Formalization of Transform Methods using HOL Light

Transform methods, like Laplace and Fourier, are frequently used for analyzing the dynamical behaviour of engineering and physical systems, based on their transfer function, and frequency response or the solutions of their corresponding differential equations. In this paper, we present an ongoing project, which focuses on the higher-order logic formalization of transform methods using HOL Light theorem prover. In particular, we present the motivation of the formalization, which is followed by the related work. Next, we present the task completed so far while highlighting some of the challenges faced during the formalization. Finally, we present a roadmap to achieve our objectives, the current status and the future goals for this project.Comment: 15 Pages, CICM 201

Associations between tooth wear and dental sleep disorders : A narrative overview

Objectives Tooth wear is a common finding in adult patients with dental sleep disorders. The aim of this paper was to review the literature on the possible associations between tooth wear and the following dental sleep disorders: sleep-related oro-facial pain, oral moistening disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) and sleep bruxism. Methods A PubMed search was performed on 1 June 2018 using MeSH terms in the following query: Tooth Wear AND (Facial Pain OR Temporomandibular Joint Disorders OR Xerostomia OR Sialorrhea OR Gastroesophageal Reflux OR Sleep Apnea Syndrome OR Sleep Bruxism). Results The query yielded 706 reports on tooth wear and the mentioned dental sleep disorders. Several associations between tooth wear and the dental sleep disorders were suggested in the literature. It could be concluded that: (a) tooth wear is associated with dental pain and/or hypersensitivity; (b) oral dryness is associated with tooth wear, oro-facial pain and sleep bruxism; (c) GERD is associated with tooth wear, oro-facial pain, oral dryness, OSAS and sleep bruxism; (d) OSAS is associated with oral dryness, GERD and sleep bruxism; and (e) sleep bruxism is associated with tooth wear. Conclusions Tooth wear is associated with the dental sleep disorders oro-facial pain, oral dryness, GERD and sleep bruxism. The dental sleep disorders are interlinked with each other, which leads to indirect associations as well, and makes the consequences of each single condition difficult to disentangle. Knowledge of these associations is clinically relevant, but more research is needed to confirm their validity.Peer reviewe

From DNA sequence to application: possibilities and complications

The development of sophisticated genetic tools during the past 15 years have facilitated a tremendous increase of fundamental and application-oriented knowledge of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and their bacteriophages. This knowledge relates both to the assignments of open reading frames (ORF’s) and the function of non-coding DNA sequences. Comparison of the complete nucleotide sequences of several LAB bacteriophages has revealed that their chromosomes have a fixed, modular structure, each module having a set of genes involved in a specific phase of the bacteriophage life cycle. LAB bacteriophage genes and DNA sequences have been used for the construction of temperature-inducible gene expression systems, gene-integration systems, and bacteriophage defence systems. The function of several LAB open reading frames and transcriptional units have been identified and characterized in detail. Many of these could find practical applications, such as induced lysis of LAB to enhance cheese ripening and re-routing of carbon fluxes for the production of a specific amino acid enantiomer. More knowledge has also become available concerning the function and structure of non-coding DNA positioned at or in the vicinity of promoters. In several cases the mRNA produced from this DNA contains a transcriptional terminator-antiterminator pair, in which the antiterminator can be stabilized either by uncharged tRNA or by interaction with a regulatory protein, thus preventing formation of the terminator so that mRNA elongation can proceed. Evidence has accumulated showing that also in LAB carbon catabolite repression in LAB is mediated by specific DNA elements in the vicinity of promoters governing the transcription of catabolic operons. Although some biological barriers have yet to be solved, the vast body of scientific information presently available allows the construction of tailor-made genetically modified LAB. Today, it appears that societal constraints rather than biological hurdles impede the use of genetically modified LAB.

Stochastic population growth in spatially heterogeneous environments

Classical ecological theory predicts that environmental stochasticity increases extinction risk by reducing the average per-capita growth rate of populations. To understand the interactive effects of environmental stochasticity, spatial heterogeneity, and dispersal on population growth, we study the following model for population abundances in $n$ patches: the conditional law of $X_{t+dt}$ given $X_t=x$ is such that when $dt$ is small the conditional mean of $X_{t+dt}^i-X_t^i$ is approximately $[x^i\mu_i+\sum_j(x^j D_{ji}-x^i D_{ij})]dt$, where $X_t^i$ and $\mu_i$ are the abundance and per capita growth rate in the $i$-th patch respectivly, and $D_{ij}$ is the dispersal rate from the $i$-th to the $j$-th patch, and the conditional covariance of $X_{t+dt}^i-X_t^i$ and $X_{t+dt}^j-X_t^j$ is approximately $x^i x^j \sigma_{ij}dt$. We show for such a spatially extended population that if $S_t=(X_t^1+...+X_t^n)$ is the total population abundance, then $Y_t=X_t/S_t$, the vector of patch proportions, converges in law to a random vector $Y_\infty$ as $t\to\infty$, and the stochastic growth rate $\lim_{t\to\infty}t^{-1}\log S_t$ equals the space-time average per-capita growth rate \sum_i\mu_i\E[Y_\infty^i] experienced by the population minus half of the space-time average temporal variation \E[\sum_{i,j}\sigma_{ij}Y_\infty^i Y_\infty^j] experienced by the population. We derive analytic results for the law of $Y_\infty$, find which choice of the dispersal mechanism $D$ produces an optimal stochastic growth rate for a freely dispersing population, and investigate the effect on the stochastic growth rate of constraints on dispersal rates. Our results provide fundamental insights into "ideal free" movement in the face of uncertainty, the persistence of coupled sink populations, the evolution of dispersal rates, and the single large or several small (SLOSS) debate in conservation biology.Comment: 47 pages, 4 figure

Evaluation of the nasal mucociliary transport rate by rhinoscintigraphy before and after surgery in patients with deviated nasal septum

In this study, we have investigated the effect of nasal septal deviation (NSD) on nasal mucociliary activity and how does a septoplasty operation affecs the nasal mucociliary transport rate in the first and third months during the post-operative period. Twenty-two patients who were diagnosed with NSD and 22 healthy controls were studied using rhinoscintigraphy with Tc-99m-macroaggregated albumin (Tc-99m-MAA). On each case, the nasal mucociliary transport rate (NMTR) was measured pre-operatively only on five cases, on the first and third months of post-operative period. The NMTRs of patients with a deviated septum were significantly lower than the NMTRs of the healthy controls on both the convex and concave sides. Significant improvement was observed in the first post-operative month. On the concave and convex sides, the average postop third month post-operative NMTR value was higher than the first month post-operative NMTR values. It was concluded that the septoplasty operation improves reduced NMTRs after surgery. The effect of nasal surgery on nasal mucociliary activity may be more accurately evaluated in the third month than the first month of post-operative period

Antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression: a prospective study of chinese women at maternal and child health centres

Background: Risk factors for postnatal depression (PND) are under-explored in the Chinese populations. There is increasing recognition of the importance of identifying predictive factors during the antenatal period for PND. The present study aimed to identify the risk factors for postnatal depression in a community cohort of Chinese women with special focus on the antenatal risk factors.Methods: Eight hundred and five Chinese women were interviewed during their third trimester of pregnancy and at around 2 months postnatally. Putative risk factors for PND were collected and the diagnosis of PND was confirmed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders. The 2-month postnatal depression status was used as the dependent variable for univariate and multivariate analyses against putative risk factors.Results: Marital dissatisfaction (Relative Risk = 8.27), dissatisfied relationship with mother-in-law (Relative Risk = 3.93), antenatal depressive symptomatology (Relative Risk = 3.90), and anxiety-prone personality (Relative Risk = 2.14) predicted PND in Chinese women independently.Conclusions: Chinese women tend to keep their own feelings and emotions and it is important to monitor Chinese pregnant women with these predictive risk factors so that PND can be identified early. © 2012 Siu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.published_or_final_versio

First histological observations on the incorporation of a novel nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite paste OSTIM(® )in human cancellous bone

BACKGROUND: A commercially available nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite paste Ostim(® )has been reported in few recent studies to surpass other synthetic bone substitutes with respect to the observed clinical results. However, the integration of this implantable material has been histologically evaluated only in animal experimental models up to now. This study aimed to evaluate the tissue incorporation of Ostim(® )in human cancellous bone after reconstructive bone surgery for trauma. METHODS: Biopsy specimens from 6 adult patients with a total of 7 tibial, calcaneal or distal radial fractures were obtained at the time of osteosynthesis removal. The median interval from initial operation to tissue sampling was 13 (range 3–15) months. Samples were stained with Masson-Goldner, von Kossa, and toluidine blue. Osteoid volume, trabecular width and bone volume, and cortical porosity were analyzed. Samples were immunolabeled with antibodies against CD68, CD56 and human prolyl 4-hydroxylase to detect macrophages, osteoblasts, and fibroblasts, respectively. TRAP stainings were used to identify osteoclasts. RESULTS: Histomorphometric data indicated good regeneration with normal bone turnover: mean osteoid volume was 1.93% of the trabecular bone mass, trabecular bone volume – 28.4%, trabecular width – 225.12 μm, and porosity index – 2.6%. Cortical and spongious bone tissue were well structured. Neither inflammatory reaction, nor osteofibrosis or osteonecrosis were observed. The implanted material was widely absorbed. CONCLUSION: The studied nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite paste showed good tissue incorporation. It is highly biocompatible and appears to be a suitable bone substitute for juxtaarticular comminuted fractures in combination with a stable screw-plate osteosynthesis

A Survey of Avian Influenza in Tree Sparrows in China in 2011

Tree sparrows (Passer montanus) are widely distributed in all seasons in many countries. In this study, a survey and relevant experiments on avian influenza (AI) in tree sparrows were conducted. The results suggested that the receptor for avian influenza viruses (AIVs), SAα2,3Gal, is abundant in the respiratory tract of tree sparrows, and most of the tree sparrows infected experimentally with two H5 subtype highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses died within five days after inoculation. Furthermore, no AIVs were isolated from the rectum eluate of 1300 tree sparrows, but 94 serological positives of AI were found in 800 tree sparrows. The serological positives were more prevalent for H5 subtype HPAI (94/800) than for H7 subtype AI (0/800), more prevalent for clade 2.3.2.1 H5 subtype HPAI (89/800) than for clade 2.3.4 (1/800) and clade 7.2 (4/800) H5 subtype HPAI, more prevalent for clade 2.3.2.1 H5 subtype HPAI in a city in southern China (82/800) than in a city in northern China (8/800). The serological data are all consistent with the distribution of the subtypes or clades of AI in poultry in China. Previously, sparrows or other passerine birds were often found to be pathogenically negative for AIVs, except when an AIV was circulating in the local poultry, or the tested passerine birds were from a region near waterfowl-rich bodies of water. Taken together, the data suggest that tree sparrows are susceptible to infection of AIVs, and surveys targeting sparrows can provide good serological data about the circulation of AIVs in relevant regions

Home on the Range: Factors Explaining Partial Migration of African Buffalo in a Tropical Environment

Partial migration (when only some individuals in a population undertake seasonal migrations) is common in many species and geographical contexts. Despite the development of modern statistical methods for analyzing partial migration, there have been no studies on what influences partial migration in tropical environments. We present research on factors affecting partial migration in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in northeastern Namibia. Our dataset is derived from 32 satellite tracking collars, spans 4 years and contains over 35,000 locations. We used remotely sensed data to quantify various factors that buffalo experience in the dry season when making decisions on whether and how far to migrate, including potential man-made and natural barriers, as well as spatial and temporal heterogeneity in environmental conditions. Using an information-theoretic, non-linear regression approach, our analyses showed that buffalo in this area can be divided into 4 migratory classes: migrants, non-migrants, dispersers, and a new class that we call “expanders”. Multimodel inference from least-squares regressions of wet season movements showed that environmental conditions (rainfall, fires, woodland cover, vegetation biomass), distance to the nearest barrier (river, fence, cultivated area) and social factors (age, size of herd at capture) were all important in explaining variation in migratory behaviour. The relative contributions of these variables to partial migration have not previously been assessed for ungulates in the tropics. Understanding the factors driving migratory decisions of wildlife will lead to better-informed conservation and land-use decisions in this area