The eating quality of porcine meat is supposed to increase with increasing intramuscular fat content (IMF). The aim of this study was to investigate the use of acoustic parameters obtained by ...spectral analysis of ultrasound echo signals to non-destructively predict intramuscular fat content of porcine
longissimus muscle. Ultrasound is regarded as a promising non-destructive technique to characterize tissue. Ultrasound data acquisition was performed at slaughter with a clinical B-mode device equipped with a 3.5 MHz center-frequency transducer on 115 warm carcasses about 45 min postmortem. Acoustic parameters quantifying attenuation, backscattering and cepstral structure were calculated off-line from the recorded primary raw ultrasound echo signals. Their relationship to IMF content was investigated. IMF level significantly influenced powerspectrum amplitudes and backscatter parameters. With partial least-squares regression (PLS), the IMF content could be predicted with root mean standard error of prediction RMSEP of 0.36% IMF. The ultrasound parameters were able to correctly classify nearly 80% of the carcasses into HIGH and LOW level class, respectively. Results indicate the potential use of ultrasound spectral analysis for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of pig carcasses in order to estimate the IMF content.
We present a novel framework for the efficient simulation and animation of discrete thin shells. Our method takes a point sampled surface as input and performs all necessary computations without ...intermediate triangulation. We discretize the thin shell functional using so-called fibers. Such fibers are locally embedded parametric curves crisscrossing individual point samples. In combination, they create a dense mesh representing the surface structure and connectivity for the shell computations. In particular, we utilize the fibers to approximate the differential surface operators of the thin shell functional. The polynomials underlying the fiber representation allow for a robust and fast simulation of thin shell behavior. Our method supports both elastic and plastic deformations as well as fracturing and tearing of the material. To compute surfaces with rich surface detail, we designed a multiresolution representation which maps a high-resolution surface onto a fiber network of lower resolution. This makes it possible to animate densely sampled models of very high surface complexity. While being tuned for point sampled objects, the presented framework is versatile and can also take triangle meshes or triangle soups as input. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Plant protection products are applied in agriculture and horticulture in areas that may be accessible to the public. This means that individuals might be exposed who are not actively involved in the ...application of these products. The individual may be temporarily located in the vicinity of the application (the so-called ‘bystander’) or working or living in the vicinity of the application (the so-called ‘resident’). In this guidance paper scenarios for the evaluation of exposure associated with plant protection product application for bystanders and for residents (including children) are described.
HYPOTHESIS Anti-inflammatory corticosteroids significantly impair wound healing. Retinoids partially, but significantly, reverse this effect. Little is known about the mechanism of steroid ...retardation or retinoid reversal. We hypothesized that corticosteroids lower transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels and tissue deposition in wounds and that retinoids stimulate corticosteroid-impaired TGF-β and IGF-I release and collagen production. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. SETTING Wound healing research laboratory. PARTICIPANTS Animal study. INTERVENTIONS Four wire mesh wound cylinders were implanted subcutaneously into the backs of 72 male Sprague-Dawley rats. Wound healing was impaired by a single subcutaneous injection of 6 mg of methylprednisolone acetate (Depo-Medrol). Two preparations of retinoids were used in separate experiments: all-trans-retinoic acid and 9-cis-retinoic acid that were fed orally. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Hydroxyproline content was measured in the healing tissue and TGF-β and IGF-I levels were analyzed in the wound fluid. RESULTS Methylprednisolone treatment significantly decreased TGF-β and IGF-I levels in the wound fluid and hydroxyproline content in the tissue (P<.05). Oral all-trans- and 9-cis-retinoic acid partially reversed the TGF-β and IGF-I decrease and significantly increased hydroxyproline content toward normal levels (P<.05). Oral all-trans-retinoic acid enhanced collagen deposition, TGF-β and IGF-I levels over normal chow fed control animals (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS Steroids and retinoids have antagonistic effects on growth factors and collagen deposition in wound healing. These effects can be relevant for treatment options in a clinical setting.Arch Surg. 2000;135:1265-1270-->
A prospective, randomized, controlled multicenter trial was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of once-daily oral monotherapy with 500 mg levofloxacin in comparison with 4.5 g ...piperacillin/tazobactam 3 times a day in patients with low-risk febrile neutropenia. Low risk was defined by oral temperature > or = 38.5 degrees C on one occasion or > or = 38.0 degrees C twice within 24 hours and granulocytopenia < or = 500/microL for less than 10 days. The primary end point was defined as defervescence after 72 hours followed by at least 7 afebrile days. Secondary end points were overall response, time to defervescence, survival on day 30, and toxicity. Thirty-four episodes were included. Fever of unknown origin accounted for 26 (76.5%) of the episodes, microbiologically defined infection for 5 (14.7%) of the episodes, and clinically defined infection for 3 (8.8%) of the episodes. On an intent-to-treat basis, all episodes were evaluable for the primary end point. Levofloxacin and piperacillin/tazobactam were successful after 72 hours of treatment in 76.5% and 88.3% of the episodes. Overall response was achieved in 94.1% and 100% of the episodes, respectively. One inpatient in the oral treatment group died of septic shock without identification of a causative pathogen. A larger phase III trial is warranted to further evaluate the lack of inferiority of the oral monotherapy regimen versus standard intravenous therapy.
A search for single top production (e(+)e(-) --> t (c) over bar) via flavour changing neutral currents (FCNC) was performed using the data taken by the DELPHI detector at LEP2. The data analyzed have ...been accumulated at center-of-mass energies ranging from 189 to 208 GeV. Limits at 95% confidence level were obtained on the anomalous coupling parameters kappa(gamma) and kappa(Z). (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Oscillations in the B-s(0)- <(B-s(0))over bar> system were studied in events selected from about 4.3 million hadronic Z(0) decays registered by DELPHI between 1992 and 2000. This paper presents ...updates of two published analyses (11, 12). The first analysis, which utilizes leptons emitted with large momentum transverse to a jet, was improved by means of a better algorithm for the vertex reconstuction and a new algorithm for flavour-tagging at production time. The second analysis, which utilizes D-s-lepton events, was improved by optimizing the treatment of proper time resolution. No signal of B-s(0) oscillations was observed and limits on the mass difference between the physical B-s(0) states were obtained to be: Deltam(s)>8.0 ps-1 at the 95% C.L. with a sensitivity of Deltam(s)= 9.1 ps(-1) in the high p(t) lepton analysis and Deltam(s)>4.9 ps(-1) at the 95% C.L. with a sensitivity of Deltam(s)=8.6 ps(-1) in the D-s-lepton analysis. Previously published results on these analyses are superseded. The combination of these results with those obtained in other independent analyses previously performed in DELPHI (D-s-hadron, exclusive B-s(0), inclusive vertex) gives: Deltam(s)>8.5 ps(-1) at the 95% C.L. with a sensitivity of Deltam(s)=12.0 ps(-1).
Searches for HZ production with the Higgs boson decaying into an invisible final state were performed using the data collected by the DELPHI experiment at centre-of-mass energies between 188 GeV and ...209 GeV. Both hadronic and leptonic final states of the Z boson were analysed. In addition to the search for a heavy Higgs boson, a dedicated search for a light Higgs boson down to 40 GeV/c2 was performed. No signal was found. Assuming the Standard Model HZ production cross-section, the mass limit for invisibly decaying Higgs bosons is 112.1 GeV/c2 at 95% confidence level. An interpretation in the Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) and in a Majoron model is also given.
These final results on e(+) e(-) W+ W- production cross-section measurements at LEP2 use data collected by the DELPHI detector at centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV. Measurements of total ...cross-sections, W angular differential distributions and decay branching fractions, and the value of the CKM element |V-cs| are compared to the expectations of the Standard Model. These results supersede all values previously published by DELPHI.
The pseudoscalar meson eta(b) has been searched for in two-photon interactions at LEP II. The data sample corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 617 pb(-1) at centre-of-mass energies ranging ...from 161 to 209 GeV. Upper limits at a confidence level of 95% on the product Gamma(gamma gamma) (eta(b)) x BR(eta(b)) are 190, 470 and 660 eV/c(2) for the eta(b) decaying into 4, 6 and 8 charged particles, respectively.
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