BACKGROUND There is today no gold standard method to accurately define the time passed since infection at HIV diagnosis. Infection timing and incidence measurement is however essential to better monitor the dynamics of local epidemics and the effect of prevention initiatives. METHODS Three methods for infection timing were evaluated using 237 serial samples from documented seroconversions and...

A new HIGEE device-rotating zigzag bed (RZB) was developed in the context of process intensification. The RZB is structurally featured by a combinatorial rotor of one series of baffles attached to a rotating disk with another series to a stationary disk. The novel structure of the RZB determines its many advantages over the other HIGEE devices. The RZB is free of dynamic seal, capable of interm...

INTRODUCTION This report is one of a series on the Flight Analog Project, which is designed to lay the groundwork for a standard bed rest protocol. The Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) is a self-administered battery of tests used on the International Space Station for evaluating cognitive functioning. Here, WinSCAT was used to assess cognitive functioning during exten...

Aims and method To compare admission rates and bed occupancy before and after the introduction of community treatment orders (CTOs) in 37 assertive outreach service patients. The effect of CTOs on treatment adherence and illicit drug use were also evaluated. The views of patients and care coordinators were obtained through a focus group. Results When CTOs were introduced, admission rates fell f...

septicemia in neonates is the commonest cause of mortality. early recognition and diagnosis of neonatal sepsis remains a challenge because of the variable and nonspecific clinical presentation. the laboratory criteria are often non specific and not fully reliable. the objective of this review is to highlight the various hematological and biological markers of neonatal sepsis. we searched pubmed...

In a novel dual bed reactor Fischer-Tropsch synthesis was studied by using two diffrent cobalt catalysts. An alkali-promoted cobalt catalyst was used in the first bed of a fixed-bed reactor followed by a Rutenuim promoted cobalt catalyst in the second bed. The activity, product selectivity and accelerated deactivation of the system were assessed and compared with a conventional single bed r...

OBJECTIVE To test the sepsis marker procalcitonin (PCT) for its applicability to discriminate between septic and nonseptic causes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). DESIGN Prospective study, assessing the course of PCT serum levels in early (within 72 hrs after onset) ARDS. The three other inflammation markers neopterin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were test...

Bone loss associated with disuse during bed rest (BR), an analog of space flight, can be attenuated by exercise. In previous studies, the efficacy of either aerobic or resistive exercise countermeasures has been examined separately. We hypothesized that a regimen of combined resistive and aerobic exercise during BR would prevent bone resorption and promote bone formation. After a 20-day ambulat...

We consider the problem of locating instances of a known object in a novel scene by matching the fiducial features of the object. Our approach to the problem consists of two parts: a model for the appearance of the features and a model for the shape of the object. We then bind these parts together in a Bayesian framework and match the features sequentially, using the information about the locat...

We describe a new method for 2D fiducial tracking. We use region adjacency information together with angles between regions to encode IDs inside fiducials, whereas previous research by Kaltenbrunner and Bencina utilize region adjacency tree. Our method supports a wide ID range and is fast enough to accommodate real-time video. It is also very robust against false positive detection.