Search results for "observational [Methods]"
showing 10 items of 897 documents
Observational data and orbits of the asteroids discovered at the Baldone Observatory in 2015–2018
2020
AbstractThis paper is devoted to the discovery of 37 asteroids at the Baldone Astrophysical Observatory (MPC 069) from 2015 to 2018, and one of dynamically interesting Mars-crosser (MC) observed at the Baldone Astrophysical Observatory, namely 2008 LX16. In Baldone Observatory, was independently discovered the Near-Earth Object 2018 GE3 on the image of 13 April 2018. Also, the NEO 2006 VB14 was observed doing its astrometry and photometry. Moreover, we observed asteroids 1986 DA and 2014 LJ1. We computed orbits and analyzed the orbital evolution of these asteroids. 566 positions and photometric observations of NEO objects 345705 (2006 VB14) and 6178 (1986 DA) were obtained with Baldone Schm…
Anticipating the impact of pitfalls in kinetic biodegradation parameter estimation from substrate depletion curves of organic pollutants
2019
[EN] Accurate and reliable estimation of kinetic parameters of pollutant biodegradation processes is essential for environmental and health risk assessment. Common biodegradation models proposed in the literature, such as the nonlinear Monod equation and its simplified versions (e.g. Michaelis-Menten-like and first-order equations), are problematic in terms of accuracy of kinetic parameters due to the parameter correlation. However, a comparison between these models in terms of accuracy and reliability, related to data imprecision, has not been performed in the literature. This task is necessary, mainly because the model selection cannot be straightforward, as shown in this work. To facilit…
Colour patch size and measurement error using reflectance spectrophotometry
2017
1 - Over the past twenty years, portable and relatively affordable spectrophotometers have greatly advanced the study of animal coloration. However, the small size of many colour patches poses methodological challenges that have not, to date, been assessed in the literature. Here, we tackle this issue for a reflectance spectrophotometry set-up widely used in ecology and evolution (the beam method). 2 - We reviewed the literature on animal coloration reporting the use of reflectance spectrophotometry to explore how the minimum measurable size of a colour patch is determined. We then used coloured plastic sheets to create artificial colour patches, and quantify the relationship between colour…
Quantifying and addressing the prevalence and bias of study designs in the environmental and social sciences
2020
Building trust in science and evidence-based decision-making depends heavily on the credibility of studies and their findings. Researchers employ many different study designs that vary in their risk of bias to evaluate the true effect of interventions or impacts. Here, we empirically quantify, on a large scale, the prevalence of different study designs and the magnitude of bias in their estimates. Randomised designs and controlled observational designs with pre-intervention sampling were used by just 23% of intervention studies in biodiversity conservation, and 36% of intervention studies in social science. We demonstrate, through pairwise within-study comparisons across 49 environmental da…
Event-triggered robust adaptive control for discrete time uncertain systems with unmodelled dynamics and disturbances
2019
In practice, modelling errors caused by high-order unmodelled dynamics and external disturbances are unavoidable. How to ensure the robustness of an adaptive controller with respect to such modelling errors is always a critical concern. In this study, the authors consider the design of event-triggered robust adaptive control for a class of discrete-time uncertain systems which involve such modelling errors and also are allowed to be non-minimum phase. Unlike some existing event-triggered control schemes, the developed controllers do not require that the measurement errors meet the corresponding input-to-state stable condition. Global stability of the closed-loop system which means that all …
Estimation of Location and Activation Time of Purkinje Myocardial Junctions from Sparse and Noisy Endocardial Electrical Samples
2017
The activation of the myocardial muscle is triggered by Purkinje-myocardial junctions (PMJs), which are the terminal sites of the specialised cardiac conduction system (CCS). Obtaining the location of the PMJs and other sources of endocardial ectopic activity would be desirable for building computer models of cardiac electrophysiology and planning ablation interventions. We present a method to estimate the location and activation times of endocardial electrical sources in a 3D model of the ventricles. The algorithm requires a set of discrete electrical samples on the endocardium, which can include errors in location and activation time. The estimated sources are properly placed with a locat…
From bedside to bench: The missing brick for patients with fungal sepsis
2016
We read with great interest the article by Spec et al. [1] investigating the immunophenotype of T cells from patients with Candida spp. sepsis. This is the first observational study describing the altered immune response of patients with candidemia. The authors included non-neutropenic critically ill patients with candidemia and non-septic controls, and excluded patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection, who had undergone solid or bone marrow transplantation or with other known causes of impaired immune response. The authors hypothesized that their findings may help explain why patients with fungal sepsis show a high mortality despite appropriate antifungal therapy. In our opinio…
Management of patients with hereditary angioedema in Germany: comparison with other countries in the Icatibant Outcome Survey
2018
Abstract Background The Icatibant Outcome Survey (IOS; NCT01034969) is a Shire‐sponsored, international, observational study monitoring the safety and effectiveness of icatibant, a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist approved for the acute treatment of adults with hereditary angioedema with C1 inhibitor deficiency (HAE‐C1‐INH). Objective To report IOS data comparing demographic and icatibant treatment outcomes in patients with HAE‐C1‐INH from Germany to HAE‐C1‐INH patients from 11 other IOS countries. Methods A descriptive, retrospective, comparative analysis of data from 685 IOS patients with HAE‐C1‐INH from seven centres in Germany (n = 93) vs. centres from Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, …
Mediterranean diet and sars-cov-2 infection: Is there any association? a proof-of-concept study
2021
The aim of this observational study was investigating the possible correlation between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MeD) and SARS-COV-2 infection rates and severity among healthcare professionals (HCPs). An online self-administrated questionnaire (evaluating both MeD adherence and dietary habits) was filled out by HCPs working in Piedmont (Northern Italy) from 15 January to 28 February 2021. Out of the 1206 questionnaires collected, 900 were considered reliable and analyzed. Individuals who reported the SARS-COV-2 infection (n = 148) showed a significantly lower MeD score, with a lower adherence in fruit, vegetables, cereals, and olive oil consumption. In a logistic regression model…
Head, Neck, and Abdominopelvic Septic Thrombophlebitis: Current Evidence and Challenges in Diagnosis and Treatment.
2020
AbstractSeptic thrombophlebitis (STP) is a complex, cross-disciplinary clinical condition that combines a localized infection with a neighboring venous thrombosis. STP can occur at several possible anatomic sites, such as dural sinuses, jugular vein (Lemierre syndrome), portal vein (pylephlebitis), and pelvic veins. Its high mortality in the preantibiotic era improved considerably with the introduction of modern antibiotics. However, little evidence exists to date to guide its clinical management. The incidence of STP or its risk factors may be increasing, and its mortality may still be considerable. These trends would have far-reaching implications, especially in the setting of increasing …