Generic, Geometric Finite Element Analysis of the Transtibial Residual Limb and Prosthetic Socket

Finite element analysis was used to investigate the stress distribution between the residual limb and prosthetic socket of persons with transtibial amputation (TTA). The purpose of this study was to develop a tool to provide a quantitative estimate of prosthetic interface pressures to improve our understanding of residual limb/prosthetic socket biomechanics and prosthetic fit. FE models of the residual limb and prosthetic socket were created. In contrast to previous FE models of the prosthetic socket/residual limb system, these models were not based on the geometry of a particular individual, but instead were based on a generic, geometric approximation of the residual limb. These models could then be scaled for the limbs of specific individuals. The material properties of the bulk soft tissues of the residual limb were based upon local in vivo indentor studies. Significant effort was devoted toward the validation of these generic, geometric FE models; prosthetic interface pressures estimated via the FE model were compared to experimentally determined interface pressures for several persons with TTA in a variety of socket designs and static load/alignment states. The FE normal stresses were of the same order of magnitude as the measured stresses (0-200 kPa); however, significant differences in the stress distribution were observed. Although the generic, geometric FE models do not appear to accurately predict the stress distribution for specific subjects, the models have practical applications in comparative stress distribution studies

White Blood Cell Counts, Parasite Prevalence, and Plasma Cortisol Levels of Dogs in a County Animal Shelter: Changes over Days and Impact of a Program of Repeated Human Interaction

Animal shelter housing is highly stressful for a dog, compromising welfare and leading to undesirable behaviors and unknown health consequences. We documented the changes in circulating numbers of white blood cells, plasma cortisol, and fecal parasite shedding of dogs housed for 10 days at a county animal shelter. White blood cell changes were most prominent on Day 10 after arrival to the shelter. Changes included increased total leukocytes, mature neutrophils, and lymphocytes, with less consistent increases in monocytes and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (N:L). Fecal parasite shedding was elevated and not affected by day. Cortisol levels of shelter dogs declined over time, and when compared with dogs living in stable home environments were higher on all days measured (1, 3, and 10). Total leukocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, and N:L were also higher in shelter dogs than control dogs. Petting sessions of 30 minutes daily for 10 days reduced the cortisol of shelter dogs, but did not have an effect on white blood cells or parasite shedding. This study documents high rates of parasitic infection, large and increasing immunological responses, and plasma cortisol elevations of dogs in an animal shelter. Increasing opportunities for daily interaction with caregivers is likely to improve the welfare of shelter dogs, but additional research must be done to identify potential health benefits

Plant\u27s Lieutenants

Henry Bradley Plant, native of Connecticut and owner of the Southern Express Company, successfully developed a rail network from the Georgia line to Charlotte Harbor. One of his lines was the first to reach the small, backwater village of Tampa where he built the lavish Tampa Bay Hotel in 1891. He also bought or constructed hotels in Port Tampa, Beleair, Punta Gorda, Ocala, Kissimmee, and Winter Park. He established a steamship line to Havana, Cuba, with stops at various ports along the West coast of Florida and at Key West, and his riverboats operated on the St. Johns, the Apalachicola, and the Chattahoochee. Plant did all this between 1879 when he purchased his first railroad and 1899 when he died. In addition, his companies owned large tracts of land received from the state, and his express company shipped Florida products to northern markets. Few men have been more intimately connected with the economic development of Florida, and none was more important to the area west of the St. Johns River and south to Punta Gorda on the lower Gulf coast during the latter part of the nineteenth century than Henry Plant

White Blood Cell Counts, Parasite Prevalence, and Plasma Cortisol Levels of Dogs in a County Animal Shelter: Changes over Days and Impact of a Program of Repeated Human Interaction

Animal shelter housing is highly stressful for a dog, compromising welfare and leading to undesirable behaviors and unknown health consequences. We documented the changes in circulating numbers of white blood cells, plasma cortisol, and fecal parasite shedding of dogs housed for 10 days at a county animal shelter. White blood cell changes were most prominent on Day 10 after arrival to the shelter. Changes included increased total leukocytes, mature neutrophils, and lymphocytes, with less consistent increases in monocytes and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (N:L). Fecal parasite shedding was elevated and not affected by day. Cortisol levels of shelter dogs declined over time, and when compared with dogs living in stable home environments were higher on all days measured (1, 3, and 10). Total leukocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, and N:L were also higher in shelter dogs than control dogs. Petting sessions of 30 minutes daily for 10 days reduced the cortisol of shelter dogs, but did not have an effect on white blood cells or parasite shedding. This study documents high rates of parasitic infection, large and increasing immunological responses, and plasma cortisol elevations of dogs in an animal shelter. Increasing opportunities for daily interaction with caregivers is likely to improve the welfare of shelter dogs, but additional research must be done to identify potential health benefits

Magnetic shielding and exotic spin-dependent interactions

Experiments searching for exotic spin-dependent interactions typically employ magnetic shielding between the source of the exotic field and the interrogated spins. We explore the question of what effect magnetic shielding has on detectable signals induced by exotic fields. Our general conclusion is that for common experimental geometries and conditions, magnetic shields should not significantly reduce sensitivity to exotic spin-dependent interactions, especially when the technique of comagnetometry is used. However, exotic fields that couple to electron spin can induce magnetic fields in the interior of shields made of a soft ferro- or ferrimagnetic material. This induced magnetic field must be taken into account in the interpretation of experiments searching for new spin-dependent interactions and raises the possibility of using a flux concentrator inside magnetic shields to amplify exotic spin-dependent signals.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

A Case Study Based Approach for Remote Fault Detection Using Multi-Level Machine Learning in A Smart Building

Due to the increased awareness of issues ranging from green initiatives, sustainability, and occupant well-being, buildings are becoming smarter, but with smart requirements come increasing complexity and monitoring, ultimately carried out by humans. Building heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) units are one of the major units that consume large percentages of a building’s energy, for example through their involvement in space heating and cooling, the greatest energy consumption in buildings. By monitoring such components effectively, the entire energy demand in buildings can be substantially decreased. Due to the complex nature of building management systems (BMS), many simultaneous anomalous behaviour warnings are not manageable in a timely manner; thus, many energy related problems are left unmanaged, which causes unnecessary energy wastage and deteriorates equipment’s lifespan. This study proposes a machine learning based multi-level automatic fault detection system (MLe-AFD) focusing on remote HVAC fan coil unit (FCU) behaviour analysis. The proposed method employs sequential two-stage clustering to identify the abnormal behaviour of FCU. The model’s performance is validated by implementing well-known statistical measures and further cross-validated via expert building engineering knowledge. The method was experimented on a commercial building based in central London, U.K., as a case study and allows remotely identifying three types of FCU faults appropriately and informing building management staff proactively when they occur; this way, the energy expenditure can be further optimized

Fundamental noise limitations to supercontinuum generation in microstructure fiber

Broadband noise on supercontinuum spectra generated in microstructure fiber is shown to lead to amplitude fluctuations as large as 50 % for certain input laser pulse parameters. We study this noise using both experimental measurements and numerical simulations with a generalized stochastic nonlinear Schroedinger equation, finding good quantitative agreement over a range of input pulse energies and chirp values. This noise is shown to arise from nonlinear amplification of two quantum noise inputs: the input pulse shot noise and the spontaneous Raman scattering down the fiber.Comment: 16 pages with 6 figure