Coloresia : An Interactive Colour Perception Device for the Visually Impaired

A significative percentage of the human population suffer from impairments in their capacity to distinguish or even see colours. For them, everyday tasks like navigating through a train or metro network map becomes demanding. We present a novel technique for extracting colour information from everyday natural stimuli and presenting it to visually impaired users as pleasant, non-invasive sound. This technique was implemented inside a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) portable device. In this implementation, colour information is extracted from the input image and categorised according to how human observers segment the colour space. This information is subsequently converted into sound and sent to the user via speakers or headphones. In the original implementation, it is possible for the user to send its feedback to reconfigure the system, however several features such as these were not implemented because the current technology is limited.We are confident that the full implementation will be possible in the near future as PDA technology improves

Improving the Lateral Resolution of Quartz Tuning Fork-Based Sensors in Liquid by Integrating Commercial AFM Tips into the Fiber End

The use of quartz tuning fork sensors as probes for scanning probe microscopy is growing in popularity. Working in shear mode, some methods achieve a lateral resolution comparable with that obtained with standard cantilevered probes, but only in experiments conducted in air or vacuum. Here, we report a method to produce and use commercial AFM tips in electrically driven quartz tuning fork sensors operating in shear mode in a liquid environment. The process is based on attaching a standard AFM tip to the end of a fiber probe which has previously been sharpened. Only the end of the probe is immersed in the buffer solution during imaging. The lateral resolution achieved is about 6 times higher than that of the etched microfiber on its own

Human Gene-Centered Transcription Factor Networks for Enhancers and Disease Variants

SummaryGene regulatory networks (GRNs) comprising interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and regulatory loci control development and physiology. Numerous disease-associated mutations have been identified, the vast majority residing in non-coding regions of the genome. As current GRN mapping methods test one TF at a time and require the use of cells harboring the mutation(s) of interest, they are not suitable to identify TFs that bind to wild-type and mutant loci. Here, we use gene-centered yeast one-hybrid (eY1H) assays to interrogate binding of 1,086 human TFs to 246 enhancers, as well as to 109 non-coding disease mutations. We detect both loss and gain of TF interactions with mutant loci that are concordant with target gene expression changes. This work establishes eY1H assays as a powerful addition to the toolkit of mapping human GRNs and for the high-throughput characterization of genomic variants that are rapidly being identified by genome-wide association studies

A search for debris disks in the Herschel-ATLAS

Original article can be found at: http://www.aanda.org/ Copyright The European Southern Observatory (ESO)Aims. We aim to demonstrate that the Herschel-ATLAS (H-ATLAS) is suitable for a blind and unbiased survey for debris disks by identifying candidate debris disks associated with main sequence stars in the initial science demonstration field of the survey. We show that H-ATLAS reveals a population of far-infrared/sub-mm sources that are associated with stars or star-like objects on the SDSS main-sequence locus. We validate our approach by comparing the properties of the most likely candidate disks to those of the known population. Methods. We use a photometric selection technique to identify main sequence stars in the SDSS DR7 catalogue and a Bayesian Likelihood Ratio method to identify H-ATLAS catalogue sources associated with these main sequence stars. Following this photometric selection we apply distance cuts to identify the most likely candidate debris disks and rule out the presence of contaminating galaxies using UKIDSS LAS K-band images. Results. We identify 78 H-ATLAS sources associated with SDSS point sources on the main-sequence locus, of which two are the most likely debris disk candidates: H-ATLAS J090315.8 and H-ATLAS J090240.2. We show that they are plausible candidates by comparing their properties to the known population of debris disks. Our initial results indicate that bright debris disks are rare, with only 2 candidates identified in a search sample of 851 stars. We also show that H-ATLAS can derive useful upper limits for debris disks associated with Hipparcos stars in the field and outline the future prospects for our debris disk search programme.Peer reviewe

The relative age effect on physical fitness in preschool children

The aim of the present study was to investigate the existence of a relative age effect (RAE) on physical fitness of preschoolers. Anthropometry and physical fitness were assessed in 3147 children (3–5 years old) using the PREFIT battery. Based on the birth year, participants were divided into 3year groups (3-, 4- and 5-years). Within each year group, 4quarter groups were created: quarter 1, preschoolers born from January to March; quarter 2, from April to June; quarter 3, from July to September; quarter 4, from October to December. The MANCOVA analysis revealed a main effect of year group (Wilks’ ¿ = 0.383; F10, 5996 = 369.64; p < 0.001, ¿p 2 = 0.381) and of quarter (Wilks’ ¿ = 0.874; F15, 8276.6 = 27.67; p < 0.001; ¿p 2 = 0.044) over the whole battery of tests. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the existence of RAE at the preschool stage. In general, performance improved as the relative age increased (i.e., those born in quarter 1 performed better than those in the other quarters). Individualization strategies should be addressed within the same academic year not only in elementary or secondary years but also in preschoolers

Efficacy and safety of the combination of reduced duration prophylaxis followed by immuno-guided prophylaxis to prevent cytomegalovirus disease in lung transplant recipients (CYTOCOR STUDY) : An open-label, randomised, non-inferiority clinical trial

Introduction Prolonged use of antivirals to prevent the development of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in lung transplant patients has been shown to have significant side effects, for which alternatives are being sought to reduce their use. The monitoring of cell immunity against CMV could be an alternative as it has shown to be useful in identifying transplant patients at low risk of infection, who could benefit from shorter prophylaxis. The aim of the CYTOCOR study is to demonstrate that the combination of a reduced prophylaxis strategy with subsequent CMV-specific immunological monitoring would allow CMV infection to be controlled in lung transplant patients as effectively as the usual strategy (prophylaxis followed by pre-emptive therapy), while reducing the side effects of antivirals due to the shorter duration of prophylaxis. Methods and analysis Phase III randomised, open, multicentre, parallel, non-inferiority clinical trial to study the efficacy and safety of the combination of a prophylaxis strategy up to month +3 post-transplant followed by immuno-guided prophylaxis using the QuantiFERON-CMV technique up to month +12 post-transplant to prevent CMV disease in CMV-seropositive lung transplant recipients. This strategy will be compared with a combination of a usual prophylaxis strategy up to month +6 post-transplant followed by pre-emptive therapy up to month +12. To study the incidence of CMV disease, patients will be followed up to 18 months post-transplantation. A total of 150 patients are expected to be recruited for the study. Ethics and public dissemination The clinical trial has been approved by the Research Ethics Committees and authorised by the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS). If the hypothesis of this clinical trial is verified, the dissemination of the results could change clinical practice by increasing knowledge about the safety and efficacy of discontinuing valganciclovir prophylaxis in lung transplant recipients. Trial registration number NCT03699254

Study of the B +→ J / ψ Λ ¯ p decay in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

A study of the B +→ J / ψ Λ ¯ p decay using proton-proton collision data collected at s = 8 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 fb−1, is presented. The ratio of branching fractions B(B+→J/ψΛ¯p)/B(B+→J/ψK∗(892)+) is measured to be (1.054 ± 0.057(stat) ± 0.035(syst) ± 0.011(B))%, where the last uncertainty reflects the uncertainties in the world-average branching fractions of Λ ¯ and K*(892) + decays to reconstructed final states. The invariant mass distributions of the J / ψ Λ ¯ , J/ψp, and Λ ¯ p systems produced in the B +→ J / ψ Λ¯ p decay are investigated and found to be inconsistent with the pure phase space hypothesis. The analysis is extended by using a model-independent angular amplitude analysis, which shows that the observed invariant mass distributions are consistent with the contributions from excited kaons decaying to the Λ ¯ p system. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Measurement of the top quark Yukawa coupling from t t kinematic distributions in the lepton+jets final state in proton-proton collisions at s =13 TeV MEASUREMENT of the TOP QUARK YUKAWA COUPLING from ... SIRUNYAN et al.

Results are presented for an extraction of the top quark Yukawa coupling from top quark-antiquark (tt) kinematic distributions in the lepton plus jets final state in proton-proton collisions, based on data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at s=13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.8 fb-1. Corrections from weak boson exchange, including Higgs bosons, between the top quarks can produce large distortions of differential distributions near the energy threshold of tt production. Therefore, precise measurements of these distributions are sensitive to the Yukawa coupling. Top quark events are reconstructed with at least three jets in the final state, and a novel technique is introduced to reconstruct the tt system for events with one missing jet. This technique enhances the experimental sensitivity in the low invariant mass region, Mtt. The data yields in Mtt, the rapidity difference |yt-yt|, and the number of reconstructed jets are compared with distributions representing different Yukawa couplings. These comparisons are used to measure the ratio of the top quark Yukawa coupling to its standard model predicted value to be 1.07-0.43+0.34 with an upper limit of 1.67 at the 95% confidence level