High Frequency Scattering from Arbitrarily Oriented Dielectric Disks

Calculations have been made of electromagnetic wave scattering from dielectric disks of arbitrary shape and orientation in the high frequency (physical optics) regime. The solution is obtained by approximating the fields inside the disk with the fields induced inside an identically oriented slab (i.e. infinite parallel planes) with the same thickness and dielectric properties. The fields inside the disk excite conduction and polarization currents which are used to calculate the scattered fields by integrating the radiation from these sources over the volume of the disk. This computation has been executed for observers in the far field of the disk in the case of disks with arbitrary orientation and for arbitrary polarization of the incident radiation. The results have been expressed in the form of a dyadic scattering amplitude for the disk. The results apply to disks whose diameter is large compared to wavelength and whose thickness is small compared to diameter, but the thickness need not be small compared to wavelength. Examples of the dependence of the scattering amplitude on frequency, dielectric properties of the disk and disk orientation are presented for disks of circular cross section

Entropy-based fault detection approach for motor vibration signals under accelerated aging process

The purpose of this study is to analyze motor vibration signals due to the bearing fault, which is artificially generated by aging process. Vibration signal data recorded by the experimental setup has been conditioned by a high-pass filter (Butterworth type) to reach the regarding frequency components of the bearing failure. Spectral analysis has been applied to realize the degradation on the bearing and the power spectral density figures revealed that the magnitudes of frequency components between 1.5-4 kHz bandwidth increased after every aging cycle. Vibration signals were investigated statistically by examining four main statistical parameters: mean value, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis. Evaluation of these parameters indicated that significant variance occurred on standard deviation. At this point Shannon entropy became an approach to analyze the variance on the standard deviation. The probability of the aging cycles has been defined as a function of standard deviation values for each aging cycle. Entropy definition, which is a function of probability, determines the uncertainty level on the data and it has been examined to identify the effect of the aging progress on the bearing by examining the transferred entropy amount between aging cycles

Twenty-seven mutations with three novel pathologenic variants causing biotinidase deficiency: a report of 203 patients from the southeastern part of Turkey

BACKGROUND: Biotinidase deficiency (BD) is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism characterized by neurologic and cutaneous symptoms and can be detected by newborn screening. Newborn screening for BD was implemented in Turkey at the end of 2008. METHODS: In total, 203 patients who were identified among the infants detected by the newborn screening were later confirmed to have BD through measurement of serum biotinidase activity. We also performed BTD mutation analysis to characterize the genetic profile. RESULTS: Twenty-seven mutations were identified. The most commonly found variants were c.1330G>C (p.D444H), c.1595C>T (p.T532M), c.470G>A (p.R157H), and c.198_104delGCGGCTGinsTCC (p.C33Ffs ) with allele frequencies of 0.387, 0.175, 0.165 and 0.049, respectively. Three novel pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants were identified: p.W140* (c.419G>A), p.S319F (c.956C>T) and p.L69Hfs*24 (c.192_193insCATC). We also identified three mutations reported in just one patient in the past (p.V442Sfs*59 [c.1324delG], p.H447R [c.1340A>G] and p.198delV [c.592_594delGTC]). Although all of the patients were asymptomatic under the treatment of biotin, only one patient, who had the novel c.419G>A homozygous mutation became symptomatic during an episode of acute gastroenteritis with a presentation of ketosis and metabolic acidosis. Among the screened patients, 156 had partial and 47 had profound BD. CONCLUSIONS: We determined the mutation spectra of BD from the southeastern part of Turkey. The results of this study add three more mutations to the total number of mutations described as causing BD

Multi-Instrument Observations of an MSTID over Arecibo Observatory

The Penn State All-Sky Imager (PSASI) at Arecibo Observatory provides planar horizontal context to the vertical ionospheric profiles obtained by the Incoherent Seatter Radar (TSR). Electric field measurements from the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite are mapped down geomagnetic field lines to the height of the airglow layer; allowing multi-instrument studies of field-aligned irregularities with radar, imager, and satellite. A Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance (MSTID) was observed during such a conjunction near the December solstice of 2009

Effect of different segmentation methods using optical satellite imagery to estimate fuzzy clustering parameters for Sentinel-1A SAR images

Optical and SAR data are efficient data sources for shoreline monitoring. The processing of SAR data such as feature extraction is not an easy task since the images have totally different structure than optical imagery. Determination of threshold value is a challenging task for SAR data. In this study, SENTINEL-2A optical data was used as ancillary data to predict fuzzy membership parameters for segmentation of SENTINEL-1A SAR data to extract shoreline. SENTINEL-2A and SENTINEL-1A satellite images used were taken in September 9, 2016 and September 13, 2016 respectively. Three different segmentation algorithms which are selected from object, learning and pixel-based methods. They have been exploited to obtain land and water classes which have been used as an input data for parameter estimation. Thus, the performance of different segmentation algorithm has been investigated and analysed. In the first step of the study, Mean-Shift, Random Forest and Whale Optimization algorithms have been employed to obtain water and land classes from the SENTINEL-2A image. Water and land classes derived from each algorithm – are used as input data, and then the required parameters for the fuzzy clustering of SENTINEL-1A SAR image, were calculated. Lake Constance, Germany has been chosen as the study area. In this study, additionally an interface plugin has been developed and integrated into the open source Quantum GIS software platform. The developed interface allows non-experts to process and extract the shorelines without using any parameters. But, this system requires pre-segmented data as input. Thus, the batch process calculates the required parameters

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT SEGMENTATION METHODS USING OPTICAL SATELLITE IMAGERY TO ESTIMATE FUZZY CLUSTERING PARAMETERS FOR SENTINEL-1A SAR IMAGES

Optical and SAR data are efficient data sources for shoreline monitoring. The processing of SAR data such as feature extraction is not an easy task since the images have totally different structure than optical imagery. Determination of threshold value is a challenging task for SAR data. In this study, SENTINEL-2A optical data was used as ancillary data to predict fuzzy membership parameters for segmentation of SENTINEL-1A SAR data to extract shoreline. SENTINEL-2A and SENTINEL-1A satellite images used were taken in September 9, 2016 and September 13, 2016 respectively. Three different segmentation algorithms which are selected from object, learning and pixel-based methods. They have been exploited to obtain land and water classes which have been used as an input data for parameter estimation. Thus, the performance of different segmentation algorithm has been investigated and analysed. In the first step of the study, Mean-Shift, Random Forest and Whale Optimization algorithms have been employed to obtain water and land classes from the SENTINEL-2A image. Water and land classes derived from each algorithm – are used as input data, and then the required parameters for the fuzzy clustering of SENTINEL-1A SAR image, were calculated. Lake Constance, Germany has been chosen as the study area. In this study, additionally an interface plugin has been developed and integrated into the open source Quantum GIS software platform. The developed interface allows non-experts to process and extract the shorelines without using any parameters. But, this system requires pre-segmented data as input. Thus, the batch process calculates the required parameters

Twelve recommendations for advancing marine conservation in European and contiguous seas

Like most ocean regions today, the European and contiguous seas experience cumulative impacts from local human activities and global pressures. They are largely in poor environmental condition with deteriorating trends. Despite several success stories, European policies for marine conservation fall short of being effective. Acknowledging the challenges for marine conservation, a 4-year multi-national network, MarCons, supported collaborative marine conservation efforts to bridge the gap between science, management and policy, aiming to contribute in reversing present negative trends. By consolidating a large network of more than 100 scientists from 26 countries, and conducting a series of workshops over 4 years (2016–2020), MarCons analyzed challenges, opportunities and obstacles for advancing marine conservation in the European and contiguous seas. Here, we synthesize the major issues that emerged from this analysis and make 12 key recommendations for policy makers, marine managers, and researchers. To increase the effectiveness of marine conservation planning, we recommend (1) designing coherent networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the framework of marine spatial planning (MSP) and applying systematic conservation planning principles, including re-evaluation of existing management zones, (2) designing MPA networks within a broader transboundary planning framework, and (3) implementing integrated land-freshwater-sea approaches. To address inadequate or poorly informed management, we recommend (4) developing and implementing adaptive management plans in all sites of the Natura 2000 European conservation network and revising the Natura 2000 framework, (5) embedding and implementing cumulative effects assessments into a risk management process and making them operational, and (6) promoting actions to reach ‘good environmental status’ in all European waters. To account for global change in conservation planning and management, we further recommend (7) developing conservation strategies to address the impacts of global change, for example identifying climate-change refugia as high priority conservation areas, and (8) incorporating biological invasions in conservation plans and prioritizing management actions to control invasive species. Finally, to improve current practices that may compromise the effectiveness of conservation actions, we recommend (9) reinforcing the collection of high-quality open-access data, (10) improving mechanisms for public participation in MPA planning and management, (11) prioritizing conservation goals in full collaboration with stakeholders, and (12) addressing gender inequality in marine sciences and conservation

Incidentalomas during imaging for primary hyperparathyroidism—incidence and clinical outcomes

Background: Imaging for pre-operative localisation of parathyroid glands in primary hyperparathyroidism is now routine. This has led to the detection of incidental lesions (incidentalomas) in other organs, the nature of which is not well characterised. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence, characteristics and outcomes in patients who had incidental findings on parathyroid imaging. Methods: Records of patients who underwent imaging for primary hyperparathyroidism over 2 years were reviewed to identify incidental lesions detected on parathyroid imaging. Patients with persistent or renal hyperparathyroidism were excluded. Details on the management of detected incidentalomas were obtained from patient records. Results: Incidentalomas were identified in 17 of 170 patients (10 %) undergoing parathyroid imaging. Incidentalomas included thyroid (n = 11), breast (n = 3), lateral compartment of the neck (n = 1), lung (n = 1) and clavicle (n = 1). However, no disease of clinical significance needing treatment was detected on further investigation. Conclusions: Although a significant proportion of patients undergoing parathyroid imaging had incidental lesions detected, these seem to be of little clinical significance. The morbidity and cost of further interventions on these incidentalomas need to be weighed against the benefits of routine imaging in improving outcomes of first-time surgery in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Keywords: Parathyroid gland, Primary hyperparathyroidism, Imaging, Incidentaloma