Epithermal Neutron Beam Interference with Cardiac Pacemakers

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The connection between the radio jet and the gamma-ray emission in the radio galaxy 3C 120

We present the analysis of the radio jet evolution of the radio galaxy 3C 120 during a period of prolonged gamma-ray activity detected by the Fermi satellite between December 2012 and October 2014. We find a clear connection between the gamma-ray and radio emission, such that every period of gamma-ray activity is accompanied by the flaring of the mm-VLBI core and subsequent ejection of a new superluminal component. However, not all ejections of components are associated with gamma-ray events detectable by Fermi. Clear gamma-ray detections are obtained only when components are moving in a direction closer to our line of sight.This suggests that the observed gamma-ray emission depends not only on the interaction of moving components with the mm-VLBI core, but also on their orientation with respect to the observer. Timing of the gamma-ray detections and ejection of superluminal components locate the gamma-ray production to within almost 0.13 pc from the mm-VLBI core, which was previously estimated to lie about 0.24 pc from the central black hole. This corresponds to about twice the estimated extension of the broad line region, limiting the external photon field and therefore suggesting synchrotron self Compton as the most probable mechanism for the production of the gamma-ray emission. Alternatively, the interaction of components with the jet sheath can provide the necessary photon field to produced the observed gamma-rays by Compton scattering.Comment: Already accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Enabling and promoting walking rehabilitation by paired associative stimulation after incomplete paraplegia : a case report

Introduction: Paired associative stimulation (PAS) is a combination of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) and induces plastic changes in the human corticospinal tract. We have previously shown that PAS consisting of TMS pulses given at 100% of stimulator output and high-frequency PNS is beneficial for motor rehabilitation of patients with a chronic incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). The therapeutic possibilities of this PAS variant for walking rehabilitation of paraplegic patients are unexplored. Case presentation: A 47-year old man with traumatic incomplete paraplegia (AIS D, neurological level T7) received PAS to his left leg for 3 months at 12 months post injury (PAS1) and for an additional 3 months at 24 months post injury (PAS2). The right leg had normal AIS scores and was not stimulated. Before PAS, the patient was nonambulatory, could not stand without weight support, and was consequently not eligible for conventional walking rehabilitation. After PAS1, the patient could stand for 1.5 min and take 13 steps (24 steps in follow up) on parallel bars without weight support and was enrolled into conventional walking rehabilitation. He achieved independent walking ability with a rollator. During PAS2, walking distance increased 2.4 times faster than during the preceding year. The left leg AIS score and spinal cord independence measure mobility subscore increased. No adverse effects were detected. Discussion: This is the first report of PAS with a high-frequency peripheral component that enabled and promoted walking rehabilitation. Together with previous reports on this technique, this result encourages further research into its therapeutic potential and mechanism. © 2020, The Author(s).Peer reviewe

Helsingin kantakaupungin ja lähiöiden tiivistäminen kerrostaloja korottamalla:case Kirkkokatu 1 a Kruununhaassa

Tiivistelmä. Diplomityö paneutuu Helsingin kantakaupungin korottamiseen ja sen eroihin lähiökorottamiseen verrattuna. Työ on tutkielmapainotteinen, johon sisältyy case-kohde. Case-kohde toimii nykyajan esimerkkinä kantakaupungin korottamisen vaikutuksesta ja haasteista, ja auttaa hahmottamaan toimen merkityksen konkreettisemmalla tasolla. Suunnitelma on luonnostasoinen. Diplomityössä käsitellään täydennysrakentamista myös yleisemmällä tasolla, jotta aihealue avautuu lukijalle, ja samalla kytkös kerrostalon korottamiseen selkenee. Lisäkerrosrakentaminen on yksi täydennysrakentamisen tapa, ja siten monet tekijät termien välillä ovat yhtäläisiä. Tutkielmassa ei kuitenkaan käsitellä laajasti täydennysrakentamista ja sen vaihtoehtoja, vaan tarkastellaan aihetta erityisesti korottamisen näkökulmasta. Rakenteellisesti diplomityössä on kolme osaa. Ensimmäisessä osassa perehdytään kerrostalon korottamisen nykytilanteeseen lainsäädännön osalta, ja avataan aihetta yleisellä tasolla. Korottamisen mahdollisuudet ja sen tarve, toisin sanoen syyt korottamiselle, jatkavat aihepiiriä. Aihetta käsitellään suuresta mittakaavasta pienempään, etsien aiheen merkitystä valtiolle, kunnille ja yksittäiselle rakennukselle ja sen taloyhtiölle. Diplomityössä tuodaan esiin kerrostalon korottaminen sekä kantakaupungin että lähiöiden näkökulmasta ja pohditaan kahden aluetyypin välisiä lisäkerrosrakentamisen eroja. Toisessa osassa syvennytään Kruununhakaan, joka on valikoitunut kantakaupungin esimerkkialueeksi sijaintinsa perusteella. Työssä paneudutaan Kruununhaan rakentamisen historiaan, alueen väestörakenteeseen ja elinkaarikestävyyteen, sekä esitellään alueen kaavoitustilanne lisärakentamisen näkökulmasta ja sen tuomat haasteet ja mahdollisuudet. Lopuksi pohditaan Kruununhaan rakentamisen kehittymispotentiaalia. Lisänäkökulmaa aiheeseen tuo kaupunkiympäristön toimialalta Kruununhaan asemakaavoituksesta vastaavan arkkitehti Eveliina Harsian, kaupunkiympäristön toimialalta asemakaavoituksessa toimivan arkkitehdin Petri Pulkan, sekä saman osa-alueen arkkitehdin Linda Wikstenin haastattelut. Suunnitelmaosiossa analysoidaan kohdeympäristöä sekä esitellään oleva rakennus ja rakennuksen suunnitellut arkkitehti. Osiossa avataan myös suunnitelman tavoitteita ja suunnitteluprosessia, jonka jälkeen esitellään muodostunut luonnossuunnitelma tilasuunnitelman sekä kaupunkiympäristön kannalta. Suunnitelma on vaihtoehtoinen korotus perinteiseen keskustakorotukseen nähden, ja sen tarkoituksena on haastaa Helsingin kaupungin suhtautuminen keskustakorotusten visuaaliseen luonteeseen. Suunnitelmassa on annettu painoarvoa kaupunkikuvaa rikastaville aspekteille. Suunnitelma ja tutkielma pyrkivät yhdessä osoittamaan mahdollisuuden harkittuun kantakaupungin arkkitehtoniseen kerrostumaan, joka Helsingin historiassa on muovautunut näkyväksi, mutta sittemmin jäänyt taka-alalle suunnittelussa, kantakaupungin täyttyessä valmismaisemmaksi, ja uusrakentamisen vallatessa käyttämättömiä, potentiaalisia merialueita.Raising apartment buildings to compress downtown and suburban Helsinki : a case study of Kirkkokatu 1 a in Kruununhaka. Abstract. This thesis explores the possibility of making Helsinki’s downtown areas and suburbs more compact by building additional floors to apartment buildings and studies the differences between these areas. A research approach is emphasized over plan drafting, and the thesis utilizes a case example. The case site serves as a modern example of the effects and challenges of raising skylines in downtown areas, and it provides a more tangible depiction of the actions discussed. The plan presented here is a draft, not a final plan. The thesis also addresses complementary building in general terms so that uninitiated readers can gain an understanding of the topic and its connection to raising apartment buildings. The construction of additional floors is one approach to complementary building, so the two terms share several contributing factors. However, this thesis does not offer a broad introduction to complementary building and its different methodologies. The topic is discussed specifically from the perspective of raising existing buildings. The thesis consists of three main parts. The first part examines the construction of additional floors to existing apartment buildings in light of Finland’s current laws and provides an overview of the matter. The possibility of and need for adding floors, in other words the reasons behind this type of construction, are explained to provide further insight into the issue. The topic is first discussed in general terms, subsequently moving towards more specific issues and discerning what the topic means for the government, municipalities, and for a single building and its housing company. This thesis considers the raising of apartment buildings from the viewpoints of downtown areas and suburbs, respectively, and reflects on the differences between the two areas regarding the construction of additional floors. The second part focuses specifically on the Kruununhaka area. Kruununhaka was chosen as an example of a downtown area based on its location. This part explores the history of construction in Kruununhaka, the demographics in the area, and the lifespan sustainability of the buildings. It also presents the zoning status from the perspective of complementary construction and the challenges and possibilities involved. At the end, I contemplate the development potential of construction in Kruununhaka. Additional insights arise from interviews with Eveliina Harsia, the architect in charge of zoning in Kruununhaka, zoning architect Petri Pulkka, and zoning architect Linda Wiksten. The third part, the plan section, includes an analysis of the area and introduces the example building and the architect who designed it. The aim of the plan and the planning process are also discussed. Next, the draft of the plan is presented and examined regarding the space layout and the urban environment. The plan provides an alternative to the traditional approach of raising buildings in downtown areas, and it was drafted to challenge the views of the City of Helsinki on the visual nature of such complementary construction. The plan emphasizes various cityscape-enriching aspects. The plan and this thesis aim to demonstrate the possibility of pre-planning downtown architectural deposits, which have become visible in Helsinki over the course of history, but have later been ignored in urban planning. Simultaneously, downtown areas have started to look more ready-made, and new construction sites have claimed unused maritime areas that have potential

The Parsec-scale Structure, Kinematics, and Polarization of Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

Several narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) have now been detected in gamma rays, providing firm evidence that at least some of this class of active galactic nuclei (AGN) produce relativistic jets. The presence of jets in NLS1s is surprising, as these sources are typified by comparatively small black hole masses and near- or super-Eddington accretion rates. This challenges the current understanding of the conditions necessary for jet production. Comparing the properties of the jets in NLS1s with those in more familiar jetted systems is thus essential to improve jet production models. We present early results from our campaign to monitor the kinematics and polarization of the parsec-scale jets in a sample of 15 NLS1s through multifrequency observations with the Very Long Baseline Array. These observations are complemented by fast-cadence 15 GHz monitoring with the Owens Valley Radio Observatory 40m telescope and optical spectroscopic monitoring with with the 2m class telescope at the Guillermo Haro Astrophysics Observatory in Cananea, Mexico.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the Proceedings of the IAU Symposium No. 313: "Extragalactic jets from every angle," Galapagos, Ecuador, 15-19 September 2014, F. Massaro, C. C. Cheung, E. Lopez, and A. Siemiginowska (Eds.), Cambridge University Pres

Multiwavelength observations of the blazar BL Lacertae: a new fast TeV γ-ray flare

Proceedings of the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2017), Busan (South Korea). Published in Proceeding of Science.Observations of fast TeV γ-ray flares from blazars reveal the extreme compactness of emitting regions in blazar jets. Combined with very-long-baseline radio interferometry measurements, they probe the structure and emission mechanism of the jet. We report on a fast TeV γ-ray flare from BL Lacertae observed by VERITAS, with a rise time of about 2.3 hours and a decay time of about 36 minutes. The peak flux at >200 GeV measured with the 4-minute binned light curve is (4.2±0.6)×10−6photonsm−2s−1, or ∼180% the Crab Nebula flux. Variability in GeV γ-ray, X-ray, and optical flux, as well as in optical and radio polarization was observed around the time of the TeV γ-ray flare. A possible superluminal knot was identified in the VLBA observations at 43 GHz. The flare constrains the size of the emitting region, and is consistent with several theoretical models with stationary shocks

Restoration of hand function with long-term paired associative stimulation after chronic incomplete tetraplegia: a case study

INTRODUCTION: This case study explores the gains in hand function in an individual with a chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). The intervention was long-term paired associative simulation (PAS). We aimed to provide PAS until full recovery of hand muscle strength occurred, or until improvements ceased. CASE PRESENTATION: A 46-year-old man with traumatic C7 AIS B tetraplegia was administered PAS three times per week. After 24 weeks, PAS was combined with concomitant motor training of the remaining weak hand muscles. Outcome measures included the manual muscle test (MMT), motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), F-responses, hand functional tests, and the spinal cord independence measure (SCIM). DISCUSSION: After 47 weeks of PAS the subject had improved self-care and indoor mobility and was able to perform complex motor tasks (SCIM score improved from 40 to 56). His left hand regained maximum MMT score (total 75; increase of score from baseline condition 19); the effect remained stable in the 32-week follow up. In the right-hand muscles, MMT scores of 4-5 were observed in follow up (total 71; increase from baseline 48). Improved values were also observed in other outcomes. This is the first demonstration of long-term PAS restoring muscle strength corresponding to MMT scores of 4-5 in an individual with chronic SCI. The effect persisted for several months, indicating that PAS induces stable plastic changes in the corticospinal pathway.Peer reviewe

Assembling the Tree of Life in Europe (AToLE)

A network of scientists under the umbrella of 'Assembling the Tree of Life in Europe (AToLE)' seeks funding under the FP7-Theme: Cooperation - Environment (including Climate Change and Biodiversity Conservation) programme of the European Commission.
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Automatic detection of Crohn's disease using quantified motility in magnetic resonance enterography : initial experiences

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The AuthorsAIM: To report initial experiences of automatic detection of Crohn's disease (CD) using quantified motility in magnetic resonance enterography (MRE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 302 patients, three datasets with roughly equal proportions of CD and non-CD cases with various illnesses were drawn for testing and neural network training and validation. All datasets had unique MRE parameter configurations and were performed in free breathing. Nine neural networks were devised for automatic generation of three different regions of interests (ROI): small bowel, all bowel, and non-bowel. Additionally, a full-image ROI was tested. The motility in an MRE series was quantified via a registration procedure, which, accompanied with given ROIs, resulted in three motility indices (MI). A subset of the indices was used as an input for a binary logistic regression classifier, which predicted whether the MRE series represented CD. RESULTS: The highest mean area under the curve (AUC) score, 0.78, was reached using the full-image ROI and with the dataset with the highest cine series length. The best AUC scores for the other two datasets were only 0.54 and 0.49. CONCLUSION: The automatic system was able to detect CD in the group of MRE studies with lower temporal resolution and longer cine series showing potential in primary bowel disorder diagnostics. Larger ROI selections and utilising all available cine series for motility registration yielded slight performance improvements. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal College of Radiologists. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).Peer reviewe