Developing neural networks to investigate relationships between lighting quality and lighting glare indices

The present work compares the ability of the two most used glare indices, the Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) and the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) Glare Index (CGI), using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). The research investigates the efficiency of indexes in predictive indoor lighting quality. This study was carried out by analyzing data from a survey administered to ninety students in real design classrooms in the city of Biskra, Algeria. The experiment was conducted using three different lighting indoor conditions: natural and artificial lighting and mixed lighting. The true prediction of the Daylight Glare Probability for the variable Comfortable was 60.60%, and for (CIE) Glare Index the prediction values were equal to 44.60% for the same variable

Towards a new model of light quality assessment based on occupant satisfaction and lighting glare indices

This study looks at the effect of daylighting on human performance. It includes a focus on glare index combined with the actual feeling of users of the classroom as a way to assess indoor lighting quality. The main objective of this research is to understand the impact of daylighting from windows on the glare sensation and also to determine which glare index is the closest to human visual sensation under local daylighting conditions in Biskra, Algeria with highly luminous climate. The study used High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography, Evaglare and Aftab Alpha software to calculate the two glare metrics Daylight Glare, Index (DGI) and the Daylight Glare Probability (DGP). A survey was also used with 90 occupants under different lighting conditions (different configurations) in a design classroom. In order to link the mathematical model and the human assessment of glare, statistical regression analysis was used. We established a statistically compelling connection between daylighting and student performance

Profil bactériologique du pied diabétique et son impact sur le choix des antibiotiques

Introduction: Analyse du profil bactériologique des pieds diabétiques pris en charge à l'hôpital militaire de Rabat et son influence sur l'antibiothérapie de première intention. Méthodes : Etude prospective non randomisée étalée sur 18 mois, ayant concerné 105 patients. Après recueil des données et en attente des  résultats bactériologiques nos patients ont été divisés en deux groupes: un groupe a été mis sous Amoxicilline + Acide clavulanique + Gentamycine (59 patients) et un groupe sous Ertapénème±Gentamycine (46 patients). Résultats : L'étude a regroupé 85 hommes et 20 femmes (sexe  ratio=4.26). L'âge moyen est de 64.4 ans. La gangrène a été observée chez 79% des malades ; elle était humide-donc surinfectée en principe- dans 43% des cas. Par ailleurs, 67% des malades ont un chiffre de globules blancs 12000 définissant une infection sévère. L'ostéolyse a été mise en évidence chez 27% de nos patients. Parmi les différentes  techniques de prélèvements: 81% ont été profonds dont 21% de biopsie osseuse per opératoire et 14% de prélèvements combinés. 42% de ces prélèvements sont poly microbiens et 21% sont stériles. Les résultats bactériologiques viennent confirmer la prédominance des bactéries  aérobies à Gram positif. Le taux de remplacement de l'Ertapénème est de 22% contre un taux de 50% pour l'Amoxiclav.Conclusion : L'antibiothérapie ne doit être instaurée qu'en cas d'infection du pied diabétique diagnostiquée sur les critères cliniques établis par les consensus internationaux récents. Le respect des mesures de lutte contre la diffusion de la résistance bactérienne s'avère primordiale

Design and Implementation Intelligent Adaptive Front-lighting System of Automobile using Digital Technology on Arduino Board

The automatic light AFS (Adaptive Front - Lighting System) is added to the capabilities of modern vehicles that will improve the safety of vehicle drivers and passengers traveling at night. A new architecture of the AFS has proposed in this paper. This architecture is powerful and intelligent using the PWM technique on ARDUINO Board replaces the old mechanical system based on stepper motors

Daylight: What Makes a Difference

Light is necessary for vision; it enables us to sense and perceive our surroundings and in many direct and indirect ways, via eye and skin, affects our physiological and psychological health. The use of light in built environments has comfort, behavioural, economic and environmental consequences. Daylight has many particular benefits including excellent visual performance, permitting good eyesight, effective entrainment of the circadian system as well as a number of acute non-image forming effects and the important role of vitamin D production. Some human responses to daylight seem to be well defined whilst others require more research to be adequately understood. This paper presents an overview of current knowledge on how the characteristics of daylight play a role in fulfilling these and other functions often better than electric lighting as conventionally delivered

Hysteresis, Avalanches, and Disorder Induced Critical Scaling: A Renormalization Group Approach

We study the zero temperature random field Ising model as a model for noise and avalanches in hysteretic systems. Tuning the amount of disorder in the system, we find an ordinary critical point with avalanches on all length scales. Using a mapping to the pure Ising model, we Borel sum the $6-\epsilon$ expansion to $O(\epsilon^5)$ for the correlation length exponent. We sketch a new method for directly calculating avalanche exponents, which we perform to $O(\epsilon)$. Numerical exponents in 3, 4, and 5 dimensions are in good agreement with the analytical predictions.Comment: 134 pages in REVTEX, plus 21 figures. The first two figures can be obtained from the references quoted in their respective figure captions, the remaining 19 figures are supplied separately in uuencoded forma

Novel homozygous missense mutation in GAN associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 in a large consanguineous family from Israel.

BACKGROUND: CMT-2 is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of peripheral axonal neuropathies characterized by slowly progressive weakness and atrophy of distal limb muscles resulting from length-dependent motor and sensory neurodegeneration. Classical giant axonal neuropathy (GAN) is an autosomal recessively inherited progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the peripheral and central nervous systems, typically diagnosed in early childhood and resulting in death by the end of the third decade. Distinctive phenotypic features are the presence of "kinky" hair and long eyelashes. The genetic basis of the disease has been well established, with over 40 associated mutations identified in the gene GAN, encoding the BTB-KELCH protein gigaxonin, involved in intermediate filament regulation. METHODS: An Illumina Human CytoSNP-12 array followed by whole exome sequence analysis was used to identify the disease associated gene mutation in a large consanguineous family diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 (CMT-2) from which all but one affected member had straight hair. RESULTS: Here we report the identification of a novel GAN missense mutation underlying the CMT-2 phenotype observed in this family. Although milder forms of GAN, with and without the presence of kinky hair have been reported previously, a phenotype distinct from that was investigated in this study. All family members lacked common features of GAN, including ataxia, nystagmus, intellectual disability, seizures, and central nervous system involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings broaden the spectrum of phenotypes associated with GAN mutations and emphasize a need to proceed with caution when providing families with diagnostic or prognostic information based on either clinical or genetic findings alone

Clinical Heterogeneity of Autosomal Recessive Spastic Paraplegias: Analysis of 106 Patients in 46 Families

Background Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by progressive and predominant spasticity of the lower limbs, in which dominant, recessive, and X-linked forms have been described. While autosomal dominant HSP has been extensively studied, autosomal recessive HSP is less well known and is considered a rare condition. Objective To analyze the clinical presentation in a large group of patients with autosomal recessive HSP from Portugal and Algeria to define homogeneous groups that could serve as a guide for future molecular studies. Results Clinical features in 106 patients belonging to 46 Portuguese and Algerian families with autosomal recessive HSP are presented, as well as the results of molecular studies in 23 of these families. Five phenotypes are defined: (1) pure early-onset families, (2) pure late-onset families, (3) complex families with mental retardation, (4) complex families with mental retardation and peripheral neuropathy, and (5) complex families with cerebellar ataxia. Six additional families have specific complex presentations, each of which is unique in the present series. Pyramidal signs in the upper limbs and pes cavus are frequent findings, while pseudobulbar signs, including dysarthria, dysphagia, and brisk jaw jerks, are more frequent in the complex forms. The complex forms have a poorer prognosis, while pure forms, particularly those with early onset, are more benign. One Algerian pure early-onset kindred was linked to the locus on chromosome 8, previously reported in 4 Tunisian families. Two of the Portuguese kindreds with complex forms (one with mental retardation and the other associated with hypoplasia of the corpus callosum) showed linkage to the locus recently identified on chromosome 16. Conclusions Although autosomal recessive HSP represents a heterogeneous group of diseases, some phenotypes can be defined by analyzing a large group of patients. The fact that only one Algerian family was linked to chromosome 8 suggests that this is a rare localization even in kindreds with the same ethnic background. Linkage to chromosome 16 was found in 2 clinically diverse Portuguese kindreds, illustrating that this locus is also rare and may correspond to different phenotypes.This study was supported by Généthon, Paris, France; and 2 grants from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Health Administration (projects STRDA/C/SAU/277/92 and PECS/C/SAU/219/95)

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century