3,438 research outputs found
Prediction of Neonatal Respiratory Distress Biomarker Concentration by Application of Machine Learning to Mid Infrared Spectra
No full textDataset to support article by Ahmed, W.; Veluthandath, A.V.; Rowe, D.J.; Madsen, J.; Clark, H.W.; Postle, A.D.; Wilkinson, J.S.; Murugan, G.S. Prediction of Neonatal Respiratory Distress Biomarker Concentration by Application of Machine Learning to Mid-Infrared Spectra. In "Sensors" 2022, 22, 1744.</span
Mid-infrared Ta<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> waveguides for evanescent sensing of stem cell differentiation
No full textStem cell differentiation is a fundamental biological process of particular interest for regenerative medicine. Differentiated cells have been characterised using mid-infrared FTIR microscopy but the use of spatially unresolved spectroscopy remains unexplored. Evanescent waveguide sensing may allow non-contact, label-free and real-time monitoring of differentiation. We report preliminary FTIR-ATR measurements which successfully distinguish between lysates of cells grown under different conditions and initial results on the fabrication of mid-infrared Ta2O5 waveguides. We also identify potential routes to a wholly self-contained analytical device
Faecal elastase 1: A marker of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in cystic fibrosis
No full textPancreatic elastase 1 (E1), a digestive protease, is synthesized by the acinar cells of the pancreas. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we evaluated stool E1 levels in the following groups of patients: (a) Specimens submitted for occult blood examination from 20 adults, over 3 consecutive days, to assess the inter-day variability in E1 excretion. There were no symptoms suggestive of pancreatic insufficiency in this group. The mean E1 concentration over all samples was 457 μg E1/g stool (range 124-1683). The intra-assay variation was 6.4% (n = 14) and the inter-assay variation was 8.8% (n = 12). The mean intra-patient variation was 17%. (b) Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Eight patients had E1 levels in the reference range (> 200 μg E1/g stool). The remaining 25 patients had undetectable E1 levels. (c) A control group of children presenting with unexplained bronchiectasis and/or recurrent respiratory infections and no symptoms of pancreatic dysfunction. The mean E1 concentration in the group was 519 μg E1/g stool (range 139-1941). There was no significant difference in E1 concentrations between the two non-CF groups, nor between the pancreatic-sufficient CF patients when compared with both non-CF groups. There was a significant difference between the pancreatic-sufficient and insufficient CF groups (P < 0.001 ) using the Mann-Whitney U test. All fifteen CF patients who were ΔF508 homozygotes had undetectable E1. It may be possible to relate CF genotype to the presence or absence of E1 and to the degree of pancreatic insufficiency. Measurement of faecal E1 in children with CF appears to differentiate them into a group of children with normal pancreatic function and a larger group with severe insufficiency.</p
High-resolution broadly-tunable MOPA-based terahertz spectrometer to non-destructively probe and modulate protein electrodynamics
No full textWe report on the development of a high-resolution (< 1 GHz at 1.0 THz), broadly-tunable (~0.5-3.0 THz) fiber MOPA-based terahertz spectrometer system. The flexibility and performance of this system will be demonstrated with gaseous (water vapor) and aqueous (water and solvated protein) samples with a view towards selectively and non-destructively probing functionally significant large-scale protein motions
Rapporteur’s report – innovative geotechnologies for energy transition
No full textThe 9th Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) International Conference on Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics (OSIG) closed with a Rapporteur’s report given by the author. This paper provides a record of that report, transcribed from a video recording. The presentation slides are shown as Figures.</p
DEFRApH - Sample collection and handling procedures
No full textAll chemical and biogeochemical process in the sea are affected by the acidity of the water. Acidity is therefore fundamental property of seawater. The growing concern that the acidity of the oceans might be increasing has revealed weaknesses in our knowledge of this fundamental property and its variation in space and time. In 2008 the DEFRApH project (DEFRA contract ME4133) was initiated to provide this missing information in UK related waters. It required sampling for and analysis of the total inorganic carbon and total alkalinity content of samples. This reports documents the procedures sued for sampling. A companion document Hartman Dumousseaud and Roberts (NOC Internal Document No. 01) describes in detail the analytical procedures used and the calculation of the results
Large boson number IBM calculations and their relationship to the Bohr model
No full textRecently, the SO(5) Clebsch-Gordan (CG) coefficients up to the seniority v
max = 40 were computed in floating point arithmetic (T.A. Welsh, unpublished (2008)); and, in exact arithmetic, as square roots of rational numbers (M.A. Caprio et al., to be published in Comput. Phys. Commun.). It is shown in this paper that extending the QQQ model calculations set up in the work by D.J. Rowe and G. Thiamova (Nucl. Phys. A 760, 59 (2005)) to N = v
max = 40 is sufficient to obtain the IBM results converged to its Bohr contraction limit. This will be done by comparing some important matrix elements in both models, by looking at the seniority decomposition of low-lying states and at the behavior of the energy and B(E2) transition strengths ratios with increasing seniority
Terahertz spectroscopy to non-destructively probe and modulate protein electrodynamics: fundamental basis for THz medicine
No full textAuthor Correction:Prefrontal cortical ChAT-VIP interneurons provide local excitation by cholinergic synaptic transmission and control attention (Nature Communications, (2019), 10, 1, (5280), 10.1038/s41467-019-13244-9)
No full textThe original version of this Article contained an error in the spelling of the author Wilma D.J. van de Berg, which was incorrectly given as Wilma D.J. van den Berg. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.</p
Interactive processes in a Lanice conchilega (Annelida: Polychaeta) dominated intertidal community
No full textAn investigation was conducted into the factors influencing a soft-sediment intertidal benthic community dominated by the large tube building polychaete Lanice conchilega (Pallas, 1766). The environmental and biological characteristics of a mid-shore sampling site on a relatively sheltered sandflat were monitored over a two year period. A total of 115 taxa were recorded. Temporal variability in the community is discussed in relation to the sporadic occurrence of macroalgae, harsh winter conditions and physical disturbance to the sedimentary environment. Lanice conchilega had a significantly contagious distribution on the shore. The population was analysed using width measurements of both worms and tubes. Recruiting Lanice conchilega juveniles observed during the first year of the study were initially randomly distributed, but as these individuals developed the overall distribution of the population returned to being contagious. The presence of excess tubes towards the end of the sampling period indicated that individual Lanice conchilega were dying, being removed by predation or emigrating. Further sampling was designed to investigate the macrofauna and meiofauna in areas of sediment containing different densities of Lanice conchilega tubes. A consistently significant positive correlation existed between tube density and macrofaunal abundance, which was attributed to sediment-mediated interactions. At higher tube densities, an increase in the depth of sediment above the underlying clay equated to an increase in the volume of available infaunal space. In addition, Lanice conchilega-derived mucus and its associated microbes potentially enhanced levels of food resources available to deposit feeders. Species living at or near the sediment-water interface would also have been positively influenced by any sediment stabilisation in high tube density areas. Possible causes of a positive correlation observed between tube density and Exogone hebes abundance are discussed. No significant relationship existed between tube density and the abundance of macrofaunal juveniles, indicating that any inhibitory or facilitatory Lanice conchilega-juvenile interactions were either insignificant or acting in opposition to produce an overall neutral effect. Details of the developmental morphology of several polychaete species are described. Meiofaunal abundance (in particular nematode and harpacticoid abundance) was consistently greater in samples taken from areas of high tube density. Potential mechanisms responsible for this relationship include the provision of habitat heterogeneity and areas of refuge by tubes, and the enhancement of sediment stability and food resources by mucus. Particle accumulation in high tube density areas also potentially influenced meiofaunal settlement and resettlement patterns
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