelings in supervision. Finally, trainees believed their training programs did not adequately address therapist sexual attraction

Fetal Heart Rate Decelerations in Women with Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Emerging literature has shown that women with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) have increased risk for gestational hypertension/preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. Case reports suggest an association between maternal apnea and fetal heart rate deceleration but data are lacking on how maternal sleep impacts fetal health. Since decelerations may be associated with adverse outcomes, we sought to determine whether fetal heart rate decelerations were associated with SDB. A cohort study of third trimester pregnant women with a singleton fetus was conducted. Participants underwent a home sleep test with continuous portable electronic fetal monitoring. SDB was defined as a respiratory disturbance index (RDI)≥10 events/hour. The temporality between a respiratory event and fetal heart rate decelerations was determined to be present if a deceleration occurred \u3c 30 s after a respiratory event. Forty women were included with mean (±SD) age, BMI, and gestational age of 32.0±5.5 years, 37.1±8.0 kg/m(2), and 34.6±2.4 weeks respectively. Overall, n=23 (57.5%) women had SDB. Thirty-seven late decelerations were observed in 18 women; of these, 84% were temporally associated with a respiratory event. Nine of the 18 women (50%) had SDB. Ten prolonged decelerations were observed in 6 women of which nine (90%) were temporally associated with a respiratory event. Five of the six women (83%) had an RDI≥10. These initial data suggest that, in this population, the majority of both late and prolonged fetal heart rate decelerations occur with a maternal respiratory event. Since respiratory events are characteristic of maternal SDB, this raises the possibility that SDB may influence fetal well-being

Characterizing the Load Deformation Behaviour of Steel Deck Diaphragms

Lateral loads flow through a building’s horizontal roof and floor diaphragms before being transferred to the vertical lateral force resisting system (e.g. braced frames, moment frames or shear walls). These diaphragms are therefore a critical structural component in the resistance of lateral loads. A review of the literature shows that a large number of experimental programs have been performed to obtain the in-plane load-deformation behavior of steel deck and concrete on steel deck diaphragms. The tested diaphragm behavior was found to be dependent on a set of factors including loading protocol, fastener type, fastener size and spacing, and more. There does not currently exist a single, unifying review of these diaphragm tests and their relevant results. A research program is being conducted to collect and consolidate the available literature about tested steel deck diaphragms and their results. A database has been created that includes over 450 tested specimens with more than 130 cyclic tests. In addition, an effort is made to characterize diaphragms’ load-deformation response as grouped by sidelap and support fastener type. The test programs and results collected into this database as well as the characterization of diaphragm behavior are discussed in this paper

Stressing the Hormone: Biological and Psychosocial Factors associated with Chronic Stress

Chronic stress has been associated with a constellation of deleterious psychological and physical health outcomes. We collected cortisol from hair (CORT) to assess chronic stress retrospectively for 3 months’ time (3cms). Over two studies from the UMass Boston campus and the local community, we recruited in t1: 134 adults (ages 18-67; M = 29.49, SD = 12.48) and t2: 145 adults (ages18-30, M = 22.56, SD = 3.54) to participate on two studies assessing objective biological stress (via hair cortisol), subjective perceived stress (via self-reports), psychosocial factors, and health indicators. In follow-up Study 2, we also included indices of perceived discrimination, cardiovascular parameters, and affective vigilance. Results: t1: CORT levels were positively associated with Total perceived stress and one health indicator: systolic blood pressure. An SES by Race interaction predicted both higher CORT and perceived stress, although higher SES did not always confer the expected benefit of higher SES: minorities in high SES had the greatest CORT, systolic blood pressure, and lowest self-rated health. Results: t2: Perceived stress measures and new measures of discrimination were negatively associated with well-being and health. Higher racial/ethnic pride was associated with better health, but also increased daily discrimination and waist-to-hip ratio. The SES by Race interaction was again associated with Total perceived stress and minorities in higher SES reported greatest Total stress. Minorities also showed the greatest vigilance. Specifically, African-Americans had the longest latencies for social devaluation words during a modified Stroop, the greatest city stress, and the greatest pride/identity for heritage group