Q4 (United States)

We increase single-photon LiDAR capabilities via a hardware-accelerating inpainting transformer model. This model reconstructs all non-observed information within the image plane as it communicates with the beam steering hardware. We apply this to 3D time-of-flight (ToF) reconstruction, where objects obstruct each other’s line of sight. We use ToF histograms to distinguish objects within either the foreground and background, and their overlap will be treated as the dynamic mask for the model to reconstruct. We also employ this to unorthodox scanning patterns such as Lissajous and spiral, which are riddled with sparsity. Lastly, we are developing an AI MEMs system, which intelligently downsamples the image plane based off foreground masks, combating sampling redundancy. We believe that our approach will be useful in applications for imaging and sensing dynamic targets with sparse single-photon data across all domains.

This study describes antimicrobial use in 22 U.S. beef feedyards by use of two metrics: milligrams of antimicrobial per kilogram of liveweight sold (mg/kg-LW) and antimicrobial regimens per animal year (Reg/AY). The primary objectives were to determine the feasibility of collecting antimicrobial use data at the level of the production system and to identify factors unique to feedyard systems which may confound interpretation of summarized antimicrobial use measures. Records were accessed directly from feedyards or through a data intermediary and then subjected to a process of standardization and quality assurance. Use is reported at the study level with all individual cattle lots from all feedyards combined, as well as at the feedyard level where values were first calculated for each feedyard and then expressed as means, standard deviations and median values. Use at the study level is first reported by antimicrobial class and then by antimicrobial class within the use categories of in-feed, control of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and individual animal treatment. Due to wide variations of antimicrobial class within use category, feedyard level antimicrobial use is reported only by antimicrobial class. Use values for medically important and not medically important antimicrobial classes are reported separately. Regimens are described for each antimicrobial class within use category by milligrams per regimen and by timeframe from first to last administration. The authors' selection of measures reported here was driven by a desire to minimize necessary assumptions, resulting in transparent reporting of values which can be directly related back to the factors within feedyard systems which may have influenced calculations. Reporting the number of regimens stratified by antimicrobial class within use category and then describing the characteristics of the reported regimens (milligrams per regimen and timeframe) optimize these objectives for reporting.

Uncooperative pediatric mask induction is linked to perioperative anxiety. Although some risk factors for uncooperative inductions have been reported, there are no large cohort studies that identify intrinsic patient characteristics associated with cooperation. The primary aim was to identify patient characteristics associated with cooperative mask inductions. The secondary aim was to determine whether preoperative interventions were associated with increased cooperation. This retrospective cohort study included patients 2-11years old and ASA class I-IV who underwent mask induction. Our primary outcome of interest was cooperation with mask induction, which was correlated against the Induction Compliance Checklist. The variables analyzed for association with cooperation were age, sex, ASA class, class of surgery, preferred language, and race. Interventions examined for association with induction cooperation included premedication with midazolam, exposure to distraction technology, parental presence, and the presence of a Child Life Specialist. Multivariate mixed-effects logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between patient characteristics and cooperation. A separate multivariate mixed-effects logistic regression was used to examine the association between preoperative interventions and cooperation. 9692 patients underwent 23474 procedures during the study period. 3372 patients undergoing 5980 procedures met inclusion criteria. The only patient characteristic associated with increased cooperation was age (OR 1.20, p-value 0.03). Involvement of Child Life Specialists was associated with increased cooperation (OR 4.44, p-value=0.048) while parental/guardian presence was associated with decreased cooperation (OR 0.38, p-value=0.002). In this cohort, increasing age was the only patient characteristic found to be associated with increased cooperation with mask induction. Preoperative intervention by a Child Life Specialists was the sole intervention associated with improved cooperation.

Plant-insect interactions are ubiquitous, and have been studied intensely because of their relevance to damage and pollination in agricultural plants, and to the ecology and evolution of biodiversity. Variation within species can affect the outcome of these interactions. Specific genes and chemicals that mediate these interactions have been identified, but genome- or metabolome-scale studies might be necessary to better understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of intraspecific variation for plant-insect interactions. Here, we present such a study. Specifically, we assess the consequences of genome-wide genetic variation in the model plant Medicago truncatula for Lycaeides melissa caterpillar growth and survival (larval performance). Using a rearing experiment and a whole-genome SNP data set (>5 million SNPs), we found that polygenic variation in M.truncatula explains 9%-41% of the observed variation in caterpillar growth and survival. Genetic correlations among caterpillar performance and other plant traits, including structural defences and some anonymous chemical features, suggest that multiple M.truncatula alleles have pleiotropic effects on plant traits and caterpillar performance (or that substantial linkage disequilibrium exists among distinct loci affecting subsets of these traits). A moderate proportion of the genetic effect of M.truncatula alleles on L.melissa performance can be explained by the effect of these alleles on the plant traits we measured, especially leaf toughness. Taken together, our results show that intraspecific genetic variation in M.truncatula has a substantial effect on the successful development of L.melissa caterpillars (i.e., on a plant-insect interaction), and further point toward traits potentially mediating this genetic effect.

Artan enerji ihtiyacının yerli kaynaklardan karşılanması amacıyla hazırlanan Elektrik Piyasası Kanunu’nun yürürlüğe girmesiyle, özel sektör tarafından hidrolik projelerin yapımının hızla arttığı görülmektedir. Yenilenebilir enerji kaynaklarından olan hidrolik santraller, su kaynaklarına ve kalitesine vereceği zarar, ekosistemin bozulacak olması, bitkiler ve diğer canlı türlerinin yaşam koşulları konusunda neler yapılacağının dikkate alınmaması konularında eleştirilmesinin yanı sıra ekonomik, çevresel ve sosyal birçok avantaja da sahip bulunmaktadır. Ayrıca günümüzde enerjinin en ucuz elde edilebildiği bir metot olması avantajının da bulunması, bu konudaki olumlu ve olumsuz eleştirilerin çok yönlü değerlendirilmesini gündeme getirmektedir. Bununla birlikte hidroelektrik santrallerin gerek inşaat ve montajı gerekse işletmesi esnasında oluşabilecek hasarlar, daha önce öngörülemeyen ve gelir kaybına neden olabilecek durumlar için farklı sigorta poliçelerinin yapılması zaruri bir ihtiyaç olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. İşletmenin poliçe ile teminat altına alınmış olan risklerinden birinin gerçekleşmesi sonucu oluşan hasar nedeniyle sigortalı tarafından yürütülen işlerin durması, kesintiye uğraması veya aksaması neticesinde meydana gelen kayıp veya zarar tutarı, kâr kaybı sigortası ile teminat altına alınmaktadır. Bu çalışmada öncelikle Türkiye’de enerji sektörü; Türkiye’nin enerji durumunun değerlendirilmesi, kurulu gücü ve üretimi, kaynakları, enerji arzı ve Türkiye’de enerjinin büyüme ve kalkınmaya olan etkileri ele alınmış, daha sonra hidroelektrik santraller ekonomik, çevresel, toplumsal ve stratejik etmenlerine değinilerek sınıflandırılmış ve çalışma sistemleri incelenmiştir. Son olarak da; HES’lerin sigortalanmasına ve bu bağlamda kâr kaybı sigortasına, inşaat ve işletme dönemleri içerisindeki risklere ve verilebilecek teminat türlerine değinilmiştir.