Inferring ultraviolet anatomical exposure patterns while distinguishing the relative contribution of radiation components

Exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the main causative factor for skin cancer. UV exposure depends on environmental and individual factors, but individual exposure data remain scarce. While ground UV irradiance is monitored via different techniques, it is difficult to translate such observations into human UV exposure or dose because of confounding factors. A multi-disciplinary collaboration developed a model predicting the dose and distribution of UV exposure on the basis of ground irradiation and morphological data. Standard 3D computer graphics techniques were adapted to develop a simulation tool that estimates solar exposure of a virtual manikin depicted as a triangle mesh surface. The amount of solar energy received by various body locations is computed for direct, diffuse and reflected radiation separately. Dosimetric measurements obtained in field conditions were used to assess the model performance. The model predicted exposure to solar UV adequately with a symmetric mean absolute percentage error of 13% and half of the predictions within 17% range of the measurements. Using this tool, solar UV exposure patterns were investigated with respect to the relative contribution of the direct, diffuse and reflected radiation. Exposure doses for various body parts and exposure scenarios of a standing individual were assessed using erythemally-weighted UV ground irradiance data measured in 2009 at Payerne, Switzerland as input. For most anatomical sites, mean daily doses were high (typically 6.2-14.6 Standard Erythemal Dose, SED) and exceeded recommended exposure values. Direct exposure was important during specific periods (e. g. midday during summer), but contributed moderately to the annual dose, ranging from 15 to 24% for vertical and horizontal body parts, respectively. Diffuse irradiation explained about 80% of the cumulative annual exposure dose.

Modelling short-term ultraviolet exposure as an alternative to individual dosimetry

Background: Excessive exposure to solar Ultra-Violet (UV) light is the main cause of most skin cancers in humans. Factors such as the increase of solar irradiation at ground level (anthropic pollution), the rise in standard of living (vacation in sunny areas), and (mostly) the development of outdoor activities have contributed to increase exposure. Thus, unsurprisingly, incidence of skin cancers has increased over the last decades more than that of any other cancer. Melanoma is the most lethal cutaneous cancer, while cutaneous carcinomas are the most common cancer type worldwide. UV exposure depends on environmental as well as individual factors related to activity. The influence of individual factors on exposure among building workers was investigated in a previous study. Posture and orientation were found to account for at least 38% of the total variance of relative individual exposure. A high variance of short-term exposure was observed between different body locations, indicating the occurrence of intense, subacute exposures. It was also found that effective short-term exposure ranged between 0 and 200% of ambient irradiation, suggesting that ambient irradiation is a poor predictor of effective exposure. Various dosimetric techniques enable to assess individual effective exposure, but dosimetric measurements remain tedious and tend to be situation-specific. As a matter of facts, individual factors (exposure time, body posture and orientation in the sun) often limit the extrapolation of exposure results to similar activities conducted in other conditions. Objective: The research presented in this paper aims at developing and validating a predictive tool of effective individual exposure to solar UV. Methods: Existing computer graphic techniques (3D rendering) were adapted to reflect solar exposure conditions and calculate short-term anatomical doses. A numerical model, represented as a 3D triangular mesh, is used to represent the exposed body. The amount of solar energy received by each "triangle is calculated, taking into account irradiation intensity, incidence angle and possible shadowing from other body parts. The model take into account the three components of the solar irradiation (direct, diffuse and albedo) as well as the orientation and posture of the body. Field measurements were carried out using a forensic mannequin at the Payerne MeteoSwiss station. Short-term dosimetric measurements were performed in 7 anatomical locations for 5 body postures. Field results were compared to the model prediction obtained from the numerical model. Results: The best match between prediction and measurements was obtained for upper body parts such as shoulders (Ratio Modelled/Measured; Mean = 1.21, SD = 0.34) and neck (Mean = 0.81, SD = 0.32). Small curved body parts such as forehead (Mean = 6.48, SD = 9.61) exhibited a lower matching. The prediction is less accurate for complex postures such as kneeling (Mean = 4.13, SD = 8.38) compared to standing up (Mean = 0.85, SD = 0.48). The values obtained from the dosimeters and the ones computed from the model are globally consistent. Conclusion: Although further development and validation are required, these results suggest that effective exposure could be predicted for a given activity (work or leisure) in various ambient irradiation conditions. Using a generic modelling approach is of high interest in terms of implementation costs as well as predictive and retrospective capabilities.

OSIRISv1.2: a named entity recognition system for sequence variants of genes in biomedical literature

Background: Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, among other type of sequence variants, constitute key elements in genetic epidemiology and pharmacogenomics. While sequence data about genetic variation is found at databases such as dbSNP, clues about the functional and phenotypic consequences of the variations are generally found in biomedical literature. The identification of the relevant documents and the extraction of the information from them are hampered by the large size of literature databases and the lack of widely accepted standard notation for biomedical entities. Thus, automatic systems for the identification of citations of allelic variants of genes in biomedical texts are required. Results: Our group has previously reported the development of OSIRIS, a system aimed at the retrieval of literature about allelic variants of genes http://ibi.imim.es/osirisform.html. Here we describe the development of a new version of OSIRIS (OSIRISv1.2, http://ibi.imim.es/OSIRISv1.2.html webcite) which incorporates a new entity recognition module and is built on top of a local mirror of the MEDLINE collection and HgenetInfoDB: a database that collects data on human gene sequence variations. The new entity recognition module is based on a pattern-based search algorithm for the identification of variation terms in the texts and their mapping to dbSNP identifiers. The performance of OSIRISv1.2 was evaluated on a manually annotated corpus, resulting in 99% precision, 82% recall, and an F-score of 0.89. As an example, the application of the system for collecting literature citations for the allelic variants of genes related to the diseases intracranial aneurysm and breast cancer is presented. Conclusion: OSIRISv1.2 can be used to link literature references to dbSNP database entries with high accuracy, and therefore is suitable for collecting current knowledge on gene sequence variations and supporting the functional annotation of variation databases. The application of OSIRISv1.2 in combination with controlled vocabularies like MeSH provides a way to identify associations of biomedical interest, such as those that relate SNPs with diseases.

Stoneley wave modeling in heterogeneous porous media with viscous pore fluids

We implemented Biot-type porous wave equations in a pseudo-spectral numerical modeling algorithm for the simulation of Stoneley waves in porous media. Fourier and Chebyshev methods are used to compute the spatial derivatives along the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. To prevent from overly short time steps due to the small grid spacing at the top and bottom of the model as a consequence of the Chebyshev operator, the mesh is stretched in the vertical direction. As a large benefit, the Chebyshev operator allows for an explicit treatment of interfaces. Boundary conditions can be implemented with a characteristics approach. The characteristic variables are evaluated at zero viscosity. We use this approach to model seismic wave propagation at the interface between a fluid and a porous medium. Each medium is represented by a different mesh and the two meshes are connected through the above described characteristics domain-decomposition method. We show an experiment for sealed pore boundary conditions, where we first compare the numerical solution to an analytical solution. We then show the influence of heterogeneity and viscosity of the pore fluid on the propagation of the Stoneley wave and surface waves in general.

Risk factors associated with mental health issues in adolescents: a integrative review

Objective: To identify the risk factors associated with mental health issues in adolescents. Method: An integrative review was conducted in four databases with publications from 2007 to 2013. The terms Adolescent and Mental Health were used to search adequate articles as DeCs/MeSH bases. Results: Publications were found in different journals in different fields of knowledge and the quantitative research was the most frequent. The mental health issues were categorized as individual factors; drug related factors, school factors, family factors, social factors and STDs/Aids related factors. The most addressed category was individual factors, with 23 publications. Conclusion: The integrative review allowed to point important questions to be addressed in preventive actions by the health professional, including the nurse, to create a space that works with risk conditioning factors in adolescents for mental health aggravation.


Biometal muscles to restore contractile function of weak heart

Objectives: Existing VADs are single-ventricle pumps needing anticoagulation. We developed a bi-ventricular external assist device that partially reproduces the physiological muscle function of the heart. This artificial muscle could wrap the heart and improve its contractile force.Methods: The device has a carbon fiber skeleton fitting a 30-40kg patient's heart, to which a Nitinol based artificial muscle is connected. The artificial muscle wraps both ventricles. The Nitinol fibers are woven on a Kevlar mesh surrounding each ventricle. The fibers are electrically driven with a dedicated control unit developed for this purpose. We assessed hemodynamic performances of this device using a previously described dedicated bench test. Volume ejected and pressure gradient have been measured with afterload ranging from 10 to 50mmHg.Results: With an afterload of 50mmHg the system has an ejection fraction of 4% on the right side and 5% on the left side. The system is able to generate a systolic ejection of 2.2mL on the right side and 3.25mL on the left side. With an afterload of 25mmHg the results are reduced of about 20%. The activation frequency can reach 80/minute resulting in a total volume displacement of 176mL/minute on the right side and 260mL/minute on the left side.Conclusions: These preliminary studies confirmed the possibility of improving the ejection fraction of a failing heart using artificial muscle for external cardiac compression avoiding anticoagulation therapy. This device could be helpful in weaning cardio-pulmonary bypass and/or for short-term cardio-circulatory support in pediatric population with cardiac failure.

A pseudo-spectral method for the simulation of poro-elastic seismic wave propagation in 2D polar coordinates using domain decomposition

We present a novel numerical approach for the comprehensive, flexible, and accurate simulation of poro-elastic wave propagation in 2D polar coordinates. An important application of this method and its extensions will be the modeling of complex seismic wave phenomena in fluid-filled boreholes, which represents a major, and as of yet largely unresolved, computational problem in exploration geophysics. In view of this, we consider a numerical mesh, which can be arbitrarily heterogeneous, consisting of two or more concentric rings representing the fluid in the center and the surrounding porous medium. The spatial discretization is based on a Chebyshev expansion in the radial direction and a Fourier expansion in the azimuthal direction and a Runge-Kutta integration scheme for the time evolution. A domain decomposition method is used to match the fluid-solid boundary conditions based on the method of characteristics. This multi-domain approach allows for significant reductions of the number of grid points in the azimuthal direction for the inner grid domain and thus for corresponding increases of the time step and enhancements of computational efficiency. The viability and accuracy of the proposed method has been rigorously tested and verified through comparisons with analytical solutions as well as with the results obtained with a corresponding, previously published, and independently bench-marked solution for 2D Cartesian coordinates. Finally, the proposed numerical solution also satisfies the reciprocity theorem, which indicates that the inherent singularity associated with the origin of the polar coordinate system is adequately handled.

Thérapies inhalées dans la mucoviscidose [Inhaled therapies for cystic fibrosis].

Inhaled therapies play a significant role in the management of cystic fibrosis patients. Mucolytic and airway-rehydrating agents improve mucociliary clearance and respiratory functional status. Nebulized antibiotherapy achieve high local concentration, while reducing systemic toxicity. Tolerance to inhaled treatments is good excepting frequent bronchoconstriction which can usually be prevented by prior administration of beta2-mimetics. The majority of treatments are only available in liquid formulations. Thus, nebulization is the most frequently used inhalation mode. Vibrating-mesh nebulizers have significantly reduced inhalation time.

Rendimiento de equilibrio de la Merluza peruana (Merluccius gayi peruanus) y propuestas para su manejo

Se estima el rendimiento de equilibrio de la merluza peruana (Merluccius gayi peruanus)y se compara el Ye de 110-125 mil t con los resultados de anteriores trabajos. A su vez se discute la influencia de cambios en el tamaño de la malla para la flota de Paita y se llega a la conclusión de que debido a la estratificación de tamaños por latitudes, el rendimiento de equilibrio actual de la mencionada flota es casi máximo .

Analysis of acute brain slices by electron microscopy: A correlative light-electron microscopy workflow based on Tokuyasu cryo-sectioning.

Acute brain slices are slices of brain tissue that are kept vital in vitro for further recordings and analyses. This tool is of major importance in neurobiology and allows the study of brain cells such as microglia, astrocytes, neurons and their inter/intracellular communications via ion channels or transporters. In combination with light/fluorescence microscopies, acute brain slices enable the ex vivo analysis of specific cells or groups of cells inside the slice, e.g. astrocytes. To bridge ex vivo knowledge of a cell with its ultrastructure, we developed a correlative microscopy approach for acute brain slices. The workflow begins with sampling of the tissue and precise trimming of a region of interest, which contains GFP-tagged astrocytes that can be visualised by fluorescence microscopy of ultrathin sections. The astrocytes and their surroundings are then analysed by high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). An important aspect of this workflow is the modification of a commercial cryo-ultramicrotome to observe the fluorescent GFP signal during the trimming process. It ensured that sections contained at least one GFP astrocyte. After cryo-sectioning, a map of the GFP-expressing astrocytes is established and transferred to correlation software installed on a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope equipped with a STEM detector. Next, the areas displaying fluorescence are selected for high resolution STEM imaging. An overview area (e.g. a whole mesh of the grid) is imaged with an automated tiling and stitching process. In the final stitched image, the local organisation of the brain tissue can be surveyed or areas of interest can be magnified to observe fine details, e.g. vesicles or gold labels on specific proteins. The robustness of this workflow is contingent on the quality of sample preparation, based on Tokuyasu's protocol. This method results in a reasonable compromise between preservation of morphology and maintenance of antigenicity. Finally, an important feature of this approach is that the fluorescence of the GFP signal is preserved throughout the entire preparation process until the last step before electron microscopy.

Pesca exploratoria y experimental con red de cerco artesanal en la Región Tumbes.2005

Se evaluó la utilización de la malla de 50 mm (2”) en redes de cerco artesanal de la Región Tumbes en una pesquería multiespecífica. Se trabajó con una red control de tamaño de malla de 38 mm (1,5”) y la red experimental de 50 mm (2,0”), con un porcentaje de embande de 0,65 y 0,77, respectivamente. Se determinó diferencia entre las curvas de profundidad de calado del cuerpo central de las redes (tc= 46,670, t*= 1,98, p= 0) la red experimental tuvo mayor profundidad de velado; entre las curvas de velocidad de caída del cuerpo central de las redes, hubo diferencia significativa (tc= 7,790, t*= 1,98, p = 0,000), debido al mayor lastre y filtrado de las mallas de la red experimental. El coeficiente abertura horizontal (μ1) de las mallas en la franja superior durante el máximo velado de la red y el gareteo fue en las mallas del cabecero o copo, parte central y ultimo cuerpo de la red, en promedio 0,71; 0,74 y 0,73 respectivamente; (valores cercanos al coeficiente de armado ideal para el escape de ciertos peces fusiformes). El promedio de μ1 obtenidos en la región de las mallas centrales en el cabecero, centro y ultimo cuerpo de la red fue 0,85; 0,85 y 0,84 respectivamente; lo que indicó una mayor abertura horizontal de las mallas por encima del valor del coeficiente de armado que no permitiría el escape de los peces. Se concluyó que por la condición de las mallas de la red de cerco experimental (tamaño de malla 50 mm) no es óptima para gran parte de la estructura de la red, esto no permitiría la selectividad por tamaños.

Caracterización de redes de cerco artesanal para anchoveta destinada al consumo humano directo

Las características principales de las redes de cerco artesanales anchoveteras para CHD (PS 01.1.0 “ISSCFG”), utilizan tamaños de malla en el copo y cuerpo de ½” ~ 13 mm de material nylon Poliamida (PA). Se encontró una diferencia en las dimensiones, el material y diámetro del hilo del paño usado, entre las redes de las ANC-CHD tradicionales (Paita, Chimbote, Callao e Ilo) que utilizan paños anchoveteros de R310tex, R381tex R462tex, con longitud de relinga superior (LRS) de 183-366 m (100 a 200 bz), altura de paño estirado (AHE) de 27 a 64 m (15 a 35 bz); y las redes de cerco ANC-Pisco que utilizan paños anchoveteros de R155tex y R230tex, con LRS de 270 a 396 m (145 a 215 bz) y AHE de 30 m (16 bz). Del análisis regresional experimental, las principales características de la red (LRS, AHE), y la embarcación–capacidad de bodega-(CBOD) presentaron correlaciones significativas para la flota ANC-Tradicional (r = 0,86 y 0,91), mientras que en la flota ANC-Pisco las correlación de la función CBODLRS fue de 0,30 y la AHE fue constante (30 m) para todo el rango de LRS (270 - 396 m).

An architecture for adaptive replication-based multimedia streaming in P2P networks

This PhD thesis addresses the issue of scalable media streaming in large-scale networking environments. Multimedia streaming is one of the largest sink of network resources and this trend is still growing as testified by the success of services like Skype, Netflix, Spotify and Popcorn Time (BitTorrent-based). In traditional client-server solutions, when the number of consumers increases, the server becomes the bottleneck. To overcome this problem, the Content-Delivery Network (CDN) model was invented. In CDN model, the server copies the media content to some CDN servers, which are located in different strategic locations on the network. However, they require heavy infrastructure investment around the world, which is too expensive. Peer-to-peer (P2P) solutions are another way to achieve the same result. These solutions are naturally scalable, since each peer can act as both a receiver and a forwarder. Most of the proposed streaming solutions in P2P networks focus on routing scenarios to achieve scalability. However, these solutions cannot work properly in video-on-demand (VoD) streaming, when resources of the media server are not sufficient. Replication is a solution that can be used in these situations. This thesis specifically provides a family of replication-based media streaming protocols, which are scalable, efficient and reliable in P2P networks. First, it provides SCALESTREAM, a replication-based streaming protocol that adaptively replicates media content in different peers to increase the number of consumers that can be served in parallel. The adaptiveness aspect of this solution relies on the fact that it takes into account different constraints like bandwidth capacity of peers to decide when to add or remove replicas. SCALESTREAM routes media blocks to consumers over a tree topology, assuming a reliable network composed of homogenous peers in terms of bandwidth. Second, this thesis proposes RESTREAM, an extended version of SCALESTREAM that addresses the issues raised by unreliable networks composed of heterogeneous peers. Third, this thesis proposes EAGLEMACAW, a multiple-tree replication streaming protocol in which two distinct trees, named EAGLETREE and MACAWTREE, are built in a decentralized manner on top of an underlying mesh network. These two trees collaborate to serve consumers in an efficient and reliable manner. The EAGLETREE is in charge of improving efficiency, while the MACAWTREE guarantees reliability. Finally, this thesis provides TURBOSTREAM, a hybrid replication-based streaming protocol in which a tree overlay is built on top of a mesh overlay network. Both these overlays cover all peers of the system and collaborate to improve efficiency and low-latency in streaming media to consumers. This protocol is implemented and tested in a real networking environment using PlanetLab Europe testbed composed of peers distributed in different places in Europe.

Composição da solução de um solo alagado conforme a profundidade e o tempo de alagamento, utilizando novo método de coleta

Na coleta da solução de solos alagados, é importante evitar o contato do oxigênio com a solução para prevenir reações redox que podem modificar sua composição química. Neste trabalho, realizado em casa de vegetação, foram feitos estudos sobre o estado de oxirredução e sobre a composição química de um Planossolo, em diferentes profundidades e tempos de alagamento, visando propor um novo método para a coleta da solução de solos alagados. O estudo foi feito em vasos plásticos com 7 kg de material de solo proveniente da camada superficial (0-20 cm), num delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com três repetições. O dispositivo de coleta da solução do solo consistiu de um tubo de polietileno com 70 cm de comprimento e 0,6 cm de diâmetro interno, com duas fileiras de orifícios de 1 mm de diâmetro, recoberto com tela de nylon de 400 mesh, construído na forma de espiral e acomodado nas profundidades de 2, 5 e 10 cm. A este dispositivo foi acoplado um sifão de vidro para a coleta da solução. Após a instalação do sistema coletor, o solo foi mantido alagado por 109 dias, tendo sido feitas coletas semanais da solução nas três profundidades. Foram analisados os valores de Eh e pH e os teores de Mn2+, Fe2+, Ca2+, Mg2+ e K+ na solução. As condições de oxirredução e os teores de cátions na solução nas diferentes profundidades, durante o período em que o solo se manteve alagado, permitiram concluir que o método utilizado pode ser indicado para coleta da solução de solos alagados, embora haja necessidade de estudos mais aprofundados sobre o assunto.

Diagnostic Performances of 18F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography in Large Vessels Vasculitis: Meta-analysis

Toperform a meta-analysis of FDG-PET performances in the diagnosis of largevessels vasculitis (Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) associated or not withPolymyalgia Rheumatica(PMR), Takayasu). Materials and methods : The MEDLINE,Cochrane Library, Embase were searched for relevant original articlesdescribing FDG-PET for vasculitis assessment, using MesH terms ("GiantCell Arteritis or Vasculitis" AND "PET"). Criteria for inclusionwere:(1)FDG-PET for diagnosis of vasculitis(2)American College of Rheumatologycriteria as reference standard(3)control group. After data extraction, analyseswere performed using a random-effects model. Results : Of 184 citations(database search and references screening),70 articles were reviewed of which12 eligible studies were extracted (sensitivity range from 32% to 97%). 7studies fulfilled all inclusion criteria. Owing to overlapping population, 1study was excluded. Statistical heterogeneity justified the random-effectsmodel. Pooled 6 studies analysis(116 vasculitis,224 controls) showed a 81%sensitivity (95%CI:70-89%);a 89% specificity (95%CI:77-95%);a 85%PPV(95%CI:63-95%); a 90% NPV(95%CI:79-95%);a 7.1 positive LR(95%CI:3.4-14.9); a0.2 negative LR(95%CI:0.14-0.35) and 90.1 DOR(95%CI: 18.6-437). Conclusion :FDG-PET has good diagnostic performances in the detection of large vesselsvasculitis. Its promising role could be extended to follow up patients undertreatment, but further studies are needed to confirm this possibility.