SLAM using an Imaging Sonar for Partially Structured Underwater Environments

In this paper we describe a system for underwater navigation with AUVs in partially structured environments, such as dams, ports or marine platforms. An imaging sonar is used to obtain information about the location of planar structures present in such environments. This information is incorporated into a feature-based SLAM algorithm in a two step process: (I) the full 360deg sonar scan is undistorted (to compensate for vehicle motion), thresholded and segmented to determine which measurements correspond to planar environment features and which should be ignored; and (2) SLAM proceeds once the data association is obtained: both the vehicle motion and the measurements whose correct association has been previously determined are incorporated in the SLAM algorithm. This two step delayed SLAM process allows to robustly determine the feature and vehicle locations in the presence of large amounts of spurious or unrelated measurements that might correspond to boats, rocks, etc. Preliminary experiments show the viability of the proposed approach

Sensitivity and specificity of NT-proBNP to detect heart failure at post mortem examination.

NT-proBNP, a marker of cardiac failure, has been shown to be stable in post mortem samples. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of NT-proBNP to detect heart failure in the forensic setting. One hundred sixty-eight consecutive autopsies were included in the study. NT-proBNP blood concentrations were measured using a chemiluminescent immunoassay kit. Cardiac failure was assessed by three independent forensic experts using macro- and microscopic findings complemented by information about the circumstances of body discovery and the known medical story. Area under the receiving operator curve was of 65.4% (CI 95%, from 57.1 to 73.7). Using a standard cut-off value of >220 pg/mL for NT-proBNP blood concentration, heart failure was detected with a sensitivity of 50.7% and a specificity of 72.6%. NT-proBNP vitreous humor values were well correlated to the ones measured in blood (r (2) = 0.658). Our results showed that NT-proBNP can corroborate the pathological findings in cases of natural death related to heart failure, thus, keeping its diagnostic properties passing from the ante mortem to the post mortem setting. Therefore, biologically inactive polypeptides like NT-proBNP seem to be stable enough to be used in forensic medicine as markers of cardiac failure, taking into account the sensitivity and specificity of the test.

Iowa fish and wildlife news, Special Winter Issue [1999]

This DNR periodical contains current information on Iowa Fish and Wildlife Management.

Iowa fish and wildlife news, Special 1999 Fishing Issue

This DNR periodical contains current information on Iowa Fish and Wildlife Management.

Iowa fish and wildlife news, Special 1999 hunting issue

This DNR periodical contains current information on Iowa Fish and Wildlife Management.

Iowa Fish and Wildlife news, Special Fall Hunting Issue, 1998

This DNR periodical contains current information on Iowa Fish and Wildlife Management.

Capturing Weak Signals for Foresight Building

Tulevaisuuden hahmottamisen merkitys heikkojen signaalien avulla on korostunut viime vuosien aikana merkittävästi,koska yrityksen liiketoimintaympäristössä tapahtuvia muutoksia on ollut yhä vaikeampaa ennustaa historian perusteella. Liiketoimintaympäristössä monien muutoksien merkkejä on ollut nähtävissä, mutta niitä on ollut vaikea havaita. Heikkoja signaaleja tunnistamalla ja keräämällä sekä reagoimalla tilanteeseen riittävän ajoissa, on mahdollista saavuttaa ylivoimaista kilpailuetua. Kirjallisuustutkimus keskittyy heikkojen signaalien tunnistamisen haasteisiin liiketoimintaympäristöstä, signaalien ja informaation kehittymiseen sekä informaation hallintaan organisaatiossa. Kiinnostus näihin perustuu tarpeeseen määritellä heikkojen signaalien tunnistamiseen vaadittava prosessi, jonka avulla heikot signaalit voidaan huomioida M-real Oyj:n päätöksenteossa. Kirjallisuustutkimus osoittaa selvästi sen, että heikkoja signaaleita on olemassa ja niitä pystytään tunnistamaan liiketoimintaympäristöstä. Signaaleja voidaan rikastuttaa yrityksessä olevalla tietämyksellä ja hyödyntää edelleen päätöksenteossa. Vertailtaessa sekä kirjallisuustutkimusta että empiiristä tutkimusta tuli ilmi selkeästi tiedon moninaisuus; määrä,laatu ja tiedonsaannin oikea-aikaisuus päätöksenteossa. Tutkimuksen aikana kehittyi prosessimalli tiedon suodattamiselle, luokittelulle ja heikkojen signaalien tunnistamiselle. Työn edetessä prosessimalli kehittyi osaksi tässä työssä kehitettyä kokonaisuutta 'Weak Signal Capturing' -työkalua. Monistamalla työkalua voidaan kerätä heikkoja signaaleja eri M-realin liiketoiminnan osa-alueilta. Tietoja systemaattisesti kokoamalla voidaan kartoittaa tulevaisuutta koko M-realille.

Biodiversidade: fonte potencial para a descoberta de fármacos

In economic terms, biodiversity transcends the boundaries usually given to conventional industries because it is a valuable source of biological and chemical data of great use to drug discovery. Certainly, the use of natural products has been the single most successful strategy in the discovery of novel medicines, and most of the medical breakthroughs are based on natural products. Half of the top 20 best-selling drugs are natural products, and their total sales amounted to US$ 16 billions shows the importance of natural products, which is evidenced by the new chemical entities (NCE) approved by regulatory authorities around the world in the past decade. Recently, the approval of the alkaloid galanthamine as a medicine to treat Alzheimer's disease shows that natural compounds from plants will continue to reach the market. The huge biological diversity of the Brazilian biomes, by its ability to generate new knowledge and technological innovation can be a fantastic alternative as raw material for drug discovery.

Tropical biodiversity: has it been a potential source of secondary metabolites useful for medicinal chemistry?

The use of natural products has definitely been the most successful strategy in the discovery of novel medicines. Secondary metabolites from terrestrial and marine organisms have found considerable use in the treatment of numerous diseases and have been considered lead molecules both in their natural form and as templates for medicinal chemistry. This paper seeks to show the great value of secondary metabolites and emphasize the rich chemical diversity of Brazilian biodiversity. This natural chemical library remains understudied, but can be a useful source of new secondary metabolites with potential application as templates for drug discovery.

Venäjän informaatio-psykologinen sodankäyntitapa terrorismin torjunnassa ja viiden päivän sodassa

This study examines Russia’s Pattern of Information-Psychologic Warfare in Counter-terrorism and in the Five Day War. The first case of this comparative case study research examines an internal national security crisis, namely two of the most notorious terrorist strikes that took place firstly in The Moscow Dubrovka Theater in October 2002 and two years later in Beslan School 2004 in September. In the second case an external national security crisis, the Five Day War conducted in August 2008 between the Russian Federation and the state of Georgia will be analyzed. At the centre of this research report lays an idea: a war of information by using information as the target and as a weapon. Based on a comparative case study setting this study tries to understand how Russian pattern of information warfare manifests itself in the light of these two internal / external national security crises. Three hypotheses that guide this research report are: Russian pattern of information warfare has a long tradition which can be traced back to the Cold War era; it is possible to discern specifically Russian, partially divergent information warfare pattern; and finally by exploring the two recent internal / external national security crises, it becomes possible to sketch specifically Russian systematics. In this research report the main focus of interest is on the information-psychological dimension of the overall information warfare concept as part of the military science tradition. After such theoretical review the two empirical cases will be contextualized and chronologically introduced. Analysis will be sharpened on the parties’ actions especially from the information-psychological perspective. This will be done with the help of the developed Russia’s six action fields-model which has been divided into two main dimensions: political and military with three levels: strategic informa-tion-psychological level, and two tactical levels, namely information-technical and information-PSYOP. This creates six possible actions fields. As the empirical analysis will reveal, many of these six action fields have been used by Russia in its internal / external national security crises, which proves the study’s hypotheses: Russia has its own pattern of information psychologic warfare that is based on its historical tradition and as such it creates a base for Russian systematics.

Gross morphology of rhea oropharyngeal cavity

The rhea (Rhea americana americana) is an american bird belonging to Ratite's family. Studies related to its morphology are still scarce. This study aims to describe the macroscopic structures of the oropharyngeal cavity. Five heads (2 to 6 months old) formalin preserved were anatomically dissected to expose the oropharynx. The oropharynx of the rhea was "bell-shaped" composed by the maxillary and mandibular rhamphotheca. The roof and floor presented two distinct regions different in colour of the mucosa. The rostral region was pale pink contrasting to grey coloured caudal region. The median longitudinal ridge extended rostrally from the apex of the choana to the tip of the beak in the roof and it is clearly more prominent and rigid than the homolog in the floor that appeared thin and stretched merely along the rostral portion of the regio interramalis. The floor was formed by the interramal region, (regio interramalis) tongue and laryngeal mound containing glove-shaped glottis. This study confirmed the basic morphology of the oropharinx of the rhea. However, important morphological information not previously described is highlighted and contradictory information present in the literature is clarified.

Hematology values of captive giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and collared anteaters (Tamandua tetradactyla)

Hematological results are reported for 13 giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and 13 collared anteaters (Tamandua tetradactyla). Animals were captive-reared adults held at the Fundação Parque Zoológico de São Paulo (São Paulo, SP, Brazil) and Parque Zoológico Municipal Quinzinho de Barros (Sorocaba, SP, Brazil), and were considered healthy on physical examination. Examined parameters included red blood cell count, white blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, total plasmatic protein and differential leukocyte counts. Also, a survey for hemoparasites was done and none was observed in thin blood smears. The results were generally similar to those previously reported in the exiguous literature for these species, providing further reference data for the interpretation of laboratory results besides health monitoring, assisting early disease diagnosis and providing relevant information for conservation programs for these species.

Studies of the small bowel surface by scanning electron microscopy in infants with persistent diarrhea

We describe the ultrastructural abnormalities of the small bowel surface in 16 infants with persistent diarrhea. The age range of the patients was 2 to 10 months, mean 4.8 months. All patients had diarrhea lasting 14 or more days. Bacterial overgrowth of the colonic microflora in the jejunal secretion, at concentrations above 10(4) colonies/ml, was present in 11 (68.7%) patients. The stool culture was positive for an enteropathogenic agent in 8 (50.0%) patients: for EPEC O111 in 2, EPEC O119 in 1, EAEC in 1, and Shigella flexneri in 1; mixed infections due to EPEC O111 and EAEC in 1 patient, EPEC O119 and EAEC in 1 and EPEC O55, EPEC O111, EAEC and Shigella sonnei in 1. Morphological abnormalities in the small bowel mucosa were observed in all 16 patients, varying in intensity from moderate 9 (56.3%) to severe 7 (43.7%). The scanning electron microscopic study of small bowel biopsies from these subjects showed several surface abnormalities. At low magnification (100X) most of the villi showed mild to moderate stunting, but on several occasions there was subtotal villus atrophy. At higher magnification (7,500X) photomicrographs showed derangement of the enterocytes; on several occasions the cell borders were not clearly defined and very often microvilli were decreased in number and height; in some areas there was a total disappearance of the microvilli. In half of the patients a mucus-fibrinoid pseudomembrane was seen partially coating the enterocytes, a finding that provides additional information on the pathophysiology of persistent diarrhea.

Genotyping of group A rotavirus samples from Brazilian children by probe hybridization

The G genotyping of 74 group A rotavirus samples was done by RNA-DNA hybridization (dot-blot) using oligonucleotide probes for the VP7 gene region of the human rotavirus serotypes/genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Thirty-one samples could be genotyped by dot-blot showing the following results: G1 = 16, G4 = 6, G3 = 5, and G2 = 4. The data show circulation of genotypes G1-G4 and the predominance of G1. The knowledge of genotypes provides important information concerning rotavirus circulation in Central Brazil.

Geographic distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in Brazil

Brazil is a country of continental dimension with a population of different ethnic backgrounds. Thus, a wide variation in the frequencies of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes is expected to occur. To address this point, 1,688 sequential samples from chronic HCV patients were analyzed. HCV-RNA was amplified by the RT-PCR from blood samples collected from 1995 to 2000 at different laboratories located in different cities from all Brazilian States. Samples were collected in tubes containing a gel separator, centrifuged in the site of collection and sent by express mail in a refrigerated container to Laboratório Bioquímico Jardim Paulista, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. HCV- RNA was extracted from serum and submitted to RT and nested PCR using standard procedures. Nested PCR products were submitted to cycle sequencing reactions without prior purification. Sequences were analyzed for genotype determination and the following frequencies were found: 64.9% (1,095) for genotype 1, 4.6% (78) for genotype 2, 30.2% (510) for genotype 3, 0.2% (3) for genotype 4, and 0.1% (2) for genotype 5. The frequencies of HCV genotypes were statistically different among Brazilian regions (P = 0.00017). In all regions, genotype 1 was the most frequent (51.7 to 74.1%), reaching the highest value in the North; genotype 2 was more prevalent in the Center-West region (11.4%), especially in Mato Grosso State (25.8%), while genotype 3 was more common in the South (43.2%). Genotypes 4 and 5 were rarely found and only in the Southeast, in São Paulo State. The present data indicate the need for careful epidemiological surveys throughout Brazil since knowing the frequency and distribution of the genotypes would provide key information for understanding the spread of HCV.