Length-based vehicle classification data are important inputs for traffic operation, pavement design, and transportation planning. However, such data are not directly measurable by single-loop ...detectors, the most widely deployed type of traffic sensor in the existing roadway infrastructure. In this study a video-based vehicle detection and classification (VVDC) system was developed for truck data collection using wide-ranging available surveillance cameras. Several computer vision-based algorithms were developed or applied to extract background image from a video sequence, detect presence of vehicles, identify and remove shadows, and calculate pixel-based vehicle lengths for classification. Care was taken to handle robustly negative effects resulting from vehicle occlusions in the horizontal direction and slight camera vibrations. The pixel-represented lengths were exploited to distinguish long vehicles from short vehicles; hence the need for complicated camera calibration can be eliminated. These algorithms were implemented in the prototype VVDC system using Microsoft Visual C#. As a plug-and-play system, the VVDC system is capable of processing both digitized image streams and live video signals in real time. The system was tested at three test locations under different traffic and environmental conditions. The accuracy for vehicle detection was above 97%, and the total truck count error was lower than 9% for all three tests. This indicates that the video image processing method developed for vehicle detection and classification in this study is indeed a viable alternative for truck data collection.
Background: Canine lymphoproliferative disease often presents with lymphocytosis and is immunophenotypically diverse.
Hypothesis: Immunophenotype predicts prognosis in canine lymphoproliferative ...disorders involving circulating lymphocytosis.
Animals: Dogs that had peripheral blood evaluation performed by flow cytometry by the Clinical Immunology Service at Colorado State University between 2003 and 2005.
Methods: Outcome data regarding treatment and survival were sought on patients with lymphocytosis comprising a single lymphocyte subset. Ninety‐six patients that met the inclusion criteria had sufficient follow‐up information to be included in the study.
Results: Four main phenotypic classifications were found: CD8+ T‐cell, CD21+ B‐cell, CD4‐8‐5+ (aberrant T‐cell phenotype), and CD34+ (undifferentiated progenitor). Expression of CD34 predicted poor outcome with median survival of 16 days (P < .0001) compared with other phenotypes. Within the CD8+ phenotype, dogs presenting with a lymphocytosis >30,000 lymphocytes/μL had significantly shorter median survival (131 days) than those presenting with <30,000 lymphocytes/μL (1098 days, P < .0008). Within the T‐cell leukemias, there was no difference in outcome between dogs with CD4‐8‐5+ leukemia and dogs with the CD8+ T‐cell phenotype nor was the loss of expression of the pan‐leukocyte marker CD45 associated with decreased survival time. A CD21+ lymphocytosis composed of large cells was associated with shorter survival time (129 days) than those with smaller circulating cells (median survival not reached, P < .01).
Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Immunophenotyping provides an objective method for determining prognosis in lymphoproliferative disorders characterized by lymphocytosis.
•The majority of respondents reported adherence to physical distancing guidelines.•Precautionary behaviour increased during the second wave of COVID-19 in Canada.•Controlling for stringency index and ...disease incidence, behaviour did not change.•Support for school closures declined while support for business closures increased.
The long-term dynamics of COVID-19 disease incidence and public health measures may impact individuals’ precautionary behaviours as well as support for measures. The objectives of this study were to assess longitudinal changes in precautionary behaviours and support for public health measures. Survey data were collected online from 1030 Canadians in each of 5 cycles in 2020: June 15-July 13; July 22-Aug 8; Sept 7–15; Oct 14–21; and Nov 12–17. Precautionary behaviour increased over the study period in the context of increasing disease incidence. When controlling for the stringency of public health measures and disease incidence, mixed effects logistic regression models showed these behaviours did not significantly change over time. Odds ratios for avoiding contact with family and friends ranged from 0.84 (95% CI 0.59–1.20) in September to 1.25 (95% CI 0.66–2.37) in November compared with July 2020. Odds ratios for attending an indoor gathering ranged from 0.86 (95% CI 0.62–1.20) in August to 1.71 (95% CI 0.95–3.09) in October compared with July 2020. Support for non-essential business closures increased over time with 2.33 (95% CI 1.14–4.75) times higher odds of support in November compared to July 2020. Support for school closures declined over time with lower odds of support in September (OR 0.66 95% CI 0.45–0.96), October (OR 0.48 95% CI 0.26–0.87), and November (OR 0.39 95% CI 0.19–0.81) compared with July 2020. In summary, respondents’ behaviour mirrored government guidance between July and November 2020 and supported individual precautionary behaviour and limitations on non-essential businesses over school closures.
Scientific inquiry skills (e.g., observation, critical analysis, hypothesis generation) are the cornerstone of scientific training, yet these skills are seldom taught. Consequently, an inquiry-based ...course was created at McMaster University, Science of Fictional Characters, that facilitates students to develop scientific inquiry skills. By analysing the feasibility of fictional characters in the real world, students apply and understand concepts in various scientific disciplines (e.g., biology, psychology, physics). This course embeds a variety of active learning strategies to foster the development of skills relevant to the scientific process, including group projects, written reflections, and Socratic discussions and debates. To gather student opinions about the effectiveness of the course, we administered an end-of-term survey, a modified version of the Course Interest Survey (CIS). This self-reported CIS included five subscales: student attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction, and scientific inquiry skill development. Of the 17 surveys completed, on average the subscales scored above four on a five-point scale. Additionally, we performed a thematic analysis on 15 reflective assignments. Qualitatively, 10 codes were extracted from the student testimonies, which were grouped into four themes: student satisfaction, perceived applicability, course flexibility, and barriers to learning. Both data types revealed that students were engaged with the course and felt they improved their scientific inquiry skills. Our data further suggest the course would benefit from additional foundational scientific content. Nevertheless, the study provides an example of how fiction and an active learning model can create an engaging, skills-based learning environment in a science course.
Les compétences en matière de recherche scientifique (par exemple, l'analyse critique, la formulation d'hypothèses) sont la pierre angulaire de la formation scientifique, mais elles sont rarement enseignées. C'est pourquoi l'université McMaster a créé un cours basé sur la recherche, Science of Fictional Characters (La science des personnages de fiction), qui permet aux étudiants et aux étudiantes d'acquérir des compétences en matière de recherche scientifique. Dans ce cours, les étudiants et les étudiantes choisissent un personnage de fiction (super-héros, zombies, etc.) et sont ensuite invités à extrapoler et à appliquer la littérature scientifique pour expliquer la faisabilité de ce personnage dans le monde physique. Ce cours intègre une variété de stratégies d'apprentissage actif pour engager les étudiants et les étudiantes dans des compétences pertinentes pour le processus scientifique, y compris des projets de groupe, des réflexions écrites, des discussions et des débats socratiques. Pour recueillir l'opinion des étudiants et des étudiantes sur leur engagement dans le cours, nous avons administré une enquête de fin de semestre, une version modifiée de l'enquête sur l'intérêt pour le cours. Cette enquête auto-évaluée comprenait cinq sous-échelles : attention de l'étudiant, pertinence, confiance, satisfaction et développement des compétences en matière de recherche scientifique. Sur les 17 questionnaires remplis, les sous-échelles ont obtenu en moyenne un score supérieur à quatre sur une échelle de cinq points. En outre, nous avons effectué une analyse thématique sur 15 travaux de réflexion. Sur le plan qualitatif, 10 codes ont été extraits des témoignages des étudiants et des étudiantes, qui ont été regroupés en quatre thèmes : satisfaction des étudiants, applicabilité perçue, flexibilité des cours et obstacles à l'apprentissage. Les deux types de données ont révélé que les étudiants et les étudiantes étaient impliqués dans le cours et qu'ils avaient l'impression d'avoir amélioré leurs compétences en matière de recherche scientifique. Nos données suggèrent également que le cours bénéficierait d'un contenu scientifique fondamental supplémentaire. Néanmoins, l'étude fournit un exemple de la façon dont la fiction et un modèle d'apprentissage actif peuvent créer un environnement d'apprentissage engageant et basé sur les compétences dans un cours de sciences.
Using data collected with the CLEO detector operating at the CESR e+e- collider at sqrts=3.97-4.26 GeV, we investigate 15 charmonium decay modes of the psi(4040), psi(4160), and Y(4260) resonances. ...We confirm, at 11 sigma significance, the BABAR Y(4260)-->pi+pi- J/psi discovery, make the first observation of Y(4260)--> pi(0)pi(0) J/psi (5.1 sigma), and find the first evidence for Y(4260)-->K+K- J/psi(3.7 sigma). We measure e+e- cross sections at sqrts=4.26 GeV as sigma(pi+pi- J/psi)=58(+12)(-10)+/-4 pb, sigma(pi(0)pi(0) J/psi)=23(+12)(-8)+/-1 pb, and sigma(K+K- J/psi)=9(+9)(-5)+/-1 pb, in which the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. Upper limits are placed on other decay rates from all three resonances.
Summary Objective We have previously described angiogenesis at the osteochondral junction and in synovium of knees from patients with osteoarthritis (OA), but little is known about how closely animal ...models of OA resemble human disease with respect to vascular growth. This study aimed to characterise two animal models of knee OA with particular respect to osteochondral and synovial angiogenesis. Method We examined the spontaneous Dunkin–Hartley (DH) guinea pig and medial meniscal transection (MNX) rat models of OA. Vessels at the osteochondral junction and in the synovium were identified by lectin immunohistochemistry and quantified by computer-assisted image analysis. Disease severity was assessed using a scoring system. Results Blood vessels crossed the osteochondral junction in juvenile rats and guinea pigs, with higher densities in the lateral than medial tibial plateau, the number decreasing with maturation in the absence of other OA changes. In the rat model, increased vascular density was observed both at the osteochondral junction and in the synovium, whilst osteochondral vascularity in control rats decreased with maturation, OA rats showed a persistence of blood vessels at the osteochondral junction. In rat synovium, blood vessel fractional area was increased in the hypertrophied synovium 14 days after surgery, then decreased to control levels by day 28. Significant differences in vascularity were not observed between affected (medial) and spared (lateral) compartments of guinea pig knees. Conclusion The rat meniscal transection model of OA reproducibly displays both osteochondral and synovial angiogenesis comparable to our previous observations in human knee OA. DH guinea pigs, by contrast, display low vascularity throughout their protracted course of OA development. Changes in vascularisation occur early during the development of OA in the rat, and may contribute to the pathogenesis of OA.
The side-step test is commonly used to assess agility. Side-step interval exercise may also be a potential way to improve cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness. However, the acute heart rate and ...muscle activation response to this type of exercise is not well established. In addition, different tempos can influence these responses. The purpose of this study was to determine the acute heart rate and muscle activation responses of a side-step interval exercise to different exercise tempos.
Ten participants completed a V˙O2 max test and performed a side-step interval exercise for 4 × 1 min intervals separated by 1-min rest intervals at a slow (84 bpm) and fast (112 bpm) tempo. Muscle activation of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis and heart rate were measured during exercise.
During the slow tempo, vastus lateralis muscle activation varied from 45% to 48% of maximum muscle activation (EMG
) while vastus medialis muscle activation varied from 51% to 54% EMG
. During the fast tempo, vastus lateralis muscle activation varied from 53% to 65% EMG
while vastus medialis muscle activation varied from 64% to 76% EMG
. Heart rates varied from 80-84% HR
from set 1 to set 4 for the fast tempo and varied from 67% to 72% HR
from set 1 to set 4 for the slow speeds.
Exercise intensity of a side-step interval exercise reached adequate levels to suggest that it may be possible to use this type of exercise to improve cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness.
We have measured the branching fraction and photon energy spectrum for the radiative penguin process b-->s gamma. We find Beta(b-->s gamma) = (3.21+/-0.43+/-0.27(+0.18)(-0.10))x10(-4), where the ...errors are statistical, systematic, and from theory corrections. We obtain first and second moments of the photon energy spectrum above 2.0 GeV, <E( gamma)> = 2.346+/-0.032+/-0.011 GeV, and <E(2)(gamma)>-<E(gamma)>(2) = 0.0226+/-0.0066+/-0.0020 GeV(2), where the errors are statistical and systematic. From the first moment, we obtain (in the modified minimal subtraction renormalization scheme, to order 1/M(3)(B) and beta(0)alpha(2)(s)) the heavy quark effective theory parameter Lambda = 0.35+/-0.08+/-0.10 GeV.
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