US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report

This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Income-related inequalities in diagnosed diabetes prevalence among US adults, 2001−2018

Aims The overall prevalence of diabetes has increased over the past two decades in the United States, disproportionately affecting low-income populations. We aimed to examine the trends in income-related inequalities in diabetes prevalence and to identify the contributions of determining factors. Methods We estimated income-related inequalities in diagnosed diabetes during 2001−2018 among US adults aged 18 years or older using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The concentration index was used to measure income-related inequalities in diabetes and was decomposed into contributing factors. We then examined temporal changes in diabetes inequality and contributors to those changes over time. Results Results showed that income-related inequalities in diabetes, unfavorable to low-income groups, persisted throughout the study period. The income-related inequalities in diabetes decreased during 2001−2011 and then increased during 2011−2018. Decomposition analysis revealed that income, obesity, physical activity levels, and race/ethnicity were important contributors to inequalities in diabetes at almost all time points. Moreover, changes regarding age and income were identified as the main factors explaining changes in diabetes inequalities over time. Conclusions Diabetes was more prevalent in low-income populations. Our study contributes to understanding income-related diabetes inequalities and could help facilitate program development to prevent type 2 diabetes and address modifiable factors to reduce diabetes inequalities

* Manuscript Nonparametric Background Generation 1

A novel background generation method based on nonparametric background model is presented for background subtraction. We introduce a new model, named as effect components description (ECD), to model the variation of the background, by which we can relate the best estimate of the background to the modes (local maxima) of the underlying distribution. Based on ECD, an effective background generation method, most reliable background mode (MRBM), is developed. The basic computational module of the method is an old pattern recognition procedure, the mean shift, which can be used recursively to find the nearest stationary point of the underlying density function. The advantages of this method are three-fold: first, backgrounds can be generated from image sequence with cluttered moving objects; second, backgrounds are very clear without blur effect; third, it is robust to noise and small vibration. Extensive experimental results illustrate its good performance

Synthetic Rock Analogue for Permeability Studies of Rock Salt with Mudstone

Knowledge about the permeability of surrounding rock (salt rock and mudstone interlayer) is an important topic, which acts as a key parameter to characterize the tightness of gas storage. The goal of experiments that test the permeability of gas storage facilities in rock salt is to develop a synthetic analogue to use as a permeability model. To address the permeability of a mudstone/salt layered and mixed rock mass in Jintan, Jiangsu Province, synthetic mixed and layered specimens using the mudstone and the salt were fabricated for permeability testing. Because of the gas “slippage effect”, test results are corrected by the Klinkenberg method, and the permeability of specimens is obtained by regression fitting. The results show that the permeability of synthetic pure rock salt is 6.9 × 10−20 m2, and its porosity is 3.8%. The permeability of synthetic mudstone rock is 2.97 × 10−18 m2, with a porosity 17.8%. These results are close to those obtained from intact natural specimens. We also find that with the same mudstone content, the permeability of mixed specimens is about 40% higher than for the layered specimens, and with an increase in the mudstone content, the Klinkenberg permeability increases for both types of specimens. The permeability and mudstone content have a strong exponential relationship. When the mudstone content is below 40%, the permeability increases only slightly with mudstone content, whereas above this threshold, the permeability increases rapidly with mudstone content. The results of the study are of use in the assessment of the tightness of natural gas storage facilities in mudstone-rich rock salt formations in China

Abstract Viewpoint invariant sign language recognition

Viewpoint invariance is a grand challenge for sign language recognition. In this paper, we propose a novel viewpoint invariant method for sign language recognition. The recognition task is converted to a verification task under the proposed method. This conversion is based on the geometric constraint that the fundamental matrix associated with two views SHOULD BE UNIQUE when the observation and template signs can be considered as obtained synchronously under a virtual stereo vision and vice versa. The Dempster–Shafer theory is applied to improve the robustness of the geometry model. Our experiment demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed method. Furthermore, the proposed method can be extended to other recognition tasks, such as gait recognition and lip-reading recognition

Decomposition of changes in diabetes inequalities during 2001−2011 and 2011−2018.

Decomposition of changes in diabetes inequalities during 2001−2011 and 2011−2018.</p

Decompositions of income-related inequalities in diabetes in 2001, 2011, and 2018.

Decompositions of income-related inequalities in diabetes in 2001, 2011, and 2018.</p