A comparison of non-negative matrix underapproximation methods for the decomposition of magnetic resonance spectroscopy data from human brain tumors

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABMagnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is an MR technique that provides information about the biochemistry of tissues in a noninvasive way. MRS has been widely used for the study of brain tumors, both preoperatively and during follow-up. In this study, we investigated the performance of a range of variants of unsupervised matrix factorization methods of the non-negative matrix underapproximation (NMU) family, namely, sparse NMU, global NMU, and recursive NMU, and compared them with convex non-negative matrix factorization (C-NMF), which has previously shown a good performance on brain tumor diagnostic support problems using MRS data. The purpose of the investigation was 2-fold: first, to ascertain the differences among the sources extracted by these methods; and second, to compare the influence of each method in the diagnostic accuracy of the classification of brain tumors, using them as feature extractors. We discovered that, first, NMU variants found meaningful sources in terms of biological interpretability, but representing parts of the spectrum, in contrast to C-NMF; and second, that NMU methods achieved better classification accuracy than C-NMF for the classification tasks when one class was not meningioma

Healthy diet in primary care: views of general practitioners and nurses from Europe

Background: Most of the national colleges of general practitioners (GPs) do not have their own dietary/nutritional tools, and GPs and nurses do not have the time, knowledge, or skills to advise their patients about desirable dietary practices. Objective: To assess the usefulness of a simple and practical guide on healthy diet to be used by European GPs and nurses. Design: A postal survey was mailed to 171 GPs and nurses from 12 European countries to obtain information about the usefulness of a guide on healthy diet developed by EUROPREV. Results: The perception of health professionals is that the main source of information on healthy diet for the population was the media. In all, 95% of GPs and nurses reported that the guide was useful; 93, 95, and 82% reported that the concepts were concise, easy to understand, and realistic, respectively. Also, 77% reported that the type of counselling recommended was feasible and could be applied, 94% reported that the implementation measures proposed could be effective and 88% reported that the Traditional Mediterranean Diet Pyramid is useful, but some concerns about the content were mentioned. Conclusions: GPs and nurses from Europe think that a practical guide on healthy diet developed by EUROPREV could be used to advise patients in primary care, although the Traditional Mediterranean Diet Pyramid should be modified

AIDS knowledge and attitudes in a Turkish population: an epidemiological study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate and present some pertinent comments concerning Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) knowledge, attitudes and misconceptions among the general population in a city of west Turkey. This study was deemed important and relevant due to the increasing importance of AIDS in Turkey and the other countries. METHODS: Using a multistage area sampling method, a random sample of individuals aged 11–83 years, living in 65 different quarters in the city of Eskisehir, Turkey during September, October and November 2004 were interviewed. RESULTS: In all, 1048 respondents completed the survey. In most items, respondents displayed a fairly good to excellent degree of knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Individuals with higher degrees of education indicated more correct responses in all items relating to knowledge of HIV/AIDS. In general, the respondents' attitudes towards AIDS and people with AIDS were found to be tolerant and positive, with one answer choice showing that the majority of the respondents agreed with the statement that those with HIV/AIDS must be supported, treated and helped (90.7%). Moreover, the proportions of the respondents' misconceptions were found to be significantly low for all the items. However, nearly one fourth of the respondents agreed with the misconceptions 'AIDS is a punishment by God' and 'One is not infected with HIV/AIDS if engaged in sport and well nourished'. CONCLUSION: In general HIV/AIDS related knowledge was high and people showed positive attitudes. However, people continue to hold misconceptions about AIDS and these need to be addressed by health education programs targeting those at higher risk

Disruption of Lateral Efferent Pathways: Functional Changes in Auditory Evoked Responses

The functional consequences of selectively lesioning the lateral olivocochlear efferent system in guinea pigs were studied. The lateral superior olive (LSO) contains the cell bodies of lateral olivocochlear neurons. Melittin, a cytotoxic chemical, was injected into the brain stem using stereotaxic coordinates and near-field evoked potentials to target the LSO. Brain stem histology revealed discrete damage to the LSO following the injections. Functional consequences of this damage were reflected in depressed amplitude of the compound action potential of the eighth nerve (CAP) following the lesion. Threshold sensitivity and N1 latencies were relatively unchanged. Onset adaptation of the cubic distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) was evident, suggesting a reasonably intact medial efferent system. The present results provide the first report of functional changes induced by isolated manipulation of the lateral efferent pathway. They also confirm the suggestion that changes in single-unit auditory nerve activity after cutting the olivocochlear bundle are probably a consequence of disrupting the more lateral of the two olivocochlear efferent pathways.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41379/1/10162_2002_Article_3018.pd

Numerical simulation of high-level radioactive nuclear waste glass production

Vitrification of radioactive waste has become an international approach for converting highly radioactive wastes into a durable solid prior to placing them in a permanent disposal repository. The technology for the process is not new. The conversion melter is a direct descendant of all electric melters used for manufacturing of some commercial glass types. Therefore, the vitrification process of radioactive wastes inherits typical problems of all electric furnaces and creates some other specific problems such as noble metal sedimentation. The noble metals and nickel sulfides in the melter are heavier than molten glass and have a low solubility. In a reducing condition, these metals amalgamate and tend to settle on the melter floor. The metal deposit resulting from this settling has a potential to short circuit the melter. The objective of this paper is to identify the typical problems that have been encountered in the waste melter operations and to address how these problems can be tackled using state-of-the-art numerical simulation techniques. It is believed that the large amount of pilot-scale melter experience throughout the world, combined with the knowledge gained from state-of-the-art computer modeling techniques would give assurance that the existing and future radioactive wastes can be effectively converted into a durable glass material and safely placed in a permanent repository

Intersubband optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes in modulation-doped asymmetric double quantum well

The linear and the third-order nonlinear optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes in a modulation-doped asymmetric double quantum well are studied theoretically. The electron energy levels and the envelope wave functions in this structure are calculated by the Schrodinger and Poisson equations self-consistently in the effective mass approximation. The analytical expressions of optical properties are obtained by using the compact density-matrix approach. In this regard, the linear, nonlinear and total intersubband absorption coefficients and refractive index changes are investigated as a function of right-well width (Lw(2)) of asymmetric double quantum well. Our results show that the total absorption coefficients and refractive index changes shift toward higher energies as the right-well width decreases. In addition, the total optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes is strongly dependent on the incident optical intensity. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Binding energies of donor impurities in modulation-doped GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs double quantum wells under an electric field

In this study, we have investigated theoretically the binding energies of shallow donor impurities in modulation-doped GaAs/Al0.33Ga0.67 As double quantum wells (DQWs) under an electric field which is applied along the growth direction for different doping concentrations as a function of the impurity position. The electronic structure of modulation-doped DQWs under an electric field has been investigated by using a self-consistent calculation in the effective-mass approximation. The results obtained show that the carrier density and the depth of the quantum wells in semiconductors may be tuned by changing the doping concentration, the electric field and the structure parameters such as the well and barrier widths. This tunability gives a possibility of use in many electronic and optical devices. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE AND BAND BENDING OF MODULATION-DOPED GaAs/Al-x Ga1-xAs SYMMETRIC AND ASYMMETRIC DOUBLE QUANTUM WELLS UNDER AN APPLIED ELECTRIC FIELD

In this study, we have calculated theoretically the effects of the electric field and doping concentration on the sub-band energies, the electron population, and total charge density in modulation-doped symmetric and asymmetric GaAs/Al0.33Ga0.67As double quantum wells. Electronic properties of the system are determined by the solving the Schrodinger and Poisson equations self-consistently in the effective-mass approximation. The application of an electric field in the growth direction of the system causes a polarization of the carrier distribution and shifts the sub-band energies, which may be used to control and modulate intensity output devices. In an asymmetric double-quantum-well structure, the effects mentioned above appear more clearly

The hydrostatic pressure and temperature effects on donor impurities in cylindrical quantum wire under the magnetic field

The combined effects of hydrostatic pressure and temperature on donor impurity binding energy in cylindrical GaAs/Ga0.7Al0.3As quantum wire in the presence of the magnetic field have been studied by using a variational technique within the effective-mass approximation. The results show that an increment in temperature results in a decrement in donor impurity binding energy while an increment in the pressure for the same temperature enhances the binding energy and the pressure effects on donor binding energy are lower than those due to the magnetic field. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved