Microelastic wave field signatures and their implications for microstructure identification

AbstractThis work combines closed-form and computational analyses to elucidate the dynamic properties, termed signatures, of waves propagating through solids defined by the theory of elasticity with microstructure and the potential of such properties to identify microstructure evolution over a material’s lifetime. First, the study presents analytical dispersion relations and frequency-dependent velocities of waves propagating in microelastic solids. A detailed parametric analysis of the results show that elastic solids with microstructure recover traditional gradient elasticity under certain conditions but demonstrate a higher degree of flexibility in adapting to observed wave forms across a wide frequency spectrum. In addition, a set of simulations demonstrates the ability of the model to quantify the presence of damage, just another type of microstructure, through fitting of the model parameters, especially the one associated with the characteristic length scale of the underlying microstructure, to an explicit geometric representation of voids in different damage states

Study protocol for a controlled trial of strengths model case management in mental health services in Hong Kong

Introduction Although strengths-based models are popular within recovery-oriented approaches, there is still a lack of conclusive research to guide how they should be implemented. A recent meta-analysis confirmed the lack of clarity in how this perspective is operationalised and that fidelity monitoring during the implementation process is lacking. Hence, there is a clear need to evaluate the feasibility of delivering and evaluating a clearly operationalised strengths-based intervention that incorporates fidelity checks to inform more definitive research. This protocol therefore describes a controlled trial of Strengths Model Case Management (SMCM), a complex intervention, for people with severe mental illnesses in Hong Kong. This trial follows the guidelines of the Medical Research Council as a phase 2 trial. Hence, it is a pilot study that tests the feasibility and effectiveness of the model. Methods and analysis This is a 9-month controlled trial that uses the Kansas Model. Participants and a matched control group are recruited on a voluntary basis, after screening for eligibility. Effectiveness of the SMCM will be measured through outcome measures taken at baseline, the mid-point and at the end of the trial. Outcomes for service users include personal recovery, hope, subjective well-being, psychiatric symptoms, perceived level of recovery features within the organisation, therapeutic alliance and achievement of recovery goals. Outcomes for care workers will include job burnout, organisational features of recovery and perceived supervisory support. With a 2×3 analysis of variance design and a moderate intervention effect (Cohen's d=0.50), a total of 86 participants will be needed for a statistical power of 0.80. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee for Non-Clinical Faculties at The University of Hong Kong (HRECNCF: EA140913). Trial registration number Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN)12613001120763

Genomic characterization of Gli-activator targets in sonic hedgehog-mediated neural patterning

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) acts as a morphogen to mediate the specification of distinct cell identities in the ventral neural tube through a Gli-mediated (Gli1-3) transcriptional network. Identifying Gli targets in a systematic fashion is central to the understanding of the action of Shh. We examined this issue in differentiating neural progenitors in mouse. An epitope-tagged Gli-activator protein was used to directly isolate cis-regulatory sequences by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). ChIP products were then used to screen custom genomic tiling arrays of putative Hedgehog (Hh) targets predicted from transcriptional profiling studies, surveying 50-150 kb of non-transcribed sequence for each candidate. In addition to identifying expected Gli-target sites, the data predicted a number of unreported direct targets of Shh action. Transgenic analysis of binding regions in Nkx2.2, Nkx2.1 (Titf1) and Rab34 established these as direct Hh targets. These data also facilitated the generation of an algorithm that improved in silico predictions of Hh target genes. Together, these approaches provide significant new insights into both tissue-specific and general transcriptional targets in a crucial Shh-mediated patterning process

Bright artificial light subsensitizes a central muscarinic mechanism

Supersensitivity of a muscarinic mechanism is implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. Bright artificial light is efficacious in the treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). We studied the effect of constant bright light (11, 500 lux) on the sensitivity of adult, male rats to oxotremorine, 1.5 mg/kg ip, using a repeated measures design. Oxotremorine challenges were proceeded by the injection of methylscopolamine, 1 mg/kg ip, by 30 minutes. Temperature was telemetrically measured every 10 minutes for 120 minutes starting 10 minutes after the injection of oxotremorine. Prior to and after 7 continuous days of exposure to bright light, the sample exhibited a hypothermic response of 2if2.50 +/- 0.48[deg]C (mean +/- SEM) and 0.29 +/- 0.31[deg]C (mean +/- SEM), respectively (p < 0.0014). All 7 animals exhibited blunting to the thermic response to oxotremorine. Bright light also blocked the capacity of amitriptyline to supersensitize a central muscarinic mechanism. Exposure to light at an intensity of 300 lux for 7 days had no effect on the thermic response to oxotremorine. These data are consistent with the hypotheses that the biology of depression involves supersensitivity of central muscarinic mechanisms and that the effects of bright artificial light are not the consequence of shifting circadian rhythms.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26470/1/0000005.pd

Model Abstraction for Formal Veri cation

Abstract As the complexity of circuit designs grows, designers look toward formal veri cation to achieve better test coverage for validating complex designs. However, this approach is inherently computationally intensive, and hence, only small designs can be veri ed using this method. To achieve better performance, model abstraction is necessary. Model abstraction reduces the number of states necessary to perform formal veri cation while maintaining the functionality of the original model with respect to the speci cations to be veri ed. As a result, model abstraction enables large designs to be formally veri ed. In this paper, we describe three methods for model abstraction based on semantics extraction from user models to improve the performance of formal veri cation tools

Analisis Kemampuan Pendeteksian Pengujian Eddy Current Testing (ECT) terhadap Crack pada Bollard dengan Bahan Casting

Bollard merupakan perangkat yang ada di kapal atau di pelabuhan yang digunakan untuk menambat kapal di dermaga atau perangkat untuk mengikatkan tali pada kapal. Bollard biasanya terbuat dari besi cor dan ditanamkan pada fondasi atau bibir dermaga sehingga mampu untuk menahan beban tarik yang bekerja pada penambat kapal di dermaga. Terjadinya beban tarik yang bekerja pada bollard dapat menimbulkan masalah seperti deformasi, keretakan, kerusakan, dan lainnya. Oleh karena sebab diatas perlu dilakukan analisis kemampuan pedeteksian berupa crack pada bollard menggunakan metode Eddy Current Testing (ECT). Dengan metode tersebut, diharapkan dapat mengukur kemampuan pendeteksian crack pada bollard. Dalam penelitian ini dilakukan penelitian terhadap material yang berbahan cast iron yang dibagi menjadi tiga spesimen. Tiap spesimen diberikan kedalaman retak dan panjang yang berbeda. Spesimen satu terdapat tiga retak yang berdimensi panjang 8 mm dan kedalaman 0.5 mm, 1 mm, dan 2 mm. Spesimen kedua terdapat tiga retak yang berdimensi panjang 1 mm dan kedalaman 0.5 mm, 1 mm, dan 2 mm. Spesimen ketiga terdapat tiga retak yang berdimensi panjang 2 mm dengan kedalaman retak 0.5 mm, 1 mm, dan 2 mm. Hasil yang didapatkan dari penelitian ini adalah terdapat perbedaan sinyal yang didapatkan pada variasi kedalaman retak. Semakin dalam retak yang terbentuk, semakin besar juga tinggi indikasi sinyal retaknya. Tetapi hal ini tidak terjadi pada variasi panjang retak. Tinggi sinyal yang didapatkan dari panjang retak yang berbeda dan kedalaman yang sama adalah tetap sama sehingga dalam hal ini, panjang retak tidak berpengaruh dengan ketinggian sinyal. Sinyal retak yang paling tinggi terdapat pada retak dengan kedalaman 2 mm dan ketinggian sinyal retak paling rendah terdapat pada kedalaman retak 0.5 mm. Tingkat sensitivitas pada alat eddy current ini adalah sebesar 100% dan tingkat ketelitian pada alat eddy current ini adalah sebesar 77.70%

Veterinary diagnostic practice and the use of rapid tests in antimicrobial stewardship on UK livestock farms

This is the final version. Available on open access from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this recordData Availability Statement: The datasets generated for this article are not readily available because the data set will be deposited in UKRI depository at termination of contracted research. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to https://www.dialamr.comIn this paper we consider the shifting role, practice and context of veterinary diagnosis in addressing concerns over what is, in the context of the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, considered unnecessary or excessive antimicrobial medicine use in UK livestock farms. With increasing policy and regulatory interest in diagnostic practices and technologies, coupled with an expanding focus on the development and deployment of new rapid and point-of-care on-farm diagnostic testing, this paper investigates current diagnostic practices amongst veterinarians working on dairy, pig and poultry farms in Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) and, more specifically, veterinarians' use and perceptions of new and emerging rapid and point-of-care diagnostic tests. Drawing on a series of 30 semi-structured interviews with farm animal veterinary professionals across the three sectors, this paper examines the manner in which such tests are both used and anticipated in clinical farm animal veterinary practice and the possible impact rapid test technologies might have on broader farm animal health management and disease control. Analysis of the transcribed interviews reveals a number of complexities around the use of rapid and point-of-care diagnostic tests. The relative rapidity and simplification of such tests, facilitating immediate treatment responses, is held in balance against both the accuracy and the more detailed and documented procedures of established laboratory testing routes. In situations of multifaceted on-farm etiologies, respondents maintained that rapid tests may offer restricted diagnostic capabilities, though in other situations they were found to offer ready confirmation of disease presence. A third complexity arising from the growth of rapid and point-of-care testing and revealed in this study relates to the shifting distribution of responsibilities in animal health care within contemporary food chains. The growing availability of rapid and point-of-care tests effectively diversifies the range of diagnostic actors with consequences for the flow of diagnostic and disease information. The veterinarians in this study identified areas where new rapid and point-of-care tests would be of particular value to them in their clinical practice particularly in addressing concerns over inappropriate antimicrobial use in animal treatment. However, despite the considerable policy advocacy on rapid and point-of-care tests as key tools in shifting diagnostic practice and reducing unnecessary antimicrobial use, veterinarians in this study, while recognizing the potential future role of such tools and technologies, nonetheless viewed diagnostic practice as a far more complex process for which rapid tests might constitute only a part.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

New record of the Japanese seahorse Hippocampus mohnikei Bleeker, 1853 (Syngnathiformes: Syngnathidae) in Hong Kong waters

Funding: This study was supported by the Consultancy Project (AFCD/SQ/13/17) of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR and the Collaborative Research Fund (C7013-19G) of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council.A new record of Hippocampus mohnikei Bleeker, 1853 was confirmed in Hong Kong through morphological and molecular identification. It is highly possible that there is an established population of H. mohnikei in Hong Kong due to continuous sightings by citizen scientists in the past nine years. The record is significant from a biogeographical perspective as it connects the distributions of known populations in northern China and Japan to those spanning Thailand to India. This further affirms the status of Hong Kong as a hotspot for seahorse biodiversity and conservation in China.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe