Autonomous Devices to Map Rooms and Other Indoor Spaces and Storing Maps in the Cloud

The publication presents a three wheeled robot that has been designed to map rooms, halls and other indoor areas. The device uses an ultrasonic sensor for measuring distance, which is later used for both navigation and obstacle detection. Data were used later to compose a matrix – the schematic map of the room. This map could be uploaded to the cloud for later use by other 3rd party devices so they do not have to redo the mapping process again

EMC Measurement with GTEM Cell

Nowadays, electromagnetic compatibility plays an increasingly important role in the development of a new equipment. When developing, one should not only pay attention to how noisy is the equipment itself, but also how immune it is to the noise coming from the surroundings. The purpose of this article is to present an instrument used in EMC measurement on a training model and then to evaluate the measured results according to the given standards. During the course of the test, a panel designed for training by Texas Instruments was used coupled with a measuring receiver and a GTEM cell. The obtained results clearly showed the advantages and disadvantages of the cell construction compared to other EMC measurement procedures

Implementing an existing teaching method in a virtual environment

The topic of this study is to improve the effectiveness of digital filter design in education. The Pre-Study on Education (Sabo, 2013) processes the theoretical foundations on which a framework was built. The study examines the possibilities of digitizing and implementing the existing framework in a virtual environment using the MaxWhere environment. After reviewing the environment, the virtual media and panels that may be suitable for DSP education had been selected. Testing selected display formats and simulation options is in progress with a small number of student groups. Successful integration of the digital filter design into a virtual environment is expected to make the adoption of the required material more effective for students.A tanulmány témája a digitális szűrő tervezés oktatásának hatékonyságának javítása. Az oktatásra vonatkozó előtanulmány (Sabo, 2013) feldolgozza az elméleti alapokat, amely alapján elkészült egy keretrendszer. A tanulmány a meglévő keretrendszer digitalizálásának és virtuális környezetben történő megvalósításának lehetőségeit vizsgálja a MaxWhere környezet felhasználásával. A környezet áttekintése után ki lettek választva azok a médiumok és panelek, amelyek a DSP oktatás területén alkalmasak lehetnek. A kiválasztott megjelenítési alakok és szimulációs lehetőségek tesztelése folyamatban van kisszámú hallgatói csoportokkal. A digitális szűrőtervezés virtuális környezetbe történő sikeres integrálása várhatóan hatékonyabbá fogja tenni a hallgatók számára az előírt anyag elsajátítását

Bioprospecting of probiotics with antimicrobial activities against Salmonella Heidelberg and that produce B-complex vitamins as potential supplements in poultry nutrition

The demand for animal protein for human consumption has been risen exponentially. Modern animal production practices are associated with the regular use of antibiotics, potentially increasing the emerging multi-resistant bacteria, which may have a negative impact on public health. In poultry production, substances capable of maximizing the animals’ performance and displaying an antimicrobial activity against pathogens are very well desirable features. Probiotic can be an efcient solution for such a task. In the present work, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from chicken cecum and screened for their antagonistic efect towards many pathogens. Their capacity of producing the B-complex vitamins folate and ribofavin were also evaluated. From 314 isolates, three (C43, C175 and C195) produced Bacteriocin-Like Inhibitory Substances (BLIS) against Staphylococcus aureus (inhibition zones of 18.9, 21.5, 19.5mm, respectively) and also inhibited the growth of Salmonella Heidelberg. The isolate C43 was identifed as Enterococcus faecium, while C173 and C195 were both identifed as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. Moreover, the isolates L. lactis subsp. lactis strains C173 and C195 demonstrated high potential to be used as probiotic in poultry feed, in addition to their advantage of producing folate (58.0 and 595.5ng/ mL, respectively) and ribofavin (223.3 and 175.0ng/mL, respectively).Fil: da Silva Sabo, Sabrina. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Mendes, Maria Anita. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: da Silva Araújo, Elias. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Bicudo de Almeida Muradian, Ligia. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Makiyama, Edson Naoto. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Leblanc, Jean Guy Joseph. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Borelli, Primavera. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Fock, Ricardo Ambrósio. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Knöbl, Terezinha. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Pinheiro de Souza Oliveira, Ricardo. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

Educational Tools for Object-Oriented DSP Interactive DSL Framework

This paper presents DSP blocks which were developed to be used as basic elements for realization of the DSP algorithms. For this purpose the description DSL (Domain Specific Language) language was used. The goal of this paper is to define and present a high level language that allows description and development of signal processing algorithms. With the usage of a domain specific language, one can create a compact and easy to understand definition of algorithms. In the paper the authors present the advantages granted by DSL for DSP applications. The created definitions are hardware independent and they can be executed and functionally verified. Efficient code can be generated for various targets without porting. The design of the presented DSL allows code generation for multi-core targets in case of computing-intensive algorithms, code generation for multiple streams and threads. To validate the results these blocks were made available for use to students as an easy method for the introduction of the DSP algorithms in sound and image processing. The main purpose was for the students to gain some basic insight into elementary techniques needed for design, implementation and merging of hardware and software components used in testing of the algorithms for digital signal processing in real time. Through the work with the students it was concluded that the developed DSP blocks presented very good assistance in educational process and therefore this paper was elaborated on that idea. Since real hardware systems were used in this case noise was introduced in the system which does not exist in simulation software and therefore this option produced much larger capabilities for development of the robust algorithms

PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION ESSENTIALS A GUIDE FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR EVALUATION PARTNERS

This guide book was developed by Anita Baker with Kim Sabo to provide evaluation training t

Treatments for Pulmonary Ricin Intoxication: Current Aspects and Future Prospects

Ricin, a plant-derived toxin originating from the seeds of Ricinus communis (castor beans), is one of the most lethal toxins known, particularly if inhaled. Ricin is considered a potential biological threat agent due to its high availability and ease of production. The clinical manifestation of pulmonary ricin intoxication in animal models is closely related to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which involves pulmonary proinflammatory cytokine upregulation, massive neutrophil infiltration and severe edema. Currently, the only post-exposure measure that is effective against pulmonary ricinosis at clinically relevant time-points following intoxication in pre-clinical studies is passive immunization with anti-ricin neutralizing antibodies. The efficacy of this antitoxin treatment depends on antibody affinity and the time of treatment initiation within a limited therapeutic time window. Small-molecule compounds that interfere directly with the toxin or inhibit its intracellular trafficking may also be beneficial against ricinosis. Another approach relies on the co-administration of antitoxin antibodies with immunomodulatory drugs, thereby neutralizing the toxin while attenuating lung injury. Immunomodulators and other pharmacological-based treatment options should be tailored according to the particular pathogenesis pathways of pulmonary ricinosis. This review focuses on the current treatment options for pulmonary ricin intoxication using anti-ricin antibodies, disease-modifying countermeasures, anti-ricin small molecules and their various combinations