Evaluation of a compact sensor for backscattering and absorption

Seawater inherent optical properties (IOPs) are key parameters in a wide range of applications in environmental studies and oceanographic research. In particular, the absorption coefficient (a) is the typical IOP used to obtain the concentration of chlorophyll-a in the water-a critical parameter in biological oceanography studies and the backscattering coefficient (b(b)) is used as a measure of turbidity. In this study, we test a novel instrument concept designed to obtain both the absorption and backscattering coefficients. The instrument would emit a collimated monochromatic light beam into the water retrieving the backscattered light intensity as a function of distance from the center of illumination. We use Monte Carlo modeling of light propagation to create an inversion algorithm that translates the signal from such an instrument into values of a and b(b). Our results, based on simulations spanning the bulk of natural values of seawater IOP combinations, indicate that a 6.2 cm diameter instrument with a radial resolution of 1 cm would be capable of predicting b(b) within less than 13.4% relative difference and a within less than 57% relative difference (for 90% of the inverted a values, the relative errors fall below 29.7%). Additionally, these errors could be further reduced by constraining the inversion algorithm with information from concurrent measurements of other IOPs. Such a compact and relatively simple device could have multiple applications for in situ optical measurements, including a and b(b) retrievals from instrumentation mounted on autonomous underwater vehicles. Furthermore, the same methodology could possibly be used for an out-of-water sensor.     

The Roles of Imaging Biomarkers in the Management of Chronic Neuropathic Pain

Chronic neuropathic pain (CNP) affects around 10% of the general population and has a significant social, emotional, and economic impact. Current diagnosis techniques rely mainly on patient-reported outcomes and symptoms, which leads to significant diagnostic heterogeneity and subsequent challenges in management and assessment of outcomes. As such, it is necessary to review the approach to a pathology that occurs so frequently, with such burdensome and complex implications. Recent research has shown that imaging methods can detect subtle neuroplastic changes in the central and peripheral nervous system, which can be correlated with neuropathic symptoms and may serve as potential markers. The aim of this paper is to review available imaging methods used for diagnosing and assessing therapeutic efficacy in CNP for both the preclinical and clinical setting. Of course, further research is required to standardize and improve detection accuracy, but available data indicate that imaging is a valuable tool that can impact the management of CNP.     

Circulating Small EVs miRNAs as Predictors of Pathological Response to Neo-Adjuvant Therapy in Breast Cancer Patients

Neo-adjuvant therapy (NAT) is increasingly used in the clinic for the treatment of breast cancer (BC). Pathological response to NAT has been associated with improved patients’ survival; however, the current techniques employed for assessing the tumor response have significant limitations. Small EVs (sEVs)-encapsulated miRNAs have emerged as promising new biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction. Therefore, our study aims to explore the predictive value of these miRNAs for the pathological response to NAT in BC. By employing bioinformatic tools, we selected a set of miRNAs and evaluated their expression in plasma sEVs and BC biopsies. Twelve miRNAs were identified in sEVs, of which, miR-21-5p, 221-3p, 146a-5p and 26a-5p were significantly associated with the Miller–Payne (MP) pathological response to NAT. Moreover, miR-21-5p, 146a-5p, 26a-5p and miR-24-3p were independent as predictors of MP response to NAT. However, the expression of these miRNAs showed no correlation between sEVs and tissue samples, indicating that the mechanisms of miRNA sorting into sEVs still needs to be elucidated. Functional analysis of miRNA target genes and drug interactions revealed that candidate miRNAs and their targets, can be regulated by different NAT regimens. This evidence supports their role in governing the patients’ therapy response and highlights their potential use as prediction biomarkers.     

On a compressed elastic–plastic column optimized for post-buckling behaviour

A model of a column is proposed in order to analyse the post-buckling behaviour of a structural element in the elastic–plastic deformation range. The ideal two point I-section applied here simplifies the deformation analysis, that is, the problem of development of plastic zones in a section is eliminated, but still gives the possibility for qualitative analysis and optimization of the post-critical equilibrium paths. The coefficients of linear or parabolic variability of thickness of the flanges and their distance (web width) are accepted as model parameters and hence could be used for design variables in the optimization procedure. Moreover, the stiffness of an additional elastic support of the free end of the beam is also included as a parameter or design variable. A material model is employed with non-linear asymptotic isotropic hardening without the Bauschinger effect. Change of the tangent modulus is continuous and smooth during the transition from the elastic to plastic deformation range. The main goal of the analysis is to determine the values of the design variables for which the post-critical equilibrium paths are stable at least in the specified range of a generalized displacement. The constraints for the constant volume of the flanges and web material are applied. The inequality constraints are imposed on the flange thickness and web width. Various formulations of the optimization problem are proposed for all types of non-linear behaviour, including elastic or plastic buckling and elastic or elastic–plastic post-buckling deformation.     

Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites: Influence of Ionic Strength on the Structure and Adhesion Characteristics in Multilayered Films

The aim of the present contribution is to understand how ionic strength, brought by the addition of salt to laponite/PEO nanocomposite dispersions, influences the texture and adhesion characteristics at nano‐ and microscales in multilayered nanocomposite films prepared from such dispersions. At the nano‐scale, SAXS and XRD measurements indicated that the clay platelets orient parallel to the film plane and that the polymer chains intercalate the clay platelets regardless of salt addition. A gradual transition from an agglomerated structure, containing polymer‐rich and clay‐rich domains, to a fine‐balanced structure with smaller distinct details without excess PEO was observed, via AFM, on the exposed edges of cryo‐microtomed films with increasing ionic strength.

     

Robust gossiping with an application to consensus

We study deterministic gossiping in synchronous systems with dynamic crash failures. Each processor is initialized with an input value called rumor. In the standard gossip problem, the goal of every processor is to learn all the rumors. When processors may crash, then this goal needs to be revised, since it is possible, at a point in an execution, that certain rumors are known only to processors that have already crashed. We define gossiping to be completed, for a system with crashes, when every processor knows either the rumor of processor v or that v has already crashed, for any processor v. We design gossiping algorithms that are efficient with respect to both time and communication. Let t<n be the number of failures, where n is the number of processors. If , then one of our algorithms completes gossiping in O(log²t) time and with O(npolylogn) messages. We develop an algorithm that performs gossiping with O(n^1.77) messages and in O(log²n) time, in any execution in which at least one processor remains non-faulty. We show a trade-off between time and communication in gossiping algorithms: if the number of messages is at most O(npolylogn), then the time has to be at least . By way of application, we show that if n−t=Ω(n), then consensus can be solved in O(t) time and with O(nlog²t) messages.     

Generation of sign Walsh spectra from disjoint cubes of Boolean functions

A new algorithm is given that converts a reduced representation of Boolean functions in the form of disjoint cubes to sign Walsh spectra. Since the known algorithms that generate sign Walsh spectra always start from the truth table of Boolean functions, the method presented computes faster with a smaller computer memory. The method is especially efficient for such Boolean functions that are described by only few disjoint cubes.