Complex refractive index of non-spherical particles in the vis-NIR region - application to Bacillus Subtilis spores

A method is presented for the estimation of optical constants in the ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UVVis-NIR) region of nonspherical particles in a suspension at concentrations where multiple scattering issignificant. The optical constants are obtained by an inversion technique using the adding-doubling method to solve the radiative transfer equation in combination with the single scattering theories for modelling scattering by nonspherical particles. Two methods for describing scattering by single scatteringare considered: the T-matrix method and the approximate but computationally simpler Rayleigh-Gans-Debye (RGD) approximation. The method is then applied to obtain the optical constants of Bacillussubtilis spores in the wavelength region 400-1200 nm. It is found that the optical constants obtained using the RGD approximation matches those obtained using the T-matrix method to within experimental error

Improving Search Engine Performance Through Dynamic Caching

Web search engines process several millions of queries per second over several billions of documents. Without any optimization, this process can be very expensive in terms of processing times. In this regard, appropriate use of computing power is essential. One way to tackle this problem is through the use of caching mechanisms. Keep in mind, most research based on caching mechanisms uses repetitive queries-it means queries syntactically equals-to conform caches. Furthermore, the universe of repetitive queries is small in comparison with a set of similar semantically queries. This paper presents a dynamic cache that relies on an online algorithm, which performs a semantic match between the user's query and queries stored in the cache. Broadly speaking, the algorithm employs a priority queue, where popular queries are stored along with their relevant documents. Empirical results show that our proposed approach improves the response times and precision. Moreover, the use of semantically related keywords proves to be a key contribution that had been overlooked in previous research

Tolerance and hyperaccumulation of a mixture heavy metals (Cu, Pb , Hg and Zn) by four aquatic macrophytes

El propósito de este trabajo fue comparar la tolerancia a la exposición de una mezcla de los metales (Cu2+, Pb2+, Hg2+ y Zn2+) así como el nivel de hiperacumulación en Typha latifolia, Lemna minor, Eichhornia crassipes y Myriophyllum acuaticum, para proponer un sistema de bioacumulación selectiva que permita la biorremediación eficiente de cuerpos de agua contaminadosIn the present investigation, four macrophytes, namely Typha latifolia (L.), Lemna minor (L.), Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms-Laubach, and Myriophyllum aquaticum (Vell.) Verdc, were evaluated for their heavy metal (Cu, Pb, Hg, and Zn) hyperaccumulation potential under laboratory conditions. Tolerance analyses were performed for 7 days of exposure at five different treatments of the metals mixture (CuC2, HgC2, PbC2, and ZnC2). The production of chlorophyll and carotenoids was determined at the end of each treatment. L. minor revealed to be sensitive, because it did not survive in all the tested concentrations after 72 hours of exposure. E. crassipes and M. aquaticum displayed the highest tolerance to the metals mixture. For the most tolerant species of aquatic macrophytes, The removal kinetics of E. crassipes and M. aquaticum was carried out, using the following mixture of metals: Cu (0.5 mg/L) and Hg, Pb, and Zn 0.25 mg/L. The obtained results revealed that E. crassipes can remove 99.80% of Cu, 97.88% of Pb, 99.53% of Hg, and 94.37% of Zn. M. aquaticum withdraws 95.2% of Cu, 94.28% of Pb, 99.19% of Hg, and 91.91% of Zn. The obtained results suggest that these two species of macrophytes could be used for the phytoremediation of this mixture of heavy metals from the polluted water bodies

Hipermovilidad articular determinada por el Test de Beighton en estudiantes universitarios

Introduction: Joint hypermobility (JHM) implies an increased range of motion that exceeds what is considered normal for the examined joint. Objetive: To determine the frequency of JHM in first-year medical students of the Facultad de Ciencias Médicas of Universidad Nacional de Asunción (FCM-UNA) and its association to gender. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study. A physical examination was performed using the Beighton scoring system. Individuals who scored 4 or more points were considered to have JHM. Results: 100 students were included. 38% scored at least 4 points to diagnose them with JHM. 1% met all criteria. The item that evaluates forward bending of the spine was the most frequent among students. 84.2% of the individuals with criteria for JHM were women. There is a significant difference between the presence of JHM between women and men (p = 0.001). Conclusion: There is a substantial amount of individuals who meet JHM criteria among first-year medical students of the FCM-UNA. Women were identified with JHM more frequently than men.Introducción: La hipermovilidad articular (HMA), implica un aumento del rango de movilidad de las articulaciones que excede lo considerado normal para la articulación examinada. Objetivo: Determinar la frecuencia de HMA en estudiantes de primer curso de la carrera de medicina de la Universidad Nacional de Asunción y su asociación según el sexo de los individuos incluidos. Metodología: Estudio observacional de corte transversal. Se realizó un examen físico con el test de Beighton, que consiste en un sistema de puntos y se consideró a los individuos con HMA a aquel que sumara 4 o más puntos en el test. Resultados: se incluyeron 100 estudiantes, de los cuales el 38% cumplió como mínimo con 4 puntos suficientes para diagnosticarlos con HMA. El 1% cumplió con todos los criterios. El item que evalúa la flexión de la columna, fue el más frecuentemente identificado entre los estudiantes. El 84,2% de los individuos con criterio para HMA fueron mujeres. Existe una diferencia significativa entre la presencia de HMA entre mujeres y hombres (p=0.001). Conclusión: Existe una frecuencia importante de individuos que cumplen con criterios de HMA en el primer curso de la carrera de medicina de la FCM-UNA. Las mujeres fueron identificadas con HMA con mayor frecuencia en relación a los hombres

Mobile Manipulation Hackathon: Moving into Real World Applications

The Mobile Manipulation Hackathon was held in late 2018 during the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) to showcase the latest applications of wheeled robotic manipulators. The challenge had an open format, where teams developed an application using simulation tools and integrated it into a robotic platform. This article presents the competition and analyzes the results, with information gathered during the event and from a survey circulated among the finalist teams. We provide an overview of the mobile manipulation field, identify key areas required for further development to facilitate the implementation of mobile manipulators in real applications, and discuss ideas about how to structure future hackathon-style competitions to enhance their impact on the scientific and industrial communities.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy is a Safe and Effective Bariatric Procedure for the Lower BMI (35.0–43.0 kg/m2) Population

# The Author(s) 2010. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Background The laparoscopic vertical sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is derived from the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch operation (Marceau et al., Obes Surg 3:29

Age at natural menopause and blood pressure traits: Mendelian randomization study

Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Observational studies suggest that early onset of menopause is associated with increased risk of hypertension. Whether this association is causal or due to residual confounding and/or reverse causation remains undetermined. We aimed to evaluate the observational and causal association between age at natural menopause (ANM) and blood pressure traits in Caucasian women. A cross-sectional and one-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was conducted in 4451 postmenopausal women from the CoLaus and Rotterdam studies. Regression models were built with observational data to study the associations of ANM with systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) and hypertension. One-sample MR analysis was performed by calculating a genetic risk score of 54 ANM-related variants, previously identified in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on ANM. In the two-sample MR analysis we used the estimates from the ANM-GWAS and association estimates from 168,575 women of the UK Biobank to evaluate ANM-related variants and their causal association with SBP and DBP. Pooled analysis from both cohorts showed that a one-year delay in menopause onset was associated with 2% (95% CI 0; 4) increased odds of having hypertension, and that early menopause was associated with lower DBP (β = −1.31, 95% CI −2.43; −0.18). While one-sample MR did not show a causal association between ANM and blood pressure traits, the two-sample MR showed a positive causal association of ANM with SBP; the last was driven by genes related to DNA damage repair. The present study does not support the hypothesis that early onset of menopause is associated with higher blood pressure. Our results suggest different ANM-related genetic pathways could differently impact blood pressure.The CoLaus study was and is supported by research grants from GlaxoSmithKline, the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of Lausanne, and the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants 33CSCO-122661, 33CS30-139468, and 33CS30-148401). Zayne M. Roa-Díaz have received fund- ing from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 801076, through the SSPH+Global Ph.D. Fellowship Program in Public Health Sciences (GlobalP3HS) of the Swiss School of Public Health

Depth-sensing indentation applied to polymers: a comparison between standard methods of analysis in relation to the nature of the materials

Mechanical data (hardness and elastic modulus) from instrumented indentation testing are often extracted assuming linear elasticity in the initial portion of the unloading. The method is nowadays widely accepted as a convenient tool to interpret depth-sensing data, however it is a matter of controversy when applied to polymer materials due to their time-dependent behaviour. More recently, Loubet and co-workers applied continuous stiffness measurements (CSM), consisting of superimposing a small oscillation to the quasi-static component of loading, to the study of the mechanical properties of polymers and proposed a new model to account for the apparent increase in the contact area detected at the first stages of contact. The present work offers a comparative study between the Loubet‟s model using CSM and the procedure yielding a single reading from the onset of unloading. A wide range of thermoplastic polymer materials including glassy and semicrystalline polymers have been investigated. The most important equations employed for each method are summarized and the advantages and disadvantages of employing one procedure or the other are discussed. The differences found between the results obtained from both approaches are discussed in relation to the nature of the polymer material. A comparison between mechanical data extracted from indentation measurements and from classical dynamic mechanical analysis is offered

The sudden change phenomenon of quantum discord

Even if the parameters determining a system's state are varied smoothly, the behavior of quantum correlations alike to quantum discord, and of its classical counterparts, can be very peculiar, with the appearance of non-analyticities in its rate of change. Here we review this sudden change phenomenon (SCP) discussing some important points related to it: Its uncovering, interpretations, and experimental verifications, its use in the context of the emergence of the pointer basis in a quantum measurement process, its appearance and universality under Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics, its theoretical and experimental investigation in some other physical scenarios, and the related phenomenon of double sudden change of trace distance discord. Several open questions are identified, and we envisage that in answering them we will gain significant further insight about the relation between the SCP and the symmetry-geometric aspects of the quantum state space.Comment: Lectures on General Quantum Correlations and their Applications, F. F. Fanchini, D. O. Soares Pinto, and G. Adesso (Eds.), Springer (2017), pp 309-33