Densification involved in the UV-based photosensitivity of silicaglasses and optical fibers

A comprehensive survey of photosensitivity in silica glasses and optical fiber is reviewed. Recent work on understanding the mechanisms contributing to germanium or aluminum doped fiber photosensitivity is discussed within the framework of photoelastic densification models     

Hull-less Barley Varieties: Storage Proteins and Amino Acid Distribution in Relation to Nutritional Quality

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has had an important impact on human nutrition. Hull-less barley is a genetically improved type that has been widely used in recent years. Six Brazilian hull-less barley varieties (IAC-IBON 214-82; IAC 8612-421; IAC 8501-31; IAC 8501-12; IAPAR 39-ACUMAI; IAC 8501-22) were analyzed for storage protein constituents, amino acid contents, and similarity among the hull-less barley varieties. Albumins, globulins, prolamins I and II, and glutelins were extracted and separated by SDS-PAGE. The total protein amino acid contents of the flour were also determined for each variety by TLC and HPLC. Variations in intensity and appearance and disappearance of protein bands were observed among the varieties suggesting genetic variability. However, the amino acid profile did not indicate any major variations in the amino acid concentrations. The high lysine and threonine total concentrations detected in the seeds of the hull-less barley varieties encouraged an investigation into the regulation of amino acid metabolism and storage protein synthesis.     

Dietary disinhibition, perceived stress, and glucose control in young, Type 1 diabetic women.

Examining the relationship of stress, dietary disinhibition, and blood glucose control in diabetic young women was the goal of this study. 65 diabetic girls and women, ranging in age from 12 to 26 yrs, completed eating behaviors and perceived stress scales during regular clinic visits. Blood glucose control was assessed by concurrent glycosylated hemoglobin measurements. Multiple regression analyses indicated that high levels of perceived stress predicted dietary disinhibition and that within the age range studied, young women were more likely than early adolescent girls to perceive their life as stressful. Contrary to previous findings that failed to show that stress can indirectly affect glucose control by interfering with compliance behaviors, the present work indicated a Stress?×?Dietary Disinhibition interaction in predicting glucose control. Blood glucose control was poorest in those diabetic women who both perceived their lives as stressful and reported medium to high disinhibition. Blood glucose control was unrelated to stress in young women who reported low levels of disinhibition. These results have implications for the development of specific interventions for young diabetic women who perceive their lives as stressful and who may respond to stress by eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diets,population structure,and seasonal activity patterns of mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus) in an urban,Great Lakes coastal habitat

Freshwater species native to the Laurentian Great Lakes region face numerous environmental stressors, and the conservation status and ecological relationships of many remain poorly understood. One such species, the mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus), is declining, but better information on their natural history and development of more effective population monitoring techniques is needed. We assessed seasonal variation in capture success, biases in capture techniques, and feeding ecology of mudpuppies in Wolf Lake, a highly perturbed and urban former estuarine wetland complex to Lake Michigan. Trapping periods of ≥ 3 consecutive nights occurred from January to May 2015, and October 2015 to March 2016. Overall trapping success differed among trapping periods (p = 0.01) and declined precipitously at water temperatures above 14.1 °C (p < 0.001). Mudpuppies in traps (mean 26.9 ± 0.5 cm) were larger than those caught with hand nets (mean 14.7 ± 0.8 cm, p < 0.0001), suggesting that multiple methods may be needed to accurately assess demographics. Stomach contents obtained through gastric lavage included mollusks, leeches, insects, isopods, amphipods, crayfish, fish, a frog, and a juvenile conspecific. Invasive species, including rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus), round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus), and zebra/quagga mussels (Dreissena spp.) were present in guts, suggesting mudpuppy foraging has changed along with aquatic communities in the region. Prey community analyses revealed differences in overall diet among size classes of mudpuppies (p = 0.001), but relatively weak similarity within size classes. Results suggest that mudpuppies in lake ecosystems occupy a broad niche that changes as they grow.     

Exploring similarities and differences in teamwork across diverse healthcare contexts using communication analysis

Teamwork is prevalent in many work contexts. This study explored the similarities and differences in teamwork processes across different healthcare work contexts with the aim of assessing knowledge transfer feasibility. The research approach was to aggregate team communication analyses from four healthcare contexts to uncover teamwork similarities and differences. The four healthcare contexts included two handoffs and two surgery contexts. The communication analysis segmented communication into meaningful sequences. It categorized utterances into content categories and verbal behaviors. There were a few similar content categories across the four contexts. A clear information structure emerged in the two handoff contexts. In addition, there were more dialogues and requests in the surgeries compared to more reports in the handoffs. The content similarities suggest that some knowledge is transferable among the contexts. However, the differences in communication patterns reflect fundamental differences between handoff and surgery contexts in some teamwork processes. This research demonstrated that using communication analysis can uncover similarities and differences in team cognition and teamwork processes across work contexts. This in turn can help determine what knowledge and methods pertaining to team training, procedures, and technology are transferable across the contexts.     

Deep learning for graphics recognition: document understanding and beyond

International Journal on Document Analysis and Recognition (IJDAR) -     

Design and construction of an experimental pervious paved parking area to harvest reusable rainwater

Pervious pavements are sustainable urban drainage systems already known as rainwater infiltration techniques which reduce runoff formation and diffuse pollution in cities. The present research is focused on the design and construction of an experimental parking area, composed of 45 pervious pavement parking bays. Every pervious pavement was experimentally designed to store rainwater and measure the levels of the stored water and its quality over time. Six different pervious surfaces are combined with four different geotextiles in order to test which materials respond better to the good quality of rainwater storage over time and under the specific weather conditions of the north of Spain. The aim of this research was to obtain a good performance of pervious pavements that offered simultaneously a positive urban service and helped to harvest rainwater with a good quality to be used for non potable demands.     

Dynamique des lasers à fibre dopée à I’erbium

The dynamics of the erbium doped fiber laser is analysed both experimentally and theoretically. This laser operates spontaneously in self-pulsing, in sinusoidal or in CW regime. Experiments have allowed to determine the control parameters : the cavity losses, the pumping rate and the ion pairs concentration. An antiphase dynamics is observed when the laser operates simultaneously at 1.55 µn and 1.536 µm. The self-pulsing behavior is attributed to a fast energy transfer which occurs between two neighboring ions (pair induced quenching). A simple model considering the active medium as a mixture of isolated ions and ions pairs is developped and leads to a good qualitative agreement with the experimental results.     

Design of a photowritten cavity neodymium-doped fiber laser tunable around an absorption molecular line

Experiments have shown that it is possible to realize laser cavities photowritten within rare-earth-doped silicate fibers. Experimental results on a particular application, namely, the detection of gas traces by identification of one of the gas's absorption lines, are presented. Experiments on an absorption line of atmospheric water have been carried out to illustrate this purpose. Two lasers have been designed with particular characteristics (spectral linewidths, slope efficiencies, thresholds). Preliminary experimental results on the detection of an absorption line of atmospheric water have been obtained with fiber lasers and optoacoustic detection.