The Goodwin Acuity Test, an innovative technique for screening children

Although Snellen charts are routinely used in school screenings, an easier, more complete screening tool that anyone can administer is needed for younger children. We tested the Goodwin Acuity Test (GAT), which involves a matching exercise on an educational robot (Playskool Alphie®) that gives feedback with sounds and lights. At a school screening of twenty-five first graders, monocular visual acuities assessed with the 4 meter and 40 centimeter Lighthouse Visual Acuity Test (modified Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) with Sloan letters), and the GAT far (4m) and near (33 em) logMAR charts. Comparisons between the two chart types were made in the areas of acuities obtained, time of administration, and relative enjoyment determined by a verbal questionnaire. Distance visual acuity between the ETDRS (0.183 logMAR=20/30) and GAT (0.188 logMAR=20/30) acuity charts, did not differ significantly (p \u3e 0.05) with ANOVA repeated measures. Near visual acuity with the GAT (0.98 logMAR=20/25) is comparable to the ETDRS (0.167 logMAR= 20/30+1) and the children (80%) enjoyed the GAT more; however it took 2 times longer to administer. The GAT can not be used quickly because the robot takes too much time playing music between selections. Therefore, the GAT is not a quick mass screening method, but the acuity cards created for the GAT would be a valuable addition for pediatric evaluations. The GAT can still be used with the Alphie® to help young children feel more comfortable, and it\u27s music and buttons can be disregarded for a quicker screening test. The GAT would be helpful for preliterate children, non-English speaking children, and special needs children or adults who need extra time to perform the test

Magnetic measurements on an in-vacuum undulator for the NSLS x-ray ring

Magnetic measurements have been performed on the In-Vacuum Undulator (IVUN), built jointly by BNL and SPring-8 for the NSLS X-ray Ring. The IVUN magnet has a Halback-type, pure-permanent magnet structure with a period of 11 mm and a minimum gap of 2 mm. Results of magnetic measurements utilizing Hall probe, moving wire and pulsed wire techniques will be presented and compared

FESOM-C v.2: coastal dynamics on hybrid unstructured meshes

We describe FESOM-C, the coastal branch of the Finite-volumE Sea ice – Ocean Model (FESOM2), which shares with FESOM2 many numerical aspects, in particular its finite-volume cell-vertex discretization. Its dynamical core differs in the implementation of time stepping, the use of a terrain-following vertical coordinate, and the formulation for hybrid meshes composed of triangles and quads. The first two distinctions were critical for coding FESOM-C as an independent branch. The hybrid mesh capability improves numerical efficiency, since quadrilateral cells have fewer edges than triangular cells. They do not suffer from spurious inertial modes of the triangular cell-vertex discretization and need less dissipation. The hybrid mesh capability allows one to use quasi-quadrilateral unstructured meshes, with triangular cells included only to join quadrilateral patches of different resolution or instead of strongly deformed quadrilateral cells. The description of the model numerical part is complemented by test cases illustrating the model performance.</p

First Lasing of a High-Gain Harmonic Generation Free-Electron Laser Experiment.

We report on the first lasing of a high-gain harmonic generation (HGHG) free-electron laser (FEL). The experiment was conducted at the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). This is a BNL experiment in collaboration with the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory. A preliminary measurement gives a high-gain harmonic generation (HGHG) pulse energy that is 2 x 10{sup 7} times larger than the spontaneous radiation, In a purely self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) mode of operation, the signal was measured as 10 times larger than the spontaneous radiation in the same distance ({approximately}2 m) through the same wiggler. This means the HGHG signal is 2 x 10{sup 6} times larger than the SASE signal. To obtain the same saturated output power by the SASE process, the radiator would have to be 3 times longer (6 m)

An international effort towards developing standards for best practices in analysis, interpretation and reporting of clinical genome sequencing results in the CLARITY Challenge

There is tremendous potential for genome sequencing to improve clinical diagnosis and care once it becomes routinely accessible, but this will require formalizing research methods into clinical best practices in the areas of sequence data generation, analysis, interpretation and reporting. The CLARITY Challenge was designed to spur convergence in methods for diagnosing genetic disease starting from clinical case history and genome sequencing data. DNA samples were obtained from three families with heritable genetic disorders and genomic sequence data were donated by sequencing platform vendors. The challenge was to analyze and interpret these data with the goals of identifying disease-causing variants and reporting the findings in a clinically useful format. Participating contestant groups were solicited broadly, and an independent panel of judges evaluated their performance. RESULTS: A total of 30 international groups were engaged. The entries reveal a general convergence of practices on most elements of the analysis and interpretation process. However, even given this commonality of approach, only two groups identified the consensus candidate variants in all disease cases, demonstrating a need for consistent fine-tuning of the generally accepted methods. There was greater diversity of the final clinical report content and in the patient consenting process, demonstrating that these areas require additional exploration and standardization. CONCLUSIONS: The CLARITY Challenge provides a comprehensive assessment of current practices for using genome sequencing to diagnose and report genetic diseases. There is remarkable convergence in bioinformatic techniques, but medical interpretation and reporting are areas that require further development by many groups

Etude des crânes et ossements humains néolithiques des grottes de Congy (Marne)

Rakowsky I., Roudenko S. Etude des crânes et ossements humains néolithiques des grottes de Congy (Marne). In: Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'anthropologie de Paris, VI° Série. Tome 5 fascicule 4, 1914. pp. 295-319

Small-Gap Undulator Experiment On The Nsls X-Ray Ring

We report results of an on-going experiment being carried out in the X13 straight section of the NSLS X-ray Ring which explores the limits of the operation of small-gap undulators. In particular, we discuss measurements of stored electron beam lifetime as a function of the vertical aperture presented by a 4-jaw scraper or a variable-aperture vacuum vessel. At an electron beam current of 300 mA the variable-aperture vacuum chamber was closed to an inner aperture of 3.8 mm with no effect on the electron beam lifetime. Measurements of the output radiation spectrum of a 16 mm period undulator at a magnet gap of 7.5 mm are also described. I. INTRODUCTION The limits of operation of small-gap, short-period undulators are being explored in the X13 low-$ straight section of the NSLS X-ray Ring. Measurements of stored electron beam lifetime as a function of vertical aperture were made using both a 4-jaw scraper assembly and the variable-aperture vacuum vessel of the NSLS Prototype Small-Gap U..

Network design for telemedicine - e-health using satellite technology

Over the last decade various international Information and Communications Technology networks have been created for a global access to high-level medical care. OP 2000 has designed and validated the high-end interactive video communication system WinVicos especially for telemedical applications, training of the physician in a distributed environment, teleconsultation and second opinion. WinVicos is operated on a workstation (WoTeSa) using standard hardware components and offers a superior image quality at a moderate transmission bandwidth of up to 2 Mbps. WoTeSa / WinVicos have been applied for IP-based communication in different satellite-based telemedical networks. In the DELTASS-project a disaster scenario was analysed and an appropriate telecommunication system for effective rescue measures for the victims was set up and evaluated. In the MEDASHIP project an integrated system for telemedical services (teleconsultation, teleelectro-cardiography, telesonography) on board of cruise ships and ferries has been set up. EMISPHER offers an equal access for most of the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area to on-line services for health care in the required quality of service. E-learning applications, real-time telemedicine and shared management of medical assistance have been realized. The innovative developments in ICT with the aim of realizing a ubiquitous access to medical resources for everyone at any time and anywhere (u-Health) bear the risk of creating and amplifying a digital divide in the world. Therefore we have analyzed how the objective needs of the heterogeneous partners can be joined with the result that there is a need for real integration of the various platforms and services. A virtual combination of applications serves as the basic idea for the Virtual Hospital. The development of virtual hospitals and digital medicine helps to bridge the digital divide between different regions of the world and enables equal access to high-level medical care. Pre-operative planning, intra-operative navigation and minimally-invasive surgery require a digital and virtual environment supporting the perception of the physician. As data and computing resources in a virtual hospital are distributed over many sites the concept of the Grid should be integrated with other communication networks and platforms

Telepresence over satellite

The utilisation of distributed medical intelligence can contribute significantly to the continuous improvement of patient care and accelerates the qualification process of the medical staff. An efficient way of realization is the use of satellite networks for telemedical applications, as satellite communication has some distinct advantages over terrestrial communication channels: mesh topology networks, broad geographical coverage, multicast capabilities, etc. Using off-the-shelf hardware components and a specially designed communication software (WinVicos), various telemedical applications (teleconsultation, telementoring, teleteaching, etc.) have been realized