Probing the neutron star interior and the Equation of State of cold dense matter with the SKA

With an average density higher than the nuclear density, neutron stars (NS) provide a unique test-ground for nuclear physics, quantum chromodynamics (QCD), and nuclear superfluidity. Determination of the fundamental interactions that govern matter under such extreme conditions is one of the major unsolved problems of modern physics, and -- since it is impossible to replicate these conditions on Earth -- a major scientific motivation for SKA. The most stringent observational constraints come from measurements of NS bulk properties: each model for the microscopic behaviour of matter predicts a specific density-pressure relation (its `Equation of state', EOS). This generates a unique mass-radius relation which predicts a characteristic radius for a large range of masses and a maximum mass above which NS collapse to black holes. It also uniquely predicts other bulk quantities, like maximum spin frequency and moment of inertia. The SKA, in Phase 1 and particularly in Phase 2 will, thanks to the exquisite timing precision enabled by its raw sensitivity, and surveys that dramatically increase the number of sources: 1) Provide many more precise NS mass measurements (high mass NS measurements are particularly important for ruling out EOS models); 2) Allow the measurement of the NS moment of inertia in highly relativistic binaries such as the Double Pulsar; 3) Greatly increase the number of fast-spinning NS, with the potential discovery of spin frequencies above those allowed by some EOS models; 4) Improve our knowledge of new classes of binary pulsars such as black widows and redbacks (which may be massive as a class) through sensitive broad-band radio observations; and 5) Improve our understanding of dense matter superfluidity and the state of matter in the interior through the study of rotational glitches, provided that an ad-hoc campaign is developed.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, to be published in: "Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array", Proceedings of Science, PoS(AASKA14)04

The global burden of plastics in oral health: prospects for circularity, sustainable materials development and practice

Plastics are indispensable and ubiquitous materials in oral healthcare and dental applications, favored for their diversity in structure and properties, low cost, durability, chemical and water resistance, ease of processing, and shaping. However, ancillary plastics are used for short periods or even once due to hygiene concerns and convenience, and insufficient attention has been given to their unsustainable current usage and end-of-life. Thus, the amount of plastic waste generated by consumers and clinicians is staggering and projected to increase unabatedly for the foreseeable future. With recent advances in plastics recycling and sustainable polymers, it is time to consider alternatives to tackle dentistry's growing plastic waste problem. This Perspectives article highlights the sources and scale of dental plastic wastage, followed by a multi-pronged consideration of material and practical interventions for this issue. On the materials front, we discuss emerging approaches and alternative sustainable polymers to address the unsustainable end-of-life of existing petroleum-based dental plastics/polymers and enable material circularity. On the practical front, we discuss strategies for sustainable plastic usage, which must be implemented alongside complementary material approaches. These approaches highlight the abundant unrealized opportunities for developing a circular economy around dental plastics while reducing the environmental footprint of modern dentistr

Impact of gastric per‐oral endoscopic myotomy on static and dynamic pyloric function in gastroparesis patients

BackgroundFunctional Lumen Imaging Probe (EndoFLIP) tests typically measure static pyloric parameters, but the pylorus exhibits phasic variations on manometry. Dynamic changes in pyloric function have not been quantified using EndoFLIP, and the impact of Gastric Per‐Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (G‐POEM) on static and dynamic pyloric activity in gastroparesis is unknown.MethodsEndoFLIP balloon inflation to 30, 40, and 50 mL was performed to measure mean, maximum, and minimum values and variability in pyloric diameter and distensibility before and after G‐POEM in 20 patients with refractory gastroparesis. The impact of phasic contractions on these pyloric measures was compared.Key ResultsG‐POEM increased mean (P < .0001) and maximum (P = .0002) pyloric diameters and mean (P = .02) and maximum (P = .02) pyloric distensibility on 50 mL EndoFLIP inflation but not intraballoon pressures or minimum diameters or distensibility. Temporal variability of pyloric diameter (P = .02) and distensibility (P = .02) also increased after G‐POEM. Phasic coupled contractions propagating from the antrum through the pylorus were observed in 37.5% of recordings; other phasic activity including isolated pyloric contractions were seen in 23.3%. Variability of pyloric diameter and distensibility tended to be higher during recordings with phasic activity. Some pyloric responses to G‐POEM were influenced by age, gastroparesis etiology, gastric emptying, and prior botulinum toxin injection.Conclusions & InferencesPyloric activity exhibits dynamic changes on EndoFLIP testing in gastroparesis. G‐POEM increases maximal but not minimal diameter and distensibility with increased variations, suggesting this therapy enhances pyloric opening but may not impair pyloric closure. Phasic pyloric contractions contribute to variations in pyloric activity.We employed Functional Lumen Imaging Probe (EndoFLIP)tests toshowincreases in pyloric diameter and variability of diameter after gastricperoralendoscopicmyotomy(G‐POEM ingastroparesis patients (left graphs). Variability of pyloric activity was noted before and after G‐POEM which was partly due to propagated antropyloriccontractions (3‐D plot on right) detected by EndoFLIP.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163489/2/nmo13892_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163489/1/nmo13892.pd

Where do the improvements come from in sequence-to-sequence neural TTS?

Sequence-to-sequence neural networks with attention mechanisms have recently been widely adopted for text-to-speech. Compared with older, more modular statistical parametric synthesis systems, sequence-to-sequence systems feature three prominent innovations: 1) They replace substantial parts of traditional fixed front-end processing pipelines (like Festival's) with learned text analysis; 2) They jointly learn to align text and speech and to synthesise speech audio from text; 3) They operate autoregressively on previously-generated acoustics. Naturalness improvements have been reported relative to earlier systems which do not contain these innovations. It would be useful to know how much each of the various innovations contribute to the improved performance. We here propose one way of associating the separately-learned components of a representative older modular system, specifically Merlin, with the different sub-networks within recent neural sequence-to-sequence architectures, specifically Tacotron 2 and DCTTS. This allows us to swap in and out various components and subnets to produce intermediate systems that step between the two paradigms; subjective evaluation of these systems then allows us to isolate the perceptual effects of the various innovations. We report on the design, evaluation, and findings of such an experiment.QC 20200219Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research no. RIT15-0107 (EACare)EPSRC Standard Research Grant EP/P011586/1 SCRIPT (Speech Synthesis for Spoken Content Production

Could e-learning Change How we Think About Scholarship and Teaching?

We are three Final Year Chemistry students investigating the impact of new Virtual Learning Environments on the Student Learning Experience. Together with the School of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, and Learning Science Ltd, Pre- lab online interactive simulations and post-lab auto-grading environments were developed. We are currently leading evaluations of the impact these online resources have on the student learning experience. We have carefully developed a consistent methodology for data collection and for analysis. We have focussed on gathering feedback from students who have been supported with these online resources, and those who have not (for comparison). To present our findings we would use video demonstrations and graphical results from the investigation. We hope that our final report can be used as a case study, to help demystify design and implementation of effective e-resources, to highlight considerations and challenges in the process, and ultimately to encourage uptake across disciplines

Could e-learning Change How we Think About Scholarship and Teaching?

We are three Final Year Chemistry students investigating the impact of new Virtual Learning Environments on the Student Learning Experience. Together with the School of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, and Learning Science Ltd, Pre- lab online interactive simulations and post-lab auto-grading environments were developed. We are currently leading evaluations of the impact these online resources have on the student learning experience. We have carefully developed a consistent methodology for data collection and for analysis. We have focussed on gathering feedback from students who have been supported with these online resources, and those who have not (for comparison). To present our findings we would use video demonstrations and graphical results from the investigation. We hope that our final report can be used as a case study, to help demystify design and implementation of effective e-resources, to highlight considerations and challenges in the process, and ultimately to encourage uptake across disciplines

Clinical and Molecular Aspects of Senataxin Mutations in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis 4

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154673/1/ana25681_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154673/2/ana25681.pd