Do young children get the message? The effects of repeated video viewing on explicit and implicit information

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of repeat viewing on comprehension of explicitly and implicitly presented information in an animated movie. Seventy-three pre-school children watched an animated film and were tested for comprehension after either their single or fifth viewing. Only children&rsquo;s comprehension of explicitly presented information was facilitated by repeat viewing. However, post hoc analyses revealed that children&rsquo;s explicit and implicit comprehension of a central character Thunderbolt significantly increased across viewing conditions, whereas, repeat viewing only facilitated children&rsquo;s explicit comprehension of the central character Patch. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.<br /

Natural CO2 sites in Italy show importance of overburden geopressure, fractures and faults for CO2 storage performance and risk management

The study of natural analogues can inform the long-term performance security of engineered CO2 storage. There are natural CO2 reservoirs and CO2 seeps in Italy. Here, we study nine reservoirs and establish which are sealed or are leaking CO2 to surface. Their characteristics are compared to elucidate which conditions control CO2 leakage. All of the case studies would fail current CO2 storage site selection criteria, though only two leak CO2 to surface. The factors found to systematically affect seal performance are overburden geopressure and proximity to modern extensional faults. Amongst our case studies, the sealing reservoirs show elevated overburden geopressure whereas the leaking reservoirs don’t. Since the leaking reservoirs are located within <10 km of modern extensional faults, pressure equilibration within the overburden may be facilitated by enhanced crustal permeability related to faulting. Modelling of the properties that could enable the observed CO2 leakage rates finds high permeability pathways (such as transmissive faults or fractures) become increasingly necessary to sustain leak rates as CO2 density decreases during ascent to surface, regardless of the leakage mechanism into the overburden. This work illustrates the value of characterising the overburden geology during CO2 storage site selection to inform screening criterion, risk assessment and monitoring strategy

Towards three-dimensional underwater mapping without odometry

This paper presents a method for the creation of three-dimensional maps of underwater cisterns and wells using a submersible robot equipped with two scanning sonars and a compass. Previous work in this area utilized a particle filter to perform offline simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) in two dimensions using a single sonar [11]. This work utilizes scan matching and incorporates an additional sonar that scans in a perpendicular plane. Given a set of overlapping horizontal and vertical sonar scans, an algorithm was implemented to map underwater chambers by matching sets of scans using a weighted iterative closest point (ICP) method. This matching process has been augmented to align the features of the underwater cistern data without robot odometry. Results from a swimming pool and an archeological site trials indicate successful mapping is achieved

Surface reconstruction of ancient water storage systems an approach for sparse 3D sonar scans and fused stereo images

This work presents a process pipeline that addresses the problem of reconstructing surfaces of underwater structures from stereo images and sonar scans collected with a micro-ROV on the islands of Malta and Gozo. Using a limited sensor load, sonar and small GoPro Hero2 cameras, the micro-ROV is able to explore water systems and gather data. As a preprocess to the reconstruction pipeline, a 3D evidence grid is created by mosaicing horizontal and vertical sonar scans. A volumetric representation is then constructed using a level set method. Fine-scale details from the scene are captured in stereo cameras, and are transformed into point clouds and projected into the volume. A raycasting technique is used to trim the volume in accordance with the projected point clouds, thus reintroducing fine details to the rough sonar-generated model. The resulting volume is surfaced, yielding a final mesh which can be viewed and interacted with for archaeological and educational purposes. Initial results from both steps of the reconstruction pipeline are presented and discussed.peer-reviewe

Mapping and visualizing ancient water storage systems with an ROV - an approach based on fusing stationary scans within a particle filter

This paper presents a new method for construct- ing 2D maps of enclosed underwater structures using an underwater robot equipped with only a 2D scanning sonar, compass and depth sensor. In particular, no motion model or odometry is used. To accomplish this, a two step offline SLAM method is applied to a set of stationary sonar scans. In the first step, the change in position of the robot between each consecutive pair of stationary sonar scans is estimated using a particle filter. This set of pair wise relative scan positions is used to create an estimate of each scan’s position within a global coordinate frame using a weighted least squares fit that optimizes consistency between the relative positions of the entire set of scans. In the second step of the method, scans and their estimated positions act as inputs to a mapping algorithm that constructs 2D octree-based evidence grid maps of the site. This work is motivated by a multi-year archeological project that aims to construct maps of ancient water storage systems, i.e. cisterns, on the islands of Malta and Gozo. Cisterns, wells, and water galleries within fortresses, churches and homes oper- ated as water storage systems as far back as 2000 B.C. Using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) these water storage systems located around the islands were explored while collecting video, still images, sonar, depth, and compass measurements. Data gathered from 3 different expeditions has produced maps of over 60 sites. Presented are results from applying the new mapping method to both a swimming pool of known size and to several of the previously unexplored water storage systems.peer-reviewe

Renal impairment at diagnosis in myeloma: Patient characteristics, treatment, and impact on outcomes. Results trom the Australia and New Zealand myeloma and related diseases registry

Background: Renal impairment (RI) is a common complication of multiple myeloma (MM) and remains a poor prognostic factor despite improved survival with newer therapies. Patients and Methods: We evaluated baseline characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of newly diagnosed MM patients with RI at diagnosis in the Australia and New Zealand Myeloma and Related Diseases Registry over 5 years to April 2018; we compared patients with RI (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR

Anti-HMGCR Autoantibodies in Juvenile Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies Identify a Rare but Clinically Important Subset of Patients

Objective.We aimed to establish the prevalence and clinical associations of anti-HMG-CoA-reductase (anti-HMGCR) in a large UK cohort with juvenile myositis.Methods.There were 381 patients investigated for anti-HMGCR using ELISA.Results.Anti-HMGCR autoantibodies were detected in 4 patients (1%). These children had no or minimal rash and significant muscle disease. Muscle biopsies were considered distinctive, with widespread variation in fiber size, necrotic fibers, and chronic inflammatory cell infiltrates; all had prolonged elevation of creatine kinase and all ultimately received biologic therapies.Conclusion.Anti-HMGCR in UK children with myositis are associated with severe disease that is poorly responsive to standard treatment.</jats:sec

Gemcitabine and docetaxel versus doxorubicin as first-line treatment in previously untreated advanced unresectable or metastatic soft-tissue sarcomas (GeDDiS): a randomised controlled phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: For many years, first-line treatment for locally advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma has been doxorubicin. This study compared gemcitabine and docetaxel versus doxorubicin as first-line treatment for advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma. METHODS: The GeDDiS trial was a randomised controlled phase 3 trial done in 24 UK hospitals and one Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) hospital. Eligible patients had histologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma of Trojani grade 2 or 3, disease progression before enrolment, and no previous chemotherapy for sarcoma or previous doxorubicin for any cancer. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive six cycles of intravenous doxorubicin 75 mg/m(2) on day 1 every 3 weeks, or intravenous gemcitabine 675 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 and intravenous docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) on day 8 every 3 weeks. Treatment was assigned using a minimisation algorithm incorporating a random element. Randomisation was stratified by age (≤18 years vs >18 years) and histological subtype. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients alive and progression free at 24 weeks in the intention-to-treat population. Adherence to treatment and toxicity were analysed in the safety population, consisting of all patients who received at least one dose of their randomised treatment. The trial was registered with the European Clinical Trials (EudraCT) database (no 2009-014907-29) and with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial registry (ISRCTN07742377), and is now closed to patient entry. FINDINGS: Between Dec 3, 2010, and Jan 20, 2014, 257 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to the two treatment groups (129 to doxorubicin and 128 to gemcitabine and docetaxel). Median follow-up was 22 months (IQR 15·7-29·3). The proportion of patients alive and progression free at 24 weeks did not differ between those who received doxorubicin versus those who received gemcitabine and docetaxel (46·3% [95% CI 37·5-54·6] vs 46·4% [37·5-54·8]); median progression-free survival (23·3 weeks [95% CI 19·6-30·4] vs 23·7 weeks [18·1-20·0]; hazard ratio [HR] for progression-free survival 1·28, 95% CI 0·99-1·65, p=0·06). The most common grade 3 and 4 adverse events were neutropenia (32 [25%] of 128 patients who received doxorubicin and 25 [20%] of 126 patients who received gemcitabine and docetaxel), febrile neutropenia (26 [20%] and 15 [12%]), fatigue (eight [6%] and 17 [14%]), oral mucositis (18 [14%] and two [2%]), and pain (ten [8%] and 13 [10%]). The three most common serious adverse events, representing 111 (39%) of all 285 serious adverse events recorded, were febrile neutropenia (27 [17%] of 155 serious adverse events in patients who received doxorubicin and 15 [12%] of 130 serious adverse events in patients who received gemcitabine and docetaxel, fever (18 [12%] and 19 [15%]), and neutropenia (22 [14%] and ten [8%]). 154 (60%) of 257 patients died in the intention-to-treat population: 74 (57%) of 129 patients in the doxorubicin group and 80 (63%) of 128 in the gemcitabine and docetaxel group. No deaths were related to the treatment, but two deaths were due to a combination of disease progression and treatment. INTERPRETATION: Doxorubicin should remain the standard first-line treatment for most patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcoma. These results provide evidence for clinicians to consider with their patients when selecting first-line treatment for locally advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma. FUNDING: Cancer Research UK, Sarcoma UK, and Clinical Trial Unit Kantonsspital St Gallen

Mining a Sea of Data: Deducing the Environmental Controls of Ocean Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll biomass in the surface ocean is regulated by a complex interaction of physiological, oceanographic, and ecological factors and in turn regulates the rates of primary production and export of organic carbon to the deep ocean. Mechanistic models of phytoplankton responses to climate change require the parameterization of many processes of which we have limited knowledge. We develop a statistical approach to estimate the response of remote-sensed ocean chlorophyll to a variety of physical and chemical variables. Irradiance over the mixed layer depth, surface nitrate, sea-surface temperature, and latitude and longitude together can predict 83% of the variation in log chlorophyll in the North Atlantic. Light and nitrate regulate biomass through an empirically determined minimum function explaining nearly 50% of the variation in log chlorophyll by themselves and confirming that either light or macronutrients are often limiting and that much of the variation in chlorophyll concentration is determined by bottom-up mechanisms. Assuming the dynamics of the future ocean are governed by the same processes at work today, we should be able to apply these response functions to future climate change scenarios, with changes in temperature, nutrient distributions, irradiance, and ocean physics