Aerosols are liquid or solid particles with diameters between 2.5 and 10 µm suspended in the lower layers of the atmosphere. Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) is a relevant parameter that quantifies their ...concentration in the atmosphere. It is usually estimated from sun photometer measurements at specific wavelengths. The objective of this work is to implement a simple inversion algorithm to retrieve AOD at six different wavelengths (340, 380, 440, 500, 675 and 870 nm) using solar direct normal spectral irradiance ground measurements from a relatively low cost collimated spectroradiometer (EKO MS-711) at a low-altitude site in Montevideo, Uruguay. The results obtained are compared with AERONET products for the same site, including AOD and Angström coefficient. The results of AOD for all wavelengths show a consistent negative mean bias (MBD, unitless), between −0.005 and −0.015, and dispersion (RMSD, unitless) between 0.021 and 0.015 (to be compared to a mean reference AOD of 0.097). These metrics improve considerably for very clear days, MBD up to ± 0.001 and RMSD under 0.007 (to be compared to a mean reference AOD of 0.058). These results are considered to be a first step in implementing the methodology and acquiring local knowledge about AOD retrievals using relatively simple instrumentation.
Surveillance of healthcare-associated infections is fundamental for infection prevention. The methods and practices for surveillance have evolved as technology becomes more advanced. The availability ...of electronic surveillance software (ESS) has increased, and yet adoption of ESS is slow. It is argued that ESS delivers savings through automation, particularly in terms of human resourcing and infection prevention (IP) staff time.
To describe the findings of a systematic review on the impact of ESS on IP resources.
A systematic search was conducted of electronic databases Medline and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature published between January 1st, 2006 and December 31st, 2016 with analysis using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale.
In all, 2832 articles were reviewed, of which 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. IP resources were identified as time undertaken on surveillance. A reduction in IP staff time to undertake surveillance was demonstrated in 13 studies. The reduction proportion ranged from 12.5% to 98.4% (mean: 73.9%). The remaining three did not allow for any estimation of the effect in terms of IP staff time. None of the studies demonstrated an increase in IP staff time.
The results of this review demonstrate that adopting ESS yields considerable dividends in IP staff time relating to data collection and case ascertainment while maintaining high levels of sensitivity and specificity. This has the potential to enable reinvestment into other components of IP to maximize efficient use of scarce IP resources.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Background & aims:
Myofibroblasts of bone marrow origin have recently been found in a number of parenchymal organs such as the gut and kidney. We have analyzed the origin of myofibroblasts within ...fibrotic liver in 2 scenarios: (1) 7 male patients (hepatitis B; hepatitis B and D; Wilson’s disease; hepatitis B, D, and C; and 3 with hepatitis C) who received liver transplants from female donors and subsequently developed liver fibrosis and (2) a female patient who received a bone marrow transplant from a male donor and subsequently developed hepatitis C—induced cirrhosis.
Methods:
Through the use of in situ hybridization for the Y chromosome, we have tracked male cells of extrahepatic origin. The phenotype of these male cells was examined by immunohistochemistry using a panel of antibodies against α—smooth muscle actin (αSMA), vimentin, fibulin-2, and leukocyte common antigen (CD45). Confocal microscopy was performed to confirm the location of the Y chromosome probe within the myofibroblast nuclei.
Results:
Significant numbers of Y chromosome—positive cells in fibrotic areas were found to be positive for α-SMA, vimentin, and fibulin-2 and negative for CD45, thus having a myofibroblast phenotype. In the liver transplant cases, 6.8%–22.2% of α-SMA—positive myofibroblasts contained the Y chromosome. In the female recipient of a bone marrow transplant from a male donor, 12.4% of the myofibroblasts were Y chromosome positive, indicating a bone marrow origin.
Conclusions:
There is a significant contribution to liver cirrhosis in humans from extrahepatically derived myofibroblasts in liver disease of diverse etiology.
This paper details the extraction of possible equivalent circuits over a wide band for an Electric-LC resonator in two technological configurations: a) a multilayer stack working at mm-wave and b) a ...WR90 waveguide in the X band. The proposed equivalent circuits are based on a T structure or on only one shunt susceptance with two transmission lines. An identification process applied to the frequency behavior of the reactance/susceptance is used to obtain a more appropriate and efficient equivalent circuit, giving a physical meaning, if any, to each inductance, capacitance or resonator tank contained in the proposed circuits. Finally, experimental results are obtained for the ELC in the WR90 waveguide and used to identify an equivalent circuit able to represent also the effect of the material losses.
Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum oxides at their various stoichiometries are promising candidates for generating plasmon resonances in visible light range. Herein, we demonstrate plasmonic 2D ...molybdenum oxide flakes for gas sensing applications, in which hydrogen (H2) is selected as a model gas. The 2D molybdenum oxide flakes are obtained using a grinding-assisted liquid exfoliation method and exposed to simulated sunlight to acquire its substoichiometric quasi-metallic form. After the exposure to H2 gas molecules, the quasi-metallic molybdenum oxide flakes are partially transformed into semiconducting states, thus gradually losing their plasmonic properties. The novel 2D plasmonic sensing platform is tested using different concentrations of H2 gas at various operating temperatures to comprehensively assess its sensing performance. The presented 2D plasmonic system offers great opportunities for future sensing and optical applications.
AIMS: To characterize Oenococcus oeni strains isolated from North‐Apulian wines where malic acid degradation is usually achieved by spontaneous fermentations, and to determine the influence of ...bacterial inoculation time on the malolactic performances in ‘Nero di Troia’ wine using a complete autochthonous microbial regime. METHODS AND RESULTS: Oenococcus oeni strains from wines produced with the autochthonous (Apulia Region, southern Italy) grape variety ‘Uva di Troia’ were isolated, selected and characterized. Multilocus sequence typing and variable number tandem repeat analysis were used to investigate intraspecific diversity. Oenococcus oeni strains were tested in co‐inoculation and in sequential inoculation, with two autochthonous yeast strains previously isolated from ‘Nero di Troia’ wine. After a preliminary screening using co‐inoculation regime, the O. oeni strains were grouped in reason of the different behaviour in malic acid performances. Results suggested that the efficient degradation of malic acid in co‐inoculation is a strain‐dependent characteristic. CONCLUSIONS: Autochthonous yeast/bacterium combinations were identified as starter culture, and used in a co‐inoculation approach, for vinification of regional wines. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The ‘microbial terroir’ of typical fermented food and beverage production represents a dynamic sector of applied research in food microbiology. In this work, we propose the use of autochthonous bacteria and yeast for wine production from an indigenous grape variety.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Biogenic amines in fermented foods SPANO, G; RUSSO, P; RATTRAY, F ...
European journal of clinical nutrition,
11/2010, Volume:
64, Issue:
S3
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Peer reviewed
Open access
Food-fermenting lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are generally considered to be non-toxic and non-pathogenic. Some species of LAB, however, can produce biogenic amines (BAs). BAs are organic, basic, ...nitrogenous compounds, mainly formed through decarboxylation of amino acids. BAs are present in a wide range of foods, including dairy products, and can occasionally accumulate in high concentrations. The consumption of food containing large amounts of these amines can have toxicological consequences. Although there is no specific legislation regarding BA content in many fermented products, it is generally assumed that they should not be allowed to accumulate. The ability of microorganisms to decarboxylate amino acids is highly variable, often being strain specific, and therefore the detection of bacteria possessing amino acid decarboxylase activity is important to estimate the likelihood that foods contain BA and to prevent their accumulation in food products. Moreover, improved knowledge of the factors involved in the synthesis and accumulation of BA should lead to a reduction in their incidence in foods.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, VSZLJ, ZAGLJ
ROOT is an object-oriented C++ framework conceived in the high-energy physics (HEP) community, designed for storing and analyzing petabytes of data in an efficient way. Any instance of a C++ class ...can be stored into a ROOT file in a machine-independent compressed binary format. In ROOT the TTree object container is optimized for statistical data analysis over very large data sets by using vertical data storage techniques. These containers can span a large number of files on local disks, the web, or a number of different shared file systems. In order to analyze this data, the user can chose out of a wide set of mathematical and statistical functions, including linear algebra classes, numerical algorithms such as integration and minimization, and various methods for performing regression analysis (fitting). In particular, the RooFit package allows the user to perform complex data modeling and fitting while the RooStats library provides abstractions and implementations for advanced statistical tools. Multivariate classification methods based on machine learning techniques are available via the TMVA package. A central piece in these analysis tools are the histogram classes which provide binning of one- and multi-dimensional data. Results can be saved in high-quality graphical formats like Postscript and PDF or in bitmap formats like JPG or GIF. The result can also be stored into ROOT macros that allow a full recreation and rework of the graphics. Users typically create their analysis macros step by step, making use of the interactive C++ interpreter CINT, while running over small data samples. Once the development is finished, they can run these macros at full compiled speed over large data sets, using on-the-fly compilation, or by creating a stand-alone batch program. Finally, if processing farms are available, the user can reduce the execution time of intrinsically parallel tasks — e.g. data mining in HEP — by using PROOF, which will take care of optimally distributing the work over the available resources in a transparent way.
Program title: ROOT
Catalogue identifier: AEFA_v1_0
Program summary URL:
http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEFA_v1_0.html
Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland
Licensing provisions: LGPL
No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 3 044 581
No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 36 325 133
Distribution format: tar.gz
Programming language: C++
Computer: Intel i386, Intel x86-64, Motorola PPC, Sun Sparc, HP PA-RISC
Operating system: GNU/Linux, Windows XP/Vista, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX
Has the code been vectorized or parallelized?: Yes
RAM:
>
55
Mbytes
Classification: 4, 9, 11.9, 14
Nature of problem: Storage, analysis and visualization of scientific data
Solution method: Object store, wide range of analysis algorithms and visualization methods
Additional comments: For an up-to-date author list see:
http://root.cern.ch/drupal/content/root-development-team and
http://root.cern.ch/drupal/content/former-root-developers
Running time: Depending on the data size and complexity of analysis algorithms
References:
1
http://root.cern.ch.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The combined use of high-resolution digital images taken from ground as well as from RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) have significantly increased the potential of close range digital ...photogrammetry applications in Cultural Heritage surveying and modeling. It is in fact possible, thanks to SfM (Structure from Motion), to simultaneously process great numbers of aerial and terrestrial images for the production of a dense point cloud of an object. In order to analyze the accuracy of results, we started numerous tests based on the comparison between 3D digital models of a monumental complex realized by the integration of aerial and terrestrial photogrammetry and an accurate TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanner) reference model of the same object. A lot of digital images of a renaissance castle, assumed as test site, have been taken both by ground level and by RPAS at different distances and flight altitudes and with different flight patterns. As first step of the experimentation, the images were previously processed with Agisoft PhotoScan, one of the most popular photogrammetric software. The comparison between the photogrammetric DSM of the monument and a TLS reference one was carried out by evaluating the average deviation between the points belonging to the two entities, both globally and locally, on individual façades and architectural elements (sections and particular). In this paper the results of the first test are presented. A good agreement between photogrammetric and TLS digital models of the castle is pointed out.
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