Progress Towards a Multi-Modal Capsule Endoscopy Device Featuring Microultrasound Imaging

Current clinical standards for endoscopy in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract combine high definition optics and ultrasound imaging to view the lumen superficially and through its thickness. However, these instruments are limited to the length of an endoscope and the only clinically available, autonomous devices able to travel the full length of the GI tract easily offer only video capsule endoscopy (VCE). Our work seeks to overcome this limitation with a device (“Sonopill”) for multimodal capsule endoscopy, providing optical and microultrasound (μUS) imaging and supporting sensors1. μUS transducers have been developed with multiple piezoelectric materials operating across a range of centre frequencies to study viability in the GI tract. Because of the combined constraints of μUS imaging and the low power / heat tolerance of autonomous devices, a hybrid approach has been taken to the transducer design, with separate transmit and receive arrays allowing multiple manufacturing approaches to maximise system efficiency. To explore these approaches fully, prototype devices have been developed with PVDF, high-frequency PZT and PMN-PT composites, and piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer arrays. Test capsules have been developed using 3D printing to investigate issues including power consumption, heat generation / dissipation, acoustic coupling, signal strength and capsule integrity. Because of the high functional density of the electronics in our proposed system, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) have been developed to realise the ultrasound transmit and receive circuitry along with white-light and autofluorescence imaging with single-photon avalanche detectors (SPADs). The ultrasound ASIC has been developed and the SPAD electronics and optical subsystem have been validated experimentally. The functionality of various transducer materials has been examined as a function of frequency and ultrasound transducers have been developed to operate at centre frequencies in the range 15 - 50 MHz. Ex vivo testing of porcine tissue has been performed, generating images of interest to the clinical community, demonstrating the viability of the Sonopill concept

Incompetence vs. Culpable Non-Performance: The Canadien Arbitration and Adjudication Experience

La jurisprudence arbitrale fait une distinction entre les manquementsvolontaires, ou intentionnels, et les manquements involontaires, ou hors du contrôle de l'individu. Tandis que le premier type est soumis à la règle de la gradation des sanctions, le second suit de plus en plus un courant jurisprudentieile voulant que des étapes additionnelles soient entreprises pour justifier un congédiement. Celles-ci comprennent la communication à l'employé des normes de rendement, la mise en place de moyens pour aider ce dernier à augmenter son rendement et la connaissance par celui-ci qu'un manquement prolongé pourrait conduire à la rupture de son lien d'emploi. Cette étude analyse les sentences portant sur ces deux sortes de manquement et rendues par des arbitres et des juges en vertu du Code canadien du travail.Les décisions arbitrales analysées ont été déposées entre 1984 et 1989.L'échantillon est constitué de causes entendues en Colombie-Britanique (n=72: 46 volontaires et 26 involontaires), en Alberta (n=42: 34 volontaires, 8 involontaires) et de sentences prononcées à l'échelle du pays rapportées dans Labor Arbitration Cases (n=25: 12 volontaires, 13 involontaires). De plus des décisions renversant des congédiements ont également été échantillonnées (n=84: 57 volontaires, 27 involontaires). Pour toutes les juridictions canadiennes, les employeurs, dans un nombre significatif, ont moins de succès à obtenir le maintien d'un congédiement pour manquements involontaires que volontaires. Par juridiction, le geste de l'employeur a été supporté par le tribunal dans les proportions suivantes: Colombie Britanique 61 % volontaires, 38 % involontaires; Alberta 71 % volontaires, 25 % involontaires; Labour Arbitation Cases, 66 % volontaires, 30 For a fuller discussion relating to the appropriateness ot giving déférence, the reader is referred to the paper by John Rogers and Laura Parkinson, "Promotions: The Correctness Test", CLE-Labour Arbitration-1989, June, 1989. 38 % involontaires: décisions en vertu du Code Canadien du Travail 57 % volontaires, 38 % involontaires (de plus, des indemnités tenant lieu de réintégration ont été accordées dans 30 % des manquements volontaires contre 59 % pour les manquements involontaires). D'ailleurs, le congédiement a été plus souvent substitué par une sanction moins sévère dans les cas de manquements volontaires.Les résultats démontrent clairement qu'il faudra que les employeurs saisissent la différence entre les manquements volontaires et involontaires. Les employeurs devront considérer davantage les descriptions d'emploi et les normes de rendement de même que leur processus d'évaluation du rendement. Tel que soulevé dans l'article, ces éléments sont importants surtout dans les cas de manquements involontaires: et malgré le débat en cours sur le degré d'acceptation, il est évident que toutes les parties ont la responsabilité et un intérêt à préserver la distinction entre les manquements volontaires et involontaires dans les situations où le rendement de l'employé est insatisfaisant.Inadequate work performance and incompetence have often been considered by labour arbitrators in Canada within the context of promotion, demotion and transfer cases. However, during the Iast decade these issues have frequently arisen as the primary issues in discipline and discharge cases as well. This paper will begin with a discussion of the legal issues which arise when dealing with performance and incompetence. The following section will set out the data compiled from arbitration awards related to these areas. The next section will set out similar data from adjudication awards in the Federal section. The data from the preceding sections will be analyzed and the paper will conclude with a discussion of the policy implications of the conclusions drawn from the legal issues and the data analyses

Sustainable flood risk and stormwater management in blue‐green cities; an interdisciplinary case study in Portland, Oregon

Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) is recognized as a viable strategy to manage stormwater and flood risk, and its multifunctionality may further enrich society through the provision of multiple cobenefits that extend far beyond the hydrosphere. Portland, Oregon, is an internationally renowned leader in the implementation of BGI and showcases many best practice examples. Nonetheless, a range of interdisciplinary barriers and uncertainties continue to cloud decision making and impede wider implementation of BGI. In this paper, we synthesize research conducted by the “Clean Water for All” (CWfA) research project and demonstrate that interdisciplinary evaluation of the benefits of Portland’s BGI, focusing on green street bioswales and the East Lents Floodplain Restoration Project, is essential to address biophysical and sociopolitical barriers. Effective interdisciplinary approaches require sustained interaction and collaboration to integrate disciplinary expertise toward a common problem-solving purpose, and strong leadership from researchers adapt at spanning disciplinary boundaries. While the disciplinary differences in methodologies were embraced in the CWfA project, and pivotal to providing evidence of the disparate benefits of multifunctional BGI, cross-disciplinary engagement, knowledge coproduction, and data exchanges during the research process were of paramount importance to reduce the potential for fragmentation and ensure research remained integrated. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of the American Water Resources Association published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Water Resources Associatio

Evaluation of growth performance, carcass characteristics, and methane and CO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e emissions of growing and finishing cattle raised in extensive or partial-intensive cow-calf production systems

An experiment was conducted over 2 yr to measure performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of weaned calves from two cow-calf production systems. Crossbred steers and heifers (n = 270, initial body weight (BW) = 207 kg, SD = 35) were used in a randomized complete block design, with treatments applied to the cow-calf system. Treatments were: 1) a traditional system consisting of April to June calving with smooth bromegrass pasture and grazed corn residue as forage resources (TRAD); 2) an alternative system consisting of July to September calving utilizing partial-drylot feeding, summer-planted oats, and corn residue grazing (ALT). Calves from both production systems were weaned at the same age and grown (diet NEg = 1.05 Mcal kg–1) for approximately 117 d. The calves then transitioned to a high-grain finishing diet (year 1: NEg = 1.32 Mcal kg–1; year 2: NEg = 1.39 Mcal kg–1) and fed to a targeted 1.52 cm backfat. Growth performance in the grower phase resulted in greater (P \u3c 0.01) average daily gain (1.39 vs. 1.22 ± 0.02 kg), greater gain:feed (P \u3c 0.01; 0.157 vs. 0.137 ± 0.003) for ALT calves compared to TRAD calves, However, a lower initial BW (P \u3c 0.01; 185 vs. 229 ± 4.9 kg) resulted in a lower ending BW (P \u3c 0.01; 347 vs. 371 ± 2.9 kg) for ALT calves compared to TRAD calves in spite of improved growth performance. In the finisher phase, ALT calves gained less (1.52 vs. 1.81 ± 0.218 kg; P = 0.02), were less efficient (0.139 vs. 173 ± 0.0151; P = 0.01) but exhibited similar hot carcass weights (HCW) (388 vs. 381 ± 3.8 kg; P = 0.14) compared to TRAD calves. Each pen of calves was put into a large pen-scale chamber that continuously measured carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and methane (CH4 ) for 5 d during the grower and finisher phases. The average CH4 and CO2 production per unit of feed intake was used to calculate total GHG emissions over the entire grower and finisher phase. Overall, there were no differences (P ≥ 0.17) between treatments for CH4 per day and per kilogram dry matter intake (DMI). However, ALT calves tended to produce less (P ≤ 0.10) CO2 per day and per kilogram DMI than TRAD calves. Overall, methane emissions were greater in ALT calves (110.7 vs. 92.2 ± 8.3 g CH4 kg–1 HCW; P = 0.04) than TRAD calves. The ALT calves required 27 additional days on feed to market, which resulted in more total CH4 per animal across the entire feeding period (P = 0.02) than TRAD calves. Production systems that reduce days to market to achieve similar HCW may reduce GHG emissions

In-Vivo Evaluation of Microultrasound and Thermometric Capsule Endoscopes

Clinical endoscopy and colonoscopy are commonly used to investigate and diagnose disorders in the upper gastrointestinal tract and colon respectively. However, examination of the anatomically remote small bowel with conventional endoscopy is challenging. This and advances in miniaturization led to the development of video capsule endoscopy (VCE) to allow small bowel examination in a non-invasive manner. Available since 2001, current capsule endoscopes are limited to viewing the mucosal surface only due to their reliance on optical imaging. To overcome this limitation with submucosal imaging, work is under way to implement microultrasound (μUS) imaging in the same form as VCE devices. This paper describes two prototype capsules, termed Sonocap and Thermocap, which were developed respectively to assess the quality of μUS imaging and the maximum power consumption that can be tolerated for such a system. The capsules were tested in vivo in the oesophagus and small bowel of porcine models. Results are presented in the form of μUS B-scans and safe temperature readings observed up to 100 mW in both biological regions. These results demonstrate that acoustic coupling and μUS imaging can be achieved in vivo in the lumen of the bowel and the maximum power consumption that is possible for miniature μUS systems

Refractive-index sensing with ultra-thin plasmonic nanotubes

We study the refractive-index sensing properties of plasmonic nanotubes with a dielectric core and ultra-thin metal shell. The few-nm thin metal shell is described by both the usual Drude model and the nonlocal hydrodynamic model to investigate the effects of nonlocality. We derive an analytical expression for the extinction cross section and show how sensing of the refractive index of the surrounding medium and the figure-of-merit are affected by the shape and size of the nanotubes. Comparison with other localized surface plasmon resonance sensors reveals that the nanotube exhibits superior sensitivity and comparable figure-of-merit

Dating the incision of the Yangtze River gorge at the First Bend using three-nuclide burial ages

Incision of the Yangtze River gorge is widely interpreted as evidence for lower crustal flow beneath the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Previous work focused on the onset of incision, but the duration of incision remains unknown. Here we present cosmogenic nuclide burial ages of sediments collected from caves on the walls of the gorge that show the gorge was incised ~1 km sometime between 18 and 9 Ma. Thereafter, incision slowed substantially. We resolve middle Miocene burial ages by using three nuclides and accounting for in situ muogenic production. This approach explains the absolute concentrations of 10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne, as well as 26Al/10Be and 21Ne/10Be ratios. A declining incision rate challenges existing geodynamic interpretations by suggesting that either (1) surface uplift has ceased immediately south of the plateau margin or (2) gorge incision is not a useful proxy for the timing of surface uplift

Methodological Challenges in Describing Medication Dosing Errors in Children

Summary: Although children are prescribed medications in 30 percent to 50 percent of clinic visits, little is known about medication errors in ambulatory pediatrics. In the process of completing a study to determine the prevalence of outpatient dosing errors, we identified a number of barriers to understanding the epidemiology of medication errors in children. These barriers include prescribing medication that is not labeled for use in children, discrepancies in published dosing recommendations for many medications, unclear guidelines on use of adult dosing recommendations for children of different ages and weights, and the lack of readily available documented weights to determine appropriate weight-based doses for children. In our study of pediatric medication errors, we found a wide range of doses prescribed to children for every medication we studied. Before we can truly understand medication errors in children and begin developing systems-based approaches to eliminating these errors, we need better national standards of medication doses that are appropriate for children and an improved ability to determine errors through databases that include children\u27s weights as well as prescription information

The Grizzly, February 2, 1979

Frat Beating Draws Administrative Fire • New Frat Gathers Steam • Holiday Thefts: Negligence or Lack of Concern? • In Memoriam • Judiciary Board Revival • Cultural Kaleidoscope • Letters to the Editor: Snack shop complaint • Roving Reporter: Greaseband opinions • Dishroom Profile: Roy Schuetz, Man or Myth? • Grease Is The Word • Nicolette Larson Debuts In Style • USGA Elections • Portrait of the Professor: Dr. Conrad E. Kruse • Raquetball Review • Bio Club Spawned • R.A. Applications Available; Ruby Seeks Editor • Gymnasts Place Third In Tourney • Bears Turning Corner • Slavin Breaks Record Mermaids Lose • Wrestlers Manhandle Mules • Badminton Drops Onehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1011/thumbnail.jp