Analytical solutions for diffuse fluorescence spectroscopy/imaging in biological tissues. Part II: comparison and validation

The analytical solutions for the coupled diffusion equations that are encountered in diffuse fluorescence spectroscopy/ imaging for regular geometries were compared with the well-established numerical models, which are based on the finite element method. Comparison among the analytical solutions obtained using zero boundary conditions and extrapolated boundary conditions (EBCs) was also performed. The results reveal that the analytical solutions are in close agreement with the numerical solutions, and solutions obtained using EBCs are more accurate in obtaining the mean time of flight data compared to their counterpart. The analytical solutions were also shown to be capable of providing bulk optical properties through a numerical experiment using a realistic breast model. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America

Integration of speckle de-noising and image segmentation using synthetic aperture radar image for flood extent extraction

Flood is one of the detrimental hydro-meteorological threats to mankind. This compels very efficient flood assessment models. In this paper, we propose remote sensing based flood assessment using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image because of its imperviousness to unfavourable weather conditions. However, they suffer from the speckle noise. Hence, the processing of SAR image is applied in two stages: speckle removal filters and image segmentation methods for flood mapping. The speckle noise has been reduced with the help of Lee, Frost and Gamma MAP filters. A performance comparison of these speckle removal filters is presented. From the results obtained, we deduce that the Gamma MAP is reliable. The selected Gamma MAP filtered image is segmented using Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and Mean Shift Segmentation (MSS). The GLCM is a texture analysis method that separates the image pixels into water and non-water groups based on their spectral feature whereas MSS is a gradient ascent method, here segmentation is carried out using spectral and spatial information. As test case, Kosi river flood is considered in our study. From the segmentation result of both these methods are comprehensively analysed and concluded that the MSS is efficient for flood mapping.

An Amino Acid Substitution Matrix for Protein Conformation Identification

Amino acid substitution matrices play an essential role in protein sequence alignment, a fundamental task in bioinformatics. Most widely used matrices, such as PAM matrices derived from homologous sequences and BLOSUM matrices derived from aligned segments of PROSITE, did not integrate conformation information in their construction. There are a few structure-based matrices, which are derived from limited data of structure alignment. Using databases PDB_SELECT and DSSP, we create a database of sequence-conformation blocks which explicitly represent sequence-structure relationship. Members in a block are identical in conformation and are highly similar in sequence. From this block database, we derive a conformation-specific amino acid substitution matrix CBSM60. The matrix shows an improved performance in conformational segment search and homolog detection.

Industry perceptions of barriers to commercialization of regenerative medicine products in the UK.

AIMS: Regenerative medicine is an emerging field with the potential to provide widespread improvement in healthcare and patient wellbeing via the delivery of therapies that can restore, regenerate or repair damaged tissue. As an industry, it could significantly contribute to economic growth if products are successfully commercialized. However, to date, relatively few products have reached the market owing to a variety of barriers, including a lack of funding and regulatory hurdles. The present study analyzes industry perceptions of the barriers to commercialization that currently impede the success of the regenerative medicine industry in the UK. MATERIALS & METHODS: The analysis is based on 20 interviews with leading industrialists in the field. RESULTS: The study revealed that scientific research in regenerative medicine is thriving in the UK. Unfortunately, lack of access to capital, regulatory hurdles, lack of clinical evidence leading to problems with reimbursement, as well as the culture of the NHS do not provide a good environment for the commercialization of regenerative medicine products. CONCLUSION: Policy interventions, including increased translational government funding, a change in NHS and NICE organization and policies, and regulatory clarity, would likely improve the general outcomes for the regenerative medicine industry in the UK.

波流相互作用对水动力系数的影响

基于分析物理机理，本文提出了一种切实可行的研究波流场中水动力系数的理论方法，同时对振荡流动中所得水动力系数如何应用于实际的波动情况进行了探讨，并与实验结果进行了比较。结果表明，通过对纯波时的水动力系数和纯流时的水动力系数加权平均，可以获得令人满意的波流共存时的水动力系数。

Producción de materia seca y acumulación de nutrientes en el mantillo por la combinación de árboles de sombra y niveles de insumo en el cultivo de café (Coffea arabica L.) Masatepe, Nicaragua

En un experimento de sistemas agroforestales con café en el municipio de Masatepe, Nicaragua, se determinó el aporte de materia seca y sus contenidos de N, P, K, Ca y Mg, en las combinaciones de árboles de sombra de Simarouba glauca+ Tabebuia rosea (SGTR), Samanea saman + Inga laurina (SSIL) y café a pleno sol (Psol) como factor A, y el factor B: aplicación de Niveles de insumos: Convencional Intensivo (CI) y Convencional Moderado (CM), Orgánico Intensivo (OI) y Orgánico Moderado (OM). Las interacciones fueron establecidas en un diseño de bloques incompletos al azar en parcelas divididas con tres repeticiones. Se evaluó la cantidad de materia seca y sus contenidos de N, P, K, Ca y Mg en el mantillo en el años 2004, 2009 y 2013; realizándose el muestreo de campo en los meses de Abril y Mayo de cada año. Fueron definidos seis puntos de muestreo al azar dentro del área de la parcela útil del área experimental a través de un marco de 0.25 m2. Cada punto fue ubicado en calle y otro paralelo en la hilera cerca de la base de una planta de café. Se recolectó todo el material vegetal separándose por componente (hojas, tallos, raquis, ramas, flores, frutos, material fraccionado), por tipo de especie, las cuales fueron pesadas. Una muestra compuesta por componente y especie se obtuvo para determinar la relación peso fresco peso seco. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la combinación de sombra S. saman + I. laurina (SSIL) árboles leguminosos, fue la que aportó mayor cantidad de materia seca con 6,926.75 kg ha-1 en el 2004, 18,351.88 kg ha-1 en el 2009 y 20,356.43 kg ha-1 en el 2013. Con respecto al nivel de insumo, el Orgánico Intensivo (OI), fue el que tuvo mayor efecto en la producción de materia seca con 7,559.68 kg ha-1 en el 2004, 16,688.31 kg ha-1 en el 2009 y 20,474.16 kg ha-1 en el 2013. La interacción sombra*insumo (SSIL-OI), fue la que contribuyó con mayor cantidad de materia seca en los tres años cuantificados, en comparación a la combinación de árboles maderables (SGTR) y la condición Pleno sol. Los tratamientos con árboles S. saman + I. laurina y manejo orgánico, fueron los que presentaron las mayores acumulaciones de nutrientes en residuos vegetales, obteniendo los siguientes resultados: en el año 2004, (SSIL-OM); acumuló 202.60 kg ha-1 de N, 34.69 kg ha-1 de P, 92.85 kg ha-1 de K, 88.82 kg ha-1 de Ca y 31.25 kg ha-1 de Mg. En el año 2009, presentó una mayor acumulación de nutrientes el tratamiento (SSIL- OI); con 435.64 kg ha-1 de N, 20.36 kg ha-1 de P, 123.95 kg ha-1 de K, 83.34 kg ha-1 de Ca y 60.47 kg ha-1 de Mg. En el año 2013, (SSIL- OI); acumuló 513.60 kg ha-1 de N, 34.46 kg ha-1 de P, 297.61 kg ha-1 de K, 426.83 kg ha-1de Ca y 20.23 kg ha-1 de Mg. Las combinaciones de árboles leguminosos y maderables con manejo orgánico presentaron los mayores aportes de materia seca y acumulación de nutrientes en los años 2004, 2009 y 2013, en comparación a los tratamientos con café a Pleno sol con manejo convencional.

负压磁头气动力静态特性

该文用有限差分法离散Reynolds润滑方程,采用交替方向隐式格式(ADI)求解离散得到的代数方程组,计算出了负压滑块的静态气动力特性.

Joaquim Nabuco

Integra as homenagens preparadas pela Câmara dos Deputados para marcar o centenário da morte do jornalista, escritor, diplomata e deputado imperial Joaquim Nabuco (1849-1910). Apresenta trinta discursos feitos por Nabuco entre 1879 e 1888, período em que foi deputado pela Província de Pernambuco, eleito pelo Partido Liberal, quando se destacou como um dos principais líderes do movimento abolicionista. A obra traz também a introdução original feita pelo sociólogo Gilberto Freyre, produzida para a edição de 1983.