Association between a single measurement of progesterone and cortisol blood concentrations at two to one week before parturition, and number of fetuses in the Teramana goat

The Teramana goat is an at-risk breed, needing population protection and programs to increase their numbers. The first step for a population increase is the best management of reproduction, leading to an as high as possible number of healthy and viable kids born. To this purpose, beside the optimization of mating, the best possible management of pregnancy and parturition is mandatory. The goat is a prolific farm animal in which single, double, or triple ovulations can occur, leading to singleton, twin or triple pregnancies, and the birth of multiple kids. Twins and triplets are associated to increased risk for perinatal mortality and need a special surveillance and possible assistance at birth. Knowledge of the number of fetuses that have to be delivered from each goat could be a practical tool for a better management of parturition. Among the methods to define the number of fetuses in the goat, the measurement of blood progesterone (P4) concentrations have provided inconsistent results. Therefore, the present study was aimed to assess the possible association between the maternal concentrations of plasma P4 and cortisol (C), two hormones possibly associated to the number of fetuses, measured only once at about two to one week before parturition in Teramana goats, and the number of fetuses. The results, obtained from 23 does, showed that both plasma P4 and C are higher in does bearing multiple fetuses than does with singleton pregnancies. However, the single measurement of plasma C, but not P4, two to one week before the expected parturition in the Teramana goat is useful to distinguish between does bearing singleton and triplet pregnancies for a better surveillance and assistance at delivery. Therefore, it could represent a tool for the best management of reproduction in a breed population at risk for extinction.

Optical-flow-based motion compensation algorithm in thermoelastic stress analysis using single-infrared video

<p>Thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) is a non-contact measurement technique for stress distribution evaluation. A common issue related to this technique is the rigid-displacement of the specimen during the test phase, that can compromise the reliability of the measurement. For this purpose, several motion compensation techniques have been implemented over the years, but none of them is provided through a single measurement and a single sample surface conditioning. Due to this, a motion compensation technique based on Optical-Flow has been implemented, which greatly increases the strength and the effectiveness of the methodology through a single measurement and single specimen preparation. The proposed approach is based on measuring the displacement field of the specimen directly from the thermal video, through optical flow. This displacement field is then used to compensate for the specimen’s displacement on the infrared video, which will then be used for thermoelastic stress analysis. Firstly, the algorithm was validated by a comparison with synthetic videos, created ad hoc, and the quality of the motion compensation approach was evaluated on video acquired in the visible range. The research moved into infrared acquisitions, where the application of TSA gave reliable and accurate results. Finally, the quality of the stress map obtained was verified by comparison with a numerical model.</p>

An Occupancy Mapping Method Based on K-Nearest Neighbours

OctoMap is an efficient probabilistic mapping framework to build occupancy maps from point clouds, representing 3D environments with cubic nodes in the octree. However, the map update policy in OctoMap has limitations. All the nodes containing points will be assigned with the same probability regardless of the points being noise, and the probability of one such node can only be increased with a single measurement. In addition, potentially occupied nodes with points inside but traversed by rays cast from the sensor to endpoints will be marked as free. To overcome these limitations in OctoMap, the current work presents a mapping method using the context of neighbouring points to update nodes containing points, with occupancy information of a point represented by the average distance from a point to its k-Nearest Neighbours. A relationship between the distance and the change in probability is defined with the Cumulative Density Function of average distances, potentially decreasing the probability of a node despite points being present inside. Experiments are conducted on 20 data sets to compare the proposed method with OctoMap. Results show that our method can achieve up to 10% improvement over the optimal performance of OctoMap.

On the justification of topological derivative for wave-based qualitative imaging of finite-sized defects in bounded media

PurposeThis work contributes to the general problem of justifying the validity of the heuristic that underpins medium imaging using topological derivatives (TDs), which involves the sign and the spatial decay away from the true anomaly of the TD functional. The author considers here the identification of finite-sized (i.e. not necessarily small) anomalies embedded in bounded media and affecting the leading-order term of the acoustic field equation.Design/methodology/approachTD-based imaging functionals are reformulated for analysis using a suitable factorization of the acoustic fields, which is facilitated by a volume integral formulation. The three kinds of TDs (single-measurement, full-measurement and eigenfunction-based) studied in this work are given expressions whose structure allows to establish results on their sign and decay properties. The latter are obtained using analytical methods involving classical identities on Bessel functions and Legendre polynomials, as well as asymptotic approximations predicated on spatial scaling assumptions.FindingsThe sign component of the TD imaging heuristic is found to be valid for multistatic experiments and if the sought anomaly satisfies a bound (on a certain operator norm) involving its geometry, its contrast and the operating frequency. Moreover, upon processing the excitation and data by applying suitably-defined bounded linear operatirs to them, the magnitude component of the TD imaging heuristic is proved under scaling assumptions where the anomaly is small relative to the probing region, the latter being itself small relative to the propagation domain. The author additionally validates both components of the TD imaging heuristic when the probing excitation is taken as an eigenfunction of the source-to-measurement operator, with a focusing effect analogous to that achieved in time-reversal based methods taking place. These findings extend those of earlier studies to the case of finite-sized anomalies embedded in bounded media.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper lies in the theoretical justifications of the TD-based imaging heuristic for finite-sized anomalies embedded in bounded media.

A multiplex protein panel assay determines disease severity and is prognostic about outcome in COVID-19 patients

Global healthcare systems continue to be challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is a need for clinical assays that can both help to optimize resource allocation and accelerate the development and evaluation of new therapies. Here, we present a multiplex proteomic panel assay for the assessment of disease severity and outcome prediction in COVID-19. The assay quantifies 50 peptides derived from 30 COVID-19 severity markers in a single measurement using analytical flow rate liquid chromatography and multiple reaction monitoring (LC-MRM), on equipment that is broadly available in routine and regulated analytical laboratories. We demonstrate accurate classification of COVID-19 severity in patients from two cohorts. Furthermore, the assay outperforms established risk assessments such as SOFA and APACHE II in predicting survival in a longitudinal COVID-19 cohort. The prognostic value implies its use for support of clinical decisions in settings with overstrained healthcare resources e.g. to optimally allocate resources to severely ill individuals with high chance of survival. It can furthermore be helpful for monitoring of novel therapies in clinical trials.

Nonclinical study and applicability of the absorbed dose conversion method with a single biodistribution measurement for targeted alpha-nuclide therapy

Background We recently reported a new absorbed dose conversion method, RAP (RAtio of Pharmacokinetics), for 211At-meta-astatobenzylguanidine (211At-MABG) using a single biodistribution measurement, the percent injected dose/g. However, there were some mathematical ambiguities in determining the optimal timing of a single measurement of the percent injected dose/g. Thus, we aimed to mathematically reconstruct the RAP method and to examine the optimal timing of a single measurement. Methods We derived a new formalism of the RAP dose conversion method at time t. In addition, we acquired a formula to determine the optimal timing of a single measurement of the percent injected dose/g, assuming the one-compartment model for biological clearance. Results We investigated the new formalism’s performance using a representative RAP coefficient with radioactive decay weighting. Dose conversions by representative RAP coefficients predicted the true [211At]MABG absorbed doses with an error of 10% or less. The inverses of the representative RAP coefficients plotted at 4 h post-injection, which was the optimal timing reported in the previous work, were very close to the new inverses of the RAP coefficients 4 h post-injection. Next, the behavior of the optimal timing was analyzed by radiolabeled compounds with physical half-lives of 7.2 h and 10 d on various biological clearance half-lives. Behavior maps of optimal timing showed a tendency to converge to a constant value as the biological clearance half-life of a target increased. The areas of optimal timing for both compounds within a 5% or 10% prediction error were distributed around the optimal timing when the biological clearance half-life of a target was equal to that of the reference. Finally, an example of RAP dose conversion was demonstrated for [211At]MABG. Conclusions The RAP dose conversion method renovated by the new formalism was able to estimate the [211At]MABG absorbed dose using a similar pharmacokinetics, such as [131I]MIBG. The present formalism revealed optimizing imaging time points on absorbed dose conversion between two radiopharmaceuticals. Further analysis and clinical data will be needed to elucidate the validity of a behavior map of the optimal timing of a single measurement for targeted alpha-nuclide therapy.

The energy spectrum of cosmic rays beyond the turn-down around $$\varvec{10^{17}}$$ eV as measured with the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

We present a measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum above 100 PeV using the part of the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory that has a spacing of 750 m. An inflection of the spectrum is observed, confirming the presence of the so-called second-knee feature. The spectrum is then combined with that of the 1500 m array to produce a single measurement of the flux, linking this spectral feature with the three additional breaks at the highest energies. The combined spectrum, with an energy scale set calorimetrically via fluorescence telescopes and using a single detector type, results in the most statistically and systematically precise measurement of spectral breaks yet obtained. These measurements are critical for furthering our understanding of the highest energy cosmic rays.