268 research outputs found
Collaboration in electronic resource provision in university libraries: SHEDL, a Scottish case study
This case study examines the growth of collaboration among Scottish higher education institutions. Following a summary of the work of the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), more detailed information is provided on collaboration in the fields of acquisition, licensing, selection, and purchasing. Some of the UK background is outlined, relating to NESLi2 in particular, in order to illuminate the options within Scotland. The origins of negotiations on electronic resource provision within Scotland are described, drawing on developments in other countries including Ireland and Scandinavia. After initial setbacks, the implementation of the Scottish Higher Education Digital Library (SHEDL) from 2007 to 2009 is detailed. Current benefits arising from SHEDL are explained, and some possible future developments are discussed
Pathological mechanisms and therapeutic outlooks for arthrofibrosis
Arthrofibrosis is a fibrotic joint disorder that begins with an inflammatory reaction to insults such as injury, surgery and infection. Excessive extracellular matrix and adhesions contract pouches, bursae and tendons, cause pain and prevent a normal range of joint motion, with devastating consequences for patient quality of life. Arthrofibrosis affects people of all ages, with published rates varying. The risk factors and best management strategies are largely unknown due to a poor understanding of the pathology and lack of diagnostic biomarkers. However, current research into the pathogenesis of fibrosis in organs now informs the understanding of arthrofibrosis. The process begins when stress signals stimulate immune cells. The resulting cascade of cytokines and mediators drives fibroblasts to differentiate into myofibroblasts, which secrete fibrillar collagens and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Positive feedback networks then dysregulate processes that normally terminate healing processes. We propose two subtypes of arthrofibrosis occur: active arthrofibrosis and residual arthrofibrosis. In the latter the fibrogenic processes have resolved but the joint remains stiff. The best therapeutic approach for each subtype may differ significantly. Treatment typically involves surgery, however, a pharmacological approach to correct dysregulated cell signalling could be more effective. Recent research shows that myofibroblasts are capable of reversing differentiation, and understanding the mechanisms of pathogenesis and resolution will be essential for the development of cell-based treatments. Therapies with significant promise are currently available, with more in development, including those that inhibit TGF-β signalling and epigenetic modifications. This review focuses on pathogenesis of sterile arthrofibrosis and therapeutic treatments. © 2019, The Author(s)
Recruitment, retention, and training of people with type 2 diabetes as diabetes prevention mentors (DPM) to support a healthcare professional-delivered diabetes prevention program:The Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study (NDPS)
Objective: Intensive lifestyle interventions reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in populations at highest risk, but staffing levels are usually unable to meet the challenge of delivering effective prevention strategies to a very large at-risk population. Training volunteers with existing type 2 diabetes to support healthcare professionals deliver lifestyle interventions is an attractive option. Methods: We identified 141 973 people at highest risk of diabetes in the East of England, screened 12 778, and randomized 1764 into a suite of type 2 diabetes prevention and screen detected type 2 diabetes management trials. A key element of the program tested the value of volunteers with type 2 diabetes, trained to act as diabetes prevention mentors (DPM) when added to an intervention arm delivered by healthcare professionals trained to support participant lifestyle change. Results: We invited 9951 people with type 2 diabetes to become DPM and 427 responded (4.3%). Of these, 356 (83.3%) were interviewed by phone, and of these 131 (36.8%) were interviewed in person. We then appointed 104 of these 131 interviewed applicants (79%) to the role (mean age 62 years, 55% (n=57) male). All DPMs volunteered for a total of 2895 months, and made 6879 telephone calls to 461 randomized participants. Seventy-six (73%) DPMs volunteered for at least 6 months and 66 (73%) for at least 1 year. Discussion: Individuals with type 2 diabetes can be recruited, trained and retained as DPM in large numbers to support a group-based diabetes prevention program delivered by healthcare professionals. This volunteer model is low cost, and accesses the large type 2 diabetes population that shares a lifestyle experience with the target population. This is an attractive model for supporting diabetes prevention efforts
Bacterial Adaptation to Venom in Snakes and Arachnida
Animal venoms are considered sterile sources of antimicrobial compounds with strong membrane-disrupting activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria. However, venomous bite wound infections are common in developing nations. Investigating the envenomation organ and venom microbiota of five snake and two spider species, we observed venom community structures that depend on the host venomous animal species and evidenced recovery of viable microorganisms from black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis) and Indian ornamental tarantula (Poecilotheria regalis) venoms. Among the bacterial isolates recovered from , we identified two venom-resistant, novel sequence types of Enterococcus faecalis whose genomes feature 16 virulence genes, indicating infectious potential, and 45 additional genes, nearly half of which improve bacterial membrane integrity. Our findings challenge the dogma of venom sterility and indicate an increased primary infection risk in the clinical management of venomous animal bite wounds. Notwithstanding their 3 to 5% mortality, the 2.7 million envenomation-related injuries occurring annually-predominantly across Africa, Asia, and Latin America-are also major causes of morbidity. Venom toxin-damaged tissue will develop infections in some 75% of envenomation victims, with E. faecalis being a common culprit of disease; however, such infections are generally considered to be independent of envenomation. Here, we provide evidence on venom microbiota across snakes and arachnida and report on the convergent evolution mechanisms that can facilitate adaptation to black-necked cobra venom in two independent E. faecalis strains, easily misidentified by biochemical diagnostics. Therefore, since inoculation with viable and virulence gene-harboring bacteria can occur during envenomation, acute infection risk management following envenomation is warranted, particularly for immunocompromised and malnourished victims in resource-limited settings. These results shed light on how bacteria evolve for survival in one of the most extreme environments on Earth and how venomous bites must be also treated for infections
Convolutional Neural Networks Applied to Neutrino Events in a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber
We present several studies of convolutional neural networks applied to data
coming from the MicroBooNE detector, a liquid argon time projection chamber
(LArTPC). The algorithms studied include the classification of single particle
images, the localization of single particle and neutrino interactions in an
image, and the detection of a simulated neutrino event overlaid with cosmic ray
backgrounds taken from real detector data. These studies demonstrate the
potential of convolutional neural networks for particle identification or event
detection on simulated neutrino interactions. We also address technical issues
that arise when applying this technique to data from a large LArTPC at or near
ground level
A Proposal for a Three Detector Short-Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Program in the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam
A Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) physics program of three LAr-TPC detectors
located along the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab is presented. This
new SBN Program will deliver a rich and compelling physics opportunity,
including the ability to resolve a class of experimental anomalies in neutrino
physics and to perform the most sensitive search to date for sterile neutrinos
at the eV mass-scale through both appearance and disappearance oscillation
channels. Using data sets of 6.6e20 protons on target (P.O.T.) in the LAr1-ND
and ICARUS T600 detectors plus 13.2e20 P.O.T. in the MicroBooNE detector, we
estimate that a search for muon neutrino to electron neutrino appearance can be
performed with ~5 sigma sensitivity for the LSND allowed (99% C.L.) parameter
region. In this proposal for the SBN Program, we describe the physics analysis,
the conceptual design of the LAr1-ND detector, the design and refurbishment of
the T600 detector, the necessary infrastructure required to execute the
program, and a possible reconfiguration of the BNB target and horn system to
improve its performance for oscillation searches.Comment: 209 pages, 129 figure
Extragalactic Star Cluster Science with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's High Latitude Wide Area Survey and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory
The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope's High Latitude Wide Area Survey will have a
number of synergies with the Vera Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space
and Time (LSST), particularly for extragalactic star clusters. Understanding
the nature of star clusters and star cluster systems are key topics in many
areas of astronomy, chief among them stellar evolution, high energy
astrophysics, galaxy assembly/dark matter, the extragalactic distance scale,
and cosmology. One of the challenges will be disentangling the age/metallicity
degeneracy because young (Myr) metal-rich clusters have similar SEDs to
old (Gyr) metal-poor clusters. Rubin will provide homogeneous,
photometric coverage, and measurements in the red Roman filters will help break
the age-metallicity and age-extinction degeneracies, providing the first
globular cluster samples that cover wide areas while essentially free of
contamination from Milky Way stars. Roman's excellent spatial resolution will
also allow measurements of cluster sizes. We advocate for observations of a
large sample of galaxies with a range of properties and morphologies in the
Rubin/LSST footprint matching the depth of the LSST Wide-Fast-Deep field
band limit (26.3 mag), and recommend adding the F213 filter to the survey.Comment: white paper submitted for Roman CCS inpu
The Pandora multi-algorithm approach to automated pattern recognition of cosmic-ray muon and neutrino events in the MicroBooNE detector
The development and operation of Liquid-Argon Time-Projection Chambers for
neutrino physics has created a need for new approaches to pattern recognition
in order to fully exploit the imaging capabilities offered by this technology.
Whereas the human brain can excel at identifying features in the recorded
events, it is a significant challenge to develop an automated, algorithmic
solution. The Pandora Software Development Kit provides functionality to aid
the design and implementation of pattern-recognition algorithms. It promotes
the use of a multi-algorithm approach to pattern recognition, in which
individual algorithms each address a specific task in a particular topology.
Many tens of algorithms then carefully build up a picture of the event and,
together, provide a robust automated pattern-recognition solution. This paper
describes details of the chain of over one hundred Pandora algorithms and tools
used to reconstruct cosmic-ray muon and neutrino events in the MicroBooNE
detector. Metrics that assess the current pattern-recognition performance are
presented for simulated MicroBooNE events, using a selection of final-state
event topologies.Comment: Preprint to be submitted to The European Physical Journal
Determination of muon momentum in the MicroBooNE LArTPC using an improved model of multiple Coulomb scattering
We discuss a technique for measuring a charged particle's momentum by means
of multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS) in the MicroBooNE liquid argon time
projection chamber (LArTPC). This method does not require the full particle
ionization track to be contained inside of the detector volume as other track
momentum reconstruction methods do (range-based momentum reconstruction and
calorimetric momentum reconstruction). We motivate use of this technique,
describe a tuning of the underlying phenomenological formula, quantify its
performance on fully contained beam-neutrino-induced muon tracks both in
simulation and in data, and quantify its performance on exiting muon tracks in
simulation. Using simulation, we have shown that the standard Highland formula
should be re-tuned specifically for scattering in liquid argon, which
significantly improves the bias and resolution of the momentum measurement.
With the tuned formula, we find agreement between data and simulation for
contained tracks, with a small bias in the momentum reconstruction and with
resolutions that vary as a function of track length, improving from about 10%
for the shortest (one meter long) tracks to 5% for longer (several meter)
tracks. For simulated exiting muons with at least one meter of track contained,
we find a similarly small bias, and a resolution which is less than 15% for
muons with momentum below 2 GeV/c. Above 2 GeV/c, results are given as a first
estimate of the MCS momentum measurement capabilities of MicroBooNE for high
momentum exiting tracks
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