Al-TiH2 Composite Foams Magnesium Alloy

The work presented here in describes the synthesis of aluminum based titanium-hydride particulate composite by casting method and its foaming behavior of magnesium alloy. Results obtained indicate that the Al-10TiH(2) composite can be synthesized successfully by casting method. Further, results also reveal that closed-cell magnesium alloy foam can be synthesized by using Al-10TiH(2) composite as a foaming agent.111Ysciescopu

Automatic Detection of ECG Abnormalities by using an Ensemble of Deep Residual Networks with Attention

Heart disease is one of the most common diseases causing morbidity and mortality. Electrocardiogram (ECG) has been widely used for diagnosing heart diseases for its simplicity and non-invasive property. Automatic ECG analyzing technologies are expected to reduce human working load and increase diagnostic efficacy. However, there are still some challenges to be addressed for achieving this goal. In this study, we develop an algorithm to identify multiple abnormalities from 12-lead ECG recordings. In the algorithm pipeline, several preprocessing methods are firstly applied on the ECG data for denoising, augmentation and balancing recording numbers of variant classes. In consideration of efficiency and consistency of data length, the recordings are padded or truncated into a medium length, where the padding/truncating time windows are selected randomly to sup-press overfitting. Then, the ECGs are used to train deep neural network (DNN) models with a novel structure that combines a deep residual network with an attention mechanism. Finally, an ensemble model is built based on these trained models to make predictions on the test data set. Our method is evaluated based on the test set of the First China ECG Intelligent Competition dataset by using the F1 metric that is regarded as the harmonic mean between the precision and recall. The resultant overall F1 score of the algorithm is 0.875, showing a promising performance and potential for practical use.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, conferenc

Amelioration of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in hamsters by dietary supplementation with taurine and niacin: biochemical mechanisms.

Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis induced by intratracheal instillation of bleomycin (BL) involves an excess production of reactive oxygen species, unavailability of adequate levels of NAD and ATP to repair the injured pulmonary epithelium, and an overexuberant lung collagen reactivity followed by deposition of highly cross-linked mature collagen fibrils resistant to enzymatic degradation. In the present study, we have demonstrated that dietary supplementation with taurine and niacin offered almost complete protection against the lung fibrosis in a multidose BL hamster model. The mechanisms for the protective effect of taurine and niacin are multifaceted. These include the ability of taurine to scavenge HOCl and stabilize the biomembrane; niacin's ability to replenish the BL-induced depletion of NAD and ATP; and the combined effect of taurine and niacin to suppress all aspects of BL-induced increases in the lung collagen reactivity, a hallmark of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. It was concluded from the data presented at this Conference that the combined treatment with taurine and niacin, which offers a multipronged approach, will have great therapeutic potential in the intervention of the development of chemically induced interstitial lung fibrosis in animals and humans

Attitudes towards the use and acceptance of eHealth technologies : a case study of older adults living with chronic pain and implications for rural healthcare

Acknowledgements The research described here is supported by the award made by the RCUK Digital Economy programme to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub; award reference: EP/G066051/1. MC’s time writing the paper is funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) under Theme 8 ‘Vibrant Rural Communities’ of the Food, Land and People Programme (2011–2016). MC is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the Division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen. The input of other members of the TOPS research team, Alastair Mort, Fiona Williams, Sophie Corbett, Phil Wilson and Paul MacNamee who contributed to be wider study and discussed preliminary findings reported here with the authors of the paper is acknowledged. We acknowledge the feedback on earlier versions of this paper provided by members of the Trans-Atlantic Rural Research Network, especially Stefanie Doebler and Carmen Hubbard. We also thank Deb Roberts for her comments.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The role of cryptotephra in refining the chronology of Late Pleistocene human evolution and cultural change in North Africa

© 2014.Sites in North Africa hold key information for dating the presence of Homo sapiens and the distribution of Middle Stone Age (MSA), Middle Palaeolithic (MP) and Later Stone Age (LSA) cultural activity in the Late Pleistocene. Here we present new and review recently published tephrochronological evidence for five cave sites in North Africa with long MSA/MP and LSA cultural sequences. Four tephra horizons have been identified at the Haua Fteah (Cyrenaica, Libya). They include cryptotephra evidence for the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) eruption dating to ~39 ka that allows correlation with other Palaeolithic sequences in the eastern Mediterranean and as far north as Russia. Cryptotephra have also been recorded from the Moroccan sites of Taforalt, Rhafas and Dar es-Soltane 1. At Taforalt the geochemical composition suggests a provenance in the Azores, while examples from Sodmein (Egypt) appear to derive from central Anatolia and another unknown source. In these latter examples chemical compositional data from relevant proximal volcanic centres is currently lacking so the identification of tephra in layers of known age and cultural association provides the first reliable age determinations for distal volcanic events and their geographical extent. The future potential for tephrochronological research in North Africa is also discussed

Modeling and Performance Analysis of Priority Queuing Systems

The paper presents the results of modeling and analysis of data performance on systems that support QoS (Quality of Service). In order to evaluate the performance of the modeled systems used were TPN (Timed Petri Nets). Studied were mechanisms of traffic shaping systems based on PQS (Priority Queuing System). Tested was the impact of the mechanism of generating traffic using TPN. Moreover, discussed were the basic mechanisms and queuing systems occurring in QoS structures. It is shown that models can be effectively used in the modeling and analysis of the performance of computer systems

Laser decoating of DLC films for tribological applications

Damaged DLC coatings usually require remanufacturing of the entire coated components starting from an industrial chemical de-coating step. Alternatively, a complete or local coating repair can be considered. To pursue this approach, however, a local coating removal is needed as first operation. In this context, controlled decoating based on laser sources can be a suitable and clean alternative to achieve a pre-fixed decoating depth with high accuracy. In the present study, we investigated a laser-based decoating process executed on multilayered DLC films for advanced tribological applications (deposited via a hybrid PVD/PE-CVD technique). The results were acquired via multifocal optical digital microscopy (MF-ODM), which allowed high-resolution 3D surface reconstruction as well as digital profilometry of the lasered and unlasered surface. The study identifies the most critical process parameters which influence the effective decoating depth and the post-decoating surface roughness. In particular, the role of pulse overlap (decomposed along orthogonal directions), laser fluence, number of lasing passes and assist gas is discussed in text. A first experimental campaign was designed to identify the best conditions to obtain full decoating of the DLC + DLC:Cr layers. It was observed that decreasing the marking speed to 200 mm/s was necessary to obtain a sufficient pulse overlap and a nearly planar ablation profile. By operating with microsecond pulses and 1 J/cm2 (fairly above the ablation threshold), less than 10 passes were needed to obtain full decoating of the lasered area with an etching rate of 1.1 μm/loop. Further experiments were then executed in order to minimise the roughness of the rest surface with the best value found at around 0.2 μm. Limited oxidation but higher Ra values were observed in Ar atmosphere

Patient-specific RF safety assessment in MRI: Progress in creating surface-based human head and shoulder models

The interaction of electromagnetic (EM) fields with the human body during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is complex and subject specific. MRI radiofrequency (RF) coil performance and safety assessment typically includes numerical EM simulations with a set of human body models. The dimensions of mesh elements used for discretization of the EM simulation domain must be adequate for correct representation of the MRI coil elements, different types of human tissue, and wires and electrodes of additional devices. Examples of such devices include those used during electroencephalography, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and transcranial direct current stimulation, which record complementary information or manipulate brain states during MRI measurement. The electrical contact within and between tissues, as well as between an electrode and the skin, must also be preserved. These requirements can be fulfilled with anatomically correct surface-based human models and EM solvers based on unstructured meshes. Here, we report (i) our workflow used to generate the surface meshes of a head and torso model from the segmented AustinMan dataset, (ii) head and torso model mesh optimization for three-dimensional EM simulation in ANSYS HFSS, and (iii) several case studies of MRI RF coil performance and safety assessment

Antidiabetic and renoprotective effects of the chloroform extract of Terminalia chebula Retz. seeds in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

BACKGROUND: Terminalia chebula (Combretaceae) has been widely used in Ayurveda for the treatment of diabetes. In the present investigation, the chloroform extract of T. chebula seed powder was investigated for its antidiabetic activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats using short term and long term study protocols. The efficacy of the extract was also evaluated for protection of renal functions in diabetic rats. METHODS: The blood glucose lowering activity of the chloroform extract was determined in streptozotocin-induced (75 mg/kg, i.p.; dissolved in 0.1 M acetate buffer; pH 4.5) diabetic rats, after oral administration at the doses of 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg in short term study. Blood samples were collected from the eye retro-orbital plexus of rats before and also at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 h after drug administration and the samples were analyzed for blood glucose by using glucose-oxidase/peroxidase method using a visible spectrophotometer. In long term study, the extract (300 mg/kg) was administered to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, daily for 8 weeks. Blood glucose was measured at weekly intervals for 4 weeks. Urine samples were collected before the induction of diabetes and at the end of 8 weeks of treatments and analyzed for urinary protein, albumin and creatinine levels. The data was compared statistically using one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Dunnet's t-test. RESULTS: The chloroform extract of T. chebula seeds produced dose-dependent reduction in blood glucose of diabetic rats and comparable with that of standard drug, glibenclamide in short term study. It also produced significant reduction in blood glucose in long term study. Significant renoprotective activity is observed in T. chebula treated rats. The results indicate a prolonged action in reduction of blood glucose by T. chebula and is probably mediated through enhanced secretion of insulin from the β-cells of Langerhans or through extra pancreatic mechanism. The probable mechanism of potent renoprotective actions of T. chebula has to be evaluated. CONCLUSION: The present studies clearly indicated a significant antidiabetic and renoprotective effects with the chloroform extract of T. chebula and lend support for its traditional usage. Further investigations on identification of the active principles and their mode of action are needed to unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in the observed effects

Neurochemical Changes in the Mouse Hippocampus Underlying the Antidepressant Effect of Genetic Deletion of P2X7 Receptors.

Recent investigations have revealed that the genetic deletion of P2X7 receptors (P2rx7) results in an antidepressant phenotype in mice. However, the link between the deficiency of P2rx7 and changes in behavior has not yet been explored. In the present study, we studied the effect of genetic deletion of P2rx7 on neurochemical changes in the hippocampus that might underlie the antidepressant phenotype. P2X7 receptor deficient mice (P2rx7-/-) displayed decreased immobility in the tail suspension test (TST) and an attenuated anhedonia response in the sucrose preference test (SPT) following bacterial endotoxin (LPS) challenge. The attenuated anhedonia was reproduced through systemic treatments with P2rx7 antagonists. The activation of P2rx7 resulted in the concentration-dependent release of [3H]glutamate in P2rx7+/+ but not P2rx7-/- mice, and the NR2B subunit mRNA and protein was upregulated in the hippocampus of P2rx7-/- mice. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression was higher in saline but not LPS-treated P2rx7-/- mice; the P2rx7 antagonist Brilliant blue G elevated and the P2rx7 agonist benzoylbenzoyl ATP (BzATP) reduced BDNF level. This effect was dependent on the activation of NMDA and non-NMDA receptors but not on Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1,5). An increased 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation was also observed in the dentate gyrus derived from P2rx7-/- mice. Basal level of 5-HT was increased, whereas the 5HIAA/5-HT ratio was lower in the hippocampus of P2rx7-/- mice, which accompanied the increased uptake of [3H]5-HT and an elevated number of [3H]citalopram binding sites. The LPS-induced elevation of 5-HT level was absent in P2rx7-/- mice. In conclusion there are several potential mechanisms for the antidepressant phenotype of P2rx7-/- mice, such as the absence of P2rx7-mediated glutamate release, elevated basal BDNF production, enhanced neurogenesis and increased 5-HT bioavailability in the hippocampus