62 research outputs found
A comparison between bright field and phase-contrast image analysis techniques in activated sludge morphological characterization
Different approaches using microscopy image analysis procedures were employed for characterization of activated sludge systems. The approaches varied mainly on the type of visualization and acquisition method used for collection of data. In this context, this study focused on the comparison of the two most common acquisition methods: bright field and phase-contrast microscopy. Images were acquired from seven different wastewater treatment plants for a combined period of two years. Advantages and disadvantages of each acquisition technique and the results are discussed. Bright field microscopy proved to be more simple and inexpensive and provided the best overall results.Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BD/32329/2006, POCI/AMB/57069/200
On the Classical String Solutions and String/Field Theory Duality
We classify almost all classical string configurations, considered in the
framework of the semi-classical limit of the string/gauge theory duality. Then,
we describe a procedure for obtaining the conserved quantities and the exact
classical string solutions in general string theory backgrounds, when the
string embedding coordinates depend non-linearly on the worldsheet time
parameter.Comment: LaTeX, 15 pages, no figures; V2: some typos corrected; V3: no
corrections, to appear in JHE
Warm stellar matter with deconfinement: application to compact stars
We investigate the properties of mixed stars formed by hadronic and quark
matter in -equilibrium described by appropriate equations of state (EOS)
in the framework of relativistic mean-field theory. We use the non- linear
Walecka model for the hadron matter and the MIT Bag and the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio
models for the quark matter. The phase transition to a deconfined quark phase
is investigated. In particular, we study the dependence of the onset of a mixed
phase and a pure quark phase on the hyperon couplings, quark model and
properties of the hadronic model. We calculate the strangeness fraction with
baryonic density for the different EOS. With the NJL model the strangeness
content in the mixed phase decreases. The calculations were performed for T=0
and for finite temperatures in order to describe neutron and proto-neutron
stars. The star properties are discussed. Both the Bag model and the NJL model
predict a mixed phase in the interior of the star. Maximum allowed masses for
proto-neutron stars are larger for the NJL model ( M)
than for the Bag model ( M).Comment: RevTeX,14 figures, accepted to publication in Physical Review
Dynamical complexity in the C.elegans neural network
We model the neuronal circuit of the C.elegans soil worm in terms of a Hindmarsh-Rose system of ordinary differential equa- tions, dividing its circuit into six communities which are determined via the Walktrap and Louvain methods. Using the numerical solution of these equations, we analyze important measures of dynamical com- plexity, namely synchronicity, the largest Lyapunov exponent, and the ?AR auto-regressive integrated information theory measure. We show that ?AR provides a useful measure of the information contained in the C.elegans brain dynamic network. Our analysis reveals that the C.elegans brain dynamic network generates more information than the sum of its constituent parts, and that attains higher levels of integrated information for couplings for which either all its communities are highly synchronized, or there is a mixed state of highly synchronized and de- synchronized communities
Efeitos de Ambiente e de Heterose sobre o Ganho de Peso do Nascimento ao Desmame e sobre os Escores Visuais ao Desmame de Bovinos de Corte
Aspectos biolĂłgicos de Dichelops melacanthus em trĂȘs temperaturas, alimentados com grĂŁos imaturos de milho 2B688Hx e 2B688
Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis
[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality.
[Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65âŻyears,65 to 80âŻyears,andâŻâ„âŻ80âŻyears.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk.
[Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327âŻ<âŻ65âŻyears;1291 65-80âŻyears;502âŻâ„âŻ80âŻyears) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients â„80âŻyears who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65âŻyears; 20.5%,65-79âŻyears; 31.3%,â„80âŻyears). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65âŻyears;30.1%,65-79âŻyears;34.7%,â„80âŻyears;pâŻ<âŻ0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65âŻyears; 5.5%, 65-80âŻyears;7.6%,â„80âŻyears; pâŻ=âŻ0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were ageâŻâ„âŻ80âŻyears (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32â3.34), CCIâŻâ„âŻ3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39â1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16â1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65âŻyears(pâŻ<âŻ0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality.
[Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. AgeâŻâ„âŻ80âŻyears, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group
Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.
BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362
The LHCb upgrade I
The LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software
Spatial distribution of Rare Earth Elements in a transnational watershed: The case of the Danube River
International audienceThe distribution of Rare Earth Elements was investigated along the Danube River (from its sources in Germany to its delta in Romania/Ukraine) and in some of its tributaries for the first time during the fourth Joint Danube Survey (JDS4) in 2019. The negative Ce anomaly and the La/Lu ratio tend to decrease between Ulm (Germany) and the Black Sea, indicating an increasing trend of the anthropogenic influence as the Danube River runs toward the sea. This diffuse influence is also attested by the slow spatial variation of classical pollution parameters such as dissolved organic carbon (amount and optical characteristics) and nitrates. A strong gadolinium (Gd) anomaly (between 6 and 10), due to the release of anthropogenic Gd, was detected starting 10 km downstream the sources of the Breg River and the Brigach River, whose junction forms the Danube River. The anomaly remains larger than 10 until the Danube River leaves Croatia at Ilok. The anomaly pattern is related to the difference in the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the countries sharing the Danube River watershed. The estimated annual flux of anthropogenic gadolinium in the Black Sea is 0.9 ton/year. An Ytterbium anomaly was detected in stations close to the delta and needs further investigation
- âŠ