Quality of ecologically produced foods of animal origin

The production of organic (ecological) food of animal origin is done in many ways and uses many different breeds. Therefore a real comparison with conventionally produced food is difficult. From the limited number of published data it appears, that the characteristics of quality of the products, the nutritional, hygienic, sensorial and technological factors, are not very different in both systems of production. In some factors organic food gets better marks, in others the conventionally produced food. The differences are in the production system (process quality) during lifetime of the animals.     

Sucrosemia in untreated celiac disease: a potential screening test

During studies to develop serum tests of small intestinal permeability, we detected an unidentified disaccharide in HPLC traces of sera from untreated celiacs. This present study aimed to identify the disaccharide and determine whether the presence of the disaccharide in the serum after an oral challenge had potential as a simple screening test for celiac disease. The disaccharide was identified as sucrose by incubation studies of sera with disaccharidases. Twenty untreated celiacs, 15 treated celiacs, and 20 normal or dyspeptic controls were studied for the presence of sucrose in their serum after an oral load (8 g). The results in celiacs were compared with the presence of serum IgA endomysial antibodies. The 10 normal controls were also given a larger sucrose challenge (50 g). Ten of the untreated celiacs and 10 controls had their brush border disaccharidase activities measured. Sucrose eluted in the same position as the unidentified disaccharide in the HPLC trace and the latter could be removed by incubation with sucrase. All untreated celiacs but none of the treated celiacs had sucrose in their serum after the 8-g oral challenge. None of the controls had sucrose in their serum after the 8-g or 50-g challenges. Three untreated celiacs were IgA endomysial antibody negative as were all the treated cases. Brush border sucrase activity was low in untreated celiac disease. The presence of sucrose in the serum after an oral load shows promise as a noninvasive test for celiac disease.     

Long Duration Persistent Photocurrent in 3 nm Thin Doped Indium Oxide for Integrated Light Sensing and In-Sensor Neuromorphic Computation

Miniaturization and energy consumption by computational systems remain major challenges to address. Optoelectronics based synaptic and light sensing provide an exciting platform for neuromorphic processing and vision applications offering several advantages. It is highly desirable to achieve single-element image sensors that allow reception of information and execution of in-memory computing processes while maintaining memory for much longer durations without the need for frequent electrical or optical rehearsals. In this work, ultra-thin (<3 nm) doped indium oxide (In₂O₃) layers are engineered to demonstrate a monolithic two-terminal ultraviolet (UV) sensing and processing system with long optical state retention operating at 50 mV. This endows features of several conductance states within the persistent photocurrent window that are harnessed to show learning capabilities and significantly reduce the number of rehearsals. The atomically thin sheets are implemented as a focal plane array (FPA) for UV spectrum based proof-of-concept vision system capable of pattern recognition and memorization required for imaging and detection applications. This integrated light sensing and memory system is deployed to illustrate capabilities for real-time, in-sensor memorization, and recognition tasks. This study provides an important template to engineer miniaturized and low operating voltage neuromorphic platforms across the light spectrum based on application demand.     

A study of Q-learning considering negative rewards

In the reinforcement learning system, the agent obtains a positive reward, such as 1, when it achieves its goal. Positive rewards are propagated around the goal area, and the agent gradually succeeds in reaching its goal. If you want to avoid certain situations, such as dangerous places or poison, you might want to give a negative reward to the agent. However, in conventional Q-learning, negative rewards are not propagated in more than one state. In this article, we propose a new way to propagate negative rewards. This is a very simple and efficient technique for Q-learning. Finally, we show the results of computer simulations and the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Development of clinical indicators for performance measurement and improvement: an HMO/purchaser collaborative effort

This article describes a collaborative effort between a major health care purchaser, three area health maintenance organizations, and a state Medicaid agency to develop clinical indicators as the basis for a comparison database. Some of the difficulties in developing a "common yardstick" of quality and value are candidly discussed.