Detection of micropollutants (MPs) in wastewater effluents using traditional toxicity tests or chemical analysis with discrete samples is challenging due to concentration dynamics. This study evaluates a continuous monitoring approach for detecting MPs in wastewater effluents using a combination of biological early warning systems (BEWS). Three BEWS with , , and were operated in parallel in a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith nearly 30 living species of relatively similar ecological traits, Crocodylomorpha is represented today by only a small fraction of its past diversity. The well-documented crocodylomorph fossil record has revealed more than 500 taxa, with much higher ecological and morphological diversity than their extant counterparts. An example of such astonishing diversity is the Late Cretaceous rocks of the Bauru Group (southeast Brazil), from which numerous taxa are known, belonging to the clade Notosuchia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubstantial nerve lesions almost always lead to persistent functional deficits, even with ideal treatment. Nerve lesions commonly occur in young patients, are often part of complex injuries, and are repeatedly diagnosed and treated with delay. Functional outcome crucially depends on early and adequate treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrganizations, researchers, and software increasingly use automatic speech recognition (ASR) to transcribe speech to text. However, ASR can be less accurate for (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Mechanical heart valve (MHV) replacement requires long-life anticoagulation due to the risk of Prosthetic Valve Dysfunction (PVD) and cardioembolism.
Methods: We report data from a prospective observational study conducted on MHV patients in the Khartoum Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery built by 'Emergency,' an Italian Non-Governmental Organization, to evaluate the occurrence of PVD and associated risk factors.
Results: We prospectively followed 3647 patients, and 38 patients (rate 1.
Objective: Peripheral nerve lesions often lead to significant and permanent loss of motor and sensory function. The aim of peripheral nerve grafting is to bridge nerve defects.
Indications: When tension-free nerve repair is not possible, peripheral nerve grafting is indicated.
We present a new, to the best of our knowledge, method to simulate diffraction images accounting for both coherent and incoherent effects, based on the Wigner distribution function of the exit wave. This permits the simulation of wave and particle effects simultaneously and simulates images photon by photon. It is motivated by artifacts observed in x ray phase-contrast images after phase retrieval, present as noise in the low spatial frequency range, which can make analysis of such images challenging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc MSR RomanSy 2024 (2024)
May 2024
A spatial displacement as an element of can be approximated by a 4D rotation, which is an element of . In this way, the problem of constructing confidence regions of uncertain spatial displacements may be studied as that of constructing confidence ellipsoids in . In this light, a double-quaternion formulation of kinematic confidence regions is presented that approximately preserve the geometry of .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeirosauridae (Crocodyliformes, Notosuchia) is one of the fossil lineages of crocodyliforms ubiquitous in the Cretaceous deposits of the Bauru Basin. Here, we describe a new species of a longirostrine Peirosauridae from the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Basin, Late Cretaceous). The specimen consists of a partially preserved skull with a cranial roof, interorbital region, and fragments of the posterior portion of the rostrum, including the prefrontal and lacrimal; left hemimandible, with 14 alveoli and 12 teeth; and a single cervical rib fragment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKinematics is most commonly about the motion of unbounded spaces. This paper deals with the kinematics of bounded shapes in a plane. This paper studies the problem of motion interpolation of a planar object with its shape taken into consideration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper studies the problem of computing an average (or mean) displacement from a set of given spatial displacements using three types of parametric representations: Euler angles and translation vectors, unit quaternions and translation vectors, and dual quaternions. It is shown that the use of Euclidean norm in the space of unit quaternions reduces the problem to that of computing the mean for each quaternion component separately and independently. While the resulting algorithm is simple, a change in the sign of a unit quaternion could lead to an incorrect result.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper studies the statistical concept of confidence region for a set of uncertain planar displacements with a certain level of confidence or probabilities. Three different representations of planar displacements are compared in this context and it is shown that the most commonly used representation based on the coordinates of the moving frame is the least effective. The other two methods, namely the exponential coordinates and planar quaternions, are equally effective in capturing the group structure of SE(2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLandscape drying associated with permafrost thaw is expected to enhance microbial methane oxidation in arctic soils. Here we show that ice-rich, Yedoma permafrost deposits, comprising a disproportionately large fraction of pan-arctic soil carbon, present an alternate trajectory. Field and laboratory observations indicate that talik (perennially thawed soils in permafrost) development in unsaturated Yedoma uplands leads to unexpectedly large methane emissions (35-78 mg m d summer, 150-180 mg m d winter).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Connective tissue serves a role beyond mere spatial filling. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that connective tissue plays an important role in the pathogenesis of conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). According to our hypothesis, the median nerve (MN) is surrounded by a system of connective tissue distal to the pronator teres and extending up to, and including, the carpal tunnel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The incidence of pediatric Wilms' tumor (WT) is high in Africa, though patients abandon treatment after initial diagnosis. We sought to identify factors associated with WT treatment abandonment in Uganda.
Methods: A cohort study of patients < 18 years with WT in a Ugandan national referral hospital examined clinical and treatment outcomes data, comparing children whose families adhered to and abandoned treatment.
Background: Carpal fractures (incidence: 30-60 per 100 000 persons per year) are one of the more commonly overlooked fracture types. They can have serious consequences, as the use of the hand is indispensable in everyday life. In the following article, we present the elements of the diagnosis and treatment of fractures of the carpal bones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Studies suggest that men who undergo assisted reproductive technologies (ART) may have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease; however, limited data on this matter is available. This observational pilot study aimed to investigate the overall vascular health of fathers with history of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) compared to fathers whose partners conceived spontaneously.
Methods: Diet quality, physical activity, sedentary behavior as well as overall vascular function including the assessment of pulse wave analysis, intima-media thickness (cIMT), arterial stiffness of the common carotid artery (CCA) and blood lipids, were evaluated.
Learning Objectives: After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Explain the most important benefits of wide-awake surgery to patients. 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Surg Res
July 2024
Introduction: Approximately 33 million people suffer catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) from surgery and/or anesthesia costs. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate catastrophic and impoverishing expenditure associated with surgery and anesthesia in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Methods: We performed a systematic review of all studies from 1990 to 2021 that reported CHE in LMICs for treatment of a condition requiring surgical intervention, including cesarean section, trauma care, and other surgery.
Background: Cognitive assessment is a required component of the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV). In this prospective study, we evaluated acceptability and usefulness of a patient-reported outcome measure (the PROMIS® Cognitive Function Screener, or PRO-CS) to screen for cognitive impairment during the AWV. We compared two versions of the PRO-CS: Abilities and Concerns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWarmer temperatures and higher sea level than today characterized the Last Interglacial interval [Pleistocene, 128 to 116 thousand years ago (ka)]. This period is a remarkable deep-time analog for temperature and sea-level conditions as projected for 2100 AD, yet there has been no evidence of fossil assemblages in the equatorial Atlantic. Here, we report foraminifer, metazoan (mollusks, bony fish, bryozoans, decapods, and sharks among others), and plant communities of coastal tropical marine and mangrove affinities, dating precisely from a ca.
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