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Flat-field correction (FFC) is commonly used in image signal processing (ISP) to improve the uniformity of image sensor pixels. Image sensor nonuniformity and lens system characteristics have been known to be temperature-dependent. Some machine vision applications, such as visual odometry and single-pixel airborne object tracking, are extremely sensitive to pixel-to-pixel sensitivity variations. Numerous cameras, especially in the fields of infrared imaging and staring cameras, use multiple calibration images to correct for nonuniformities. This paper characterizes the temperature and analog gain dependence of the dark signal nonuniformity (DSNU) and photoresponse nonuniformity (PRNU) of two contemporary global shutter CMOS image sensors for machine vision applications. An optimized hardware architecture is proposed to compensate for nonuniformities, with optional parametric lens shading correction (LSC). Three different performance configurations are outlined for different application areas, costs, and power requirements. For most commercial applications, the correction of LSC suffices. For both DSNU and PRNU, compensation with one or multiple calibration images, captured at different gain and temperature settings are considered. For more demanding applications, the effectiveness, external memory bandwidth, power consumption, implementation, and calibration complexity, as well as the camera manufacturability of different nonuniformity correction approaches were compared.

Remdesivir is a nucleotide analog prodrug that has received much attention since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019. GS-441524 (Nuc) is the active metabolite of remdesivir and plays a pivotal role in the clinical treatment of COVID-19. Here, a robust HPLC-MS/MS method was developed to determine Nuc concentrations in rat plasma samples after a one-step protein precipitation process. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on Waters XBrige C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) under gradient elution conditions. Multiple reaction monitoring transitions in electrospray positive ion mode were m/z 292.2 → 163.2 for Nuc and 237.1 → 194.1 for the internal standard (carbamazepine). The quantitative analysis method was fully validated in line with the United States Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The linearity, accuracy and precision, matrix effect, recovery, and stability results met the requirements of the guidelines. Uncertainty of measurement and incurred sample reanalysis were analyzed to further ensure the robustness and reproducibility of the method. This optimized method was successfully applied in a rat pharmacokinetics study of remdesivir (intravenously administration, 5 mg kg−1). The method can act as a basis for further pharmacokinetic and clinical efficacy investigations in patients with COVID-19. Graphical abstract

Background and Aim: Milk production is one of the main props for the national economy. One of the crucial problems in this industry is subclinical mastitis, which harms this industry that considered the backbone of the economy. It is an infectious and zoonotic disease; the infection can spread between dairy animals through milkers' hands, and milking machines, while the human infection occurs due to the consumption of apparently hygienic milk. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the main causative agents of clinical and subclinical mastitis. It is also considered one of the bacteria incriminated in food intoxication of humans due to its virulence factors as enterotoxins and toxic shock syndrome. The current study was designed to assess the prevalence of S. aureus and its enterotoxins, as well as, its other virulence factors in milk collected from cows that suffer from subclinical mastitis. Materials and Methods: Sixty cows were collected from different dairy farms located in Assiut Governorate, Egypt. These cows were subjected to the clinical examination of the udder and its lymph nodes before sampling. Milk samples were collected from clinically healthy udders. All the milk samples were examined by California mastitis test (CMT), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for confirmation subclinical mastitis, presence of S. aureus and its enterotoxins genes and other virulence factors in the examined milk samples. Results: The cows included in the current study had healthy udders. The sixty collected milk samples were tested by CMT. 48/60 (80.0%) were positive samples; from the 48 positive samples, 46 (95.83%) samples were confirmed positive by S. aureus 16s rRNA PCR assay. Multiplex PCRs confirmed the presence of staphylococcus enterotoxin gene C (sec) in one sample, staphylococcus enterotoxin gene D (sed) in 23 samples, while ELISA assay confirmed the presence of the same enterotoxin in only two samples. On the other hand, other groups of genes responsible for some other virulence factors of S. aureus like the extracellular thermostable nuclease (nuc) gene were found in 33 samples, while toxic shock syndrome (tsst) gene and methicillin restraint S. aureus (mecA) gene were not detected in this study. Conclusion: Subclinical mastitis is one of the hidden factors that adversely affect the health of both animals and humans. The milk is usually appeared good and may be consumed by humans especially children; however, it causes severe public health problems. In addition, the infected animals with this form of mastitis can spread the infection to other dairy animals and may be turned to a clinical case of contagious mastitis that may be ended by animal culling or death. S. aureus is one of the main causes of subclinical mastitis in cattle. In addition to extracellular thermostable nuclease (nuc) gene, staphylococcus enterotoxin gene C (sec) and staphylococcus enterotoxin gene D (sed) are the most common virulence genes confirmed in subclinical mastitis milk. These results highlighted the need to apply more hygienic measures in the dairy farms to avoid spreading the infection between animals to ensure the production of safe and healthy food to humans.

Background The climate crisis threatens sustainability of crop production worldwide. Crop diversification may enhance food security while reducing the negative impacts of climate change. Proso millet (Panicum milaceum L.) is a minor cereal crop which holds potential for diversification and adaptation to different environmental conditions. In this study, we assembled a world collection of proso millet consisting of 88 varieties and landraces to investigate its genomic and phenotypic diversity for seed traits, and to identify marker-trait associations (MTA). Results Sequencing of restriction-site associated DNA fragments yielded 494 million reads and 2,412 high quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). SNPs were used to study the diversity in the collection and perform a genome wide association study (GWAS). A genotypic diversity analysis separated accessions originating in Western Europe, Eastern Asia and Americas from accessions sampled in Southern Asia, Western Asia, and Africa. A Bayesian structure analysis reported four cryptic genetic groups, showing that landraces accessions had a significant level of admixture and that most of the improved proso millet materials clustered separately from landraces. The collection was highly diverse for seed traits, with color varying from white to dark brown and width spanning from 1.8 to 2.6 mm. A GWAS study for seed morphology traits identified 10 MTAs. In addition, we identified three MTAs for agronomic traits that were previously measured on the collection. Conclusion Using genomics and automated seed phenotyping, we elucidated phylogenetic relationships and seed diversity in a global millet collection. Overall, we identified 13 MTAs for key agronomic and seed traits indicating the presence of alleles with potential for application in proso breeding programs.

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, EASL and ESCMID published a position paper to provide guidance for physicians involved in the care of patients with chronic liver disease. In the meantime, many countries and healthcare systems have been, or are still overwhelmed by the pandemic, significantly impacting on the care of this group of patients, whilst others have started to return towards their usual routine. In addition, many studies have been published focusing on how COVID-19 may affect the liver and how pre-existing liver diseases might influence the clinical course of COVID-19. While many aspects remain poorly understood, it has become increasingly evident that pre-existing liver diseases and liver injury during the course of the disease have to be kept in mind when caring for patients with COVID-19. Thus, this review should serve as an update on the previous position paper summarizing the evidence for liver disease involvement during COVID-19 and also provid, PNN was supported by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.

BackgroundStaphylococcus aureus are widely considered a major factor of nosocomial and community-acquired infections. This work was aimed at determining the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) among apparently healthy students. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted involving 400 nasal swab samples randomly collected from students using sterile swab sticks and processed to recover S. aureus using standard microbiological techniques. Conventional methods were used to identify the isolates and antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method according to performance standards of Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute guidelines. Methicillin-resistance was detected phenotypically using cefoxitin 30µg discs. Bacterial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction was done on cefoxitin-resistant staphylococci isolates only using ZymoResearch (ZR) fungal/bacterial DNA MiniPrepTM kit. A polymerase chain reaction assay targeting the 16S rRNA, nuc, and mecA genes on 1.0% agarose gel electrophoresis stained with ethidium bromide was used to identify S.aureus and detect methicillin resistance. ResultsThe overall prevalence of MRSA was 5.8% using phenotypic methods. PCR amplification of the 23 phenotypically confirmed MRSA using 16S rRNA and nuc genes identified staphylococci 23/23(100%) and S. aureus 23/23(100%) at band size 886bp and 225bp respectively. However, 16(69.6%) were positive for mecA gene at band size 532bp by PCR method. Poor level of susceptibility was recorded among the MRSA namely to erythromycin (26.6%), cloxacillin (0%), augmentin (0%), cefuroxime (0%), ceftriaxone (0%) and ceftazidime (0%). Ofloxacin was the most effective antibiotic (60.9%). ConclusionActive antimicrobial surveillance of pathogenic staphylococci is important to analyze the infections and transmission rate for possible control measures.

The objectives of this study were: i) to detect the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in raw milk, cheese, beef minced meat, and chicken meat samples; ii) to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates; and iii) to determine clonal relation among the isolates by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method. Therefore, a total of 160 food samples were randomly collected between August 2014 and May 2015 in Hatay province, located in the southern Turkey. Twenty (12.5%) of the samples were found to be contaminated with S. aureus. A total of 40 isolates from the 20 positive samples were confirmed to be S. aureus by multiplex PCR based on 16S rRNA and nuc gene. The mec A gene was not detected in any of the S. aureus strains. In the present study, 39 out of 40 (97.5%) isolates were found to be resistant to one or more antibiotics. All of isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, oxacillin, and vancomycin. The highest resistance rate was detected in penicillin (95%) and ampicillin (92.5%), followed by tetracycline (30%), erythromycin (20%), ciprofloxacin (12.5%). Nine major patterns were determined by PFGE. In 6 of these patterns, thirty-six strains (90%) had identical PFGE profiles.

Miniaturized thermal infrared (TIR) cameras that measure surface temperature are increasingly available for use with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, deriving accurate temperature data from these cameras is non-trivialsince they are highly sensitive to changes in their internal temperature and low-cost models are often not radiometrically calibrated. We present the results of laboratory and field experiments that tested the extent of the temperature-dependency of a non-radiometric FLIR Vue Pro 640. We found that a simple empirical line calibration using at least three ground calibration points was sufficient to convert camera digital numbers to temperature values for images captured during UAV flight. Although the camera performed well under stable laboratory conditions (accuracy ±0.5 °C), the accuracy declined to ±5 °C under the changing ambient conditions experienced during UAV flight. The poor performance resulted from the non-linear relationship between camera output and sensor temperature, which was affected by wind and temperature-drift during flight. The camera’s automated non-uniformity correction (NUC) could not sufficiently correct for these effects. Prominent vignetting was also visible in images captured under both stable and changing ambient conditions. The inconsistencies in camera output over time and across the sensor will affect camera applications based on relative temperature differences as well as user-generated radiometric calibration. Based on our findings, we present a set of best practices for UAV TIR camera sampling to minimize the impacts of the temperature dependency of these systems.

Se estudia la inducción de micronúcleos (MN) en linfocitos humanos con Bloqueo Citocinético (CB) en diferentes situaciones para establecer la existencia de una relación dosis-respuesta entre la exposición a la radiación ionizante y la frecuencia de aparición de MN. Se pretende determinar el límite inferior de la dosis de radiación que resulta posible estimar con este test y discutir la utilidad práctica del test de MN con CB como dosimetría biológica y estimar si existe un posible efecto lesivo de la radiación ionizante empleada en Radiodiagnóstico Médico y en Medicina Nuclear. Existe un incremento significativo de MN tras la irradiación que suponen las exploraciones en los pacientes estudiados en Radiadiagnóstico médico y en los sometidos a tratamiento ablativo con 131I, comparados con los valores controles obtenidos de los mismos pacientes previos al procedimiento radiológico (p 0,01). No se aprecia un incremento significativo de MN tras la irradiación que suponen las exploraciones diagnóticas en los pacientes estudiados en Medicina Nuclear., Induction of micronuclei (MN) was studied in human lymphocytes with cytogenetic Block (CB) in different situations to establish the existence of a dose-response relationship between exposure to ionizing radiation and the frequency of MN. It is intended to determine the lower limit of radiation dose possible to estimate with this test and discuss the practical utility of the test MN with CB as biological dosimetry and assess whether there is a possible harmful effect of ionizing radiation used in Radiology Medical and Nuclear Medicine. There is a significant increase in MN after irradiation explorations involving patients studied in Radiodiagnostic and those undergoing ablative therapy with 131I, compared with control values obtained from the same patients prior to radiological procedure (p 0.01 ). A significant increase in MN after irradiation in the patients studied in Nuclear Medicine is not appreciated.

The housing issue in Greater Cairo metropolitan region (GCMR)'s has continued despite of the numerous policies that the government has introduced during the last 70 years. This research discusses housing policies changes and their effects on the housing issue in GCMR. Primary data were derived through questionnaire survey and secondary data from national censuses. The results find that the change in the general state policies did success in attracting more investments for public housing of low-income residents but failed to end the phenomenon of vacant housing or attract slums residents to new urban centers (NUC).

[EN] This Final Degree Project comprises the part relating to the annex "Design of the nodes", of a multidisciplinary Final Degre Project entitled "Studies for the writing of the basic project of the bypass of the CV-35 road near Chelva (province of Valencia). Alternative North", being these the studies for one of the three alternatives (North, Central and South alternatives) in which the Final Project of General Degree was divided. The attached annex deals with the design procedure of the two nodes that will link the existing road with the new road, to the east and west of Chelva. It is based on a study of alternatives and a multicriteria assessment is carried out to choose the optimal solutions. For this, factors such as functionality, road safety, economic cost or environmental impact are taken into account. Subsequently, the design of the solutions adopted is developed, from the geometric point of view, of compliance with road safety¿ It also includes a trajectory analysis of vehicles. In addition, the road signs to be arranged are defined and a study of solutions of paths and affected services by the turnoff are made, as well as the accesses during the construction phase., [CA] El present Treball Final de Grau constitueix la part corresponent a l'annex "Disseny dels nusos", d'un Treball Final de Grau multidisciplinari titulat "Estudis per a la redacció del projecte bàsic de la variant de la carretera CV-35 al seu pas pel municipi de Chelva (província de València). Alternativa Nord ", sent aquests els estudis per a una de les tres alternatives (alternatives Nord, Centre i Sud) en què es va dividir el Treball Final de Grau general. L'annex que es tracta versa sobre el procediment de disseny dels dos nusos que uniran la carretera existent amb la nova variant, a l'est i a l'oest de Chelva. Es parteix d'un estudi d'alternatives i es realitza una valoració multicriteri per triar les solucions òptimes. Per a això, es tenen en compte factors com la funcionalitat, la seguretat viària, el cost econòmic o l'impacte ambiental. Posteriorment es desenvolupa el disseny de les solucions adoptades, des del punt de vista geomètric, de compliment de la seguretat viària. També s¿inclou una anàlisi de trajectòries de vehicles. A més, es defineix la senyalització a disposar i es realitza un estudi de solucions de camins i serveis afectats per la nova variant, així com dels accessos durant la fase de construcció., [ES] El presente Trabajo Final de Grado constituye la parte correspondiente al anejo "Diseño de los nudos", de un Trabajo Final de Grado multidisciplinar titulado "Estudios para la redacción del proyecto básico de la variante de la carretera CV-35 a su paso por el municipio de Chelva (provincia de Valencia). Alternativa Norte", siendo éstos los estudios para una de las tres alternativas (alternativas Norte, Centro y Sur) en las que se dividió el Trabajo Final de Grado general. El anejo que se trata versa sobre el procedimiento de diseño de los dos nudos que unirán la carretera existente con la nueva variante, al este y al oeste de Chelva. Se parte de un estudio de alternativas y se realiza una valoración multicriterio para elegir las soluciones óptimas. Para ello, se tienen en cuenta factores como la funcionalidad, la seguridad vial, el coste económico o el impacto ambiental. Posteriormente se desarrolla el diseño de las soluciones adoptadas, desde el punto de vista geométrico, de cumplimiento de la seguridad vial. También se incluye un análisis de trayectorias de vehículos. Además, se define la señalización a disponer y se realiza un estudio de soluciones de caminos y servicios afectados por la nueva variante, así como de los accesos durante la fase de construcción.

近年、映像をストリーミング配信するシステムとして様々な製品やサービスが登場しており、選択の幅が広がってきた。しかし、教育現場において講義等の収録や配信を目的としたシステムを導入・運用する際には、導入コスト、利用場所の制約、外部ネットワーク利用時の回線帯域確保、セキュリティ対策、著作権対応といった検討すべき課題がある。これらの課題に応えるシステムを低コストで構築することの可能性を、試作機を作って検討した。その結果、単機能ではあるが、一定レベルの画質で映像をリアルタイムまたはオンデマンドでストリーミング配信できることが確認できた。

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are equipped with optical systems including an infrared (IR) camera such as electro-optical IR (EO/IR), target acquisition and designation sights (TADS), or forward looking IR (FLIR). However, images obtained from IR cameras are subject to noise such as dead pixels, lines, and fixed pattern noise. Nonuniformity correction (NUC) is a widely employed method to reduce noise in IR images, but it has limitations in removing noise that occurs during operation. Methods have been proposed to overcome the limitations of the NUC method, such as two-point correction (TPC) and scene-based NUC (SBNUC). However, these methods still suffer from unfixed pattern noise. In this paper, a background registration-based adaptive noise filtering (BRANF) method is proposed to overcome the limitations of conventional methods. The proposed BRANF method utilizes background registration processing and robust principle component analysis (RPCA). In addition, image quality verification methods are proposed that can measure the noise filtering performance quantitatively without ground truth images. Experiments were performed for performance verification with middle wave infrared (MWIR) and long wave infrared (LWIR) images obtained from practical military optical systems. As a result, it is found that the image quality improvement rate of BRANF is 30% higher than that of conventional NUC.

Nowadays, the digital terrestrial television (DTT) market is characterized by the high capacity needed for high definition TV services. There is a need for an efficient use of the broadcast spectrum, which requires new technologies to guarantee increased capacities. Non-Uniform Constellations (NUC) arise as one of the most innovative techniques to approach those requirements. NUCs reduce the gap between uniform Gray-labelled Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) constellations and the theoretical unconstrained Shannon limit. With these constellations, symbols are optimized in both in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components by means of signal geometrical shaping, considering a certain signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and channel model.There are two types of NUC, one-dimensional and two-dimensional NUCs (1D-NUC and 2D-NUC, respectively). 1D-NUCs maintain the squared shape from QAM, but relaxing the distribution between constellation symbols in a single component, with non-uniform distance between them. These constellations provide better SNR performance than QAM, without any demapping complexity increase. 2D-NUCs also relax the square shape constraint, allowing to optimize the symbol positions in both dimensions, thus achieving higher capacity gains and lower SNR requirements. However, the use of 2D-NUCs implies a higher demapping complexity, since a 2D-demapper is needed, i.e. I and Q components cannot be separated.In this dissertation, NUCs are analyzed from both transmit and receive point of views, using either single-input single-output (SISO) or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna configurations. In SISO transmissions, 1D-NUCs and 2D-NUCs are optimized for a wide range of SNRs and different constellation orders. The optimization of rotated 2D-NUCs is also investigated. Even though the demapping complexity is not increased, the SNR gain of these constellations is not significant. The highest rotation gain is obtained for low-order constellations and high SNRs. However, with multi-RF techniques, the SNR gain is drastically increased, since I and Q components are transmitted in different RF channels. In this thesis, multi-RF gains of NUCs with and without rotation are provided for some representative scenarios.At the receiver, two different implementation bottlenecks are explored. First, the demapping complexity of all considered constellations is analyzed. Afterwards, two complexity reduction algorithms for 2D-NUCs are proposed. Both algorithms drastically reduce the number of distances to compute. Moreover, both are finally combined in a single demapper. Quantization of NUCs is also explored in this dissertation, since LLR values and I/Q components are modified when using these constellations, compared to traditional QAM constellations. A new algorithm that is based on the optimization of the quantizer levels for a particular constellation is proposed.The use of NUCs in multi-antenna communications is also investigated. It includes the optimization in one or two antennas, the use of power imbalance, the cross-polar discrimination (XPD) between receive antennas, or the use of different demappers. Assuming different values for the parameters evaluated, new Multi-Antenna Non-Uniform Constellations (MA-NUC) are obtained by means of a particularized re-optimization process, specific for MIMO. At the receiver, an extended demapping complexity analysis is performed, where it is shown that the use of 2D-NUCs in MIMO extremely increases the demapping complexity. As an alternative, an efficient solution for 2D-NUCs and MIMO systems based on Soft-Fixed Sphere Decoding (SFSD) is proposed. The main drawback is that SFSD demappers do not work with 2D-NUCs, since they perform a Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) step that needs to be performed in separated I and Q components. The proposed method quantifies the closest symbol using Voronoi regions and allows SFSD demappers to work., Hoy en día, el mercado de la televisión digital terrestre (TDT) está caracterizado por la alta capacidad requerida para transmitir servicios de televisión de alta definición y el espectro disponible. Es necesario por tanto un uso eficiente del espectro radioeléctrico, el cual requiere nuevas tecnologías para garantizar mayores capacidades. Las constelaciones no-uniformes (NUC) emergen como una de las técnicas más innovadoras para abordar tales requerimientos. Las NUC reducen el espacio existente entre las constelaciones uniformes QAM y el límite teórico de Shannon. Con estas constelaciones, los símbolos se optimizan en ambas componentes fase (I) y cuadratura (Q) mediante técnicas geométricas de modelado de la señal, considerando un nivel señal a ruido (SNR) concreto y un modelo de canal específico.Hay dos tipos de NUC, unidimensionales y bidimensionales (1D-NUC y 2D-NUC, respectivamente). Las 1D-NUC mantienen la forma cuadrada de las QAM, pero permiten cambiar la distribución entre los símbolos en una componente concreta, teniendo una distancia no uniforme entre ellos. Estas constelaciones proporcionan un mejor rendimiento SNR que QAM, sin ningún incremento en la complejidad en el demapper. Las 2D-NUC también permiten cambiar la forma cuadrada de la constelación, permitiendo optimizar los símbolos en ambas dimensiones y por tanto obteniendo mayores ganancias en capacidad y menores requerimientos en SNR. Sin embargo, el uso de 2D-NUCs implica una mayor complejidad en el receptor.En esta tesis se analizan las NUC desde el punto de vista tanto de transmisión como de recepción, utilizando bien configuraciones con una antena (SISO) o con múltiples antenas (MIMO). En transmisiones SISO, se han optimizado 1D-NUCs para un rango amplio de distintas SNR y varios órdenes de constelación. También se ha investigado la optimización de 2D-NUCs rotadas. Aunque la complejidad no aumenta, la ganancia SNR de estas constelaciones no es significativa. La mayor ganancia por rotación se obtiene para bajos órdenes de constelación y altas SNR. Sin embargo, utilizando técnicas multi-RF, la ganancia aumenta drásticamente puesto que las componentes I y Q se transmiten en distintos canales RF. En esta tesis, se han estudiado varias ganancias multi-RF representativas de las NUC, con o sin rotación.En el receptor, se han identificado dos cuellos de botella diferentes en la implementación. Primero, se ha analizado la complejidad en el receptor para todas las constelaciones consideradas y, posteriormente, se proponen dos algoritmos para reducir la complejidad con 2D-NUCs. Además, los dos pueden combinarse en un único demapper. También se ha explorado la cuantización de estas constelaciones, ya que tanto los valores LLR como las componentes I/Q se ven modificados, comparando con constelaciones QAM tradicionales. Además, se ha propuesto un algoritmo que se basa en la optimización para diferentes niveles de cuantización, para una NUC concreta.Igualmente, se ha investigado en detalle el uso de NUCs en MIMO. Se ha incluido la optimización en una sola o en dos antenas, el uso de un desbalance de potencia, factores de discriminación entre antenas receptoras (XPD), o el uso de distintos demappers. Asumiendo distintos valores, se han obtenido nuevas constelaciones multi-antena (MA-NUC) gracias a un nuevo proceso de re-optimización específico para MIMO. En el receptor, se ha extendido el análisis de complejidad en el demapper, la cual se incrementa enormemente con el uso de 2D-NUCs y sistemas MIMO. Como alternativa, se propone una solución basada en el algoritmo Soft-Fixed Sphere Decoding (SFSD). El principal problema es que estos demappers no funcionan con 2D-NUCs, puesto que necesitan de un paso adicional en el que las componentes I y Q necesitan separarse. El método propuesto cuantifica el símbolo más cercano utilizando las regiones de Voronoi, permitiendo el uso de este tipo de receptor., Actualment, el mercat de la televisió digital terrestre (TDT) està caracteritzat per l'alta capacitat requerida per a transmetre servicis de televisió d'alta definició i l'espectre disponible. És necessari per tant un ús eficient de l'espectre radioelèctric, el qual requereix noves tecnologies per a garantir majors capacitats i millors servicis. Les constel·lacions no-uniformes (NUC) emergeixen com una de les tècniques més innovadores en els sistemes de televisió de següent generació per a abordar tals requeriments. Les NUC redueixen l'espai existent entre les constel·lacions uniformes QAM i el límit teòric de Shannon. Amb estes constel·lacions, els símbols s'optimitzen en ambdós components fase (I) i quadratura (Q) per mitjà de tècniques geomètriques de modelatge del senyal, considerant un nivell senyal a soroll (SNR) concret i un model de canal específic.Hi ha dos tipus de NUC, unidimensionals i bidimensionals (1D-NUC i 2D-NUC, respectivament). 1D-NUCs mantenen la forma quadrada de les QAM, però permet canviar la distribució entre els símbols en una component concreta, tenint una distància no uniforme entre ells. Estes constel·lacions proporcionen un millor rendiment SNR que QAM, sense cap increment en la complexitat al demapper. 2D-NUC també canvien la forma quadrada de la constel·lació, permetent optimitzar els símbols en ambdós dimensions i per tant obtenint majors guanys en capacitat i menors requeriments en SNR. No obstant això, l'ús de 2D-NUCs implica una major complexitat en el receptor, ja que es necessita un demapper 2D, on les components I i Q no poden ser separades.En esta tesi s'analitzen les NUC des del punt de vista tant de transmissió com de recepció, utilitzant bé configuracions amb una antena (SISO) o amb múltiples antenes (MIMO). En transmissions SISO, s'han optimitzat 1D-NUCs, per a un rang ampli de distintes SNR i diferents ordes de constel·lació. També s'ha investigat l'optimització de 2D-NUCs rotades. Encara que la complexitat no augmenta, el guany SNR d'estes constel·lacions no és significativa. El major guany per rotació s'obté per a baixos ordes de constel·lació i altes SNR. No obstant això, utilitzant tècniques multi-RF, el guany augmenta dràsticament ja que les components I i Q es transmeten en distints canals RF. En esta tesi, s'ha estudiat el guany multi-RF de les NUC, amb o sense rotació.En el receptor, s'han identificat dos colls de botella diferents en la implementació. Primer, s'ha analitzat la complexitat en el receptor per a totes les constel·lacions considerades i, posteriorment, es proposen dos algoritmes per a reduir la complexitat amb 2D-NUCs. Ambdós algoritmes redueixen dràsticament el nombre de distàncies. A més, els dos poden combinar-se en un únic demapper. També s'ha explorat la quantització d'estes constel·lacions, ja que tant els valors LLR com les components I/Q es veuen modificats, comparant amb constel·lacions QAM tradicionals. A més, s'ha proposat un algoritme que es basa en l'optimització per a diferents nivells de quantització, per a una NUC concreta.Igualment, s'ha investigat en detall l'ús de NUCs en MIMO. S'ha inclòs l'optimització en una sola o en dos antenes, l'ús d'un desbalanç de potència, factors de discriminació entre antenes receptores (XPD), o l'ús de distints demappers. Assumint distints valors, s'han obtingut noves constel·lacions multi-antena (MA-NUC) gràcies a un nou procés de re-optimització específic per a MIMO. En el receptor, s'ha modificat l'anàlisi de complexitat al demapper, la qual s'incrementa enormement amb l'ús de 2D-NUCs i sistemes MIMO. Com a alternativa, es proposa una solució basada en l'algoritme Soft-Fixed Sphere Decoding (SFSD) . El principal problema és que estos demappers no funcionen amb 2D-NUCs, ja que necessiten d'un pas addicional en què les components I i Q necessiten separar-se. El mètode proposat quantifica el símbol més pròxim utilitzan, Fuentes Muela, M. (2017). Non-Uniform Constellations for Next-Generation Digital Terrestrial Broadcast Systems [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. doi:10.4995/Thesis/10251/84743., TESIS

“Next Unit of Computing” is a small form factor PC produced by Intel. It has modern processing power and plenty of connectivity in the almost 10cm×10cm×4cm sized box. This paper reviews how to build an NUC and proposes an application of it.

In this study, Engineering and Architectural education and how they were accredited was assessed as carried out by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the only body that approves courses and programmes, determines and maintains minimum academic standards, monitors universities and accredits academic programmes in Nigeria. The current trends in education enrolment and engineering and architectural programs in Nigeria were also analyzed. This paper also provides recommendations for policy makers in government and the educational sector on how to redesign, upgrade and modify the existing initiatives to be able to produce graduates that will be able to compete favourably in the global engineering world.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa This work presents the characteristics of the ISDB-TB, adopted in Brazil as part of Digital TV Brazilian System (SBTVD) and the challenges and needed adaptations for the next digital TV generations. It also shows the historic of SDR, physical layer LDM, NUC modulations and error correction code LDPC technologies. Their advantages are demonstrated in terms of eficient use of spectrum, robustness and increase of transmission rate. A digital communication system with this technologies was proposed, allowing the compatibility with the ISDB-TB system. The focus of this work are the stages of coding and modulation in the LDM lower layer, enabling better performance of this technique in the ISDB-TB system. This implementation was performed with the software GNU Radio Companion and the use of the C ++ language. Este trabalho apresenta as características do ISDB-TB, adotado no Brasil como parte do Sistema Brasileiro de TV Digital (SBTVD) e os desafios e adaptações necessárias para as próximas gerações da TV digital. O trabalho também mostra o histórico das tecnologias SDR, camada física LDM, modulações NUC e código corretor de erro LDPC. Suas vantagens de utilização são demonstradas em termos de sua eficiência espectral, robustez e do aumento da taxa de dados transmitida. Um sistema de comunicação digital unindo estas tecnologias é proposto, permitindo a compatibilidade com o sistema ISDB-TB. O foco deste trabalho são as etapas de codificação e modulação da camada inferior do LDM, permitindo maior desempenho desta técnica no sistema ISDB-TB. Esta implementação foi realizada com o software GNU Radio Companion e o uso da linguagem C++.

Immunohistochemistry involves the use of commercially prepared colour labelled antibodies to detect the presence and distribution of specific cellular proteins known as antigens. It is a diagnostic and research technique employed in medicine, but may have limited veterinary medical application in Nigeria. The present paper accessed the level of awareness and application of immunohistochemistry as a research technique among staff of the veterinary medical schools in Nigeria. As at the time of the study, ten veterinary schools were accredited by the Veterinary Council of Nigeria, thus used for the analysis. Respondents to a structured questionnaire from the veterinary schools included laboratory technologists and academic staff of the departments of veterinary anatomy, pathology and public health. Design of the questions progressed from mere awareness to theoretical and practical knowledge of the technique. Although 93.33 % of respondents who are academic staff were aware of the technique, and an equally high percentage of those aware of the technique have varying levels of theoretical knowledge, only 32.65 % of these respondents have practical experience of immunohistochemistry technique. Similarly, among the laboratory technologists who were aware of the technique, only 34.78 % have actively conducted it. Respondents of the veterinary anatomy specialty had the highest percentage of practical knowledge. Results also indicated that there was only one veterinary medical school with a functional immunohistochemistry laboratory in Nigeria. The paper recommended, among other things, the introduction of immunohistochemistry as a practical course in the curriculum of the veterinary schools in Nigeria.Keywords: Immunohistochemistry; Nigerian veterinary schools; NUC

The general functions of the university amongst other things include teaching, research and community service. Universities are recognized as the apex of learning, accumulating and imparting knowledge and skills of all kinds to students to enable them to be productive, earn their living and to make optimum contributions to national development. This is equivalent to the production of human capital in the form of high level manpower needed to administer the educational society, be useful to the society and manage the economy. Quality has become a matter of major importance for university education in Nigeria. Accreditation is the systematic review of educational programs to ensure that acceptable standards of education, scholarship and infrastructure are being maintained. Accreditation ensures that institution maintain quality. The process is designed to determine whether or not an institution has met or exceeded the published standards for accreditation, and whether it is achieving its mission and stated purposes. Ensuring quality assurance in accreditation process falls in the hands of university management which justified the need for this study. This study examined accreditation and quality assurance: the management imperative. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The design was a correlation survey with a population of 2,893 university administrators out of which 578 Heads of department and Dean of faculties were sampled. The instrument for data collection was titled Programme Accreditation Exercise scale with high levels of reliability. The research questions were answered with Pearson ‘r’ statistics. T-test statistics was used to test the hypotheses. It was found among others that the quality of accredited programme depends on the level of funding of universities in Nigeria. It was also indicated that quality of programme accreditation and physical facilities of universities in Nigeria have high relationship. But it was also revealed that programme accreditation is positively related to staffing in Nigerian universities. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommend that academic administrators should be included in the team of those who ensure quality programs in the universities. Private sector partnership should be encouraged to fund programs to ensure quality of programme in the universities. Independent agencies should be engaged to monitor the activities of accreditation teams to avoid bias., {"references":["Alani, R.A. & llusanya, G. (2008). Accreditation outcomes, quality of and access to university education in Nigeria. Journal of Quality Assurance in Education, 16(3), 301-312.","Utuka, G. (2011). Demonstrating quality: Evaluation of institutional and programme accreditation in Ghana. International Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, 3(8), 135-142.","Okebukola, P.A.O. (2010). Fifty Years of Higher Education in Nigeria: Trends in Quality Assurance. Presented at the International Conference on the Contributions of Nigerian Universities from 27-29 September.","Dey, N. (2011). Quality assurance and accreditation in higher education in India. Academic Research International, 1(1), 104-110.","Okojie, J.A. (2008). Licensing, Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Nigerian Universities: Achievements and challenges: A Paper Presented at a Session of the 2008 CHEA Summer Workshop from 26-27 June. Available at www.chea.org/pdf/2008 Julius Qkoiie. (accessed on 3rd Januarv.2013).","Aghenta, J.A. (2006). Higher education in Nigeria. Lagos: Nigeria Academy of Education.","Onifade, G.O, Onifade, F.N, Omotosho, A. & Nwaogu, H. (2011). The Impact of Nigerian University Libraries in Accreditation of Academic Programmes: A case study. A Journal of Pacific Northwest Library Association, 75(4), available at www.pnla.org (Accessed on 6th January, 2013).","National Universities Commission (1999). Approved minimum Academic Standards in Environmental Sciences for all Nigerian Universities, NUC, Lagos.","Okorie, N.C. & Uche, M.C. (2004) Total Quality Management (TQM) in Education: Its Imperatives and key Concepts, in Nnabuo, P.O.M, Okorie, N.C, Ajabi, O.G. and Igwe, L.E.B (Eds) Fundamentals of Educational Management (45-78) Owerri: Versatile.\n[10]\tObadara, O.E. & Alaka, A.A. (2013). Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Nigerian Universities. Journal of Education and Practice, 4(8): 34-41\n[11]\tAkhuemonkhan, I. A. & Raimi, L. (2014). Impact of quality assurance on technical vocational education and training (TVET) in Nigeria. Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences, 5(5), 1-24. \n[12]\tOribabor, O.A. (2008). Impact of national universities commission accreditation exercise on university administrative structure. African Research Review, an International Multidisciplinary Journal, Ethiopia, 2(3), 222-235.\n[13]\tOyekan, O.A. (2013). Benchmarking Periodic Review, Minimum Standard and Exchange Programme for Staff and Students as predictors of quality of graduates in Nigerian Public Universities. Journal of Education and Policy Review, 5(2): 27-42."]}

Using commercial quantitative assays, quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (qHBsAg) has improved our understanding and management of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The HBsAg level is highest in the immune tolerance phase, starts to decline during the immune clearance phase, and decreases slowly but progressively after hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion. The HBsAg level is lowest in individuals with an inactive carrier state but higher in those who develop HBeAg-negative hepatitis. It has been shown that a reduction of HBsAg by 1 log IU/mL or more reflects improved host immune control of HBV infection. A combination of HBsAg 1000 IU/mL have been shown to be at higher risks of HBeAg-negative hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma than those with HBsAg

[EN] This document is a part of the study of construction about turnoff CV-190 near Figueroles. The document develops the different phases of nodes design in the northern turnoff. It does a multicriterio matrix to chose the best option in each case. To assign the weights of the parameters (economic, road safety, functionality and environmental impact), I did a survey answered by people involved in civil engineering. The layout in base and elevation has been resolved by Autocad Civil3D. The parameters of road safety like visibilities or stopping distance are checked, also angle entry for intersections. Finally, trajectory analysis with the tool vehicle tracker that allow us to see how many area we need for each turn., [ES] Este documento es un anejo del proyecto de construcción de la variante CV-190 a su paso por el municipio de Figueroles (provincia de Castellón) Desarrolla las diferentes fases del diseño de nudos de la variante norte. Se realiza una matriz de elección multicriterio para elegir la alternativa óptima en cada caso. Para asignar los pesos asignados a cada parámetro de la matriz (económico, seguridad vial, funcionalidad e impacto ambiental) se recurre a una encuesta respondida solo por gente relacionada con la ingeniería civil, asegurando unos valores adecuados. El trazado en planta y alzado se resuelve con el programa Civil 3D de Autocad. Comprobación de diferentes parámetros de seguridad vial, como distancias de parada o de cruce así como de ángulo de entrada a las intersecciones. Para finalizar se desarrolla un análisis de trayectoria con la herramienta vehicle tracker, que permite ver la superficie necesaria de giro para cada movimiento existente en el nudo., [CA] El document desenvolupa les diferents fases del diseny dels nucs de la variant nord projectada en la nacional CV-190 a l'altura del municipi de Figueroles. Es realitza una matriu d'elecció multicriteri per a triar la millor alternativa en cada cas. Per a assignar els pesos a cada paràmetre de la matriu (econòmic, seguretat vial, funcionalitat i impacte ambiental) es realitza una enquesta a grups de diferents persones relacionades amb el món de la enginyeria civil. El traçat en planta i alçat es dissenya amb el programa Civil3D d'Autocad Es comproven els diferents paràmetres a complir en la seguretat vial, com distàncies de parada o d'encreuament, així com l'angle d'entrada a les interseccions. Per a finalitzar es desenvolupa l'anàlisi de trajectòria amb el vehicle tracker que ens permet veure la superfície necessària de gir per a cada moviment existent en el nuc.

Background Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the main cause of hospital infection emerged over the last decades. Rapid detection of MRSA is important for patient care and proper usage of infection control. Detection of mecA genes (encoding resistance to methicillin and other similar antibiotics) and nuc genes (encoding staphylococcal thermostable nuclease) by PCR method is now considered for rapid identification of MRSA strain. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of MRSA isolated from patients in Tehran, Iran by PCR method for detection of mecA and nuc genes. Method Phenotypic method such as microscopic and colony morphology and catalase and coagulase tests were used for identification of S. aureus isolates. DNA was extracted from all isolates and the presence of nuc and mecA gene was detected by PCR method. For determination of MRSA by phenotypic methods, oxacillin disk diffusion test were used. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results Out of 126 clinical sample identified by phenotypic method, 101 isolates had nuc gene. In disk diffusion tests by oxacillin disk, 78.2% of isolates were considered to be MRSA, but in PCR method for mecA gene, 69% isolates were positive. Conclusions The results showed a high prevalence of methicillin-resistance among S. aureus isolates. Identifying MRSA strains, isolating MRSA-positive patients and carrier's treatment in a hospital to prevent MRSA infection is important in limiting the spread of MRSA. The PCR method for detection of nuc and mecA genes has potential for rapid and accurate diagnosis of MRSA strains.

CRISPR/Cas systems act to protect the cell from invading nucleic acids in many bacteria and archaea. The bacterial immune protein Cas9 is a component of one of these CRISPR/Cas systems and has recently been adapted as a tool for genome editing. Cas9 is easily targeted to bind and cleave a DNA sequence via a complimentary RNA; this straightforward programmability has gained Cas9 rapid acceptance in the field of genetic engineering. While this technology has developed quickly, a number of challenges regarding Cas9 specificity, efficiency, fusion protein function, and spatiotemporal control within the cell remain. In this work, we develop a platform for constructing novel proteins to address these open questions. We demonstrate methods to either screen or select active Cas9 mutants and use the screening technique to isolate functional Cas9 variants with a heterologous PDZ domain inserted directly into the protein. As a proof of concept, these methods lay the groundwork for the future construction of diverse Cas9 proteins. Straightforward and accessible techniques for genetic editing are helping to elucidate biology in new and exciting ways; a platform to engineer new functionalities into Cas9 will help forge the next generation of genome modifying tools.

Methicillin-resistente Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sind die häufigsten multiresistenten Erreger nosokomialer Infektionen. Schnelle MRSA-Nachweise ermöglichen zeitnah die Umsetzung von Hygienemaßnahmen zur Verhinderung von Übertragungen. Deshalb wurde ein Schnellnachweissystem basierend auf einer S. aureus-spezifischen immunomagnetischen Separation kombiniert mit einer MRSA-Selektivbouillon neu etabliert, mit klinischen Proben evaluiert und mit den Ergebnissen der konventionellen Phänotypie verglichen. MRSA wurden durch mecA/nuc Gennachweis bestätigt. Die Untersuchung mittels MRSA-Schnellnachweissystem (Dauer: =36 h) von 95 Proben ergab eine Nachweisgrenze von 102 KBE/ml mit MRSA-Nachweisspezifität/–sensitivität und positiven/negativen prädiktiven Werten (PPV/NPV) von jeweils 100%. Im Gegensatz zur konventionellen Phänotypie mit einer Sensitivität/Spezifität/PPV/NPV von 50%/100%/100%/75,9% nach im Durchschnitt 52,8 h wurde eine hochspezifische ökonomische MRSA-Detektion realisiert.

Bacterien die hun omgeving delen met concurrenten hebben een groot aantal strategieen ontwikkeld om toxische stoffen te kunnen weerstaan. Zulke beschermingsstrategieen zijn vaak gericht tegen een verbinding of een groep van verwante verbindingen (Hoofdstuk 1). Veel voorkomende manieren om de cel te beschermen tegen deze schadelijke verbindingen zijn het inactiveren van de toxische stof door deze af te breken, of het zodanig veranderen van het cellulaire aangrijpingspunt van de schadelijke verbinding zodat deze de cel niet meer herkent. Meer dan 30 jaar geleden werd ontdekt dat menselijke kankercellen die voor langere tijd zijn blootgesteld aan een chemische behandeling, niet alleen ongevoelig (resistent of immuun) worden tegen de gebruikte anti-kanker verbinding , maar tegelijkertijd ook tegen andere, niet verwante chemische verbindingen waarvan vele ook een antikanker werking hebben (15-1 8). Studies aan hogere eukaryoten zoals menselijke kankercellijnen en bijvoorbeeld gisten, leidden tot de identificatie van membraaneiwitten die verantwoordelijk zijn voor de actieve uitscheiding van vele, niet verwante toxische stoffen over het celmembraan. Dit transport maakt de cel resistent tegen een verscheidenheid van dit soort verbindingen, een eigenschap die multidrug resistentie (MDR) wordt genoemd. Vewolgens werden ook MDR (multidrug resistentie) eiwitten ge'identificeerd in bacterien die een vergelijkbare rol vervullen. In tegenstelling tot in eukaryoten worden de meeste MDR transportsystemen in bacterien aangedreven door de elektrochemische potentiaal van protonen over het membraan. Een klein deel van de beschreven systemen wordt aangedreven door de energie die vrijkomt bij de hydrolyse van ATP.

Bacterien die hun omgeving delen met concurrenten hebben een groot aantal strategieen ontwikkeld om toxische stoffen te kunnen weerstaan. Zulke beschermingsstrategieen zijn vaak gericht tegen een verbinding of een groep van verwante verbindingen (Hoofdstuk 1). Veel voorkomende manieren om de cel te beschermen tegen deze schadelijke verbindingen zijn het inactiveren van de toxische stof door deze af te breken, of het zodanig veranderen van het cellulaire aangrijpingspunt van de schadelijke verbinding zodat deze de cel niet meer herkent. Meer dan 30 jaar geleden werd ontdekt dat menselijke kankercellen die voor langere tijd zijn blootgesteld aan een chemische behandeling, niet alleen ongevoelig (resistent of immuun) worden tegen de gebruikte anti-kanker verbinding , maar tegelijkertijd ook tegen andere, niet verwante chemische verbindingen waarvan vele ook een antikanker werking hebben (15-1 8). Studies aan hogere eukaryoten zoals menselijke kankercellijnen en bijvoorbeeld gisten, leidden tot de identificatie van membraaneiwitten die verantwoordelijk zijn voor de actieve uitscheiding van vele, niet verwante toxische stoffen over het celmembraan. Dit transport maakt de cel resistent tegen een verscheidenheid van dit soort verbindingen, een eigenschap die multidrug resistentie (MDR) wordt genoemd. Vewolgens werden ook MDR (multidrug resistentie) eiwitten ge'identificeerd in bacterien die een vergelijkbare rol vervullen. In tegenstelling tot in eukaryoten worden de meeste MDR transportsystemen in bacterien aangedreven door de elektrochemische potentiaal van protonen over het membraan. Een klein deel van de beschreven systemen wordt aangedreven door de energie die vrijkomt bij de hydrolyse van ATP.

This thesis describes and evaluates a number of algorithms for reducing fixed pattern noise in image sequences. Fixed pattern noise is the dominantnoise component for many infrared detector systems, perceived as a superimposed pattern that is approximately constant for all image frames. Primarily, methods based on estimation of the movement between individual image frames are studied. Using scene-matching techniques, global motion between frames can be successfully registered with sub-pixel accuracy. This allows each scene pixel to be traced along a path of individual detector elements. Assuming a static scene, differences in pixel intensities are caused by fixed pattern noise that can be estimated and removed. The algorithms have been tested by using real image data from existing infrared imaging systems with good results. The tests include both a two-dimensional focal plane array detector and a linear scanning one-dimensional detector, in different scene conditions.

Portable devices often demand powerful processors to run computing intensive applications, such as video playing or gaming, and ultra low en-ergy consumption to extend device uptime. Such con-flicting requirements are hard to fulfil and appeal for adaptive hardware that only consumes energy when required. LP-NUCA is a tiled cache organization aimed at high-performance low-power embedded processors that sequentially looks up for blocks ordered by tem-poral locality in groups of small tiles. Unfortunately, LP-NUCA has two main dynamic energy wasting sources: (a) blocks are continuously migrating among tiles even in low locality phases, (b) to reduce cache latency, the tag and data arrays of the tiles are always accessed in parallel. This paper proposes a learning-based controller that dynamically tunes block migration and cache ac-cess policy between parallel and serial. During low temporal locality phases the controller drops blocks from the LP-NUCA root tile, L1, and forces a serial access to the tag and data arrays in the tiles, thus reducing the energy waste. Using a cycle-accurate simulator and energy estimations derived from an LP-NUCA layout, the proposed controller reduces dy-namic energy by 20% on average for single and multi-thread workloads.