Research of the Technical Seismicity Due to Blasting Works in Quarries and Their Impact on the Environment and Population

Vibrations caused by blasting works have an impact not only on buildings but also the internal environment of the buildings. If these buildings are situated in the surroundings of quarries, the citizens can perceive these vibrations negatively. By applying an appropriate millisecond timing interval, it is possible to lower the intensity of vibrations to the levels that the citizens will not perceive as negative effects inside the buildings. The limit values for this vibration intensity have not been defined to date. For the protection of the building from the vibrations, normative values of the particle velocity and frequency were determined. Hygienic standards for the inhabitants of the housing were applied, which assessed the impact of the vibration on humans through the measurement of the vibration acceleration in the housing. In this article, the results of the research carried out in Trebejov Quarry are presented. The experimental blasts carried out in Trebejov Quarry proved that the reduction in the vibration intensity under the value 2 mm.s−1 led to the satisfaction of the inhabitants.

A Safe Interval between Preoperative Intra-articular Corticosteroid Injections and Subsequent Knee Arthroscopy

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of intra-articular corticosteroid injections prior to knee arthroscopy on the rate of postoperative infection and define a safe timing interval between intra-articular corticosteroid injections and subsequent knee arthroscopy. The PearlDiver Database was used to identify patients who underwent a knee arthroscopy from 2007 to 2017. Patients were sorted into an injection cohort if they received any intra-articular corticosteroid injections within 6 months before surgery and a control cohort if they received no such injections. The injection cohort was then stratified into subgroups based on the timing of the most recent injection. We identified two types of postoperative infection in the 6 months following surgery: a broad definition of infection using knee infection diagnoses, and a narrow definition of infection requiring surgical treatment. The effects of the timing of preoperative corticosteroid injections on the rates of postoperative infection were investigated. The rate of broadly defined postoperative infection was significantly higher in the 0 to 2 weeks injection group (6.90%, 20/290) than the control group (2.01%, 1,449/72,089, p < 0.001; odds ratio [OR]:3.61 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.29, 5.70]). We observed a significant difference regarding the rate of narrowly defined postoperative infection requiring surgical treatment between the 0 and 2 weeks injection group (1.38%, 4/290) and the control group (0.27%, 192/72,089, p < 0.001, OR:5.24 [95% CI: 1.94, 14.21]). No significant differences were observed between other subgroups and the control group in both types of postoperative infection. Intra-articular corticosteroid injections within 2 weeks of knee arthroscopy were statistically significantly associated with higher rates of postoperative infection. This is a Level III, retrospective comparative study.

Application of a unifying reward-prediction error (RPE)-based framework to explain underlying dynamic dopaminergic activity in timing tasks

SUMMARYThis manuscript is intended as a theoretical companion to Hamiloset al., 20201, in which we examined the role of dopaminergic neurons (DANs) in self-timed movements. In that study, we recorded DAN signals in mice trained to initiate a licking movement after a self-timed delay following a start-timing cue. DAN signals both before the start-timing cue and during the timing interval predicted the timing of movement onset, up to seconds before the movement itself. In particular, dopaminergic signals “ramped up” from the time of the cue to the time of the movement. On a given trial, the slope of the ramping was predictive of when the movement would occur, with steep slope associated with early movement and shallow slope with late movement, reminiscent of a ramp-to-threshold process.Ramping dopaminergic signals were recently proposed in a theoretical framework that examined temporal-difference learning under resolved state uncertainty (Mikhael et al., 20192; Mikhael & Gershman, 20193; Gershman, 20144). Here, we show that an adapted version of Mikhael et al.’s model recapitulates the ramping dopaminergic signaling observed in our self-timed movement task. We also applied the model to results reported in a recent temporal bisection study, in which mice categorized time intervals as relatively short or long compared to a criterion interval (Soares et al., 20165). The model successfully predicted the relative amplitude of dynamic DAN signals observed in the bisection task. These combined results suggest a common neural mechanism that broadly underlies timing behavior: trial-by-trial variation in the rate of the internal “pacemaker,” manifested in DAN signals that reflect stretching or compression of the derivative of the subjective value function relative to veridical time. In this view, faster pacemaking is associated with relatively high amplitude dopaminergic signaling, whereas slower pacemaking is associated with relatively low levels of dopaminergic signaling.

Effects of Propofol Anaesthesia Pre-Medicated with Xylazine on Serum Biochemical Profiles and Sleep Pattern in Red Sokoto Goats

This study was conducted with the objective to compare the sleep pattern and biochemical changes during general anesthesia at different timing interval with the baseline information using Propofol as the agent of choice and xylazine as a pre-medicant at 4 mg kg-1 intravenously and 0.025 mg kg-1 intramuscularly respectively. The onset of anaesthesia was rapid (30.1±11.3 seconds), the anaesthetic induction, surgical plane and recovery were good. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) between baseline and other timing intervals in the rectal temperature, respiratory rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, but there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in pulse rate. Similarly, a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) was observed in the serum calcium ion, magnesium ion, hydrogen bicarbonate ion, Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), creatinine, total protein and glucose levels, but there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the sodium ion, potassium ion, Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Albumin (ALB), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), , and Urea. It was concluded that the combination of Propofol and Xylazine at 4mgkg-1 and 0.25mgkg-1 respectively can be effectively and safely used for induction and maintenance of anaesthesia in Red Sokoto goats. It was also noted that recovery was smooth without any violence. The combination was also observed to have minimal effects on the clinico-biochemical parameters of Red Sokoto goats.

Reference Values for Healthy Swallowing Across the Range From Thin to Extremely Thick Liquids

Purpose Thickened liquids are frequently used as an intervention for dysphagia, but gaps persist in our understanding of variations in swallowing behavior based on incremental thickening of liquids. The goal of this study was to establish reference values for measures of bolus flow and swallowing physiology in healthy adults across the continuum from thin to extremely thick liquids. Method A sex-balanced sample of 38 healthy adults underwent videofluoroscopy and swallowed 20% weight-to-volume concentration barium prepared in thin and slightly, mildly, moderately, and extremely thick consistencies using a xanthan gum thickener. Participants took comfortable sips and swallowed without a cue; sip volume was measured based on presip and postsip cup weights. A standard operating procedure (the ASPEKT method: Analysis of Swallowing Physiology: Events, Kinematics and Timing) was used to analyze videofluoroscopy recordings. Results The results clarify that, for thin liquid sips (10–14 ml), a single swallow without clearing swallows is typical and is characterized by complete laryngeal vestibule closure, complete pharyngeal constriction, and minimal postswallow residue. Aspiration was not seen, and penetration was extremely rare. Bolus position at swallow onset was variable, extending as low as the pyriform sinuses in 37% of cases. With thicker liquids, no changes in event sequencing, laryngeal vestibule closure, pharyngeal constriction, or postswallow residue were seen. The odds of penetration were significantly reduced. A longer timing interval until onset of the hyoid burst movement was seen, with an associated higher bolus position at swallow onset. Other timing measures remained unaffected by changes in bolus consistency. Conclusion The results include new reference data for swallowing in healthy adults across the range from thin to extremely thick liquids.

Incident Co-Morbidities in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Initially with a CHA2DS2-VASc Score of 0 (Males) or 1 (Females): Implications for Reassessment of Stroke Risk in Initially ‘Low-Risk’ Patients

Background Oral anticoagulants (OACs) are not recommended for ‘low-risk’ patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We investigated the incidences of new risk factors developing, and the temporal trends in the CHA2DS2-VASc score in initially ‘low-risk’ AF patients. Second, we propose a reasonable timing interval at which stroke risk should be reassessed for such AF patients. Methods We studied 14,606 AF patients who did not receive anti-platelet agents or OACs with a baseline CHA2DS2-VASc score of 0 (males) or 1 (females). The CHA2DS2-VASc scores of patients were followed up and updated until the occurrence of ischaemic stroke or mortality or 31 December 2011. The associations between the prescription of warfarin and risk of adverse events once patients' scores changed were analysed. Decile values of durations to incident co-morbidities and from the acquirement of new co-morbidities to ischaemic stroke were studied. Results During a mean follow-up of 4 years, 7,079 (48.5%) patients acquired at least one new stroke risk factor component(s) with annual risks of 6.35% for hypertension, 3.68% for age ≥ 65 years, 2.77% for heart failure, 1.99% for diabetes mellitus and 0.33% for vascular diseases. The incidence for CHA2DS2-VASc score increments was 12.1%/year. Initiation of warfarin was associated with a lower risk of adverse events (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.530; 95% confidence interval, 0.371–0.755). Among 6,188 patients who acquired new risk factors, 80% would acquire these co-morbidities after 4.2 months of AF diagnosis. The duration from the acquirement of incident co-morbidities to the occurrence of ischaemic stroke was longer than 4.4 months for 90% of the patients. Conclusion The CHA2DS2-VASc score increases in approximately 12% of initially ‘low-risk’ AF patients each year, and the initiation of warfarin once the score changed was associated with a better prognosis. Three to four months may be a reasonable timing interval at which stroke risk should be reassessed so that OACs could be prescribed in a timely manner for stroke prevention.

IoT based smart traffic signal monitoring system using vehicles counts

Traffic signal management is one of the major problematic issues in the current situation. Such scenarios, every signal are getting 60 seconds of timing on the road at a regular interval, even when traffic on that particular road is dense. As per this proposed model in this article, which will be optimized the timing interval of the traffic signal purely depends on the number of vehicles on that particular roadside. The major advantage of this system is that it can able to decrease the more waiting time for the drivers to cross road signal. In this model, we are using the clustering algorithms model which is based on KNN algorithm. Using this algorithm new model will be liable to determine expected required timing as per provided inputs to the signal which is vehicles count. The input of these systems is vehicles counts on each side of the road from crossing signal. And this input will be determined on much time is to be provided. “Case studies on this system are traffic network and real-time traffic sub-networks are organized to get the effectiveness of the proposed model.”