In silico identification and characterisation of 17 polymorphic anonymous non-coding sequence markers (ANMs) for red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica)

Peer reviewedPostprin

Isabelle/PIDE as Platform for Educational Tools

The Isabelle/PIDE platform addresses the question whether proof assistants of the LCF family are suitable as technological basis for educational tools. The traditionally strong logical foundations of systems like HOL, Coq, or Isabelle have so far been counter-balanced by somewhat inaccessible interaction via the TTY (or minor variations like the well-known Proof General / Emacs interface). Thus the fundamental question of math education tools with fully-formal background theories has often been answered negatively due to accidental weaknesses of existing proof engines. The idea of "PIDE" (which means "Prover IDE") is to integrate existing provers like Isabelle into a larger environment, that facilitates access by end-users and other tools. We use Scala to expose the proof engine in ML to the JVM world, where many user-interfaces, editor frameworks, and educational tools already exist. This shall ultimately lead to combined mathematical assistants, where the logical engine is in the background, without obstructing the view on applications of formal methods, formalized mathematics, and math education in particular.Comment: In Proceedings THedu'11, arXiv:1202.453

Propagation of sound in turbulent media

Perturbation methods commonly used to study the propagation of acoustic waves in turbulent media are reviewed. Emphasis is on those techniques which are applicable to problems involving long-range propagation in the atmosphere and ocean. Characteristic features of the various methods are illustrated by applying them to particular problems. It is shown that conventional perturbation techniques, such as the Born approximation, yield solutions which contain secular terms, and which therefore have a relatively limited range of validity. In contrast, it is found that solutions obtained with the aid of the Rytov method or the smoothing method do not contain secular terms, and consequently have a much greater range of validity

Digging for gold nuggets : uncovering novel candidate genes for variation in gastrointestinal nematode burden in a wild bird species

Acknowledgements This study was funded by a BBSRC studentship (MAWenzel) and NERC grants NE/H00775X/1 and NE/D000602/1 (SB Piertney). The authors are grateful to Marianne James, Mario Roder and Keliya Bai for field-work assistance, Lucy M.I. Webster and Steve Paterson for help during prior development of genetic markers,Heather Ritchie for helpful comments on manuscript drafts and all estate owners, factors and keepers for access to field sites, most particularly MJ Taylor and Mike Nisbet (Airlie), Neil Brown (Allargue), RR Gledson and David Scrimgeour (Delnadamph), Andrew Salvesen and John Hay (Dinnet), Stuart Young and Derek Calder (Edinglassie), Kirsty Donald and DavidBusfield (Glen Dye), Neil Hogbin and Ab Taylor (Glen Muick), Alistair Mitchell (Glenlivet), Simon Blackett, Jim Davidson and Liam Donald (Invercauld), Richard Cooke and Fred Taylor (Invermark), Shaila Rao and Christopher Murphy (Mar Lodge), and Ralph Peters and Philip Astor (Tillypronie)Peer reviewedPostprin

Diabetische Makulopathie und Retinopathie: Funktionelle und sozialmedizinische Bedeutung

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Die diabetische Makulopathie ist in den entwickelten Ländern führende Ursache für eine Erblindung vor dem Erreichen des Rentenalters. Die weltweit zunehmende Zahl von Diabetikern lässt vermuten, dass die Bedeutung der diabetischen Retinopathie und Makulopathie als Ursache einer schweren Sehbehinderung eher noch zunimmt. Methode: Zu den Stichworten in der Kapitelüberschrift zu Epidemiologie, Bedeutung und Ursachen der Sehstörung bei diabetischer Makulopathie wurde eine Literatursuche durchgeführt, um Übersichtsartikel sowie kontrollierte Studien der letzten Jahre zusammenzustellen. Ziel war eine Übersicht über funktionelle und sozioökonomische Konsequenzen der diabetischen retinalen Mikroangiopathie und über neue therapeutische Strategien. Ergebnisse: Erste Veränderungen in Richtung einer diabetischen Mikroangiopathie sind bereits früh nach Auftreten der Hyperglykämie nachweisbar. Langfristig verursacht sie schwere Organschäden. Für deren Behandlung werden wesentlich mehr Ressourcen benötigt als für die Behandlung der Hyperglykämie. Die diabetischen Mikroangiopathie verursacht darüber hinaus einen bemerkenswerten sozialmedizinischen Schaden. Der Früherkennung der vermehrten Gefäßpermeabilität bei Diabetikern kommt ein erheblicher Stellenwert für die Steuerung der Therapie zu. Für ein Hinauszögern der mikrovaskulären Komplikationen steht immer noch die Kontrolle der metabolischen Risikofaktoren Hyperglykämie und Hyperlipidämie sowie der Hypertonie im Vordergrund. Schlussfolgerungen: Moderne therapeutische Möglichkeiten erlauben heute eine medikamentöse Frühintervention mit dem Ziel, das Auftreten irreversibler mikrovaskulärer Schäden, namentlich der diabetischen Retinopathie und Makulopathie, hinauszuzögern. Das ophthalmologische Screening darf nicht mehr bei der Erkennung von Spätschäden diabetischer mikrovaskulärer Komplikationen am Auge beginnen. Eine enge interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit mit früher Implementation der neueren Therapieansätze bilden dabei die Grundlage für den therapeutischen Erfolg, bevor sich eine Sehbeeinträchtigung entwickel

Geometric reasoning via internet crowdsourcing

The ability to interpret and reason about shapes is a peculiarly human capability that has proven difficult to reproduce algorithmically. So despite the fact that geometric modeling technology has made significant advances in the representation, display and modification of shapes, there have only been incremental advances in geometric reasoning. For example, although today's CAD systems can confidently identify isolated cylindrical holes, they struggle with more ambiguous tasks such as the identification of partial symmetries or similarities in arbitrary geometries. Even well defined problems such as 2D shape nesting or 3D packing generally resist elegant solution and rely instead on brute force explorations of a subset of the many possible solutions. Identifying economic ways to solving such problems would result in significant productivity gains across a wide range of industrial applications. The authors hypothesize that Internet Crowdsourcing might provide a pragmatic way of removing many geometric reasoning bottlenecks.This paper reports the results of experiments conducted with Amazon's mTurk site and designed to determine the feasibility of using Internet Crowdsourcing to carry out geometric reasoning tasks as well as establish some benchmark data for the quality, speed and costs of using this approach.After describing the general architecture and terminology of the mTurk Crowdsourcing system, the paper details the implementation and results of the following three investigations; 1) the identification of "Canonical" viewpoints for individual shapes, 2) the quantification of "similarity" relationships with-in collections of 3D models and 3) the efficient packing of 2D Strips into rectangular areas. The paper concludes with a discussion of the possibilities and limitations of the approach

Relationship between social support, quality of life, and Th2 cytokines in a biobehavioral cancer survivorship trial.

ObjectiveBenefits of social support (SS) during cancer survivorship are complex. This study examines change in SS over time in cervical cancer (CXCA) survivors who have completed definitive treatment and how changing SS impacts quality of life (QOL) and T-helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines.MethodsWe conducted a randomized trial in 204 CXCA survivors to test if psychosocial telephone counseling (PTC) could improve QOL compared to usual care (UC). Although PTC did not target SS, data were collected at baseline, 4 and 9 months post-enrollment using the Medical Outcomes Survey Social Support scale. Biospecimens were collected to investigate associations with patient-reported outcomes. Data were analyzed using multivariate linear models and stepwise regression.ResultsParticipants' mean age was 43. PTC participants experienced increasing SS compared to UC at 4 months (PTC-UC = 5.1; p = 0.055) and 9 months (PTC-UC = 6.0; p = 0.046). Higher baseline SS and increasing SS were independently associated with improved QOL at 4 and 9 months after adjusting for patient characteristics (p < 0.05). Differences between study arms were not statistically significant. Improvements in QOL at 4 months were observed with increases in emotional/informational and tangible SS. Increasing SS predicted significant longitudinal decreases in IL-4 and IL-13 at 4 months that were larger in the PTC arm (interactions p = 0.041 and p = 0.057, respectively).ConclusionImproved SS was significantly associated with improved QOL independent of patient characteristics and study arm. Decreasing Th2 cytokines with increasing SS and QOL are consistent with a biobehavioral paradigm in which modulation of the chronic stress response is associated with shifts in immune stance

Real-time inference of word relevance from electroencephalogram and eye gaze

Objective. Brain-computer interfaces can potentially map the subjective relevance of the visual surroundings, based on neural activity and eye movements, in order to infer the interest of a person in real-time. Approach. Readers looked for words belonging to one out of five semantic categories, while a stream of words passed at different locations on the screen. It was estimated in real-time which words and thus which semantic category interested each reader based on the electroencephalogram (EEG) and the eye gaze. Main results. Words that were subjectively relevant could be decoded online from the signals. The estimation resulted in an average rank of 1.62 for the category of interest among the five categories after a hundred words had been read. Significance. It was demonstrated that the interest of a reader can be inferred online from EEG and eye tracking signals, which can potentially be used in novel types of adaptive software, which enrich the interaction by adding implicit information about the interest of the user to the explicit interaction. The study is characterised by the following novelties. Interpretation with respect to the word meaning was necessary in contrast to the usual practice in brain-computer interfacing where stimulus recognition is sufficient. The typical counting task was avoided because it would not be sensible for implicit relevance detection. Several words were displayed at the same time, in contrast to the typical sequences of single stimuli. Neural activity was related with eye tracking to the words, which were scanned without restrictions on the eye movements.EC/FP7/611570/EU/Symbiotic Mind Computer Interaction for Information Seeking/MindSe

Caracterização do carvão vegetal de Eucalyptus benthamii produzido em fornos rabo quente.

Resumo

Acute Brochitis

A 40-year-old man with no underlying lung disease has a 7-day history of mild shortness of breath with exertion, as well as cough that is now productive of purulent sputum. He reports no paroxysms of cough and no contact with ill persons in his community. He does not appear to be in distress. His temperature is 37°C, his pulse 84 beats per minute, and his respiratory rate 17 breaths per minute. On auscultation of the lungs, no rales are heard; scattered wheezes are heard in the lung bases. How should he be evaluated and treated? Summary and Recommendations The patient described in the vignette most likely has a viral infection causing uncomplicated acute bronchitis. On the basis of data from clinical trials, antibacterial agents are not recommended. Chest radiography is not indicated, given the absence of signs of pneumonia on physical examination. In the absence of an influenza outbreak in the community, no rapid testing for viral causes should be ordered, and no antiviral therapy should be prescribed; influenza is especially unlikely in a patient who is afebrile. In the absence of a history of contact with a person with suspected pertussis (or a person with a history of persistent cough), this diagnosis is unlikely. If paroxysms of cough developed later or if whooping or post-tussive vomiting occurred, testing for pertussis would be reasonable. The patient should be advised that the cough may persist for an additional 10 to 21 days and that infrequently, it persists longer. For his wheezing and shortness of breath with activity, clinical experience suggests that a β2-agonist such as albuterol may provide relief, although data from clinical trials are inconsistent. On the basis of clinical experience, the patient might be offered short-term use of codeine or hydrocodone-containing preparations or inhaled corticosteroids if the cough is persistent, although data from trials to support their use are lacking