Automatic Detection of Egg Shell Cracks

The challenge was to find a reliable, non-intrusive means of detecting cracks in eggs. Intensity data from eggs were collected by VisionSmart for the group to analyse. Given the short time period three main questions were addressed. 1) Is there a feature of the intensity data which detects, and discriminates between pinholes, cage marks and cracks? 2) Are there ways to improve the current data collection process? 3) Are there other data collection methods which should be tried? A partial positive response to 1) is presented and describes the many problems that arose. Some answers to 2) and 3) are also presented

YSO jets in the Galactic plane from UWISH2 – III. Jets and outflows in Cassiopeia and Auriga

We present the analysis of 35.5 deg2 of images in the 1–0 S(1) line of H2 from the UK Widefield Infrared Survey for H2 (UWISH2) towards Cassiopeia and Auriga. We have identified 98 Molecular Hydrogen emission-line Objects (MHOs) driven by Young Stellar Objects, 60 per cent of which are bipolar outflows and all are new discoveries. We estimate that the UWISH2-extended emission object catalogue contains fewer than 2 per cent false positives and is complete at the 95 per cent level for jets and outflows brighter than the UWISH2 detection limit. We identified reliable driving source candidates for three quarters of the detected outflows, 40 per cent of which are associated with groups and clusters of stars. The driving source candidates are 20 per cent protostars, the remainder are Classical T-Tauri Stars. We also identified 15 new star cluster candidates near MHOs in the survey area. We find that the typical outflow identified in the sample has the following characteristics: the position angles are randomly orientated; bipolar outflows are straight within a few degrees; the two lobes are slightly asymmetrical in length and brightness; the length and brightness of the lobes are not correlated; typical time gaps between major ejections of material are 1–3 kyr, hence FU-Ori or EX-Ori eruptions are most likely not the cause of these, but we suggest MNors as a possible source. Furthermore, we find that outflow lobe length distributions are statistically different from the widely used total length distributions. There are a larger than expected number of bright outflows indicating that the flux distribution does not follow a power law

A question of trust: intra-party delegation in the European Parliament

Much of the European Parliament’s work rests on negotiations within parliamentary committees, as well as other informal negotiations that take place behind closed doors. But what determines the selection of the MEPs who participate in these negotiations? Drawing on a new study, Fang-Yi Chiou, Bjørn Høyland and Silje Synnøve Lyder Hermansen illustrate that loyalty to the leadership of the transnational parties present in Parliament is the key factor in the selection process. While knowledge about a given policy area is important, parties typically develop a group of experts from which they can select candidates rather than relying on individuals with the most expertise

Do Elders Dream of Electric Seals? : A SCOT analysis of the mental commitment robot PARO in elderly care

This study is a contribution to the public debate about demographic challenges caused by an increasing elderly population and lack of professional care to support them. The Norwegian Technology Board has given some advice towards a future health care for elders, among them supporting the implementation of robot technologies. One robot that is in use already at Norwegian elderly care centres is a social robot shaped as a seal puppy with thick white fur and big black eyes; the mental commitment robot PARO. Especially elderly demented people are said to calm down and become more socialised if the robot is present. The thesis sets out to investigate how the mental commitment robot PARO has been interpreted and adapted by different groups at residential and treatment centres for people with dementia; which ethical aspects emerge when a robot like PARO is introduced or evaluated in elderly care; and finally how does the introduction of PARO in elderly care influence care practises and knowledge? The descriptive framework, Social Construction of Technology (SCOT), by Wiebe Bijker and Trevor Pinch is the main theory in use to answer these questions. The thesis analyses how relevant social groups form and interpret the technology, demonstrating the interpretative flexibility of the robot. This flexibility comes from social negotiations among the members of different social groups, more than technical properties of the artefact. The empirical material was collected through semi structured interviews of sixteen respondents working at dementia care centres, distributors, and governmental advisory organisations. The study is approved by the National Data Protection Official for Research (NSD), given the project number 24540. NSD has demanded that sites and people described in this study are kept anonymous; protecting the vulnerable group of demented elders. The SCOT analysis has revealed that the robot is interpreted in a wide range of different ways. Major solutions the robot fulfils are that it calm down elders, it increases social contact and is a new distraction that makes the caregivers more observant towards the elders, enabling the carer to see the elder in a new way. Major issues with the robot are that it is highly expensive equipment, stigmatising in some situations and creates a risk of deception due to its animal characteristics. The thesis concludes that a traditional caring paradigm competes with a new robot care paradigm. However, the caregiver and the social factors are crucial elements to why the robot works so well at some places, while not working in other situations. Key words: Social robots, PARO, SCOT, Dementia, Elderly car

Pressure ulcers

This issue of eMedRef provides information to clinicians on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapeutics of pressure ulcers

Pressure injury in Australian public hospitals: a cost-of-illness study

Objective: Pressure injuries (PI) are largely preventable and can be viewed as an adverse outcome of a healthcare admission, yet they affect millions of people and consume billions of dollars in healthcare spending. The existing literature in Australia presents a patchy picture of the economic burden of PI on society and the health system. The aim of the present study was to provide a more comprehensive and updated picture of PI by state and severity using publicly available data. Methods: A cost-of-illness analysis was conducted using a prevalence approach and a 1-year time horizon based on data from the existing literature extrapolated using simulation methods to estimate the costs by PI severity and state subgroups. Results: The treatment cost across all states and severity in 2012–13 was estimated to be A$983 million per annum, representing approximately 1.9$820 million per annum. These estimates were associated with a total number of 121 645 PI cases in 2012–13 and a total number of 524 661 bed days lost. Conclusions: The costs estimated in the present study highlight the economic waste for the Australian health system associated with a largely avoidable injury. Wastage can also be reduced by preventing moderate injuries (Stage I and II) from developing into severe cases (Stage III and IV), because the severe cases, accounting for 12% of cases, mounted to 30% of the total cost

Circumventing the radiation pressure barrier in the formation of massive stars via disk accretion

We present radiation hydrodynamics simulations of the collapse of massive pre-stellar cores. We treat frequency dependent radiative feedback from stellar evolution and accretion luminosity at a numerical resolution down to 1.27 AU. In the 2D approximation of axially symmetric simulations, it is possible for the first time to simulate the whole accretion phase (up to the end of the accretion disk epoch) for the forming massive star and to perform a broad scan of the parameter space. Our simulation series show evidently the necessity to incorporate the dust sublimation front to preserve the high shielding property of massive accretion disks. While confirming the upper mass limit of spherically symmetric accretion, our disk accretion models show a persistent high anisotropy of the corresponding thermal radiation field. This yields to the growth of the highest-mass stars ever formed in multi-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics simulations, far beyond the upper mass limit of spherical accretion. Non-axially symmetric effects are not necessary to sustain accretion. The radiation pressure launches a stable bipolar outflow, which grows in angle with time as presumed from observations. For an initial mass of the pre-stellar host core of 60, 120, 240, and 480 Msun the masses of the final stars formed in our simulations add up to 28.2, 56.5, 92.6, and at least 137.2 Msun respectively.Comment: 55 pages, 24 figures, accepted at Ap

Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Use in Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Pilot Study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113734/1/jgs13600_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113734/2/jgs13600.pd