8 research outputs found
Jane Torresan’s Story of Jo
No full textadoptionalcoholimmigrantmental illnessNorth Vancouver1910’sBritai
Auxiliary power supplies for high voltage converter systems
No full textThis thesis was scanned from the print manuscript for digital preservation and is copyright the author.
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Hawaiianische Käfer der Gattung Blackburnia (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Platynini) : ökologische Spezialisierungen und Implikationen für den Artenschutz
No full textThe Hawaiian Islands have arisen in isolation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean due to volcanism unleashed by interaction of mantle-deep thermal plumes with the overlying Pacific Plate (MONTELLI et al. 2004, ABOUCHAMI et al. 2005). This volcano “factory” has produced a consistently present string of islands increasing in age from the current Big Island of Hawaii (500,000 years old) northwestwardly to the island of Kure, estimated to be 28-30 million years old (CARSON & CLAGUE 1995). Successively colonizing and proliferating on these islands since Miocene time (LIEBHERR 2005), are beetles classified in the carabid beetle genus Blackburnia SHARP, 1878 (LIEBHERR & ZIMMERMAN 2000). The 132 known Blackburnia species are arrayed in four successive adelphotaxa. The monotypic subgenus Protocaccus LIEBHERR & ZIMMERMAN, 2000, adelphotaxon to the rest of the radiation, is represented by B. mandibularis LIEBHERR, 2000 of Kauai. The next-diverging clade is classified as subgenus Colpocaccus SHARP, 1903, and is composed of four flightcapable species. The last two adelphotaxa are the nominate subgenus Blackburnia and subgenus Metromenus SHARP, 1884. The former includes 52 species, and is based on a ground-plan ancestor that was capable of dispersal by winged flight. This clade exhibits the greatest anagenetic diversification of all four clades, with various subgroups exhibiting extensive modifications of the external cuticle, including thickened, ridged, and variously shaped pronota and elytra, as well as elongate legs, and extensive specializations of the male and female genitalia (LIEBHERR & ZIMMERMAN 1998, 2000). Taxa exhibiting cuticular modifications are all brachypterous, suggesting that loss of metathoracic wings was a requisite precursor to modification of body armature. All 75 species of subgenus Metromenus are characterized by brachyptery. These also exhibit various body forms however the member taxa are never characterized by the thickened cuticle and associated modifications seen among taxa of sg. Blackburnia. Monophyly of the latter three subgenera was corroborated using molecular sequence data (CRYAN et al. 2001), though basal relationships of the three clades were resolved so that Colpocaccus and Metromenus were construed as adelphotaxa. In this study, morphological characters, and ecological and genetic characteristics of the various clades compared. These comparisons illustrate the coordinated diversification of ecological and genetic traits, and how these are associated with different levels of speciation. These traits are then put in the context of species endangerment, assessed using biotic survey data started in the 19th Century, and continuing during present-day efforts to completely describe and characterize the Blackburnia fauna.Die monophyletische hawaiianische Gattung Blackburnia SHARP, 1878 umfasst 132 Arten und kann in vier aufeinander folgende Adelphotaxa unterteilt werden: Untergattung Protocaccus LIEBHERR & ZIMMERMAN, 2000 (1 Art, flugfähig); Untergattung Colpocaccus SHARP, 1903 (4 Arten, flugfähig); Untergattung Blackburnia (52 Arten, viele mit reduzierten Flügel, Flugfähigkeit aber im Grundmuster); Untergattung Metromenus SHARP, 1884 (75 Arten mit reduzierten Flügeln). Die phylogenetischen Beziehungen der Gattung zu anderen Taxa der Platynini beweisen, dass Blackburnia die hawaiianischen Inseln im Miozän kolonisiert hat, wobei Kauai die zuerst besiedelte Insel darstellt. Die ökologischen Spezialisierungen der einzelnen Arten spiegeln sich in den phylogenetischen Beziehungen der Arten wider. Arten der Untergattung Blackburnia besiedeln weniger Habitattypen im Vergleich zu Arten der Untergattungen Colpocaccus und Metromenus. Die Larven der Untergattungen Blackburnia und Metromenus entwickeln sich vergleichsweise langsam und einige Weibchen der Untergattung Blackburnia legen die größten Eier innerhalb der Platynini. Die größte morphologische und genetische Diversität findet sich innerhalb der Untergattung Blackburnia, was auf eine größere Fragmentierung der Populationen der betreffenden Arten hinweist. Die umfassenderen ökologischen Spezialisierungen der Arten der Untergattung Blackburnia können auf dramatische historische Populationsschwankungen innerhalb der Arten zurückgeführt werden. Anthropogene Einflüsse, wie die Degradierung spezifischer Habitattypen (mesische Acacia koa Wälder) und die Einschleppung von Neozoen (z.B. Formicidae und Isopoda), haben aber die Assoziationen zwischen den phylogenetischen Beziehungen und den ökologischen Spezialisierungen verwischt. Diese Einflüsse machen deshalb eine Voraussage des Gefährdungspotentials der Arten mit Hilfe der Ergebnisse der phylogenetischen Analyse unmöglich. Einige Arten, die noch im 19. Jahrhundert Bestandteil der Koa-Wälder auf Maui waren, sind seit Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts nicht mehr nachgewiesen worden. Diese nicht mehr nachgewiesenen Arten, welche Bestandteil spezifischer ökologischer Assoziationen waren, können bei genauerer Betrachtung die Gefährdungskriterien der I.U.C.N. erfüllen. Das Fehlen phylogenetisch verwandter Arten macht die Gefährdung der Arten selbst, als auch die Gefährdung der Koa-Wälder als Ökosysteme deutlich
Advanced surveillance systems: combining video and thermal imagery for pedestrian detection
No full textMarginal zone lymphoma international prognostic index: a unifying prognostic index for marginal zone lymphomas requiring systemic treatment
No full textBackground Marginal zone lymphomas (MZL), comprised of three unique but related subtypes, lack a unifying prognostic score applicable to all the patients in need for systemic chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy. Methods Patients from the prospective NF10 study (NCT02904577) with newly diagnosed MZL and receiving frontline systemic therapy at diagnosis or after observation were used to train a prognostic model. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) from start of treatment. The model was externally validated in a pooled analysis of two independent cohorts from the University of Iowa and Mayo Clinic Molecular Epidemiology Resource and the University of Miami. Findings We identified 501 eligible patients. After multivariable modeling, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) above upper normal limit, hemoglobin <12 g/dL, absolute lymphocyte count <1 x 10(9)/L, platelets <100 x 10(9)/L, and MZL subtype (nodal or disseminated) were independently associated with inferior PFS. The proposed MZL International Prognostic index (MZL-IPI) combined these 5 factors, and we defined low (LRG, 0 factors, 27%), intermediate (IRG, 1-2 factors, 57%) and high (HRG, 3+ factors, 16%) risk groups with 5-y PFS of 85%, 66%, and 37%, respectively (c-Harrell = 0.64). Compared to the LRG, the IRG (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 2.30, 95% CI 1.39-3.80) and HRG (HR = 5.41, 95% CI 3.12-9.38) had inferior PFS. Applying the MZL-IPI to the pooled US cohort (N = 353), 94 (27%), 192 (54%), and 67 (19%) patients were classified as LRG, IRG, and HRG, respectively, and the model was validated for PFS (log-rank test p = 0.0018; c-Harrell = 0.578, 95% CI 0.54-0.62). The MZL-IPI was also prognostic for OS in both the training and the external validation sets. Interpretation MZL-IPI is a new prognostic score for use in all patients with MZL considered for systemic treatment. Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Monnet: Monitoring pedestrians with a network of loosely-coupled cameras
No full textMONNET is a visual surveillance system for tracking pedestrians over extended premises. The MONNET system is composed of intelligent nodes, which exchange information on the individually tracked pedestrians in an asynchronous manner. Each node in MONNET builds an appearance model for every observed pedestrian and compares it with models received from other nodes. The compact appearance models based on colour cues and face biometrics are stored locally on each node. The system is dynamically reconfigurable since its design allows for adding/removing nodes in a simple manner, comparable to the ‘plug and play ’ technology. MONNET also contains an optional ‘observer ’ node for interactive data visualization. This node displays a user interface which allows a human operator to observe and to interact in real-time with the distributed tracking process. MONNET was extensively tested with and without user input, and it is able to function correctly in both modes
Clinical and epidemiological issues and applications of mammographic density
No full textThe copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the authorMammographic density, the amount of radiodense tissue on a mammogram, is a strong risk factor for breast cancer, with properties that could be an asset in screening and prevention
programmes. Its use in risk prediction contexts is currently limited, however,
mainly due to di culties in measuring and interpreting density.
This research investigates rstly, the properties of density as an independent marker of
breast cancer risk and secondly, how density should be measured.
The rst question was addressed by analysing data from a chemoprevention trial, a trial
of hormonal treatment, and a cohort study of women with a family history of breast
cancer . Tamoxifen-induced density reduction was observed to be a good predictor of
breast cancer risk reduction in high-risk una ected subjects. Density and its changes
did not predict risk or treatment outcome in subjects with a primary invasive breast
tumour. Finally absolute density predicted risk better than percent density and showed
a potential to improve existing risk-prediction models, even in a population at enhanced
familial risk of breast cancer.
The second part of thesis focuses on density measurement and in particular evaluates
two fully-automated volumetric methods, Quantra and Volpara. These two methods
are highly correlated and in both cases absolute density (cm3) discriminated cases from
controls better than percent density. Finally, we evaluated and compared di erent measurement
methods. Our ndings suggested good reliability of the Cumulus and visual
assessments. Quantra volumetric estimates appeared negligibly a ected by measurement
error, but were less variable than visual bi-dimensional ones, a ecting their ability
to discriminate cases from controls. Overall, visual assessments showed the strongest
association with breast cancer risk in comparison to computerised methods.
Our research supports the hypothesis that density should have a role in personalising
screening programs and risk management. Volumetric density measuring methods,
though promising, could be improved.Cancer Research U
Changing climate space: A human perspective
No full textClimate change is having great effects on species and ecosystems around the world, and these effects will only increase in the future as the climate globally warms and alters in its functioning. Humankind is unlikely to be exempt from the risks of rapid climate change, and
foreseeing and analysing these risks is important to future planning. We use ecological niche modelling techniques to investigate the links between humans, climate and risk in the future. We find that humans are extremely adaptable and inhabit nearly all varieties areas of climate regardless of its nature, although they are not distributed evenly. Cold and dry extreme environments, as well as extremely dry and hot environments, demonstrate markedly lower population densities than temperate climates. Tropically hot and wet climates possess some of the lowest and highest population densities even at the most extreme climate that is the limit of the climatic range available. Using this constructed description of humans and climate we project forward to the future and find that it is these most extreme climates that are most at risk of rapid climate change, and of developing novel or extinct climates in the future. Using created metrics of climate change risk, sociological elements are also introduced to investigate the
direct risk to human populations. Those areas that face the triple threat of high levels of climate change, high population density and projected growth, and low regional GDP and resources are highlighted as hotspots of human risk from climate change. These are particularly prominent in
central and South-East Asia, including many islands in Oceania, central Africa, the Amazon and the Andes
