The Curious Case of Abell 2256

Abell 2256 is a rich, nearby (z=0.0594) galaxy cluster that has significant evidence of merger activity. We present new radio and X-ray observations of this system. The low-frequency radio images trace the diffuse synchrotron emission of the Mpc-scale radio halo and relics as well as a number of recently discovered, more compact, steep spectrum sources. The spectral index across the relics steepens from the north-west toward the south-east. Analysis of the spectral index gradients between low and and high-frequencies shows spectral differences away from the north-west relic edge such that the low-frequency index is significantly flatter than the high frequency spectral index near the cluster core. This trend would be consistent with an outgoing merger shock as the origin of the relic emission. New X-ray data from XMM-Newton reveal interesting structures in the intracluster medium pressure, entropy and temperature maps. The pressure maps show an overall low pressure core co-incident with the radio halo emission, while the temperature maps reveal multiple regions of cool emission within the central regions of Abell 2256. The two cold fronts in Abell 2256 both appear to have motion in similar directions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of contributed talk at "Non-Thermal Phenomena in Colliding Galaxy Clusters", held in Nice, 15-18 November 2010. To be published in Mem. S.A.I

Using Deep Learning and 360 Video to Detect Eating Behavior for User Assistance Systems

The rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases calls for more sophisticated approaches to support individuals in engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors, particularly in terms of their dietary intake. Building on recent advances in information technology, user assistance systems hold the potential of combining active and passive data collection methods to monitor dietary intake and, subsequently, to support individuals in making better decisions about their diet. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art in active and passive dietary monitoring along with the issues being faced. Building on this groundwork, we propose a research framework for user assistance systems that combine active and passive methods with three distinct levels of assistance. Finally, we outline a proof-of-concept study using video obtained from a 360-degree camera to automatically detect eating behavior from video data as a source of passive dietary monitoring for decision support

Children as covert human intelligence sources: spies first, children second

The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021 empowers the police, and other authorities, throughout the UK to use children as Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) and to authorise these children to engage in criminality, with no criminal liability, in return for information. In this paper we analyse the risk of severe physical and emotional harm that children face when acting as a CHIS and engaging in criminal behaviour to preserve their cover. This practice of using a child as a CHIS and encouraging children to engage in criminal conduct also runs counter to the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales’ ‘Child First’ vision of a youth justice system that respects children rights and operates in children’s best interests. Throughout the article we argue that, despite the existing safeguards, the emphasis should be on helping children to escape a criminal lifestyle, rather than entrenching them further in a life of criminality by encouraging them to act as a CHIS

Desiccation rates of Rana sylvatica, Rana clamitans, and Bufo americanus in a fragmented forest

Abstract only availableHabitat loss and fragmentation are the primary causes in the declines of amphibian populations. Farming, urban sprawl, and logging have created a mosaic of developed and undeveloped land that may create barriers between aquatic breeding sites and terrestrial refuges. While ponds and wetlands are important in early development and breeding, many species spend their adult lives foraging in the terrestrial environment surrounding a breeding site. An amphibian's ability to move and forage in a terrestrial environment is determined by their capacity to remain hydrated. We compared desiccation rates of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica), green frogs (Rana clamitans), and American toads (Bufo americanus) juveniles in different microhabitats of a forest and a clear-cut to determine how they might affect the terrestrial activity of amphibians. Using the experimental arrays created by LEAP (Land use Effects on Amphibian Populations) at Daniel Boone Conservation Area we set up cylindrical wire mesh enclosures in forest drainages, forest ridges, brush piles in clear cuts, and open areas in clear cuts at two ponds. Animals were placed in the enclosures during the evening and weighed every six hours for twenty-four hours. Soil moisture, and soil temperature were also measured every six hours. Analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to compare percent water loss in the habitat treatments. All frogs lost water; however, water loss was greater in the day compared to night. Brush piles within the clear cut slowed water loss compared to open areas in the clear cuts, and animals on forest ridges lost more water than those in forest drainages. Our results reinforce the need to protect forest drainages as terrestrial refuges and illustrate that clear cutting, even with brush piles as cover, may negatively affect the delicate balance of mortality and survivorship in juveniles, therefore threatening the future of a population.Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Progra

A systemic granulomatous response to Schistosoma mansoni eggs alters responsiveness of bone marrow‐derived macrophages to Toll‐like receptor agonists

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141008/1/jlb0314.pd

Cosmology and Fermion Confinement in a Scalar-Field-Generated Domain Wall Brane in Five Dimensions

We consider a brane generated by a scalar field domain wall configuration in 4+1 dimensions, interpolating, in most cases, between two vacua of the field. We study the cosmology of such a system in the cases where the effective four-dimensional brane metric is de Sitter or anti de Sitter, including a discussion of the bulk coordinate singularities present in the de-Sitter case. We demonstrate that a scalar field kink configuration can support a brane with dS$_4$ cosmology, despite the presence of coordinate singularities in the metric. We examine the trapping of fermion fields on the domain wall for nontrivial brane cosmology.Comment: 29 pages, 12 figures; minor changes, accepted by JHE

Impact of smoking status and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on pulmonary complications post lung cancer surgery

Introduction Smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with an increased risk of post-operative pulmonary complications (PPCs) following lung cancer resection. It remains unclear whether smoking cessation reduces this risk. Methods Retrospective review of a large, prospectively collected database of over 1000 consecutive resections for lung cancer in a quaternary lung cancer centre over a 23-year period. Results One thousand and thirteen patients underwent curative-intent lobectomy or pneumonectomy between 1995 and 2018. Three hundred and sixty-two patients (36%) were ex-smokers, 314 (31%) were current smokers and 111 (11%) were never smokers. A pre-operative diagnosis of COPD was present in 57% of current smokers, 57% of ex-smokers and 20% of never smokers. Just over 25% of patients experienced a PPC. PPCs were more frequent in current smokers compared to never smokers (27% vs 17%, p = 0.036), however, no difference was seen between current and ex-smokers (p = 0.412) or between never and ex-smokers (p = 0.113). Those with a diagnosis of COPD, independent of smoking status, had a higher frequency of both PPCs (65% vs 35%, p<0.01) and overall complications (60% vs 40%, p<0.01) as well as a longer length of hospital stay (10 vs 9 days, p<0.01). Conclusion Smoking and COPD are both associated with a higher rate of PPCs post lung cancer resection. COPD, independent of smoking status, is also associated with an increased overall post-operative complication rate and length of hospital stay. An emphasis on COPD treatment optimisation, rather than smoking cessation in isolation, may help improve postoperative outcomes. © 2022 Jeganathan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Housing Justice in Unequal Cities

Housing Justice in Unequal Cities is a global research network funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS 1758774) and housed at the Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA Luskin. This open-access volume, co-edited by Ananya Roy and Hilary Malson, brings together movement-based and university-based scholars to build a shared field of inquiry focused on housing justice. Based on a convening that took place in Los Angeles in January 2019, at the LA Community Action Network and at the University of California, Los Angeles, the essays and interventions situate housing justice in the long struggle for freedom on stolen land. Embedded in the stark inequalities of Los Angeles, our work is necessarily global, connecting the city’s Skid Row to the indebted and evicted in Spain and Greece, to black women’s resistance in Brazil, to the rights asserted by squatters in India and South Africa. Learning from radical social movements, we argue that housing justice also requires a commitment to research justice. With this in mind, our effort to build a field of inquiry is also necessarily an endeavor to build epistemologies and methodologies that are accountable to communities that are on the frontlines of banishment and displacement

Beauty is in the AI of the beholder: Are we ready for the clinical integration of Artificial Intelligence in radiography? An exploratory analysis of perceived AI knowledge, skills, confidence, and education perspectives of UK radiographers

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical imaging and radiotherapy has been met with both scepticism and excitement. However, clinical integration of AI is already well-underway. Many authors have recently reported on the AI knowledge and perceptions of radiologists/medical staff and students however there is a paucity of information regarding radiographers. Published literature agrees that AI is likely to have significant impact on radiology practice. As radiographers are at the forefront of radiology service delivery, an awareness of the current level of their perceived knowledge, skills, and confidence in AI is essential to identify any educational needs necessary for successful adoption into practice. The aim of this survey was to determine the perceived knowledge, skills, and confidence in AI amongst UK radiographers and highlight priorities for educational provisions to support a digital healthcare ecosystem. A survey was created on Qualtrics® and promoted via social media (Twitter®/LinkedIn®). This survey was open to all UK radiographers, including students and retired radiographers. Participants were recruited by convenience, snowball sampling. Demographic information was gathered as well as data on the perceived, self-reported, knowledge, skills, and confidence in AI of respondents. Insight into what the participants understand by the term "AI" was gained by means of a free text response. Quantitative analysis was performed using SPSS® and qualitative thematic analysis was performed on NVivo®. Four hundred and eleven responses were collected (80% from diagnostic radiography and 20% from a radiotherapy background), broadly representative of the workforce distribution in the UK. Although many respondents stated that they understood the concept of AI in general (78.7% for diagnostic and 52.1% for therapeutic radiography respondents, respectively) there was a notable lack of sufficient knowledge of AI principles, understanding of AI terminology, skills, and confidence in the use of AI technology. Many participants, 57% of diagnostic and 49% radiotherapy respondents, do not feel adequately trained to implement AI in the clinical setting. Furthermore 52% and 64%, respectively, said they have not developed any skill in AI whilst 62% and 55%, respectively, stated that there is not enough AI training for radiographers. The majority of the respondents indicate that there is an urgent need for further education (77.4% of diagnostic and 73.9% of therapeutic radiographers feeling they have not had adequate training in AI), with many respondents stating that they had to educate themselves to gain some basic AI skills. Notable correlations between confidence in working with AI and gender, age, and highest qualification were reported. Knowledge of AI terminology, principles, and applications by healthcare practitioners is necessary for adoption and integration of AI applications. The results of this survey highlight the perceived lack of knowledge, skills, and confidence for radiographers in applying AI solutions but also underline the need for formalised education on AI to prepare the current and prospective workforce for the upcoming clinical integration of AI in healthcare, to safely and efficiently navigate a digital future. Focus should be given on different needs of learners depending on age, gender, and highest qualification to ensure optimal integration. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2021 Rainey, O'Regan, Matthew, Skelton, Woznitza, Chu, Goodman, McConnell, Hughes, Bond, McFadden and Malamateniou.