Fluctuation-induced dynamics of multiphase liquid jets with ultra-low interfacial tension

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Xtru3D: Single-View 3D Object Reconstruction from Color and Depth Data

D object reconstruction from single image has been a noticeable research trend in recent years. The most common method is to rely on symmetries of real-life objects, but these are hard to compute in practice. However, a large class of everyday objects, especially when manufactured, can be generated by extruding a 2D shape through an extrusion axis. This paper proposes to exploit this property to acquire 3D object models using a single RGB+Depth image, such as those provided by available low-cost range cameras. It estimates the hidden parts by exploiting the geometrical properties of everyday objects, and both depth and color information are combined to refine the model of the object of interest. Experimental results on a set of 12 common objects are shown to demonstrate not only the effectiveness and simplicity of our approach, but also its applicability for tasks such as robotic grasping.The research leading to these results has been funded by the HANDLE European project (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement ICT 231640-http://www.handle-project.eu.Publicad

Reflective writing analytics for actionable feedback

© 2017 ACM. Reflective writing can provide a powerful way for students to integrate professional experience and academic learning. However, writing reflectively requires high quality actionable feedback, which is time-consuming to provide at scale. This paper reports progress on the design, implementation, and validation of a Reflective Writing Analytics platform to provide actionable feedback within a tertiary authentic assessment context. The contributions are: (1) a new conceptual framework for reflective writing; (2) a computational approach to modelling reflective writing, deriving analytics, and providing feedback; (3) the pedagogical and user experience rationale for platform design decisions; and (4) a pilot in a student learning context, with preliminary data on educator and student acceptance, and the extent to which we can evidence that the software provided actionable feedback for reflective writing

Mechanical Control of Spin States in Spin-1 Molecules and the Underscreened Kondo Effect

The ability to make electrical contact to single molecules creates opportunities to examine fundamental processes governing electron flow on the smallest possible length scales. We report experiments in which we controllably stretch individual cobalt complexes having spin S = 1, while simultaneously measuring current flow through the molecule. The molecule's spin states and magnetic anisotropy were manipulated in the absence of a magnetic field by modification of the molecular symmetry. This control enabled quantitative studies of the underscreened Kondo effect, in which conduction electrons only partially compensate the molecular spin. Our findings demonstrate a mechanism of spin control in single-molecule devices and establish that they can serve as model systems for making precision tests of correlated-electron theories.Comment: main text: 5 pages, 4 figures; supporting information attached; to appear in Science

Scaffolding School Pupils’ Scientific Argumentation with Evidence-Based Dialogue Maps

This chapter reports pilot work investigating the potential of Evidence-based Dialogue Mapping to scaffold young teenagers’ scientific argumentation. Our research objective is to better understand pupils’ usage of dialogue maps created in Compendium to write scientific ex-planations. The participants were 20 pupils, 12-13 years old, in a summer science course for “gifted and talented” children in the UK. Through qualitative analysis of three case studies, we investigate the value of dialogue mapping as a mediating tool in the scientific reasoning process during a set of learning activities. These activities were published in an online learning envi-ronment to foster collaborative learning. Pupils mapped their discussions in pairs, shared maps via the online forum and in plenary discussions, and wrote essays based on their dialogue maps. This study draws on these multiple data sources: pupils’ maps in Compendium, writings in science and reflective comments about the uses of mapping for writing. Our analysis highlights the diversity of ways, both successful and unsuccessful, in which dialogue mapping was used by these young teenagers

Collaboration in the Semantic Grid: a Basis for e-Learning

The CoAKTinG project aims to advance the state of the art in collaborative mediated spaces for the Semantic Grid. This paper presents an overview of the hypertext and knowledge based tools which have been deployed to augment existing collaborative environments, and the ontology which is used to exchange structure, promote enhanced process tracking, and aid navigation of resources before, after, and while a collaboration occurs. While the primary focus of the project has been supporting e-Science, this paper also explores the similarities and application of CoAKTinG technologies as part of a human-centred design approach to e-Learning

Higher hematocrit improves cerebral outcome after deep hypothermic circulatory arrest

AbstractBackground: Various degrees of hemodilution are currently in clinical use during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest to counteract deleterious rheologic effects linked with brain injury by previous reports. Material and methods: Seventeen piglets were randomly assigned to three groups. Group I piglets (n = 7) received colloid and crystalloid prime (hematocrit < 10%), group II piglets (n = 5) received blood and crystalloid prime (hematocrit 20%), group III piglets (n = 5) received blood prime (hematocrit 30%). All groups underwent 60 minutes of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest at 15º C. with continuous magnetic resonance spectroscopy and near-infrared spectroscopy Neurologic recovery was evaluated for 4 days (neurologic deficit score 0, normal, to 500, brain death; overall performance category 1, normal, to 5, brain death). Neurohistologic score (0, normal, to 5+, necrosis) was assessed after the animals were euthanized on day 4. Results: Group I had significant loss of phosphocreatine and intracellular acidosis during early cooling (phosphocreatine in group I, 86.3% ± 26.8%; group II, 117.3% ± 8.6%; group III, 110.9% ± 2.68%; p = 0.0008; intracellular pH in group I, 6.95 ± 0.18; group II, 7.28 ± 0.04; group III, 7.49 ± 0.04; p = 0.0048). Final recovery was the same for all groups. Cytochrome aa3 was more reduced in group I during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest than in either of the other groups (group I, -43.6 ± 2.6; group II, -16.0 ± 5.2; group III, 1.3 ± 3.1; p < 0.0001). Neurologic deficit score was best preserved in group III (p < 0.05 group II vs group III) on the first postoperative day, although this difference diminished with time and all animals were neurologically normal after 4 days. Histologic assessment was worst among group I in neocortex area (group I, 1.33 ± 0.3; group II, 0.22 ± 0.1; group III, 0.40 ± 0.2, p < 0.05, group I vs group II; p = 0.0287, group I vs group III). Conclusion: Extreme hemodilution during cardiopulmonary bypass may cause inadequate oxygen delivery during early cooling. The higher hematocrit with a blood prime is associated with improved cerebral recovery after deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1996;112:1610-21

Contested Collective Intelligence: rationale, technologies, and a human-machine annotation study

We propose the concept of Contested Collective Intelligence (CCI) as a distinctive subset of the broader Collective Intelligence design space. CCI is relevant to the many organizational contexts in which it is important to work with contested knowledge, for instance, due to different intellectual traditions, competing organizational objectives, information overload or ambiguous environmental signals. The CCI challenge is to design sociotechnical infrastructures to augment such organizational capability. Since documents are often the starting points for contested discourse, and discourse markers provide a powerful cue to the presence of claims, contrasting ideas and argumentation, discourse and rhetoric provide an annotation focus in our approach to CCI. Research in sensemaking, computer-supported discourse and rhetorical text analysis motivate a conceptual framework for the combined human and machine annotation of texts with this specific focus. This conception is explored through two tools: a social-semantic web application for human annotation and knowledge mapping (Cohere), plus the discourse analysis component in a textual analysis software tool (Xerox Incremental Parser: XIP). As a step towards an integrated platform, we report a case study in which a document corpus underwent independent human and machine analysis, providing quantitative and qualitative insight into their respective contributions. A promising finding is that significant contributions were signalled by authors via explicit rhetorical moves, which both human analysts and XIP could readily identify. Since working with contested knowledge is at the heart of CCI, the evidence that automatic detection of contrasting ideas in texts is possible through rhetorical discourse analysis is progress towards the effective use of automatic discourse analysis in the CCI framework

A novel sialyl lewis x analog attenuates cerebral injury after deep hypothermic circulatory arrest

AbstractBackground: The initial step in the inflammatory process, which can be initiated by cardiopulmonary bypass and by ischemia/reperfusion, is mediated by interactions between selectins on endothelial cells and on neutrophils. We studied the effects of selectin blockade using a novel Sialyl Lewis X analog (CY-1503) on recovery after deep hypothermic circulatory arrest in a piglet model. Methods: Twelve Yorkshire piglets were subjected to cardiopulmonary bypass, 30 minutes of cooling, 100 minutes of circulatory arrest at 15°C, and 40 minutes of rewarming. Five animals received a bolus of 60 mg/kg of CY-1503 and an infusion (3 mg/kg per hour) for 24 hours from reperfusion (group O), and 7 randomly selected control piglets received saline solution (group C). Body weight and total body water content were evaluated 3 hours and 24 hours after reperfusion by a bio-impedance technique. Neurologic recovery of animals was evaluated daily by neurologic deficit score (0 = normal, 500 = brain death) and overall performance categories (1 = normal, 5 = brain death). The brain was fixed in situ on the fourth postoperative day and examined by histologic score (0 = normal, 5+ = necrosis) in a blinded fashion. Results: Two of 7 animals in group C died. The neurologic deficit score was significantly lower in group O than in group C (postoperative day 1, P < .001; postoperative day 2, P = .02). The overall performance category was significantly lower in group O than in group C on postoperative day 2 (P = .01). Percentage total body water after cardiopulmonary bypass was significantly higher in group C than in group O (P = .03). Histologic score tended to be higher in group C than in group O, but this difference did not reach statistical significance (group O = 0.5 ± 0.7; group C = 1.3 ± 1.9). Conclusion: Blockade of selectin adhesion molecules by saturation with a Sialyl Lewisxanalog accelerates recovery after 100 minutes of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest in a piglet survival model. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999; 117:1204-11

Examining changes in parent-reported child and adolescent mental health throughout the UK’s first COVID-19 national lockdown

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the lives of children and adolescents, forcing them into periods of prolonged social isolation and time away from school. Understanding the psychological consequences of the UK’s lockdown for children and adolescents, the associated risk factors, and how trajectories may vary for children and adolescents in different circumstances is essential so that the most vulnerable children and adolescents can be identified and appropriate support can be implemented. Methods Participants were a convenience sample of parents and carers (n = 2988) in the U.K. with children and adolescents aged between 4 and 16 years who completed an online survey about their child’s mental health. Growth curve analysis was used to examine the changes in conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention and emotional symptoms between the end of March/beginning of April and July using data from monthly assessments over four months. Additionally, growth mixture modelling identified mental health trajectories for conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention and emotional symptoms separately and subsequent regression models were used to estimate predictors of mental health trajectory membership. Results Overall levels of hyperactivity and conduct problems increased over time whereas emotional symptoms remained relatively stable, though declined somewhat between June and July. Change over time varied according to child age, the presence of siblings, and with Special Educational Needs (SEN)/ Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ND). Subsequent growth mixture modelling identified three, four and five trajectories for hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems and emotional symptoms, respectively. Though many children maintained “stable low” symptoms, others experienced elevated symptoms by July. These children were more likely to have a parent/carer with higher levels of psychological distress, to have SEN/ND, or to be younger in age. Conclusions The findings support previous literature and highlight that certain risk factors were associated with poorer mental health trajectories for children and adolescents during the pandemic