Air pollution is associated with a broad spectrum of health conditions. Among the reported associations are central nervous system effects, suggesting that air pollution may also affect human behavior and reaction tim...
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Air pollution is associated with a broad spectrum of health conditions. Among the reported associations are central nervous system effects, suggesting that air pollution may also affect human behavior and reaction time, which could in turn increase likelihood of injury. Injuries impose a significant public health and economic toll, but to our knowledge the relationship with air pollution has not been examined. This study investigated associations between air pollution and emergency department (ED) visits for injury and poisoning in two Canadian cities (Edmonton, Toronto). Daily concentrations of carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), and two air quality indexes (AQHI, AQHIX; incorporating O 3 , NO 2 , and PM 2.5 ), were considered. A time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional Poisson regression models were used to study short-term exposure effects (0 to 14 day lags). The analysis was done by sex, age group, and season. Significant positive associations were observed in both cities, albeit with some differences in the pattern of effects across strata. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for an interquartile range (IQR) increase of NO 2 (IQR=13.0 ppb, Edmonton) in cold season (October-March) for male were RR=1.012 (95% CI: 1.005, 1.018), 1.025 (1.018, 1.031), 1.026 (1.020, 1.033), and 1.025 (1.019, 1.032), for lags from 0 to 3 days, respectively. The corresponding results in Toronto (IQR=8.8 ppb) were: 1.010 (1.004, 1.017), 1.007 (1.000, 1.013), 1.009 (1.003, 1.016), and 1.007 (1.000, 1.013). The data suggest a potential association between air pollution and increased number of ED visits for injury.
Advanced resuscitative technologies, such as Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) cannulation or Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA), are technically difficult even for skilled med...
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Background: Selecting the blastocyst with the highest potential for live birth from a cohort is crucial for the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF). While the Gardner and Schoolcraft morphological grading system, ...
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Background: Selecting the blastocyst with the highest potential for live birth from a cohort is crucial for the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF). While the Gardner and Schoolcraft morphological grading system, commonly known as the Gardner grading system, is widely used by embryologists worldwide, blastocysts having similar or the same inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) grades cause challenges for embryologists in decision-making. Furthermore, human assessment is subjective and inconsistent in predicting which blastocysts have higher potential to result in live birth. This study aims to develop an interpretable, quantitative method aligned with the Gardner grading system, providing continuous scores that correlate with live birth outcomes, thereby assisting embryologists in improving blastocyst selection. Methods: In this retrospective study, we developed GardnerNet, an interpretable deep learning model that outputs expansion degree grade and continuous scores quantifying a blastocyst's ICM morphology and TE morphology, based on the Gardner grading system. The continuous ICM and TE scores were calculated by weighting each base grade's predicted probability and summing the predicted probabilities. To represent each blastocyst's overall potential for live birth, we combined the ICM and TE scores using their odds ratios (ORs) for live birth. We further assessed the correlation between the ICM score, TE score, and the OR-combined score (adjusted for expansion degree) with live birth rates by applying GardnerNet to blastocysts with known live birth outcomes. To test its generalizability, we also applied GardnerNet to an external IVF institution, accounting for variations in imaging conditions, live birth rates, and embryologists' experience levels. Findings: GardnerNet was developed using data from 2760 blastocysts with majority-voted grades for expansion degree, ICM, and TE. The model achieved mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve
The Cantang Grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus-lanceoulatus) is a mating of the female Tiger Grouper fish (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) and the male Kertang grouper fish (Epinephelus lanceoulatus). However, in farming a...
The Cantang Grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus-lanceoulatus) is a mating of the female Tiger Grouper fish (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) and the male Kertang grouper fish (Epinephelus lanceoulatus). However, in farming activities, the Cantang Grouper fish can be affected by a VNN infection. One way to deal with the VNN infection is by giving recombinant nano-vaccine from the microalga Chlorella Vulgaris. This study aims to determine the effect of recombinant nano-vaccine administration of the microalgae Chlorella Vulgaris on the growth of the fish weight, length, and eye tissue in the Cantang grouper fish (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus lanceolatus) infected with Viral Nervous Necrosis (VNN). The method used in this study is experimental. The test results showed that the administration of the recombinant C. vulgaris (p-PerCv) vaccine affected the growth in length and weight of the Cantang grouper, this was because the growth in length and weight of its from the treatment group was significantly different from the control group (0.039<0.05). Known by the ANOVA test and also has a different effect on the level of damage to eye tissue both damage to hypertrophy, vacuolization, and necrosis. The results of the Tukey test showed that the treatment that had a significant effect was the T1 treatment (treatment of healthy fish +33l of recombinant C. vulgaris vaccine (p-PerCv) +8.5l of Chitosan nanoparticles).
For automated vehicles (SAE Level 2-3) part of the challenge lies in communicating to the driver what control actions the automation is taking and will take, and what its capabilities are. A promising approach is hapt...
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For automated vehicles (SAE Level 2-3) part of the challenge lies in communicating to the driver what control actions the automation is taking and will take, and what its capabilities are. A promising approach is haptic shared control (HSC), which uses continuous torques on the steering wheel to communicate the automation’s current control actions. However, torques on the steering wheel cannot communicate future spatiotemporal constraints, that might be required to judge appropriate overtaking or obstacle avoidance. A visualisation of predicted vehicle trajectory, along with velocity-dependent constraints with respect to achievable trajectories is proposed. The goal of this paper is to experimentally compare obstacle avoidance behaviour while driving with the designed visualisation against driving with a previously designed HSC, as well as the two support systems combined. It is expected that adding visual feedback improves obstacle avoidance and user acceptance, and reduces control effort with respect to HSC only. In a driving simulator experiment, 26 participants drove three trials with each feedback condition (visual, HSC, and combination) and had to avoid obstacles that appeared with a Time to collision of either 1.85 s (critical) or 4.7 s (non-criticall). Results showed that, compared to HSC only, the HSC and visual combination yielded slightly smaller safety margins to the obstacle, a significant reduction of control activity on straights, and increased subjective acceptance rating. Visual and HSC offered a beneficial synergy, as it seemed the visual feedback allowed drivers to anticipate the effect of their steering actions on the car’s trajectory more accurately, and the HSC reduced the intra-subject variability. Future research should investigate the effects of added visual feedback in more detail, specifically in terms of the effectiveness to communicate automation capabilities and driver gaze behavior.
We report wastewater surveillance of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 based upon 24-h composite influent samples taken weekly from four wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada between January 3, 202...
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In many specific scenarios, accurate and effective system identification is a commonly encountered challenge in the model predictive control (MPC) formulation. As a consequence, the overall system performance could be...
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Plastic is one type of material that is quite widely used today, ranging from industrial, and educational to household purposes. Nowadays, plastic can be found in many ways in its utilization and processing technology...
Plastic is one type of material that is quite widely used today, ranging from industrial, and educational to household purposes. Nowadays, plastic can be found in many ways in its utilization and processing technology, one of which is as a material or material in the use of 3D printer machines, plastic in this case is known as filament. In the process, this filament can be made either by using an extrusion method or using an extruder machine. Plastic extrusion machines are used to carry out the extrusion or shaping process by utilizing shredded plastic by using high temperatures for the melting process and being reshaped with a mold into a certain shape. This study aims to analyze the manufacturing process of extrusion machines for filament including the manufacturing cost to obtain a low production cost. The design of the extrusion machine is made with the principle of a horizontal shape and uses a screw conveyor as a material driver in the extrusion process. Filament Making Extrusion Machine uses HDPE plastic ore test material to print filament with a rotation specification of 31.81 rpm and power of 915watt on the heating element band heater. The extrusion machine design process uses a screw conveyor system with standard flight or standard knives. The size of the screw conveyor is 500mm long, 50mm screw diameter, and 25mm pitch distance followed by the total dimensions. The extrusion machine has dimensions of 800 x 400 x 600mm. In terms of manufacturing cost analysis, the extrusion machine can be made at a low cost of 9,284,279.53. IDR. Based on the results of the analysis, it is concluded that the extrusion machine that is designed and made can function to print plastic in the form of filaments and has a low cost in the manufacturing process.
Electrolyte is an important component in redox flow batteries (RFBs) that determines the current capability, potential window, and safety, but both aqueous and nonaqueous electrolytes have their intrinsic limits. Here...
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Electrolyte is an important component in redox flow batteries (RFBs) that determines the current capability, potential window, and safety, but both aqueous and nonaqueous electrolytes have their intrinsic limits. Here, we develop the proof-of-concept hybrid electrolyte chemistry to enable the design of safe and wide-temperature RFBs. In addition to the non-flammable characteristics, the hybrid electrolyte also inherits the high electrochemical stability and wide operational temperature range. It can show a potential window of 2.5 V and maintain high ion conductivities at low temperatures. It also enables LiI to achieve high Coulombic efficiencies of >99.9 %, showing long cycling stability over 800 cycles. Moreover, it enables the successful operation of Zn/LiI RFBs at −20 °C for 150 cycles with nearly no capacity loss. This study highlights the great potential of hybrid electrolyte chemistry for the approach of safe and high-performance large-scale energy storage systems in wide temperature ranges.
Recent studies reported the use of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) as a low-carbon binder for 3D concrete printing (3DCP) applications. These studies typically used 1:1 clay minerals, specifically medium to high-...
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Recent studies reported the use of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) as a low-carbon binder for 3D concrete printing (3DCP) applications. These studies typically used 1:1 clay minerals, specifically medium to high-purity clays, containing a minimum of 40 % Kaolinite. This study aims to valorise low-grade waste clay (representative of 2:1 clay mineral with a maximum of 20 % Kaolinite content) excavated from a tunnelling project to develop an LC3 mixture for 3DCP applications. This research investigates the effect of different calcination temperatures, dosages of superplasticiser (SP) and viscosity modifying agent (VMA) on the fresh properties, mechanical characteristics, reaction kinetics, shape stability, and buildability of the developed mixes. The results revealed that activating excavated clay at 800 °C exhibited the highest reactivity compared to calcination temperatures of 700 and 900 °C. The incorporation of admixtures (i.e., SP and VMA) had varying effects on the fresh and mechanical properties of the mixtures. The LC3 mixture containing 1 wt% SP and 0.6 wt% VMA (by weight of the binder) exhibited robust shape stability and achieved the best mechanical performance among the mixtures investigated in this study and had an open time of 65 min. A cylindrical object was successfully printed using this mixture, confirming its suitability for 3DCP applications. Environmental impact calculations showed that replacing OPC with the developed LC3 mixture provides significant environmental benefits, reducing CO2 emissions by around 39 %. This study confirms the feasibility of using excavated low-grade waste clay as feedstock for 3DCP applications.
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