Fuzzy expert systems using CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Le, Thach C.

1994-01-01

This paper describes a CLIPS-based fuzzy expert system development environment called FCLIPS and illustrates its application to the simulated cart-pole balancing problem. FCLIPS is a straightforward extension of CLIPS without any alteration to the CLIPS internal structures. It makes use of the object-oriented and module features in CLIPS version 6.0 for the implementation of fuzzy logic concepts. Systems of varying degrees of mixed Boolean and fuzzy rules can be implemented in CLIPS. Design and implementation issues of FCLIPS will also be discussed.

C Language Integrated Production System, Ada Version

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Culbert, Chris; Riley, Gary; Savely, Robert T.; Melebeck, Clovis J.; White, Wesley A.; Mcgregor, Terry L.; Ferguson, Melisa; Razavipour, Reza

1992-01-01

CLIPS/Ada provides capabilities of CLIPS v4.3 but uses Ada as source language for CLIPS executable code. Implements forward-chaining rule-based language. Program contains inference engine and language syntax providing framework for construction of expert-system program. Also includes features for debugging application program. Based on Rete algorithm which provides efficient method for performing repeated matching of patterns. Written in Ada.

Generating Concise Rules for Human Motion Retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukai, Tomohiko; Wakisaka, Ken-Ichi; Kuriyama, Shigeru

This paper proposes a method for retrieving human motion data with concise retrieval rules based on the spatio-temporal features of motion appearance. Our method first converts motion clip into a form of clausal language that represents geometrical relations between body parts and their temporal relationship. A retrieval rule is then learned from the set of manually classified examples using inductive logic programming (ILP). ILP automatically discovers the essential rule in the same clausal form with a user-defined hypothesis-testing procedure. All motions are indexed using this clausal language, and the desired clips are retrieved by subsequence matching using the rule. Such rule-based retrieval offers reasonable performance and the rule can be intuitively edited in the same language form. Consequently, our method enables efficient and flexible search from a large dataset with simple query language.

Building distributed rule-based systems using the AI Bus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schultz, Roger D.; Stobie, Iain C.

1990-01-01

The AI Bus software architecture was designed to support the construction of large-scale, production-quality applications in areas of high technology flux, running heterogeneous distributed environments, utilizing a mix of knowledge-based and conventional components. These goals led to its current development as a layered, object-oriented library for cooperative systems. This paper describes the concepts and design of the AI Bus and its implementation status as a library of reusable and customizable objects, structured by layers from operating system interfaces up to high-level knowledge-based agents. Each agent is a semi-autonomous process with specialized expertise, and consists of a number of knowledge sources (a knowledge base and inference engine). Inter-agent communication mechanisms are based on blackboards and Actors-style acquaintances. As a conservative first implementation, we used C++ on top of Unix, and wrapped an embedded Clips with methods for the knowledge source class. This involved designing standard protocols for communication and functions which use these protocols in rules. Embedding several CLIPS objects within a single process was an unexpected problem because of global variables, whose solution involved constructing and recompiling a C++ version of CLIPS. We are currently working on a more radical approach to incorporating CLIPS, by separating out its pattern matcher, rule and fact representations and other components as true object oriented modules.

Advanced CLIPS capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Gary

1991-01-01

The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is a forward chaining rule based language developed by NASA. CLIPS was designed specifically to provide high portability, low cost, and easy integration with external systems. The current release of CLIPS, version 4.3, is being used by over 2500 users throughout the public and private community. The primary addition to the next release of CLIPS, version 5.0, will be the CLIPS Object Oriented Language (COOL). The major capabilities of COOL are: class definition with multiple inheritance and no restrictions on the number, types, or cardinality of slots; message passing which allows procedural code bundled with an object to be executed; and query functions which allow groups of instances to be examined and manipulated. In addition to COOL, numerous other enhancements were added to CLIPS including: generic functions (which allow different pieces of procedural code to be executed depending upon the types or classes of the arguments); integer and double precision data type support; multiple conflict resolution strategies; global variables; logical dependencies; type checking on facts; full ANSI compiler support; and incremental reset for rules.

A CLIPS-based expert system for the evaluation and selection of robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nour, Mohamed A.; Offodile, Felix O.; Madey, Gregory R.

1994-01-01

This paper describes the development of a prototype expert system for intelligent selection of robots for manufacturing operations. The paper first develops a comprehensive, three-stage process to model the robot selection problem. The decisions involved in this model easily lend themselves to an expert system application. A rule-based system, based on the selection model, is developed using the CLIPS expert system shell. Data about actual robots is used to test the performance of the prototype system. Further extensions to the rule-based system for data handling and interfacing capabilities are suggested.

78 FR 78319 - Media Bureau Seeks Comment on Application of the IP Closed Captioning Rules to Video Clips

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-26

... Seeks Comment on Application of the IP Closed Captioning Rules to Video Clips AGENCY: Federal... captioning of video clips delivered by Internet protocol (``IP''), including the extent to which industry has voluntarily captioned IP- delivered video clips. The Commission directed the Media Bureau to issue this...

Decision blocks: A tool for automating decision making in CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eick, Christoph F.; Mehta, Nikhil N.

1991-01-01

The human capability of making complex decision is one of the most fascinating facets of human intelligence, especially if vague, judgemental, default or uncertain knowledge is involved. Unfortunately, most existing rule based forward chaining languages are not very suitable to simulate this aspect of human intelligence, because of their lack of support for approximate reasoning techniques needed for this task, and due to the lack of specific constructs to facilitate the coding of frequently reoccurring decision block to provide better support for the design and implementation of rule based decision support systems. A language called BIRBAL, which is defined on the top of CLIPS, for the specification of decision blocks, is introduced. Empirical experiments involving the comparison of the length of CLIPS program with the corresponding BIRBAL program for three different applications are surveyed. The results of these experiments suggest that for decision making intensive applications, a CLIPS program tends to be about three times longer than the corresponding BIRBAL program.

Third CLIPS Conference Proceedings, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Gary (Editor)

1994-01-01

Expert systems are computer programs which emulate human expertise in well defined problem domains. The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is an expert system building tool, developed at the Johnson Space Center, which provides a complete environment for the development and delivery of rule and/or object based expert systems. CLIPS was specifically designed to provide a low cost option for developing and deploying expert system applications across a wide range of hardware platforms. The development of CLIPS has helped to improve the ability to deliver expert system technology throughout the public and private sectors for a wide range of applications and diverse computing environments. The Third Conference on CLIPS provided a forum for CLIPS users to present and discuss papers relating to CLIPS applications, uses, and extensions.

CLIPS: An expert system building tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Gary

1991-01-01

The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is an expert system building tool, which provides a complete environment for the development and delivery of rule and/or object based expert systems. CLIPS was specifically designed to provide a low cost option for developing and deploying expert system applications across a wide range of hardware platforms. The commercial potential of CLIPS is vast. Currently, CLIPS is being used by over 3,300 individuals throughout the public and private sector. Because the CLIPS source code is readily available, numerous groups have used CLIPS as a basis for their own expert system tools. To date, three commercially available tools have been derived from CLIPS. In general, the development of CLIPS has helped to improve the ability to deliver expert system technology throughout the public and private sectors for a wide range of applications and diverse computing environments.

PCLIPS: Parallel CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Lawrence O.; Bennett, Bonnie H.; Tello, Ivan

1994-01-01

A parallel version of CLIPS 5.1 has been developed to run on Intel Hypercubes. The user interface is the same as that for CLIPS with some added commands to allow for parallel calls. A complete version of CLIPS runs on each node of the hypercube. The system has been instrumented to display the time spent in the match, recognize, and act cycles on each node. Only rule-level parallelism is supported. Parallel commands enable the assertion and retraction of facts to/from remote nodes working memory. Parallel CLIPS was used to implement a knowledge-based command, control, communications, and intelligence (C(sup 3)I) system to demonstrate the fusion of high-level, disparate sources. We discuss the nature of the information fusion problem, our approach, and implementation. Parallel CLIPS has also be used to run several benchmark parallel knowledge bases such as one to set up a cafeteria. Results show from running Parallel CLIPS with parallel knowledge base partitions indicate that significant speed increases, including superlinear in some cases, are possible.

Integration of object-oriented knowledge representation with the CLIPS rule based system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Logie, David S.; Kamil, Hasan

1990-01-01

The paper describes a portion of the work aimed at developing an integrated, knowledge based environment for the development of engineering-oriented applications. An Object Representation Language (ORL) was implemented in C++ which is used to build and modify an object-oriented knowledge base. The ORL was designed in such a way so as to be easily integrated with other representation schemes that could effectively reason with the object base. Specifically, the integration of the ORL with the rule based system C Language Production Systems (CLIPS), developed at the NASA Johnson Space Center, will be discussed. The object-oriented knowledge representation provides a natural means of representing problem data as a collection of related objects. Objects are comprised of descriptive properties and interrelationships. The object-oriented model promotes efficient handling of the problem data by allowing knowledge to be encapsulated in objects. Data is inherited through an object network via the relationship links. Together, the two schemes complement each other in that the object-oriented approach efficiently handles problem data while the rule based knowledge is used to simulate the reasoning process. Alone, the object based knowledge is little more than an object-oriented data storage scheme; however, the CLIPS inference engine adds the mechanism to directly and automatically reason with that knowledge. In this hybrid scheme, the expert system dynamically queries for data and can modify the object base with complete access to all the functionality of the ORL from rules.

Application of a rule-based knowledge system using CLIPS for the taxonomy of selected Opuntia species

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heymans, Bart C.; Onema, Joel P.; Kuti, Joseph O.

1991-01-01

A rule based knowledge system was developed in CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) for identifying Opuntia species in the family Cactaceae, which contains approx. 1500 different species. This botanist expert tool system is capable of identifying selected Opuntia plants from the family level down to the species level when given some basic characteristics of the plants. Many plants are becoming of increasing importance because of their nutrition and human health potential, especially in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The expert tool system described can be extremely useful in an unequivocal identification of many useful Opuntia species.

Acquisition, representation and rule generation for procedural knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ortiz, Chris; Saito, Tim; Mithal, Sachin; Loftin, R. Bowen

1991-01-01

Current research into the design and continuing development of a system for the acquisition of procedural knowledge, its representation in useful forms, and proposed methods for automated C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) rule generation is discussed. The Task Analysis and Rule Generation Tool (TARGET) is intended to permit experts, individually or collectively, to visually describe and refine procedural tasks. The system is designed to represent the acquired knowledge in the form of graphical objects with the capacity for generating production rules in CLIPS. The generated rules can then be integrated into applications such as NASA's Intelligent Computer Aided Training (ICAT) architecture. Also described are proposed methods for use in translating the graphical and intermediate knowledge representations into CLIPS rules.

Three CLIPS-based expert systems for solving engineering problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parkinson, W. J.; Luger, G. F.; Bretz, R. E.

1990-01-01

We have written three expert systems, using the CLIPS PC-based expert system shell. These three expert systems are rule based and are relatively small, with the largest containing slightly less than 200 rules. The first expert system is an expert assistant that was written to help users of the ASPEN computer code choose the proper thermodynamic package to use with their particular vapor-liquid equilibrium problem. The second expert system was designed to help petroleum engineers choose the proper enhanced oil recovery method to be used with a given reservoir. The effectiveness of each technique is highly dependent upon the reservoir conditions. The third expert system is a combination consultant and control system. This system was designed specifically for silicon carbide whisker growth. Silicon carbide whiskers are an extremely strong product used to make ceramic and metal composites. The manufacture of whiskers is a very complicated process. which to date. has defied a good mathematical model. The process was run by experts who had gained their expertise by trial and error. A system of rules was devised by these experts both for procedure setup and for the process control. In this paper we discuss the three problem areas of the design, development and evaluation of the CLIPS-based programs.

Using CLIPS in the domain of knowledge-based massively parallel programming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dvorak, Jiri J.

1994-01-01

The Program Development Environment (PDE) is a tool for massively parallel programming of distributed-memory architectures. Adopting a knowledge-based approach, the PDE eliminates the complexity introduced by parallel hardware with distributed memory and offers complete transparency in respect of parallelism exploitation. The knowledge-based part of the PDE is realized in CLIPS. Its principal task is to find an efficient parallel realization of the application specified by the user in a comfortable, abstract, domain-oriented formalism. A large collection of fine-grain parallel algorithmic skeletons, represented as COOL objects in a tree hierarchy, contains the algorithmic knowledge. A hybrid knowledge base with rule modules and procedural parts, encoding expertise about application domain, parallel programming, software engineering, and parallel hardware, enables a high degree of automation in the software development process. In this paper, important aspects of the implementation of the PDE using CLIPS and COOL are shown, including the embedding of CLIPS with C++-based parts of the PDE. The appropriateness of the chosen approach and of the CLIPS language for knowledge-based software engineering are discussed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Friedman-Hill, Ernest

Java Expert Shell System - Jess - is a rule engine and scripting environment written entirely in Sun's Java language, Jess was orginially inspired by the CLIPS expert system shell, but has grown int a complete, distinct JAVA-influenced environment of its own. Using Jess, you can build Java applets and applications that have the capacity to "reason" using knowledge you supply in the form of declarative rules. Jess is surprisingly fast, and for some problems is faster than CLIPS, in that many Jess scripts are valid CLIPS scripts and vice-versa. Like CLIPS, Jess uses the Rete algorithm to process rules,more » a very efficient mechanism for solving the difficult many-to-many matching problem. Jess adds many features to CLIPS, including backwards chaining and the ability to manipulate and directly reason about Java objects. Jess is also a powerful Java scripting environment, from which you can create Java objects and call Java methods without compiling any Java Code.« less

Research and development for Onboard Navigation (ONAV) ground based expert/trainer system: ONAV entry expert system code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bochsler, Daniel C.

1988-01-01

A complete listing is given of the expert system rules for the Entry phase of the Onboard Navigation (ONAV) Ground Based Expert Trainer System for aircraft/space shuttle navigation. These source listings appear in the same format as utilized and required by the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) expert system shell which is the basis for the ONAV entry system. A schematic overview is given of how the rules are organized. These groups result from a partitioning of the rules according to the overall function which a given set of rules performs. This partitioning was established and maintained according to that established in the knowledge specification document. In addition, four other groups of rules are specified. The four groups (control flow, operator inputs, output management, and data tables) perform functions that affect all the other functional rule groups. As the name implies, control flow ensures that the rule groups are executed in the order required for proper operation; operator input rules control the introduction into the CLIPS fact base of various kinds of data required by the expert system; output management rules control the updating of the ONAV expert system user display screen during execution of the system; and data tables are static information utilized by many different rule sets gathered in one convenient place.

Knowledge based translation and problem solving in an intelligent individualized instruction system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jung, Namho; Biegel, John E.

1994-01-01

An Intelligent Individualized Instruction I(sup 3) system is being built to provide computerized instruction. We present the roles of a translator and a problem solver in an intelligent computer system. The modular design of the system provides for easier development and allows for future expansion and maintenance. CLIPS modules and classes are utilized for the purpose of the modular design and inter module communications. CLIPS facts and rules are used to represent the system components and the knowledge base. CLIPS provides an inferencing mechanism to allow the I(sup 3) system to solve problems presented to it in English.

Developing an Intelligent Computer-Aided Trainer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hua, Grace

1990-01-01

The Payload-assist module Deploys/Intelligent Computer-Aided Training (PD/ICAT) system was developed as a prototype for intelligent tutoring systems with the intention of seeing PD/ICAT evolve and produce a general ICAT architecture and development environment that can be adapted by a wide variety of training tasks. The proposed architecture is composed of a user interface, a domain expert, a training session manager, a trainee model and a training scenario generator. The PD/ICAT prototype was developed in the LISP environment. Although it has been well received by its peers and users, it could not be delivered toe its end users for practical use because of specific hardware and software constraints. To facilitate delivery of PD/ICAT to its users and to prepare for a more widely accepted development and delivery environment for future ICAT applications, we have ported this training system to a UNIX workstation and adopted use of a conventional language, C, and a C-based rule-based language, CLIPS. A rapid conversion of the PD/ICAT expert system to CLIPS was possible because the knowledge was basically represented as a forward chaining rule base. The resulting CLIPS rule base has been tested successfully in other ICATs as well. Therefore, the porting effort has proven to be a positive step toward our ultimate goal of building a general purpose ICAT development environment.

PRAIS: Distributed, real-time knowledge-based systems made easy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, David G.

1990-01-01

This paper discusses an architecture for real-time, distributed (parallel) knowledge-based systems called the Parallel Real-time Artificial Intelligence System (PRAIS). PRAIS strives for transparently parallelizing production (rule-based) systems, even when under real-time constraints. PRAIS accomplishes these goals by incorporating a dynamic task scheduler, operating system extensions for fact handling, and message-passing among multiple copies of CLIPS executing on a virtual blackboard. This distributed knowledge-based system tool uses the portability of CLIPS and common message-passing protocols to operate over a heterogeneous network of processors.

A neural network simulation package in CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhatnagar, Himanshu; Krolak, Patrick D.; Mcgee, Brenda J.; Coleman, John

1990-01-01

The intrinsic similarity between the firing of a rule and the firing of a neuron has been captured in this research to provide a neural network development system within an existing production system (CLIPS). A very important by-product of this research has been the emergence of an integrated technique of using rule based systems in conjunction with the neural networks to solve complex problems. The systems provides a tool kit for an integrated use of the two techniques and is also extendible to accommodate other AI techniques like the semantic networks, connectionist networks, and even the petri nets. This integrated technique can be very useful in solving complex AI problems.

Embedding CLIPS in a database-oriented diagnostic system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conway, Tim

1990-01-01

This paper describes the integration of C Language Production Systems (CLIPS) into a powerful portable maintenance aid (PMA) system used for flightline diagnostics. The current diagnostic target of the system is the Garrett GTCP85-180L, a gas turbine engine used as an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) on some C-130 military transport aircraft. This project is a database oriented approach to a generic diagnostic system. CLIPS is used for 'many-to-many' pattern matching within the diagnostics process. Patterns are stored in database format, and CLIPS code is generated by a 'compilation' process on the database. Multiple CLIPS rule sets and working memories (in sequence) are supported and communication between the rule sets is achieved via the export and import commands. Work is continuing on using CLIPS in other portions of the diagnostic system and in re-implementing the diagnostic system in the Ada language.

CLIPS: The C language integrated production system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Gary

1994-01-01

Expert systems are computer programs which emulate human expertise in well defined problem domains. The potential payoff from expert systems is high: valuable expertise can be captured and preserved, repetitive and/or mundane tasks requiring human expertise can be automated, and uniformity can be applied in decision making processes. The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is an expert system building tool, developed at the Johnson Space Center, which provides a complete environment for the development and delivery of rule and/or object based expert systems. CLIPS was specifically designed to provide a low cost option for developing and deploying expert system applications across a wide range of hardware platforms. The commercial potential of CLIPS is vast. Currently, CLIPS is being used by over 5,000 individuals throughout the public and private sector. Because the CLIPS source code is readily available, numerous groups have used CLIPS as the basis for their own expert system tools. To date, three commercially available tools have been derived from CLIPS. In general, the development of CLIPS has helped to improve the ability to deliver expert system technology throughout the public and private sectors for a wide range of applications and diverse computing environments.

An object oriented generic controller using CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nivens, Cody R.

1990-01-01

In today's applications, the need for the division of code and data has focused on the growth of object oriented programming. This philosophy gives software engineers greater control over the environment of an application. Yet the use of object oriented design does not exclude the need for greater understanding by the application of what the controller is doing. Such understanding is only possible by using expert systems. Providing a controller that is capable of controlling an object by using rule-based expertise would expedite the use of both object oriented design and expert knowledge of the dynamic of an environment in modern controllers. This project presents a model of a controller that uses the CLIPS expert system and objects in C++ to create a generic controller. The polymorphic abilities of C++ allow for the design of a generic component stored in individual data files. Accompanying the component is a set of rules written in CLIPS which provide the following: the control of individual components, the input of sensory data from components and the ability to find the status of a given component. Along with the data describing the application, a set of inference rules written in CLIPS allows the application to make use of sensory facts and status and control abilities. As a demonstration of this ability, the control of the environment of a house is provided. This demonstration includes the data files describing the rooms and their contents as far as devices, windows and doors. The rules used for the home consist of the flow of people in the house and the control of devices by the home owner.

Intelligent Diagnostic Assistant for Complicated Skin Diseases through C5's Algorithm.

PubMed

Jeddi, Fatemeh Rangraz; Arabfard, Masoud; Kermany, Zahra Arab

2017-09-01

Intelligent Diagnostic Assistant can be used for complicated diagnosis of skin diseases, which are among the most common causes of disability. The aim of this study was to design and implement a computerized intelligent diagnostic assistant for complicated skin diseases through C5's Algorithm. An applied-developmental study was done in 2015. Knowledge base was developed based on interviews with dermatologists through questionnaires and checklists. Knowledge representation was obtained from the train data in the database using Excel Microsoft Office. Clementine Software and C5's Algorithms were applied to draw the decision tree. Analysis of test accuracy was performed based on rules extracted using inference chains. The rules extracted from the decision tree were entered into the CLIPS programming environment and the intelligent diagnostic assistant was designed then. The rules were defined using forward chaining inference technique and were entered into Clips programming environment as RULE. The accuracy and error rates obtained in the training phase from the decision tree were 99.56% and 0.44%, respectively. The accuracy of the decision tree was 98% and the error was 2% in the test phase. Intelligent diagnostic assistant can be used as a reliable system with high accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and agreement.

A comparison of CLIPS- and LISP-based approaches to the development of a real-time expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frainier, R.; Groleau, N.; Bhatnagar, R.; Lam, C.; Compton, M.; Colombano, S.; Lai, S.; Szolovits, P.; Manahan, M.; Statler, I.

1990-01-01

This paper describes an ongoing expert system development effort started in 1988 which is evaluating both CLIPS- and LISP- based approaches. The expert system is being developed to a project schedule and is planned for flight on Space Shuttle Mission SLS-2 in 1992. The expert system will help astronauts do the best possible science for a vestibular physiology experiment already scheduled for that mission. The system gathers and reduces data from the experiment, flags 'interesting' results, and proposes changes in the experiment both to exploit the in-flight observations and to stay within the time allowed by Mission Control for the experiment. These tasks must all be performed in real time. Two Apple Macintosh computers are used. The CLIPS- and LISP- based environments are layered above the Macintosh computer Operating System. The 'CLIPS-based' environment includes CLIPS and HyperCard. The LlSP-based environment includes Common LISP, Parmenides (a frame system), and FRuleKit (a rule system). Important evaluation factors include ease of programming, performance against real-time requirements, usability by an astronaut, robustness, and ease of maintenance. Current results on the factors of ease of programming, performance against real-time requirements, and ease of maintenance are discussed.

An on-line expert system for diagnosing environmentally induced spacecraft anomalies using CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lauriente, Michael; Rolincik, Mark; Koons, Harry C; Gorney, David

1993-01-01

A new rule-based, expert system for diagnosing spacecraft anomalies is under development. The knowledge base consists of over two-hundred rules and provide links to historical and environmental databases. Environmental causes considered are bulk charging, single event upsets (SEU), surface charging, and total radiation dose. The system's driver translates forward chaining rules into a backward chaining sequence, prompting the user for information pertinent to the causes considered. The use of heuristics frees the user from searching through large amounts of irrelevant information (varying degrees of confidence in an answer) or 'unknown' to any question. The expert system not only provides scientists with needed risk analysis and confidence estimates not available in standard numerical models or databases, but it is also an effective learning tool. In addition, the architecture of the expert system allows easy additions to the knowledge base and the database. For example, new frames concerning orbital debris and ionospheric scintillation are being considered. The system currently runs on a MicroVAX and uses the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS).

Embedded CLIPS for SDI BM/C3 simulation and analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gossage, Brett; Nanney, Van

1990-01-01

Nichols Research Corporation is developing the BM/C3 Requirements Analysis Tool (BRAT) for the U.S. Army Strategic Defense Command. BRAT uses embedded CLIPS/Ada to model the decision making processes used by the human commander of a defense system. Embedding CLlPS/Ada in BRAT allows the user to explore the role of the human in Command and Control (C2) and the use of expert systems for automated C2. BRAT models assert facts about the current state of the system, the simulated scenario, and threat information into CLIPS/Ada. A user-defined rule set describes the decision criteria for the commander. We have extended CLIPS/Ada with user-defined functions that allow the firing of a rule to invoke a system action such as weapons release or a change in strategy. The use of embedded CLIPS/Ada will provide a powerful modeling tool for our customer at minimal cost.

Rule groupings: A software engineering approach towards verification of expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehrotra, Mala

1991-01-01

Currently, most expert system shells do not address software engineering issues for developing or maintaining expert systems. As a result, large expert systems tend to be incomprehensible, difficult to debug or modify and almost impossible to verify or validate. Partitioning rule based systems into rule groups which reflect the underlying subdomains of the problem should enhance the comprehensibility, maintainability, and reliability of expert system software. Attempts were made to semiautomatically structure a CLIPS rule base into groups of related rules that carry the same type of information. Different distance metrics that capture relevant information from the rules for grouping are discussed. Two clustering algorithms that partition the rule base into groups of related rules are given. Two independent evaluation criteria are developed to measure the effectiveness of the grouping strategies. Results of the experiment with three sample rule bases are presented.

Third CLIPS Conference Proceedings, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Gary (Editor)

1994-01-01

Expert systems are computed programs which emulate human expertise in well defined problem domains. The potential payoff from expert systems is high: valuable expertise can be captured and preserved, repetitive and/or mundane tasks requiring human expertise can be automated, and uniformity can be applied in decision making processes. The C Language Integrated Production Systems (CLIPS) is an expert system building tool, developed at the Johnson Space Center, which provides a complete environment for the development and delivery of rule and/or object based expert systems. CLIPS was specifically designed to provide a low cost option for developing and deploying expert system applications across a wide range of hardware platforms. The development of CLIPS has helped to improve the ability to deliver expert systems technology throughout the public and private sectors for a wide range of applications and diverse computing environments.

Extensions to the Parallel Real-Time Artificial Intelligence System (PRAIS) for fault-tolerant heterogeneous cycle-stealing reasoning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, David

1991-01-01

Extensions to an architecture for real-time, distributed (parallel) knowledge-based systems called the Parallel Real-time Artificial Intelligence System (PRAIS) are discussed. PRAIS strives for transparently parallelizing production (rule-based) systems, even under real-time constraints. PRAIS accomplished these goals (presented at the first annual C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) conference) by incorporating a dynamic task scheduler, operating system extensions for fact handling, and message-passing among multiple copies of CLIPS executing on a virtual blackboard. This distributed knowledge-based system tool uses the portability of CLIPS and common message-passing protocols to operate over a heterogeneous network of processors. Results using the original PRAIS architecture over a network of Sun 3's, Sun 4's and VAX's are presented. Mechanisms using the producer-consumer model to extend the architecture for fault-tolerance and distributed truth maintenance initiation are also discussed.

Using CLIPS to represent knowledge in a VR simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engelberg, Mark L.

1994-01-01

Virtual reality (VR) is an exciting use of advanced hardware and software technologies to achieve an immersive simulation. Until recently, the majority of virtual environments were merely 'fly-throughs' in which a user could freely explore a 3-dimensional world or a visualized dataset. Now that the underlying technologies are reaching a level of maturity, programmers are seeking ways to increase the complexity and interactivity of immersive simulations. In most cases, interactivity in a virtual environment can be specified in the form 'whenever such-and-such happens to object X, it reacts in the following manner.' CLIPS and COOL provide a simple and elegant framework for representing this knowledge-base in an efficient manner that can be extended incrementally. The complexity of a detailed simulation becomes more manageable when the control flow is governed by CLIPS' rule-based inference engine as opposed to by traditional procedural mechanisms. Examples in this paper will illustrate an effective way to represent VR information in CLIPS, and to tie this knowledge base to the input and output C routines of a typical virtual environment.

Distributed semantic networks and CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snyder, James; Rodriguez, Tony

1991-01-01

Semantic networks of frames are commonly used as a method of reasoning in many problems. In most of these applications the semantic network exists as a single entity in a single process environment. Advances in workstation hardware provide support for more sophisticated applications involving multiple processes, interacting in a distributed environment. In these applications the semantic network may well be distributed over several concurrently executing tasks. This paper describes the design and implementation of a frame based, distributed semantic network in which frames are accessed both through C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) expert systems and procedural C++ language programs. The application area is a knowledge based, cooperative decision making model utilizing both rule based and procedural experts.

miRTar2GO: a novel rule-based model learning method for cell line specific microRNA target prediction that integrates Ago2 CLIP-Seq and validated microRNA-target interaction data.

PubMed

Ahadi, Alireza; Sablok, Gaurav; Hutvagner, Gyorgy

2017-04-07

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ∼19-22 nucleotides (nt) long regulatory RNAs that regulate gene expression by recognizing and binding to complementary sequences on mRNAs. The key step in revealing the function of a miRNA, is the identification of miRNA target genes. Recent biochemical advances including PAR-CLIP and HITS-CLIP allow for improved miRNA target predictions and are widely used to validate miRNA targets. Here, we present miRTar2GO, which is a model, trained on the common rules of miRNA-target interactions, Argonaute (Ago) CLIP-Seq data and experimentally validated miRNA target interactions. miRTar2GO is designed to predict miRNA target sites using more relaxed miRNA-target binding characteristics. More importantly, miRTar2GO allows for the prediction of cell-type specific miRNA targets. We have evaluated miRTar2GO against other widely used miRNA target prediction algorithms and demonstrated that miRTar2GO produced significantly higher F1 and G scores. Target predictions, binding specifications, results of the pathway analysis and gene ontology enrichment of miRNA targets are freely available at http://www.mirtar2go.org. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

The design and implementation of EPL: An event pattern language for active databases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giuffrida, G.; Zaniolo, C.

1994-01-01

The growing demand for intelligent information systems requires closer coupling of rule-based reasoning engines, such as CLIPS, with advanced data base management systems (DBMS). For instance, several commercial DBMS now support the notion of triggers that monitor events and transactions occurring in the database and fire induced actions, which perform a variety of critical functions, including safeguarding the integrity of data, monitoring access, and recording volatile information needed by administrators, analysts, and expert systems to perform assorted tasks; examples of these tasks include security enforcement, market studies, knowledge discovery, and link analysis. At UCLA, we designed and implemented the event pattern language (EPL) which is capable of detecting and acting upon complex patterns of events which are temporally related to each other. For instance, a plant manager should be notified when a certain pattern of overheating repeats itself over time in a chemical process; likewise, proper notification is required when a suspicious sequence of bank transactions is executed within a certain time limit. The EPL prototype is built in CLIPS to operate on top of Sybase, a commercial relational DBMS, where actions can be triggered by events such as simple database updates, insertions, and deletions. The rule-based syntax of EPL allows the sequences of goals in rules to be interpreted as sequences of temporal events; each goal can correspond to either (1) a simple event, or (2) a (possibly negated) event/condition predicate, or (3) a complex event defined as the disjunction and repetition of other events. Various extensions have been added to CLIPS in order to tailor the interface with Sybase and its open client/server architecture.

Evaluation of an expert system for fault detection, isolation, and recovery in the manned maneuvering unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rushby, John; Crow, Judith

1990-01-01

The authors explore issues in the specification, verification, and validation of artificial intelligence (AI) based software, using a prototype fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) system for the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). They use this system as a vehicle for exploring issues in the semantics of C-Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS)-style rule-based languages, the verification of properties relating to safety and reliability, and the static and dynamic analysis of knowledge based systems. This analysis reveals errors and shortcomings in the MMU FDIR system and raises a number of issues concerning software engineering in CLIPs. The authors came to realize that the MMU FDIR system does not conform to conventional definitions of AI software, despite the fact that it was intended and indeed presented as an AI system. The authors discuss this apparent disparity and related questions such as the role of AI techniques in space and aircraft operations and the suitability of CLIPS for critical applications.

Second CLIPS Conference Proceedings, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giarratano, Joseph (Editor); Culbert, Christopher J. (Editor)

1991-01-01

Topics covered at the 2nd CLIPS Conference held at the Johnson Space Center, September 23-25, 1991 are given. Topics include rule groupings, fault detection using expert systems, decision making using expert systems, knowledge representation, computer aided design and debugging expert systems.

CLIPS++: Embedding CLIPS into C++

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Obermeyer, Lance; Miranker, Daniel P.

1994-01-01

This paper describes a set of C++ extensions to the CLIPS language and their embodiment in CLIPS++. These extensions and the implementation approach of CLIPS++ provide a new level of embeddability with C and C++. These extensions are a C++ include statement and a defcontainer construct; (include (c++-header-file.h)) and (defcontainer (c++-type)). The include construct allows C++ functions to be embedded in both the LHS and RHS of CLIPS rules. The header file in an include construct is the same header file the programmer uses for his/her own C++ code, independent of CLIPS. The defcontainer construct allows the inference engine to treat C++ class instances as CLIPS deftemplate facts. Consequently existing C++ class libraries may be transparently imported into CLIPS. These C++ types may use advanced features like inheritance, virtual functions, and templates. The implementation has been tested with several class libraries, including Rogue Wave Software's Tools.h++, GNU's libg++, and USL's C++ Standard Components. The execution speed of CLIPS++ has been determined to be 5 to 700 times the execution speed of CLIPS 6.0 (10 to 20X typical).

Speed Biases With Real-Life Video Clips

PubMed Central

Rossi, Federica; Montanaro, Elisa; de’Sperati, Claudio

2018-01-01

We live almost literally immersed in an artificial visual world, especially motion pictures. In this exploratory study, we asked whether the best speed for reproducing a video is its original, shooting speed. By using adjustment and double staircase methods, we examined speed biases in viewing real-life video clips in three experiments, and assessed their robustness by manipulating visual and auditory factors. With the tested stimuli (short clips of human motion, mixed human-physical motion, physical motion and ego-motion), speed underestimation was the rule rather than the exception, although it depended largely on clip content, ranging on average from 2% (ego-motion) to 32% (physical motion). Manipulating display size or adding arbitrary soundtracks did not modify these speed biases. Estimated speed was not correlated with estimated duration of these same video clips. These results indicate that the sense of speed for real-life video clips can be systematically biased, independently of the impression of elapsed time. Measuring subjective visual tempo may integrate traditional methods that assess time perception: speed biases may be exploited to develop a simple, objective test of reality flow, to be used for example in clinical and developmental contexts. From the perspective of video media, measuring speed biases may help to optimize video reproduction speed and validate “natural” video compression techniques based on sub-threshold temporal squeezing. PMID:29615875

Speed Biases With Real-Life Video Clips.

PubMed

Rossi, Federica; Montanaro, Elisa; de'Sperati, Claudio

2018-01-01

We live almost literally immersed in an artificial visual world, especially motion pictures. In this exploratory study, we asked whether the best speed for reproducing a video is its original, shooting speed. By using adjustment and double staircase methods, we examined speed biases in viewing real-life video clips in three experiments, and assessed their robustness by manipulating visual and auditory factors. With the tested stimuli (short clips of human motion, mixed human-physical motion, physical motion and ego-motion), speed underestimation was the rule rather than the exception, although it depended largely on clip content, ranging on average from 2% (ego-motion) to 32% (physical motion). Manipulating display size or adding arbitrary soundtracks did not modify these speed biases. Estimated speed was not correlated with estimated duration of these same video clips. These results indicate that the sense of speed for real-life video clips can be systematically biased, independently of the impression of elapsed time. Measuring subjective visual tempo may integrate traditional methods that assess time perception: speed biases may be exploited to develop a simple, objective test of reality flow, to be used for example in clinical and developmental contexts. From the perspective of video media, measuring speed biases may help to optimize video reproduction speed and validate "natural" video compression techniques based on sub-threshold temporal squeezing.

Knowledge-based approach to video content classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yu; Wong, Edward K.

2001-01-01

A framework for video content classification using a knowledge-based approach is herein proposed. This approach is motivated by the fact that videos are rich in semantic contents, which can best be interpreted and analyzed by human experts. We demonstrate the concept by implementing a prototype video classification system using the rule-based programming language CLIPS 6.05. Knowledge for video classification is encoded as a set of rules in the rule base. The left-hand-sides of rules contain high level and low level features, while the right-hand-sides of rules contain intermediate results or conclusions. Our current implementation includes features computed from motion, color, and text extracted from video frames. Our current rule set allows us to classify input video into one of five classes: news, weather, reporting, commercial, basketball and football. We use MYCIN's inexact reasoning method for combining evidences, and to handle the uncertainties in the features and in the classification results. We obtained good results in a preliminary experiment, and it demonstrated the validity of the proposed approach.

Knowledge-based approach to video content classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yu; Wong, Edward K.

2000-12-01

A framework for video content classification using a knowledge-based approach is herein proposed. This approach is motivated by the fact that videos are rich in semantic contents, which can best be interpreted and analyzed by human experts. We demonstrate the concept by implementing a prototype video classification system using the rule-based programming language CLIPS 6.05. Knowledge for video classification is encoded as a set of rules in the rule base. The left-hand-sides of rules contain high level and low level features, while the right-hand-sides of rules contain intermediate results or conclusions. Our current implementation includes features computed from motion, color, and text extracted from video frames. Our current rule set allows us to classify input video into one of five classes: news, weather, reporting, commercial, basketball and football. We use MYCIN's inexact reasoning method for combining evidences, and to handle the uncertainties in the features and in the classification results. We obtained good results in a preliminary experiment, and it demonstrated the validity of the proposed approach.

Knowledge base rule partitioning design for CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mainardi, Joseph D.; Szatkowski, G. P.

1990-01-01

This describes a knowledge base (KB) partitioning approach to solve the problem of real-time performance using the CLIPS AI shell when containing large numbers of rules and facts. This work is funded under the joint USAF/NASA Advanced Launch System (ALS) Program as applied research in expert systems to perform vehicle checkout for real-time controller and diagnostic monitoring tasks. The Expert System advanced development project (ADP-2302) main objective is to provide robust systems responding to new data frames of 0.1 to 1.0 second intervals. The intelligent system control must be performed within the specified real-time window, in order to meet the demands of the given application. Partitioning the KB reduces the complexity of the inferencing Rete net at any given time. This reduced complexity improves performance but without undo impacts during load and unload cycles. The second objective is to produce highly reliable intelligent systems. This requires simple and automated approaches to the KB verification & validation task. Partitioning the KB reduces rule interaction complexity overall. Reduced interaction simplifies the V&V testing necessary by focusing attention only on individual areas of interest. Many systems require a robustness that involves a large number of rules, most of which are mutually exclusive under different phases or conditions. The ideal solution is to control the knowledge base by loading rules that directly apply for that condition, while stripping out all rules and facts that are not used during that cycle. The practical approach is to cluster rules and facts into associated 'blocks'. A simple approach has been designed to control the addition and deletion of 'blocks' of rules and facts, while allowing real-time operations to run freely. Timing tests for real-time performance for specific machines under R/T operating systems have not been completed but are planned as part of the analysis process to validate the design.

Truncated Sum Rules and Their Use in Calculating Fundamental Limits of Nonlinear Susceptibilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuzyk, Mark G.

Truncated sum rules have been used to calculate the fundamental limits of the nonlinear susceptibilities and the results have been consistent with all measured molecules. However, given that finite-state models appear to result in inconsistencies in the sum rules, it may seem unclear why the method works. In this paper, the assumptions inherent in the truncation process are discussed and arguments based on physical grounds are presented in support of using truncated sum rules in calculating fundamental limits. The clipped harmonic oscillator is used as an illustration of how the validity of truncation can be tested and several limiting cases are discussed as examples of the nuances inherent in the method.

Incorporating CLIPS into a personal-computer-based Intelligent Tutoring System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Stephen J.

1990-01-01

A large number of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS's) have been built since they were first proposed in the early 1970's. Research conducted on the use of the best of these systems has demonstrated their effectiveness in tutoring in selected domains. Computer Sciences Corporation, Applied Technology Division, Houston Operations has been tasked by the Spacecraft Software Division at NASA/Johnson Space Center (NASA/JSC) to develop a number of lTS's in a variety of domains and on many different platforms. This paper will address issues facing the development of an ITS on a personal computer using the CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) language. For an ITS to be widely accepted, not only must it be effective, flexible, and very responsive, it must also be capable of functioning on readily available computers. There are many issues to consider when using CLIPS to develop an ITS on a personal computer. Some of these issues are the following: when to use CLIPS and when to use a procedural language such as C, how to maximize speed and minimize memory usage, and how to decrease the time required to load your rule base once you are ready to deliver the system. Based on experiences in developing the CLIPS Intelligent Tutoring System (CLIPSITS) on an IBM PC clone and an intelligent Physics Tutor on a Macintosh 2, this paper reports results on how to address some of these issues. It also suggests approaches for maintaining a powerful learning environment while delivering robust performance within the speed and memory constraints of the personal computer.

Hardware independence checkout software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cameron, Barry W.; Helbig, H. R.

1990-01-01

ACSI has developed a program utilizing CLIPS to assess compliance with various programming standards. Essentially the program parses C code to extract the names of all function calls. These are asserted as CLIPS facts which also include information about line numbers, source file names, and called functions. Rules have been devised to establish functions called that have not been defined in any of the source parsed. These are compared against lists of standards (represented as facts) using rules that check intersections and/or unions of these. By piping the output into other processes the source is appropriately commented by generating and executing parsed scripts.

Using CLIPS in a distributed system: The Network Control Center (NCC) expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wannemacher, Tom

1990-01-01

This paper describes an intelligent troubleshooting system for the Help Desk domain. It was developed on an IBM-compatible 80286 PC using Microsoft C and CLIPS and an AT&T 3B2 minicomputer using the UNIFY database and a combination of shell script, C programs and SQL queries. The two computers are linked by a lan. The functions of this system are to help non-technical NCC personnel handle trouble calls, to keep a log of problem calls with complete, concise information, and to keep a historical database of problems. The database helps identify hardware and software problem areas and provides a source of new rules for the troubleshooting knowledge base.

Object/rule integration in CLIPS. [C Language Integrated Production System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Donnell, Brian L.

1993-01-01

This paper gives a brief overview of the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) with a focus on the object-oriented features. The advantages of an object data representation over the traditional working memory element (WME), i.e., facts, are discussed, and the implementation of the Rete inference algorithm in CLIPS is presented in detail. A few methods for achieving pattern-matching on objects with the current inference engine are given, and finally, the paper examines the modifications necessary to the Rete algorithm to allow direct object pattern-matching.

MOM: A meteorological data checking expert system in CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Odonnell, Richard

1990-01-01

Meteorologists have long faced the problem of verifying the data they use. Experience shows that there is a sizable number of errors in the data reported by meteorological observers. This is unacceptable for computer forecast models, which depend on accurate data for accurate results. Most errors that occur in meteorological data are obvious to the meteorologist, but time constraints prevent hand-checking. For this reason, it is necessary to have a 'front end' to the computer model to ensure the accuracy of input. Various approaches to automatic data quality control have been developed by several groups. MOM is a rule-based system implemented in CLIPS and utilizing 'consistency checks' and 'range checks'. The system is generic in the sense that it knows some meteorological principles, regardless of specific station characteristics. Specific constraints kept as CLIPS facts in a separate file provide for system flexibility. Preliminary results show that the expert system has detected some inconsistencies not noticed by a local expert.

Data-driven backward chaining

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haley, Paul

1991-01-01

The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) cannot effectively perform sound and complete logical inference in most real-world contexts. The problem facing CLIPS is its lack of goal generation. Without automatic goal generation and maintenance, forward chaining can only deduce all instances of a relationship. Backward chaining, which requires goal generation, allows deduction of only that subset of what is logically true which is also relevant to ongoing problem solving. Goal generation can be mimicked in simple cases using forward chaining. However, such mimicry requires manual coding of additional rules which can assert an inadequate goal representation for every condition in every rule that can have corresponding facts derived by backward chaining. In general, for N rules with an average of M conditions per rule the number of goal generation rules required is on the order of N*M. This is clearly intractable from a program maintenance perspective. We describe the support in Eclipse for backward chaining which it automatically asserts as it checks rule conditions. Important characteristics of this extension are that it does not assert goals which cannot match any rule conditions, that 2 equivalent goals are never asserted, and that goals persist as long as, but no longer than, they remain relevant.

From benchmarking HITS-CLIP peak detection programs to a new method for identification of miRNA-binding sites from Ago2-CLIP data.

PubMed

Bottini, Silvia; Hamouda-Tekaya, Nedra; Tanasa, Bogdan; Zaragosi, Laure-Emmanuelle; Grandjean, Valerie; Repetto, Emanuela; Trabucchi, Michele

2017-05-19

Experimental evidence indicates that about 60% of miRNA-binding activity does not follow the canonical rule about the seed matching between miRNA and target mRNAs, but rather a non-canonical miRNA targeting activity outside the seed or with a seed-like motifs. Here, we propose a new unbiased method to identify canonical and non-canonical miRNA-binding sites from peaks identified by Ago2 Cross-Linked ImmunoPrecipitation associated to high-throughput sequencing (CLIP-seq). Since the quality of peaks is of pivotal importance for the final output of the proposed method, we provide a comprehensive benchmarking of four peak detection programs, namely CIMS, PIPE-CLIP, Piranha and Pyicoclip, on four publicly available Ago2-HITS-CLIP datasets and one unpublished in-house Ago2-dataset in stem cells. We measured the sensitivity, the specificity and the position accuracy toward miRNA binding sites identification, and the agreement with TargetScan. Secondly, we developed a new pipeline, called miRBShunter, to identify canonical and non-canonical miRNA-binding sites based on de novo motif identification from Ago2 peaks and prediction of miRNA::RNA heteroduplexes. miRBShunter was tested and experimentally validated on the in-house Ago2-dataset and on an Ago2-PAR-CLIP dataset in human stem cells. Overall, we provide guidelines to choose a suitable peak detection program and a new method for miRNA-target identification. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

From benchmarking HITS-CLIP peak detection programs to a new method for identification of miRNA-binding sites from Ago2-CLIP data

PubMed Central

Bottini, Silvia; Hamouda-Tekaya, Nedra; Tanasa, Bogdan; Zaragosi, Laure-Emmanuelle; Grandjean, Valerie; Repetto, Emanuela

2017-01-01

Abstract Experimental evidence indicates that about 60% of miRNA-binding activity does not follow the canonical rule about the seed matching between miRNA and target mRNAs, but rather a non-canonical miRNA targeting activity outside the seed or with a seed-like motifs. Here, we propose a new unbiased method to identify canonical and non-canonical miRNA-binding sites from peaks identified by Ago2 Cross-Linked ImmunoPrecipitation associated to high-throughput sequencing (CLIP-seq). Since the quality of peaks is of pivotal importance for the final output of the proposed method, we provide a comprehensive benchmarking of four peak detection programs, namely CIMS, PIPE-CLIP, Piranha and Pyicoclip, on four publicly available Ago2-HITS-CLIP datasets and one unpublished in-house Ago2-dataset in stem cells. We measured the sensitivity, the specificity and the position accuracy toward miRNA binding sites identification, and the agreement with TargetScan. Secondly, we developed a new pipeline, called miRBShunter, to identify canonical and non-canonical miRNA-binding sites based on de novo motif identification from Ago2 peaks and prediction of miRNA::RNA heteroduplexes. miRBShunter was tested and experimentally validated on the in-house Ago2-dataset and on an Ago2-PAR-CLIP dataset in human stem cells. Overall, we provide guidelines to choose a suitable peak detection program and a new method for miRNA-target identification. PMID:28108660

SURE (Science User Resource Expert): A science planning and scheduling assistant for a resource based environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thalman, Nancy E.; Sparn, Thomas P.

1990-01-01

SURE (Science User Resource Expert) is one of three components that compose the SURPASS (Science User Resource Planning and Scheduling System). This system is a planning and scheduling tool which supports distributed planning and scheduling, based on resource allocation and optimization. Currently SURE is being used within the SURPASS by the UARS (Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite) SOLSTICE instrument to build a daily science plan and activity schedule and in a prototyping effort with NASA GSFC to demonstrate distributed planning and scheduling for the SOLSTICE II instrument on the EOS platform. For the SOLSTICE application the SURE utilizes a rule-based system. Development of a rule-based program using Ada CLIPS as opposed to using conventional programming, allows for capture of the science planning and scheduling heuristics in rules and provides flexibility in inserting or removing rules as the scientific objectives and mission constraints change. The SURE system's role as a component in the SURPASS, the purpose of the SURE planning and scheduling tool, the SURE knowledge base, and the software architecture of the SURE component are described.

Debugging expert systems using a dynamically created hypertext network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boyle, Craig D. B.; Schuette, John F.

1991-01-01

The labor intensive nature of expert system writing and debugging motivated this study. The hypothesis is that a hypertext based debugging tool is easier and faster than one traditional tool, the graphical execution trace. HESDE (Hypertext Expert System Debugging Environment) uses Hypertext nodes and links to represent the objects and their relationships created during the execution of a rule based expert system. HESDE operates transparently on top of the CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) rule based system environment and is used during the knowledge base debugging process. During the execution process HESDE builds an execution trace. Use of facts, rules, and their values are automatically stored in a Hypertext network for each execution cycle. After the execution process, the knowledge engineer may access the Hypertext network and browse the network created. The network may be viewed in terms of rules, facts, and values. An experiment was conducted to compare HESDE with a graphical debugging environment. Subjects were given representative tasks. For speed and accuracy, in eight of the eleven tasks given to subjects, HESDE was significantly better.

HYPERCLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, R. W.

1994-01-01

The integration of CLIPS into HyperCard combines the intuitive, interactive user interface of the Macintosh with the powerful symbolic computation of an expert system interpreter. HyperCard is an excellent environment for quickly developing the front end of an application with buttons, dialogs, and pictures, while the CLIPS interpreter provides a powerful inference engine for complex problem solving and analysis. In order to understand the benefit of integrating HyperCard and CLIPS, consider the following: HyperCard is an information storage and retrieval system which exploits the use of the graphics and user interface capabilities of the Apple Macintosh computer. The user can easily define buttons, dialog boxes, information templates, pictures, and graphic displays through the use of the HyperCard tools and scripting language. What is generally lacking in this environment is a powerful reasoning engine for complex problem solving, and this is where CLIPS plays a role. CLIPS 5.0 (C Language Integrated Production System, v5.0) was developed at the Johnson Space Center Software Technology Branch to allow artificial intelligence research, development, and delivery on conventional computers. CLIPS 5.0 supports forward chaining rule systems, object-oriented language, and procedural programming for the construction of expert systems. It features incremental reset, seven conflict resolution stategies, truth maintenance, and user-defined external functions. Since CLIPS is implemented in the C language it is highly portable; in addition, it is embeddable as a callable routine from a program written in another language such as Ada or Fortran. By integrating HyperCard and CLIPS the advantages and uses of both packages are made available for a wide range of applications: rapid prototyping of knowledge-based expert systems, interactive simulations of physical systems and intelligent control of hypertext processes, to name a few. HyperCLIPS 2.0 is written in C-Language (54%) and Pascal (46%) for Apple Macintosh computers running Macintosh System 6.0.2 or greater. HyperCLIPS requires HyperCard 1.2 or higher and at least 2Mb of RAM are recommended to run. An executable is provided. To compile the source code, the Macintosh Programmer's Workshop (MPW) version 3.0, CLIPS 5.0 (MSC-21927), and the MPW C-Language compiler are also required. NOTE: Installing this program under Macintosh System 7 requires HyperCard v2.1. This program is distributed on a 3.5 inch Macintosh format diskette. A copy of the program documentation is included on the diskette, but may be purchased separately. HyperCLIPS was developed in 1990 and version 2.0 was released in 1991. HyperCLIPS is a copyrighted work with all copyright vested in NASA. Apple, Macintosh, MPW, and HyperCard are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.

36 CFR 1254.36 - What care must I take when handling documents?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What care must I take when... Room Rules Rules Relating to Using Original Documents § 1254.36 What care must I take when handling... must not use paper clips, rubber bands, self-stick notes or similar devices to identify documents. (e...

A rule-based expert system for generating control displays at the Advanced Photon Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coulter, Karen J.

1994-12-01

The integration of a rule-based expert system for generating screen displays for controlling and monitoring instrumentation under the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is presented. The expert system is implemented using CLIPS, an expert system shell from the Software Technology Branch at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. The user selects the hardware input and output to be displayed and the expert system constructs a graphical control screen appropriate for the data. Such a system provides a method for implementing a common look and feel for displays created by several different users and reduces the amount of time required to create displays for new hardware configurations. Users are able to modify the displays as needed using the EPICS display editor tool.

Expert Witness: A system for developing expert medical testimony

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewandowski, Raymond; Perkins, David; Leasure, David

1994-01-01

Expert Witness in an expert system designed to assist attorneys and medical experts in determining the merit of medical malpractice claims in the area of obstetrics. It substitutes the time of the medical expert with the time of a paralegal assistant guided by the expert system during the initial investigation of the medical records and patient interviews. The product of the system is a narrative transcript containing important data, immediate conclusions from the data, and overall conclusions of the case that the attorney and medical expert use to make decisions about whether and how to proceed with the case. The transcript may also contain directives for gathering additional information needed for the case. The system is a modified heuristic classifier and is implemented using over 600 CLIPS rules together with a C-based user interface. The data abstraction and solution refinement are implemented directly using forward chaining production and matching. The use of CLIPS and C is essential to delivering a system that runs on a generic PC platform. The direct implementation in CLIPS together with locality of inference ensures that the system will scale gracefully. Two years of use has revealed no errors in the reasoning.

A parallel strategy for implementing real-time expert systems using CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ilyes, Laszlo A.; Villaseca, F. Eugenio; Delaat, John

1994-01-01

As evidenced by current literature, there appears to be a continued interest in the study of real-time expert systems. It is generally recognized that speed of execution is only one consideration when designing an effective real-time expert system. Some other features one must consider are the expert system's ability to perform temporal reasoning, handle interrupts, prioritize data, contend with data uncertainty, and perform context focusing as dictated by the incoming data to the expert system. This paper presents a strategy for implementing a real time expert system on the iPSC/860 hypercube parallel computer using CLIPS. The strategy takes into consideration not only the execution time of the software, but also those features which define a true real-time expert system. The methodology is then demonstrated using a practical implementation of an expert system which performs diagnostics on the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). This particular implementation uses an eight node hypercube to process ten sensor measurements in order to simultaneously diagnose five different failure modes within the SSME. The main program is written in ANSI C and embeds CLIPS to better facilitate and debug the rule based expert system.

Correction of clipped pixels in color images.

PubMed

Xu, Di; Doutre, Colin; Nasiopoulos, Panos

2011-03-01

Conventional images store a very limited dynamic range of brightness. The true luma in the bright area of such images is often lost due to clipping. When clipping changes the R, G, B color ratios of a pixel, color distortion also occurs. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to enhance both the luma and chroma of the clipped pixels. Our method is based on the strong chroma spatial correlation between clipped pixels and their surrounding unclipped area. After identifying the clipped areas in the image, we partition the clipped areas into regions with similar chroma, and estimate the chroma of each clipped region based on the chroma of its surrounding unclipped region. We correct the clipped R, G, or B color channels based on the estimated chroma and the unclipped color channel(s) of the current pixel. The last step involves smoothing of the boundaries between regions of different clipping scenarios. Both objective and subjective experimental results show that our algorithm is very effective in restoring the color of clipped pixels. © 2011 IEEE

An Intelligent computer-aided tutoring system for diagnosing anomalies of spacecraft in operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rolincik, Mark; Lauriente, Michael; Koons, Harry C.; Gorney, David

1993-01-01

A new rule-based, expert system for diagnosing spacecraft anomalies is under development. The knowledge base consists of over two-hundred (200) rules and provides links to historical and environmental databases. Environmental causes considered are bulk charging, single event upsets (SEU), surface charging, and total radiation dose. The system's driver translates forward chaining rules into a backward chaining sequence, prompting the user for information pertinent to the causes considered. When the user selects the novice mode, the system automatically gives detailed explanations and descriptions of terms and reasoning as the session progresses, in a sense teaching the user. As such it is an effective tutoring tool. The use of heuristics frees the user from searching through large amounts of irrelevant information and allows the user to input partial information (varying degrees of confidence in an answer) or 'unknown' to any question. The system is available on-line and uses C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), an expert shell developed by the NASA Johnson Space Center AI Laboratory in Houston.

Optimal pattern distributions in Rete-based production systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, Stephen L.

1994-01-01

Since its introduction into the AI community in the early 1980's, the Rete algorithm has been widely used. This algorithm has formed the basis for many AI tools, including NASA's CLIPS. One drawback of Rete-based implementation, however, is that the network structures used internally by the Rete algorithm make it sensitive to the arrangement of individual patterns within rules. Thus while rules may be more or less arbitrarily placed within source files, the distribution of individual patterns within these rules can significantly affect the overall system performance. Some heuristics have been proposed to optimize pattern placement, however, these suggestions can be conflicting. This paper describes a systematic effort to measure the effect of pattern distribution on production system performance. An overview of the Rete algorithm is presented to provide context. A description of the methods used to explore the pattern ordering problem area are presented, using internal production system metrics such as the number of partial matches, and coarse-grained operating system data such as memory usage and time. The results of this study should be of interest to those developing and optimizing software for Rete-based production systems.

The Buffer Diagnostic Prototype: A fault isolation application using CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, Ken

1994-01-01

This paper describes problem domain characteristics and development experiences from using CLIPS 6.0 in a proof-of-concept troubleshooting application called the Buffer Diagnostic Prototype. The problem domain is a large digital communications subsystems called the real-time network (RTN), which was designed to upgrade the launch processing system used for shuttle support at KSC. The RTN enables up to 255 computers to share 50,000 data points with millisecond response times. The RTN's extensive built-in test capability but lack of any automatic fault isolation capability presents a unique opportunity for a diagnostic expert system application. The Buffer Diagnostic Prototype addresses RTN diagnosis with a multiple strategy approach. A novel technique called 'faulty causality' employs inexact qualitative models to process test results. Experimental knowledge provides a capability to recognize symptom-fault associations. The implementation utilizes rule-based and procedural programming techniques, including a goal-directed control structure and simple text-based generic user interface that may be reusable for other rapid prototyping applications. Although limited in scope, this project demonstrates a diagnostic approach that may be adapted to troubleshoot a broad range of equipment.

Snap-, CLIP- and Halo-Tag Labelling of Budding Yeast Cells

PubMed Central

Stagge, Franziska; Mitronova, Gyuzel Y.; Belov, Vladimir N.; Wurm, Christian A.; Jakobs, Stefan

2013-01-01

Fluorescence microscopy of the localization and the spatial and temporal dynamics of specifically labelled proteins is an indispensable tool in cell biology. Besides fluorescent proteins as tags, tag-mediated labelling utilizing self-labelling proteins as the SNAP-, CLIP-, or the Halo-tag are widely used, flexible labelling systems relying on exogenously supplied fluorophores. Unfortunately, labelling of live budding yeast cells proved to be challenging with these approaches because of the limited accessibility of the cell interior to the dyes. In this study we developed a fast and reliable electroporation-based labelling protocol for living budding yeast cells expressing SNAP-, CLIP-, or Halo-tagged fusion proteins. For the Halo-tag, we demonstrate that it is crucial to use the 6′-carboxy isomers and not the 5′-carboxy isomers of important dyes to ensure cell viability. We report on a simple rule for the analysis of 1H NMR spectra to discriminate between 6′- and 5′-carboxy isomers of fluorescein and rhodamine derivatives. We demonstrate the usability of the labelling protocol by imaging yeast cells with STED super-resolution microscopy and dual colour live cell microscopy. The large number of available fluorophores for these self-labelling proteins and the simplicity of the protocol described here expands the available toolbox for the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. PMID:24205303

Clips as a knowledge based language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrington, James B.

1987-01-01

CLIPS is a language for writing expert systems applications on a personal or small computer. Here, the CLIPS programming language is described and compared to three other artificial intelligence (AI) languages (LISP, Prolog, and OPS5) with regard to the processing they provide for the implementation of a knowledge based system (KBS). A discussion is given on how CLIPS would be used in a control system.

RISMA: A Rule-based Interval State Machine Algorithm for Alerts Generation, Performance Analysis and Monitoring Real-Time Data Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laban, Shaban; El-Desouky, Aly

2013-04-01

The monitoring of real-time systems is a challenging and complicated process. So, there is a continuous need to improve the monitoring process through the use of new intelligent techniques and algorithms for detecting exceptions, anomalous behaviours and generating the necessary alerts during the workflow monitoring of such systems. The interval-based or period-based theorems have been discussed, analysed, and used by many researches in Artificial Intelligence (AI), philosophy, and linguistics. As explained by Allen, there are 13 relations between any two intervals. Also, there have also been many studies of interval-based temporal reasoning and logics over the past decades. Interval-based theorems can be used for monitoring real-time interval-based data processing. However, increasing the number of processed intervals makes the implementation of such theorems a complex and time consuming process as the relationships between such intervals are increasing exponentially. To overcome the previous problem, this paper presents a Rule-based Interval State Machine Algorithm (RISMA) for processing, monitoring, and analysing the behaviour of interval-based data, received from real-time sensors. The proposed intelligent algorithm uses the Interval State Machine (ISM) approach to model any number of interval-based data into well-defined states as well as inferring them. An interval-based state transition model and methodology are presented to identify the relationships between the different states of the proposed algorithm. By using such model, the unlimited number of relationships between similar large numbers of intervals can be reduced to only 18 direct relationships using the proposed well-defined states. For testing the proposed algorithm, necessary inference rules and code have been designed and applied to the continuous data received in near real-time from the stations of International Monitoring System (IMS) by the International Data Centre (IDC) of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). The CLIPS expert system shell has been used as the main rule engine for implementing the algorithm rules. Python programming language and the module "PyCLIPS" are used for building the necessary code for algorithm implementation. More than 1.7 million intervals constitute the Concise List of Frames (CLF) from 20 different seismic stations have been used for evaluating the proposed algorithm and evaluating stations behaviour and performance. The initial results showed that proposed algorithm can help in better understanding of the operation and performance of those stations. Different important information, such as alerts and some station performance parameters, can be derived from the proposed algorithm. For IMS interval-based data and at any period of time it is possible to analyze station behavior, determine the missing data, generate necessary alerts, and to measure some of station performance attributes. The details of the proposed algorithm, methodology, implementation, experimental results, advantages, and limitations of this research are presented. Finally, future directions and recommendations are discussed.

Audiologist-driven versus patient-driven fine tuning of hearing instruments.

PubMed

Boymans, Monique; Dreschler, Wouter A

2012-03-01

Two methods of fine tuning the initial settings of hearing aids were compared: An audiologist-driven approach--using real ear measurements and a patient-driven fine-tuning approach--using feedback from real-life situations. The patient-driven fine tuning was conducted by employing the Amplifit(®) II system using audiovideo clips. The audiologist-driven fine tuning was based on the NAL-NL1 prescription rule. Both settings were compared using the same hearing aids in two 6-week trial periods following a randomized blinded cross-over design. After each trial period, the settings were evaluated by insertion-gain measurements. Performance was evaluated by speech tests in quiet, in noise, and in time-reversed speech, presented at 0° and with spatially separated sound sources. Subjective results were evaluated using extensive questionnaires and audiovisual video clips. A total of 73 participants were included. On average, higher gain values were found for the audiologist-driven settings than for the patient-driven settings, especially at 1000 and 2000 Hz. Better objective performance was obtained for the audiologist-driven settings for speech perception in quiet and in time-reversed speech. This was supported by better scores on a number of subjective judgments and in the subjective ratings of video clips. The perception of loud sounds scored higher than when patient-driven, but the overall preference was in favor of the audiologist-driven settings for 67% of the participants.

77 FR 32568 - Notice of Scope Rulings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-01

... steel plate from the PRC that contains a small level of boron, regardless of producer, is circumventing... Steel Plate in Coils From Italy Requestor: AAVID Thermalloy LLC. (``AAVID''); 24 steel clips imported by...-Length Carbon Steel From the People's Republic of China Requestor: ArcelorMittal USA, Inc.; Nucor...

Automated unit-level testing with heuristic rules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlisle, W. Homer; Chang, Kai-Hsiung; Cross, James H.; Keleher, William; Shackelford, Keith

1990-01-01

Software testing plays a significant role in the development of complex software systems. Current testing methods generally require significant effort to generate meaningful test cases. The QUEST/Ada system is a prototype system designed using CLIPS to experiment with expert system based test case generation. The prototype is designed to test for condition coverage, and attempts to generate test cases to cover all feasible branches contained in an Ada program. This paper reports on heuristics sued by the system. These heuristics vary according to the amount of knowledge obtained by preprocessing and execution of the boolean conditions in the program.

Scrapbook This

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sacchetti, Susanne

2006-01-01

Scrapbooking is one of the fastest-growing crafts in the world. Unlike sports or other recreational activities, scrapbooking has no rules; it is a form of creative expression that allows a person to share and preserve his or her experiences and memories in albums that usually consist of photographs, newspaper clippings, and other mementos, in…

Mounting clips for panel installation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cavieres, Andres; Al-Haddad, Tristan; Goodman, Joseph

2017-02-14

An exemplary mounting clip for removably attaching panels to a supporting structure comprises a base, spring locking clips, a lateral flange, a lever flange, and a spring bonding pad. The spring locking clips extend upwardly from the base. The lateral flange extends upwardly from a first side of the base. The lateral flange comprises a slot having an opening configured to receive at least a portion of one of the one or more panels. The lever flange extends outwardly from the lateral flange. The spring bonding flange extends downwardly from the lever flange. At least a portion of the firstmore » spring bonding flange comprises a serrated edge for gouging at least a portion of the one or more panels when the one or more panels are attached to the mounting clip to electrically and mechanically couple the one or more panels to the mounting clip.« less

Content-based video retrieval by example video clip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimitrova, Nevenka; Abdel-Mottaleb, Mohamed

1997-01-01

This paper presents a novel approach for video retrieval from a large archive of MPEG or Motion JPEG compressed video clips. We introduce a retrieval algorithm that takes a video clip as a query and searches the database for clips with similar contents. Video clips are characterized by a sequence of representative frame signatures, which are constructed from DC coefficients and motion information (`DC+M' signatures). The similarity between two video clips is determined by using their respective signatures. This method facilitates retrieval of clips for the purpose of video editing, broadcast news retrieval, or copyright violation detection.

A PC based fault diagnosis expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marsh, Christopher A.

1990-01-01

The Integrated Status Assessment (ISA) prototype expert system performs system level fault diagnosis using rules and models created by the user. The ISA evolved from concepts to a stand-alone demonstration prototype using OPS5 on a LISP Machine. The LISP based prototype was rewritten in C and the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) to run on a Personal Computer (PC) and a graphics workstation. The ISA prototype has been used to demonstrate fault diagnosis functions of Space Station Freedom's Operation Management System (OMS). This paper describes the development of the ISA prototype from early concepts to the current PC/workstation version used today and describes future areas of development for the prototype.

Fire flame detection based on GICA and target tracking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rong, Jianzhong; Zhou, Dechuang; Yao, Wei; Gao, Wei; Chen, Juan; Wang, Jian

2013-04-01

To improve the video fire detection rate, a robust fire detection algorithm based on the color, motion and pattern characteristics of fire targets was proposed, which proved a satisfactory fire detection rate for different fire scenes. In this fire detection algorithm: (a) a rule-based generic color model was developed based on analysis on a large quantity of flame pixels; (b) from the traditional GICA (Geometrical Independent Component Analysis) model, a Cumulative Geometrical Independent Component Analysis (C-GICA) model was developed for motion detection without static background and (c) a BP neural network fire recognition model based on multi-features of the fire pattern was developed. Fire detection tests on benchmark fire video clips of different scenes have shown the robustness, accuracy and fast-response of the algorithm.

DYNACLIPS (DYNAmic CLIPS): A dynamic knowledge exchange tool for intelligent agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cengeloglu, Yilmaz; Khajenoori, Soheil; Linton, Darrell

1994-01-01

In a dynamic environment, intelligent agents must be responsive to unanticipated conditions. When such conditions occur, an intelligent agent may have to stop a previously planned and scheduled course of actions and replan, reschedule, start new activities and initiate a new problem solving process to successfully respond to the new conditions. Problems occur when an intelligent agent does not have enough knowledge to properly respond to the new situation. DYNACLIPS is an implementation of a framework for dynamic knowledge exchange among intelligent agents. Each intelligent agent is a CLIPS shell and runs a separate process under SunOS operating system. Intelligent agents can exchange facts, rules, and CLIPS commands at run time. Knowledge exchange among intelligent agents at run times does not effect execution of either sender and receiver intelligent agent. Intelligent agents can keep the knowledge temporarily or permanently. In other words, knowledge exchange among intelligent agents would allow for a form of learning to be accomplished.

Efficacy and safety of the remOVE System for OTSC® and FTRD® clip removal: data from a PMCF analysis.

PubMed

Caputo, Antonio; Schmidt, Arthur; Caca, Karel; Bauerfeind, Peter; Schostek, Sebastian; Ho, Chi-Nghia; Gottwald, Thomas; Schurr, Marc O

2018-06-01

The remOVE System (Ovesco Endoscopy AG, Tuebingen, Germany) is a medical device for the endoscopic removal of OTSC or FTRD clips (Ovesco Endoscopy AG, Tuebingen, Germany). The aim of this paper is to assess the efficacy and safety of this system. A total of 74 patients underwent clip extraction. The standard removal procedure comprises fragmenting the clip by applying an electrical direct current pulse at two opposing sides of the clip. Clip fragmentation was successful in 72 of 74 patients (97.3%). In two cases (2.7%) clip fragmentation was not possible. In nine cases (12.2%) a clip fragment could not be removed and was left in place. Complications occurred in three cases (4.1%): two minor bleedings near the clip removal site (2.7%), and one superficial mucosal tear resulting from clip fragment extraction (1.4%). Based on this study, the use of the remOVE System for OTSC or FTRD clip removal can be considered safe and effective.

New concept of 3D printed bone clip (polylactic acid/hydroxyapatite/silk composite) for internal fixation of bone fractures.

PubMed

Yeon, Yeung Kyu; Park, Hae Sang; Lee, Jung Min; Lee, Ji Seung; Lee, Young Jin; Sultan, Md Tipu; Seo, Ye Bin; Lee, Ok Joo; Kim, Soon Hee; Park, Chan Hum

Open reduction with internal fixation is commonly used for the treatment of bone fractures. However, postoperative infection associated with internal fixation devices (intramedullary nails, plates, and screws) remains a significant complication, and it is technically difficult to fix multiple fragmented bony fractures using internal fixation devices. In addition, drilling in the bone to install devices can lead to secondary fracture, bone necrosis associated with postoperative infection. In this study, we developed bone clip type internal fixation device using three- dimensional (3D) printing technology. Standard 3D model of the bone clip was generated based on computed tomography (CT) scan of the femur in the rat. Polylacticacid (PLA), hydroxyapatite (HA), and silk were used for bone clip material. The purpose of this study was to characterize 3D printed PLA, PLA/HA, and PLA/HA/Silk composite bone clip and evaluate the feasibility of these bone clips as an internal fixation device. Based on the results, PLA/HA/Silk composite bone clip showed similar mechanical property, and superior biocompatibility compared to other types of the bone clip. PLA/HA/Silk composite bone clip demonstrated excellent alignment of the bony segments across the femur fracture site with well-positioned bone clip in an animal study. Our 3D printed bone clips have several advantages: (1) relatively noninvasive (drilling in the bone is not necessary), (2) patient-specific design (3) mechanically stable device, and (4) it provides high biocompatibility. Therefore, we suggest that our 3D printed PLA/HA/Silk composite bone clip is a possible internal fixation device.

CLIPS interface development tools and their application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engel, Bernard A.; Rewerts, Chris C.; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Rogers, Joseph B.; Jones, Don D.

1990-01-01

A package of C-based PC user interface development functions has been developed and integrated into CLIPS. The primary function is ASK which provides a means to ask the user questions via multiple choice menus or the keyboard and then returns the user response to CLIPS. A parameter-like structure supplies information for the interface. Another function, SHOW, provides a means to paginate and display text. A third function, TITLE, formats and displays title screens. A similar set of C-based functions that are more general and thus will run on UNIX and machines have also been developed. Seven expert system applications were transformed from commercial development environments into CLIPS and utilize ASK, SHOW, and TITLE. Development of numerous new expert system applications using CLIPS and these interface functions has started. These functions greatly reduce the time required to build interfaces for CLIPS applications.

Passive acquisition of CLIPS rules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kovarik, Vincent J., Jr.

1991-01-01

The automated acquisition of knowledge by machine has not lived up to expectations, and knowledge engineering remains a human intensive task. Part of the reason for the lack of success is the difference in the cognitive focus of the expert. The expert must shift his or her focus from the subject domain to that of the representation environment. In doing so this cognitive shift introduces opportunity for errors and omissions. Presented here is work that observes the expert interact with a simulation of the domain. The system logs changes in the simulation objects and the expert's actions in response to those changes. This is followed by the application of inductive reasoning to move the domain specific rules observed to general domain rules.

Entrepreneurial Aspirations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Recom Technologies, Inc., was established in 1980 by Jack Lee, a former NASA contractor. After forming the new company, Recom was awarded NASA contracts, which eventually grew to 50 percent of the company's business. Two companies have spun-off from Recom, both of which have their basis in NASA technology. The first is Attention Control Systems, Inc. with utilizes intelligent planning software that Recom developed for NASA Ames Computational Sciences Division in a hand-held planner used as an aid in cognitive rehabilitation of brain injury patients. The second is MiraNet, Inc. who uses CLIPS as the foundation for WEXpert, the first rules based help system on the Web.

Integrating CLIPS applications into heterogeneous distributed systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adler, Richard M.

1991-01-01

SOCIAL is an advanced, object-oriented development tool for integrating intelligent and conventional applications across heterogeneous hardware and software platforms. SOCIAL defines a family of 'wrapper' objects called agents, which incorporate predefined capabilities for distributed communication and control. Developers embed applications within agents and establish interactions between distributed agents via non-intrusive message-based interfaces. This paper describes a predefined SOCIAL agent that is specialized for integrating C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS)-based applications. The agent's high-level Application Programming Interface supports bidirectional flow of data, knowledge, and commands to other agents, enabling CLIPS applications to initiate interactions autonomously, and respond to requests and results from heterogeneous remote systems. The design and operation of CLIPS agents are illustrated with two distributed applications that integrate CLIPS-based expert systems with other intelligent systems for isolating and mapping problems in the Space Shuttle Launch Processing System at the NASA Kennedy Space Center.

Clipping in neurocontrol by adaptive dynamic programming.

PubMed

Fairbank, Michael; Prokhorov, Danil; Alonso, Eduardo

2014-10-01

In adaptive dynamic programming, neurocontrol, and reinforcement learning, the objective is for an agent to learn to choose actions so as to minimize a total cost function. In this paper, we show that when discretized time is used to model the motion of the agent, it can be very important to do clipping on the motion of the agent in the final time step of the trajectory. By clipping, we mean that the final time step of the trajectory is to be truncated such that the agent stops exactly at the first terminal state reached, and no distance further. We demonstrate that when clipping is omitted, learning performance can fail to reach the optimum, and when clipping is done properly, learning performance can improve significantly. The clipping problem we describe affects algorithms that use explicit derivatives of the model functions of the environment to calculate a learning gradient. These include backpropagation through time for control and methods based on dual heuristic programming. However, the clipping problem does not significantly affect methods based on heuristic dynamic programming, temporal differences learning, or policy-gradient learning algorithms.

HyperCLIPS: A HyperCard interface to CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pickering, Brad; Hill, Randall W., Jr.

1990-01-01

HyperCLIPS combines the intuitive, interactive user interface of the Apple Macintosh(TM) with the powerful symbolic computation of an expert system interpreter. HyperCard(TM) is an excellent environment for quickly developing the front end of an application with buttons, dialogs, and pictures, while the CLIPS interpreter provides a powerful inference engine for complex problem solving and analysis. By integrating HyperCard and CLIPS the advantages and uses of both packages are made available for a wide range of uses: rapid prototyping of knowledge-based expert systems, interactive simulations of physical systems, and intelligent control of hypertext processes, to name a few. Interfacing HyperCard and CLIPS is natural. HyperCard was designed to be extended through the use of external commands (XCMDs), and CLIPS was designed to be embedded through the use of the I/O router facilities and callable interface routines. With the exception of some technical difficulties which will be discussed later, HyperCLIPS implements this interface in a straight forward manner, using the facilities provided. An XCMD called 'ClipsX' was added to HyperCard to give access to the CLIPS routines: clear, load, reset, and run. And an I/O router was added to CLIPS to handle the communication of data between CLIPS and HyperCard.

TARGET: Rapid Capture of Process Knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ortiz, C. J.; Ly, H. V.; Saito, T.; Loftin, R. B.

1993-01-01

TARGET (Task Analysis/Rule Generation Tool) represents a new breed of tool that blends graphical process flow modeling capabilities with the function of a top-down reporting facility. Since NASA personnel frequently perform tasks that are primarily procedural in nature, TARGET models mission or task procedures and generates hierarchical reports as part of the process capture and analysis effort. Historically, capturing knowledge has proven to be one of the greatest barriers to the development of intelligent systems. Current practice generally requires lengthy interactions between the expert whose knowledge is to be captured and the knowledge engineer whose responsibility is to acquire and represent the expert's knowledge in a useful form. Although much research has been devoted to the development of methodologies and computer software to aid in the capture and representation of some types of knowledge, procedural knowledge has received relatively little attention. In essence, TARGET is one of the first tools of its kind, commercial or institutional, that is designed to support this type of knowledge capture undertaking. This paper will describe the design and development of TARGET for the acquisition and representation of procedural knowledge. The strategies employed by TARGET to support use by knowledge engineers, subject matter experts, programmers and managers will be discussed. This discussion includes the method by which the tool employs its graphical user interface to generate a task hierarchy report. Next, the approach to generate production rules for incorporation in and development of a CLIPS based expert system will be elaborated. TARGET also permits experts to visually describe procedural tasks as a common medium for knowledge refinement by the expert community and knowledge engineer making knowledge consensus possible. The paper briefly touches on the verification and validation issues facing the CLIPS rule generation aspects of TARGET. A description of efforts to support TARGET's interoperability issues on PCs, Macintoshes and UNIX workstations concludes the paper.

Virtual Cerebral Aneurysm Clipping with Real-Time Haptic Force Feedback in Neurosurgical Education.

PubMed

Gmeiner, Matthias; Dirnberger, Johannes; Fenz, Wolfgang; Gollwitzer, Maria; Wurm, Gabriele; Trenkler, Johannes; Gruber, Andreas

2018-04-01

Realistic, safe, and efficient modalities for simulation-based training are highly warranted to enhance the quality of surgical education, and they should be incorporated in resident training. The aim of this study was to develop a patient-specific virtual cerebral aneurysm-clipping simulator with haptic force feedback and real-time deformation of the aneurysm and vessels. A prototype simulator was developed from 2012 to 2016. Evaluation of virtual clipping by blood flow simulation was integrated in this software, and the prototype was evaluated by 18 neurosurgeons. In 4 patients with different medial cerebral artery aneurysms, virtual clipping was performed after real-life surgery, and surgical results were compared regarding clip application, surgical trajectory, and blood flow. After head positioning and craniotomy, bimanual virtual aneurysm clipping with an original forceps was performed. Blood flow simulation demonstrated residual aneurysm filling or branch stenosis. The simulator improved anatomic understanding for 89% of neurosurgeons. Simulation of head positioning and craniotomy was considered realistic by 89% and 94% of users, respectively. Most participants agreed that this simulator should be integrated into neurosurgical education (94%). Our illustrative cases demonstrated that virtual aneurysm surgery was possible using the same trajectory as in real-life cases. Both virtual clipping and blood flow simulation were realistic in broad-based but not calcified aneurysms. Virtual clipping of a calcified aneurysm could be performed using the same surgical trajectory, but not the same clip type. We have successfully developed a virtual aneurysm-clipping simulator. Next, we will prospectively evaluate this device for surgical procedure planning and education. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Implementing a frame representation in CLIPS/COOL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, Leonard; Snyder, James

1991-01-01

An implementation is described and evaluated of frames in COOL. The test case is a frame based semantic network previously implemented in CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) Version 4.3 as part of the Intelligent Computer Aided Design System (ICADS) and reported at the first CLIPS conference.

CLIPS/Ada: An Ada-based tool for building expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, W. A.

1990-01-01

Clips/Ada is a production system language and a development environment. It is functionally equivalent to the CLIPS tool. CLIPS/Ada was developed in order to provide a means of incorporating expert system technology into projects where the use of the Ada language had been mandated. A secondary purpose was to glean information about the Ada language and its compilers. Specifically, whether or not the language and compilers were mature enough to support AI applications. The CLIPS/Ada tool is coded entirely in Ada and is designed to be used by Ada systems that require expert reasoning.

Restoration of clipped seismic waveforms using projection onto convex sets method

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jinhai; Hao, Jinlai; Zhao, Xu; Wang, Shuqin; Zhao, Lianfeng; Wang, Weimin; Yao, Zhenxing

2016-01-01

The seismic waveforms would be clipped when the amplitude exceeds the upper-limit dynamic range of seismometer. Clipped waveforms are typically assumed not useful and seldom used in waveform-based research. Here, we assume the clipped components of the waveform share the same frequency content with the un-clipped components. We leverage this similarity to convert clipped waveforms to true waveforms by iteratively reconstructing the frequency spectrum using the projection onto convex sets method. Using artificially clipped data we find that statistically the restoration error is ~1% and ~5% when clipped at 70% and 40% peak amplitude, respectively. We verify our method using real data recorded at co-located seismometers that have different gain controls, one set to record large amplitudes on scale and the other set to record low amplitudes on scale. Using our restoration method we recover 87 out of 93 clipped broadband records from the 2013 Mw6.6 Lushan earthquake. Estimating that we recover 20 clipped waveforms for each M5.0+ earthquake, so for the ~1,500 M5.0+ events that occur each year we could restore ~30,000 clipped waveforms each year, which would greatly enhance useable waveform data archives. These restored waveform data would also improve the azimuthal station coverage and spatial footprint. PMID:27966618

PCLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krolak, Patrick D.

1990-01-01

CLIPS is an expert system, created specifically to allow rapid implementation of an expert system. CLIPS is written in C, and thus needs a very small amount of memory to run. Parallel CLIPS (PCLIPS) is an extension to CLIPS which is intended to be used in situations where a group of expert systems are expected to run simultaneously and occasionally communicate with each other on an integrated network. PCLIPS is a coarse-grained data distribution system. Its main goal is to take information in one knowledge base and distribute it to other knowledge bases so that all the executing expert systems are able to use that knowledge to solve their disparate problems.

CLIPS, AppleEvents, and AppleScript: Integrating CLIPS with commercial software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Compton, Michael M.; Wolfe, Shawn R.

1994-01-01

Many of today's intelligent systems are comprised of several modules, perhaps written in different tools and languages, that together help solve the user's problem. These systems often employ a knowledge-based component that is not accessed directly by the user, but instead operates 'in the background' offering assistance to the user as necessary. In these types of modular systems, an efficient, flexible, and eady-to-use mechanism for sharing data between programs is crucial. To help permit transparent integration of CLIPS with other Macintosh applications, the AI Research Branch at NASA Ames Research Center has extended CLIPS to allow it to communicate transparently with other applications through two popular data-sharing mechanisms provided by the Macintosh operating system: Apple Events (a 'high-level' event mechanism for program-to-program communication), and AppleScript, a recently-released scripting language for the Macintosh. This capability permits other applications (running on either the same or a remote machine) to send a command to CLIPS, which then responds as if the command were typed into the CLIPS dialog window. Any result returned by the command is then automatically returned to the program that sent it. Likewise, CLIPS can send several types of Apple Events directly to other local or remote applications. This CLIPS system has been successfully integrated with a variety of commercial applications, including data collection programs, electronics forms packages, DBMS's, and email programs. These mechanisms can permit transparent user access to the knowledge base from within a commercial application, and allow a single copy of the knowledge base to service multiple users in a networked environment.

Portable inference engine: An extended CLIPS for real-time production systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Le, Thach; Homeier, Peter

1988-01-01

The present C-Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) architecture has not been optimized to deal with the constraints of real-time production systems. Matching in CLIPS is based on the Rete Net algorithm, whose assumption of working memory stability might fail to be satisfied in a system subject to real-time dataflow. Further, the CLIPS forward-chaining control mechanism with a predefined conflict resultion strategy may not effectively focus the system's attention on situation-dependent current priorties, or appropriately address different kinds of knowledge which might appear in a given application. Portable Inference Engine (PIE) is a production system architecture based on CLIPS which attempts to create a more general tool while addressing the problems of real-time expert systems. Features of the PIE design include a modular knowledge base, a modified Rete Net algorithm, a bi-directional control strategy, and multiple user-defined conflict resolution strategies. Problems associated with real-time applications are analyzed and an explanation is given for how the PIE architecture addresses these problems.

First CLIPS Conference Proceedings, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The topics of volume 2 of First CLIPS Conference are associated with following applications: quality control; intelligent data bases and networks; Space Station Freedom; Space Shuttle and satellite; user interface; artificial neural systems and fuzzy logic; parallel and distributed processing; enchancements to CLIPS; aerospace; simulation and defense; advisory systems and tutors; and intelligent control.

AI and workflow automation: The prototype electronic purchase request system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Compton, Michael M.; Wolfe, Shawn R.

1994-01-01

Automating 'paper' workflow processes with electronic forms and email can dramatically improve the efficiency of those processes. However, applications that involve complex forms that are used for a variety of purposes or that require numerous and varied approvals often require additional software tools to ensure that (1) the electronic form is correctly and completely filled out, and (2) the form is routed to the proper individuals and organizations for approval. The prototype electronic purchase request (PEPR) system, which has been in pilot use at NASA Ames Research Center since December 1993, seamlessly links a commercial electronics forms package and a CLIPS-based knowledge system that first ensures that electronic forms are correct and complete, and then generates an 'electronic routing slip' that is used to route the form to the people who must sign it. The PEPR validation module is context-sensitive, and can apply different validation rules at each step in the approval process. The PEPR system is form-independent, and has been applied to several different types of forms. The system employs a version of CLIPS that has been extended to support AppleScript, a recently-released scripting language for the Macintosh. This 'scriptability' provides both a transparent, flexible interface between the two programs and a means by which a single copy of the knowledge base can be utilized by numerous remote users.

[Effects of clipping on nitrogen allocation strategy and compensatory growth of Leymus chinensis under saline-alkali conditions].

PubMed

Zheng, Cong Cong; Wang, Yong Jing; Sun, Hao; Wang, Xin Yu; Gao, Ying Zhi

2017-07-18

Soil salinization and overgrazing are two main factors limiting animal husbandry in the Songnen Grassland. Leymus chinensis is a dominant rhizome grass, resistant to grazing as well as to-lerant to salt stress. Foliar labeled with 15 N-urea was used to study the nitrogen allocation strategy and compensatory growth response to clipping under saline-alkali conditions. The results showed that the total absorbed 15 N allocated to the aboveground part was more than 60%. Compared with the control treatment (no saline-alkali, no clipping), saline-alkali increased the distribution of 15 N by 5.1% in root; the 15 N distribution into aboveground in the moderate clipping and saline-alkali treatment was 11.6% higher than that of the control, exhibiting over-compensatory growth of aboveground biomass and total biomass, however, 15 N allocated to stem base was significantly increased by 9.5% under severe clipping level and saline-alkali addition, showing under-compensatory growth of shoot, root and total biomass. These results suggested that L. chinensis adapted to mode-rate clipping by over-compensatory growth under salt-alkali stress condition. However, L. chinensis would take a relatively conservative growth strategy through the enhanced N allocation to stem base for storage under severe saline-alkali and clipping conditions.

The efficiency of the new Yasargil titanium fenestrated mini-clips for ideal clipping of a cerebral aneurysm

PubMed Central

Ota, Nakao; Tanikawa, Rokuya; Noda, Kosumo; Tsuboi, Toshiyuki; Kamiyama, Hiroyasu; Tokuda, Sadahisa

2015-01-01

Background: The fenestrated clip is sometimes useful in limited approach angle and narrow working space. However, before the development of the new Yasargil titanium fenestrated mini-clip, the only variations of fenestrated clips were those of larger sizes. And those larger clips have a problem of the triangle-shaped gap at the proximal end of the blade. The authors describe the efficiency, limitations and surgical technique of using the Yasargil titanium fenestrated mini-clip. Methods: Fifty-nine cases of aneurysms were treated using these mini-clips. Aneurysm location, size and dome neck ratio, mean follow-up period, neck remnant, and recurrence rate were also analyzed. Among these cases, we present eight characteristic cases, including a case with aneurysm recurrence, and we review the problems associated with the triangle-shaped gap at the proximal end of the clip. Results: The average size of the aneurysms was 5.57 mm, and the dome neck ratio was >2.0 in 1.69%, >1.5 in 11.8%, >1.2 in 35.6%, and <1.2 in 50.8% of cases. The mean follow-up period for the 59 cases was 5.5 months (range, 0.5–16 months). Angiographic recurrence of the treated portion occurred in 1 case (1.7%), including an aneurysm in the basilar artery tip aneurysm. Conclusion: The availability of the Yasargil titanium fenestrated mini-clip increases the options for clipping to minimize the remnant of the clipped aneurysm. However, there is still concern over the triangular space at the base of the blade, especially when treating an aneurysm with a thin vessel wall. Therefore, modification of the clipping technique is sometimes needed. PMID:26664871

Plastic bag clip discovered in partial colectomy accompanying proposal for phylogenic plastic bag clip classification

PubMed Central

Lehmer, Larisa M; Ragsdale, Bruce D; Daniel, John; Hayashi, Edwin; Kvalstad, Robert

2011-01-01

A plastic bag clip was incidentally found anchored in the mucosa of a partial colectomy specimen 2.6 cm proximal to a ruptured diverticulum for which the patient, a mentally retarded, diabetic, 58-year-old man, underwent surgery. Over 20 cases of accidental ingestion of plastic bag clips have been published. Known complications include small bowel perforation, obstruction, dysphagia, gastrointestinal bleeding and colonic impaction. Preoperative diagnosis of plastic clips lodged in the gastrointestinal tract is frustrated due to radiographic translucency. This occult threat could likely be prevented by the design of gastrointestinally safe, plastic-bag-sealing devices. Presented here is a morphologically based classification of bag clips as a possible guide for determining the most hazardous varieties and to aid further discussions of their impact on health. PMID:22679182

Virus-Clip: a fast and memory-efficient viral integration site detection tool at single-base resolution with annotation capability.

PubMed

Ho, Daniel W H; Sze, Karen M F; Ng, Irene O L

2015-08-28

Viral integration into the human genome upon infection is an important risk factor for various human malignancies. We developed viral integration site detection tool called Virus-Clip, which makes use of information extracted from soft-clipped sequencing reads to identify exact positions of human and virus breakpoints of integration events. With initial read alignment to virus reference genome and streamlined procedures, Virus-Clip delivers a simple, fast and memory-efficient solution to viral integration site detection. Moreover, it can also automatically annotate the integration events with the corresponding affected human genes. Virus-Clip has been verified using whole-transcriptome sequencing data and its detection was validated to have satisfactory sensitivity and specificity. Marked advancement in performance was detected, compared to existing tools. It is applicable to versatile types of data including whole-genome sequencing, whole-transcriptome sequencing, and targeted sequencing. Virus-Clip is available at http://web.hku.hk/~dwhho/Virus-Clip.zip.

Dual-Channel Endoscopic Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Angiography for Clipping of Cerebral Aneurysms.

PubMed

Cho, Won-Sang; Kim, Jeong Eun; Kang, Hyun-Seung; Ha, Eun Jin; Jung, Minwoong; Lee, Choonghee; Shin, Il Hyung; Kang, Uk

2017-04-01

Neuroendoscopy is useful for assessing status of perforators, parent arteries, and aneurysms beyond the straight line of microscopic view during aneurysm clipping. We aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of our endoscopic indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) system, which can simultaneously display visible light and indocyanine green fluorescent images. Surgical clipping of 16 unruptured aneurysms in 10 patients was performed via the keyhole approach. Using our endoscopic ICGA and commercial microscopic ICGA systems, we prospectively compared 10 targeted cerebral aneurysms at the posterior communicating (n = 4) and anterior choroidal (n = 6) arteries. Microscopic ICGA and endoscopic ICGA were feasible during surgery. Microscopic ICGA displayed 50% of branch orifices, 100% of branch trunks, and 20% of exact clip positions, whereas endoscopic ICGA showed 100% of these. Based on endoscopic ICGA findings such as incomplete clipping and compromise of parent arteries or branches, clips were repositioned in 2 cases, and additional clips were applied in 2 cases. Complete occlusion and residual neck states were achieved in 6 and 4 aneurysms after surgery. There were no neurologic deficits within 3 months after surgery except for frontalis palsy and anosmia in each patient. The endoscopic ICGA system with dual imaging of visible light and indocyanine green fluorescence was very useful for assessing geometry of aneurysms and surrounding vessels before clipping and for evaluating completeness of clip position after clipping. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Diagnosing anomalies of spacecraft for space maintenance and servicing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lauriente, Michael; Rolincik, Mark; Koons, Harry C.; Gorney, David

1994-01-01

Very often servicing of satellites is necessary to replace components which are responsible for anomalous behavior of satellite operations due to adverse interactions with the natural space environment. A major difficulty with this diagnosis is that those responsible for diagnosing these anomalies do not have the tools to assess the role of the space environment causing the anomaly. To address this issue, we have under development a new rule-based, expert system for diagnosing spacecraft anomalies. The knowledge base consists of over two-hundred rules and provides links to historical and environmental databases. Environmental causes considered are bulk charging, single event upsets (SEU), surface charging, and total radiation dose. The system's driver translates forward chaining rules into a backward chaining sequence, prompting the user for information pertinent to the causes considered. When the user selects the novice mode, the system automatically gives detailed explanations and descriptions of terms and reasoning as the session progresses, in a sense teaching the user. As such it is an effective tutoring tool. The use of heuristics frees the user from searching through large amounts of irrelevant information and allows the user to input partial information (varying degrees of confidence in an answer) or 'unknown' to any question. The system is available on-line and uses C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), an expert shell developed by the NASA Johnson Space Center AI Laboratory in Houston.

An expert system for diagnosing environmentally induced spacecraft anomalies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rolincik, Mark; Lauriente, Michael; Koons, Harry C.; Gorney, David

1992-01-01

A new rule-based, machine independent analytical tool was designed for diagnosing spacecraft anomalies using an expert system. Expert systems provide an effective method for saving knowledge, allow computers to sift through large amounts of data pinpointing significant parts, and most importantly, use heuristics in addition to algorithms, which allow approximate reasoning and inference and the ability to attack problems not rigidly defined. The knowledge base consists of over two-hundred (200) rules and provides links to historical and environmental databases. The environmental causes considered are bulk charging, single event upsets (SEU), surface charging, and total radiation dose. The system's driver translates forward chaining rules into a backward chaining sequence, prompting the user for information pertinent to the causes considered. The use of heuristics frees the user from searching through large amounts of irrelevant information and allows the user to input partial information (varying degrees of confidence in an answer) or 'unknown' to any question. The modularity of the expert system allows for easy updates and modifications. It not only provides scientists with needed risk analysis and confidence not found in algorithmic programs, but is also an effective learning tool, and the window implementation makes it very easy to use. The system currently runs on a Micro VAX II at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The inference engine used is NASA's C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS).

What's Eating Gilbert Grape?: A Case Study of Chronic Illness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander, Matthew; Waxman, Dael; White, Patricia

2006-01-01

Cinemeducation refers to the use of movies or movie clips to educate learners about the psychosocial aspects of health care. This paper describes the use of a clip from the movie, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" to teach medical students about chronic illness. The clip is used to set up a case study based on the lead character, Gilbert…

Using Film Clips to Teach Teen Pregnancy Prevention: "The Gloucester 18" at a Teen Summit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrman, Judith W.; Moore, Christopher C.; Anthony, Becky

2012-01-01

Teaching pregnancy prevention to large groups offers many challenges. This article describes the use of film clips, with guided discussion, to teach pregnancy prevention. In order to analyze the costs associated with teen pregnancy, a film clip discussion session based with the film "The Gloucester 18" was the keynote of a youth summit. The lesson…

The use of video clips in teleconsultation for preschool children with movement disorders.

PubMed

Gorter, Hetty; Lucas, Cees; Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Karin; Maathuis, Carel; van Wijlen-Hempel, Rietje; Elvers, Hans

2013-01-01

To investigate the reliability and validity of video clips in assessing movement disorders in preschool children. The study group included 27 children with neuromotor concerns. The explorative validity group included children with motor problems (n = 21) or with typical development (n = 9). Hempel screening was used for live observation of the child, full recording, and short video clips. The explorative study tested the validity of the clinical classifications "typical" or "suspect." Agreement between live observation and the full recording was almost perfect; Agreement for the clinical classification "typical" or "suspect" was substantial. Agreement between the full recording and short video clips was substantial to moderate. The explorative validity study, based on short video clips and the presence of a neuromotor developmental disorder, showed substantial agreement. Hempel screening enables reliable and valid observation of video clips, but further research is necessary to demonstrate the predictive value.

Recurrence of ICA-PCoA aneurysms after neck clipping.

PubMed

Sakaki, T; Takeshima, T; Tominaga, M; Hashimoto, H; Kawaguchi, S

1994-01-01

Between 1975 and 1992, 2211 patients underwent aneurysmal neck clipping at the Nara Medical University clinic and associated hospitals. The aneurysm in 931 of these patients was situated at the junction of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and posterior communicating artery (PCoA). Seven patients were readmitted 4 to 17 years after the first surgery because of regrowth and rupture of an ICA-PCoA aneurysmal sac that had arisen from the residual neck. On angiograms obtained following aneurysmal neck clipping, a large primitive type of PCoA was demonstrated in six patients and a small PCoA in one. A small residual aneurysm was confirmed in only two patients and angiographically complete neck clipping in five. Recurrent ICA-PCoA aneurysms were separated into two types based on the position of the old clip in relation to the new growth. Type 1 aneurysms regrow from the entire neck and balloon eccentrically. In this type, it is possible to apply the clip at the neck as in conventional clipping for a ruptured aneurysm. Type 2 includes aneurysms in which the proximal portion of a previous clip is situated at the corner of the ICA and aneurysmal neck and the distal portion on the enlarged dome of the aneurysm, because the sac is regrowing from a portion of the residual neck. In this type of aneurysm, a Sugita fenestrated clip can occlude the residual neck, overriding the old clip. Classifying these aneurysms into two groups is very useful from a surgical point of view because it is possible to apply a new clip without removing the old clip, which was found to be adherent to surrounding tissue.

Fabrication and Characterization of ZnO Nano-Clips by the Polyol-Mediated Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Mei; Li, Ai-Dong; Kong, Ji-Zhou; Gong, You-Pin; Zhao, Chao; Tang, Yue-Feng; Wu, Di

2018-02-01

ZnO nano-clips with better monodispersion were prepared successfully using zinc acetate hydrate (Zn(OAc)2·nH2O) as Zn source and ethylene glycol (EG) as solvent by a simple solution-based route-polyol process. The effect of solution concentration on the formation of ZnO nano-clips has been investigated deeply. We first prove that the 0.01 M Zn(OAc)2·nH2O can react with EG without added water or alkaline, producing ZnO nano-clips with polycrystalline wurtzite structure at 170 °C. As-synthesized ZnO nano-clips contain a lot of aggregated nanocrystals ( 5 to 15 nm) with high specific surface area of 88 m2/g. The shapes of ZnO nano-clips basically keep constant with improved crystallinity after annealing at 400-600 °C. The lower solution concentration and slight amount of H2O play a decisive role in ZnO nano-clip formation. When the solution concentration is ≤ 0.0125 M, the complexing and polymerization reactions between Zn(OAc)2·nH2O and EG predominate, mainly elaborating ZnO nano-clips. When the solution concentration is ≥ 0.015 M, the alcoholysis and polycondensation reactions of Zn(OAc)2·nH2O and EG become dominant, leading to ZnO particle formation with spherical and elliptical shapes. The possible growth mechanism based on a competition between complexing and alcoholysis of Zn(OAc)2·nH2O and EG has been proposed.

A defect in the CLIP1 gene (CLIP-170) can cause autosomal recessive intellectual disability.

PubMed

Larti, Farzaneh; Kahrizi, Kimia; Musante, Luciana; Hu, Hao; Papari, Elahe; Fattahi, Zohreh; Bazazzadegan, Niloofar; Liu, Zhe; Banan, Mehdi; Garshasbi, Masoud; Wienker, Thomas F; Ropers, H Hilger; Galjart, Niels; Najmabadi, Hossein

2015-03-01

In the context of a comprehensive research project, investigating novel autosomal recessive intellectual disability (ARID) genes, linkage analysis based on autozygosity mapping helped identify an intellectual disability locus on Chr.12q24, in an Iranian family (LOD score = 3.7). Next-generation sequencing (NGS) following exon enrichment in this novel interval, detected a nonsense mutation (p.Q1010*) in the CLIP1 gene. CLIP1 encodes a member of microtubule (MT) plus-end tracking proteins, which specifically associates with the ends of growing MTs. These proteins regulate MT dynamic behavior and are important for MT-mediated transport over the length of axons and dendrites. As such, CLIP1 may have a role in neuronal development. We studied lymphoblastoid and skin fibroblast cell lines established from healthy and affected patients. RT-PCR and western blot analyses showed the absence of CLIP1 transcript and protein in lymphoblastoid cells derived from affected patients. Furthermore, immunofluorescence analyses showed MT plus-end staining only in fibroblasts containing the wild-type (and not the mutant) CLIP1 protein. Collectively, our data suggest that defects in CLIP1 may lead to ARID.

A defect in the CLIP1 gene (CLIP-170) can cause autosomal recessive intellectual disability

PubMed Central

Larti, Farzaneh; Kahrizi, Kimia; Musante, Luciana; Hu, Hao; Papari, Elahe; Fattahi, Zohreh; Bazazzadegan, Niloofar; Liu, Zhe; Banan, Mehdi; Garshasbi, Masoud; Wienker, Thomas F; Ropers, H Hilger; Galjart, Niels; Najmabadi, Hossein

2015-01-01

In the context of a comprehensive research project, investigating novel autosomal recessive intellectual disability (ARID) genes, linkage analysis based on autozygosity mapping helped identify an intellectual disability locus on Chr.12q24, in an Iranian family (LOD score=3.7). Next-generation sequencing (NGS) following exon enrichment in this novel interval, detected a nonsense mutation (p.Q1010*) in the CLIP1 gene. CLIP1 encodes a member of microtubule (MT) plus-end tracking proteins, which specifically associates with the ends of growing MTs. These proteins regulate MT dynamic behavior and are important for MT-mediated transport over the length of axons and dendrites. As such, CLIP1 may have a role in neuronal development. We studied lymphoblastoid and skin fibroblast cell lines established from healthy and affected patients. RT-PCR and western blot analyses showed the absence of CLIP1 transcript and protein in lymphoblastoid cells derived from affected patients. Furthermore, immunofluorescence analyses showed MT plus-end staining only in fibroblasts containing the wild-type (and not the mutant) CLIP1 protein. Collectively, our data suggest that defects in CLIP1 may lead to ARID. PMID:24569606

The Emotional Movie Database (EMDB): a self-report and psychophysiological study.

PubMed

Carvalho, Sandra; Leite, Jorge; Galdo-Álvarez, Santiago; Gonçalves, Oscar F

2012-12-01

Film clips are an important tool for evoking emotional responses in the laboratory. When compared with other emotionally potent visual stimuli (e.g., pictures), film clips seem to be more effective in eliciting emotions for longer periods of time at both the subjective and physiological levels. The main objective of the present study was to develop a new database of affective film clips without auditory content, based on a dimensional approach to emotional stimuli (valence, arousal and dominance). The study had three different phases: (1) the pre-selection and editing of 52 film clips (2) the self-report rating of these film clips by a sample of 113 participants and (3) psychophysiological assessment [skin conductance level (SCL) and the heart rate (HR)] on 32 volunteers. Film clips from different categories were selected to elicit emotional states from different quadrants of affective space. The results also showed that sustained exposure to the affective film clips resulted in a pattern of a SCL increase and HR deceleration in high arousal conditions (i.e., horror and erotic conditions). The resulting emotional movie database can reliably be used in research requiring the presentation of non-auditory film clips with different ratings of valence, arousal and dominance.

Intelligent tutoring using HyperCLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Randall W., Jr.; Pickering, Brad

1990-01-01

HyperCard is a popular hypertext-like system used for building user interfaces to databases and other applications, and CLIPS is a highly portable government-owned expert system shell. We developed HyperCLIPS in order to fill a gap in the U.S. Army's computer-based instruction tool set; it was conceived as a development environment for building adaptive practical exercises for subject-matter problem-solving, though it is not limited to this approach to tutoring. Once HyperCLIPS was developed, we set out to implement a practical exercise prototype using HyperCLIPS in order to demonstrate the following concepts: learning can be facilitated by doing; student performance evaluation can be done in real-time; and the problems in a practical exercise can be adapted to the individual student's knowledge.

The influence of the different forms of appendix base closure on patient outcome in laparoscopic appendectomy: a randomized trial.

PubMed

Delibegović, Samir; Mehmedovic, Zlatan

2018-05-01

During laparoscopic appendectomy, the base of the appendix is usually secured by loop ligature or stapling device. Hem-o-lok and DS clips have been shown as alternative techniques. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of various forms of securing the base of the appendix, in order to find the most suitable method. The study included 120 patients with acute appendicitis randomly divided into four groups with 30 patients in each. In the first group, the base of the appendix was secured using an Endoloop, in the second group using a stapling device, in the third group using Hem-o-lok, and in the fourth group using a DS clip. The primary outcome was overall morbidity following securing the base of the appendix. Secondary outcomes were time of application and operative procedure, total length of stay, and surgical outcome. No morbidity was recorded in any group. The time of application was significantly longer in the Endoloop group than in the Stapler (P < 0.0001), Hem-o-lok (P < 0.0001), and DS clips (P < 0.0001) groups. The time of application in the Stapler group was significantly shorter than in the Hem-o-lok (P < 0.0001) and the DS clips (P < 0.0001) groups. The time of the operative procedure was significantly longer in the Endoloop than in the Stapler group (P < 0.0001). The time of the operative procedure in the Stapler group was significantly shorter than in the DS clips group (P < 0.0001) but did not differ significantly from the Hem-o-lok group (P = 0.199). The time of the operative procedure in the Hem-o-lok group was significantly shorter than in the DS clips group (P = 0.044). All forms of closure of the appendix base are acceptable, but Hem-o-lok and DS clips have the best potential for further development, and will probably become the method of choice in securing the base of the appendix.

Using Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software Tools for Space Shuttle Scientific Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Groleau, Nicolas; Friedland, Peter (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

In October 1993, the Astronaut Science Advisor (ASA) was on board the STS-58 flight of the space shuttle. ASA is an interactive system providing data acquisition and analysis, experiment step re-scheduling, and various other forms of reasoning. As fielded, the system runs on a single Macintosh PowerBook 170, which hosts the six ASA modules. There is one other piece of hardware, an external (GW Instruments, Sommerville, Massachusetts) analog-to-digital converter connected to the PowerBook's SCSI port. Three main software tools were used: LabVIEW, CLIPS, and HyperCard: First, a module written in LabVIEW (National Instruments, Austin, Texas) controls the A/D conversion and stores the resulting data in appropriate arrays. This module also analyzes the numerical data to produce a small set of characteristic numbers or symbols describing the results of an experiment trial. Second, a forward-chaining inference system written in CLIPS (NASA) uses the symbolic information provided by the first stage with a static rule base to infer decisions about the experiment. This expert system shell is used by the system for diagnosis. The third component of the system is the user interface, written in HyperCard (Claris Inc. and Apple Inc., both in Cupertino, California).

Automated Predictive Diagnosis (APD): A 3-tiered shell for building expert systems for automated predictions and decision making

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steib, Michael

1991-01-01

The APD software features include: On-line help, Three level architecture, (Logic environments, Setup/Application environment, Data environment), Explanation capability, and File handling. The kinds of experimentation and record keeping that leads to effective expert systems is facilitated by: (1) a library of inferencing modules (in the logic environment); (2) an explanation capability which reveals logic strategies to users; (3) automated file naming conventions; (4) an information retrieval system; and (5) on-line help. These aid with effective use of knowledge, debugging and experimentation. Since the APD software anticipates the logical rules becoming complicated, it is embedded in a production system language (CLIPS) to insure the full power of the production system paradigm of CLIPS and availability of the procedural language C. The development is discussed of the APD software and three example applications: toy, experimental, and operational prototype for submarine maintenance predictions.

A tale of two sequences: microRNA-target chimeric reads.

PubMed

Broughton, James P; Pasquinelli, Amy E

2016-04-04

In animals, a functional interaction between a microRNA (miRNA) and its target RNA requires only partial base pairing. The limited number of base pair interactions required for miRNA targeting provides miRNAs with broad regulatory potential and also makes target prediction challenging. Computational approaches to target prediction have focused on identifying miRNA target sites based on known sequence features that are important for canonical targeting and may miss non-canonical targets. Current state-of-the-art experimental approaches, such as CLIP-seq (cross-linking immunoprecipitation with sequencing), PAR-CLIP (photoactivatable-ribonucleoside-enhanced CLIP), and iCLIP (individual-nucleotide resolution CLIP), require inference of which miRNA is bound at each site. Recently, the development of methods to ligate miRNAs to their target RNAs during the preparation of sequencing libraries has provided a new tool for the identification of miRNA target sites. The chimeric, or hybrid, miRNA-target reads that are produced by these methods unambiguously identify the miRNA bound at a specific target site. The information provided by these chimeric reads has revealed extensive non-canonical interactions between miRNAs and their target mRNAs, and identified many novel interactions between miRNAs and noncoding RNAs.

Dosimetric impact of tumor bed delineation variability based on 4DCT scan for external-beam partial breast irradiation.

PubMed

Guo, Bing; Li, Jianbin; Wang, Wei; Li, Fengxiang; Guo, Yanluan; Li, Yankang; Liu, Tonghai

2015-01-01

This study sought to evaluate the dosimetric impact of tumor bed delineation variability (based on clips, seroma or both clips and seroma) during external-beam partial breast irradiation (EB-PBI) planned utilizing four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) scans. 4DCT scans of 20 patients with a seroma clarity score (SCS) 3~5 and ≥5 surgical clips were included in this study. The combined volume of the tumor bed formed using clips, seroma, or both clips and seroma on the 10 phases of 4DCT was defined as the internal gross target volume (termed IGTVC, IGTVS and IGTVC+S, respectively). A 1.5-cm margin was added by defining the planning target volume (termed PTVC, PTVS and PTVC+S, respectively). Three treatment plans were established using the 4DCT images (termed EB-PBIC, EB-PBIS, EB-PBIC+S, respectively). The results showed that the volume of IGTVC+S was significantly larger than that of IGTVCand IGTVS. Similarly, the volume of PTVC+S was markedly larger than that of PTVC and PTVS. However, the PTV coverage for EB-PBIC+S was similar to that of EB-PBIC and EB-PBIS, and there were no significant differences in the homogeneity index or conformity index between the three treatment plans (P=0.878, 0.086). The EB-PBIS plan resulted in the lowest ipsilateral normal breast and ipsilateral lung doses compared with the EB-PBIC and EB-PBIC+S plans. To conclude, the volume variability delineated based on clips, seroma or both clips and seroma resulted in dosimetric variability for organs at risk, but did not show a marked influence on the dosimetric distribution.

Dosimetric impact of tumor bed delineation variability based on 4DCT scan for external-beam partial breast irradiation

PubMed Central

Guo, Bing; Li, Jianbin; Wang, Wei; Li, Fengxiang; Guo, Yanluan; Li, Yankang; Liu, Tonghai

2015-01-01

This study sought to evaluate the dosimetric impact of tumor bed delineation variability (based on clips, seroma or both clips and seroma) during external-beam partial breast irradiation (EB-PBI) planned utilizing four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) scans. 4DCT scans of 20 patients with a seroma clarity score (SCS) 3~5 and ≥5 surgical clips were included in this study. The combined volume of the tumor bed formed using clips, seroma, or both clips and seroma on the 10 phases of 4DCT was defined as the internal gross target volume (termed IGTVC, IGTVS and IGTVC+S, respectively). A 1.5-cm margin was added by defining the planning target volume (termed PTVC, PTVS and PTVC+S, respectively). Three treatment plans were established using the 4DCT images (termed EB-PBIC, EB-PBIS, EB-PBIC+S, respectively). The results showed that the volume of IGTVC+S was significantly larger than that of IGTVCand IGTVS. Similarly, the volume of PTVC+S was markedly larger than that of PTVC and PTVS. However, the PTV coverage for EB-PBIC+S was similar to that of EB-PBIC and EB-PBIS, and there were no significant differences in the homogeneity index or conformity index between the three treatment plans (P=0.878, 0.086). The EB-PBIS plan resulted in the lowest ipsilateral normal breast and ipsilateral lung doses compared with the EB-PBIC and EB-PBIC+S plans. To conclude, the volume variability delineated based on clips, seroma or both clips and seroma resulted in dosimetric variability for organs at risk, but did not show a marked influence on the dosimetric distribution. PMID:26885108

Expert System Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is a software shell for developing expert systems is designed to allow research and development of artificial intelligence on conventional computers. Originally developed by Johnson Space Center, it enables highly efficient pattern matching. A collection of conditions and actions to be taken if the conditions are met is built into a rule network. Additional pertinent facts are matched to the rule network. Using the program, E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. is monitoring chemical production machines; California Polytechnic State University is investigating artificial intelligence in computer aided design; Mentor Graphics has built a new Circuit Synthesis system, and Brooke and Brooke, a law firm, can determine which facts from a file are most important.

A film set for the elicitation of emotion in research: A comprehensive catalog derived from four decades of investigation.

PubMed

Gilman, T Lee; Shaheen, Razan; Nylocks, K Maria; Halachoff, Danielle; Chapman, Jessica; Flynn, Jessica J; Matt, Lindsey M; Coifman, Karin G

2017-12-01

Emotions are highly influential to many psychological processes. Indeed, research employing emotional stimuli is rapidly escalating across the field of psychology. However, challenges remain regarding discrete evocation of frequently co-elicited emotions such as amusement and happiness, or anger and disgust. Further, as much contemporary work in emotion employs college students, we sought to additionally evaluate the efficacy of film clips to discretely elicit these more challenging emotions in a young adult population using an online medium. The internet is an important tool for investigating responses to emotional stimuli, but validations of emotionally evocative film clips across laboratory and web-based settings are limited in the literature. An additional obstacle is identifying stimuli amidst the numerous film clip validation studies. During our investigation, we recognized the lack of a categorical database to facilitate rapid identification of useful film clips for individual researchers' unique investigations. Consequently, here we also sought to produce the first compilation of such stimuli into an accessible and comprehensive catalog. We based our catalog upon prior work as well as our own, and identified 24 articles and 295 film clips from four decades of research. We present information on the validation of these clips in addition to our own research validating six clips using online administration settings. The results of our search in the literature and our own study are presented in tables designed to facilitate and improve a selection of highly valid film stimuli for future research.

Fabrication and Characterization of ZnO Nano-Clips by the Polyol-Mediated Process.

PubMed

Wang, Mei; Li, Ai-Dong; Kong, Ji-Zhou; Gong, You-Pin; Zhao, Chao; Tang, Yue-Feng; Wu, Di

2018-02-09

ZnO nano-clips with better monodispersion were prepared successfully using zinc acetate hydrate (Zn(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O) as Zn source and ethylene glycol (EG) as solvent by a simple solution-based route-polyol process. The effect of solution concentration on the formation of ZnO nano-clips has been investigated deeply. We first prove that the 0.01 M Zn(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O can react with EG without added water or alkaline, producing ZnO nano-clips with polycrystalline wurtzite structure at 170 °C. As-synthesized ZnO nano-clips contain a lot of aggregated nanocrystals (~ 5 to 15 nm) with high specific surface area of 88 m 2 /g. The shapes of ZnO nano-clips basically keep constant with improved crystallinity after annealing at 400-600 °C. The lower solution concentration and slight amount of H 2 O play a decisive role in ZnO nano-clip formation. When the solution concentration is ≤ 0.0125 M, the complexing and polymerization reactions between Zn(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O and EG predominate, mainly elaborating ZnO nano-clips. When the solution concentration is ≥ 0.015 M, the alcoholysis and polycondensation reactions of Zn(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O and EG become dominant, leading to ZnO particle formation with spherical and elliptical shapes. The possible growth mechanism based on a competition between complexing and alcoholysis of Zn(OAc) 2 ·nH 2 O and EG has been proposed.

Integrating knowledge and control into hypermedia-based training environments: Experiments with HyperCLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Randall W., Jr.

1990-01-01

The issues of knowledge representation and control in hypermedia-based training environments are discussed. The main objective is to integrate the flexible presentation capability of hypermedia with a knowledge-based approach to lesson discourse management. The instructional goals and their associated concepts are represented in a knowledge representation structure called a 'concept network'. Its functional usages are many: it is used to control the navigation through a presentation space, generate tests for student evaluation, and model the student. This architecture was implemented in HyperCLIPS, a hybrid system that creates a bridge between HyperCard, a popular hypertext-like system used for building user interfaces to data bases and other applications, and CLIPS, a highly portable government-owned expert system shell.

Design of Composite Structures Using Knowledge-Based and Case Based Reasoning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambright, Jonathan Paul

1996-01-01

A method of using knowledge based and case based reasoning to assist designers during conceptual design tasks of composite structures was proposed. The cooperative use of heuristics, procedural knowledge, and previous similar design cases suggests a potential reduction in design cycle time and ultimately product lead time. The hypothesis of this work is that the design process of composite structures can be improved by using Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) and Knowledge-Based (KB) reasoning in the early design stages. The technique of using knowledge-based and case-based reasoning facilitates the gathering of disparate information into one location that is easily and readily available. The method suggests that the inclusion of downstream life-cycle issues into the conceptual design phase reduces potential of defective, and sub-optimal composite structures. Three industry experts were interviewed extensively. The experts provided design rules, previous design cases, and test problems. A Knowledge Based Reasoning system was developed using the CLIPS (C Language Interpretive Procedural System) environment and a Case Based Reasoning System was developed using the Design Memory Utility For Sharing Experiences (MUSE) xviii environment. A Design Characteristic State (DCS) was used to document the design specifications, constraints, and problem areas using attribute-value pair relationships. The DCS provided consistent design information between the knowledge base and case base. Results indicated that the use of knowledge based and case based reasoning provided a robust design environment for composite structures. The knowledge base provided design guidance from well defined rules and procedural knowledge. The case base provided suggestions on design and manufacturing techniques based on previous similar designs and warnings of potential problems and pitfalls. The case base complemented the knowledge base and extended the problem solving capability beyond the existence of limited well defined rules. The findings indicated that the technique is most effective when used as a design aid and not as a tool to totally automate the composites design process. Other areas of application and implications for future research are discussed.

PalymSys (TM): An extended version of CLIPS for construction and reasoning using blackboards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryson, Travis; Ballard, Dan

1994-01-01

This paper describes PalymSys(TM) -- an extended version of the CLIPS language that is designed to facilitate the implementation of blackboard systems. The paper first describes the general characteristics of blackboards and shows how a control blackboard architecture can be used by AI systems to examine their own behavior and adapt to real-time problem-solving situations by striking a balance between domain and control reasoning. The paper then describes the use of PalymSys in the development of a situation assessment subsystem for use aboard Army helicopters. This system performs real-time inferencing about the current battlefield situation using multiple domain blackboards as well as a control blackboard. A description of the control and domain blackboards and their implementation is presented. The paper also describes modifications made to the standard CLIPS 6.02 language in PalymSys(TM) 2.0. These include: (1) a dynamic Dempster-Shafer belief network whose structure is completely specifiable at run-time in the consequent of a PalymSys(TM) rule, (2) extension of the run command including a continuous run feature that enables the system to run even when the agenda is empty, and (3) a built-in communications link that uses shared memory to communicate with other independent processes.

Validation of an expert system intended for research in distributed artificial intelligence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grossner, C.; Lyons, J.; Radhakrishnan, T.

1991-01-01

The expert system discussed in this paper is designed to function as a testbed for research on cooperating expert systems. Cooperating expert systems are members of an organization which dictates the manner in which the expert systems will interact when solving a problem. The Blackbox Expert described in this paper has been constructed using the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), C++, and X windowing environment. CLIPS is embedded in a C++ program which provides objects that are used to maintain the state of the Blackbox puzzle. These objects are accessed by CLIPS rules through user-defined functions calls. The performance of the Blackbox Expert is validated by experimentation. A group of people are asked to solve a set of test cases for the Blackbox puzzle. A metric has been devised which evaluates the 'correctness' of a solution proposed for a test case of Blackbox. Using this metric and the solutions proposed by the humans, each person receives a rating for their ability to solve the Blackbox puzzle. The Blackbox Expert solves the same set of test cases and is assigned a rating for its ability. Then the rating obtained by the Blackbox Expert is compared with the ratings of the people, thus establishing the skill level of our expert system.

Utilizing Simulation-Based Training of Video Clip Instruction for the Store Service Operations Practice Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Che-Hung; Yen, Yu-Ren; Wu, Pai-Lu

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a store service operations practice course based on simulation-based training of video clip instruction. The action research of problem-solving strategies employed for teaching are by simulated store operations. The counter operations course unit used as an example, this study developed 4 weeks of subunits for…

Practical Use of the Extended No Action Level (eNAL) Correction Protocol for Breast Cancer Patients With Implanted Surgical Clips

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Penninkhof, Joan, E-mail: j.penninkhof@erasmusmc.nl; Quint, Sandra; Baaijens, Margreet

Purpose: To describe the practical use of the extended No Action Level (eNAL) setup correction protocol for breast cancer patients with surgical clips and evaluate its impact on the setup accuracy of both tumor bed and whole breast during simultaneously integrated boost treatments. Methods and Materials: For 80 patients, two orthogonal planar kilovoltage images and one megavoltage image (for the mediolateral beam) were acquired per fraction throughout the radiotherapy course. For setup correction, the eNAL protocol was applied, based on registration of surgical clips in the lumpectomy cavity. Differences with respect to application of a No Action Level (NAL) protocolmore » or no protocol were quantified for tumor bed and whole breast. The correlation between clip migration during the fractionated treatment and either the method of surgery or the time elapsed from last surgery was investigated. Results: The distance of the clips to their center of mass (COM), averaged over all clips and patients, was reduced by 0.9 {+-} 1.2 mm (mean {+-} 1 SD). Clip migration was similar between the group of patients starting treatment within 100 days after surgery (median, 53 days) and the group starting afterward (median, 163 days) (p = 0.20). Clip migration after conventional breast surgery (closing the breast superficially) or after lumpectomy with partial breast reconstructive techniques (sutured cavity). was not significantly different either (p = 0.22). Application of eNAL on clips resulted in residual systematic errors for the clips' COM of less than 1 mm in each direction, whereas the setup of the breast was within about 2 mm of accuracy. Conclusions: Surgical clips can be safely used for high-accuracy position verification and correction. Given compensation for time trends in the clips' COM throughout the treatment course, eNAL resulted in better setup accuracies for both tumor bed and whole breast than NAL.« less

Surgical gesture classification from video and kinematic data.

PubMed

Zappella, Luca; Béjar, Benjamín; Hager, Gregory; Vidal, René

2013-10-01

Much of the existing work on automatic classification of gestures and skill in robotic surgery is based on dynamic cues (e.g., time to completion, speed, forces, torque) or kinematic data (e.g., robot trajectories and velocities). While videos could be equally or more discriminative (e.g., videos contain semantic information not present in kinematic data), they are typically not used because of the difficulties associated with automatic video interpretation. In this paper, we propose several methods for automatic surgical gesture classification from video data. We assume that the video of a surgical task (e.g., suturing) has been segmented into video clips corresponding to a single gesture (e.g., grabbing the needle, passing the needle) and propose three methods to classify the gesture of each video clip. In the first one, we model each video clip as the output of a linear dynamical system (LDS) and use metrics in the space of LDSs to classify new video clips. In the second one, we use spatio-temporal features extracted from each video clip to learn a dictionary of spatio-temporal words, and use a bag-of-features (BoF) approach to classify new video clips. In the third one, we use multiple kernel learning (MKL) to combine the LDS and BoF approaches. Since the LDS approach is also applicable to kinematic data, we also use MKL to combine both types of data in order to exploit their complementarity. Our experiments on a typical surgical training setup show that methods based on video data perform equally well, if not better, than state-of-the-art approaches based on kinematic data. In turn, the combination of both kinematic and video data outperforms any other algorithm based on one type of data alone. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design space exploration for early identification of yield limiting patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Helen; Zou, Elain; Lee, Robben; Hong, Sid; Liu, Square; Wang, JinYan; Du, Chunshan; Zhang, Recco; Madkour, Kareem; Ali, Hussein; Hsu, Danny; Kabeel, Aliaa; ElManhawy, Wael; Kwan, Joe

2016-03-01

In order to resolve the causality dilemma of which comes first, accurate design rules or real designs, this paper presents a flow for exploration of the layout design space to early identify problematic patterns that will negatively affect the yield. A new random layout generating method called Layout Schema Generator (LSG) is reported in this paper, this method generates realistic design-like layouts without any design rule violation. Lithography simulation is then used on the generated layout to discover the potentially problematic patterns (hotspots). These hotspot patterns are further explored by randomly inducing feature and context variations to these identified hotspots through a flow called Hotspot variation Flow (HSV). Simulation is then performed on these expanded set of layout clips to further identify more problematic patterns. These patterns are then classified into design forbidden patterns that should be included in the design rule checker and legal patterns that need better handling in the RET recipes and processes.

Integrating Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) graphics and extended memory packages with CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callegari, Andres C.

1990-01-01

This paper addresses the question of how to mix CLIPS with graphics and how to overcome PC's memory limitations by using the extended memory available in the computer. By adding graphics and extended memory capabilities, CLIPS can be converted into a complete and powerful system development tool, on the other most economical and popular computer platform. New models of PCs have amazing processing capabilities and graphic resolutions that cannot be ignored and should be used to the fullest of their resources. CLIPS is a powerful expert system development tool, but it cannot be complete without the support of a graphics package needed to create user interfaces and general purpose graphics, or without enough memory to handle large knowledge bases. Now, a well known limitation on the PC's is the usage of real memory which limits CLIPS to use only 640 Kb of real memory, but now that problem can be solved by developing a version of CLIPS that uses extended memory. The user has access of up to 16 MB of memory on 80286 based computers and, practically, all the available memory (4 GB) on computers that use the 80386 processor. So if we give CLIPS a self-configuring graphics package that will automatically detect the graphics hardware and pointing device present in the computer, and we add the availability of the extended memory that exists in the computer (with no special hardware needed), the user will be able to create more powerful systems at a fraction of the cost and on the most popular, portable, and economic platform available such as the PC platform.

Object-oriented knowledge representation for expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, Stephen L.

1991-01-01

Object oriented techniques have generated considerable interest in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) community in recent years. This paper discusses an approach for representing expert system knowledge using classes, objects, and message passing. The implementation is in version 4.3 of NASA's C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), an expert system tool that does not provide direct support for object oriented design. The method uses programmer imposed conventions and keywords to structure facts, and rules to provide object oriented capabilities.

PCLIPS: Parallel CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gryphon, Coranth D.; Miller, Mark D.

1991-01-01

PCLIPS (Parallel CLIPS) is a set of extensions to the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) expert system language. PCLIPS is intended to provide an environment for the development of more complex, extensive expert systems. Multiple CLIPS expert systems are now capable of running simultaneously on separate processors, or separate machines, thus dramatically increasing the scope of solvable tasks within the expert systems. As a tool for parallel processing, PCLIPS allows for an expert system to add to its fact-base information generated by other expert systems, thus allowing systems to assist each other in solving a complex problem. This allows individual expert systems to be more compact and efficient, and thus run faster or on smaller machines.

Evaluation of Veriox as a Skin Decontamination Product after Dermal Exposure to the Nerve Agent VX

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

in hair -clipped, unanesthetized guinea pigs. Efficacy was established by generating VX dose-lethality curves for each DC product based on 24 survival...This study compared the effectiveness of Veriox® to RSDL when each was used as a DC product 2 min after dermal exposure to VX in hair -clipped...by the dermal LD90 of VX in untreated animals. A LD90 value of 188 μg/kg generated in hair -clipped, unanesthetized guinea pigs (Clarkson, personal

Assessment of the Accuracy of Certain Reduced Order Models used in the Prediction of Occupant Injury during Under-Body Blast Events

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-15

the floor on which the platform is dropped upon. Alternatively, a base excitation can be provided to the sliding platform in the upward vertical...7ms clips of chest resultant acceleration, (7) 7ms clip of pelvic vertical acceleration, (8,9) Peak and 30ms clips of lumbar spine compression, and...10) Pelvic vertical Dynamic Response Index (DRI)[12]. The sample size for each of the three seating variants consisted of 230 MADYMO

Implementation of a frame-based representation in CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Assal, Hisham; Myers, Leonard

1990-01-01

Knowledge representation is one of the major concerns in expert systems. The representation of domain-specific knowledge should agree with the nature of the domain entities and their use in the real world. For example, architectural applications deal with objects and entities such as spaces, walls, and windows. A natural way of representing these architectural entities is provided by frames. This research explores the potential of using the expert system shell CLIPS, developed by NASA, to implement a frame-based representation that can accommodate architectural knowledge. These frames are similar but quite different from the 'template' construct in version 4.3 of CLIPS. Templates support only the grouping of related information and the assignment of default values to template fields. In addition to these features frames provide other capabilities including definition of classes, inheritance between classes and subclasses, relation of objects of different classes with 'has-a', association of methods (demons) of different types (standard and user-defined) to fields (slots), and creation of new fields at run-time. This frame-based representation is implemented completely in CLIPS. No change to the source code is necessary.

Spatially controlled coating of continuous liquid Interface production microneedles for transdermal protein delivery.

PubMed

Caudill, Cassie L; Perry, Jillian L; Tian, Shaomin; Luft, J Christopher; DeSimone, Joseph M

2018-06-09

Microneedle patches, arrays of micron-scale projections that penetrate skin in a minimally invasive manner, are a promising tool for transdermally delivering therapeutic proteins. However, current microneedle fabrication techniques are limited in their ability to fabricate microneedles rapidly and with a high degree of control over microneedle design parameters. We have previously demonstrated the ability to fabricate microneedle patches with a range of compositions and geometries using the novel additive manufacturing technique Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP). Here, we establish a method for dip coating CLIP microneedles with protein cargo in a spatially controlled manner. Microneedle coating mask devices were fabricated with CLIP and utilized to coat polyethylene glycol-based CLIP microneedles with model proteins bovine serum albumin, ovalbumin, and lysozyme. The design of the coating mask device was used to control spatial deposition and loading of coated protein cargo on the microneedles. CLIP microneedles rapidly released coated protein cargo both in solution and upon insertion into porcine skin. The model enzyme lysozyme was shown to retain its activity throughout the CLIP microneedle coating process, and permeation of bovine serum albumin across full thickness porcine skin was observed after application with coated CLIP microneedles. Protein-coated CLIP microneedles were applied to live mice and showed sustained retention of protein cargo in the skin over 72 h. These results demonstrate the utility of a versatile coating platform for preparation of precisely coated microneedles for transdermal therapeutic delivery. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Impulsivity Moderates the Effects of Movie Alcohol Portrayals on Adolescents’ Willingness to Drink

PubMed Central

Gibbons, Frederick X.; Kingsbury, John H.; Wills, Thomas A.; Finneran, Stephanie D.; Cin, Sonya Dal; Gerrard, Meg

2016-01-01

This study examined impulsivity as a moderator of adolescents’ reactions to positive vs. negative portrayals of drinking in American movie clips. Impulsivity, along with willingness and intentions to drink in the future, were assessed in a pretest session. In the experimental sessions, adolescents viewed a series of clips that showed drinking associated with either positive outcomes (e.g., social facilitation) or negative outcomes (fights, arguments). A third group viewed clips with similar positive or negative outcomes, but no alcohol consumption. All participants then responded to an implicit measure of attentional bias regarding alcohol (a dot probe), followed by explicit alcohol measures (self-reports of willingness and intentions to drink). Hypotheses, based on dual-processing theories, were: a) high-impulsive adolescents would respond more favorably than low-impulsive adolescents to the positive clips, but not the negative clips; and b) this difference in reactions to the positive clips would be larger on the willingness than the intention measures. Results supported the hypotheses: Adolescents high in impulsivity reported the highest willingness to drink in the positive-clip condition, but were slightly less willing than others in the negative-clip condition. In addition, results on the dot probe task indicated that reaction times to alcohol words were negatively correlated with changes in alcohol willingness, but not intention; i.e., the faster their response to the alcohol words, the more their willingness increased. The results highlight the utility of a dual-processing perspective on media influence. PMID:27099959

Digital video clips for improved pedagogy and illustration of scientific research — with illustrative video clips on atomic spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michel, Robert G.; Cavallari, Jennifer M.; Znamenskaia, Elena; Yang, Karl X.; Sun, Tao; Bent, Gary

1999-12-01

This article is an electronic publication in Spectrochimica Acta Electronica (SAE), a section of Spectrochimica Acta Part B (SAB). The hardcopy text is accompanied by an electronic archive, stored on the CD-ROM accompanying this issue. The archive contains video clips. The main article discusses the scientific aspects of the subject and explains the purpose of the video files. Short, 15-30 s, digital video clips are easily controllable at the computer keyboard, which gives a speaker the ability to show fine details through the use of slow motion. Also, they are easily accessed from the computer hard drive for rapid extemporaneous presentation. In addition, they are easily transferred to the Internet for dissemination. From a pedagogical point of view, the act of making a video clip by a student allows for development of powers of observation, while the availability of the technology to make digital video clips gives a teacher the flexibility to demonstrate scientific concepts that would otherwise have to be done as 'live' demonstrations, with all the likely attendant misadventures. Our experience with digital video clips has been through their use in computer-based presentations by undergraduate and graduate students in analytical chemistry classes, and by high school and middle school teachers and their students in a variety of science and non-science classes. In physics teaching laboratories, we have used the hardware to capture digital video clips of dynamic processes, such as projectiles and pendulums, for later mathematical analysis.

Image recognition of clipped stigma traces in rice seeds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, F.; Ying, YB

2005-11-01

The objective of this research is to develop algorithm to recognize clipped stigma traces in rice seeds using image processing. At first, the micro-configuration of clipped stigma traces was observed with electronic scanning microscope. Then images of rice seeds were acquired with a color machine vision system. A digital image-processing algorithm based on morphological operations and Hough transform was developed to inspect the occurrence of clipped stigma traces. Five varieties of Jinyou402, Shanyou10, Zhongyou207, Jiayou and you3207 were evaluated. The algorithm was implemented with all image sets using a Matlab 6.5 procedure. The results showed that the algorithm achieved an average accuracy of 96%. The algorithm was proved to be insensitive to the different rice seed varieties.

A random approach of test macro generation for early detection of hotspots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jong-hyun; Kim, Chin; Kang, Minsoo; Hwang, Sungwook; Yang, Jae-seok; Harb, Mohammed; Al-Imam, Mohamed; Madkour, Kareem; ElManhawy, Wael; Kwan, Joe

2016-03-01

Multiple-Patterning Technology (MPT) is still the preferred choice over EUV for the advanced technology nodes, starting the 20nm node. Down the way to 7nm and 5nm nodes, Self-Aligned Multiple Patterning (SAMP) appears to be one of the effective multiple patterning techniques in terms of achieving small pitch of printed lines on wafer, yet its yield is in question. Predicting and enhancing the yield in the early stages of technology development are some of the main objectives for creating test macros on test masks. While conventional yield ramp techniques for a new technology node have relied on using designs from previous technology nodes as a starting point to identify patterns for Design of Experiment (DoE) creation, these techniques are challenging to apply in the case of introducing an MPT technique like SAMP that did not exist in previous nodes. This paper presents a new strategy for generating test structures based on random placement of unit patterns that can construct more meaningful bigger patterns. Specifications governing the relationships between those unit patterns can be adjusted to generate layout clips that look like realistic SAMP designs. A via chain can be constructed to connect the random DoE of SAMP structures through a routing layer to external pads for electrical measurement. These clips are decomposed according to the decomposition rules of the technology into the appropriate mandrel and cut masks. The decomposed clips can be tested through simulations, or electrically on silicon to discover hotspots. The hotspots can be used in optimizing the fabrication process and models to fix them. They can also be used as learning patterns for DFM deck development. By expanding the size of the randomly generated test structures, more hotspots can be detected. This should provide a faster way to enhance the yield of a new technology node.

Storms and Water Usage; Swine Flu

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, C. C.; Muttiah, Daniel

2009-01-01

This article offers a contemporary, authentic application of quantitative reasoning based on media clips. Students analyze items from the media to answer mathematical questions related to the article. Volumes, economics, and growth rates of a pandemic are featured in the two clips presented. (Contains 4 figures and 1 table.)

Nitinol Thermoreactive Clips for Secondary Sternal Closure in Cases of Noninfective Sternal Dehiscence

PubMed Central

Gucu, Arif; Toktas, Faruk; Eris, Cuneyt; Ata, Yusuf; Turk, Tamer

2012-01-01

Postoperative sternal dehiscence is a potentially catastrophic sequela to median sternotomy that can cause not only chest-wall discomfort and pulmonary dysfunction but infection, both superficial and mediastinal. Nitinol thermoreactive clips use a novel material in the treatment of sternal dehiscence. We sought to determine whether the use of these clips is an effective remedy for noninfective sternal dehiscence. From January 2008 through December 2011, we retrospectively studied the data on 10 patients whose sternums had been closed with nitinol thermoreactive clips after the development of noninfective sternal dehiscence. Diagnosis was made on the bases of clinical criteria, chest radiography, and microbiological investigation. There was no control group. No procedure-related sequelae occurred. There was no recurrent sternal instability and dehiscence, sternal-related hemorrhage, superficial wound infection, or mediastinal infection. We believe that the use of nitinol thermoreactive clips is a safe, easy, and efficient method of secondary sternal closure for noninfective sternal dehiscence. PMID:22949767

Tracking Solar Energy Conersion Unit Adapted For Field Assembly

DOEpatents

Kaminar, Neil R.; Ross, III, James G.; Carrie, Peter J.

2000-02-01

A modular solar energy collector having elongated V-shaped side walls formed by a pair of coplanar panels for each side wall. The upper panels, occupying most of the wall area are diffusely reflective, but the lower panels are specularly reflective. A Fresnel lens, having a snap fit relation to the side walls focuses some light on the lower specularly reflective panels which direct light to the solar cells at the base of the V-shaped walls. A heat sink provides support for the two panels with two opposed, upwardly extending wings terminating in opposed linear clips located near the lengthwise seam of the coplanar panels, each clip holding two coplanar panels in parallel alignment. The clips not only provide support for the panels, but also transfer heat to the remainder of the heat sink. The clips are shaped so that edges of the panels engage each clip by a snap fit, outside of the clip in one embodiment and inside of the clip in another embodiment. End caps are also formed with structures which snap to the wall panels. Since all junctions of components snap together, the collector of the present invention is easily assembled without specialized tools. Using side walls which are only partly specularly reflective permits a large angle of acceptance, yet provides an economical wall design because the entire wall need not be specularly reflective.

Which Clip? A Prospective Comparative Study of Retention Rates of Endoscopic Clips on Normal Mucosa and Ulcers in a Porcine Model

PubMed Central

Saxena, Payal; Ji-Shin, Eun; Haito-Chavez, Yamile; Valeshabad, Ali K.; Akshintala, Venkata; Aguila, Gerard; Kumbhari, Vivek; Ruben, Dawn S.; Lennon, Anne-Marie; Singh, Vikesh; Canto, Marcia; Kalloo, Anthony; Khashab, Mouen A.

2014-01-01

Background/Aim: There are currently no data on the relative retention rates of the Instinct clip, Resolution clip, and QuickClip2Long. Also, it is unknown whether retention rate differs when clips are applied to ulcerated rather than normal mucosa. The aim of this study is to compare the retention rates of three commonly used endoscopic clips. Materials and Methods: Six pigs underwent upper endoscopy with placement of one of each of the three types of clips on normal mucosa in the gastric body. Three mucosal resections were also performed to create “ulcers”. Each ulcer was closed with placement of one of the three different clips. Repeat endoscopy was performed weekly for up to 4 weeks. Results: Only the Instinct and Resolution clips remained attached for the duration of the study (4 weeks). At each time point, a greater proportion of Instinct clips were retained on normal mucosa, followed by Resolution clips. QuickClip2Long had the lowest retention rate on normal mucosa. Similar retention rates of Instinct clips and Resolution clips were seen on simulated ulcers, although both were superior to QuickClip2Long. However, the difference did not reach statistical significance. All QuickClip2Long clips were dislodged at 4 weeks in both the groups. Conclusions: The Resolution and Instinct clips have comparable retention rates and both appeared to be better than the QuickClip2Long on normal mucosa-simulated ulcers; however this did not reach statistical significance. Both the Resolution clip and the Instinct clip may be preferred in clinical situations when long-term clip attachment is required, including marking of tumors for radiotherapy and anchoring feeding tubes or stents. Either of the currently available clips may be suitable for closure of iatrogenic mucosal defects without features of chronicity. PMID:25434317

Impulsivity moderates the effects of movie alcohol portrayals on adolescents' willingness to drink.

PubMed

Gibbons, Frederick X; Kingsbury, John H; Wills, Thomas A; Finneran, Stephanie D; Dal Cin, Sonya; Gerrard, Meg

2016-05-01

This study examined impulsivity as a moderator of adolescents' reactions to positive versus negative portrayals of drinking in American movie clips. Impulsivity, along with willingness and intentions to drink in the future, were assessed in a pretest session. In the experimental sessions, adolescents viewed a series of clips that showed drinking associated with either positive outcomes (e.g., social facilitation) or negative outcomes (fights, arguments). A third group viewed clips with similar positive or negative outcomes, but no alcohol consumption. All participants then responded to an implicit measure of attentional bias regarding alcohol (a dot probe), followed by explicit alcohol measures (self-reports of willingness and intentions to drink). Hypotheses, based on dual-processing theories, were: (a) high-impulsive adolescents would respond more favorably than low-impulsive adolescents to the positive clips, but not the negative clips; and (b) this difference in reactions to the positive clips would be larger on the willingness than the intention measures. Results supported the hypotheses: Adolescents high in impulsivity reported the highest willingness to drink in the positive-clip condition, but were slightly less willing than others in the negative-clip condition. In addition, results on the dot probe task indicated that RTs to alcohol words were negatively correlated with changes in alcohol willingness, but not intention; that is, the faster their response to the alcohol words, the more their willingness increased. The results highlight the utility of a dual-processing perspective on media influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Adaptive quantization-parameter clip scheme for smooth quality in H.264/AVC.

PubMed

Hu, Sudeng; Wang, Hanli; Kwong, Sam

2012-04-01

In this paper, we investigate the issues over the smooth quality and the smooth bit rate during rate control (RC) in H.264/AVC. An adaptive quantization-parameter (Q(p)) clip scheme is proposed to optimize the quality smoothness while keeping the bit-rate fluctuation at an acceptable level. First, the frame complexity variation is studied by defining a complexity ratio between two nearby frames. Second, the range of the generated bits is analyzed to prevent the encoder buffer from overflow and underflow. Third, based on the safe range of the generated bits, an optimal Q(p) clip range is developed to reduce the quality fluctuation. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed Q(p) clip scheme can achieve excellent performance in quality smoothness and buffer regulation.

Subject Classification.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Gayle; And Others

Three newspaper librarians described how they manage the files of newspaper clippings which are a necessary part of their collections. The development of a new subject classification system for the clippings files was outlined. The new subject headings were based on standard subject heading lists and on local need. It was decided to use a computer…

dCLIP: a computational approach for comparative CLIP-seq analyses

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Although comparison of RNA-protein interaction profiles across different conditions has become increasingly important to understanding the function of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), few computational approaches have been developed for quantitative comparison of CLIP-seq datasets. Here, we present an easy-to-use command line tool, dCLIP, for quantitative CLIP-seq comparative analysis. The two-stage method implemented in dCLIP, including a modified MA normalization method and a hidden Markov model, is shown to be able to effectively identify differential binding regions of RBPs in four CLIP-seq datasets, generated by HITS-CLIP, iCLIP and PAR-CLIP protocols. dCLIP is freely available at http://qbrc.swmed.edu/software/. PMID:24398258

Student Views on Learning Environments Enriched by Video Clips

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kosterelioglu, Ilker

2016-01-01

This study intended to identify student views regarding the enrichment of instructional process via video clips based on the goals of the class. The study was conducted in Educational Psychology classes at Amasya University Faculty of Education during the 2012-2013 academic year. The study was implemented on students in the Classroom Teaching and…

Automatic attention-based prioritization of unconstrained video for compression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itti, Laurent

2004-06-01

We apply a biologically-motivated algorithm that selects visually-salient regions of interest in video streams to multiply-foveated video compression. Regions of high encoding priority are selected based on nonlinear integration of low-level visual cues, mimicking processing in primate occipital and posterior parietal cortex. A dynamic foveation filter then blurs (foveates) every frame, increasingly with distance from high-priority regions. Two variants of the model (one with continuously-variable blur proportional to saliency at every pixel, and the other with blur proportional to distance from three independent foveation centers) are validated against eye fixations from 4-6 human observers on 50 video clips (synthetic stimuli, video games, outdoors day and night home video, television newscast, sports, talk-shows, etc). Significant overlap is found between human and algorithmic foveations on every clip with one variant, and on 48 out of 50 clips with the other. Substantial compressed file size reductions by a factor 0.5 on average are obtained for foveated compared to unfoveated clips. These results suggest a general-purpose usefulness of the algorithm in improving compression ratios of unconstrained video.

A Sieving ANN for Emotion-Based Movie Clip Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanapa, Saowaluk C.; Thipakorn, Bundit; Charoenkitkarn, Nipon

Effective classification and analysis of semantic contents are very important for the content-based indexing and retrieval of video database. Our research attempts to classify movie clips into three groups of commonly elicited emotions, namely excitement, joy and sadness, based on a set of abstract-level semantic features extracted from the film sequence. In particular, these features consist of six visual and audio measures grounded on the artistic film theories. A unique sieving-structured neural network is proposed to be the classifying model due to its robustness. The performance of the proposed model is tested with 101 movie clips excerpted from 24 award-winning and well-known Hollywood feature films. The experimental result of 97.8% correct classification rate, measured against the collected human-judges, indicates the great potential of using abstract-level semantic features as an engineered tool for the application of video-content retrieval/indexing.

Practical remarks on the heart rate and saturation measurement methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kowal, M.; Kubal, S.; Piotrowski, P.; Staniec, K.

2017-05-01

A surface reflection-based method for measuring heart rate and saturation has been introduced as one having a significant advantage over legacy methods in that it lends itself for use in special applications such as those where a person’s mobility is of prime importance (e.g. during a miner’s work) and excluding the use of traditional clips. Then, a complete ATmega1281-based microcontroller platform has been described for performing computational tasks of signal processing and wireless transmission. In the next section remarks have been provided regarding the basic signal processing rules beginning with raw voltage samples of converted optical signals, their acquisition, storage and smoothing. This chapter ends with practical remarks demonstrating an exponential dependence between the minimum measurable heart rate and the readout resolution at different sampling frequencies for different cases of averaging depth (in bits). The following section is devoted strictly to the heart rate and hemoglobin oxygenation (saturation) measurement with the use of the presented platform, referenced to measurements obtained with a stationary certified pulsoxymeter.

Microsurgery Simulator of Cerebral Aneurysm Clipping with Interactive Cerebral Deformation Featuring a Virtual Arachnoid.

PubMed

Shono, Naoyuki; Kin, Taichi; Nomura, Seiji; Miyawaki, Satoru; Saito, Toki; Imai, Hideaki; Nakatomi, Hirofumi; Oyama, Hiroshi; Saito, Nobuhito

2018-05-01

A virtual reality simulator for aneurysmal clipping surgery is an attractive research target for neurosurgeons. Brain deformation is one of the most important functionalities necessary for an accurate clipping simulator and is vastly affected by the status of the supporting tissue, such as the arachnoid membrane. However, no virtual reality simulator implementing the supporting tissue of the brain has yet been developed. To develop a virtual reality clipping simulator possessing interactive brain deforming capability closely dependent on arachnoid dissection and apply it to clinical cases. Three-dimensional computer graphics models of cerebral tissue and surrounding structures were extracted from medical images. We developed a new method for modifiable cerebral tissue complex deformation by incorporating a nonmedical image-derived virtual arachnoid/trabecula in a process called multitissue integrated interactive deformation (MTIID). MTIID made it possible for cerebral tissue complexes to selectively deform at the site of dissection. Simulations for 8 cases of actual clipping surgery were performed before surgery and evaluated for their usefulness in surgical approach planning. Preoperatively, each operative field was precisely reproduced and visualized with the virtual brain retraction defined by users. The clear visualization of the optimal approach to treating the aneurysm via an appropriate arachnoid incision was possible with MTIID. A virtual clipping simulator mainly focusing on supporting tissues and less on physical properties seemed to be useful in the surgical simulation of cerebral aneurysm clipping. To our knowledge, this article is the first to report brain deformation based on supporting tissues.

Comparison of Effectiveness in Differentiating Benign from Malignant Ovarian Masses between IOTA Simple Rules and Subjective Sonographic Assessment.

PubMed

Tongsong, Theera; Tinnangwattana, Dangcheewan; Vichak-Ururote, Linlada; Tontivuthikul, Paponrad; Charoenratana, Cholaros; Lerthiranwong, Thitikarn

2016-01-01

To compare diagnostic performance in differentiating benign from malignant ovarian masses between IOTA (the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis) simple rules and subjective sonographic assessment. Women scheduled for elective surgery because of ovarian masses were recruited into the study and underwent ultrasound examination within 24 hours of surgery to apply the IOTA simple rules by general gynecologists and to record video clips for subjective assessment by an experienced sonographer. The diagnostic performance of the IOTA rules and subjective assessment for differentiation between benign and malignant masses was compared. The gold standard diagnosis was pathological or operative findings. A total of 150 ovarian masses were covered, comprising 105 (70%) benign and 45 (30%) malignant. Of them, the IOTA simple rules could be applied in 119 (79.3%) and were inconclusive in 31 (20.7%) whereas subjective assessment could be applied in all cases (100%). The sensitivity and the specificity of the IOTA simple rules and subjective assessment were not significantly different, 82.9% vs 86.7% and 94.0% vs 94.3% respectively. The agreement of the two methods in prediction was high with a Kappa index of 0.835. Both techniques had a high diagnostic performance in differentiation between benign and malignant ovarian masses but the IOTA rules had a relatively high rate of inconclusive results. The IOTA rules can be used as an effective screening technique by general gynecologists but when the results are inconclusive they should consult experienced sonographers.

QPA-CLIPS: A language and representation for process control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freund, Thomas G.

1994-01-01

QPA-CLIPS is an extension of CLIPS oriented towards process control applications. Its constructs define a dependency network of process actions driven by sensor information. The language consists of three basic constructs: TASK, SENSOR, and FILTER. TASK's define the dependency network describing alternative state transitions for a process. SENSOR's and FILTER's define sensor information sources used to activate state transitions within the network. Deftemplate's define these constructs and their run-time environment is an interpreter knowledge base, performing pattern matching on sensor information and so activating TASK's in the dependency network. The pattern matching technique is based on the repeatable occurrence of a sensor data pattern. QPA-CIPS has been successfully tested on a SPARCStation providing supervisory control to an Allen-Bradley PLC 5 controller driving molding equipment.

Public Awareness of Melioidosis in Thailand and Potential Use of Video Clips as Educational Tools

PubMed Central

Chansrichavala, Praveen; Wongsuwan, Nittayasee; Suddee, Suthee; Malasit, Mayura; Hongsuwan, Maliwan; Wannapinij, Prapass; Kitphati, Rungreung; Day, Nicholas P. J.; Michie, Susan; Peacock, Sharon J.; Limmathurotsakul, Direk

2015-01-01

Background Melioidosis causes more than 1,000 deaths in Thailand each year. Infection occurs via inoculation, ingestion or inhalation of the causative organism (Burkholderia pseuodmallei) present in soil and water. Here, we evaluated public awareness of melioidosis using a combination of population-based questionnaire, a public engagement campaign to obtain video clips made by the public, and viewpoints on these video clips as potential educational tools about the disease and its prevention. Methods A questionnaire was developed to evaluate public awareness of melioidosis, and knowledge about its prevention. From 1 March to 31 April 2012, the questionnaire was delivered to five randomly selected adults in each of 928 districts in Thailand. A video clip contest entitled “Melioidosis, an infectious disease that Thais must know” was run between May and October 2012. The best 12 video clips judged by a contest committee were shown to 71 people at risk from melioidosis (diabetics). Focus group interviews were used to evaluate their perceptions of the video clips. Results Of 4,203 Thais who completed our study questionnaire, 74% had never heard of melioidosis, and 19% had heard of the disease but had no further knowledge. Most participants in all focus group sessions felt that video clips were beneficial and could positively influence them to increase adherence to recommended preventive behaviours, including drinking boiled water and wearing protective gear if in contact with soil or environmental water. Participants suggested that video clips should be presented in the local dialect with simple words rather than medical terms, in a serious manner, with a doctor as the one presenting the facts, and having detailed pictures of each recommended prevention method. Conclusions In summary, public awareness of melioidosis in Thailand is very low, and video clips could serve as a useful medium to educate people and promote disease prevention. Presented in Part World Melioidosis Congress 2013, Bangkok, Thailand, 18–20 September 2013 (abstract OS VII-04). PMID:25803048

Preoperative simulation for the planning of microsurgical clipping of intracranial aneurysms.

PubMed

Marinho, Paulo; Vermandel, Maximilien; Bourgeois, Philippe; Lejeune, Jean-Paul; Mordon, Serge; Thines, Laurent

2014-12-01

The safety and success of intracranial aneurysm (IA) surgery could be improved through the dedicated application of simulation covering the procedure from the 3-dimensional (3D) description of the surgical scene to the visual representation of the clip application. We aimed in this study to validate the technical feasibility and clinical relevance of such a protocol. All patients preoperatively underwent 3D magnetic resonance imaging and 3D computed tomography angiography to build 3D reconstructions of the brain, cerebral arteries, and surrounding cranial bone. These 3D models were segmented and merged using Osirix, a DICOM image processing application. This provided the surgical scene that was subsequently imported into Blender, a modeling platform for 3D animation. Digitized clips and appliers could then be manipulated in the virtual operative environment, allowing the visual simulation of clipping. This simulation protocol was assessed in a series of 10 IAs by 2 neurosurgeons. The protocol was feasible in all patients. The visual similarity between the surgical scene and the operative view was excellent in 100% of the cases, and the identification of the vascular structures was accurate in 90% of the cases. The neurosurgeons found the simulation helpful for planning the surgical approach (ie, the bone flap, cisternal opening, and arterial tree exposure) in 100% of the cases. The correct number of final clip(s) needed was predicted from the simulation in 90% of the cases. The preoperatively expected characteristics of the optimal clip(s) (ie, their number, shape, size, and orientation) were validated during surgery in 80% of the cases. This study confirmed that visual simulation of IA clipping based on the processing of high-resolution 3D imaging can be effective. This is a new and important step toward the development of a more sophisticated integrated simulation platform dedicated to cerebrovascular surgery.

Wind machines. [aerodynamics of sailwing vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissaman, P. B. S.

1973-01-01

The basic elements of the air/water momentum exchange are described by the environment, the potential, the air and water subsystems, the total system, and the rule. Many of these topics have direct analogues in aerogenerator design. Aspects of optimal sail design and of waveless hulls are briefly outlined. A wind driven vehicle capable of moving directly downwind faster than the wind, is reported. The lecture is illustrated with slides and movie clips showing surfing catamarans, land and water versions of the Bauer vehicle, hang gliding, land sailing, and wind surfing.

Intraoperative Matas test using microscope-integrated intraoperative indocyanine green videoangiography with temporary unilateral occlusion of the A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery.

PubMed

Murai, Yasuo; Adachi, Koji; Takagi, Ryo; Koketsu, Kenta; Matano, Fumihiro; Teramoto, Akira

2011-11-01

The aim of the present study was to assess a new technique of surgical microscope-based indocyanine green (ICG) videoangiography (VAG) to confirm the patency of the anterior communicating artery (AcomA) after clipping AcomA aneurysms. Aneurysmal clipping of five cases of unruptured, broad-neck AcomA aneurysm was performed using the Carl Zeiss Surgical Microscope OPMI Pentero INFRARED 800. In all five patients, after clipping AcomA aneurysms, the patency of AcomA was confirmed using ICGVAG findings and temporary unilateral occlusion of the A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery using temporary clips. Images were excellent and enabled a real-time surgical assessment because the structures of interest, including vessels, perforating arteries, or residual aneurysm neck, were visible to the surgeon's eye under the microscope in all five patients. ICGVAG and temporary unilateral occlusion with clips provides a simple, reliable, real-time, and rapid intraoperative assessment of the patency of AcomA. This technique may help to improve the quality of neurosurgical procedures. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DAI-CLIPS: Distributed, Asynchronous, Interacting CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gagne, Denis; Garant, Alain

1994-01-01

DAI-CLIPS is a distributed computational environment within which each CLIPS is an active independent computational entity with the ability to communicate freely with other CLIPS. Furthermore, new CLIPS can be created, others can be deleted or modify their expertise, all dynamically in an asynchronous and independent fashion during execution. The participating CLIPS are distributed over a network of heterogeneous processors taking full advantage of the available processing power. We present the general framework encompassing DAI-CLIPS and discuss some of its advantages and potential applications.

Post-Vacuum-Assisted Stereotactic Core Biopsy Clip Displacement: A Comparison Between Commercially Available Clips and Surgical Clip.

PubMed

Yen, Peggy; Dumas, Sandra; Albert, Arianne; Gordon, Paula

2018-02-01

The placement of localization clips following percutaneous biopsy is a standard practice for a variety of situations. Subsequent clip displacement creates challenges for imaging surveillance and surgical planning, and may cause confusion amongst radiologists and between surgeons and radiologists. Many causes have been attributed for this phenomenon including the commonly accepted "accordion effect." Herein, we investigate the performance of a low cost surgical clip system against 4 commercially available clips. We retrospectively reviewed 2112 patients who underwent stereotactic vacuum-assisted core biopsy followed by clip placement between January 2013 and June 2016. The primary performance parameter compared was displacement >10 mm following vacuum-assisted stereotactic core biopsy. Within the group of clips that had displaced, the magnitude of displacement was compared. There was a significant difference in displacement among the clip types (P < .0001) with significant pairwise comparisons between pediatric surgical clips and SecureMark (38% vs 28%; P = .001) and SenoMark (38% vs 27%; P = .0001) in the proportion displaced. The surgical clips showed a significant magnitude of displacement of approximately 25% greater average distance displaced. As a whole, the commercial clips performed better than the surgical clip after stereotactic vacuum-assisted core biopsy suggesting the surrounding outer component acts to anchor the central clip and minimizes clip displacement. The same should apply to tomosynthesis-guided biopsy. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PSG-EXPERT. An expert system for the diagnosis of sleep disorders.

PubMed

Fred, A; Filipe, J; Partinen, M; Paiva, T

2000-01-01

This paper describes PSG-EXPERT, an expert system in the domain of sleep disorders exploring polysomnographic data. The developed software tool is addressed from two points of view: (1)--as an integrated environment for the development of diagnosis-oriented expert systems; (2)--as an auxiliary diagnosis tool in the particular domain of sleep disorders. Developed over a Windows platform, this software tool extends one of the most popular shells--CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) with the following features: backward chaining engine; graph-based explanation facilities; knowledge editor including a fuzzy fact editor and a rules editor, with facts-rules integrity checking; belief revision mechanism; built-in case generator and validation module. It therefore provides graphical support for knowledge acquisition, edition, explanation and validation. From an application domain point of view, PSG-Expert is an auxiliary diagnosis system for sleep disorders based on polysomnographic data, that aims at assisting the medical expert in his diagnosis task by providing automatic analysis of polysomnographic data, summarising the results of this analysis in terms of a report of major findings and possible diagnosis consistent with the polysomnographic data. Sleep disorders classification follows the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Major features of the system include: browsing on patients data records; structured navigation on Sleep Disorders descriptions according to ASDA definitions; internet links to related pages; diagnosis consistent with polysomnographic data; graphical user-interface including graph-based explanatory facilities; uncertainty modelling and belief revision; production of reports; connection to remote databases.

Intraoperative loss of core biopsy clips: clinical implications.

PubMed

Calhoun, Kristine; Giuliano, Armando; Brenner, R James

2008-03-01

The purpose of this study was to report the occurrence of intraoperative loss of metallic marking clips placed during image-guided biopsy and to hypothesize the likely mechanism of this clinical problem. From January 2003 through December 2004, patients presenting for preoperative mammographic localization and operative excision of biopsy site marking clips were identified. Age, method of image-guided biopsy, number of excised specimens, and tissue diagnosis were determined. Specimen radiographs were used to identify cases of suspected intraoperative clip loss. Clips absent on specimen radiographs and postoperative mammograms were defined as lost intraoperatively. Biopsy site marking clips, surgical clips, and suction device apertures were measured. In 78 surgical procedures performed during the study period, three (3.8%) of the patients experienced clip loss. Specimen radiographs confirmed the absence of clips in all submitted tissues. A median of four (range, three to five) separate biopsy specimens were excised among these three cases. A healing biopsy site from the stereotactic biopsy preceding the clip placement procedure was confirmed in all cases. Absence of the metallic clip was confirmed on postoperative mammograms. The apertures of two types of suction device were four and two times those of the biopsy clips. Intraoperative loss of metallic clips placed at the conclusion of image-guided breast biopsy is unusual but can occur during subsequent surgical excision. Repeated inability to locate the clip on specimen radiographs after accurate preoperative localization should raise the suspicion that the target clip has been lost, not missed, during surgery, likely because of inadvertent removal of the clip with the suction device.

Video diaries on social media: Creating online communities for geoscience research and education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, V.

2013-12-01

Making video clips is an engaging way to learn and teach geoscience. As smartphones become increasingly common, it is relatively straightforward for students to produce ';video diaries' by recording their research and learning experience over the course of a science module. Instead of keeping the video diaries for themselves, students may use the social media such as Facebook for sharing their experience and thoughts. There are some potential benefits to link video diaries and social media in pedagogical contexts. For example, online comments on video clips offer useful feedback and learning materials to the students. Students also have the opportunity to engage in geoscience outreach by producing authentic scientific contents at the same time. A video diary project was conducted to test the pedagogical potential of using video diaries on social media in the context of geoscience outreach, undergraduate research and teaching. This project formed part of a problem-based learning module in field geophysics at an archaeological site in the UK. The project involved i) the students posting video clips about their research and problem-based learning in the field on a daily basis; and ii) the lecturer building an online outreach community with partner institutions. In this contribution, I will discuss the implementation of the project and critically evaluate the pedagogical potential of video diaries on social media. My discussion will focus on the following: 1) Effectiveness of video diaries on social media; 2) Student-centered approach of producing geoscience video diaries as part of their research and problem-based learning; 3) Learning, teaching and assessment based on video clips and related commentaries posted on Facebook; and 4) Challenges in creating and promoting online communities for geoscience outreach through the use of video diaries. I will compare the outcomes from this study with those from other pedagogical projects with video clips on geoscience, and evaluate the concept of ';networked public engagement' based on online video diaries.

Projective simulation for artificial intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briegel, Hans J.; de Las Cuevas, Gemma

2012-05-01

We propose a model of a learning agent whose interaction with the environment is governed by a simulation-based projection, which allows the agent to project itself into future situations before it takes real action. Projective simulation is based on a random walk through a network of clips, which are elementary patches of episodic memory. The network of clips changes dynamically, both due to new perceptual input and due to certain compositional principles of the simulation process. During simulation, the clips are screened for specific features which trigger factual action of the agent. The scheme is different from other, computational, notions of simulation, and it provides a new element in an embodied cognitive science approach to intelligent action and learning. Our model provides a natural route for generalization to quantum-mechanical operation and connects the fields of reinforcement learning and quantum computation.

Projective simulation for artificial intelligence

PubMed Central

Briegel, Hans J.; De las Cuevas, Gemma

2012-01-01

We propose a model of a learning agent whose interaction with the environment is governed by a simulation-based projection, which allows the agent to project itself into future situations before it takes real action. Projective simulation is based on a random walk through a network of clips, which are elementary patches of episodic memory. The network of clips changes dynamically, both due to new perceptual input and due to certain compositional principles of the simulation process. During simulation, the clips are screened for specific features which trigger factual action of the agent. The scheme is different from other, computational, notions of simulation, and it provides a new element in an embodied cognitive science approach to intelligent action and learning. Our model provides a natural route for generalization to quantum-mechanical operation and connects the fields of reinforcement learning and quantum computation. PMID:22590690

Three-Dimensional Printing of Surgical Clips: An In Vitro Pilot Study and Trial of Efficacy.

PubMed

Canvasser, Noah E; De, Shuvro; Koseoglu, Ersin; Lay, Aaron H; Sorokin, Igor; Fernandez, Raul; Cadeddu, Jeffrey A

2017-09-01

Three-dimensional (3D) printing applications have increased over the past decade. Our objective was to test rapid prototyping of a 3D printed surgical clip for intraoperative use. Our prototype was modeled after the 10 mm Weck ® Hem-o-lok ® polymer clip (Teleflex, Inc., Wayne, PA). A 3D computer-aided design model of the Hem-o-lok clip was reverse engineered using commercial microscopy and printing was done using an Objet Connex500 multijetting system (Stratasys, Eden Prairie, MN). The initial polymer was Objet VeroWhitePlus RGD835; the addition of Objet TangoBlackPlus FLX980 during the design process improved hinge flexibility. The 3D printed clips were then pressure tested on rubber Penrose tubing and compared in vitro versus commercial Hem-o-lok clips. Initial 3D printed clips were not functional as they split at the hinge upon closure of the clip jaws. Design changes were made to add Objet TangoBlackPlus FLX980 at the hinge to improve flexibility. Additional modifications were made to allow for clips to be compatible with the Hem-o-lok endoscopic clip applier. A total of 50 clips were tested. Fracture rate for the printed clips using a clip applier was 54% (n = 27), whereas none of the commercial Hem-o-lok clips broke upon closure. Of the 23 printed clips that closed, mean leak was at 20.7 κPa (range 4.8-42.7). In contrast, none of the commercial clips leaked, and fill continued until Penrose rupture at mean 46.2 κPa (44.8-47.6). This pilot study demonstrates feasibility of 3D printing functional surgical clips. However, the performance of our first generation clips is poor compared with commercial grade product. Refinement in printers and materials available may allow for customization of such printed surgical instruments that could be economically competitive to purchasing and stocking product.

Rehabilitation after Clipping of Cerebral Aneurysms without Acute Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Outcome Analysis of 100 Consecutive Cases.

PubMed

Jödicke, Andreas; Bauer, Karsten; Hajdukova, Andrea

2018-06-11

 Discharge to rehabilitation is reported in large studies as one important outcome parameter based on hospital codes. Because neurologic outcome scores (e.g., the modified Rankin Scale [mRS]) are missing in International Classification of Diseases (ICD) databases, rehabilitation indirectly serves as a kind of surrogate parameter for overall outcome. Reported fractions of patients with rehabilitation, however, largely differ between studies and seem high for patients with aneurysm clipping. Variances in rehabilitation fractions seem to largely differ between treatments (clipping versus coiling) for unruptured intracranial aneurysms, so we analyzed our patients for percentage of and potential factors predicting rehabilitation.  From July 2007 to September 2013, 100 consecutive patients with at least one cerebral aneurysm underwent aneurysm clipping. Aneurysms were classified as incidental, associated, pretreated (coil compaction after subarachnoid hemorrhage), and symptomatic (oculomotor nerve compression, microemboli), and they were assigned to their anatomical location. Complications (infection, hemorrhage, cerebrospinal fluid fistula, transient and permanent neurologic deficit, reoperation) and outcome (mRS at 6 months; clip occlusion rate by postoperative digital subtraction angiography) as well as frequency and type of rehabilitation were analyzed and correlated retrospectively. Multiple aneurysms clipped in one procedure were not counted separately regarding complications or outcome (i.e., one patient, one outcome).  The overall complication rate was 17% including 10% early and 3% permanent neurologic deficits and 7% reoperations. There were no deaths. Overall, 98% of patients had a good outcome (mRS 0-2). Clip occlusion rate was 97.9%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified aneurysm location as the only significant independent factor for risk of complication ( p  < 0.001) and complication as the only significant independent risk factor for rehabilitation ( p  = 0.003). Rehabilitation was indicated or requested by the patient as early neurologic rehabilitation (5%), inpatient follow-up (15%), and outpatient follow-up (15%). The long-term care rate was 2%.  Microsurgery of unruptured and not acutely ruptured aneurysms (including post-coil and associated aneurysms) has a low rate of rehabilitation with a low risk of a permanent neurologic deficit, long-term care, or early neurologic rehabilitation. The rate of rehabilitation is well below reported risks from studies based on ICD-based health care analysis. Rehabilitation per se is not a good indicator for outcome. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A novel scoring system for gastric cancer risk assessment based on the expression of three CLIP4 DNA methylation-associated genes

PubMed Central

Hu, Chenggong; Zhou, Yongfang; Liu, Chang; Kang, Yan

2018-01-01

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. In the current study, comprehensive bioinformatic analyses were performed to develop a novel scoring system for GC risk assessment based on CAP-Gly domain containing linker protein family member 4 (CLIP4) DNA methylation status. Two GC datasets with methylation sequencing information and mRNA expression profiling were downloaded from the The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the CLIP4 hypermethylation and CLIP4 hypomethylation groups were screened using the limma package in R 3.3.1, and survival analysis of these DEGs was performed using the survival package. A risk scoring system was established via regression factor-weighted gene expression based on linear combination to screen the most important genes associated with CLIP4 methylation and prognosis. Genes associated with high/low-risk value were selected using the limma package. Functional enrichment analysis of the top 500 DEGs that positively and negatively associated with risk values was performed using DAVID 6.8 online and the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) software. In total, 35 genes were identified to be that significantly associated with prognosis and CLIP4 DNA methylation, and three prognostic signature genes, claudin-11 (CLDN11), apolipoprotein D (APOD), and chordin like 1 (CHRDL1), were used to establish a risk assessment system. The prognostic scoring system exhibited efficiency in classifying patients with different prognoses, where the low-risk groups had significantly longer overall survival times than those in the high-risk groups. CLDN11, APOD and CHRDL1 exhibited reduced expression in the hypermethylation and low-risk groups compare with the hypomethylation and high-risk groups, respectively. Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that risk value could be used as an independent prognostic factor. In functional analysis, six functional gene ontology terms and five GSEA pathways were associated with CLDN11, APOD and CHRDL1. The results established the credibility of the scoring system in this study. Additionally, these three genes, which were significantly associated with CLIP4 DNA methylation and GC risk assessment, were identified as potential prognostic biomarkers. PMID:29901187

Modified CLIP with objective liver reserve assessment retains prognosis prediction for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

PubMed

Shao, Yu-Yun; Liu, Tsung-Hao; Lee, Ying-Hui; Hsu, Chih-Hung; Cheng, Ann-Lii

2016-07-01

The Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) score is a commonly used staging system for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) helpful with predicting prognosis of advanced HCC. CLIP uses the Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score to evaluate liver reserve. A new scoring system, the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, has been proposed as they objectively evaluate liver reserve. We examined whether the modification of CLIP with ALBI retained its prognosis prediction for patients with advanced HCC. We included patients who received first-line antiangiogenic therapy for advanced HCC. Liver reserve was assessed using CTP and ALBI scores, which were then incorporated into CLIP and ALBI-CLIP, respectively. To assess their efficacies of prognostic prediction, the Cox's proportional hazard model and concordance indexes were used. A total of 142 patients were included; 137 of them were classified CTP A and 5 patients CTP B. Patients could be divided into four or five groups with different prognosis according to CLIP and ALBI-CLIP, respectively. Higher R(2) (0.249 vs 0.216) and lower Akaike information criterion (995.0 vs 1001.1) were observed for ALBI-CLIP than for CLIP in the Cox's model predicting overall survival. ALBI-CLIP remained an independent predictor for overall survival when CLIP and ALBI-CLIP were simultaneously incorporated in Cox's models allowing variable selection with adjustment for hepatitis etiology, treatment, and performance status. The concordance index was also higher for ALBI-CLIP than for CLIP (0.724 vs 0.703). Modification of CLIP scoring with ALBI, which objectively assesses liver reserve, retains and might have improved prognosis prediction for advanced HCC. © 2016 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Rebleeding from clipped aneurysm after 35 years: Report of 2 cases

PubMed Central

Ishida, Atsushi; Matsuo, Seigo; Asakuno, Keizoh; Nemoto, Akio; Niimura, Kaku; Yoshimoto, Haruko; Shiramizu, Hideki; Yuzawa, Miki

2015-01-01

Background: A successfully applied clip for a ruptured aneurysm keeps the aneurysm's neck closed, preventing rerupture throughout the patient's life. Unfortunately, rebleeding from a clipped aneurysm does occur, but the likelihood declines with time. Since relatively old people suffer from subarachnoid hemorrhage, they die from diseases other than rebleeding, such as cancer. Therefore, rebleeding from a clipped aneurysm after two decades is quite rare. Case Description: Here, we report 2 cases of rerupture after an extremely long time since the initial clipping. In both cases, the old clip was removed, and the regrown gourd-shaped aneurysm was successfully obliterated. The clips in both cases were submitted to their manufacturers and inspected thoroughly. They were found to be second-generation, stainless steel clips, and were almost intact, even keeping their closing forces. In both cases, the clip existed on the surface of the newly made dome, and the previous dome completely disappeared. Conclusions: We experienced 2 cases of rebleeding from the clipped aneurysm after 35 years. In one of the cases, the clip was a Yasargil second generation stainless steel clip that retained its mechanical properties and surface elemental composition in vivo for a long time. These cases should be informative as they show extremely long-term course of a clip applied for a ruptured aneurysm. PMID:26322244

Virtual reality cerebral aneurysm clipping simulation with real-time haptic feedback.

PubMed

Alaraj, Ali; Luciano, Cristian J; Bailey, Daniel P; Elsenousi, Abdussalam; Roitberg, Ben Z; Bernardo, Antonio; Banerjee, P Pat; Charbel, Fady T

2015-03-01

With the decrease in the number of cerebral aneurysms treated surgically and the increase of complexity of those treated surgically, there is a need for simulation-based tools to teach future neurosurgeons the operative techniques of aneurysm clipping. To develop and evaluate the usefulness of a new haptic-based virtual reality simulator in the training of neurosurgical residents. A real-time sensory haptic feedback virtual reality aneurysm clipping simulator was developed using the ImmersiveTouch platform. A prototype middle cerebral artery aneurysm simulation was created from a computed tomographic angiogram. Aneurysm and vessel volume deformation and haptic feedback are provided in a 3-dimensional immersive virtual reality environment. Intraoperative aneurysm rupture was also simulated. Seventeen neurosurgery residents from 3 residency programs tested the simulator and provided feedback on its usefulness and resemblance to real aneurysm clipping surgery. Residents thought that the simulation would be useful in preparing for real-life surgery. About two-thirds of the residents thought that the 3-dimensional immersive anatomic details provided a close resemblance to real operative anatomy and accurate guidance for deciding surgical approaches. They thought the simulation was useful for preoperative surgical rehearsal and neurosurgical training. A third of the residents thought that the technology in its current form provided realistic haptic feedback for aneurysm surgery. Neurosurgical residents thought that the novel immersive VR simulator is helpful in their training, especially because they do not get a chance to perform aneurysm clippings until late in their residency programs.

Optic neuropathy after anterior communicating artery aneurysm clipping: 3 cases and techniques to address a correctable pitfall.

PubMed

Linzey, Joseph R; Chen, Kevin S; Savastano, Luis; Thompson, B Gregory; Pandey, Aditya S

2018-06-01

Brain shifts following microsurgical clip ligation of anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysms can lead to mechanical compression of the optic nerve by the clip. Recognition of this condition and early repositioning of clips can lead to reversal of vision loss. The authors identified 3 patients with an afferent pupillary defect following microsurgical clipping of ACoA aneurysms. Different treatment options were used for each patient. All patients underwent reexploration, and the aneurysm clips were repositioned to prevent clip-related compression of the optic nerve. Near-complete restoration of vision was achieved at the last clinic follow-up visit in all 3 patients. Clip ligation of ACoA aneurysms has the potential to cause clip-related compression of the optic nerve. Postoperative visual examination is of utmost importance, and if any changes are discovered, reexploration should be considered as repositioning of the clips may lead to resolution of visual deterioration.

Sprouting capability of shortleaf pine seedlings following clipping and burning: first-year results

Treesearch

David C. Clabo; Wayne K. Clatterbuck

2015-01-01

Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) is one of the few southern pine species with the ability to sprout after disturbance during the seedling age range, but little is known about sprouting success based on the type of disturbance. This study evaluates sprouting success after controlled burning conditions or manually clipping as compared to untreated controls of...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cavieres, Andres; Al-Haddad, Tristan; Goodman, Joseph

A photovoltaic panel mounting clip comprising a base, central indexing tabs, flanges, lateral indexing tabs, and vertical indexing tabs. The mounting clip removably attaches one or more panels to a beam or the like structure, both mechanically and electrically. It provides secure locking of the panels in all directions, while providing guidance in all directions for accurate installation of the panels to the beam or the like structure.

Exploring the Use of Video-Clips for Motivation Building in a Secondary School EFL Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Yujong; Jung, Eunsu

2016-01-01

By employing an action research framework, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a video-based curriculum in motivating EFL learners to learn English. Fifteen Korean EFL students at the secondary school context participated in an 8-week English program, which employed video clips including TED talk replays, sitcoms, TV news reports and movies…

Knowledge/geometry-based Mobile Autonomous Robot Simulator (KMARS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, Linfu; Mckendrick, John D.; Liu, Jeffrey

1990-01-01

Ongoing applied research is focused on developing guidance system for robot vehicles. Problems facing the basic research needed to support this development (e.g., scene understanding, real-time vision processing, etc.) are major impediments to progress. Due to the complexity and the unpredictable nature of a vehicle's area of operation, more advanced vehicle control systems must be able to learn about obstacles within the range of its sensor(s). A better understanding of the basic exploration process is needed to provide critical support to developers of both sensor systems and intelligent control systems which can be used in a wide spectrum of autonomous vehicles. Elcee Computek, Inc. has been working under contract to the Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright Research and Development Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio to develop a Knowledge/Geometry-based Mobile Autonomous Robot Simulator (KMARS). KMARS has two parts: a geometry base and a knowledge base. The knowledge base part of the system employs the expert-system shell CLIPS ('C' Language Integrated Production System) and necessary rules that control both the vehicle's use of an obstacle detecting sensor and the overall exploration process. The initial phase project has focused on the simulation of a point robot vehicle operating in a 2D environment.

Management of horses with focus on blanketing and clipping practices reported by members of the Swedish and Norwegian equestrian community.

PubMed

Hartmann, E; Bøe, K E; Jørgensen, G H M; Mejdell, C M; Dahlborn, K

2017-03-01

Limited information is available on the extent to which blankets are used on horses and the owners' reasoning behind clipping the horse's coat. Research on the effects of those practices on horse welfare is scarce but results indicate that blanketing and clipping may not be necessary from the horse's perspective and can interfere with the horse's thermoregulatory capacities. Therefore, this survey collected robust, quantitative data on the housing routines and management of horses with focus on blanketing and clipping practices as reported by members of the Swedish and Norwegian equestrian community. Horse owners were approached via an online survey, which was distributed to equestrian organizations and social media. Data from 4,122 Swedish and 2,075 Norwegian respondents were collected, of which 91 and 84% of respondents, respectively, reported using blankets on horses during turnout. Almost all respondents owning warmblood riding horses used blankets outdoors (97% in Sweden and 96% in Norway) whereas owners with Icelandic horses and coldblood riding horses used blankets significantly less ( < 0.05). Blankets were mainly used during rainy, cold, or windy weather conditions and in ambient temperatures of 10°C and below. The horse's coat was clipped by 67% of respondents in Sweden and 35% of Norwegian respondents whereby owners with warmblood horses and horses primarily used for dressage and competition reported clipping the coat most frequently. In contrast to scientific results indicating that recovery time after exercise increases with blankets and that clipped horses have a greater heat loss capacity, only around 50% of respondents agreed to these statements. This indicates that evidence-based information on all aspects of blanketing and clipping has not yet been widely distributed in practice. More research is encouraged, specifically looking at the effect of blankets on sweaty horses being turned out after intense physical exercise and the effect of blankets on social interactions such as mutual grooming. Future efforts should be tailored to disseminate knowledge more efficiently, which can ultimately stimulate thoughtful decision-making by horse owners concerning the use of blankets and clipping the horse's coat.

A combination of selected mapping and clipping to increase energy efficiency of OFDM systems

PubMed Central

Lee, Byung Moo; Rim, You Seung

2017-01-01

We propose an energy efficient combination design for OFDM systems based on selected mapping (SLM) and clipping peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) reduction techniques, and show the related energy efficiency (EE) performance analysis. The combination of two different PAPR reduction techniques can provide a significant benefit in increasing EE, because it can take advantages of both techniques. For the combination, we choose the clipping and SLM techniques, since the former technique is quite simple and effective, and the latter technique does not cause any signal distortion. We provide the structure and the systematic operating method, and show the various analyzes to derive the EE gain based on the combined technique. Our analysis show that the combined technique increases the EE by 69% compared to no PAPR reduction, and by 19.34% compared to only using SLM technique. PMID:29023591

Efficient Boundary Extraction of BSP Solids Based on Clipping Operations.

PubMed

Wang, Charlie C L; Manocha, Dinesh

2013-01-01

We present an efficient algorithm to extract the manifold surface that approximates the boundary of a solid represented by a Binary Space Partition (BSP) tree. Our polygonization algorithm repeatedly performs clipping operations on volumetric cells that correspond to a spatial convex partition and computes the boundary by traversing the connected cells. We use point-based representations along with finite-precision arithmetic to improve the efficiency and generate the B-rep approximation of a BSP solid. The core of our polygonization method is a novel clipping algorithm that uses a set of logical operations to make it resistant to degeneracies resulting from limited precision of floating-point arithmetic. The overall BSP to B-rep conversion algorithm can accurately generate boundaries with sharp and small features, and is faster than prior methods. At the end of this paper, we use this algorithm for a few geometric processing applications including Boolean operations, model repair, and mesh reconstruction.

Cerebral Protection During MitraClip Implantation: Initial Experience at 2 Centers.

PubMed

Frerker, Christian; Schlüter, Michael; Sanchez, Oscar D; Reith, Sebastian; Romero, Maria E; Ladich, Elena; Schröder, Jörg; Schmidt, Tobias; Kreidel, Felix; Joner, Michael; Virmani, Renu; Kuck, Karl-Heinz

2016-01-25

This study sought to assess the feasibility and safety of using a filter-based cerebral protection system (CPS) during MitraClip implantation and to report on the histopathologic analysis of the captured debris. Stroke is one of the serious adverse events associated with MitraClip therapy. Between July 2014 and March 2015, 14 surgical high-risk patients (age 75 ± 7 years; 7 men; median logistic EuroSCORE 21%) underwent MitraClip implantation employing cerebral protection with a dual embolic filter system. All patients had severe mitral regurgitation of predominantly functional origin. All procedures were successfully completed for both CPS deployment/retrieval and MitraClip implantation. A total of 28 filters (2 from each patient) were analyzed. Microscopically, debris was identified in all 14 patients. The most common tissue types were acute thrombus and small fragments of foreign material, which were found in 12 patients (85.7%) each. Organizing thrombus was present in 4 patients (28.6%), valve tissue and/or superficial atrial wall tissue in 9 patients (64.3%), and fragments of myocardium in 2 patients (14.3%). No transient ischemic attacks, strokes, or deaths occurred peri-procedurally or during a median follow-up interval of 8.4 months. In this small study of patients undergoing MitraClip treatment with cerebral protection, embolic debris potentially conducive to cerebrovascular events was found in all patients. Debris was composed most often of acute thrombus, foreign material likely originating from the hydrophilic device coating, and valve/atrial wall tissue. Further studies are warranted to assess the impact of cerebral protection on the incidence of cerebrovascular events after MitraClip therapy. Copyright © 2016 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Findings of the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial and the National Study of Subarachnoid Haemorrhage in context.

PubMed

Reeves, B C; Langham, J; Lindsay, K W; Molyneux, A J; Browne, J P; Copley, L; Shaw, D; Gholkar, A; Kirkpatrick, P J

2007-08-01

Concern has been expressed about the applicability of the findings of the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT) with respect to the relative effects on outcome of coiling and clipping. It has been suggested that the findings of the National Study of Subarachnoid Haemorrhage may have greater relevance for neurosurgical practice. The objective of this paper was to interpret the findings of these two studies in the context of differences in their study populations, design, execution and analysis. Because of differences in design and analysis, the findings of the two studies are not directly comparable. The ISAT analysed all randomized patients by intention-to-treat, including some who did not undergo a repair, and obtained the primary outcome for 99% of participants. The National Study only analysed participants who underwent clipping or coiling, according to the method of repair, and obtained the primary outcome for 91% of participants. Time to repair was also considered differently in the two studies. The comparison between coiling and clipping was susceptible to confounding in the National Study, but not in the ISAT. The two study populations differed to some extent, but inspection of these differences does not support the view that coiling was applied inappropriately in the National Study. Therefore, there are many reasons why the two studies estimated different sizes of effect. The possibility that there were real, systematic differences in practice between the ISAT and the National Study cannot be ruled out, but such explanations must be seen in the context of other explanations relating to chance, differences in design or analysis, or confounding.

Development of a new biodegradable operative clip made of a magnesium alloy: Evaluation of its safety and tolerability for canine cholecystectomy.

PubMed

Yoshida, Toshihiko; Fukumoto, Takumi; Urade, Takeshi; Kido, Masahiro; Toyama, Hirochika; Asari, Sadaki; Ajiki, Tetsuo; Ikeo, Naoko; Mukai, Toshiji; Ku, Yonson

2017-06-01

Operative clips used to ligate vessels in abdominal operation usually are made of titanium. They remain in the body permanently and form metallic artifacts in computed tomography images, which impair accurate diagnosis. Although biodegradable magnesium instruments have been developed in other fields, the physical properties necessary for operative clips differ from those of other instruments. We developed a biodegradable magnesium-zinc-calcium alloy clip with good biologic compatibility and enough clamping capability as an operative clip. In this study, we verified the safety and tolerability of this clip for use in canine cholecystectomy. Nine female beagles were used. We performed cholecystectomy and ligated the cystic duct by magnesium alloy or titanium clips. The chronologic change of clips and artifact formation were compared at 1, 4, 12, 18, and 24 weeks postoperative by computed tomography. The animals were killed at the end of the observation period, and the clips were removed to evaluate their biodegradability. We also evaluated their effect on the living body by blood biochemistry data. The magnesium alloy clip formed much fewer artifacts than the titanium clip, and it was almost absorbed at 6 months postoperative. There were no postoperative complications and no elevation of constituent elements such as magnesium, calcium, and zinc during the observation period in both groups. The novel magnesium alloy clip demonstrated sufficient sealing capability for the cystic duct and proper biodegradability in canine models. The magnesium alloy clip revealed much fewer metallic artifacts in CT than the conventional titanium clip. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of holding strength of suture anchors for hepatic and renal parenchyma.

PubMed

Ames, Caroline D; Perrone, Juan M; Frisella, Alison J; Morrissey, Kevin; Landman, Jaime

2005-12-01

Various laparoscopic devices have been described for suture anchoring during solidorgan parenchymal closure. Application of these devices expedites the closure of parenchymal defects and minimizes ischemia time. We compared different technologies as suture anchors for parenchymal closure. A tensometer was used to determine the amount of tension necessary to dislodge each of five different clips from Vicryl suture alone or against two different substrates (fresh pig kidney and liver) with and without an intervening pledget. The clips investigated were the Lapra-Ty (Ethicon), Endoclip II (US Surgical), small Horizon Ligating Clips (Weck), Hem-o-lok Medium Polymer Clips (Week), and a novel Suture-clip (Applied Medical). ANOVA and two-sided Fisher's exact test provided statistical analysis. The force required to dislodge the Lapra-Ty clip from bare suture for both 0 and 1 Vicryl (7.0 N) was approximately fourfold the force required to dislodge the Endoclips or the 5-mm or 10-mm Hem-o-lok clips (p<0.01). When clips were applied to suture running through renal or liver parenchyma, the novel Suture-clip required the greatest tension to dislodge (P<0.01), followed by the Horizon and Lapra-Ty clips. There were no statistically significant differences in the tension required to dislodge a given clip from the two parenchymal substrates or in the presence or absence of a pledget. In our experimental model, the Suture-clip, Lapra-Ty, and Horizon clips required significantly greater tension to dislodge than the Hem-o-lok and Endoclip clips. The addition of a pledget did not improve tension resistance.

A rare case of foreign body causing recurrent vaginal discharge in prepubertal child.

PubMed

Gobbur, Vijayalakshmi R; Gobbur, Raghavendra H; Patil, Ashwini G; Endigeri, Preetish

2015-01-01

Vaginal discharge in prepubertal children is mainly due to hypoestrogenic state of vaginal mucosa making it thin and alkaline leading to mucosal invasion by pathogen. In a paediatric case with persistent foul smelling , blood stained vaginal discharge not responding to medical therapy, vaginal foreign body should always be ruled out. Here, we report a 3 -year -old girl with complaint of recurrent vaginal discharge occasionally blood stained not relieved despite few antibiotics courses. On X -ray pelvis, a radioopaque foreign body hair clip was seen. Under sedation foreign body was removed by forceps following which child became asymptomatic.

Real-time surgery simulation of intracranial aneurysm clipping with patient-specific geometries and haptic feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fenz, Wolfgang; Dirnberger, Johannes

2015-03-01

Providing suitable training for aspiring neurosurgeons is becoming more and more problematic. The increasing popularity of the endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms leads to a lack of simple surgical situations for clipping operations, leaving mainly the complex cases, which present even experienced surgeons with a challenge. To alleviate this situation, we have developed a training simulator with haptic interaction allowing trainees to practice virtual clipping surgeries on real patient-specific vessel geometries. By using specialized finite element (FEM) algorithms (fast finite element method, matrix condensation) combined with GPU acceleration, we can achieve the necessary frame rate for smooth real-time interaction with the detailed models needed for a realistic simulation of the vessel wall deformation caused by the clamping with surgical clips. Vessel wall geometries for typical training scenarios were obtained from 3D-reconstructed medical image data, while for the instruments (clipping forceps, various types of clips, suction tubes) we use models provided by manufacturer Aesculap AG. Collisions between vessel and instruments have to be continuously detected and transformed into corresponding boundary conditions and feedback forces, calculated using a contact plane method. After a training, the achieved result can be assessed based on various criteria, including a simulation of the residual blood flow into the aneurysm. Rigid models of the surgical access and surrounding brain tissue, plus coupling a real forceps to the haptic input device further increase the realism of the simulation.

Einstein in Hollywood: Capturing the Scientific Minds of Movie Buffs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Chadwick

2010-10-01

The film industry captures the minds of most students today. Americans spend one-half of their leisure time watching television, and students may often neglect their studies to catch the latest episode of Desperate Housewives or the new release of Leatherheads. Science teachers are challenged to compete with these seemingly unconquerable forces. One alternative to battling the influence of multimedia in its onslaught against the scientific minds of our youth is to embrace these monsters and tame them. By relating what the students know best (who kissed who in Walk the Line) with what they know least (thermodynamics, e.g.), teachers form connections in the minds of their students that will last for many years. In this session, the presenter will demonstrate an inquiry-based method employing clips from popular movies to learn physics. He will show movie clips from several different areas of physics, examine the particular clips in light of those physical principles, and discuss how to use the clips in the classroom.

Object oriented development of engineering software using CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yoon, C. John

1991-01-01

Engineering applications involve numeric complexity and manipulations of a large amount of data. Traditionally, numeric computation has been the concern in developing an engineering software. As engineering application software became larger and more complex, management of resources such as data, rather than the numeric complexity, has become the major software design problem. Object oriented design and implementation methodologies can improve the reliability, flexibility, and maintainability of the resulting software; however, some tasks are better solved with the traditional procedural paradigm. The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), with deffunction and defgeneric constructs, supports the procedural paradigm. The natural blending of object oriented and procedural paradigms has been cited as the reason for the popularity of the C++ language. The CLIPS Object Oriented Language's (COOL) object oriented features are more versatile than C++'s. A software design methodology based on object oriented and procedural approaches appropriate for engineering software, and to be implemented in CLIPS was outlined. A method for sensor placement for Space Station Freedom is being implemented in COOL as a sample problem.

Performance Evaluation and Community Application of Low-Cost Sensors for Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide.

PubMed

Duvall, Rachelle M; Long, Russell W; Beaver, Melinda R; Kronmiller, Keith G; Wheeler, Michael L; Szykman, James J

2016-10-13

This study reports on the performance of electrochemical-based low-cost sensors and their use in a community application. CairClip sensors were collocated with federal reference and equivalent methods and operated in a network of sites by citizen scientists (community members) in Houston, Texas and Denver, Colorado, under the umbrella of the NASA-led DISCOVER-AQ Earth Venture Mission. Measurements were focused on ozone (O₃) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). The performance evaluation showed that the CairClip O₃/NO₂ sensor provided a consistent measurement response to that of reference monitors (r² = 0.79 in Houston; r² = 0.72 in Denver) whereas the CairClip NO₂ sensor measurements showed no agreement to reference measurements. The CairClip O₃/NO₂ sensor data from the citizen science sites compared favorably to measurements at nearby reference monitoring sites. This study provides important information on data quality from low-cost sensor technologies and is one of few studies that reports sensor data collected directly by citizen scientists.

Radiologic advantages of potential use of polymer plastic clips in neurosurgery.

PubMed

Delibegović, Samir

2014-01-01

Plastic clips are made of diamagnetic material and may result in fewer computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance artifacts than titanium clips. Considering that polymer plastic clips are increasingly being used in endoscopic surgery, our study examined the CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of plastic clips after application in the neurocranium and compared them with titanium clips. Craniotomy was performed on the heads of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica), and, at an angle of 90°, a permanent Yasargil FT 746 T clip was placed in a frontobasal, interhemispheric position. A plastic polymer medium-large Hem-o-lok clip was placed in the same position into another animal. After this procedure, CT of the brain was performed using Siemens 16 slice, followed by an MRI scan, on Philips MRI, 1.5 Tesla. The CT and magnetic resonance scans were analyzed. On axial CT sections through the site of placement of titanium clips, dotted hyperdensity with a high value of Hounsfield units (HUI) of about 2800-3000 could be clearly seen. At the site where the plastic polymer clips were placed, discrete hyperdensity was observed, measuring 130-140 HUI. MRI of the brain in which titanium clips were used revealed a hypointensive T1W signal in the interhemispheric fissure, with a hypointensive T2W signal. On the other hand, upon examination of the MRI of the brain in which plastic clips were used, the T1W signal described above did not occur, and there was also no T2W signal, and no artifacts observed. The plastic clips are made of a diamagnetic, nonconductive material that results in fewer CT and MRI artifacts than titanium clips. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Virtual Reality Cerebral Aneurysm Clipping Simulation With Real-time Haptic Feedback

PubMed Central

Alaraj, Ali; Luciano, Cristian J.; Bailey, Daniel P.; Elsenousi, Abdussalam; Roitberg, Ben Z.; Bernardo, Antonio; Banerjee, P. Pat; Charbel, Fady T.

2014-01-01

Background With the decrease in the number of cerebral aneurysms treated surgically and the increase of complexity of those treated surgically, there is a need for simulation-based tools to teach future neurosurgeons the operative techniques of aneurysm clipping. Objective To develop and evaluate the usefulness of a new haptic-based virtual reality (VR) simulator in the training of neurosurgical residents. Methods A real-time sensory haptic feedback virtual reality aneurysm clipping simulator was developed using the Immersive Touch platform. A prototype middle cerebral artery aneurysm simulation was created from a computed tomography angiogram. Aneurysm and vessel volume deformation and haptic feedback are provided in a 3-D immersive VR environment. Intraoperative aneurysm rupture was also simulated. Seventeen neurosurgery residents from three residency programs tested the simulator and provided feedback on its usefulness and resemblance to real aneurysm clipping surgery. Results Residents felt that the simulation would be useful in preparing for real-life surgery. About two thirds of the residents felt that the 3-D immersive anatomical details provided a very close resemblance to real operative anatomy and accurate guidance for deciding surgical approaches. They believed the simulation is useful for preoperative surgical rehearsal and neurosurgical training. One third of the residents felt that the technology in its current form provided very realistic haptic feedback for aneurysm surgery. Conclusion Neurosurgical residents felt that the novel immersive VR simulator is helpful in their training especially since they do not get a chance to perform aneurysm clippings until very late in their residency programs. PMID:25599200

21 CFR 878.4320 - Removable skin clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Removable skin clip. 878.4320 Section 878.4320...) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4320 Removable skin clip. (a) Identification. A removable skin clip is a clip-like device intended to connect skin tissues temporarily to aid...

Ratings for emotion film clips.

PubMed

Gabert-Quillen, Crystal A; Bartolini, Ellen E; Abravanel, Benjamin T; Sanislow, Charles A

2015-09-01

Film clips are widely utilized to elicit emotion in a variety of research studies. Normative ratings for scenes selected for these purposes support the idea that selected clips correspond to the intended target emotion, but studies reporting normative ratings are limited. Using an ethnically diverse sample of college undergraduates, selected clips were rated for intensity, discreteness, valence, and arousal. Variables hypothesized to affect the perception of stimuli (i.e., gender, race-ethnicity, and familiarity) were also examined. Our analyses generally indicated that males reacted strongly to positively valenced film clips, whereas females reacted more strongly to negatively valenced film clips. Caucasian participants tended to react more strongly to the film clips, and we found some variation by race-ethnicity across target emotions. Finally, familiarity with the films tended to produce higher ratings for positively valenced film clips, and lower ratings for negatively valenced film clips. These findings provide normative ratings for a useful set of film clips for the study of emotion, and they underscore factors to be considered in research that utilizes scenes from film for emotion elicitation.

Authoring Data-Driven Videos with DataClips.

PubMed

Amini, Fereshteh; Riche, Nathalie Henry; Lee, Bongshin; Monroy-Hernandez, Andres; Irani, Pourang

2017-01-01

Data videos, or short data-driven motion graphics, are an increasingly popular medium for storytelling. However, creating data videos is difficult as it involves pulling together a unique combination of skills. We introduce DataClips, an authoring tool aimed at lowering the barriers to crafting data videos. DataClips allows non-experts to assemble data-driven "clips" together to form longer sequences. We constructed the library of data clips by analyzing the composition of over 70 data videos produced by reputable sources such as The New York Times and The Guardian. We demonstrate that DataClips can reproduce over 90% of our data videos corpus. We also report on a qualitative study comparing the authoring process and outcome achieved by (1) non-experts using DataClips, and (2) experts using Adobe Illustrator and After Effects to create data-driven clips. Results indicated that non-experts are able to learn and use DataClips with a short training period. In the span of one hour, they were able to produce more videos than experts using a professional editing tool, and their clips were rated similarly by an independent audience.

Proposal for a CLIPS software library

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, Ken

1991-01-01

This paper is a proposal to create a software library for the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) expert system shell developed by NASA. Many innovative ideas for extending CLIPS were presented at the First CLIPS Users Conference, including useful user and database interfaces. CLIPS developers would benefit from a software library of reusable code. The CLIPS Users Group should establish a software library-- a course of action to make that happen is proposed. Open discussion to revise this library concept is essential, since only a group effort is likely to succeed. A response form intended to solicit opinions and support from the CLIPS community is included.

Biocompatibility of Plastic Clip in Neurocranium - Experimental Study on Dogs.

PubMed

Delibegovic, Samir; Dizdarevic, Kemal; Cickusic, Elmir; Katica, Muhamed; Obhodjas, Muamer; Ocus, Muhamed

2016-01-01

A potential advantage of the use of the plastic clips in neurosurgery is their property of causing fewer artifacts than titanium clips as assessed by computed tomography and magnetic resonance scans. The biocompatibility of plastic clips was demonstrated in the peritoneal cavity, but their behavior in the neurocranium is not known. Twelve aggressive stray dogs designated for euthanasia were taken for this experimental study. The animals were divided into two groups. In all cases, after anesthesia, a craniotomy was performed, and after opening the dura, a proximal part titanium clip was placed on the isolated superficial Sylvian vein (a permanent Yasargil FT 746 T clip at a 90° angle, while a plastic Hem-o-lok clip ML was placed on another part of the vein). The first group of animals was sacrificed on the 7 < sup > th < /sup > postoperative day and the second group on the 60 < sup > th < /sup > postoperative day. Samples of tissue around the clips were taken for a histopathological evaluation. The plastic clip caused a more intensive tissue reaction than the titanium clip on the 7 < sup > th < /sup > postoperative day, but there was no statistical difference. Even on the 60 < sup > th < /sup > postoperative day there was no significant difference in tissue reaction between the titanium and plastic clips. These preliminary results confirm the possibility for the use of plastic clips in neurosurgery. Before their use in human neurosurgery, further studies are needed to investigate the long-term effects of the presence of plastic clips in the neurocranium, as well as studies of the aneurysmal model.

Controlling release from 3D printed medical devices using CLIP and drug-loaded liquid resins.

PubMed

Bloomquist, Cameron J; Mecham, Michael B; Paradzinsky, Mark D; Janusziewicz, Rima; Warner, Samuel B; Luft, J Christopher; Mecham, Sue J; Wang, Andrew Z; DeSimone, Joseph M

2018-05-28

Mass customization along with the ability to generate designs using medical imaging data makes 3D printing an attractive method for the fabrication of patient-tailored drug and medical devices. Herein we describe the application of Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) as a method to fabricate biocompatible and drug-loaded devices with controlled release properties, using liquid resins containing active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). In this work, we characterize how the release kinetics of a model small molecule, rhodamine B-base (RhB), are affected by device geometry, network crosslink density, and the polymer composition of polycaprolactone- and poly (ethylene glycol)-based networks. To demonstrate the applicability of using API-loaded liquid resins with CLIP, the UV stability was evaluated for a panel of clinically-relevant small molecule drugs. Finally, select formulations were tested for biocompatibility, degradation and encapsulation of docetaxel (DTXL) and dexamethasone-acetate (DexAc). Formulations were shown to be biocompatible over the course of 175 days of in vitro degradation and the clinically-relevant drugs could be encapsulated and released in a controlled fashion. This study reveals the potential of the CLIP manufacturing platform to serve as a method for the fabrication of patient-specific medical and drug-delivery devices for personalized medicine. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

High-frequency electroencephalographic activity in left temporal area is associated with pleasant emotion induced by video clips.

PubMed

Kortelainen, Jukka; Väyrynen, Eero; Seppänen, Tapio

2015-01-01

Recent findings suggest that specific neural correlates for the key elements of basic emotions do exist and can be identified by neuroimaging techniques. In this paper, electroencephalogram (EEG) is used to explore the markers for video-induced emotions. The problem is approached from a classifier perspective: the features that perform best in classifying person's valence and arousal while watching video clips with audiovisual emotional content are searched from a large feature set constructed from the EEG spectral powers of single channels as well as power differences between specific channel pairs. The feature selection is carried out using a sequential forward floating search method and is done separately for the classification of valence and arousal, both derived from the emotional keyword that the subject had chosen after seeing the clips. The proposed classifier-based approach reveals a clear association between the increased high-frequency (15-32 Hz) activity in the left temporal area and the clips described as "pleasant" in the valence and "medium arousal" in the arousal scale. These clips represent the emotional keywords amusement and joy/happiness. The finding suggests the occurrence of a specific neural activation during video-induced pleasant emotion and the possibility to detect this from the left temporal area using EEG.

Rule-Based Flight Software Cost Estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stukes, Sherry A.; Spagnuolo, John N. Jr.

2015-01-01

This paper discusses the fundamental process for the computation of Flight Software (FSW) cost estimates. This process has been incorporated in a rule-based expert system [1] that can be used for Independent Cost Estimates (ICEs), Proposals, and for the validation of Cost Analysis Data Requirements (CADRe) submissions. A high-level directed graph (referred to here as a decision graph) illustrates the steps taken in the production of these estimated costs and serves as a basis of design for the expert system described in this paper. Detailed discussions are subsequently given elaborating upon the methodology, tools, charts, and caveats related to the various nodes of the graph. We present general principles for the estimation of FSW using SEER-SEM as an illustration of these principles when appropriate. Since Source Lines of Code (SLOC) is a major cost driver, a discussion of various SLOC data sources for the preparation of the estimates is given together with an explanation of how contractor SLOC estimates compare with the SLOC estimates used by JPL. Obtaining consistency in code counting will be presented as well as factors used in reconciling SLOC estimates from different code counters. When sufficient data is obtained, a mapping into the JPL Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) from the SEER-SEM output is illustrated. For across the board FSW estimates, as was done for the NASA Discovery Mission proposal estimates performed at JPL, a comparative high-level summary sheet for all missions with the SLOC, data description, brief mission description and the most relevant SEER-SEM parameter values is given to illustrate an encapsulation of the used and calculated data involved in the estimates. The rule-based expert system described provides the user with inputs useful or sufficient to run generic cost estimation programs. This system's incarnation is achieved via the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) and will be addressed at the end of this paper.

Emotion-Related Consciousness Detection in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness Through an EEG-Based BCI System

PubMed Central

Pan, Jiahui; Xie, Qiuyou; Huang, Haiyun; He, Yanbin; Sun, Yuping; Yu, Ronghao; Li, Yuanqing

2018-01-01

For patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC), such as vegetative state (VS) and minimally conscious state (MCS), detecting and assessing the residual cognitive functions of the brain remain challenging. Emotion-related cognitive functions are difficult to detect in patients with DOC using motor response-based clinical assessment scales such as the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) because DOC patients have motor impairments and are unable to provide sufficient motor responses for emotion-related communication. In this study, we proposed an EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) system for emotion recognition in patients with DOC. Eight patients with DOC (5 VS and 3 MCS) and eight healthy controls participated in the BCI-based experiment. During the experiment, two movie clips flashed (appearing and disappearing) eight times with a random interstimulus interval between flashes to evoke P300 potentials. The subjects were instructed to focus on the crying or laughing movie clip and to count the flashes of the corresponding movie clip cued by instruction. The BCI system performed online P300 detection to determine which movie clip the patients responsed to and presented the result as feedback. Three of the eight patients and all eight healthy controls achieved online accuracies based on P300 detection that were significantly greater than chance level. P300 potentials were observed in the EEG signals from the three patients. These results indicated the three patients had abilities of emotion recognition and command following. Through spectral analysis, common spatial pattern (CSP) and differential entropy (DE) features in the delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands were employed to classify the EEG signals during the crying and laughing movie clips. Two patients and all eight healthy controls achieved offline accuracies significantly greater than chance levels in the spectral analysis. Furthermore, stable topographic distribution patterns of CSP and DE features were observed in both the healthy subjects and these two patients. Our results suggest that cognitive experiments may be conducted using BCI systems in patients with DOC despite the inability of such patients to provide sufficient behavioral responses. PMID:29867421

Emotion-Related Consciousness Detection in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness Through an EEG-Based BCI System.

PubMed

Pan, Jiahui; Xie, Qiuyou; Huang, Haiyun; He, Yanbin; Sun, Yuping; Yu, Ronghao; Li, Yuanqing

2018-01-01

For patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC), such as vegetative state (VS) and minimally conscious state (MCS), detecting and assessing the residual cognitive functions of the brain remain challenging. Emotion-related cognitive functions are difficult to detect in patients with DOC using motor response-based clinical assessment scales such as the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) because DOC patients have motor impairments and are unable to provide sufficient motor responses for emotion-related communication. In this study, we proposed an EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) system for emotion recognition in patients with DOC. Eight patients with DOC (5 VS and 3 MCS) and eight healthy controls participated in the BCI-based experiment. During the experiment, two movie clips flashed (appearing and disappearing) eight times with a random interstimulus interval between flashes to evoke P300 potentials. The subjects were instructed to focus on the crying or laughing movie clip and to count the flashes of the corresponding movie clip cued by instruction. The BCI system performed online P300 detection to determine which movie clip the patients responsed to and presented the result as feedback. Three of the eight patients and all eight healthy controls achieved online accuracies based on P300 detection that were significantly greater than chance level. P300 potentials were observed in the EEG signals from the three patients. These results indicated the three patients had abilities of emotion recognition and command following. Through spectral analysis, common spatial pattern (CSP) and differential entropy (DE) features in the delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands were employed to classify the EEG signals during the crying and laughing movie clips. Two patients and all eight healthy controls achieved offline accuracies significantly greater than chance levels in the spectral analysis. Furthermore, stable topographic distribution patterns of CSP and DE features were observed in both the healthy subjects and these two patients. Our results suggest that cognitive experiments may be conducted using BCI systems in patients with DOC despite the inability of such patients to provide sufficient behavioral responses.

A systematic review of discomfort due to toe or ear clipping in laboratory rodents

PubMed Central

Geessink, Florentine J.; Brouwer, Michelle A. E.; Tillema, Alice; Ritskes-Hoitinga, Merel

2017-01-01

Toe clipping and ear clipping (also ear notching or ear punching) are frequently used methods for individual identification of laboratory rodents. These procedures potentially cause severe discomfort, which can reduce animal welfare and distort experimental results. However, no systematic summary of the evidence on this topic currently exists. We conducted a systematic review of the evidence for discomfort due to toe or ear clipping in rodents. The review methodology was pre-specified in a registered review protocol. The population, intervention, control, outcome (PICO) question was: In rodents, what is the effect of toe clipping or ear clipping, compared with no clipping or sham clipping, on welfare-related outcomes? Through a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and grey literature, we identified seven studies on the effect of ear clipping on animal welfare, and five such studies on toe clipping. Studies were included in the review if they contained original data from an in vivo experiment in rodents, assessing the effect of toe clipping or ear clipping on a welfare-related outcome. Case studies and studies applying unsuitable co-interventions were excluded. Study quality was appraised using an extended version of SYstematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE)’s risk of bias tool for animal studies. Study characteristics and outcome measures were highly heterogeneous, and there was an unclear or high risk of bias in all studies. We therefore present a narrative synthesis of the evidence identified. None of the studies reported a sample size calculation. Out of over 60 different outcomes, we found evidence of discomfort due to ear clipping in the form of increased respiratory volume, vocalization and blood pressure. For toe clipping, increased vocalization and decreased motor activity in pups were found, as well as long-term effects in the form of reduced grip strength and swimming ability in adults. In conclusion, there is too little evidence to reliably assess discomfort due to toe or ear clipping, and the quality of the available evidence is uncertain. Adequately powered, high-quality studies reporting reliable, relevant outcome measures are needed to accurately assess the impact of these identification techniques. Until more reliable evidence is available, any effect of toe clipping or ear clipping on animal welfare and study results cannot be confirmed or excluded. PMID:28429644

Taxonomic and Functional Responses of Soil Microbial Communities to Annual Removal of Aboveground Plant Biomass

PubMed Central

Guo, Xue; Zhou, Xishu; Hale, Lauren; Yuan, Mengting; Feng, Jiajie; Ning, Daliang; Shi, Zhou; Qin, Yujia; Liu, Feifei; Wu, Liyou; He, Zhili; Van Nostrand, Joy D.; Liu, Xueduan; Luo, Yiqi; Tiedje, James M.; Zhou, Jizhong

2018-01-01

Clipping, removal of aboveground plant biomass, is an important issue in grassland ecology. However, few studies have focused on the effect of clipping on belowground microbial communities. Using integrated metagenomic technologies, we examined the taxonomic and functional responses of soil microbial communities to annual clipping (2010–2014) in a grassland ecosystem of the Great Plains of North America. Our results indicated that clipping significantly (P < 0.05) increased root and microbial respiration rates. Annual temporal variation within the microbial communities was much greater than the significant changes introduced by clipping, but cumulative effects of clipping were still observed in the long-term scale. The abundances of some bacterial and fungal lineages including Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were significantly (P < 0.05) changed by clipping. Clipping significantly (P < 0.05) increased the abundances of labile carbon (C) degrading genes. More importantly, the abundances of recalcitrant C degrading genes were consistently and significantly (P < 0.05) increased by clipping in the last 2 years, which could accelerate recalcitrant C degradation and weaken long-term soil carbon stability. Furthermore, genes involved in nutrient-cycling processes including nitrogen cycling and phosphorus utilization were also significantly increased by clipping. The shifts of microbial communities were significantly correlated with soil respiration and plant productivity. Intriguingly, clipping effects on microbial function may be highly regulated by precipitation at the interannual scale. Altogether, our results illustrated the potential of soil microbial communities for increased soil organic matter decomposition under clipping land-use practices. PMID:29904372

Enhanced Locomotor Activity Is Required to Exert Dietary Restriction-Dependent Increase of Stress Resistance in Drosophila.

PubMed

Ghimire, Saurav; Kim, Man Su

2015-01-01

Dietary restriction (DR) is known to be one of the most effective interventions to increase stress resistance, yet the mechanisms remain elusive. One of the most obvious DR-induced changes in phenotype is an increase in locomotor activity. Although it is conceptually perceivable that nutritional scarcity should prompt enhanced foraging behavior to garner additional dietary resources, the significance of enhanced movement activity has not been associated with the DR-dependent increase of stress resistance. In this study, we confirmed that flies raised on DR exhibited enhanced locomotive activity and increased stress resistance. Excision of fly wings minimized the DR-induced increase in locomotive activity, which resulted in attenuation of the DR-dependent increase of stress resistance. The possibility that wing clipping counteracts the DR by coercing flies to have more intake was ruled out since it did not induce any weight gain. Rather it was found that elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that is enhanced by DR-induced upregulation of expression of antioxidant genes was significantly reduced by wing clipping. Collectively, our data suggests that DR increased stress resistance by increasing the locomotor activity, which upregulated expression of protective genes including, but not limited to, ROS scavenger system.

It is time for a better clip applier - 3 mm, percutaneous, non-crushing and locking.

PubMed

Yuval, Jonathan B; Weiss, Daniel J; Paz, Adrian; Bachar, Yehuda; Brodie, Ronit; Shapira, Yinon; Mintz, Yoav

2017-10-06

Since the advent of laparoscopy there have been attempts to minimize abdominal wall incisions. For this purpose smaller instruments have been produced. Our aim was to develop the first 3 mm percutaneous clip applier and to make it better than the standard clips of today. The ClipTip clip is made of Nitinol and has a crocodile shaped jaws, which when apposed effectively seal vessels. The shaft operates as a retractable needle permitting percutaneous insertion. Closing, reopening and reclosing is possible. The physical properties of the device were compared to three commercially available clip appliers. Surgeries were performed on porcine animals by experienced surgeons. In comparison to available clips, the superiority of the ClipTip is a combination of wide effective length alongside the ability to withstand strong forces. In live animal studies the Cliptip was inserted into the peritoneal cavity without any injuries. Vessels were ligated successfully and no clip dislodgement or leakage occurred. We developed the next generation clip applier with better properties. Advantages include its length, the needleoscopic caliber, non-crushing effect, locking mechanism and wide aperture. The device has performed safely and effectively in pre-clinical tests. Further studies are planned in humans.

Persistence in and Release of 2,4-D and Azoxystrobin from Turfgrass Clippings.

PubMed

Jeffries, Matthew D; Yelverton, Fred H; Ahmed, Khalied A; Gannon, Travis W

2016-11-01

Research has shown that pesticide residue in clippings from previously treated turfgrass may become bioavailable as grass decomposes, adversely affecting off-target organisms. We conducted a field study to quantify 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and azoxystrobin (methyl(E)-2-{2[6-(2-cyanophenoxy)pyrmidin-4-yloxy]phenyl}-3-methoxyacrylate) residues in turfgrass clippings collected from hybrid bermudagrass [ (L.) Pers. × Burtt-Davy], tall fescue [ (Schreb.) S.J. Darbyshire], and zoysiagrass ( Steud.). A subsequent greenhouse experiment was conducted to measure pesticide release from clippings into water. 2,4-D (1.6 kg a.i. ha) and azoxystrobin (0.6 kg a.i. ha) were applied to field plots at 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, or 0 d before collection of the clippings. Clippings were collected from each experimental unit to quantify pesticide release from clippings into water. Both 2,4-D and azoxystrobin were detected when turfgrass was treated over the 32-d experimental period, suggesting that clipping management should be implemented for an extended period of time after application. Pesticide residue was detected in all water samples collected, confirming 2,4-D and azoxystrobin release from turfgrass clippings; however, pesticide release varied between compounds. Two days after clippings were incorporated in water, 39 and 10% of 2,4-D and azoxystrobin were released from clippings, respectively. Our research supports the currently recommended practice of returning clippings to the turfgrass stand when mowing because removal of 2,4-D and azoxystrobin in clippings may reduce pest control and cause adverse off-target impacts. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

The source parameters of 2013 Mw6.6 Lushan earthquake constrained with the restored local clipped seismic waveforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, J.; Zhang, J. H.; Yao, Z. X.

2017-12-01

We developed a method to restore the clipped seismic waveforms near epicenter using projection onto convex sets method (Zhang et al, 2016). This method was applied to rescue the local clipped waveforms of 2013 Mw 6.6 Lushan earthquake. We restored 88 out of 93 clipped waveforms of 38 broadband seismic stations of China Earthquake Networks (CEN). The epicenter distance of the nearest station to the epicenter that we can faithfully restore is only about 32 km. In order to investigate if the source parameters of earthquake could be determined exactly with the restored data, restored waveforms are utilized to get the mechanism of Lushan earthquake. We apply the generalized reflection-transmission coefficient matrix method to calculate the synthetic seismic records and simulated annealing method in inversion (Yao and Harkrider, 1983; Hao et al., 2012). We select 5 stations of CEN with the epicenter distance about 200km whose records aren't clipped and three-component velocity records are used. The result shows the strike, dip and rake angles of Lushan earthquake are 200o, 51o and 87o respectively, hereinafter "standard result". Then the clipped and restored seismic waveforms are applied respectively. The strike, dip and rake angles of clipped seismic waveforms are 184o, 53o and 72o respectively. The largest misfit of angle is 16o. In contrast, the strike, dip and rake angles of restored seismic waveforms are 198o, 51o and 87o respectively. It is very close to the "standard result". We also study the rupture history of Lushan earthquake constrained with the restored local broadband and teleseismic waves based on finite fault method (Hao et al., 2013). The result consists with that constrained with the strong motion and teleseismic waves (Hao et al., 2013), especially the location of the patch with larger slip. In real-time seismology, determining the source parameters as soon as possible is important. This method will help us to determine the mechanism of earthquake using the local clipped waveforms. Strong motion stations in China don't have good coverage at present. This method will help us to investigate the rupture history of large earthquake in China using the local clipped data of broadband stations.

CLIPSITS - CLIPS INTELLIGENT TUTORING SYSTEM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, G.

1994-01-01

The CLIPS Intelligent Tutoring System (CLIPSITS) is designed to be used to learn CLIPS, the C-language Integrated Production System expert system shell developed by the Software Technology Branch at Johnson Space Center. The goal of CLIPSITS is to provide the student with a tool to practice the syntax and concepts covered in the CLIPS User's Guide. It attempts to provide expert diagnosis and advice during problem solving which is typically not available without an instructor. CLIPSITS is divided into 10 lessons which mirror the first 10 chapters of the CLIPS User's Guide. This version of CLIPSITS is compatible with the Version 4.2 and 4.3 CLIPS User's Guide. However, the program does not cover any new features of CLIPS v4.3 that were added since the release of v4.2. The chapter numbers in the CLIPS User's Guide correspond directly with the lesson numbers in CLIPSITS. Each lesson in the program contains anywhere from 1 to 10 problems. Most of these have multiple parts. The student is given a subset of these problems from each lesson to work. The actual number of problems presented depends on how well the student masters the previous problem(s). The progression through these lessons is maintained in a personalized file under the student's name. As with most computer languages, there is usually more than one way to solve a problem. CLIPSITS attempts to be as flexible as possible and to allow as many correct solutions as possible. CLIPSITS gives the student the option of setting his/her own colors for the screen interface and the option of redefining special keystroke combinations used within the program. CLIPSITS requires an IBM PC compatible with 640K RAM and optional 2 or 3 button mouse. A 286- or 386-based machine is preferable. Performance will be somewhat slower on an XT class machine. The program must be installed on a hard disk with 825 KB space available. The program was developed in 1989. The standard distribution media is three 5.25" IBM PC DOS format diskettes. The program is also sold bundled with CLIPS for a special combined price as COS-10025. NOTE: Only the executable code is distributed. Supporting documentation is included on the diskettes. IBM, IBM PC and XT are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.

The Development of a Technology-Based Hierarchy to Assess Chronic Low Back Pain and Pain-Related Anxiety From a Fear-Avoidance Model.

PubMed

Springer, Kristen S; George, Steven Z; Robinson, Michael E

2016-08-01

Previous studies have not examined the assessment of chronic low back pain (CLBP) and pain-related anxiety from a fear avoidance model through the use of motion-capture software and virtual human technologies. The aim of this study was to develop and assess the psychometric properties of an interactive, technologically based hierarchy that can be used to assess patients with pain and pain-related anxiety. We enrolled 30 licensed physical therapists and 30 participants with CLBP. Participants rated 21 video clips of a 3-D animated character (avatar) engaging in activities that are typically feared by patients with CLBP. The results of the study indicate that physical therapists found the virtual hierarchy clips acceptable and depicted realistic patient experiences. Most participants with CLBP reported at least 1 video clip as being sufficiently anxiety-provoking for use clinically. Therefore, this study suggests a hierarchy of fears can be created out of 21 virtual patient video clips paving the way for future clinical use in patients with CLBP. This report describes the development of a computer-based virtual patient system for the assessment of back pain-related fear and anxiety. Results show that people with back pain as well as physical therapists found the avatar to be realistic, and the depictions of behavior anxiety- and fear-provoking. Copyright © 2016 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SU-E-J-201: Position Verification in Breast Cancer Radiotherapy Using Tantalum Clips in the Lumpectomy Cavity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Santvoort, J van; Van der Drift, M; Kuipers, J

2014-06-01

Purpose: To find out whether tantalum surgical clips can be used for online position verification in treatment of the lumpectomy cavity (LC) in breast cancer patients. Tantalum is a high density metal that could be visible on Electronic Portal Images (EPIs) and be an affordable alternative to gold markers. Clips are considered more representative for the LC position than nearby bony structures. Methods: In twelve patients the surgeon had placed 2 to 5 tantalum clips in the LC. The AP and lateral fields used for portal imaging, were adapted. In doing so, both bony structures and tantalum clips were visiblemore » on EPIs. The following analyses were performed:1. Image degradation, with respect to delineating the CTV, of the axial CT slices by artefacts because of the tantalum clips was evaluated by a radiation oncologist;2. The visibility of the tantalum clips on the EPIs was evaluated by four radiation therapists (RTTs);3. Bony anatomy and tantalum clip matches were performed on the same images independently by two observers. Results: 1. Delineation of the CTV by the radiation oncologist was not hampered by CT image artefacts because of the clips.2. The mean score for visibility of the clips on the EPIs, analysed by the four RTTs, was 5.6 on a scale of 10 (range 3.9 – 8.0).3. In total 12 patients with 16 fractions each were analysed. The differences between clip match and bone match are significant with a mean vector length of 5.2 mm (SD 1.9 mm) for the difference. Conclusion: Results of matches on tantalum clips as compared to matches on bony structures differ substantially. Therefore clip matches can result in smaller CTV to PTV margins than bone matches. Visibility of the clips on EPIs is sufficient, so they can be an alternative to gold markers.« less

Development of mitral stenosis after single MitraClip insertion for severe mitral regurgitation.

PubMed

Cockburn, James; Fragkou, Paraskevi; Hildick-Smith, David

2014-02-01

We report the first case of mitral stenosis following Mitra-Clip insertion in a patient with symptomatic NYHA IV heart failure, secondary to severe mitral regurgitation (MR). A 79-year-old female with a history of prior aortic valve replacement underwent percutaneous mitral valve (MV) repair. A single clip was advanced coaxially down onto the MV under TOE guidance, with the anterior and posterior leaflets clipped together between A2 and P2. TOE confirmed a significant reduction in MR (grade 4 to grade 1). Despite initial symptomatic relief, she represented 3 months later with similar symptoms. Repeat TOE confirmed a well positioned Mitra-Clip with mild residual MR. However, the possibility of significant mitral stenosis was raised due to the presence of significant turbulence through the bi-orifice valve, with a peak gradient of 25 mm Hg. In addition there was evidence of severe functional tricuspid valve (TV) regurgitation with elevated pulmonary artery pressures (PAP 90 mm Hg), confirmed on subsequent right heart catheterization. After repeated heart team discussions and a failure of optimal medical therapy, and despite a logistic EuroScore of 35.5, minimally invasive surgical replacement of the MV and simultaneous TV repair was undertaken via a right thoracotomy. Despite procedural success and initial good postoperative response, the patient died subsequently from a combination of hospital-acquired pneumonia and significant gastrointestinal bleeding (post operative day 35). Mitra-Clip is a promising novel approach to MV repair. The establishment of further clinical and echocardiographic based selection criteria will help identify the correct patients for this treatment. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Delayed Visual Loss and Its Surgical Rescue Following Extracranial-Intracranial Arterial Bypass and Native Internal Carotid Artery Sacrifice.

PubMed

Li, Lai-Fung; Leung, Gilberto Ka-Kit; Lui, Wai-Man

2017-02-01

High-flow extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass followed by sacrifice of the native internal carotid artery (ICA) is a recognized treatment option for giant ICA aneurysm and skull base tumor involving the ICA. Distal clipping at the supraclinoid portion of the ICA is technically straightforward, but it can potentially compromise ophthalmic artery (OA) perfusion. Because of the extensive EC-IC anastomoses with the OA, visual symptoms are fortunately uncommon. We report a patient who developed complete blindness after distal trapping of the supraclinoid ICA; it was reversed after emergency clip removal. Our patient is a 47-year-old man with recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma in close proximity to the left petrosal ICA. The first stage of the procedure involved an EC-IC bypass using radial artery graft, followed by a second stage with combined craniofacial excision. Trapping of the native ICA was achieved using a permanent aneurysm clip placed at the supraclinoid ICA distal to the origin of the OA. He complained of a new onset of complete left eye visual loss approximately 6 hours after the distal aneurysm clip was applied. He was immediately sent to the operating theatre for the removal of the supraclinoid aneurysm clip. On the next day, his vision improved and left pupil became reactive again. OA flow following ICA trapping is complicated and precarious. Delayed onset of visual loss is possible. Prompt action by direct exploration and clip removal is needed and can be effective in reversing blindness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Laparoscopic sterilization with the spring clip: instrumentation development and current clinical experience.

PubMed

Hulka, J F; Omran, K; Lieberman, B A; Gordon, A G

1979-12-15

Since the original spring clip sterilization studies were reported, a number of clinically important modifications to the spring clip and applicator have been developed. The spring-loaded clip, manufactured by Richard Wolf Medical Instruments Corporation of Chicago, Illinois, and Rocket of London, Inc., London, England, and New York, New York can be applied with either a one- or two-incision applicator and the clips and applicators currently available incorporate improvements to the original prototypes in design, manufacture, and quality control. The two-incision applicator is associated with significantly fewer misapplications and the high pregnancy rates reported with the original clip and applicator have not occurred with the current designs. Comparative studies between the clip and band have revealed less operative bleeding and pain associated with the clip. The method is appropriate to all women requesting sterilization but especially to those in the younger age group who may subsequently request reversal because of divorce and remarriage.

Serine protease-related proteins in the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae.

PubMed

Cao, Xiaolong; Gulati, Mansi; Jiang, Haobo

2017-09-01

Insect serine proteases (SPs) and serine protease homologs (SPHs) participate in digestion, defense, development, and other physiological processes. In mosquitoes, some clip-domain SPs and SPHs (i.e. CLIPs) have been investigated for possible roles in antiparasitic responses. In a recent test aimed at improving quality of gene models in the Anopheles gambiae genome using RNA-seq data, we observed various discrepancies between gene models in AgamP4.5 and corresponding sequences selected from those modeled by Cufflinks, Trinity and Bridger. Here we report a comparative analysis of the 337 SP-related proteins in A. gambiae by examining their domain structures, sequence diversity, chromosomal locations, and expression patterns. One hundred and ten CLIPs contain 1 to 5 clip domains in addition to their protease domains (PDs) or non-catalytic, protease-like domains (PLDs). They are divided into five subgroups: CLIPAs (22) are clip 1-5 -PLD; CLIPBs (29), CLIPCs (12) and CLIPDs (14) are mainly clip-PD; most CLIPEs (33) have a domain structure of PD/PLD-PLD-clip-PLD 0-1 . While expression of the CLIP genes in group-1 is generally low and detected in various tissue- and stage-specific RNA-seq libraries, some putative GPs/GPHs (i.e. single domain gut SPs/SPHs) in group-2 are highly expressed in midgut, whole larva or whole adult libraries. In comparison, 46 SPs, 26 SPHs, and 37 multi-domain SPs/SPHs (i.e. PD/PLD-PLD ≥1 ) in group-3 do not seem to be specifically expressed in digestive tract. There are 16 SPs and 2 SPH containing other types of putative regulatory domains (e.g. LDLa, CUB, Gd). Of the 337 SP and SPH genes, 159 were sorted into 46 groups (2-8 members/group) based on similar phylogenetic tree position, chromosomal location, and expression profile. This information and analysis, including improved gene models and protein sequences, constitute a solid foundation for functional analysis of the SP-related proteins in A. gambiae. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Arsenic microdistribution and speciation in toenail clippings of children living in a historic gold mining area

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pearce, Dora C.; Dowling, Kim; Gerson, Andrea R.

2010-05-04

Arsenic is naturally associated with gold mineralization and elevated in some soils and mine waste around historical gold mining activity in Victoria, Australia. To explore uptake, arsenic concentrations in children's toenail clippings and household soils were measured, and the microdistribution and speciation of arsenic in situ in toenail clipping thin sections investigated using synchrotron-based X-ray microprobe techniques. The ability to differentiate exogenous arsenic was explored by investigating surface contamination on cleaned clippings using depth profiling, and direct diffusion of arsenic into incubated clippings. Total arsenic concentrations ranged from 0.15 to 2.1 {micro}g/g (n = 29) in clipping samples and frommore » 3.3 to 130 {micro}g/g (n = 22) in household soils, with significant correlation between transformed arsenic concentrations (Pearson's r = 0.42, P = 0.023) when household soil was treated as independent. In clipping thin sections (n = 2), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping showed discrete layering of arsenic consistent with nail structure, and irregular arsenic incorporation along the nail growth axis. Arsenic concentrations were heterogeneous at 10 x 10 {micro}m microprobe spot locations investigated (< 0.1 to 13.3 {micro}g/g). X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra suggested the presence of two distinct arsenic species: a lower oxidation state species, possibly with mixed sulphur and methyl coordination (denoted As{sub (-S, -ch3)}{sup {approx}III}); and a higher oxidation state species (denoted As{sub (-O)}{sup {approx}V}). Depth profiling suggested that surface contamination was unlikely (n = 4), and XRF and XANES analyses of thin sections of clippings incubated in dry or wet mine waste, or untreated, suggested direct diffusion of arsenic occurred under moist conditions. These findings suggest that arsenic in soil contributes to some systemic absorption associated with periodic exposures among children resident in areas of historic gold mining activity in Victoria, Australia. Future studies are required to ascertain if adverse health effects are associated with current levels of arsenic uptake.« less

An object oriented extension to CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sobkowicz, Clifford

1990-01-01

A presentation of software sub-system developed to augment C Language Production Systems (CLIPS) with facilities for object oriented Knowledge representation. Functions are provided to define classes, instantiate objects, access attributes, and assert object related facts. This extension is implemented via the CLIPS user function interface and does not require modification of any CLIPS code. It does rely on internal CLIPS functions for memory management and symbol representation.

Utility of nonpenetrating titanium clips for dural closure during spinal surgery to prevent postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage.

PubMed

Ito, Kiyoshi; Aoyama, Tatsuro; Horiuchi, Tetsuyoshi; Hongo, Kazuhiro

2015-12-01

The nonpenetrating titanium clip has been successfully used in peripheral arterial bypass surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the leakage pressures and patterns of nonpenetrating titanium clips using a simple model that mimicked spinal surgery. In addition, the authors describe their surgical experience with these clips and the follow-up results in 31 consecutive patients. The authors compared nonpenetrating titanium clips and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) sutures in relation to the water pressure that could be tolerated by sutured ePTFE sheets, and the leakage pressure patterns were determined. The changes in leakage pressures at 5 minutes, 30 minutes, and 12 hours were examined when the clips and sutures were used in combination with the mesh-and-glue technique in an in vitro study. Thirty-one patients underwent spinal intradural procedures using nonpenetrating titanium clips to suture the dura maters using the meshand-glue technique, involving fibrin glue and polyglycolic acid-fibrin sheets. A significant difference was apparent between the ePTFE suture group and the nonpenetrating titanium clip group, with the latter showing a leakage pressure that could be sustained and was 1508% higher than that of the former (p = 0.001). In relation to leakage patterns, the nonpenetrating titanium clips did not make any suture holes in the ePTFE sheet and fluid leakage occurred between the clips, whereas fluid leakage was associated with the pressure elevation that occurred at the suture holes made by the ePTFE sutures. Of the 31 patients who underwent spinal intradural procedures using nonpenetrating titanium clips, 1 (3.2%) experienced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage postoperatively. No other complications-for example, allergic reactions, adhesions, or infections--were encountered. The interrupted placement of nonpenetrating titanium clips enables dural closure without creating any holes. These clips facilitate improvements in the initial leakage pressure and reduce postoperative CSF leakage following spinal surgery. The authors conclude that it is very beneficial to suture the spinal dura mater using nonpenetrating titanium clips given the anatomical characteristics of the spinal dura mater and the fact that the clips do not create suture holes.

Tips from the Classroom: Introducing the Friendly and Useful Computer; Using Annotations to Identify Composition Errors; Building a Scaffold with Video Clips; Movie Karaoke; Gotcha.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dudley, Albert P.; And Others

1997-01-01

Presents various tips that are useful in the classroom for teaching second languages. These tips focus on teaching basic computer operations; using annotations to foster error corrections in language; using video clips as a part of a U.S. history or culture-based English-as-a-Second-Language lesson; using karaoke to speak with less inhibition; and…

Using CLIPS as the cornerstone of a graduate expert systems course

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yue, Kwok-Bun

1991-01-01

The effective use of the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) as a cornerstone in a graduate expert systems course is described. The course include 8 or 9 hours of in-depth lecturing in CLIPS, as well as a broad coverage of major topics and techniques in expert systems. As part of the requirements of the course, students solved two small yet non-trival problems in CLIPS before going on to develop a toy expert system in CLIPS in an incremental manner as the term project. Furthermore, students were required to evaluate CLIPS programs written by their classmates. An anonymous questionnaire at the end of the semester revealed that the students responded very favorably to the course, especially their experience with CLIPS.

Two year experience with Web connectivity to PACS at a community-based hospital

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wadley, Brian D.; Hayward, Ulrike; Trambert, Michael; Kywi, Alberto; Hartzman, Steven

2002-05-01

Referring physician web based access to a PACS is evaluated at a community-based hospital. Survey results show 100% perceived improvement in referring physician productivity, and 97% perceived improvement in patient care. Overall satisfaction and perception of ease of use is greater than 90%.Web connectivity to PACS is perceived by 97% to result in decreased visits and calls to the radiology department due to the availability of virtual results, with high value placed on the voice clip summary results by 94% of respondents (the voice clip is a recording made by the radiologist at the time of reading the exam, which summarizes the results of the study).The availability of exams and virtual results via web-based connectivity is perceived to result in increase referrals by 58% of respondents. Web log audit trails are analyzed to evaluate the use of the system by referring physicians. The gross number of cases retrieved over the web for a two-week period is assessed. The number of times a voice clip was played is also evaluated. The results overall show a very positive experience with web connectivity to PACS.

MIRO: A debugging tool for CLIPS incorporating historical Rete networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tuttle, Sharon M.; Eick, Christoph F.

1994-01-01

At the last CLIPS conference, we discussed our ideas for adding a temporal dimension to the Rete network used to implement CLIPS. The resulting historical Rete network could then be used to store 'historical' information about a run of a CLIPS program, to aid in debugging. MIRO, a debugging tool for CLIPS built on top of CLIPS, incorporates such a historical Rete network and uses it to support its prototype question-answering capability. By enabling CLIPS users to directly ask debugging-related questions about the history of a program run, we hope to reduce the amount of single-stepping and program tracing required to debug a CLIPS program. In this paper, we briefly describe MIRO's architecture and implementation, and the current question-types that MIRO supports. These question-types are further illustrated using an example, and the benefits of the debugging tool are discussed. We also present empirical results that measure the run-time and partial storage overhead of MIRO, and discuss how MIRO may also be used to study various efficiency aspects of CLIPS programs.

Functional outcome of microsurgical clipping compared to endovascular coiling.

PubMed

Premananda, R M; Ramesh, N; Hillol, K P

2012-12-01

Endovascular coiling has been used increasingly as an alternative to neurosurgical clipping for treating subarachnoid hemorrhage secondary to aneurysm rupture. In a retrospective cohort review on the treatment methods of aneurysm rupture in Hospital Kuala Lumpur over the period of five years (2005-2009) a total of 268 patients were treated. These patients were broadly categorized into two groups based on their treatment mode for ruptured aneurysms. Statistical analysis was determined using Chi- Square tests to study these associations. In our study, 67.5% of patients presented with Good World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) grade (WFNS1-2) while 32.5% patients presented with Poor WFNS prior to intervention. In our outcome, it was noted that 60.4% had good functional outcome (mRS grade 0-2) as compared to 39.6% patients who had poor mRS(modified rankin scale) outcome (mRS 3-6). In the good WFNS group, 76% of patients in clipping group had a good mRS outcome while, 86.5% patients in coiling group had good mRS outcome (p=0.114). In poor WFNS presentation, it was noted that in 77.3% patients in clipping group, had poor mRS outcome. Similarly with poor WFNS presentation, 83.3% of patient in coiling group had poor outcome. (p=1.00). Hence when we control the WFNS group, there was no significant association between treatment group (clipping and coiling) and mRS outcome at 6 months. The outcome of patient is determined by initial clinical presentation (WFNS grade) and influenced by requirement of Extraventricular drain (EVD) in presence of hydrocephalus, CSF infection and pneumonia. Therefore the decision regarding treatment option needs to be individualized based on the presentation of the patient.

ISLE: Intelligent Selection of Loop Electronics. A CLIPS/C++/INGRES integrated application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischer, Lynn; Cary, Judson; Currie, Andrew

1990-01-01

The Intelligent Selection of Loop Electronics (ISLE) system is an integrated knowledge-based system that is used to configure, evaluate, and rank possible network carrier equipment known as Digital Loop Carrier (DLC), which will be used to meet the demands of forecasted telephone services. Determining the best carrier systems and carrier architectures, while minimizing the cost, meeting corporate policies and addressing area service demands, has become a formidable task. Network planners and engineers use the ISLE system to assist them in this task of selecting and configuring the appropriate loop electronics equipment for future telephone services. The ISLE application is an integrated system consisting of a knowledge base, implemented in CLIPS (a planner application), C++, and an object database created from existing INGRES database information. The embedibility, performance, and portability of CLIPS provided us with a tool with which to capture, clarify, and refine corporate knowledge and distribute this knowledge within a larger functional system to network planners and engineers throughout U S WEST.

Assessing physician leadership styles: application of the situational leadership model to transitions in patient acuity.

PubMed

Skog, Alexander; Peyre, Sarah E; Pozner, Charles N; Thorndike, Mary; Hicks, Gloria; Dellaripa, Paul F

2012-01-01

The situational leadership model suggests that an effective leader adapts leadership style depending on the followers' level of competency. We assessed the applicability and reliability of the situational leadership model when observing residents in simulated hospital floor-based scenarios. Resident teams engaged in clinical simulated scenarios. Video recordings were divided into clips based on Emergency Severity Index v4 acuity scores. Situational leadership styles were identified in clips by two physicians. Interrater reliability was determined through descriptive statistical data analysis. There were 114 participants recorded in 20 sessions, and 109 clips were reviewed and scored. There was a high level of interrater reliability (weighted kappa r = .81) supporting situational leadership model's applicability to medical teams. A suggestive correlation was found between frequency of changes in leadership style and the ability to effectively lead a medical team. The situational leadership model represents a unique tool to assess medical leadership performance in the context of acuity changes.

The disappearing clip: an unusual complication in MRI biopsy

PubMed Central

Bourke, Anita Geraldine; Peter, Prasant; Jose, Chaitra Lesli

2014-01-01

MRI-guided biopsies are being increasingly used for otherwise occult breast lesions. Clip migration has been reported however, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no documented cases of entire disappearance of a marker clip. Absence of the postbiopsy marker clip was noted when our patient returned for preoperative hook-wire localisation even though accurate clip placement had been confirmed on the post-MRI biopsy mammogram. PMID:25139917

Using film clips to enhance nursing education.

PubMed

Herrman, Judith W

2006-01-01

Film clips in nursing education provide a unique way to promote active learning. Several methods for using film clips and combining them with other teaching strategies are discussed. Suggestions for the use of popular clips, logistical aspects of showing clips in class, and legal issues associated with copyright are addressed. Faculty are encouraged to use this strategy to evoke emotional responses, generate discussion, enhance clinical decision making, and provide vicarious learning.

Comparison of Intraoperative Indocyanine Green Angiography and Digital Subtraction Angiography for Clipping of Intracranial Aneurysms

PubMed Central

Doss, Vinodh T.; Goyal, Nitin; Humphries, William; Hoit, Dan; Arthur, Adam; Elijovich, Lucas

2015-01-01

Background Residual aneurysm after microsurgical clipping carries a risk of aneurysm growth and rupture. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) remains the standard to determine the adequacy of clipping. Intraoperative indocyanine green (ICG) angiography is increasingly utilized to confirm optimal clip positioning across the neck and to evaluate the adjacent vasculature. Objective We evaluated the correlation between ICG and DSA in clipped intracranial aneurysms. Methods A retrospective study of patients who underwent craniotomy and microsurgical clipping of intracranial aneurysms with ICG for 2 years. Patient characteristics, presentation details, operative reports, and pre- and postclipping angiographic images were reviewed to determine the adequacy of the clipping. Results Forty-seven patients underwent clipping with ICG and postoperative DSA: 57 aneurysms were clipped; 23 patients (48.9%) presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Nine aneurysms demonstrated a residual on DSA not identified on ICG (residual sizes ranged from 0.5 to 4.3 mm; average size: 1.8 mm). Postoperative DSA demonstrated no branch occlusions. Conclusion Intraoperative ICG is useful in the clipping of intracranial aneurysms to ensure a gross patency of branch vessels; however, the presence of residual aneurysms and subtle changes in flow in branch vessels is best seen by DSA. This has important clinical implications with regard to follow-up imaging and surgical/endovascular management. PMID:26279659

Domain specific effects of postnatal toenail methylmercury exposure on child behaviour.

PubMed

Karatela, Shamshad; Paterson, Janis; Ward, Neil I

2017-05-01

Very little is known about the relationship between postnatal methylmercury concentrations (via toenails as bioindicator) and behavioural characteristics of Pacific Island children living in New Zealand. The aim of this study was to explore the association between total mercury exposure and different domains of behavioural problems in Pacific children. A sample of nine-year-old Pacific Island children resident in Auckland, New Zealand participated in this study. Total mercury was determined in biological samples (toenail clippings) on behavioural problems as identified by mothers (using the child behaviour checklist). Specific behavioural domains, particularly aggression, rule breaking, attention and social problems were studied in relation to mercury exposure using toenails. The determination of mercury concentration in toenail clippings, after acid digestion was carried out using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The observational study was conducted between July 2010 and July 2011 in which 278 eligible nine-year-old Pacific Island children were enrolled (Girls n=58%; boys n=42%). showed that 21% of the children had total toenail mercury concentrations (1.5μg/g to 6μg/g) higher than the United State Environmental Protection Agency recommended levels (RfD; 1μg/g Hg) for optimal health in children. Aggressive behaviour was associated with total toenail mercury exposure after adjusting for gender, ethnicity and income levels (OR: 2.15 95% CI 1.45, 3.18 p-value <0.05; OR 1.38 95% CI 0.83, 1.2 p value <0.05, respectively). Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of total toenail mercury concentrations for Pacific people in New Zealand using toenail clippings as biomarkers in terms of associations with child behavioural problems. Mercury in toenails demonstrated a moderate association with a specific behavioural domain - aggressive behaviour. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

SU-E-J-64: Feasibility Study of Surgical Clips for Fiducial Tracking in CyberKnife System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, H; Yoon, J; Lee, E

Purpose: To investigate the ability of CyberKnife to track surgical clips used as fiducial markers. Methods: The Octavius 1000SRS detector and solid water (RW3) slab phantom were used with motion platform to evaluate the study. The RW3 slab phantom was set up to measure the dose distribution from coronal plane. It consists of 9 plates and the thickness of each plate is 10mm. Among them, one plate was attached with 3 surgical clips, which are orthogonally positioned on outer region of array. The length of attached clip was represented as 1cm on planning CT. The clip plate was placed onmore » the 1000SRS detector and 3 slabs were stacked up on the plate to build the measuring depth. Below the detector, 5 slabs were set. The two-axis motion platform was programmed with 1D sinusoidal movement (20mm peak-to-peak, 3s period) toward superior/inferior and left/right directions to simulate target motion. During delivery, two clips were extracted by two X-ray imagers, which led to translational error correction only. Synchrony was also used for dynamic tracking. After the irradiation, the measured dose distribution of coronal plane was compared with the planar dose distribution calculated by the CyberKnife treatment planning system (Multiplan) for cross verification. The results were assessed by comparing the absolute Gamma (γ) index. Results: The dose distributions measured by the 1000SRS detector were in good agreements with those calculated by Multiplan. In the dosimetric comparison using γ-function criteria based on the distance-to-agreement of 3mm and the local dose difference of 3%, the passing rate with γ- parameter ≤1 was 91% in coronal plane. Conclusion: The surgical clips can be considered as new fiducials for robotic radiosurgery delivery by considering the target margin with less than 5mm.« less

Development of new devices for detection of gastric cancer on laparoscopic surgery using near-infrared light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inada, Shunko A.; Fuchi, Shingo; Mori, Kensaku; Hasegawa, Junichi; Misawa, Kazunari; Nakanishi, Hayao

2015-03-01

In recent year, for the treatment of gastric cancer the laparoscopic surgery is performed, which has good benefits, such as low-burden, low-invasive and the efficacy is equivalent to the open surgery. For identify location of the tumor intraperitoneally for extirpation of the gastric cancer, several points of charcoal ink is injected around the primary tumor. However, in the time of laparoscopic operation, it is difficult to estimate specific site of primary tumor, because the injected charcoal ink diffusely spread to the area distant from the tumor in the stomach. Therefore, a broad area should be resected which results in a great stress for the patients. To overcome this problem, we focused in the near-infrared wavelength of 1000nm band which have high biological transmission. In this study, we developed a fluorescent clip which was realized with glass phosphor (Yb3+, Nd3+ doped to Bi2O3-B2O3 based glasses. λp: 976 nm, FWHM: 100 nm, size: 2x1x3 mm) and the laparoscopic fluorescent detection system for clip-derived near-infrared light. To evaluate clinical performance of a fluorescent clip and the laparoscopic fluorescent detection system, we used resected stomach (thickness: 13 mm) from the patients. Fluorescent clip was fixed on the gastric mucosa, and an excitation light (λ: 808 nm) was irradiated from outside of stomach for detection of fluorescence through stomach wall. As a result, fluorescence emission from the clip was successfully detected. Furthermore, we confirmed that detection sensitivity of the emission of fluorescence from the clip depends on the output power of the excitation light. We conformed that the fluorescent clip in combination with laparoscopic fluorescent detection system is very useful method to identify the exact location of the primary gastric cancer.

Sex Differences in Emotional Evaluation of Film Clips: Interaction with Five High Arousal Emotional Categories.

PubMed

Maffei, Antonio; Vencato, Valentina; Angrilli, Alessandro

2015-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate gender differences in the emotional evaluation of 18 film clips divided into six categories: Erotic, Scenery, Neutral, Sadness, Compassion, and Fear. 41 female and 40 male students rated all clips for valence-pleasantness, arousal, level of elicited distress, anxiety, jittery feelings, excitation, and embarrassment. Analysis of positive films revealed higher levels of arousal, pleasantness, and excitation to the Scenery clips in both genders, but lower pleasantness and greater embarrassment in women compared to men to Erotic clips. Concerning unpleasant stimuli, unlike men, women reported more unpleasantness to the Compassion, Sadness, and Fear compared to the Neutral clips and rated them also as more arousing than did men. They further differentiated the films by perceiving greater arousal to Fear than to Compassion clips. Women rated the Sadness and Fear clips with greater Distress and Jittery feelings than men did. Correlation analysis between arousal and the other emotional scales revealed that, although men looked less aroused than women to all unpleasant clips, they also showed a larger variance in their emotional responses as indicated by the high number of correlations and their relatively greater extent, an outcome pointing to a masked larger sensitivity of part of male sample to emotional clips. We propose a new perspective in which gender difference in emotional responses can be better evidenced by means of film clips selected and clustered in more homogeneous categories, controlled for arousal levels, as well as evaluated through a number of emotion focused adjectives.

Performance Evaluation and Community Application of Low-Cost Sensors for Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide

PubMed Central

Duvall, Rachelle M.; Long, Russell W.; Beaver, Melinda R.; Kronmiller, Keith G.; Wheeler, Michael L.; Szykman, James J.

2016-01-01

This study reports on the performance of electrochemical-based low-cost sensors and their use in a community application. CairClip sensors were collocated with federal reference and equivalent methods and operated in a network of sites by citizen scientists (community members) in Houston, Texas and Denver, Colorado, under the umbrella of the NASA-led DISCOVER-AQ Earth Venture Mission. Measurements were focused on ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The performance evaluation showed that the CairClip O3/NO2 sensor provided a consistent measurement response to that of reference monitors (r2 = 0.79 in Houston; r2 = 0.72 in Denver) whereas the CairClip NO2 sensor measurements showed no agreement to reference measurements. The CairClip O3/NO2 sensor data from the citizen science sites compared favorably to measurements at nearby reference monitoring sites. This study provides important information on data quality from low-cost sensor technologies and is one of few studies that reports sensor data collected directly by citizen scientists. PMID:27754370

A Rare Case of Foreign Body Causing Recurrent Vaginal Discharge in Prepubertal Child

PubMed Central

Gobbur, Raghavendra.H.; Patil, Ashwini.G; Endigeri, Preetish

2015-01-01

Vaginal discharge in prepubertal children is mainly due to hypoestrogenic state of vaginal mucosa making it thin and alkaline leading to mucosal invasion by pathogen. In a paediatric case with persistent foul smelling , blood stained vaginal discharge not responding to medical therapy, vaginal foreign body should always be ruled out. Here, we report a 3 -year -old girl with complaint of recurrent vaginal discharge occasionally blood stained not relieved despite few antibiotics courses. On X -ray pelvis, a radioopaque foreign body hair clip was seen. Under sedation foreign body was removed by forceps following which child became asymptomatic. PMID:25738041

CLIPS: A proposal for improved usability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patton, Charles R.

1990-01-01

This paper proposes the enhancement of the CLIPS user interface to improve the over-all usability of the CLIPS development environment. It suggests some directions for the long term growth of the user interface, and discusses some specific strengths and weaknesses of the current CLIPS PC user interface. Every user of CLIPS shares a common experience: his/her first interaction with the system itself. As with any new language, between the process of installing CLIPS on the appropriate computer and the completion of a large application, an intensive learning process takes place. For those with extensive programming knowledge and LISP backgrounds, this experience may have been mostly interesting and pleasant. Being familiar with products that are similar to CLIPS in many ways, these users enjoy a relatively short training period with the product. Already familiar with many of the functions they wish to employ, experienced users are free to focus on the capabilities of CLIPS that make it uniquely useful within their working environment.

Real-time detection system for tumor localization during minimally invasive surgery for gastric and colon cancer removal: In vivo feasibility study in a swine model.

PubMed

Choi, Won Jung; Moon, Jin-Hee; Min, Jae Seok; Song, Yong Keun; Lee, Seung A; Ahn, Jin Woo; Lee, Sang Hun; Jung, Ha Chul

2018-03-01

During minimally invasive surgery (MIS), it is impossible to directly detect marked clips around tumors via palpation. Therefore, we developed a novel method and device using Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technology to detect the position of clips during minimally invasive gastrectomy or colectomy. The feasibility of the RFID-based detection system was evaluated in an animal experiment consisting of seven swine. The primary outcome was to successfully detect the location of RFID clips in the stomach and colon. The secondary outcome measures were to detect time (time during the intracorporeal detection of the RFID clip), and accuracy (distance between the RFID clip and the detected site). A total of 25 detection attempts (14 in the stomach and 11 in the colon) using the RFID antenna had a 100% success rate. The median detection time was 32.5 s (range, 15-119 s) for the stomach and 28.0 s (range, 8-87 s) for the colon. The median detection distance was 6.5 mm (range, 4-18 mm) for the stomach and 6.0 mm (range, 3-13 mm) for the colon. We demonstrated favorable results for a RFID system that detects the position of gastric and colon tumors in real-time during MIS. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Seismic signals hard clipping overcoming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olszowa, Paula; Sokolowski, Jakub

2018-01-01

In signal processing the clipping is understand as the phenomenon of limiting the signal beyond certain threshold. It is often related to overloading of a sensor. Two particular types of clipping are being recognized: soft and hard. Beyond the limiting value soft clipping reduces the signal real gain while the hard clipping stiffly sets the signal values at the limit. In both cases certain amount of signal information is lost. Obviously if one possess the model which describes the considered signal and the threshold value (which might be slightly more difficult to obtain in the soft clipping case), the attempt of restoring the signal can be made. Commonly it is assumed that the seismic signals take form of an impulse response of some specific system. This may lead to belief that the sine wave may be the most appropriate to fit in the clipping period. However, this should be tested. In this paper the possibility of overcoming the hard clipping in seismic signals originating from a geoseismic station belonging to an underground mine is considered. A set of raw signals will be hard-clipped manually and then couple different functions will be fitted and compared in terms of least squares. The results will be then analysed.

76 FR 26242 - Paper Clips From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Expedited Sunset Review of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-06

... order are plastic and vinyl covered paper clips, butterfly clips, binder clips, or other paper fasteners... order is revoked. Parties can obtain a public copy of the I&D Memo from the Central Records Unit, room...

Annual Removal of Aboveground Plant Biomass Alters Soil Microbial Responses to Warming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xue, Kai; Yuan, Mengting M.; Xie, Jianping

Clipping (i.e., harvesting aboveground plant biomass) is common in agriculture and for bioenergy production. However, microbial responses to clipping in the context of climate warming are poorly understood. We investigated the interactive effects of grassland warming and clipping on soil properties and plant and microbial communities, in particular, on microbial functional genes. Clipping alone did not change the plant biomass production, but warming and clipping combined increased the C4 peak biomass by 47% and belowground net primary production by 110%. Clipping alone and in combination with warming decreased the soil carbon input from litter by 81% and 75%, respectively. Withmore » less carbon input, the abundances of genes involved in degrading relatively recalcitrant carbon increased by 38% to 137% in response to either clipping or the combined treatment, which could weaken long-term soil carbon stability and trigger positive feedback with respect to warming. Clipping alone also increased the abundance of genes for nitrogen fixation, mineralization, and denitrification by 32% to 39%. Such potentially stimulated nitrogen fixation could help compensate for the 20% decline in soil ammonium levels caused by clipping alone and could contribute to unchanged plant biomass levels. Moreover, clipping tended to interact antagonistically with warming, especially with respect to effects on nitrogen cycling genes, demonstrating that single-factor studies cannot predict multifactorial changes. These results revealed that clipping alone or in combination with warming altered soil and plant properties as well as the abundance and structure of soil microbial functional genes. Aboveground biomass removal for biofuel production needs to be reconsidered, as the long-term soil carbon stability may be weakened. IMPORTANCE Global change involves simultaneous alterations, including those caused by climate warming and land management practices (e.g., clipping). Data on the interactive effects of warming and clipping on ecosystems remain elusive, particularly in microbial ecology. This study found that clipping alters microbial responses to warming and demonstrated the effects of antagonistic interactions between clipping and warming on microbial functional genes. Clipping alone or combined with warming enriched genes degrading relatively recalcitrant carbon, likely reflecting the decreased quantity of soil carbon input from litter, which could weaken long-term soil C stability and trigger positive warming feedback. These results have important implications in assessing and predicting the consequences of global climate change and indicate that the removal of aboveground biomass for biofuel production may need to be reconsidered.« less

Annual Removal of Aboveground Plant Biomass Alters Soil Microbial Responses to Warming

DOE PAGES

Xue, Kai; Yuan, Mengting M.; Xie, Jianping; ...

2016-09-27

Clipping (i.e., harvesting aboveground plant biomass) is common in agriculture and for bioenergy production. However, microbial responses to clipping in the context of climate warming are poorly understood. We investigated the interactive effects of grassland warming and clipping on soil properties and plant and microbial communities, in particular, on microbial functional genes. Clipping alone did not change the plant biomass production, but warming and clipping combined increased the C4 peak biomass by 47% and belowground net primary production by 110%. Clipping alone and in combination with warming decreased the soil carbon input from litter by 81% and 75%, respectively. Withmore » less carbon input, the abundances of genes involved in degrading relatively recalcitrant carbon increased by 38% to 137% in response to either clipping or the combined treatment, which could weaken long-term soil carbon stability and trigger positive feedback with respect to warming. Clipping alone also increased the abundance of genes for nitrogen fixation, mineralization, and denitrification by 32% to 39%. Such potentially stimulated nitrogen fixation could help compensate for the 20% decline in soil ammonium levels caused by clipping alone and could contribute to unchanged plant biomass levels. Moreover, clipping tended to interact antagonistically with warming, especially with respect to effects on nitrogen cycling genes, demonstrating that single-factor studies cannot predict multifactorial changes. These results revealed that clipping alone or in combination with warming altered soil and plant properties as well as the abundance and structure of soil microbial functional genes. Aboveground biomass removal for biofuel production needs to be reconsidered, as the long-term soil carbon stability may be weakened. IMPORTANCE Global change involves simultaneous alterations, including those caused by climate warming and land management practices (e.g., clipping). Data on the interactive effects of warming and clipping on ecosystems remain elusive, particularly in microbial ecology. This study found that clipping alters microbial responses to warming and demonstrated the effects of antagonistic interactions between clipping and warming on microbial functional genes. Clipping alone or combined with warming enriched genes degrading relatively recalcitrant carbon, likely reflecting the decreased quantity of soil carbon input from litter, which could weaken long-term soil C stability and trigger positive warming feedback. These results have important implications in assessing and predicting the consequences of global climate change and indicate that the removal of aboveground biomass for biofuel production may need to be reconsidered.« less

Neural correlates of emotional regulation while viewing films.

PubMed

Shimamura, Arthur P; Marian, Diane E; Haskins, Andrew L

2013-03-01

Negative and arousal-inducing film clips were used to assess the neural correlates of emotional expression and suppression. Compared to viewing neutral clips, both negative (disgusting) and arousal (action) clips activated primarily posterior regions in the parietal and occipital cortex when participants were instructed to express their emotions. When instructed to suppress their emotions while viewing negative clips, a broad frontoparietal network was activated that included lateral, medial, and orbital regions in the prefrontal cortex as well as lateral and medial regions of the posterior parietal cortex. The suppression of arousal clips also activated prefrontal and parietal regions, though not to the same extent as the suppression of negative clips. The findings demonstrate the potency of using movies to engage emotional processes and highlight a broad frontoparietal network that is engaged during the suppression of negative film clips.

IDENTIFICATION BADGE WITH DETACHABLE CLIP

DOEpatents

Burns, M.T.

1962-09-18

The clip has a long slot with a round enlarged end, flat on one side. The badge has a headed member that is circular except for a flat side. The badge is connected to, or disconnected from, the clip by insertion of the headed member through the enlarged end of the slot in the clip. The badge is unlikely to be accidentally disconnected from the clip while being worn on a worker's clothing, because the weight of the badge keeps the headed member away from the enlarged end of the slot in the clip, and the headed member can pass through the enlarged end of the slot only at one relative angular position between badge and clip, namely, that angle at which the flat side of the headed member is coincident with the flat side of the enlarged end of the slot. (AEC)

Sex Differences in Emotional Evaluation of Film Clips: Interaction with Five High Arousal Emotional Categories

PubMed Central

Maffei, Antonio; Vencato, Valentina; Angrilli, Alessandro

2015-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate gender differences in the emotional evaluation of 18 film clips divided into six categories: Erotic, Scenery, Neutral, Sadness, Compassion, and Fear. 41 female and 40 male students rated all clips for valence-pleasantness, arousal, level of elicited distress, anxiety, jittery feelings, excitation, and embarrassment. Analysis of positive films revealed higher levels of arousal, pleasantness, and excitation to the Scenery clips in both genders, but lower pleasantness and greater embarrassment in women compared to men to Erotic clips. Concerning unpleasant stimuli, unlike men, women reported more unpleasantness to the Compassion, Sadness, and Fear compared to the Neutral clips and rated them also as more arousing than did men. They further differentiated the films by perceiving greater arousal to Fear than to Compassion clips. Women rated the Sadness and Fear clips with greater Distress and Jittery feelings than men did. Correlation analysis between arousal and the other emotional scales revealed that, although men looked less aroused than women to all unpleasant clips, they also showed a larger variance in their emotional responses as indicated by the high number of correlations and their relatively greater extent, an outcome pointing to a masked larger sensitivity of part of male sample to emotional clips. We propose a new perspective in which gender difference in emotional responses can be better evidenced by means of film clips selected and clustered in more homogeneous categories, controlled for arousal levels, as well as evaluated through a number of emotion focused adjectives. PMID:26717488

An SQL query generator for CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snyder, James; Chirica, Laurian

1990-01-01

As expert systems become more widely used, their access to large amounts of external information becomes increasingly important. This information exists in several forms such as statistical, tabular data, knowledge gained by experts and large databases of information maintained by companies. Because many expert systems, including CLIPS, do not provide access to this external information, much of the usefulness of expert systems is left untapped. The scope of this paper is to describe a database extension for the CLIPS expert system shell. The current industry standard database language is SQL. Due to SQL standardization, large amounts of information stored on various computers, potentially at different locations, will be more easily accessible. Expert systems should be able to directly access these existing databases rather than requiring information to be re-entered into the expert system environment. The ORACLE relational database management system (RDBMS) was used to provide a database connection within the CLIPS environment. To facilitate relational database access a query generation system was developed as a CLIPS user function. The queries are entered in a CLlPS-like syntax and are passed to the query generator, which constructs and submits for execution, an SQL query to the ORACLE RDBMS. The query results are asserted as CLIPS facts. The query generator was developed primarily for use within the ICADS project (Intelligent Computer Aided Design System) currently being developed by the CAD Research Unit in the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). In ICADS, there are several parallel or distributed expert systems accessing a common knowledge base of facts. Expert system has a narrow domain of interest and therefore needs only certain portions of the information. The query generator provides a common method of accessing this information and allows the expert system to specify what data is needed without specifying how to retrieve it.

21 CFR 882.4215 - Clip rack.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Clip rack. 882.4215 Section 882.4215 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4215 Clip rack. (a) Identification. A clip rack is a...

21 CFR 882.4150 - Scalp clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Scalp clip. 882.4150 Section 882.4150 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4150 Scalp clip. (a) Identification. A scalp clip is a...

21 CFR 882.4150 - Scalp clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Scalp clip. 882.4150 Section 882.4150 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4150 Scalp clip. (a) Identification. A scalp clip is a...

21 CFR 886.1410 - Ophthalmic trial lens clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Ophthalmic trial lens clip. 886.1410 Section 886...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1410 Ophthalmic trial lens clip. (a) Identification. An ophthalmic trial lens clip is a device intended to hold prisms, spheres, cylinders, or...

21 CFR 882.4215 - Clip rack.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Clip rack. 882.4215 Section 882.4215 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4215 Clip rack. (a) Identification. A clip rack is a...

21 CFR 882.4175 - Aneurysm clip applier.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Aneurysm clip applier. 882.4175 Section 882.4175...) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4175 Aneurysm clip applier. (a) Identification. An aneurysm clip applier is a device used by the surgeon for holding and applying intracranial...

21 CFR 882.5200 - Aneurysm clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Aneurysm clip. 882.5200 Section 882.5200 Food and... NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Therapeutic Devices § 882.5200 Aneurysm clip. (a) Identification. An aneurysm clip is a device used to occlude an intracranial aneurysm (a balloonlike sac formed on a blood vessel...

21 CFR 882.4175 - Aneurysm clip applier.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Aneurysm clip applier. 882.4175 Section 882.4175...) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4175 Aneurysm clip applier. (a) Identification. An aneurysm clip applier is a device used by the surgeon for holding and applying intracranial...

21 CFR 882.5200 - Aneurysm clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Aneurysm clip. 882.5200 Section 882.5200 Food and... NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Therapeutic Devices § 882.5200 Aneurysm clip. (a) Identification. An aneurysm clip is a device used to occlude an intracranial aneurysm (a balloonlike sac formed on a blood vessel...

21 CFR 882.5200 - Aneurysm clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Aneurysm clip. 882.5200 Section 882.5200 Food and... NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Therapeutic Devices § 882.5200 Aneurysm clip. (a) Identification. An aneurysm clip is a device used to occlude an intracranial aneurysm (a balloonlike sac formed on a blood vessel...

21 CFR 882.4175 - Aneurysm clip applier.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Aneurysm clip applier. 882.4175 Section 882.4175...) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4175 Aneurysm clip applier. (a) Identification. An aneurysm clip applier is a device used by the surgeon for holding and applying intracranial...

Reliability of smartphone-based teleradiology for evaluating thoracolumbar spine fractures.

PubMed

Stahl, Ido; Dreyfuss, Daniel; Ofir, Dror; Merom, Lior; Raichel, Michael; Hous, Nir; Norman, Doron; Haddad, Elias

2017-02-01

Timely interpretation of computed tomography (CT) scans is of paramount importance in diagnosing and managing spinal column fractures, which can be devastating. Out-of-hospital, on-call spine surgeons are often asked to evaluate CT scans of patients who have sustained trauma to the thoracolumbar spine to make diagnosis and to determine the appropriate course of urgent treatment. Capturing radiographic scans and video clips from computer screens and sending them as instant messages have become common means of communication between physicians, aiding in triaging and transfer decision-making in orthopedic and neurosurgical emergencies. The present study aimed to compare the reliability of interpreting CT scans viewed by orthopedic surgeons in two ways for diagnosing, classifying, and treatment planning for thoracolumbar spine fractures: (1) captured as video clips from standard workstation-based picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and sent via a smartphone-based instant messaging application for viewing on a smartphone; and (2) viewed directly on a PACS. Reliability and agreement study. Thirty adults with thoracolumbar spine fractures who had been consecutively admitted to the Division of Orthopedic Surgery of a Level I trauma center during 2014. Intraobserver agreement. CT scans were captured by use of an iPhone 6 smartphone from a computer screen displaying PACS. Then by use of the WhatsApp instant messaging application, video clips of the scans were sent to the personal smartphones of five spine surgeons. These evaluators were asked to diagnose, classify, and determine the course of treatment for each case. Evaluation of the cases was repeated 4 weeks later, this time using the standard method of workstation-based PACS. Intraobserver agreement was interpreted based on the value of Cohen's kappa statistic. The study did not receive any outside funding. Intraobserver agreement for determining fracture level was near perfect (κ=0.94). Intraobserver agreement for AO classification, proposed treatment, neural canal penetration, and Denis classification were substantial (κ values, 0.75, 0.73, 0.71, and 0.69, respectively). Intraobserver agreement for loss of vertebral height and kyphosis were moderate (κ values, 0.55 and 0.45, respectively) CONCLUSIONS: Video clips of CT scans can be readily captured by a smartphone from a workstation-based PACS and then transmitted by use of the WhatsApp instant messaging application. Diagnosing, classifying, and proposing treatment of fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine can be made with equal reliability by evaluating video clips of CT scans transmitted to a smartphone or by the standard method of viewing the CT scan on a workstation-based PACS. Evaluating video clips of CT scans transmitted to a smartphone is a readily accessible, simple, and inexpensive method. We believe that it can be reliably used for consultations between the emergency physicians or orthopedic or neurosurgical residents with offsite, on-call specialists. It might also enable rural orcommunity emergency department physicians to communicate more efficiently and effectively with surgeons in tertiary referral centers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Extravasal occlusion of large vessels with titanic clips: efficiency, indications, and contraindications.

PubMed

Vasilenko, Yu V; Kim, A I; Kotov, S A

2002-11-01

The mechanism of extravasal occlusion of blood vessels with titanic clips "Atrauclip" and "Ligaclip extra" was studied in order to reveal indications and contraindications to their use. Occlusion with the clips of both types was ineffective in vessels with a diameter of >7.0 mm. Arteritis or the presence of an intravascular occlusion facility in the vessel were also the contraindications for clip occlusion. In overcases the procedure of occlusion with titanic clips was efficient and atraumatic.

Influences of emotion on context memory while viewing film clips.

PubMed

Anderson, Lisa; Shimamura, Arthur P

2005-01-01

Participants listened to words while viewing film clips (audio off). Film clips were classified as neutral, positively valenced, negatively valenced, and arousing. Memory was assessed in three ways: recall of film content, recall of words, and context recognition. In the context recognition test, participants were presented a word and determined which film clip was showing when the word was originally presented. In two experiments, context memory performance was disrupted when words were presented during negatively valenced film clips, whereas it was enhanced when words were presented during arousing film clips. Free recall of words presented during the negatively valenced films was also disrupted. These findings suggest multiple influences of emotion on memory performance.

Tricuspid Clip: Step-by-Step and Clinical Data.

PubMed

Tang, Gilbert H L

2018-01-01

Symptomatic severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR), if untreated, carries a dismal prognosis. These patients are at very high risk for surgical repair or replacement and transcatheter options to treat TR are emerging. More than 300 transcatheter tricuspid repairs with the MitraClip system have been performed worldwide with promising results. The TriClip system, with the MitraClip NT delivered via a dedicated tricuspid steerable guide catheter, is currently under investigation. This article describes the step-by-step technique on using the MitraClip system to perform transcatheter tricuspid repair using echocardiographic and fluoroscopic guidance. The latest data on worldwide experience with tricuspid clipping are also discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tropical Cyclone Report: Joint Typhoon Warning Center Guam, Mariana Islands, 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

provided by the weather unit supporting synoptic time plus three hours (0300Z, 0900Z, the 15th Air Base Wing , Hickam AFB, Hawaii. 1500Z and 2100Z). By...DYNAMIC 5.2.3.1 CLIMATOLOGY AND PERSISTENCE 5.2.4.1 NOGAPS VORTEX TRACKING ( CLIP ) - A statistical regression technique that ROUTINE (NGPS) - This...forecast skill of other in the expected vicinity of the storm is more sophisticated techniques. CLIP in the conducted every six hours through 72 hours

21 CFR 884.2685 - Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Monitoring Devices § 884.2685 Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. (a) Identification. A fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator is a device designed to establish electrical contact between fetal skin... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. 884...

21 CFR 884.2685 - Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Monitoring Devices § 884.2685 Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. (a) Identification. A fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator is a device designed to establish electrical contact between fetal skin... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. 884...

21 CFR 884.2685 - Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... Monitoring Devices § 884.2685 Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. (a) Identification. A fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator is a device designed to establish electrical contact between fetal skin... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. 884...

21 CFR 884.2685 - Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Monitoring Devices § 884.2685 Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. (a) Identification. A fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator is a device designed to establish electrical contact between fetal skin... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. 884...

21 CFR 884.2685 - Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Monitoring Devices § 884.2685 Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. (a) Identification. A fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator is a device designed to establish electrical contact between fetal skin... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fetal scalp clip electrode and applicator. 884...

The Effects of Multimodality through Storytelling Using Various Movie Clips

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, SoHee

2016-01-01

This study examines the salient multimodal approaches for communicative competence and learners' reactions through storytelling tasks with three different modes: a silent movie clip, a movie clip with only sound effects, and a movie clip with sound effects and dialogue. In order to measure different multimodal effects and to define better delivery…

Structural changes in the human vas deferens after tantalum clip occlusion and conventional vasectomy.

PubMed

Kothari, L K; Gupta, A S

1978-02-01

In 15 human subjects, the vasa deferentia were occluded by applying two tantalum clips on one side and by conventional vasectomy with silk ligatures on the other. After 2 weeks, the occluded segments were recovered for histopathologic examination of serial sections. Obstructing the seminal tract did not, as such, produce any significant change in the vas: the distal and proximal segments appeared to be essentially similar and normal. At the actual site of occlusion, however, tantalum clips produced marked flattening of the tube, complete loss of lining epithelium, distortion of the muscular lamellae, and areas of hemorrhage. The lumen was converted into a narrow slit. Under the ligatures, the damage was largely confined to denudation of the mucosal epithelium. The mucosa of the intersegment left unexcised between two clips showed hyalinization, invasion by macrophages, and degeneration of the epithelium. The changes under the clips suggest that, although clip occlusion may offer several advantages, sterility cannot be reversed merely by removing the clips. The mechanisms of these changes, different in the case of clips and ligatures, are discussed and some possible long-term consequences are considered.

Application of Micromirror in Microsurgical Clipping to the Intracranial Aneurysms.

PubMed

Zhao, Chao; Ma, Zhiguo; Zhang, Yuhai; Mou, Shanling; Yang, Yunxue; Yang, Yonglin; Sun, Guoqing; Yao, Weicheng

2018-05-01

The aim of the study was to explore the values and disadvantages of micromirror in the intracranial aneurysm clipping surgery. Micromirror was used to assist microsurgical clipping to 36 intracranial aneurysms in 31 patients, of which 3 were carotid-ophthalmic artery aneurysms, 3 were anterior choroidal artery aneurysms, 11 were posterior communicating artery aneurysms, 7 were middle cerebral artery aneurysms, 10 were anterior communicating artery or anterior cerebral artery aneurysms, and the rest were a posterior cerebral artery aneurysm and a posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysm. The micromirror was used before and after clipping to observe the anatomic features of necks hidden behind and medial to aneurysms, to visualize surrounding neurovascular structures, and to verify the optimal clipping position. Intraoperative indocyanine green fluorescein angiography, postoperative computerized tomography angiography, and digital subtraction angiography confirmed the success of sufficient clipping. Intraoperative indocyanine green angiography, postoperative computerized tomography angiography , or digital subtraction angiography were performed and showed no case of wrong or insufficient clipping of aneurysm. Micromirror-assisted microsurgical clipping to the intracranial aneurysm is safe, sufficient, convenient, and practical.

Self-Assembly of a [1+1] Ionic Hexagonal Macrocycle and its Antiproliferative Activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Khushwant; Gangrade, Ankit; Bhowmick, Sourav; Jana, Achintya; Mandal, Biman B.; Das, Neeladri

2018-04-01

A unique irregular hexagon was self-assembled using an organic donor clip (bearing terminal pyridyl units) and a complementary organometallic acceptor clip. The resulting metallamacrocycle was characterized by multinuclear NMR, mass spectrometry, and elemental analyses. Molecular modeling confirmed hexagonal shaped cavity for this metallamacrocycle which is a unique example of a discrete hexagonal framework self-assembled from only two building blocks. Cytotoxicity of the Pt-based acceptor tecton and the self-assembled PtII-based macrocycle was evaluated using three cancer cell lines and results were compared with cisplatin. Results confirmed a positive effect of the metallamacrocycle formation on cell growth inhibition.

Urinary corticosterone responses to capture and toe-clipping in the cane toad (Rhinella marina) indicate that toe-clipping is a stressor for amphibians.

PubMed

Narayan, Edward J; Molinia, Frank C; Kindermann, Christina; Cockrem, John F; Hero, Jean-Marc

2011-11-01

Toe-clipping, the removal of one or more toes, is a common method used to individually mark free-living animals. Whilst this method is widely used in studies of amphibians, the appropriateness of the method, and its potential detrimental effects have been the subject of debate. Here, we provide for the first time, evidence that toe-clipping is a stressor in a wild amphibian. We measured urinary corticosterone responses of male cane toads (Rhinella marina) to capture and handling only, and to toe-clipping under field conditions. Urinary testosterone concentrations and white blood cell proportions were also measured. Urinary corticosterone metabolite concentrations increased 6h after capture and handling only and remained high for 24h; corticosterone returned to baseline levels after 48 h and remained low at 72 h post capture and handling. Corticosterone concentrations in toads subjected to toe-clipping increased at 6h to significantly higher concentrations than after capture and handling only, then decreased more slowly than after capture and handling, and were still elevated (approximately double basal level) 72 h after toe-clipping. Testosterone did not change significantly after capture and handling only, whereas after toe-clipping testosterone decreased at 6h and remained low at 72 h. There were weak short-term effects of toe-clipping compared with capture and handling only on white blood cell proportions. We have clearly shown that toe-clipping is a distinctly stronger stressor than capture and handling alone. This indicates that there is an ethical cost of toe-clipping, and this should be considered when planning studies of amphibians. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Image quality and artefact generation post-cerebral aneurysm clipping using a 64-row multislice computer tomography angiography (MSCTA) technology: A retrospective study and review of the literature.

PubMed

Zachenhofer, Iris; Cejna, Manfred; Schuster, Antonius; Donat, Markus; Roessler, Karl

2010-06-01

Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is a time and cost saving investigation for postoperative evaluation of clipped cerebral aneurysm patients. A retrospective study was conducted to analyse image quality and artefact generation due to implanted aneurysm clips using a new technology. MSCTA was performed pre- and postoperatively using a Philips Brilliance 64-detector-row CT scanner. Altogether, 32 clipping sites were analysed in 27 patients (11 female and 16 male, mean ages 52a, from 24 to 72 years). Clip number per aneurysm was 2.3 mean (from 1 to 4), 54 clips were made of titanium alloy and 5 of cobalt alloy. Altogether, image quality was rated 1.8 mean, using a scale from 1 (very good) to 5 (unserviceable) and clip artefacts were rated 2.4 mean, using a 5 point rating scale (1 no artefacts, 5 unserviceable due to artefacts). A significant loss of image quality and rise of artefacts was found when using cobalt alloy clips (1.4 versus 4.2 and 2.1 versus 4.0). In 72% of all investigations, an excellent image quality was found. Excluding the cobalt clip group, 85% of scans showed excellent image quality. Artefacts were absent or minimal (grade 1 or 2) in 69% of all investigations and in 81% in the pure titanium clip group. In 64-row MSCTA of good image quality with low artefacts, it was possible to detect small aneurysm remnants of 2mm size in individual patients. By using titanium alloy clips, in our study up to 85% of postoperative CTA images were of excellent quality with absent or minimal artefacts in 81% and seem adequate to detect small aneurysm remnants. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Annual Removal of Aboveground Plant Biomass Alters Soil Microbial Responses to Warming

PubMed Central

Xue, Kai; Yuan, Mengting M.; Xie, Jianping; Li, Dejun; Qin, Yujia; Wu, Liyou; Deng, Ye; He, Zhili; Van Nostrand, Joy D.; Luo, Yiqi; Tiedje, James M.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Clipping (i.e., harvesting aboveground plant biomass) is common in agriculture and for bioenergy production. However, microbial responses to clipping in the context of climate warming are poorly understood. We investigated the interactive effects of grassland warming and clipping on soil properties and plant and microbial communities, in particular, on microbial functional genes. Clipping alone did not change the plant biomass production, but warming and clipping combined increased the C4 peak biomass by 47% and belowground net primary production by 110%. Clipping alone and in combination with warming decreased the soil carbon input from litter by 81% and 75%, respectively. With less carbon input, the abundances of genes involved in degrading relatively recalcitrant carbon increased by 38% to 137% in response to either clipping or the combined treatment, which could weaken long-term soil carbon stability and trigger positive feedback with respect to warming. Clipping alone also increased the abundance of genes for nitrogen fixation, mineralization, and denitrification by 32% to 39%. Such potentially stimulated nitrogen fixation could help compensate for the 20% decline in soil ammonium levels caused by clipping alone and could contribute to unchanged plant biomass levels. Moreover, clipping tended to interact antagonistically with warming, especially with respect to effects on nitrogen cycling genes, demonstrating that single-factor studies cannot predict multifactorial changes. These results revealed that clipping alone or in combination with warming altered soil and plant properties as well as the abundance and structure of soil microbial functional genes. Aboveground biomass removal for biofuel production needs to be reconsidered, as the long-term soil carbon stability may be weakened. PMID:27677789

The effect of correct cross-chest clip use on injury outcomes in young children during motor vehicle crashes.

PubMed

Woodford, Evangeline; Brown, Julie; Bilston, Lynne E

2018-05-19

Traffic crashes have high mortality and morbidity for young children. Though many specialized child restraint systems improve injury outcomes, no large-scale studies have investigated the cross-chest clip's role during a crash, despite concerns in some jurisdictions about the potential for neck contact injuries from the clips. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between cross-chest clip use and injury outcomes in children between 0 and 4 years of age. Child passengers between 0 and 4 years of age were selected from the NASS-CDS data sets (2003-2014). Multiple regression analysis was used to model injury outcomes while controlling for age, crash severity, crash direction, and restraint type. The primary outcomes were overall Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS) 2+ injury, and the presence of any neck injury. Across all children aged 0-4 years, correct chest clip use was associated with decreased Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2+ injury (odds ratio [OR] = 0.44, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.21-0.91) and was not associated with neck injury. However, outcomes varied by age. In children <12 months old, chest clip use was associated with decreased AIS 2+ injury (OR = 0.09, 95% CI, 0.02-0.44). Neck injury (n = 7, all AIS 1) for this age group only occurred with correct cross-chest clip use. For 1- to 4-year-old children, cross-chest clip use had no association with AIS 2+ injury, and correct use significantly decreased the odds of neck injury (OR = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.27-0.87) compared to an incorrectly used or absent cross-chest clip. No serious injuries were directly caused by the chest clips. Correct cross-chest clip use appeared to reduce injury in crashes, and there was no evidence of serious clip-induced injury in children in 5-point harness restraints.

Prophylactic clipping for the prevention of bleeding following wide-field endoscopic mucosal resection of laterally spreading colorectal lesions: an economic modeling study.

PubMed

Bahin, Farzan F; Rasouli, Khalid N; Williams, Stephen J; Lee, Eric Y T; Bourke, Michael J

2016-08-01

Clinically significant bleeding (CSPEB) is the most common adverse event following endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) of large sessile and laterally spreading colorectal lesions (LSLs), and is associated with morbidity and resource utilization. CSPEB occurs more frequently with proximal LSLs. Prophylactic clipping of the post-EMR defect may be beneficial in CSPEB prevention. The aim of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of a prophylactic clipping strategy. We hypothesized that prophylactic clipping in the proximal colon was cost-effective. An economic model was applied to outcomes from the Australian Colonic Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (ACE) Study. Clip distances of 3, 5, 8, and 10 mm were analyzed. The cost of treating CSPEB was determined from an independent costing agency. The funds needed to spend (FNS) was the cost incurred in order to prevent one episode of CSPEB. A break-even analysis was performed to determine cost equivalence of the costs of clipping and CSPEB. Outcomes of 1717 LSLs (mean size 35.8 mm; 52.6 % proximal colon) that underwent EMR were analyzed. The overall rate of CSPEB was 6.4 % (proximal 8.9 %; distal 3.7 %). Endoscopic management was required in 45 % of CSPEB episodes. With a clip distance of 3 mm, the expected cost of prophylactic clipping was € 1106 per lesion compared with € 157 per lesion for the expected cost of CSPEB without clipping. At 100 % clipping efficacy, the FNS was € 14 826 (proximal and distal lesions € 9309 and € 29 540, respectively). A clip price of € 10.35 was required for the cost of clipping to offset the cost of CSPEB. A prophylactic clipping strategy is not cost-effective and at present cannot be justified for all lesions or selectively for lesions in the proximal colon. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01368289). © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Prospective, randomized comparison of 3 different hemoclips for the treatment of acute upper GI hemorrhage in an established experimental setting.

PubMed

Kato, Masayuki; Jung, Yunho; Gromski, Mark A; Chuttani, Ram; Matthes, Kai

2012-01-01

Recently, endoscopic clip application devices have undergone redesign and improvements to optimize their clinical use and effectiveness. Initially designed for the treatment of bleeding nonvariceal lesions, these devices are also increasingly used for the closure of perforations, fistulas, and anastomotic leaks. Several clinical studies, both randomized and nonrandomized, have used endoscopic hemoclips for hemostasis. However, no comparative studies have yet been reported in the literature comparing the latest endoscopic clip devices for usability and effectiveness for hemostasis of acute upper GI hemorrhage. We aimed to compare the usability and efficacy of 3 different types of endoscopic clip application devices in an established experimental setting by using a porcine ex-vivo simulator of upper GI hemorrhage. Randomized, controlled, ex-vivo study. Academic medical center. Spurting vessels were created within ex-vivo porcine stomachs as published in prior studies. The vessels were attached to a pressure transducer to record the pressure of the circulating blood replacement. Before the initiation of bleeding, each vessel was randomized to 1 of 3 endoscopic clipping devices: 2 different commonly used hemoclips deployed through the working channel and 1 novel clip deployed via an over-the-scope applications device. Two investigators treated 45 bleeding sites (15 bleeding sites for each device at various randomized locations in the stomach: fundus, body, and antrum). Usability was measured via the endpoints of procedure time and quantity of clips required to achieve hemostasis. Efficacy was measured via the endpoint of pressure increase (Δp) from baseline to after treatment. All of the 45 hemostasis treatments were carried out successfully. The mean procedure times were significantly different among the hemoclips, with the clip deployed in an over-the-scope fashion requiring significantly less time to attain hemostasis compared with the other 2 clips. For number of clips needed to attain hemostasis, the clip deployed in an over-the-scope fashion was significantly superior to the others. There were also significant differences among the changes in pressure (Δp ± SD) among the different hemoclips tested. Ex-vivo study. In this prospective, randomized ex-vivo study, we observed significant differences in the usability (time to achieve hemostasis and number of clips required) and the efficacy (change in pressure achieved by the hemoclips) among the 3 clips. The clip applied in the over-the-scope fashion was superior to the other 2 tested clips with regard to time to achieve hemostasis and number of clips required. Copyright © 2012 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Intraoperative validation of CT-based lymph nodal levels, sublevels IIa and IIb: Is it of clinical relevance in selective radiation therapy?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Levendag, Peter; Gregoire, Vincent; Hamoir, Marc

2005-07-01

Purpose: The objectives of this study are to discuss the intraoperative validation of CT-based boundaries of lymph nodal levels in the neck, and in particular the clinical relevance of the delineation of sublevels IIa and IIb in case of selective radiation therapy (RT). Methods and Materials: To validate the radiologically defined level contours, clips were positioned intraoperatively at the level boundaries defined by surgical anatomy. In 10 consecutive patients, clips were placed, at the time of a neck dissection being performed, at the most cranial border of the neck. Anterior-posterior and lateral X-ray films were obtained intraoperatively. Next, in 3more » patients, neck levels were contoured on preoperative contrast-enhanced CT scans according to the international consensus guidelines. From each of these 3 patients, an intraoperative CT scan was also obtained, with clips placed at the surgical-anatomy-based level boundaries. The preoperative (CT-based) and intraoperative (surgery-defined) CT scans were matched. Results: Clips placed at the most cranial part of the neck lined up at the caudal part of the transverse process of the cervical vertebra C-I. The posterior border of surgical level IIa (spinal accessory nerve [SAN]) did not match with the posterior border of CT-based level IIa (internal jugular vein [IJV]). Other surgical boundaries and CT-based contours were in good agreement. Conclusions: The cranial border of the neck, i.e., the cranial border of level IIa/IIb, corresponds to the caudal edge of the lateral process of C-I. Except for the posterior border between level IIa and level IIb, a perfect match was observed between the other surgical-clip-identified levels II-V boundaries (surgical-anatomy) and the CT-based delineation contours. It is argued that (1) because of the parotid gland overlapping part of level II, and (2) the frequent infestation of occult metastatic cells in the lymph channels around the IJV, the division of level II into radiologic sublevels IIa and IIb may not be relevant. Sparing of, for example, the ipsilateral parotid gland in selective RT can even be a treacherous undertaking with respect to regional tumor control. In contrast, the surgeon's reasoning for preserving the surgical sublevel IIb is that the morbidity associated with dissection of the supraspinal accessory nerve compartment of level II is reduced, whereas there is evidence from the surgical literature that no extra risk for regional tumor control is observed. Therefore, in selective neck dissections, the division into surgical sublevels IIa/IIb makes sense.« less

Classifying Different Emotional States by Means of EEG-Based Functional Connectivity Patterns

PubMed Central

Lee, You-Yun; Hsieh, Shulan

2014-01-01

This study aimed to classify different emotional states by means of EEG-based functional connectivity patterns. Forty young participants viewed film clips that evoked the following emotional states: neutral, positive, or negative. Three connectivity indices, including correlation, coherence, and phase synchronization, were used to estimate brain functional connectivity in EEG signals. Following each film clip, participants were asked to report on their subjective affect. The results indicated that the EEG-based functional connectivity change was significantly different among emotional states. Furthermore, the connectivity pattern was detected by pattern classification analysis using Quadratic Discriminant Analysis. The results indicated that the classification rate was better than chance. We conclude that estimating EEG-based functional connectivity provides a useful tool for studying the relationship between brain activity and emotional states. PMID:24743695

76 FR 31360 - Paper Clips From China; Scheduling of an Expedited Five-Year Review Concerning the Antidumping...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-31

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 731-TA-663 Third Review] Paper Clips From China; Scheduling of an Expedited Five-Year Review Concerning the Antidumping Duty Order on Paper Clips From China... paper clips from China would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a...

76 FR 44575 - Paper Clips From the People's Republic of China: Continuation of the Antidumping Duty Order

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-26

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-570-826] Paper Clips From the People... the antidumping duty order on paper clips from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') would likely... of the antidumping duty order on paper clips from the PRC pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff...

Catheter Entrapment During Posterior Mitral Leaflet Pushing Maneuver for MitraClip Implantation.

PubMed

Castrodeza, Javier; Amat-Santos, Ignacio J; Tobar, Javier; Varela-Falcón, Luis H

2016-06-01

MitraClip (Abbott Vascular) therapy has been reported to be an effective procedure for mitral regurgitation, especially in high-risk patients. Recently, the novel pushing maneuver technique has been described for approaching restricted and short posterior leaflets with a pigtail catheter in order to facilitate grasping of the clip. However, complications or unexpected situations may occur. We report the case of an 84-year-old patient who underwent MitraClip implantation wherein the pushing maneuver was complicated by the clip accidentally gripping the pigtail catheter along with the two leaflets.

Integrating an object system into CLIPS: Language design and implementation issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Auburn, Mark

1990-01-01

This paper describes the reasons why an object system with integrated pattern-matching and object-oriented programming facilities is desirable for CLIPS and how it is possible to integrate such a system into CLIPS while maintaining the run-time performance and the low memory usage for which CLIPS is known. The requirements for an object system in CLIPS that includes object-oriented programming and integrated pattern-matching are discussed and various techniques for optimizing the object system and its integration with the pattern-matcher are presented.

Evaluation of Clipping Based Iterative PAPR Reduction Techniques for FBMC Systems

PubMed Central

Kollár, Zsolt

2014-01-01

This paper investigates filter bankmulticarrier (FBMC), a multicarrier modulation technique exhibiting an extremely low adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) compared to conventional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technique. The low ACLR of the transmitted FBMC signal makes it especially favorable in cognitive radio applications, where strict requirements are posed on out-of-band radiation. Large dynamic range resulting in high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) is characteristic of all sorts of multicarrier signals. The advantageous spectral properties of the high-PAPR FBMC signal are significantly degraded if nonlinearities are present in the transceiver chain. Spectral regrowth may appear, causing harmful interference in the neighboring frequency bands. This paper presents novel clipping based PAPR reduction techniques, evaluated and compared by simulations and measurements, with an emphasis on spectral aspects. The paper gives an overall comparison of PAPR reduction techniques, focusing on the reduction of the dynamic range of FBMC signals without increasing out-of-band radiation. An overview is presented on transmitter oriented techniques employing baseband clipping, which can maintain the system performance with a desired bit error rate (BER). PMID:24558338

Emotion Elicitation: A Comparison of Pictures and Films

PubMed Central

Uhrig, Meike K.; Trautmann, Nadine; Baumgärtner, Ulf; Treede, Rolf-Detlef; Henrich, Florian; Hiller, Wolfgang; Marschall, Susanne

2016-01-01

Pictures and film clips are widely used and accepted stimuli to elicit emotions. Based on theoretical arguments it is often assumed that the emotional effects of films exceed those of pictures, but to date this assumption has not been investigated directly. The aim of the present study was to compare pictures and films in terms of their capacity to induce emotions verified by means of explicit measures. Stimuli were (a) single pictures presented for 6 s, (b) a set of three consecutive pictures with emotionally congruent contents presented for 2 s each, (c) short film clips with a duration of 6 s. A total of 144 participants rated their emotion and arousal states following stimulus presentation. Repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed that the film clips and 3-picture version were as effective as the classical 1-picture method to elicit positive emotions, however, modulation toward positive valence was little. Modulation toward negative valence was more effective in general. Film clips were less effective than pictorial stimuli in producing the corresponding emotion states (all p < 0.001) and were less arousing (all p ≤ 0.02). Possible reasons for these unexpected results are discussed. PMID:26925007

Emotion Elicitation: A Comparison of Pictures and Films.

PubMed

Uhrig, Meike K; Trautmann, Nadine; Baumgärtner, Ulf; Treede, Rolf-Detlef; Henrich, Florian; Hiller, Wolfgang; Marschall, Susanne

2016-01-01

Pictures and film clips are widely used and accepted stimuli to elicit emotions. Based on theoretical arguments it is often assumed that the emotional effects of films exceed those of pictures, but to date this assumption has not been investigated directly. The aim of the present study was to compare pictures and films in terms of their capacity to induce emotions verified by means of explicit measures. Stimuli were (a) single pictures presented for 6 s, (b) a set of three consecutive pictures with emotionally congruent contents presented for 2 s each, (c) short film clips with a duration of 6 s. A total of 144 participants rated their emotion and arousal states following stimulus presentation. Repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed that the film clips and 3-picture version were as effective as the classical 1-picture method to elicit positive emotions, however, modulation toward positive valence was little. Modulation toward negative valence was more effective in general. Film clips were less effective than pictorial stimuli in producing the corresponding emotion states (all p < 0.001) and were less arousing (all p ≤ 0.02). Possible reasons for these unexpected results are discussed.

Expert-novice differences in brain function of field hockey players.

PubMed

Wimshurst, Z L; Sowden, P T; Wright, M

2016-02-19

The aims of this study were to use functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural bases for perceptual-cognitive superiority in a hockey anticipation task. Thirty participants (15 hockey players, 15 non-hockey players) lay in an MRI scanner while performing a video-based task in which they predicted the direction of an oncoming shot in either a hockey or a badminton scenario. Video clips were temporally occluded either 160 ms before the shot was made or 60 ms after the ball/shuttle left the stick/racquet. Behavioral data showed a significant hockey expertise×video-type interaction in which hockey experts were superior to novices with hockey clips but there were no significant differences with badminton clips. The imaging data on the other hand showed a significant main effect of hockey expertise and of video type (hockey vs. badminton), but the expertise×video-type interaction did not survive either a whole-brain or a small-volume correction for multiple comparisons. Further analysis of the expertise main effect revealed that when watching hockey clips, experts showed greater activation in the rostral inferior parietal lobule, which has been associated with an action observation network, and greater activation than novices in Brodmann areas 17 and 18 and middle frontal gyrus when watching badminton videos. The results provide partial support both for domain-specific and domain-general expertise effects in an action anticipation task. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Flat panel angiography images in the post-operative follow-up of surgically clipped intracranial aneurysms.

PubMed

Budai, Caterina; Cirillo, Luigi; Patruno, Francesco; Dall'olio, Massimo; Princiotta, Ciro; Leonardi, Marco

2014-04-01

Cerebral aneurysms must be monitored for varying periods after surgical and/or endovascular treatment and the duration of follow-up will depend on the type of therapy and the immediate post-operative outcome. Surgical clipping for intracranial aneurysms is a valid treatment but the metal clips generate artefacts so that follow-up monitoring still relies on catheter angiography. This study reports our preliminary experience with volumetric angiography using a Philips Allura Xper FD biplane system in the post-operative monitoring of aneurysm residues or major vascular changes following the surgical clipping of intracranial aneurysms. Volumetric angiography yields not only volume-rendered (VR) images, but a volume CT can also be reconstructed at high spatial and contrast resolution from a single acquisition, significantly enhancing the technique's diagnostic power. Between August 2012 and April 2013, we studied 19 patients with a total of 26 aneurysms treated by surgical clipping alone or in combination with endovascular treatment. All patients underwent standard post-operative angiographic follow-up including a rotational volumetric acquisition. Follow-up monitoring disclosed eight aneurysm residues whose assessment was optimal after surgical clipping both in patients with one metal clip and in those with two or more clips. In addition, small residues (1.3 mm) could be monitored together with any change in the calibre or course of vessels located adjacent to the clips. In conclusion, flat panel volume CT is much more reliable than the old 3D acquisitions that yielded only VR images. This is particularly true in patients with small aneurysm residues or lesions with multiple metal clips.

Energizing Staff Development Using Film Clips: Memorable Movie Moments that Promote Reflection, Conversation, and Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Walter R.; Sommers, William A.

2005-01-01

Video and DVD clips give participants an opportunity to explore values and ideas, learn about one another, and, in the process, build a stronger learning community. "Energizing Staff Development Using Film Clips" is a collection of film and television clips that staff developers can use to encourage discussion and reflection on pertinent, common…

[Reliable fixation of cochlear implant electrode mountings in children and adults--initial experiences with a new titanium clip].

PubMed

Müller, J; Schön, F; Helms, J

1998-04-01

There is a reported 1% incidence of delayed migration of extrusions of the electrode arrays out of the cochlea. A titanium clip to fix the electrode array of the MED EL Combi 40 Cochlear Implant System is described. The clip is designed and shaped in a double U configuration. The clip material allows easy adaption to the individual anatomical situation. The clip is fixed to a bony bridge at the incus bar and fixes the electrode in a plane parallel to the chorda facial angle. It is closed around the electrode similarly to a stapes piston around the incus. Additional tests which examined the possible risk of damaging the electrode carrier and clinical findings are described. The clip was used in 23 cases with a follow-up period up to 1 year. No signs for dislocation of the electrode were found. In one revision case the clip was covered with a thin mucosal layer. The electrode array showed no signs of damage. Intraoperative findings confirmed the experimental tests on the electrode fixation. The titanium clip facilitates safe and quick fixation of the electrode array and prevents dislocation. its flexibility and shape minimizes the risk of damage.

Comparison of Sonography versus Digital Breast Tomosynthesis to Locate Intramammary Marker Clips

PubMed Central

Schulz-Wendtland, R.; Dankerl, P.; Dilbat, G.; Bani, M.; Fasching, P. A.; Heusinger, K.; Lux, M. P.; Loehberg, C. R.; Jud, S. M.; Rauh, C.; Bayer, C. M.; Beckmann, M. W.; Wachter, D. L.; Uder, M.; Meier-Meitinger, M.; Brehm, B.

2015-01-01

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the accuracy of sonography versus digital breast tomosynthesis to locate intramammary marker clips placed under ultrasound guidance. Patients and Methods: Fifty patients with suspicion of breast cancer (lesion diameter less than 2 cm [cT1]) had ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy with placement of a marker clip in the center of the tumor. Intramammary marker clips were subsequently located with both sonography and digital breast tomosynthesis. Results: Sonography detected no dislocation of intrammammary marker clips in 42 of 50 patients (84 %); dislocation was reported in 8 patients (16 %) with a maximum dislocation of 7 mm along the x-, y- or z-axis. Digital breast tomosynthesis showed accurate placement without dislocation of the intramammary marker clip in 48 patients (96 %); 2 patients (4 %) had a maximum clip dislocation of 3 mm along the x-, y- or z-axis (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The use of digital breast tomosynthesis could improve the accuracy when locating intramammary marker clips compared to sonography and could, in future, be used to complement or even completely replace sonography. PMID:25684789

Preoperative computed tomography-guided percutaneous hookwire localization of metallic marker clips in the breast with a radial approach: initial experience.

PubMed

Uematsu, T; Kasami, M; Uchida, Y; Sanuki, J; Kimura, K; Tanaka, K; Takahashi, K

2007-06-01

Hookwire localization is the current standard technique for radiological marking of nonpalpable breast lesions. Stereotactic directional vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (SVAB) is of sufficient sensitivity and specificity to replace surgical biopsy. Wire localization for metallic marker clips placed after SVAB is needed. To describe a method for performing computed tomography (CT)-guided hookwire localization using a radial approach for metallic marker clips placed percutaneously after SVAB. Nineteen women scheduled for SVAB with marker-clip placement, CT-guided wire localization of marker clips, and, eventually, surgical excision were prospectively entered into the study. CT-guided wire localization was performed with a radial approach, followed by placement of a localizing marker-clip surgical excision. Feasibility and reliability of the procedure and the incidence of complications were examined. CT-guided wire localization surgical excision was successfully performed in all 19 women without any complications. The mean total procedure time was 15 min. The median distance on CT image from marker clip to hookwire was 2 mm (range 0-3 mm). CT-guided preoperative hookwire localization with a radial approach for marker clips after SVAB is technically feasible.

The effect of positive and negative movie alcohol portrayals on transportation and attitude toward the movie.

PubMed

Koordeman, Renske; Anschutz, Doeschka J; Engels, Rutger C M E

2014-07-01

This study examined the effects of alcohol portrayals on transportation and attitude toward a movie. In addition, we examined whether positive and negative movie alcohol portrayals affect transportation into and attitude toward the movie. A within-subject design was used in which participants were exposed to 8 different movie clips containing alcohol (positive or negative context) or no alcohol portrayals in a controlled laboratory setting. A total of 159 college students (84 males and 75 females) ages 18 to 30 participated in the experiment. Transportation and attitude toward the movie were measured after each movie clip. Participants were more transported into and had a more positive attitude toward movie clips with alcohol portrayals compared to the same movie clips with no alcohol portrayal. In addition, participants were more transported into movie clips with negative alcohol (NA) portrayals compared to clips with positive alcohol (PA) portrayals. For attitude toward the movie, opposite results were found. Participants had a more positive attitudes toward clips with PA portrayals compared to clips with NA portrayals. The way alcohol is portrayed in movies may contribute to how people evaluate and get transported in movies. Copyright © 2014 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Short term exposure to attractive and muscular singers in music video clips negatively affects men's body image and mood.

PubMed

Mulgrew, K E; Volcevski-Kostas, D

2012-09-01

Viewing idealized images has been shown to reduce men's body satisfaction; however no research has examined the impact of music video clips. This was the first study to examine the effects of exposure to muscular images in music clips on men's body image, mood and cognitions. Ninety men viewed 5 min of clips containing scenery, muscular or average-looking singers, and completed pre- and posttest measures of mood and body image. Appearance schema activation was also measured. Men exposed to the muscular clips showed poorer posttest levels of anger, body and muscle tone satisfaction compared to men exposed to the scenery or average clips. No evidence of schema activation was found, although potential problems with the measure are noted. These preliminary findings suggest that even short term exposure to music clips can produce negative effects on men's body image and mood. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seten: a tool for systematic identification and comparison of processes, phenotypes, and diseases associated with RNA-binding proteins from condition-specific CLIP-seq profiles.

PubMed

Budak, Gungor; Srivastava, Rajneesh; Janga, Sarath Chandra

2017-06-01

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) control the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotic genomes at post-transcriptional level by binding to their cognate RNAs. Although several variants of CLIP (crosslinking and immunoprecipitation) protocols are currently available to study the global protein-RNA interaction landscape at single-nucleotide resolution in a cell, currently there are very few tools that can facilitate understanding and dissecting the functional associations of RBPs from the resulting binding maps. Here, we present Seten, a web-based and command line tool, which can identify and compare processes, phenotypes, and diseases associated with RBPs from condition-specific CLIP-seq profiles. Seten uses BED files resulting from most peak calling algorithms, which include scores reflecting the extent of binding of an RBP on the target transcript, to provide both traditional functional enrichment as well as gene set enrichment results for a number of gene set collections including BioCarta, KEGG, Reactome, Gene Ontology (GO), Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO), and MalaCards Disease Ontology for several organisms including fruit fly, human, mouse, rat, worm, and yeast. It also provides an option to dynamically compare the associated gene sets across data sets as bubble charts, to facilitate comparative analysis. Benchmarking of Seten using eCLIP data for IGF2BP1, SRSF7, and PTBP1 against their corresponding CRISPR RNA-seq in K562 cells as well as randomized negative controls, demonstrated that its gene set enrichment method outperforms functional enrichment, with scores significantly contributing to the discovery of true annotations. Comparative performance analysis using these CRISPR control data sets revealed significantly higher precision and comparable recall to that observed using ChIP-Enrich. Seten's web interface currently provides precomputed results for about 200 CLIP-seq data sets and both command line as well as web interfaces can be used to analyze CLIP-seq data sets. We highlight several examples to show the utility of Seten for rapid profiling of various CLIP-seq data sets. Seten is available on http://www.iupui.edu/∼sysbio/seten/. © 2017 Budak et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.

Apparatus for the compact cooling of modules

DOEpatents

Iyengar, Madhusudan K.; Parida, Pritish R.

2015-07-07

An apparatus for the compact cooling of modules. The apparatus includes a clip, a first cover plate coupled to a first side of the clip, a second cover plate coupled to a second side of the clip opposite to the first side of the clip, a first frame thermally coupled to the first cover plate, and a second frame thermally coupled to the second cover plate. Each of the first frame and the second frame may include a plurality of channels for passing coolant through the first frame and the second frame, respectively. Additionally, the apparatus may further include a filler for directing coolant through the plurality of channels, and for blocking coolant from flowing along the first side of the clip and the second side of the clip.

Importance of nasal clipping in screening investigations of flow volume curve.

PubMed

Yanev, I

1992-01-01

Comparative analysis of some basic lung indices obtained from a screening investigation of the flow volume curve by using two techniques, with a nose clip and without a nose clip, was made on a cohort of 86 workers in a factory shop for the production of bearings. We found no statistically significant differences between the indices obtained by the two techniques. Our study showed that the FVC and FEV1 obtained in workers without using nose clips were equal to or better than those obtained using nose clips in 60% of the workers. The reproducibility of the two methods was similar. The analysis of the data has shown that the flow volume curve investigation gives better results when performed without a nose clip, especially in industrial conditions.

The MovieClassroom: An Internet Based Application for Students and Instructors to Create Captioned Animations.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbano, L.

2005-12-01

We have developed and tested an internet based application that facilitates the creation of animations for use in lectures and permits movie production by students in laboratory classes. Animation have been found to be extremely useful educational aids in the geosciences, particularly relating to topics requiring comprehension of geospatial relationships. With this program, instructors are able to assemble and caption animations using an online video clip catalogue and present these movies through a standard internet browser. Captioning increases student comprehension by increasing the multimodality of information delivery. For student use, we developed an exercise for introductory, undergraduate, laboratory class sections that was informed by learning pedagogy, particularly as related to game-based learning. Students were asked to assemble video clips and captions into a coherent movie to explain geospatial concepts, with questions such as "Explain why we have seasons?" The affinity of students to digital technology, particularly computer games and digital media, makes this type of exercise particularly captivating to the typical undergraduate. The opportunity to select and arrange video clips (and add background music) into a unique production offers students a greater degree of ownership of the learning process and allows unique non-linear pathways for accomplishing learning objectives. Use in a laboratory section permitted rapid feedback from the instructor. The application was created using open-sourced software and the database populated with video clips and music contributed by faculty and students under a non-commercial-use license. This tool has the potential to permit the wider dissemination of scientific research results given the increasing use animations for scientific visualization, because it eases the creation of multiple presentations targeted to various audiences and allows user participation in the creation of multimedia.

Prototype automated post-MECO ascent I-load Verification Data Table

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lardas, George D.

1990-01-01

A prototype automated processor for quality assurance of Space Shuttle post-Main Engine Cut Off (MECO) ascent initialization parameters (I-loads) is described. The processor incorporates Clips rules adapted from the quality assurance criteria for the post-MECO ascent I-loads. Specifically, the criteria are implemented for nominal and abort targets, as given in the 'I-load Verification Data Table, Part 3, Post-MECO Ascent, Version 2.1, December 1989.' This processor, ivdt, compares a given l-load set with the stated mission design and quality assurance criteria. It determines which I-loads violate the stated criteria, and presents a summary of I-loads that pass or fail the tests.

A distributed Clips implementation: dClips

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Y. Philip

1993-01-01

A distributed version of the Clips language, dClips, was implemented on top of two existing generic distributed messaging systems to show that: (1) it is easy to create a coarse-grained parallel programming environment out of an existing language if a high level messaging system is used; and (2) the computing model of a parallel programming environment can be changed easily if we change the underlying messaging system. dClips processes were first connected with a simple master-slave model. A client-server model with intercommunicating agents was later implemented. The concept of service broker is being investigated.

Comparison of form in potential functions while maintaining upright posture during exposure to stereoscopic video clips.

PubMed

Kutsuna, Kenichiro; Matsuura, Yasuyuki; Fujikake, Kazuhiro; Miyao, Masaru; Takada, Hiroki

2013-01-01

Visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) is caused by sensory conflict, the disagreement between vergence and visual accommodation while observing stereoscopic images. VIMS can be measured by psychological and physiological methods. We propose a mathematical methodology to measure the effect of three-dimensional (3D) images on the equilibrium function. In this study, body sway in the resting state is compared with that during exposure to 3D video clips on a liquid crystal display (LCD) and on a head mounted display (HMD). In addition, the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) was completed immediately afterward. Based on the statistical analysis of the SSQ subscores and each index for stabilograms, we succeeded in determining the quantity of the VIMS during exposure to the stereoscopic images. Moreover, we discuss the metamorphism in the potential functions to control the standing posture during the exposure to stereoscopic video clips.

An expert system to advise astronauts during experiments: The protocol manager module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haymann-Haber, Guido; Colombano, Silvano P.; Groleau, Nicolas; Rosenthal, Don; Szolovits, Peter; Young, Laurence R.

1990-01-01

Perhaps the scarcest resource for manned flight experiments - on Spacelab or on the Space Station Freedom - will continue to be crew time. To maximize the efficiency of the crew and to make use of their abilities to work as scientist collaborators as well as equipment operators, normally requires more training in a wide variety of disciplines than is practical. The successful application of on-board expert systems, as envisioned by the Principal Investigator in a Box program, should alleviate the training bottleneck and provide the astronaut with the guidance and coaching needed to permit him or her to operate an experiment according to the desires and knowledge of the PI, despite changes in conditions. The Protocol Manager module of the system is discussed. The Protocol Manager receives experiment data that has been summarized and categorized by the other modules. The Protocol Manager acts on the data in real-time, by employing expert system techniques. Its recommendations are based on heuristics provided by the Principal Investigator in charge of the experiment. This prototype was developed on a Macintosh II by employing CLIPS, a forward-chaining rule-based system, and HyperCard as an object-oriented user interface builder.

Successful removal of football helmet face-mask clips after 1 season of use.

PubMed

Scibek, Jason S; Gatti, Joseph M; McKenzie, Jennifer I

2012-01-01

Whereas many researchers have assessed the ability to remove loop straps in traditional face-mask attachment systems after at least 1 season of use, research in which the effectiveness of the Riddell Quick Release (QR) Face Guard Attachment System clip after 1 season has been assessed is limited. To examine the success rate of removing the QR clips after 1 season of use at the Football Championship Subdivision level. We hypothesized that 1 season of use would negatively affect the removal rate of the QR clip but repeated clip-removal trials would improve the removal rate. Retrospective, quasi-experimental design. Controlled laboratory study. Sixty-three football helmets from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I university located in western Pennsylvania used during the 2008 season were tested. Three certified athletic trainers (2 men, 1 woman; age = 31.3 ± 3.06 years, time certified = 9.42 ± 2.65 years) attempted to remove the QR clips from each helmet with the tool provided by the manufacturer. Helmets then were reassembled to allow each athletic trainer to attempt clip removal. The dependent variables were total left clips removed (TCR-L), total right clips removed (TCR-R), and total clips removed (TCR). Success rate of clip removal (SRCR) also was assessed. Percentages for TCR-L, TCR-R, and TCR were 100% (189 of 189), 96.30% (182 of 189), and 98.15% (371 of 378), respectively. A paired-samples t test revealed a difference between TCR-R and TCR-L (t(188) = 2.689, P = .008, μ(d) = 0.037, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.064, 0.010). The percentage for SRCR was 96.30% (n = 182), whereas SRCR percentages for trials 1, 2, and 3 were 95.24% (n = 60), 98.41% (n = 62), and 95.24% (n = 60), respectively, and did not represent a difference (F(2,186) = 0.588, P = .56, 95% (CI) = 0.94, 0.99). Our results indicated favorable and consistent success rates for QR clip removal after 1 season of use. Whereas the QR clip is an advancement in face-mask technology, continued examination of this system is required to ensure the highest level of function, allowing for effective management of the helmeted athlete.

Successful Removal of Football Helmet Face-Mask Clips After 1 Season of Use

PubMed Central

Scibek, Jason S.; Gatti, Joseph M.; McKenzie, Jennifer I.

2012-01-01

Context Whereas many researchers have assessed the ability to remove loop straps in traditional face-mask attachment systems after at least 1 season of use, research in which the effectiveness of the Riddell Quick Release (QR) Face Guard Attachment System clip after 1 season has been assessed is limited. Objective To examine the success rate of removing the QR clips after 1 season of use at the Football Championship Subdivision level. We hypothesized that 1 season of use would negatively affect the removal rate of the QR clip but repeated clip-removal trials would improve the removal rate. Design Retrospective, quasi-experimental design. Setting Controlled laboratory study. Patients or Other Participants Sixty-three football helmets from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I university located in western Pennsylvania used during the 2008 season were tested. Intervention(s) Three certified athletic trainers (2 men, 1 woman; age = 31.3 ± 3.06 years, time certified = 9.42 ± 2.65 years) attempted to remove the QR clips from each helmet with the tool provided by the manufacturer. Helmets then were reassembled to allow each athletic trainer to attempt clip removal. Main Outcome Measure(s) The dependent variables were total left clips removed (TCR-L), total right clips removed (TCR-R), and total clips removed (TCR). Success rate of clip removal (SRCR) also was assessed. Results Percentages for TCR-L, TCR-R, and TCR were 100% (189 of 189), 96.30% (182 of 189), and 98.15% (371 of 378), respectively. A paired-samples t test revealed a difference between TCR-R and TCR-L (t188 = −2.689, P = .008, μd = 0.037, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.064, −0.010). The percentage for SRCR was 96.30% (n = 182), whereas SRCR percentages for trials 1, 2, and 3 were 95.24% (n = 60), 98.41% (n = 62), and 95.24% (n = 60), respectively, and did not represent a difference (F2,186 = 0.588, P = .56, 95% CI = 0.94, 0.99). Conclusions Our results indicated favorable and consistent success rates for QR clip removal after 1 season of use. Whereas the QR clip is an advancement in face-mask technology, continued examination of this system is required to ensure the highest level of function, allowing for effective management of the helmeted athlete. PMID:22889659

Effect of apical meristem clipping on carbon allocation and morphological development of white oak seedlings

Treesearch

Paul P. Kormanik; Shi-Jean S. Sung; T.L. Kormanik; Stanley J. Zarnoch

1994-01-01

Seedlings from three open-pollinated half-sib white oak seedlots were clipped in mid-July and their development was compared to nonclipped controls after one growing season.In general when data were analyzed by family, clipped seedlings were significantly less desirable in three to six of the eight variables tested.Numerically, in all families seedlots, the clipped...

Developmental and Behavioral Effects of Toe Clipping on Neonatal and Preweanling Mice with and without Vapocoolant Anesthesia

PubMed Central

Paluch, Lee-Ronn; Lieggi, Christine C; Dumont, Magali; Monette, Sebastien; Riedel, Elyn R; Lipman, Neil S

2014-01-01

Toe clipping is used to identify and genotype preweanling mice, but the procedure generates concerns relevant to pain and distress. The few pertinent studies available evaluated mice between postnatal days (PND) 3 and 7, advocate the use of toe clipping in mice PND 7 or younger, and identify handling as the most distressing aspect of the procedure. Because both toe and tail clipping may be necessary in older mice to obtain sufficient DNA for genotyping, we surmised that performing these procedures concurrently to minimize handling would be beneficial. We also examined reflex development until PND 21 and adult behavior at 8 to 10 wk of age in mice toe clipped at PND 7 or 17 and the benefits of using topical vapocoolant anesthesia. C57BL/6J pups at PND 7 and 17 were assigned to 1 of 4 groups: 1) clipping of digit 3 of contralateral fore- and hindpaws; 2) toe clipping after topical vapocoolant anesthesia; 3) unclipped, unsprayed controls; and, 4) unclipped and vapocoolant-sprayed. Compared with unanesthetized pups, those sprayed with vapocoolant vocalized and struggled more when handled and had more bleeding, erythema, and swelling, which persisted for as long as 12 h after toe clipping. Reflex development, anxiety, locomotion, and motor coordination were not different among groups or with regard to the age of toe clipping. No tissue reaction was noted microscopically in paws collected at 10 wk of age. We conclude that the use of vapocoolant cannot be recommended due to its harmful effects and that toe clipping at PND 7 or 17 does not significantly affect the long-term welfare of mice. PMID:24602538

Differences in displacement of the proximal and distal ends of mid-upper thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Qiu, Guoqin; Wen, Dengshun; DU, Xianghui; Sheng, Liming; Zhou, Xia; Ji, Yongling; Bao, Wuan; Zhang, Danhong; Cheng, Lei

2016-07-01

In the present study, clips were used as markers to evaluate displacement differences between proximal and distal ends of esophageal tumors and to test whether their internal target volume (ITV) margins should be determined separately. A total of 23 patients with mid-upper thoracic esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma, a tumor length of ≤8 cm and an esophageal lumen suitable for endoscopic ultrasonography were recruited for the present study. Clips were implanted endoscopically at the proximal and distal ends of the esophageal tumor (upper and lower clips). In a further exploratory study on 16 of the patients, a third clip was placed at the distal esophagus 2 cm above the gastro-esophageal junction (GEJ) (cardiac clip). The clips were contoured for all 10 phases of the four-dimensional computed tomography and the maximum displacements of the clip centroids among different breathing phases in left-right (LR), superior-inferior (SI) and anterior-posterior (AP) directions were marked as x, y and z, respectively. The ITV margins that covered 95% of the LR, SI and AP motion were 2.89, 5.00 and 2.36 mm, respectively. Axial displacement (y) was greater than radial displacement (x, z; P<0.05). It was also revealed that LR(x), SI(y) and AP(z) displacement of cardiac clips was greater than that of upper or lower clips (P<0.05). Differences in the axial and radial displacement of the upper and lower clips indicated that axial and radial ITV margins should be determined separately. However, further study is required on patients in whom the distal tumor end is located in proximity to the GEJ.

A novel vascular clip design for the reliable induction of 2-kidney, 1-clip hypertension in the rat

PubMed Central

Chelko, Stephen P.; Schmiedt, Chad W.; Lewis, Tristan H.; Lewis, Stephen J.

2012-01-01

The 2-kidney, 1-clip (2K1C) model has provided many insights into the pathogenesis of renovascular hypertension. However, studies using the 2K1C model often report low success rates of hypertension, with typical success rates of just 40–60%. We hypothesized that these low success rates are due to fundamental design flaws in the clips traditionally used in 2K1C models. Specifically, the gap widths of traditional silver clips may not be maintained during investigator handling and these clips may also be easily dislodged from the renal artery following placement. Therefore, we designed and tested a novel vascular clip possessing design features to maintain both gap width and position around the renal artery. In this initial study, application of these new clips to the left renal artery produced reliable and consistent levels of hypertension in rats. Nine-day application of clips with gap widths of 0.27, 0.25, and 0.23 mm elicited higher mean arterial blood pressures of 112 ± 4, 121 ± 6, and 135 ± 7 mmHg, respectively (n = 8 for each group), than those of sham-operated controls (95 ± 2 mmHg, n = 8). Moreover, 8 out of 8 rats in each of the 0.23 and 0.25 mm 2K1C groups were hypertensive, whereas 7 out of 8 rats in the 0.27 mm 2K1C group were hypertensive. Plasma renin concentrations were also increased in all 2K1C groups compared with sham-operated controls. In summary, this novel clip design may help eliminate the large degree of unreliability commonly encountered with the 2K1C model. PMID:22074718

A novel vascular clip design for the reliable induction of 2-kidney, 1-clip hypertension in the rat.

PubMed

Chelko, Stephen P; Schmiedt, Chad W; Lewis, Tristan H; Lewis, Stephen J; Robertson, Tom P

2012-02-01

The 2-kidney, 1-clip (2K1C) model has provided many insights into the pathogenesis of renovascular hypertension. However, studies using the 2K1C model often report low success rates of hypertension, with typical success rates of just 40-60%. We hypothesized that these low success rates are due to fundamental design flaws in the clips traditionally used in 2K1C models. Specifically, the gap widths of traditional silver clips may not be maintained during investigator handling and these clips may also be easily dislodged from the renal artery following placement. Therefore, we designed and tested a novel vascular clip possessing design features to maintain both gap width and position around the renal artery. In this initial study, application of these new clips to the left renal artery produced reliable and consistent levels of hypertension in rats. Nine-day application of clips with gap widths of 0.27, 0.25, and 0.23 mm elicited higher mean arterial blood pressures of 112 ± 4, 121 ± 6, and 135 ± 7 mmHg, respectively (n = 8 for each group), than those of sham-operated controls (95 ± 2 mmHg, n = 8). Moreover, 8 out of 8 rats in each of the 0.23 and 0.25 mm 2K1C groups were hypertensive, whereas 7 out of 8 rats in the 0.27 mm 2K1C group were hypertensive. Plasma renin concentrations were also increased in all 2K1C groups compared with sham-operated controls. In summary, this novel clip design may help eliminate the large degree of unreliability commonly encountered with the 2K1C model.

Effects of Japanese beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and silk clipping in field corn.

PubMed

Steckel, Sandy; Stewart, S D; Tindall, K V

2013-10-01

Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman) is an emerging silk-feeding insect found in fields in the lower Corn Belt and Midsouthern United States. Studies were conducted in 2010 and 2011 to evaluate how silk clipping in corn affects pollination and yield parameters. Manually clipping silks once daily had modest effects on yield parameters. Sustained clipping by either manually clipping silks three times per day or by caging Japanese beetles onto ears affected total kernel weight if it occurred during early silking (R1 growth stage). Manually clipping silks three times per day for the first 5 d of silking affected the number of kernels per ear, total kernel weight, and the weight of individual kernels. Caged beetles fed on silks and, depending on the number of beetles caged per ear, reduced the number of kernels per ear. Caging eight beetles per ear significantly reduced total kernel weight compared with noninfested ears. Drought stress before anthesis appeared to magnify the impact of silk clipping by Japanese beetles. There was evidence of some compensation for reduced pollination by increasing the size of pollinated kernels within the ear. Our results showed that it requires sustained silk clipping during the first week of silking to have substantial impacts on pollination and yield parameters, at least under good growing conditions. Some states recommend treating for Japanese beetle when three Japanese beetles per ear are found, silks are clipped to < 13 mm, and pollination is < 50% complete, and that recommendation appears to be adequate.

Suture retraction technique to prevent parent vessel obstruction following aneurysm tandem clipping.

PubMed

Rayan, Tarek; Amin-Hanjani, Sepideh

2015-08-01

With large or giant aneurysms, the use of multiple tandem clips can be essential for complete obliteration of the aneurysm. One potential disadvantage, however, is the considerable cumulative weight of these clips, which may lead to kinking of the underlying parent vessels and obstruction of flow. The authors describe a simple technique to address this problem, guided by intraoperative blood flow measurements, in a patient with a ruptured near-giant 2.2 × 1.7-cm middle cerebral artery bifurcation aneurysm that was treated with the tandem clipping technique. A total of 11 clips were applied in a vertical stacked fashion. The cumulative weight of the clips caused kinking of the temporal M2 branch of the bifurcation with reduction of flow. A 4-0 Nurolon suture tie was applied to the hub of one of the clips and was tethered to the dura of the sphenoid ridge by a small mini-clip and reinforced by application of tissue sealant. The patient underwent intraoperative indocyanine green videoangiography as well as catheter angiography, which demonstrated complete aneurysmal obliteration and preservation of vessel branches. Postoperative angiography confirmed patency of the bifurcation vessels with mild vasospasm. The patient had a full recovery with no postoperative complications and was neurologically intact at her 6-month follow-up. The suture retraction technique allows a simple solution to parent vessel obstruction following aneurysm tandem clipping, in conjunction with the essential guidance provided by intraoperative flow measurements.

Expert system technologies for Space Shuttle decision support: Two case studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ortiz, Christopher J.; Hasan, David A.

1994-01-01

This paper addresses the issue of integrating the C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) into distributed data acquisition environments. In particular, it presents preliminary results of some ongoing software development projects aimed at exploiting CLIPS technology in the new mission control center (MCC) being built at NASA Johnson Space Center. One interesting aspect of the control center is its distributed architecture; it consists of networked workstations which acquire and share data through the NASA/JSC-developed information sharing protocol (ISP). This paper outlines some approaches taken to integrate CLIPS and ISP in order to permit the development of intelligent data analysis applications which can be used in the MCC. Three approaches to CLIPS/IPS integration are discussed. The initial approach involves clearly separating CLIPS from ISP using user-defined functions for gathering and sending data to and from a local storage buffer. Memory and performance drawbacks of this design are summarized. The second approach involves taking full advantage of CLIPS and the CLIPS Object-Oriented Language (COOL) by using objects to directly transmit data and state changes from ISP to COOL. Any changes within the object slots eliminate the need for both a data structure and external function call thus taking advantage of the object matching capabilities within CLIPS 6.0. The final approach is to treat CLIPS and ISP as peer toolkits. Neither is embedded in the other; rather the application interweaves calls to each directly in the application source code.

Retractable pin dual in-line package test clip

DOEpatents

Bandzuch, Gregory S.; Kosslow, William J.

1996-01-01

This invention is a Dual In-Line Package (DIP) test clip for use when troubleshooting circuits containing DIP integrated circuits. This test clip is a significant improvement over existing DIP test clips in that it has retractable pins which will permit troubleshooting without risk of accidentally shorting adjacent pins together when moving probes to different pins on energized circuits or when the probe is accidentally bumped while taking measurements.

Mitral Valve Clip for Treatment of Mitral Regurgitation: An Evidence-Based Analysis

PubMed Central

Ansari, Mohammed T.; Ahmadzai, Nadera; Coyle, Kathryn; Coyle, Doug; Moher, David

2015-01-01

Background Many of the 500,000 North American patients with chronic mitral regurgitation may be poor candidates for mitral valve surgery. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the comparative effectiveness, harms, and cost-effectiveness of percutaneous mitral valve repair using mitral valve clips in candidates at prohibitive risk for surgery. Data Sources We searched articles in MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library published from 1994 to February 2014 for evidence of effectiveness and harms; for economic literature we also searched NHS EED and Tufts CEA registry. Grey literature was also searched. Review Methods Primary studies were sought from existing systematic reviews that had employed reliable search and screening methods. Newer studies were sought by searching the period subsequent to the last search date of the review. Two reviewers screened records and assessed study validity. We used the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized, generic assessment for non-randomized studies, and the Phillips checklist for economic studies. Results Ten studies including 1 randomized trial were included. The majority of the direct comparative evidence compared the mitral valve clip repair with surgery in patients not particularly at prohibitive surgical risk. Irrespective of degenerative or functional chronic mitral regurgitation etiology, evidence of effectiveness and harms is inconclusive and of very low quality. Very-low-quality evidence indicates that percutaneous mitral valve clip repair may provide a survival advantage, at least during the first 1 to 2 years, particularly in medically managed chronic functional mitral regurgitation. Because of limitations in the design of studies, the cost-effectiveness of mitral valve clips in patients at prohibitive risk for surgery also could not be established. Limitations Because of serious concerns of risk of bias, indirectness, and imprecision, evidence is of very low quality. Conclusions No meaningful conclusions can be drawn about the comparative effectiveness, harms, and cost-effectiveness of mitral valve clips in the population with chronic mitral regurgitation who are at prohibitive risk for surgery. PMID:26379810

The outcome of a surgical protocol based on ischemia overprotection in large and giant aneurysms of the anterior cerebral circulation.

PubMed

Imai, Hideaki; Watanabe, Katsushige; Miyagishima, Takaaki; Yoshimoto, Yuhei; Kin, Taichi; Nakatomi, Hirofumi; Saito, Nobuhito

2016-07-01

Aiming to define the optimal treatment of large and giant aneurysms (LGAs) in the anterior circulation, we present our surgical protocol and patient outcome. A series of 42 patients with intracavernous LGAs (n = 16), paraclinoid (C2) LGAs (n = 17), and peripheral (middle cerebral artery-MCA or anterior cerebral artery-ACA) LGAs (n = 9) were treated after bypass under motor evoked potential (MEP) monitoring. Preoperatively, three categories of ischemic tolerance during internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion were defined on conventional angiography: optimal, suboptimal, and insufficient collaterals. Accordingly, three types of bypass: low flow (LFB), middle flow (MFB) and high flow (HFB) were applied for the cases with optimal, suboptimal, and insufficient collaterals, respectively. Outcome was evaluated by the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). All patients had excellent GOS score except one, who suffered a major ischemic stroke immediately after surgery for a paraclinoid lesion. Forty-one patients were followed up for 87.1 ± 40.1 months (range 13-144 months). Intracavernous LGAs were all treated by proximal occlusion with bypass surgery. Of paraclinoid LGA patients, 15 patients had direct clipping under suction decompression and other 2 patients with recurrent aneurysms had ICA (C2) proximal clipping with HFB. MEP monitoring guided for temporary clipping time and clip repositioning, observing significant MEP changes for up to 6 min duration. Of 9 peripheral LGAs patients 7 MCA LGAs had reconstructive clipping (n = 4) or trapping (n = 3) with bypass including LFB in 3 cases, MFB in 1 and HFB in 1. Two ACA LGAs had clipping (n = 1) or trapping (n = 1) with A3-A3 bypass. The applied protocol provided excellent results in intracavernous, paraclinoid, and peripheral thrombosed LGAs of the anterior circulation.

Preoperative Prediction of the Necessity for Anterior Clinoidectomy During Microsurgical Clipping of Ruptured Posterior Communicating Artery Aneurysms.

PubMed

Kamide, Tomoya; Burkhardt, Jan-Karl; Tabani, Halima; Safaee, Michael M; Lawton, Michael T

2018-01-01

Although most posterior communicating artery (PCoA) aneurysms can be clipped easily with excellent results, some require anterior clinoidectomy for safe and complete clipping. To review our microsurgical series of ruptured PCoA aneurysms and identify the preoperative predictors for anterior clinoidectomy during microsurgical clipping for PCoA aneurysms. Results from microsurgical clipping of 104 patients with ruptured PCoA aneurysms were reviewed retrospectively. Distances and angles were obtained from computed tomographic angiography and compared between the anterior and nonanterior clinoidectomy groups. Anterior clinoidectomy was required in 19 of the 104 cases (18%). None developed surgical complications due to anterior clinoid process (ACP) resection, including postoperative visual deficit. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the distances from the ACP tip to the aneurysmal proximal neck and from the ACP line to the aneurysmal proximal neck were statistically significant predictive factors for the need of anterior clinoidectomy. Based on a receiver operating characteristic analysis, the distances from the ACP tip to the aneurysmal proximal neck <4.0 mm and from the ACP line to the aneurysmal proximal neck ≤2.0 mm were selected as optimal cutoff values for predicting the necessity of anterior clinoidectomy, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values were 0.991 and 0.955, respectively. In case of ruptured PCoA aneurysm surgery, the distances from the ACP tip to the aneurysmal proximal neck and from the ACP line to the aneurysmal proximal neck were both found to be useful predictors of whether anterior clinoidectomy was required. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Model based high NA anamorphic EUV RET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Fan; Wiaux, Vincent; Fenger, Germain; Clifford, Chris; Liubich, Vlad; Hendrickx, Eric

2018-03-01

With the announcement of the extension of the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) roadmap to a high NA lithography tool that utilizes anamorphic optics design, an investigation of design tradeoffs unique to the imaging of anamorphic lithography tool is shown. An anamorphic optical proximity correction (OPC) solution has been developed that models fully the EUV near field electromagnetic effects and the anamorphic imaging using the Domain Decomposition Method (DDM). Clips of imec representative for the N3 logic node were used to demonstrate the OPC solutions on critical layers that will benefit from the increased contrast at high NA using anamorphic imaging. However, unlike isomorphic case, from wafer perspective, OPC needs to treat x and y differently. In the paper, we show a design trade-off seen unique to Anamorphic EUV, namely that using a mask rule of 48nm (mask scale), approaching current state of the art, limitations are observed in the available correction that can be applied to the mask. The metal pattern has a pitch of 24nm and CD of 12nm. During OPC, the correction of the metal lines oriented vertically are being limited by the mask rule of 12nm 1X. The horizontally oriented lines do not suffer from this mask rule limitation as the correction is allowed to go to 6nm 1X. For this example, the masks rules will need to be more aggressive to allow complete correction, or design rules and wafer processes (wafer rotation) would need to be created that utilize the orientation that can image more aggressive features. When considering VIA or block level correction, aggressive polygon corner to corner designs can be handled with various solutions, including applying a 45 degree chop. Multiple solutions are discussed with the metrics of edge placement error (EPE) and Process Variation Bands (PVBands), together with all the mask constrains. Noted in anamorphic OPC, the 45 degree chop is maintained at the mask level to meet mask manufacturing constraints, but results in skewed angle edge in wafer level correction. In this paper, we used both contact (Via/block) patterns and metal patterns for OPC practice. By comparing the EPE of horizontal and vertical patterns with a fixed mask rule check (MRC), and the PVBand, we focus on the challenges and the solutions of OPC with anamorphic High-NA lens.

Film clips and narrative text as subjective emotion elicitation techniques.

PubMed

Zupan, Barbra; Babbage, Duncan R

2017-01-01

Film clips and narrative text are useful techniques in eliciting emotion in a laboratory setting but have not been examined side-by-side using the same methodology. This study examined the self-identification of emotions elicited by film clip and narrative text stimuli to confirm that selected stimuli appropriately target the intended emotions. Seventy participants viewed 30 film clips, and 40 additional participants read 30 narrative texts. Participants identified the emotion experienced (happy, sad, angry, fearful, neutral-six stimuli each). Eighty-five percent of participants self-identified the target emotion for at least two stimuli for all emotion categories of film clips, except angry (only one) and for all categories of narrative text, except fearful (only one). The most effective angry text was correctly identified 74% of the time. Film clips were more effective in eliciting all target emotions in participants for eliciting the correct emotion (angry), intensity rating (happy, sad), or both (fearful).

Use of a surgical rehearsal platform and improvement in aneurysm clipping measures: results of a prospective, randomized trial.

PubMed

Chugh, A Jessey; Pace, Jonathan R; Singer, Justin; Tatsuoka, Curtis; Hoffer, Alan; Selman, Warren R; Bambakidis, Nicholas C

2017-03-01

OBJECTIVE The field of neurosurgery is constantly undergoing improvements and advances, both in technique and technology. Cerebrovascular neurosurgery is no exception, with endovascular treatments changing the treatment paradigm. Clipping of aneurysms is still necessary, however, and advances are still being made to improve patient outcomes within the microsurgical treatment of aneurysms. Surgical rehearsal platforms are surgical simulators that offer the opportunity to rehearse a procedure prior to entering the operative suite. This study is designed to determine whether use of a surgical rehearsal platform in aneurysm surgery is helpful in decreasing aneurysm dissection time and clip manipulation of the aneurysm. METHODS The authors conducted a blinded, prospective, randomized study comparing key effort and time variables in aneurysm clip ligation surgery with and without preoperative use of the SuRgical Planner (SRP) surgical rehearsal platform. Initially, 40 patients were randomly assigned to either of two groups: one in which surgery was performed after use of the SRP (SRP group) and one in which surgery was performed without use of the SRP (control group). All operations were videotaped. After exclusion of 6 patients from the SRP group and 9 from the control group, a total of 25 surgical cases were analyzed by a reviewer blinded to group assignment. The videos were analyzed for total microsurgical time, number of clips used, and number of clip placement attempts. Means and standard deviations (SDs) were calculated and compared between groups. RESULTS The mean (± SD) amount of operative time per clip used was 920 ± 770 seconds in the SRP group and 1294 ± 678 seconds in the control group (p = 0.05). In addition, the mean values for the number of clip attempts, total operative time, ratio of clip attempts to clips used, and time per clip attempt were all lower in the SRP group, although the between-group differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Preoperative rehearsal with SRP increased efficiency and safety in aneurysm microsurgery as demonstrated by the statistically significant improvement in time per clip used. Although the rest of the outcomes did not demonstrate statistically significant between-group differences, the fact that the SRP group showed improvement in mean values for all measures studied suggests that preoperative rehearsal may increase the efficiency and safety of aneurysm microsurgery. Future studies aimed at improving patient outcome and safety during surgical clipping of aneurysms will be needed to keep pace with the quickly advancing endovascular field.

Assessing arsenic and selenium in a single nail clipping using portable X-ray fluorescence.

PubMed

Fleming, David E B; Nader, Michel N; Foran, Kelly A; Groskopf, Craig; Reno, Michael C; Ware, Chris S; Tehrani, Mina; Guimarães, Diana; Parsons, Patrick J

2017-02-01

The feasibility of measuring arsenic and selenium contents in a single nail clipping was investigated using a small-focus portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument with monochromatic excitation beams. Nail clipping phantoms supplemented with arsenic and selenium to produce materials with 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20µg/g were used for calibration purposes. In total, 10 different clippings were analyzed at two different measurement positions. Energy spectra were fit with detection peaks for arsenic K α , selenium K α , arsenic K β , selenium K β , and bromine K α characteristic X-rays. Data analysis was performed under two distinct conditions of fitting constraint. Calibration lines were established from the amplitude of each of the arsenic and selenium peaks as a function of the elemental contents in the clippings. The slopes of the four calibration lines were consistent between the two conditions of analysis. The calculated minimum detection limit (MDL) of the method, when considering the K α peak only, ranged from 0.210±0.002µg/g selenium under one condition of analysis to 0.777±0.009µg/g selenium under another. Compared with previous portable XRF nail clipping studies, MDLs were substantially improved for both arsenic and selenium. The new measurement technique had the additional benefits of being short in duration (~3min) and requiring only a single nail clipping. The mass of the individual clipping used did not appear to play a major role in signal strength, but positioning of the clipping is important. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic Emotional Faces Generalise Better to a New Expression but not to a New View.

PubMed

Liu, Chang Hong; Chen, Wenfeng; Ward, James; Takahashi, Nozomi

2016-08-08

Prior research based on static images has found limited improvement for recognising previously learnt faces in a new expression after several different facial expressions of these faces had been shown during the learning session. We investigated whether non-rigid motion of facial expression facilitates the learning process. In Experiment 1, participants remembered faces that were either presented in short video clips or still images. To assess the effect of exposure to expression variation, each face was either learnt through a single expression or three different expressions. Experiment 2 examined whether learning faces in video clips could generalise more effectively to a new view. The results show that faces learnt from video clips generalised effectively to a new expression with exposure to a single expression, whereas faces learnt from stills showed poorer generalisation with exposure to either single or three expressions. However, although superior recognition performance was demonstrated for faces learnt through video clips, dynamic facial expression did not create better transfer of learning to faces tested in a new view. The data thus fail to support the hypothesis that non-rigid motion enhances viewpoint invariance. These findings reveal both benefits and limitations of exposures to moving expressions for expression-invariant face recognition.

Dynamic Emotional Faces Generalise Better to a New Expression but not to a New View

PubMed Central

Liu, Chang Hong; Chen, Wenfeng; Ward, James; Takahashi, Nozomi

2016-01-01

Prior research based on static images has found limited improvement for recognising previously learnt faces in a new expression after several different facial expressions of these faces had been shown during the learning session. We investigated whether non-rigid motion of facial expression facilitates the learning process. In Experiment 1, participants remembered faces that were either presented in short video clips or still images. To assess the effect of exposure to expression variation, each face was either learnt through a single expression or three different expressions. Experiment 2 examined whether learning faces in video clips could generalise more effectively to a new view. The results show that faces learnt from video clips generalised effectively to a new expression with exposure to a single expression, whereas faces learnt from stills showed poorer generalisation with exposure to either single or three expressions. However, although superior recognition performance was demonstrated for faces learnt through video clips, dynamic facial expression did not create better transfer of learning to faces tested in a new view. The data thus fail to support the hypothesis that non-rigid motion enhances viewpoint invariance. These findings reveal both benefits and limitations of exposures to moving expressions for expression-invariant face recognition. PMID:27499252

Brain hemodynamic activity during viewing and re-viewing of comedy movies explained by experienced humor

PubMed Central

Jääskeläinen, Iiro P.; Pajula, Juha; Tohka, Jussi; Lee, Hsin-Ju; Kuo, Wen-Jui; Lin, Fa-Hsuan

2016-01-01

Humor is crucial in human social interactions. To study the underlying neural processes, three comedy clips were shown twice to 20 volunteers during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Inter-subject similarities in humor ratings, obtained immediately after fMRI, explained inter-subject correlation of hemodynamic activity in right frontal pole and in a number of other brain regions. General linear model analysis also indicated activity in right frontal pole, as well as in additional cortical areas and subcortically in striatum, explained by humorousness. The association of the right frontal pole with experienced humorousness is a novel finding, which might be related to humor unfolding over longer time scales in the movie clips. Specifically, frontal pole has been shown to exhibit longer temporal receptive windows than, e.g., sensory areas, which might have enabled processing of humor in the clips based on holding information and reinterpreting that in light of new information several (even tens of) seconds later. As another novel finding, medial and lateral prefrontal areas, frontal pole, posterior-inferior temporal areas, posterior parietal areas, posterior cingulate, striatal structures and amygdala showed reduced activity upon re-viewing of the clips, suggesting involvement in processing of humor related to novelty of the comedic events. PMID:27323928

Mitral stenosis due to dynamic clip-leaflet interaction during the MitraClip procedure: Case report and review of current knowledge.

PubMed

Singh, Gagan D; Smith, Thomas W; Rogers, Jason H

2017-06-01

The goal of MitraClip therapy is to achieve mitral regurgitation reduction without iatrogenic creation of clinically significant MS. In some series, up to 35% of patients are left with mild MS. There are many contributors to the final transmitral gradient achieved in patients undergoing MitraClip therapy. Additionally, there are many modalities used for the intraprocedural assessment of MS with no one modality considered to be the benchmark. We herein describe a case which illustrates the dynamic nature of clip-leaflet interaction, and review intraprocedural techniques for invasively and noninvasively assessing MS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparation of digital movie clips for online journal publication.

PubMed

Yam, Chun-Shan

2006-07-01

This article presents general guidelines for preparing movie clips for online journal publication. As more and more radiology journals establish an online presence, radiologists wishing to submit journal articles with movie clips need to understand the electronic submission process. Viewing a movie clip via an online journal is different from viewing one with PowerPoint using a local desktop computer because the movie file must first be downloaded onto the client computer before it can be displayed. Users thus should be cautious in selecting movie format and compression when creating movie clips for online journals. This article provides step-by-step demonstrations and general guidelines for movie format and compression selections.

Preliminary PANSAT ground station software design and use of an expert system to analyze telemetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, Gregory W.

1994-03-01

The Petite Amateur Navy Satellite (PANSAT) is a communications satellite designed to be used by civilian amateur radio operators. A master ground station is being built at the Naval Postgraduate School. This computer system performs satellite commands, displays telemetry, trouble-shoots problems, and passes messages. The system also controls an open loop tracking antenna. This paper concentrates on the telemetry display, decoding, and interpretation through artificial intelligence (AI). The telemetry is displayed in an easily interpretable format, so that any user can understand the current health of the satellite and be cued as to any problems and possible solutions. Only the master ground station has the ability to receive all telemetry and send commands to the spacecraft; civilian ham users do not have access to this information. The telemetry data is decommutated and analyzed before it is displayed to the user, so that the raw data will not have to be interpreted by ground users. The analysis will use CLIPS imbedded in the code, and derive its inputs from telemetry decommutation. The program is an expert system using a forward chaining set of rules based on the expected operation and parameters of the satellite. By building the rules during the construction and design of the satellite, the telemetry can be well understood and interpreted after the satellite is launched and the designers may no longer be available to provide input to the problem.

Enhanced subcarrier-index modulation-based asymmetrically clipped optical OFDM using even subcarriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, Rui; Xu, Wei; Yang, Zhaohui; Huang, Nuo; Wang, Jin-Yuan; Chen, Ming

2017-11-01

In this paper, we propose a subcarrier-index modulation-based asymmetrically clipped optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (SACO-OFDM) scheme for optical wireless communication (OWC) systems, which benefits from the subcarrier-index modulation (SIM) and asymmetrically clipped optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (ACO-OFDM) techniques. SACO-OFDM conveys additional information via the subcarrier indexing, and the error rate of the bit transmitted by the subcarrier indexing is much lower than that of the conventional M-ary modulation scheme. On the other hand, as the signal constellation in M-ary modulation is relieved, SACO-OFDM has simple transceiver structure and low detection complexity. Moreover, considering the spectral, an enhanced SACO-OFDM (ESACO-OFDM) using even subcarriers is proposed. In this technique, the odd subcarriers are activated for SACO-OFDM, and the imaginary part of even subcarriers are activated for pulse-amplitude-modulated discrete multitone (PAM-DMT). Clearly, ESACO-OFDM achieves better spectral efficiency than the conventional optical OFDM, since all subcarriers are used for data transmission. Simulation results verify the significant bit error rate (BER) and peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) improvement by the proposed ESACO-OFDM, especially for the medium-to-high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime.

Mobile-Based Video Learning Outcomes in Clinical Nursing Skill Education

PubMed Central

Lee, Nam-Ju; Chae, Sun-Mi; Kim, Haejin; Lee, Ji-Hye; Min, Hyojin Jennifer; Park, Da-Eun

2016-01-01

Mobile devices are a regular part of daily life among the younger generations. Thus, now is the time to apply mobile device use to nursing education. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of a mobile-based video clip on learning motivation, competence, and class satisfaction in nursing students using a randomized controlled trial with a pretest and posttest design. A total of 71 nursing students participated in this study: 36 in the intervention group and 35 in the control group. A video clip of how to perform a urinary catheterization was developed, and the intervention group was able to download it to their own mobile devices for unlimited viewing throughout 1 week. All of the students participated in a practice laboratory to learn urinary catheterization and were blindly tested for their performance skills after participation in the laboratory. The intervention group showed significantly higher levels of learning motivation and class satisfaction than did the control. Of the fundamental nursing competencies, the intervention group was more confident in practicing catheterization than their counterparts. Our findings suggest that video clips using mobile devices are useful tools that educate student nurses on relevant clinical skills and improve learning outcomes. PMID:26389858

Mobile-Based Video Learning Outcomes in Clinical Nursing Skill Education: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Lee, Nam-Ju; Chae, Sun-Mi; Kim, Haejin; Lee, Ji-Hye; Min, Hyojin Jennifer; Park, Da-Eun

2016-01-01

Mobile devices are a regular part of daily life among the younger generations. Thus, now is the time to apply mobile device use to nursing education. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of a mobile-based video clip on learning motivation, competence, and class satisfaction in nursing students using a randomized controlled trial with a pretest and posttest design. A total of 71 nursing students participated in this study: 36 in the intervention group and 35 in the control group. A video clip of how to perform a urinary catheterization was developed, and the intervention group was able to download it to their own mobile devices for unlimited viewing throughout 1 week. All of the students participated in a practice laboratory to learn urinary catheterization and were blindly tested for their performance skills after participation in the laboratory. The intervention group showed significantly higher levels of learning motivation and class satisfaction than did the control. Of the fundamental nursing competencies, the intervention group was more confident in practicing catheterization than their counterparts. Our findings suggest that video clips using mobile devices are useful tools that educate student nurses on relevant clinical skills and improve learning outcomes.

16 CFR 1000.26 - Directorate for Epidemiology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... things, incidents associated with consumer products, based on news clips, medical examiner reports, hotline reports, Internet complaints, and referrals. The Hazard Analysis Division conducts statistical...

Multivariate Cryptography Based on Clipped Hopfield Neural Network.

PubMed

Wang, Jia; Cheng, Lee-Ming; Su, Tong

2018-02-01

Designing secure and efficient multivariate public key cryptosystems [multivariate cryptography (MVC)] to strengthen the security of RSA and ECC in conventional and quantum computational environment continues to be a challenging research in recent years. In this paper, we will describe multivariate public key cryptosystems based on extended Clipped Hopfield Neural Network (CHNN) and implement it using the MVC (CHNN-MVC) framework operated in space. The Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm is extended into the matrix field, which illustrates the feasibility of its new applications in both classic and postquantum cryptography. The efficiency and security of our proposed new public key cryptosystem CHNN-MVC are simulated and found to be NP-hard. The proposed algorithm will strengthen multivariate public key cryptosystems and allows hardware realization practicality.

What kind of erotic film clips should we use in female sex research? An exploratory study.

PubMed

Woodard, Terri L; Collins, Karen; Perez, Mindy; Balon, Richard; Tancer, Manuel E; Kruger, Michael; Moffat, Scott; Diamond, Michael P

2008-01-01

Erotic film clips are used in sex research, including studies of female sexual dysfunction and arousal. However, little is known about which clips optimize female sexual response. Furthermore, their use is not well standardized. To identify the types of film clips that are most mentally appealing and physically arousing to women for use in future sexual function and dysfunction studies; to explore the relationship between mental appeal and reported physical arousal; to characterize the content of the films that were found to be the most and least appealing and arousing. Twenty-one women viewed 90 segments of erotic film clips. They rated how (i) mentally appealing and (ii) how physically aroused they were by each clip. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. The means of the mental and self-reported physical responses were calculated to determine the most and least appealing/arousing film clips. Pearson correlations were calculated to assess the relationship between mental appeal and reported physical arousal. Self-reported mental and physical arousal. Of 90 film clips, 18 were identified as the most mentally appealing and physically arousing while nine were identified as the least mentally appealing and physically arousing. The level of mental appeal positively correlated with the level of perceived physical arousal in both categories (r = 0.61, P < 0.05 and r = 0.62, P < 0.05). The most appealing and physically arousing films tended to exhibit heterosexual behavior with vaginal intercourse. The least appealing and least physically arousing films tended to depict male homosexual behavior, fellatio, and anal intercourse. Erotic film clips reliably produced a state of self-reported arousal in women. The most appealing and arousing films tended to depict heterosexual vaginal intercourse. Film clips with these attributes should be used in future research of sexual function and response of women.

Machine-assisted editing of user-generated content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cremer, Markus; Cook, Randall

2009-02-01

Over recent years user-generated content has become ubiquitously available and an attractive entertainment source for millions of end-users. Particularly for larger events, where many people use their devices to capture the action, a great number of short video clips are made available through appropriate web services. The objective of this presentation is to describe a way to combine these clips by analyzing them, and automatically reconstruct the time line in which the individual video clips were captured. This will enable people to easily create a compelling multimedia experience by leveraging multiple clips taken by different users from different angles, and across different time spans. The user will be able to shift into the role of a movie director mastering a multi-camera recording of the event. To achieve this goal, the audio portion of the video clips is analyzed, and waveform characteristics are computed with high temporal granularity in order to facilitate precise time alignment and overlap computation of the user-generated clips. Special care has to be given not only to the robustness of the selected audio features against ambient noise and various distortions, but also to the matching algorithm used to align the user-generated clips properly.

Duodenal Ulcer Induced by Hem-o-Lok clip after Reduced Port Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

PubMed

Soga, Koichi; Kassai, Kyoichi; Itani, Kenji

2016-03-01

The patient was a 66-year-old woman who had undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy (Lap-C) secondary to chronic cholecystitis status post endoscopic choledocholithotomy 13 months previously. During surgery, Hem-o-Lok clips were used to control the cystic duct and the cystic artery. Due to the presence of extensive adhesions of the cystic duct and surrounding tissue, the surgeons had difficulty in debriding the area. Thirteen months after Lap-C, the patient underwent a screening esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), which demonstrated clip appearance at the inferior wall of the first part of the duodenum. In the EGD, duodenal erosions and edema were observed around the clip. We appreciated that endoscopic clip removal would be difficult because of the presence of severe adhesions and inflammation of the duodenal bulb. On clinical examination of the patient, no major abnormalities or physical findings were noted. Therefore, we decided not to attempt to remove the clip. The patient was treated with an oral proton pump inhibitor to prevent extensive duodenal mucosal injury. Two months later, we repeated the EGD, which revealed that the clip was no longer present, and the duodenum was covered with normal mucosa surrounding the scar.

Plastic bread-bag clips in the gastrointestinal tract: report of 5 cases and review of the literature

PubMed Central

Newell, K J; Taylor, B; Walton, J C; Tweedie, E J

2000-01-01

Plastic bread-bag clips have been identified as a cause of local perforation or obstruction at many sites in the gastrointestinal tract. This study is the largest case series yet reported, consisting of 3 cases presenting as small-bowel perforation, 1 case in which the clip was found incidentally in the small bowel at laparotomy during vascular surgery and 1 case in which the clip was found incidentally in the small bowel at autopsy. In all cases there was no radiographic evidence to suggest a foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract. People older than 60 years of age who have either partial or full dentures seem to be particularly at risk for the accidental ingestion of these devices. If accidentally ingested, plastic bread-bag clips represent a significant health hazard. As the population ages, small-bowel perforation secondary to ingestion of such clips may occur with increasing frequency. The authors recommend elimination or redesign of the clips, to prevent their being swallowed and becoming impacted in the small bowel or to allow them to be identified in the gastrointestinal tract by conventional radiography. PMID:10701390

Age-Related Differences in Judgments of Inappropriate Behavior are Related to Humor Style Preferences

PubMed Central

Stanley, Jennifer Tehan; Lohani, Monika; Isaacowitz, Derek M.

2014-01-01

Identifying social gaffes is important for maintaining relationships. Older adults are less able than young to discriminate between socially appropriate and inappropriate behavior in video clips. One open question is how these social appropriateness ratings relate to potential age differences in the perception of what is actually funny or not. In the present study, young, middle-aged, and older adults were equally able to discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate social behavior in a diverse set of clips relevant to both age groups. However, young and middle-aged adults rated the gaffe clips as funnier than control clips and young adults smiled more during the inappropriate clips than the control clips. Older adults did not show this pattern, suggesting that they did not find the inappropriate clips funny. Additionally, young adults endorsed a more aggressive humor style than middle-aged and older adults and aggressive humor style endorsement mediated age differences in social appropriateness ratings. Results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms such as cohort differences in humor and developmental prioritization of certain humor styles, as well as the importance of investigating age differences in both abilities and preferences. PMID:25244473

21 CFR 868.6225 - Nose clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Miscellaneous § 868.6225 Nose clip. (a) Identification. A nose clip is a device intended to close a patient's external nares (nostrils) during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. (b... from the current good manufacturing practice requirements of the quality system regulation in part 820...

Effects of fin clipping on survival and position-holding behavior of brown darters, Etheostoma edwini

USGS Publications Warehouse

Champagne, C.E.; Austin, J.D.; Jelks, H.L.; Jordan, F.

2008-01-01

Advent of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has allowed conservation biologists to use small portions of tissue to obtain genetic material for population genetic and taxonomic study. Fin clips are used extensively in large-sized fishes, but it is unclear how clipping enough fin tissue for genetic analysis will affect survival of smaller fishes such as minnows and darters, which are among the most threatened organisms in North America. We tested for effects of fin clipping on survival and swimming performance of non-threatened Brown Darters (Etheostoma edwini) in order to justify similar tissue collection in co-occurring endangered Okaloosa Darters (E. okaloosae). We collected 48 E. edwini from a small stream in northwest Florida, transported them to the laboratory, and randomly assigned them to one of three experimental groups: control, entire right pectoral fin removed, or rear half of caudal fin removed. Successful amplification of DNA indicated that our fin clips were large enough for genetic analysis using PCR. No mortality occurred during a two-month observation period. Fin regeneration was almost complete and we could not visually distinguish clipped fins from control fins after two months. We then randomly assigned fish into the same three experimental groups, clipped fins, and evaluated their ability to hold position at 20 cm/sec in an experimental flow chamber. Neither fish size nor treatment type affected position-holding behavior. Fin clipping does not adversely affect survival and swimming performance of E. edwini maintained in the laboratory. Additional research on the effects of fin clipping on small-sized fishes should be conducted in the field to evaluate survival under natural conditions. ?? 2008 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

Efficacy of electrocoagulation in sealing the cystic artery and cystic duct occluded with only one absorbable clip during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

PubMed

Yang, Chang-Ping; Cao, Jin-Lin; Yang, Ren-Rong; Guo, Hong-Rong; Li, Zhao-Hui; Guo, Hai-Ying; Shao, Yin-Can; Liu, Gui-Bao

2014-02-01

Even though laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) emerged over 20 years ago, controversies persist with regard to the best method to ligate the cystic duct and artery. We proposed to assess the effectiveness and safety of electrocoagulation to seal the cystic artery and cystic duct after their occlusion with only one absorbable clip. We retrospectively compared the clinical data for 635 patients undergoing LC using electrocoagulation to seal the cystic artery and cystic duct that were occluded with only one absorbable clip (Group 1) and 728 patients undergoing LC using titanium clips (Group 2). In parallel, 30 rabbits randomized into six groups underwent cholecystectomy. After cystic duct ligation with absorbable or titanium clips, the animals were sacrificed 1, 3, or 6 months later, and intraabdominal adhesions were assessed after celiotomy. The mean operative time was significantly shorter (41.6 versus 58.9 minutes, P<.01) in Group 1 than in Group 2. No cystic duct leaks occurred in any patients from Group 1, compared with seven leaks among the 728 (0.96%) patients from Group 2 (P<.05). The morbidity was significantly higher in Group 2 than in Group 1 (3.43% versus 1.58%). Mean intraoperative blood loss and hospitalization length were not significantly different between the two groups, and no deaths occurred in either group. In animal experiments, adhesion was tighter for absorbable than for titanium clips, but fibrous tissue encapsulation was thinner at the site of titanium clips. Electrocoagulation of the cystic artery and cystic duct that were occluded with only one absorbable clip is safe and effective during LC. This approach is associated with shortened operative times and reduced leakage, compared with the standard method using metal clips.

Aneurysm clip motion during magnetic resonance imaging: in vivo experimental study with metallurgical factor analysis.

PubMed

Dujovny, M; Kossovsky, N; Kossowsky, R; Valdivia, R; Suk, J S; Diaz, F G; Berman, S K; Cleary, W

1985-10-01

Because of various mechanical, metallurgical, and commercial constraints, aneurysm clips are manufactured from different alloys, including several stainless steel and cobalt alloys. Some of the steels contain volume fractions of the crystal phase known as martensite. Martensitic alloys have body-centered cubic structure, are prone to stress corrosion failure, and are ferromagnetic. Martensitic steel can be displaced like a compass needle when exposed to a magnetic field such as that generated during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The force exerted by the magnetic field is proportional to the volume fraction of the magnetic phase. We investigated the martensitic content and magnetic field-induced displacement of 12 common aneurysm clips. Four clips of each of the following types were examined: Sugita, Sundt-Kees Multi-Angle, Heifetz (two types), Vari-Angle McFadden, Yasargil (two types), Scoville, Mayfield, Vari-Angle, Pivot, and Kapp. Phase homogeneity and crystal structure were analyzed by x-ray diffraction using a Phillips x-ray diffractometer. Clip deflection in an Oxford Research Systems MRI spectrometer was measured in our in vivo rat abdominal aortic aneurysm model. Results showed that the volume fraction of the martensitic phase in the various clips correlated with the magnitude of the deflection. Among the clips examined, the Yasargil, Sugita, Heifetz Elgiloy, and Vari-Angle McFadden had a nonmartensitic composition and did not deflect in the magnetic field. The Scoville contained 5% martensite and deflected only marginally. Martensite comprised 35% of the Mayfield clip, which deflected 45 degrees, and 90% of the Heifetz, Vari-Angle, Pivot, and Sundt-Kees Multi-Angle clips, which deflected approximately 70 degrees or slipped off the aneurysm.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Security System Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

C Language Integration Production System (CLIPS), a NASA-developed expert systems program, has enabled a security systems manufacturer to design a new generation of hardware. C.CURESystem 1 Plus, manufactured by Software House, is a software based system that is used with a variety of access control hardware at installations around the world. Users can manage large amounts of information, solve unique security problems and control entry and time scheduling. CLIPS acts as an information management tool when accessed by C.CURESystem 1 Plus. It asks questions about the hardware and when given the answer, recommends possible quick solutions by non-expert persons.

An Intelligent Pinger Network for Solid Glacier Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schönitz, S.; Reuter, S.; Henke, C.; Jeschke, S.; Ewert, D.; Eliseev, D.; Heinen, D.; Linder, P.; Scholz, F.; Weinstock, L.; Wickmann, S.; Wiebusch, C.; Zierke, S.

2016-12-01

This talk presents a novel approach for an intelligent, agent-based pinger network in an extraterrestrial glacier environment. Because of recent findings of the Cassini spacecraft, a mission to Saturn's moon Enceladus is planned in order search for extraterrestrial life within the ocean beneath Enceladus' ice crust. Therefore, a maneuverable melting probe, the EnEx probe, was developed to melt into Enceladus' ice and take liquid samples from water-filled crevasses. Hence, the probe collecting the samples has to be able to navigate in ice which is a hard problem, because neither visual nor gravitational methods can be used. To enhance the navigability of the probe, a network of autonomous pinger units (APU) is in development that is able to extract a map of the ice environment via ultrasonic soundwaves. A network of these APUs will be deployed on the surface of Enceladus, melt into the ice and form a network to help guide the probe safely to its destination. The APU network is able to form itself fully autonomously and to compensate system failures of individual APUs. The agents controlling the single APU are realized by rule-based expert systems implemented in CLIPS. The rule-based expert system evaluates available information of the environment, decides for actions to take to achieve the desired goal (e.g. a specific network topology), and executes and monitors such actions. In general, it encodes certain situations that are evaluated whenever an APU is currently idle, and then decides for a next action to take. It bases this decision on its internal world model that is shared with the other APUs. The optimal network topology that defines each agents position is iteratively determined by mixed-integer nonlinear programming. Extensive simulations studies show that the proposed agent design enables the APUs to form a robust network topology that is suited to create a reliable 3D map of the ice environment.

Stone formation from nonabsorbable clip migration into the collecting system after robot-assisted partial nephrectomy.

PubMed

Lee, Ziho; Reilly, Christopher E; Moore, Blake W; Mydlo, Jack H; Lee, David I; Eun, Daniel D

2014-01-01

We describe a case in which a Weck Hem-o-lok clip (Teleflex, Research Triangle Park, USA) migrated into the collecting system and acted as a nidus for stone formation in a patient after robot-assisted partial nephrectomy. The patient presented 2 years postoperatively with left-sided renal colic. Abdominal computed tomography scan showed a 10 millimeter renal calculus in the left middle pole. After using laser lithotripsy to fragment the overlying renal stone, a Weck Hem-o-lok clip was found to be embedded in the collecting system. A laser fiber through a flexible ureteroscope was used to successfully dislodge the clip from the renal parenchyma, and a stone basket was used to extract the clip.

40 CFR 60.3078 - What definitions must I know?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... shavings. Wood waste does not include: (1) Grass, grass clippings, bushes, shrubs, and clippings from bushes and shrubs from residential, commercial/retail, institutional, or industrial sources as part of..., flake board, and oriented strand board). Yard waste means grass, grass clippings, bushes, shrubs, and...

40 CFR 60.2977 - What definitions must I know?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... shavings. Wood waste does not include: (1) Grass, grass clippings, bushes, shrubs, and clippings from bushes and shrubs from residential, commercial/retail, institutional, or industrial sources as part of..., flake board, and oriented strand board). Yard waste means grass, grass clippings, bushes, shrubs, and...

21 CFR 886.3100 - Ophthalmic tantalum clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... blood vessels in the eye. (b) Classification. Class II (special controls). The device is exempt from the...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 886.3100 Ophthalmic tantalum clip. (a) Identification. An ophthalmic tantalum clip is a malleable metallic device intended to be implanted permanently...

A graphical interface to CLIPS using SunView

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feagin, Terry

1990-01-01

The importance of the incorporation of various graphics-oriented features into CLIPS is discussed. These popular features, which have been implemented in a version of CLIPS developed for a popular workstation, are described and their usefulness in the development of expert systems is examined.

PubMed Central

Bédard, S; Desrochers, A; Fecteau, G; Higgins, R

2001-01-01

This study was designed to evaluate 4 preoperative skin preparations, that is, more specifically, to compare the efficacy of chlorhexidine gluconate (CG) and povidone-iodine (PI), as well as 2 hair removal techniques (clipper alone or clipper followed by razor) for preoperative skin preparation in cattle. The 4 protocols resulted in a significant decrease in the number of bacterial colony-forming units (cfu). Group 4 (clipping + shaving + CG) had a significantly lower number of preoperative cfu per gel plate compared with groups 1 (clipping + PI) and 3 (clipping + shaving + PI). Skin reaction frequency was significantly higher in groups 3 and 4 (47.8% for both protocols) than in groups 1 and 2 (clipping + PI or CG) (8.7% for both). Wound infection frequency was 4.3% (4/92) and no significant difference was observed between the 4 treatment groups. The 4 protocols tested were equivalent as to efficacy and satisfactorily decreased skin microflora. Clipping alone was shown to be preferable to clipping plus shaving as a method of hair removal in cattle, with fewer skin reactions and no more wound infections. PMID:11265188

Ruptured blebs and racing hearts: autonomic cardiac changes in neurosurgeons during microsurgical clipping of aneurysms.

PubMed

Ganne, Chaitanya; Talkad, Sathyaprabha N; Srinivas, Dwarakanath; Somanna, Sampath

2016-08-01

In this study, we intend to evaluate the autonomic changes occurring in neurosurgeons and thus the stress during microsurgical clipping of aneurysms. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the heart rate variability (HRV) of the neurosurgeons during microsurgical clipping of aneurysm by using continuous real time monitoring of the ECG intraoperatively. Lead II ECG was recorded using Bioharness(®) (Zephyr Technologies, Annapolis, MD) in 4 healthy neurosurgeons who performed 29 microsurgical clipping of aneurysms. ECG from 21 surgeries was analysed (LabChart(®) software, ADInstruments, Dunedin, New Zealand) across five stages: Baseline (BL), sylvian fissure dissection (SFD), perianeurysmal dissection (PAD), clipping of the aneurysm (CLIP) and haemostasis (HEMO). There was a reduction in TP and an increased LF/HF ratio in spite of suppression of both LF and HF powers. Contrary to the common understanding that the sympathetic limb of the autonomic system mostly mediates responses during stress and anxiety, we found that there was a significant contribution of the parasympathetic system too.

From tricuspid to double orifice Morphology: Percutaneous tricuspid regurgitation repair with the MitraClip device in congenitally corrected-transposition of great arteries.

PubMed

Picard, Fabien; Tadros, Victor-Xavier; Asgar, Anita W

2017-09-01

Edge to edge transcatheter mitral valve repair with MitraClip (Abbott Vascular, Menlo Park, CA) is increasing for high-risk surgical patients with significant mitral regurgitation. Patients with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA) presenting with tricuspid valve regurgitation of a systemic right ventricle may represent particularly challenging candidates for MitraClip given their anatomy. We report the case of a 67-year-old gentleman with CCTGA and severe tricuspid regurgitation who was referred for MitraClip implantation after heart team consensus. Successful implantation of one clip was performed, achieving a significant reduction of the regurgitation. Similarly, favorable findings were confirmed at 6 months, 1 and 2 years follow-up and the patient had no recurrent heart failure admissions after 2-year follow-up. We describe the technical considerations and the importance of 3D-transoesophageal echocardiography for performing the MitraClip of a trileaflet systemic atrioventricular valve. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Economic evaluation of Community Level Interventions for Pre-eclampsia (CLIP) in South Asian and African countries: a study protocol.

PubMed

Khowaja, Asif R; Mitton, Craig; Bryan, Stirling; Magee, Laura A; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; von Dadelszen, Peter

2015-05-26

Globally, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, particularly pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, are the leading cause of maternal and neonatal mortality, and impose substantial burdens on the families of pregnant women, their communities, and healthcare systems. The Community Level Interventions for Pre-eclampsia (CLIP) Trial evaluates a package of care applied at both community and primary health centres to reduce maternal and perinatal disabilities and deaths resulting from the failure to identify and manage pre-eclampsia at the community level. Economic evaluation of health interventions can play a pivotal role in priority setting and inform policy decisions for scale-up. At present, there is a paucity of published literature on the methodology of economic evaluation of large, multi-country, community-based interventions in the area of maternal and perinatal health. This study protocol describes the application of methodology for economic evaluation of the CLIP in South Asia and Africa. A mixed-design approach i.e. cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and qualitative thematic analysis will be used alongside the trial to prospectively evaluate the economic impact of CLIP from a societal perspective. Data on health resource utilization, costs, and pregnancy outcomes will be collected through structured questionnaires embedded into the pregnancy surveillance, cross-sectional survey and budgetary reviews. Qualitative data will be collected through focus groups (FGs) with pregnant women, household male-decision makers, care providers, and district level health decision makers. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio will be calculated for healthcare system and societal perspectives, taking into account the country-specific model inputs (costs and outcome) from the CLIP Trial. Emerging themes from FGs will inform the design of the model, and help to interpret findings of the CEA. The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly recommends cost-effective interventions as a key aspect of achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG)-5 (i.e. 75 % reduction in maternal mortality from 1990 levels by 2015). To date, most cost-effectiveness studies in this field have focused specifically on the diagnostic and clinical management of pre-eclampsia, yet rarely on community-based interventions in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). This study protocol will be of interest to public health scientists and health economists undertaking community-based trials in the area of maternal and perinatal health, particularly in LMICs. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01911494.

A cost-effective strategy for nonoscillatory convection without clipping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leonard, B. P.; Niknafs, H. S.

1990-01-01

Clipping of narrow extrema and distortion of smooth profiles is a well known problem associated with so-called high resolution nonoscillatory convection schemes. A strategy is presented for accurately simulating highly convective flows containing discontinuities such as density fronts or shock waves, without distorting smooth profiles or clipping narrow local extrema. The convection algorithm is based on non-artificially diffusive third-order upwinding in smooth regions, with automatic adaptive stencil expansion to (in principle, arbitrarily) higher order upwinding locally, in regions of rapidly changing gradients. This is highly cost effective because the wider stencil is used only where needed-in isolated narrow regions. A recently developed universal limiter assures sharp monotonic resolution of discontinuities without introducing artificial diffusion or numerical compression. An adaptive discriminator is constructed to distinguish between spurious overshoots and physical peaks; this automatically relaxes the limiter near local turning points, thereby avoiding loss of resolution in narrow extrema. Examples are given for one-dimensional pure convection of scalar profiles at constant velocity.

Over the scope clip: technique and expanding clinical applications.

PubMed

Singhal, Shashideep; Changela, Kinesh; Papafragkakis, Haris; Anand, Sury; Krishnaiah, Mahesh; Duddempudi, Sushil

2013-10-01

Advances in endoscopic and surgical techniques have increased the frequency and complexity of these procedures, and thus, the incidence of associated complications. To describe the use and clinical applications of the Over the Scope Clip (OTSC) system. An English language literature search was conducted using the key words "endoscopy" and "over the scope clip" in order to identify human studies evaluating the application of OTSC from January 2001 to August 2012. The indication, efficacy, complications, and limitations were recorded. Overall success rates of OTSC based on current literature range are in the range of 75% to 100% for closure of iatrogenic gastrointestinal perforations, 38% to 100% for closure of gastrointestinal fistulas, 50% to 100% for anastomotic leaks, and 71% to 100% for bleeding lesions. OTSCs have shown 100% success rates in managing postbariatric surgery weight gain secondary to dilation of the gastrojejunal pouch. OTSC is easy to use with good results, thus decreasing the morbidity and mortality associated with the complications secondary to both diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy and avoiding surgery in many situations.

Evaluation of a Novel Laser-assisted Coronary Anastomotic Connector - the Trinity Clip - in a Porcine Off-pump Bypass Model

PubMed Central

Stecher, David; Bronkers, Glenn; Noest, Jappe O.T.; Tulleken, Cornelis A.F.; Hoefer, Imo E.; van Herwerden, Lex A.; Pasterkamp, Gerard; Buijsrogge, Marc P.

2014-01-01

To simplify and facilitate beating heart (i.e., off-pump), minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery, a new coronary anastomotic connector, the Trinity Clip, is developed based on the excimer laser-assisted nonocclusive anastomosis technique. The Trinity Clip connector enables simplified, sutureless, and nonocclusive connection of the graft to the coronary artery, and an excimer laser catheter laser-punches the opening of the anastomosis. Consequently, owing to the complete nonocclusive anastomosis construction, coronary conditioning (i.e., occluding or shunting) is not necessary, in contrast to the conventional anastomotic technique, hence simplifying the off-pump bypass procedure. Prior to clinical application in coronary artery bypass grafting, the safety and quality of this novel connector will be evaluated in a long-term experimental porcine off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) study. In this paper, we describe how to evaluate the coronary anastomosis in the porcine OPCAB model using various techniques to assess its quality. Representative results are summarized and visually demonstrated. PMID:25490000

[MitraClip® for treatment of tricuspid valve insufficiency].

PubMed

Pfister, R; Baldus, S

2017-11-01

Tricuspid valve regurgitation is frequently found as a result of right ventricular remodeling due to advanced left heart diseases. Drug treatment is limited to diuretics and the cardiac or pulmonary comorbidities. Due to the high risk only a small percentage of patients are amenable to surgical treatment of tricuspid regurgitation in those who undergo left-sided surgery for other reasons. Catheter-based procedures are an attractive treatment alternative, particularly since the strong prognostic impact of tricuspid regurgitation suggests an unmet need of treatment, independent of the underlying heart disease. A vast amount of clinical experience exists for the MitraClip system for treatment of mitral regurgitation. A first case series shows that the application for treatment of tricuspid regurgitation is technically feasible, seems to be safe and the degree of valve regurgitation can be reduced. In this review the background of tricuspid regurgitation treatment is summarized and first experiences and perspectives with the MitraClip system are assessed.

Testing the Effectiveness of 3D Film for Laboratory-Based Studies of Emotion

PubMed Central

Bride, Daniel L.; Crowell, Sheila E.; Baucom, Brian R.; Kaufman, Erin A.; O'Connor, Caitlin G.; Skidmore, Chloe R.; Yaptangco, Mona

2014-01-01

Research in psychology and affective neuroscience often relies on film as a standardized and reliable method for evoking emotion. However, clip validation is not undertaken regularly. This presents a challenge for research with adolescent and young adult samples who are exposed routinely to high-definition (HD) three-dimensional (3D) stimuli and may not respond to older, validated film clips. Studies with young people inform understanding of emotional development, dysregulated affect, and psychopathology, making it critical to assess whether technological advances improve the study of emotion. In the present study, we examine whether 3D film is more evocative than 2D using a tightly controlled within-subjects design. Participants (n  =  408) viewed clips during a concurrent psychophysiological assessment. Results indicate that both 2D and 3D technology are highly effective tools for emotion elicitation. However, 3D does not add incremental benefit over 2D, even when individual differences in anxiety, emotion dysregulation, and novelty seeking are considered. PMID:25170878

Testing the effectiveness of 3D film for laboratory-based studies of emotion.

PubMed

Bride, Daniel L; Crowell, Sheila E; Baucom, Brian R; Kaufman, Erin A; O'Connor, Caitlin G; Skidmore, Chloe R; Yaptangco, Mona

2014-01-01

Research in psychology and affective neuroscience often relies on film as a standardized and reliable method for evoking emotion. However, clip validation is not undertaken regularly. This presents a challenge for research with adolescent and young adult samples who are exposed routinely to high-definition (HD) three-dimensional (3D) stimuli and may not respond to older, validated film clips. Studies with young people inform understanding of emotional development, dysregulated affect, and psychopathology, making it critical to assess whether technological advances improve the study of emotion. In the present study, we examine whether 3D film is more evocative than 2D using a tightly controlled within-subjects design. Participants (n  =  408) viewed clips during a concurrent psychophysiological assessment. Results indicate that both 2D and 3D technology are highly effective tools for emotion elicitation. However, 3D does not add incremental benefit over 2D, even when individual differences in anxiety, emotion dysregulation, and novelty seeking are considered.

Modeling the effect of toe clipping on treefrog survival: Beyond the return rate

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waddle, J.H.; Rice, K.G.; Mazzotti, F.J.; Percival, H.F.

2008-01-01

Some studies have described a negative effect of toe clipping on return rates of marked anurans, but the return rate is limited in that it does not account for heterogeneity of capture probabilities. We used open population mark-recapture models to estimate both apparent survival (ϕ) and the recapture probability (p) of two treefrog species individually marked by clipping 2–4 toes. We used information-theoretic model selection to examine the effect of toe clipping on survival while accounting for variation in capture probability. The model selection results indicate strong support for an effect of toe clipping on survival of Green Treefrogs (Hyla cinerea) and only limited support for an effect of toe clipping on capture probability. We estimate there was a mean absolute decrease in survival of 5.02% and 11.16% for Green Treefrogs with three and four toes removed, respectively, compared to individuals with just two toes removed. Results for Squirrel Treefrogs (Hyla squirella) indicate little support for an effect of toe clipping on survival but may indicate some support for a negative effect on capture probability. We believe that the return rate alone should not be used to examine survival of marked animals because constant capture probability must be assumed, and our examples demonstrate how capture probability may vary over time and among groups. Mark-recapture models provide a method for estimating the effect of toe clipping on anuran survival in situations where unique marks are applied.

Measurement Of The Deformation Of Rail Track Fastening Clips By Holographic Interferometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ennos, A. E.

1985-01-01

One method of attaching railway rails to the sleepers (ties) is to use spring steel clips, mounted on either side of the rail, that exert a downward force on the foot of the rail. In service these will flex with the passing of a train. Holographic interferometry has been used to measure quantitatively the manner in which the spring clips deform when the rail is given a displacement in a prescribed direction. The information can be used both to provide data on the bending and torsion of the clip, and as a means of testing the validity of finite element analysis calculations. Measurements on three different designs of commercial clip were carried out on a section of sleeper holding a short length of rail. A controlled upward displacement of the rail was achieved pneumatically by means of plastic pipes interposed between rail and concrete sleeper. Double exposure holograms were recorded on large photographic plates, allowing views of the fringe patterns from widely spaced directions. The three components of displacement at points along the length of the clip were calculated from fringe information taken from nine directions, using least squares fit to obtain increased accuracy. Rotations of the surface were calculated from the fringe directions and spacings. In addition to deformation measurements of the clip under service conditions, information on local yielding of the clip under increasing stress was also obtained by means of real-time interferometry, using an instant hologram camera.

Accuracy assessment methods of tissue marker clip placement after 11-gauge vacuum-assisted stereotactic breast biopsy: comparison of measurements using direct and conventional methods.

PubMed

Yatake, Hidetoshi; Sawai, Yuka; Nishi, Toshio; Nakano, Yoshiaki; Nishimae, Ayaka; Katsuda, Toshizo; Yabunaka, Koichi; Takeda, Yoshihiro; Inaji, Hideo

2017-07-01

The objective of the study was to compare direct measurement with a conventional method for evaluation of clip placement in stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (ST-VAB) and to evaluate the accuracy of clip placement using the direct method. Accuracy of clip placement was assessed by measuring the distance from a residual calcification of a targeted calcification clustered to a clip on a mammogram after ST-VAB. Distances in the craniocaudal (CC) and mediolateral oblique (MLO) views were measured in 28 subjects with mammograms recorded twice or more after ST-VAB. The difference in the distance between the first and second measurements was defined as the reproducibility and was compared with that from a conventional method using a mask system with overlap of transparent film on the mammogram. The 3D clip-to-calcification distance was measured using the direct method in 71 subjects. The reproducibility of the direct method was higher than that of the conventional method in CC and MLO views (P = 0.002, P < 0.001). The median 3D clip-to-calcification distance was 2.8 mm, with an interquartile range of 2.0-4.8 mm and a range of 1.1-36.3 mm. The direct method used in this study was more accurate than the conventional method, and gave a median 3D distance of 2.8 mm between the calcification and clip.

Angiographic and epidemiological characteristics associated with aneurysm remnants after microsurgical clipping

PubMed Central

Dellaretti, Marcos; da Silva Martins, Warley Carvalho; Dourado, Jules Carlos; Faglioni, Wilson; Quadros, Ricardo Souza; de Souza Moraes, Vítor Vieira; de Souza Filho, Carlos Batista Alves

2017-01-01

Background: Despite new techniques for the treatment of cerebral aneurysms, the percentage of aneurysm remnants after surgical intervention seems to be relatively constant. The objective of this study was to assess angiographic and epidemiological features associated with aneurysm remnants after microsurgical clipping. Methods: This study was conducted from February 2009 to August 2012 on a series of 90 patients with 105 aneurysms referred to the Santa Casa of Belo Horizonte who were surgically treated and angiographically controlled. Results: Surgical clipping was considered incomplete in 13.3% of the aneurysms. The mean age of cases with an aneurysm remnant was 57.5 years, whereas the mean age without aneurysm remnant was 49.7 years (P = 0.02). Aneurysm remnants were detected more frequently on the internal carotid artery, nevertheless, no statistically significant differences were verified when comparing the locations. Aneurysm size in the preoperative angiography verified that the mean size of aneurysms operated was 6.56 mm, such that in cases showing a postoperative remnant, the mean size was 9.7 mm and in cases with complete clipping it was 6.08 mm (P = 0.02). Postoperative angiography showed that, in cases with residual aneurysm, the number of clips used was higher – a mean of 1.8 for complete clipping and 3.1 for incomplete clipping (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Aneurysm size and patient age showed significant correlations with residual intracranial aneurysm. The mean number of clips used was higher in cases with incomplete occlusion. PMID:28904825

CLIP-170 homologue and NUDE play overlapping roles in NUDF localization in Aspergillus nidulans.

PubMed

Efimov, Vladimir P; Zhang, Jun; Xiang, Xin

2006-04-01

Proteins in the cytoplasmic dynein pathway accumulate at the microtubule plus end, giving the appearance of comets when observed in live cells. The targeting mechanism for NUDF (LIS1/Pac1) of Aspergillus nidulans, a key component of the dynein pathway, has not been clear. Previous studies have demonstrated physical interactions of NUDF/LIS1/Pac1 with both NUDE/NUDEL/Ndl1 and CLIP-170/Bik1. Here, we have identified the A. nidulans CLIP-170 homologue, CLIPA. The clipA deletion did not cause an obvious nuclear distribution phenotype but affected cytoplasmic microtubules in an unexpected manner. Although more microtubules failed to undergo long-range growth toward the hyphal tip at 32 degrees C, those that reached the hyphal tip were less likely to undergo catastrophe. Thus, in addition to acting as a growth-promoting factor, CLIPA also promotes microtubule dynamics. In the absence of CLIPA, green fluorescent protein-labeled cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain, p150(Glued) dynactin, and NUDF were all seen as plus-end comets at 32 degrees C. However, under the same conditions, deletion of both clipA and nudE almost completely abolished NUDF comets, although nudE deletion itself did not cause a dramatic change in NUDF localization. Based on these results, we suggest that CLIPA and NUDE both recruit NUDF to the microtubule plus end. The plus-end localization of CLIPA itself seems to be regulated by different mechanisms under different physiological conditions. Although the KipA kinesin (Kip2/Tea2 homologue) did not affect plus-end localization of CLIPA at 32 degrees C, it was required for enhancing plus-end accumulation of CLIPA at an elevated temperature (42 degrees C).

A Public Database of Immersive VR Videos with Corresponding Ratings of Arousal, Valence, and Correlations between Head Movements and Self Report Measures.

PubMed

Li, Benjamin J; Bailenson, Jeremy N; Pines, Adam; Greenleaf, Walter J; Williams, Leanne M

2017-01-01

Virtual reality (VR) has been proposed as a methodological tool to study the basic science of psychology and other fields. One key advantage of VR is that sharing of virtual content can lead to more robust replication and representative sampling. A database of standardized content will help fulfill this vision. There are two objectives to this study. First, we seek to establish and allow public access to a database of immersive VR video clips that can act as a potential resource for studies on emotion induction using virtual reality. Second, given the large sample size of participants needed to get reliable valence and arousal ratings for our video, we were able to explore the possible links between the head movements of the observer and the emotions he or she feels while viewing immersive VR. To accomplish our goals, we sourced for and tested 73 immersive VR clips which participants rated on valence and arousal dimensions using self-assessment manikins. We also tracked participants' rotational head movements as they watched the clips, allowing us to correlate head movements and affect. Based on past research, we predicted relationships between the standard deviation of head yaw and valence and arousal ratings. Results showed that the stimuli varied reasonably well along the dimensions of valence and arousal, with a slight underrepresentation of clips that are of negative valence and highly arousing. The standard deviation of yaw positively correlated with valence, while a significant positive relationship was found between head pitch and arousal. The immersive VR clips tested are available online as supplemental material.

CLIP-170 Homologue and NUDE Play Overlapping Roles in NUDF Localization in Aspergillus nidulansV⃞

PubMed Central

Efimov, Vladimir P.; Zhang, Jun; Xiang, Xin

2006-01-01

Proteins in the cytoplasmic dynein pathway accumulate at the microtubule plus end, giving the appearance of comets when observed in live cells. The targeting mechanism for NUDF (LIS1/Pac1) of Aspergillus nidulans, a key component of the dynein pathway, has not been clear. Previous studies have demonstrated physical interactions of NUDF/LIS1/Pac1 with both NUDE/NUDEL/Ndl1 and CLIP-170/Bik1. Here, we have identified the A. nidulans CLIP-170 homologue, CLIPA. The clipA deletion did not cause an obvious nuclear distribution phenotype but affected cytoplasmic microtubules in an unexpected manner. Although more microtubules failed to undergo long-range growth toward the hyphal tip at 32°C, those that reached the hyphal tip were less likely to undergo catastrophe. Thus, in addition to acting as a growth-promoting factor, CLIPA also promotes microtubule dynamics. In the absence of CLIPA, green fluorescent protein-labeled cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain, p150Glued dynactin, and NUDF were all seen as plus-end comets at 32°C. However, under the same conditions, deletion of both clipA and nudE almost completely abolished NUDF comets, although nudE deletion itself did not cause a dramatic change in NUDF localization. Based on these results, we suggest that CLIPA and NUDE both recruit NUDF to the microtubule plus end. The plus-end localization of CLIPA itself seems to be regulated by different mechanisms under different physiological conditions. Although the KipA kinesin (Kip2/Tea2 homologue) did not affect plus-end localization of CLIPA at 32°C, it was required for enhancing plus-end accumulation of CLIPA at an elevated temperature (42°C). PMID:16467375

Prosthetic aspects and patient satisfaction with resilient liner and clip attachments for bar- and implant-retained mandibular overdentures: a 3-year randomized clinical study.

PubMed

ELsyad, Moustafa Abdou

2012-01-01

This report aimed to compare prosthetic aspects and patient satisfaction during a 3-year randomized clinical trial of bar- and implant-retained mandibular overdentures attached with either resilient liners or clips. Thirty edentulous male patients (mean age: 62.5 years) received two implants in the anterior mandible after being allocated into two equal groups (according to attachment type received) using balanced randomization. After 3 months, implants were connected with resilient bars. New maxillary complete dentures were then constructed, and mandibular overdentures were retained to the bars with either clips (group I) or silicone resilient liners (group II). Subjects indicated satisfaction with their prostheses using a questionnaire and visual analog scale. Patient satisfaction and prosthetic complications were recorded for both attachments at 6 months and 1 and 3 years after overdenture insertion. Comfort and stability with the maxillary denture and ease of hygiene procedures were rated higher in group II, while ease of handling the dentures was rated higher in group I. No significant differences in other parameters of patient satisfaction between groups were noted after 3 years. The mean number of prosthetic adjustments and repairs in group I (11.9) was significantly higher (P = .00) compared to that in group II (4.8). The most common complication in group I was clip wear, while separation of the resilient liner from the denture base was the most common problem in group II. Hyperplasia under the bar and flabby ridge in the maxilla occurred significantly more often in group I compared to group II. Resilient liner-retained mandibular overdentures had comparable patient satisfaction, less prosthetic maintenance and costs, and less soft tissue complications when compared to clip-retained ones after 3 years.

Long-term memory biases auditory spatial attention.

PubMed

Zimmermann, Jacqueline F; Moscovitch, Morris; Alain, Claude

2017-10-01

Long-term memory (LTM) has been shown to bias attention to a previously learned visual target location. Here, we examined whether memory-predicted spatial location can facilitate the detection of a faint pure tone target embedded in real world audio clips (e.g., soundtrack of a restaurant). During an initial familiarization task, participants heard audio clips, some of which included a lateralized target (p = 50%). On each trial participants indicated whether the target was presented from the left, right, or was absent. Following a 1 hr retention interval, participants were presented with the same audio clips, which now all included a target. In Experiment 1, participants showed memory-based gains in response time and d'. Experiment 2 showed that temporal expectations modulate attention, with greater memory-guided attention effects on performance when temporal context was reinstated from learning (i.e., when timing of the target within audio clips was not changed from initially learned timing). Experiment 3 showed that while conscious recall of target locations was modulated by exposure to target-context associations during learning (i.e., better recall with higher number of learning blocks), the influence of LTM associations on spatial attention was not reduced (i.e., number of learning blocks did not affect memory-guided attention). Both Experiments 2 and 3 showed gains in performance related to target-context associations, even for associations that were not explicitly remembered. Together, these findings indicate that memory for audio clips is acquired quickly and is surprisingly robust; both implicit and explicit LTM for the location of a faint target tone modulated auditory spatial attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Rapid prototyping 3D virtual world interfaces within a virtual factory environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosta, Charles Paul; Krolak, Patrick D.

1993-01-01

On-going work into user requirements analysis using CLIPS (NASA/JSC) expert systems as an intelligent event simulator has led to research into three-dimensional (3D) interfaces. Previous work involved CLIPS and two-dimensional (2D) models. Integral to this work was the development of the University of Massachusetts Lowell parallel version of CLIPS, called PCLIPS. This allowed us to create both a Software Bus and a group problem-solving environment for expert systems development. By shifting the PCLIPS paradigm to use the VEOS messaging protocol we have merged VEOS (HlTL/Seattle) and CLIPS into a distributed virtual worlds prototyping environment (VCLIPS). VCLIPS uses the VEOS protocol layer to allow multiple experts to cooperate on a single problem. We have begun to look at the control of a virtual factory. In the virtual factory there are actors and objects as found in our Lincoln Logs Factory of the Future project. In this artificial reality architecture there are three VCLIPS entities in action. One entity is responsible for display and user events in the 3D virtual world. Another is responsible for either simulating the virtual factory or communicating with the real factory. The third is a user interface expert. The interface expert maps user input levels, within the current prototype, to control information for the factory. The interface to the virtual factory is based on a camera paradigm. The graphics subsystem generates camera views of the factory on standard X-Window displays. The camera allows for view control and object control. Control or the factory is accomplished by the user reaching into the camera views to perform object interactions. All communication between the separate CLIPS expert systems is done through VEOS.

A Public Database of Immersive VR Videos with Corresponding Ratings of Arousal, Valence, and Correlations between Head Movements and Self Report Measures

PubMed Central

Li, Benjamin J.; Bailenson, Jeremy N.; Pines, Adam; Greenleaf, Walter J.; Williams, Leanne M.

2017-01-01

Virtual reality (VR) has been proposed as a methodological tool to study the basic science of psychology and other fields. One key advantage of VR is that sharing of virtual content can lead to more robust replication and representative sampling. A database of standardized content will help fulfill this vision. There are two objectives to this study. First, we seek to establish and allow public access to a database of immersive VR video clips that can act as a potential resource for studies on emotion induction using virtual reality. Second, given the large sample size of participants needed to get reliable valence and arousal ratings for our video, we were able to explore the possible links between the head movements of the observer and the emotions he or she feels while viewing immersive VR. To accomplish our goals, we sourced for and tested 73 immersive VR clips which participants rated on valence and arousal dimensions using self-assessment manikins. We also tracked participants' rotational head movements as they watched the clips, allowing us to correlate head movements and affect. Based on past research, we predicted relationships between the standard deviation of head yaw and valence and arousal ratings. Results showed that the stimuli varied reasonably well along the dimensions of valence and arousal, with a slight underrepresentation of clips that are of negative valence and highly arousing. The standard deviation of yaw positively correlated with valence, while a significant positive relationship was found between head pitch and arousal. The immersive VR clips tested are available online as supplemental material. PMID:29259571

Impact of Oncoming Headlight Glare With Cataracts: A Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Hwang, Alex D.; Tuccar-Burak, Merve; Goldstein, Robert; Peli, Eli

2018-01-01

Purpose: Oncoming headlight glare (HLG) reduces the visibility of objects on the road and may affect the safety of nighttime driving. With cataracts, the impact of oncoming HLG is expected to be more severe. We used our custom HLG simulator in a driving simulator to measure the impact of HLG on pedestrian detection by normal vision subjects with simulated mild cataracts and by patients with real cataracts. Methods: Five normal vision subjects drove nighttime scenarios under two HLG conditions (with and without HLG: HLGY and HLGN, respectively), and three vision conditions (with plano lens, simulated mild cataract, and optically blurred clip-on). Mild cataract was simulated by applying a 0.8 Bangerter diffusion foil to clip-on plano lenses. The visual acuity with the optically blurred lenses was individually chosen to match the visual acuity with the simulated cataract clip-ons under HLGN. Each nighttime driving scenario contains 24 pedestrian encounters, encompassing four pedestrian types; walking along the left side of the road, walking along the right side of the road, crossing the road from left to right, and crossing the road from right to left. Pedestrian detection performances of five patients with mild real cataracts were measured using the same setup. The cataract patients were tested only in HLGY and HLGN conditions. Participants’ visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were also measured in the simulator with and without stationary HLG. Results: For normal vision subjects, both the presence of oncoming HLG and wearing the simulated cataract clip-on reduced pedestrian detection performance. The subjects performed worst in events where the pedestrian crossed from the left, followed by events where the pedestrian crossed from the right. Significant interactions between HLG condition and other factors were also found: (1) the impact of oncoming HLG with the simulated cataract clip-on was larger than with the plano lens clip-on, (2) the impact of oncoming HLG was larger with the optically blurred clip-on than with the plano lens clip-on, but smaller than with the simulated cataract clip-on, and (3) the impact was larger for the pedestrians that crossed from the left than those that crossed from the right, and for the pedestrians walking along the left side of the road than walking along the right side of the road, suggesting that the pedestrian proximity to the glare source contributed to the performance reduction. Under HLGN, almost no pedestrians were missed with the plano lens or the simulated cataract clip-on (0 and 0.5%, respectively), but under HLGY, the rate of pedestrian misses increased to 0.5 and 6%, respectively. With the optically blurred clip-on, the percent of missed pedestrians under HLGN and HLGY did not change much (5% and 6%, respectively). Untimely response rate increased under HLGY with the plano lens and simulated cataract clip-ons, but the increase with the simulated cataract clip-on was significantly larger than with the plano lens clip-on. The contrast sensitivity with the simulated cataract clip-on was significantly degraded under HLGY. The visual acuity with the plano lens clip-on was significantly improved under HLGY, possibly due to pupil myosis. The impact of HLG measured for real cataract patients was similar to the impact on performance of normal vision subjects with simulated cataract clip-ons. Conclusion: Even with mild (simulated or real) cataracts, a substantial negative effect of oncoming HLG was measurable in the detection of crossing and walking-along pedestrians. The lowered pedestrian detection rates and longer response times with HLGY demonstrate a possible risk that oncoming HLG poses to patients driving with cataracts. PMID:29559933

21 CFR 882.4200 - Clip removal instrument.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Clip removal instrument. 882.4200 Section 882.4200 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4200 Clip removal instrument. (a...

21 CFR 882.4175 - Aneurysm clip applier.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Aneurysm clip applier. 882.4175 Section 882.4175 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4175 Aneurysm clip applier. (a...

21 CFR 882.5225 - Implanted malleable clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Implanted malleable clip. 882.5225 Section 882.5225 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Therapeutic Devices § 882.5225 Implanted malleable clip...

21 CFR 882.4190 - Clip forming/cutting instrument.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Clip forming/cutting instrument. 882.4190 Section 882.4190 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4190 Clip forming...

21 CFR 882.5225 - Implanted malleable clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Implanted malleable clip. 882.5225 Section 882.5225 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Therapeutic Devices § 882.5225 Implanted malleable clip...

21 CFR 882.4175 - Aneurysm clip applier.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Aneurysm clip applier. 882.4175 Section 882.4175 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4175 Aneurysm clip applier. (a...

21 CFR 882.5200 - Aneurysm clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Aneurysm clip. 882.5200 Section 882.5200 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Therapeutic Devices § 882.5200 Aneurysm clip. (a) Identification. An aneurysm...

21 CFR 882.5200 - Aneurysm clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Aneurysm clip. 882.5200 Section 882.5200 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Therapeutic Devices § 882.5200 Aneurysm clip. (a) Identification. An aneurysm...

21 CFR 882.4200 - Clip removal instrument.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Clip removal instrument. 882.4200 Section 882.4200 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGICAL DEVICES Neurological Surgical Devices § 882.4200 Clip removal instrument. (a...

21 CFR 870.3250 - Vascular clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Vascular clip. 870.3250 Section 870.3250 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CARDIOVASCULAR DEVICES Cardiovascular Prosthetic Devices § 870.3250 Vascular clip. (a) Identification. A vascular...

21 CFR 870.3250 - Vascular clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Vascular clip. 870.3250 Section 870.3250 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CARDIOVASCULAR DEVICES Cardiovascular Prosthetic Devices § 870.3250 Vascular clip. (a) Identification. A vascular...

21 CFR 878.4300 - Implantable clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Implantable clip. 878.4300 Section 878.4300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4300 Implantable clip. (a...

21 CFR 878.4300 - Implantable clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Implantable clip. 878.4300 Section 878.4300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4300 Implantable clip. (a...

21 CFR 878.4300 - Implantable clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Implantable clip. 878.4300 Section 878.4300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4300 Implantable clip. (a...

21 CFR 878.4300 - Implantable clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Implantable clip. 878.4300 Section 878.4300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4300 Implantable clip. (a...

21 CFR 878.4300 - Implantable clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Implantable clip. 878.4300 Section 878.4300 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4300 Implantable clip. (a...

Can We Use the Disposable Laparoscopic Clip Appliers as Suture Anchors? An In Vitro Feasibility Study.

PubMed

Buchholz, Vered; Sadot, Eran; Spivak, Hadar

2015-08-01

Intracorporeal suturing is time-consuming and could be difficult in certain operative circumstances. Instead of knot tying, specially designed clips have been introduced to anchor and secure the end of a single strand or suture. Although these clips provide a maximal required holding grip (HG), they considerably increase the cost of the procedure. The aim of this in vitro study was to identify the feasibility, and means of achieving the best HG, of commonly used disposable automatic clip appliers (LCAs) over regular strands. We placed 2-0 PDS (rigid) and 2-0 Vicryl (soft) sutures through fresh gastric wall specimens. Six different commercial-type LCAs, all having large or medium/large clips, were applied at the distal end of each suture. An IMDA manual digital force gauge was used to measure the HG of each clip at 2 positions: the middle clip position and the angle (at the crouch) position. A total of 192 measurements were taken. The results were classified into 3 HG levels measured by Newton units (N): the strongest grip (> 1 N), medium grip (> 0.5 and < 1 N), and weak grip (< 0.5 N). The strongest HG was obtained by applying 10 to 12 mm LCAs with large or medium/large clips over PDS at an angle position (HG = 1.1 ± 0.2 to 1.6 ± 0.3 N). The weakest grip was obtained by applying any type of LCA over Vicryl at the middle position (HG = 0.08 ± 0.04 to 0.2 ± 0.06 N, P < 0.001). The latter was associated with clips freely falling off the sutures even before applying any force. In general, more force was needed to dislodge any brand clip from the PDS compared with Vicryl suture (0.8 ± 0.6 vs. 0.4 ± 0.3 N, P < 0.001). The angle position was always stronger than the middle position (0.9 ± 0.6 vs. 0.3 ± 0.2 N, P < 0.001). There was a trend for the 10 to 12 mm LCA to have a better HG than the 5 mm ones (0.65 ± 0.5 vs. 0.51 ± 0.5 N, P = 0.08). We propose that 10 to 12 mm LCAs generate enough HG to secure a single strand when clips are placed at the angle position. This is especially true over PDS (hard) strands. The application of 5 mm LCA clips to secure the end of the Vicryl strand is not recommended. Further clinical studies are warranted.

Chinese Language Video Clips. [CD-ROM].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleming, Stephen; Hipley, David; Ning, Cynthia

This compact disc includes video clips covering six topics for the learner of Chinese: personal information, commercial transactions, travel and leisure, health and sports, food and school. Filmed on location in Beijing, these naturalistic video clips consist mainly of unrehearsed interviews of ordinary people. The learner is lead through a series…

21 CFR 870.3260 - Vena cava clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Vena cava clip. 870.3260 Section 870.3260 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CARDIOVASCULAR DEVICES Cardiovascular Prosthetic Devices § 870.3260 Vena cava clip. (a) Identification. A vena...

A Simple Recipe for Whitening Old Newspaper Clippings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Henry A.

1995-01-01

Describes a method for experimenting with both whitening and deacidifying old newspaper clippings using sodium borohydride bleaching. Clippings are soaked in distilled water then immersed in sodium borohydride for 15-20 minutes. After rinsing with distilled water, the paper is washed with saturated Ca(OH)2 solution. Readers should not begin…

Understanding and Applying Psychology through Use of News Clippings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rider, Elizabeth A.

1992-01-01

Discusses a student project for psychology courses in which students collect newspaper clippings that illustrate psychological concepts. Explains that the students record the source and write a brief description of the clipping, explaining how it relates to a psychological concept or theory. Includes results of student evaluations of the…

21 CFR 882.4190 - Clip forming/cutting instrument.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Clip forming/cutting instrument. 882.4190 Section 882.4190 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.../cutting instrument. (a) Identification. A clip forming/cutting instrument is a device used by the...

21 CFR 870.3260 - Vena cava clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Vena cava clip. 870.3260 Section 870.3260 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CARDIOVASCULAR DEVICES Cardiovascular Prosthetic Devices § 870.3260 Vena cava clip. (a) Identification. A vena...

Task acceptability and workload of driving city streets, rural roads, and expressways : ratings from video clips.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-05-01

Subjects rated the workload of clips of forward road scenes (from the advanced collision avoidance system (ACAS) field operational test) in relation to 2 anchor clips of Level of Service (LOS) A and E (light and heavy traffic), and indicated if they ...

21 CFR 878.4320 - Removable skin clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Removable skin clip. 878.4320 Section 878.4320 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4320 Removable skin clip. (a...

21 CFR 878.4320 - Removable skin clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Removable skin clip. 878.4320 Section 878.4320 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4320 Removable skin clip. (a...

21 CFR 878.4320 - Removable skin clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Removable skin clip. 878.4320 Section 878.4320 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4320 Removable skin clip. (a...

21 CFR 878.4320 - Removable skin clip.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Removable skin clip. 878.4320 Section 878.4320 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES GENERAL AND PLASTIC SURGERY DEVICES Surgical Devices § 878.4320 Removable skin clip. (a...

Constructing complex graphics applications with CLIPS and the X window system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faul, Ben M.

1990-01-01

This article will demonstrate how the artificial intelligence concepts in CLIPS used to solve problems encountered in the design and implementation of graphics applications within the UNIX-X Window System environment. The design of an extended version of CLIPS, called XCLIPS, is presented to show how the X Windows System graphics can be incorporated without losing DOS compatibility. Using XCLIPS, a sample scientific application is built that applies solving capabilities of both two and three dimensional graphics presentations in conjunction with the standard CLIPS features.

Attaching solar collectors to a structural framework utilizing a flexible clip

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kruse, John S

Methods and apparatuses described herein provide for the attachment of solar collectors to a structural framework in a solar array assembly. A flexible clip is attached to either end of each solar collector and utilized to attach the solar collector to the structural framework. The solar collectors are positioned to allow a member of the framework to engage a pair of flexible clips attached to adjacent solar collectors during assembly of the solar array. Each flexible clip may have multiple frame-engaging portions, each with a flange on one end to cause the flexible clip to deflect inward when engaged bymore » the framework member during assembly and to guide each of the frame-engaging portions into contact with a surface of the framework member for attachment.« less

The Use of Film Clips in a Viewing Time Task of Sexual Interests.

PubMed

Lalumière, Martin L; Babchishin, Kelly M; Ebsworth, Megan

2018-04-01

Viewing time tasks using still pictures to assess age and gender sexual interests have been well validated and are commonly used. The use of film clips in a viewing time task would open up interesting possibilities for the study of sexual interest toward sexual targets or activities that are not easily captured in still pictures. We examined the validity of a viewing time task using film clips to assess sexual interest toward male and female targets, in a sample of 52 young adults. Film clips produced longer viewing times than still pictures. For both men and women, the indices derived from the film viewing time task were able to distinguish individuals who identified as homosexual (14 men, 8 women) from those who identified as heterosexual (15 men, 15 women), and provided comparable group differentiation as indices derived from a viewing time task using still pictures. Men's viewing times were more gender-specific than those of women. Viewing times to film clips were correlated with participants' ratings of sexual appeal of the same clips, and with viewing times to pictures. The results support the feasibility of a viewing time measure of sexual interest that utilizes film clips and, thus, expand the types of sexual interests that could be investigated (e.g., sadism, biastophilia).

Acquisition and processing pitfall with clipped traces in surface-wave analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Lingli; Pan, Yudi

2016-02-01

Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) is widely used in estimating near-surface shear (S)-wave velocity. In the MASW method, generating a reliable dispersion image in the frequency-velocity (f-v) domain is an important processing step. A locus along peaks of dispersion energy at different frequencies allows the dispersion curves to be constructed for inversion. When the offsets are short, the output seismic data may exceed the dynamic ranges of geophones/seismograph, as a result of which, peaks and (or) troughs of traces will be squared off in recorded shot gathers. Dispersion images generated by the raw shot gathers with clipped traces would be contaminated by artifacts, which might be misidentified as Rayleigh-wave phase velocities or body-wave velocities and potentially lead to incorrect results. We performed some synthetic models containing clipped traces, and analyzed amplitude spectra of unclipped and clipped waves. The results indicate that artifacts in the dispersion image are dependent on the level of clipping. A real-world example also shows how clipped traces would affect the dispersion image. All the results suggest that clipped traces should be removed from the shot gathers before generating dispersion images, in order to pick accurate phase velocities and set reasonable initial inversion models.

Assessment of a simple, novel endoluminal method for gastrotomy closure in NOTES.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Soo; Oelschlager, Brant K; Wright, Andrew S; Soares, Renato V; Sinan, Huseyin; Montenovo, Martin I; Hwang, Joo Ha

2011-10-01

A reliable method for gastrotomy closure in NOTES will be essential for NOTES to become viable clinically. However, methods using existing and widely available endoscopic accessories have been ineffective. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a new simple method for gastric closure (retracted clip-assisted loop closure) that uses existing endoscopic accessories with minor modifications. The retracted clip-assisted loop closure technique involves deploying 3-4 Resolution(®) clips (modified by attaching a 90-cm length of suture to the end of each clip) along the margin of the gastrotomy with one jaw on the serosal surface and the other jaw on the mucosal surface. The suture strings are threaded through an endoloop. Traction is then applied to the strings causing the gastric wall to tent. The endoloop is secured below the tip of the clips, completing a full-thickness gastrotomy closure. The main outcome measures were feasibility, efficacy, and safety of the new retracted clip-assisted loop closure technique for NOTES gastrotomy closure. An air-tight seal was achieved in 100% (n = 9) of stomachs. The mean leak pressure was 116.3 (±19.4) mmHg. The retracted clip-assisted loop closure technique can be used to perform NOTES gastrotomy closure by using existing endoscopic accessories with minor modifications.

Smoking motives in movies are important for understanding adolescent smoking: A preliminary investigation

PubMed Central

Martino, Steven C.; Haviland, Amelia; Setodji, Claude; Primack, Brian A.

2010-01-01

Introduction: Exposure to smoking in movies is strongly associated with smoking uptake and maintenance among adolescents. However, little is known about what features of movies (e.g., the context for smoking or motives for a character smoking) moderate the association between exposure to movie smoking and adolescent smoking. This laboratory study examined whether exposure to movie smoking that is portrayed as having a clear motive is associated with the desire to smoke differently than smoking that is portrayed as having no clear motive. Methods: A sample of 77 middle school students (mean age of 12.8 years, 62% male, 60% Caucasian) viewed movie clips that portrayed smoking as helping to facilitate social interaction, to relax, to appear rebellious, or as having no clear motive. After exposure to each clip, participants rated their desire to smoke. Results: Exposure to clips where smoking was portrayed as helping characters to relax was associated with a significantly stronger desire to smoke compared with clips where the motive for smoking was unclear. Desire to smoke was similar for clips where no motive was clear, social smoking clips, and rebellious smoking clips. Discussion: These results suggest that the way that smoking is portrayed in movies is important in determining its effect on adolescent smoking. PMID:20576800

Smoking motives in movies are important for understanding adolescent smoking: a preliminary investigation.

PubMed

Shadel, William G; Martino, Steven C; Haviland, Amelia; Setodji, Claude; Primack, Brian A

2010-08-01

Exposure to smoking in movies is strongly associated with smoking uptake and maintenance among adolescents. However, little is known about what features of movies (e.g., the context for smoking or motives for a character smoking) moderate the association between exposure to movie smoking and adolescent smoking. This laboratory study examined whether exposure to movie smoking that is portrayed as having a clear motive is associated with the desire to smoke differently than smoking that is portrayed as having no clear motive. A sample of 77 middle school students (mean age of 12.8 years, 62% male, 60% Caucasian) viewed movie clips that portrayed smoking as helping to facilitate social interaction, to relax, to appear rebellious, or as having no clear motive. After exposure to each clip, participants rated their desire to smoke. Exposure to clips where smoking was portrayed as helping characters to relax was associated with a significantly stronger desire to smoke compared with clips where the motive for smoking was unclear. Desire to smoke was similar for clips where no motive was clear, social smoking clips, and rebellious smoking clips. These results suggest that the way that smoking is portrayed in movies is important in determining its effect on adolescent smoking.

Anticipation of high arousal aversive and positive movie clips engages common and distinct neural substrates

PubMed Central

Carlson, Joshua M.; Rubin, Denis; Cha, Jiook; Mujica-Parodi, Lilianne

2015-01-01

The neural correlates of anxious anticipation have been primarily studied with aversive and neutral stimuli. In this study, we examined the effect of valence on anticipation by using high arousal aversive and positive stimuli and a condition of uncertainty (i.e. either positive or aversive). The task consisted of predetermined cues warning participants of upcoming aversive, positive, ‘uncertain’ (either aversive or positive) and neutral movie clips. Anticipation of all affective clips engaged common regions including the anterior insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, caudate, inferior parietal and prefrontal cortex that are associated with emotional experience, sustained attention and appraisal. In contrast, the nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex, regions implicated in reward processing, were selectively engaged during anticipation of positive clips (depicting sexually explicit content) and the mid-insula, which has been linked to processing aversive stimuli, was selectively engaged during anticipation of aversive clips (depicting graphic medical procedures); these three areas were also activated during anticipation of ‘uncertain’ clips reflecting a broad preparatory response for both aversive and positive stimuli. These results suggest that a common circuitry is recruited in anticipation of affective clips regardless of valence, with additional areas preferentially engaged depending on whether expected stimuli are negative or positive. PMID:24984958

The utility of dual-energy CT for metal artifact reduction from intracranial clipping and coiling.

PubMed

Mera Fernández, D; Santos Armentia, E; Bustos Fiore, A; Villanueva Campos, A M; Utrera Pérez, E; Souto Bayarri, M

2018-04-23

To assess the ability of dual-energy CT (DECT) to reduce metal-related artifacts in patients with clips and coils in head CT angiography, and to analyze the differences in this reduction between both type of devices. Thirteen patients (6 clips, 7 coils) were selected and retrospectively analized. Virtual monoenergetic images (MEI) with photon energies from 40 to 150 keV were obtained. Noise was measured at the area of maximum artifact. Subjective evaluation of streak artifact was performed by two radiologists independently. Differences between noise values in all groups were tested by using the ANOVA test. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the differences between clips and coils. Coheńs κ statistic was used to determine interobserver agreement. The lowest noise value was observed at high energy levels (p<0,05). Noise was higher in the coil group than in the clip group (p<0.001). Interobserver agreement was good (κ=0.72). TCED with MEI helps to minimize the artifact from clips ands coils in patients who undergo head CT angiography. The reduction of the artifact is greater in patients with surgical clipping than in patients with endovascular coiling. Copyright © 2018 SERAM. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

A clip-based protocol for breast boost radiotherapy provides clear target visualisation and demonstrates significant volume reduction over time

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewis, Lorraine; Cox, Jennifer; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales

2015-09-15

The clinical target volume (CTV) for early stage breast cancer is difficult to clearly identify on planning computed tomography (CT) scans. Surgical clips inserted around the tumour bed should help to identify the CTV, particularly if the seroma has been reabsorbed, and enable tracking of CTV changes over time. A surgical clip-based CTV delineation protocol was introduced. CTV visibility and its post-operative shrinkage pattern were assessed. The subjects were 27 early stage breast cancer patients receiving post-operative radiotherapy alone and 15 receiving post-operative chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. The radiotherapy alone (RT/alone) group received a CT scan at median 25 daysmore » post-operatively (CT1rt) and another at 40 Gy, median 68 days (CT2rt). The chemotherapy/RT group (chemo/RT) received a CT scan at median 18 days post-operatively (CT1ch), a planning CT scan at median 126 days (CT2ch), and another at 40 Gy (CT3ch). There was no significant difference (P = 0.08) between the initial mean CTV for each cohort. The RT/alone cohort showed significant CTV volume reduction of 38.4% (P = 0.01) at 40 Gy. The Chemo/RT cohort had significantly reduced volumes between CT1ch: median 54 cm{sup 3} (4–118) and CT2ch: median 16 cm{sup 3}, (2–99), (P = 0.01), but no significant volume reduction thereafter. Surgical clips enable localisation of the post-surgical seroma for radiotherapy targeting. Most seroma shrinkage occurs early, enabling CT treatment planning to take place at 7 weeks, which is within the 9 weeks recommended to limit disease recurrence.« less

Cross-Modal Multivariate Pattern Analysis

PubMed Central

Meyer, Kaspar; Kaplan, Jonas T.

2011-01-01

Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) is an increasingly popular method of analyzing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data1-4. Typically, the method is used to identify a subject's perceptual experience from neural activity in certain regions of the brain. For instance, it has been employed to predict the orientation of visual gratings a subject perceives from activity in early visual cortices5 or, analogously, the content of speech from activity in early auditory cortices6. Here, we present an extension of the classical MVPA paradigm, according to which perceptual stimuli are not predicted within, but across sensory systems. Specifically, the method we describe addresses the question of whether stimuli that evoke memory associations in modalities other than the one through which they are presented induce content-specific activity patterns in the sensory cortices of those other modalities. For instance, seeing a muted video clip of a glass vase shattering on the ground automatically triggers in most observers an auditory image of the associated sound; is the experience of this image in the "mind's ear" correlated with a specific neural activity pattern in early auditory cortices? Furthermore, is this activity pattern distinct from the pattern that could be observed if the subject were, instead, watching a video clip of a howling dog? In two previous studies7,8, we were able to predict sound- and touch-implying video clips based on neural activity in early auditory and somatosensory cortices, respectively. Our results are in line with a neuroarchitectural framework proposed by Damasio9,10, according to which the experience of mental images that are based on memories - such as hearing the shattering sound of a vase in the "mind's ear" upon seeing the corresponding video clip - is supported by the re-construction of content-specific neural activity patterns in early sensory cortices. PMID:22105246

Interactive film scenes for tutor training in problem-based learning (PBL): dealing with difficult situations

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background In problem-based learning (PBL), tutors play an essential role in facilitating and efficiently structuring tutorials to enable students to construct individual cognitive networks, and have a significant impact on students' performance in subsequent assessments. The necessity of elaborate training to fulfil this complex role is undeniable. In the plethora of data on PBL however, little attention has been paid to tutor training which promotes competence in the moderation of specific difficult situations commonly encountered in PBL tutorials. Methods Major interactive obstacles arising in PBL tutorials were identified from prior publications. Potential solutions were defined by an expert group. Video clips were produced addressing the tutor's role and providing exemplary solutions. These clips were embedded in a PBL tutor-training course at our medical faculty combining PBL self-experience with a non-medical case. Trainees provided pre- and post-intervention self-efficacy ratings regarding their PBL-related knowledge, skills, and attitudes, as well as their acceptance and the feasibility of integrating the video clips into PBL tutor-training (all items: 100 = completely agree, 0 = don't agree at all). Results An interactive online tool for PBL tutor training was developed comprising 18 video clips highlighting difficult situations in PBL tutorials to encourage trainees to develop and formulate their own intervention strategies. In subsequent sequences, potential interventions are presented for the specific scenario, with a concluding discussion which addresses unresolved issues. The tool was well accepted and considered worth the time spent on it (81.62 ± 16.91; 62.94 ± 16.76). Tutors considered the videos to prepare them well to respond to specific challenges in future tutorials (75.98 ± 19.46). The entire training, which comprised PBL self-experience and video clips as integral elements, improved tutor's self-efficacy with respect to dealing with problematic situations (pre: 36.47 ± 26.25, post: 66.99 ± 21.01; p < .0001) and significantly increased appreciation of PBL as a method (pre: 61.33 ± 24.84, post: 76.20 ± 20.12; p < .0001). Conclusions The interactive tool with instructional video clips is designed to broaden the view of future PBL tutors in terms of recognizing specific obstacles to functional group dynamics and developing individual intervention strategies. We show that this tool is well accepted and can be successfully integrated into PBL tutor-training. Free access is provided to the entire tool at http://www.medizinische-fakultaet-hd.uni-heidelberg.de/fileadmin/PBLTutorTraining/player.swf. PMID:20604927

iDIY: Video-Based Instruction Using Ipads

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weng, Pei-Lin; Savage, Melissa N.; Bouck, Emily C.

2014-01-01

Video-based instruction is technology-based instruction delivered through video clips in which a human model demonstrates target behaviors (Rayner, Denholm, & Sigafoos, 2009). It can be used to teach a variety of skills, including social communication and behavioral and functional skills (Cihak & Schrader, 2008). Despite the advantages,…

Wartime Trigonometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goetz, Albert

2016-01-01

"Media Clips" appears in every issue of "Mathematics Teacher," offering readers contemporary, authentic applications of quantitative reasoning based on print or electronic media. Based on "In All the Light We Cannot See" (2014), by Anthony Doerr, this article provides a brief trigonometry problem that was solved by…

The Effect of Microplastic on the Uptake of Chemicals by the Lugworm Arenicola marina (L.) under Environmentally Relevant Exposure Conditions

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

It has been hypothesized that ingestion of microplastic increases exposure of aquatic organisms to hydrophobic contaminants. To date, most laboratory studies investigated chemical transfer from ingested microplastic without taking other exposure pathways into account. Therefore, we studied the effect of polyethylene (PE) microplastic in sediment on PCB uptake by Arenicola marina as a model species, quantifying uptake fluxes from all natural exposure pathways. PCB concentrations in sediment, biota lipids (Clip) and porewater measured with passive samplers were used to derive lipid-normalized bioaccumulation metrics Clip, Biota sediment accumulation factor (BSAF), Bioaccumulation factor (BAF) and the Biota plastic accumulation factor (BPAF). Small effects of PE addition were detected suggesting slightly increased or decreased bioaccumulation. However, the differences decreased in magnitude dependent on the metric used to assess bioaccumulation, in the order: Clip > BSAF > BPAF > BAF, and were nonsignificant for BAF. The fact that BAF, that is, normalization of Clip on porewater concentration, largely removed all effects of PE, shows that PE did not act as a measurable vector of PCBs. Biodynamic model analysis confirmed that PE ingestion contributed marginally to bioaccumulation. This work confirmed model-based predictions on the limited relevance of microplastic for bioaccumulation under environmentally realistic conditions, and illustrated the importance of assessing exposure through all media in microplastic bioaccumulation studies. PMID:28682597

Focused opening of the sylvian fissure for microsurgical management of MCA aneurysms.

PubMed

Elsharkawy, Ahmed; Niemelä, Mika; Lehečka, Martin; Lehto, Hanna; Jahromi, Behnam Rezai; Goehre, Felix; Kivisaari, Riku; Hernesniemi, Juha

2014-01-01

A wide sylvian opening, with either a proximal or distal start, has been standard for microsurgical management of middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms. However, extensive sylvian dissection is potentially associated with increased incidence of iatrogenic injury to the brain and neurovascular structures. The aim of the present study was to describe the technique of focused opening of the sylvian fissure for microsurgical management of MCA aneurysms with additional tips on handling difficulties which may be encountered with this technique. A 3D image-based anatomic orientation, clipping field-focused surgical planning, slack brain, and high magnification are the basic requirements for this approach. A 10-15 mm sylvian opening is placed so that it allows safe access and a good surgical view of the MCA aneurysm clipping field. Under proximal control of the MCA, the aneurysm neck can be dissected and clipped effectively and safely, in this small surgical field. The presented technique has been developed and refined by the senior author during the surgery of 1,097 aneurysms over the last 13 years. It has proved to be safe, and effective for clipping of both ruptured and unruptured MCA aneurysms. Its greatest advantages are a shorter operative time and less brain and vessel manipulation compared to more extensive approaches. The focused sylvian opening is a less-invasive alternative to the classical wide sylvian opening for the microsurgical management of most MCA aneurysms.

A model of translational research for diabetes prevention in low and middle-income countries: The Diabetes Community Lifestyle Improvement Program (D-CLIP) trial.

PubMed

Weber, Mary Beth; Ranjani, Harish; Meyers, Gaya Celeste; Mohan, Viswanathan; Narayan, K M Venkat

2012-04-01

The Diabetes Community Lifestyle Improvement Program (D-CLIP) aims to implement and evaluate in a controlled, randomized trial the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of a culturally appropriate, low-cost, and sustainable lifestyle intervention for the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus in India. D-CLIP, a translational research project adapted from the methods and curriculum developed and tested for efficacy in the Diabetes Prevention Program, utilizes innovated methods (a step-wise model of diabetes prevention with lifestyle and metformin added when needed; inclusion of individuals with isolated glucose tolerance, impaired fasting glucose, and both; classes team-taught by professionals and trained community educators) with the goals of increasing diabetes prevention, community acceptability, and long-term dissemination and sustainability of the program. The study outcomes are: diabetes incidence (primary measure of effectiveness), cost-effectiveness, changes in anthropometric measures, plasma lipids, blood pressure, blood glucose, and HbA(1c,) Program acceptability and sustainability will be assessed using a mixed methods approach. D-CLIP, a low-cost, community-based, research program, addresses the key components of translational research and can be used as a model for prevention of chronic diseases in other low and middle-income country settings. Copyright © 2011 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background estimation and player detection in badminton video clips using histogram of pixel values along temporal dimension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Yahui; Ma, Xiao; Gao, Xinyu; Zhou, Fangxu

2015-12-01

Computer vision is an important tool for sports video processing. However, its application in badminton match analysis is very limited. In this study, we proposed a straightforward but robust histogram-based background estimation and player detection methods for badminton video clips, and compared the results with the naive averaging method and the mixture of Gaussians methods, respectively. The proposed method yielded better background estimation results than the naive averaging method and more accurate player detection results than the mixture of Gaussians player detection method. The preliminary results indicated that the proposed histogram-based method could estimate the background and extract the players accurately. We conclude that the proposed method can be used for badminton player tracking and further studies are warranted for automated match analysis.

Sympathetic block by metal clips may be a reversible operation.

PubMed

Thomsen, Lars L; Mikkelsen, Rasmus T; Derejko, Miroslawa; Schrøder, Henrik D; Licht, Peter B

2014-12-01

Thoracoscopic sympathectomy is now used routinely to treat patients with disabling primary hyperhidrosis or facial blushing. Published results are excellent, but side effects, such as compensatory sweating, are also very frequent. The surgical techniques used and the levels of targeting the sympathetic chain vary tremendously. Most surgeons transect or resect the sympathetic chain, but application of a metal clip that blocks transmission of nerve impulses in the sympathetic chain is used increasingly worldwide. This approach offers potential reversibility if patients regret surgery, but the question of reversibility remains controversial. Two recent experimental studies found severe histological signs of nerve damage 4-6 weeks after clip removal, but they only used conventional histopathological staining methods. Thoracoscopic clipping of the sympathetic trunk was performed in adult sheep, and the clip was removed thoracoscopically after 7 days. Following another 4 weeks (n = 6) or 12 weeks (n = 3), the sympathetic trunks were harvested and analysed by conventional and specific nerve tissue immunohistochemical stains (S100, neurofilament protein and synaptophysin). The contralateral sympathetic chains were used as controls. Conventional and immunohistochemical stains demonstrated severe signs of neural damage on the operated side 4 weeks after clip removal. After 12 weeks, these changes had decreased markedly and conventional histology had almost normalized. Conventional and immunohistochemical stains confirmed that application of metal clips to the sympathetic chain caused severe histological damage in the sympathetic trunk that remained visible 4 weeks after clip removal. However, after 12 weeks, these signs of damage had clearly decreased, which suggests in theory that application of metal clips to the sympathetic chain is a reversible procedure if only the observation period is prolonged. Further studies with longer periods between application and removal as well as investigations of nerve conduction should be encouraged, because we do not know whether histological reversibility at cellular level translates into physiological reversibility and possible correlation of nerve trauma with the duration of the applied clip. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Retreatment of Recurrent Internal Carotid-Posterior Communicating Artery Aneurysm after Coil Embolization

PubMed Central

TOYOTA, Shingo; TAKI, Takuyu; WAKAYAMA, Akatsuki; YOSHIMINE, Toshiki

2015-01-01

Internal carotid-posterior communicating artery (IC-PC) aneurysms account for more than 20% of all intracranial aneurysms. As a result of the increase in coiling, there has also been an increase in recurrent IC-PC aneurysms after coiling. We present our experience of 10 recurrent IC-PC aneurysms after coiling that were retreated using surgical or endovascular techniques in order to discuss the choice of treatment and the points of clipping without removal of coils. From 2007 to 2014, 10 recurrent IC-PC aneurysms after coiling were retreated. When the previous frames covered the aneurysms all around or almost around except a part of the neck, coiling was chosen. In other cases, clipping was chosen. Clipping was attempted without removal of coils when it was technically feasible. Among the 10 IC-PC aneurysms retreated, 3 were retreated with coiling and 7 were retreated with clipping. In all three cases retreated with coiling, almost complete occlusion was accomplished. In the seven cases retreated with clipping, coil extrusion was observed during surgery in six cases. In most of them, it was necessary to dissect strong adhesions around the coiled aneurysms and to utilize temporary occlusion of the internal carotid artery. In all seven cases, neck clipping was accomplished without the removal of coils. There were no neurological complications in any cases. The management of recurrent lesions of embolized IC-PC aneurysms requires appropriate choice of treatment using both coiling and clipping. Clipping, especially without the removal of coils, plays an important role in safe treatment. PMID:26437796

Retreatment of Recurrent Internal Carotid-Posterior Communicating Artery Aneurysm after Coil Embolization.

PubMed

Toyota, Shingo; Taki, Takuyu; Wakayama, Akatsuki; Yoshimine, Toshiki

2015-01-01

Internal carotid-posterior communicating artery (IC-PC) aneurysms account for more than 20% of all intracranial aneurysms. As a result of the increase in coiling, there has also been an increase in recurrent IC-PC aneurysms after coiling. We present our experience of 10 recurrent IC-PC aneurysms after coiling that were retreated using surgical or endovascular techniques in order to discuss the choice of treatment and the points of clipping without removal of coils. From 2007 to 2014, 10 recurrent IC-PC aneurysms after coiling were retreated. When the previous frames covered the aneurysms all around or almost around except a part of the neck, coiling was chosen. In other cases, clipping was chosen. Clipping was attempted without removal of coils when it was technically feasible. Among the 10 IC-PC aneurysms retreated, 3 were retreated with coiling and 7 were retreated with clipping. In all three cases retreated with coiling, almost complete occlusion was accomplished. In the seven cases retreated with clipping, coil extrusion was observed during surgery in six cases. In most of them, it was necessary to dissect strong adhesions around the coiled aneurysms and to utilize temporary occlusion of the internal carotid artery. In all seven cases, neck clipping was accomplished without the removal of coils. There were no neurological complications in any cases. The management of recurrent lesions of embolized IC-PC aneurysms requires appropriate choice of treatment using both coiling and clipping. Clipping, especially without the removal of coils, plays an important role in safe treatment.

Zirconia-Polyurethane Aneurysm Clip.

PubMed

Cho, Won-Sang; Cho, Kyung-Il; Kim, Jeong Eun; Jang, Tae-Sik; Ha, Eun Jin; Kang, Hyun-Seung; Son, Young-Je; Choi, Seung Hong; Lee, Seunghyun; Kim, Chong-Chan; Sun, Jeong-Yun; Kim, Hyoun-Ee

2018-03-27

Susceptibility artifacts from metal clips in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging present an obstacle to evaluating the status of clipped aneurysms, parent arteries and adjacent brain parenchyma. We aimed to develop MR-compatible aneurysm clips. Considering the mechanical and biological properties, and MR compatibility of candidate materials, a prototype clip with a zirconia body and a polyurethane head spring (ZC, straight, 9-mm long) was developed. The closing forces, opening width of blades, and in vitro and in vivo artifact volumes in 3 tesla MR imaging were compared among the prototype and commercial metal clips such as a Yasargil ® clip (YC, curved type, 8.3-mm long) and a Sugita ® clip (SC, straight type, 10-mm long). An in vivo animal study was performed with a canine venous pouch aneurysm model. The closing forces (N) at 1 and 8 mm from the blade tip were 2.09 and 3.77 in YC, 1.85 and 3.04 in SC, and 2.05 and 4.60 in ZC. The maximum opening widths (mm) was 6.8, 9.0, and 3.0 in YC, SC, and ZC, respectively. The in vitro artifact volumes of YC, SC and ZC in time-of-flight MR imaging were 26.9, 29.7 and 1.9 times larger than the respective real volumes. The in vivo artifact volumes of YC, SC, and ZC were respectively 21.4, 29.4, and 2.6 times larger than real ones. ZC showed the smallest susceptibility artifacts and satisfactory closing forces. However, the narrow opening width of the blades was a weak point. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Hem-o-lok clip: a neglected cause of severe bladder neck contracture and consequent urinary incontinence after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

PubMed

Cormio, Luigi; Massenio, Paolo; Lucarelli, Giuseppe; Di Fino, Giuseppe; Selvaggio, Oscar; Micali, Salvatore; Carrieri, Giuseppe

2014-02-20

Hem-o-lok clips are widely used during robot-assisted and laparoscopic radical prostatectomy to control the lateral pedicles. There are a few reports of hem-o-lok clip migration into the bladder or vesico-urethral anastomosis and only four cases of hem-o-lok clip migration resulting into bladder neck contracture. Herein, we describe the first case, to our knowledge, of hem-o-lok clip migration leading to severe bladder neck contracture and subsequent stress urinary incontinence. A 62-year-old Caucasian man underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy for a T1c Gleason 8 prostate cancer. One month after surgery the patient was fully continent; however, three months later, he presented with acute urinary retention requiring suprapubic drainage. Urethroscopy showed a hem-o-lok clip strongly attached to the area between the vesico-urethral anastomosis and the urethral sphincter and a severe bladder neck contracture behind it. Following cold-knife urethral incision and clip removal, the bladder neck contracture was widely resected. At 3-month follow-up, the patient voided spontaneously with a peak flow rate of 9.5 ml/sec and absence of post-void residual urine, but leaked 240 ml urine at the 24-hour pad test. To date, at 1-year follow-up, his voiding situation remains unchanged. The present report provides further evidence for the risk of hem-o-lok clip migration causing bladder neck contracture, and is the first to demonstrate the potential of such complication to result into stress urinary incontinence.

A clip domain serine protease involved in moulting in the silkworm, Bombyx mori: cloning, characterization, expression patterns and functional analysis.

PubMed

Liu, H-W; Wang, L-L; Meng, Z; Tang, X; Li, Y-S; Xia, Q-Y; Zhao, P

2017-10-01

Clip domain serine proteases (CLIPs), characterized by one or more conserved clip domains, are essential components of extracellular signalling cascades in various biological processes, especially in innate immunity and the embryonic development of insects. Additionally, CLIPs may have additional non-immune functions in insect development. In the present study, the clip domain serine protease gene Bombyx mori serine protease 95 (BmSP95), which encodes a 527-residue protein, was cloned from the integument of B. mori. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that BmSP95 is a typical CLIP of the subfamily D and possesses a clip domain at the N terminus, a trypsin-like serine protease (tryp_spc) domain at the C terminus and a conserved proline-rich motif between these two domains. At the transcriptional level, BmSP95 is expressed in the integument during moulting and metamorphosis, and the expression pattern is consistent with the fluctuating 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) titre in B. mori. At the translational level, BmSP95 protein is synthesized in the epidermal cells, secreted as a zymogen and activated in the moulting fluid. Immunofluorescence revealed that BmSP95 is distributed into the old endocuticle in the moulting stage. The expression of BmSP95 was upregulated by 20E. Moreover, expression of BmSP95 was downregulated by pathogen infection. RNA interference-mediated silencing of BmSP95 led to delayed moulting from pupa to moth. These results suggest that BmSP95 is involved in integument remodelling during moulting and metamorphosis. © 2017 The Royal Entomological Society.

The role of laryngoscopy in the diagnosis of spasmodic dysphonia.

PubMed

Daraei, Pedram; Villari, Craig R; Rubin, Adam D; Hillel, Alexander T; Hapner, Edie R; Klein, Adam M; Johns, Michael M

2014-03-01

Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) can be difficult to diagnose, and patients often see multiple physicians for many years before diagnosis. Improving the speed of diagnosis for individuals with SD may decrease the time to treatment and improve patient quality of life more quickly. To assess whether the diagnosis of SD can be accurately predicted through auditory cues alone without the assistance of visual cues offered by laryngoscopic examination. Single-masked, case-control study at a specialized referral center that included patients who underwent laryngoscopic examination as part of a multidisciplinary workup for dysphonia. Twenty-two patients were selected in total: 10 with SD, 5 with vocal tremor, and 7 controls without SD or vocal tremor. The laryngoscopic examination was recorded, deidentified, and edited to make 3 media clips for each patient: video alone, audio alone, and combined video and audio. These clips were randomized and presented to 3 fellowship-trained laryngologist raters (A.D.R., A.T.H., and A.M.K.), who established the most probable diagnosis for each clip. Intrarater and interrater reliability were evaluated using repeat clips incorporated in the presentations. We measured diagnostic accuracy for video-only, audio-only, and combined multimedia clips. These measures were established before data collection. Data analysis was accomplished with analysis of variance and Tukey honestly significant differences. Of patients with SD, diagnostic accuracy was 10%, 73%, and 73% for video-only, audio-only, and combined, respectively (P < .001, df = 2). Of patients with vocal tremor, diagnostic accuracy was 93%, 73%, and 100% for video-only, audio-only, and combined, respectively (P = .05, df = 2). Of the controls, diagnostic accuracy was 81%, 19%, and 62% for video-only, audio-only, and combined, respectively (P < .001, df = 2). The diagnosis of SD during examination is based primarily on auditory cues. Viewing combined audio and video clips afforded no change in diagnostic accuracy compared with audio alone. Laryngoscopy serves an important role in the diagnosis of SD by excluding other pathologic causes and identifying vocal tremor.

Using Humorous Sitcom Clips in Teaching Federal Income Taxes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cecil, H. Wayne

2014-01-01

This article shares the motivation, process, and outcomes of using humorous scenes from television comedies to teach the real world of tax practice. The article advances the literature by reviewing the use of video clips in a previously unexplored discipline, discussing the process of identifying and selecting appropriate clips, and introducing…

Assessment of Caudal Fin Clips as a Non-lethal Technique for Predicting Muscle Tissue Mercury Concentrations in Largeouth Bass

EPA Science Inventory

The statistical relationship between total mercury (Hg) concentration in clips from the caudal fin and muscle tissue of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) from 26 freshwater sites in Rhode Island, USA was developed and evaluated to determine the utility of fin clip analysis ...

Capturing Students' Attention: Movie Clips Set the Stage for Learning in Abnormal Psychology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badura, Amy S.

2002-01-01

Presents results of a study that evaluated using popular movie clips, shown in the first class meeting of an abnormal psychology course, in relation to student enthusiasm. Compares two classes of female juniors, one using clips and one class not using them. States that the films portrayed psychological disorders. (CMK)

Mapping Argonaute and conventional RNA-binding protein interactions with RNA at single-nucleotide resolution using HITS-CLIP and CIMS analysis

PubMed Central

Moore, Michael; Zhang, Chaolin; Gantman, Emily Conn; Mele, Aldo; Darnell, Jennifer C.; Darnell, Robert B.

2014-01-01

Summary Identifying sites where RNA binding proteins (RNABPs) interact with target RNAs opens the door to understanding the vast complexity of RNA regulation. UV-crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (CLIP) is a transformative technology in which RNAs purified from in vivo cross-linked RNA-protein complexes are sequenced to reveal footprints of RNABP:RNA contacts. CLIP combined with high throughput sequencing (HITS-CLIP) is a generalizable strategy to produce transcriptome-wide RNA binding maps with higher accuracy and resolution than standard RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) profiling or purely computational approaches. Applying CLIP to Argonaute proteins has expanded the utility of this approach to mapping binding sites for microRNAs and other small regulatory RNAs. Finally, recent advances in data analysis take advantage of crosslinked-induced mutation sites (CIMS) to refine RNA-binding maps to single-nucleotide resolution. Once IP conditions are established, HITS-CLIP takes approximately eight days to prepare RNA for sequencing. Established pipelines for data analysis, including for CIMS, take 3-4 days. PMID:24407355

Endoscopic removal of over-the-scope clips using a novel cutting device: a retrospective case series.

PubMed

Schmidt, Arthur; Riecken, Bettina; Damm, Michael; Cahyadi, Oscar; Bauder, Markus; Caca, Karel

2014-09-01

Over-the-scope clips (OTSCs; Ovesco Endoscopy, Tübingen, Germany) are extensively used for treatment of gastrointestinal perforations, leakages, fistulas, and bleeding. In this report, a new method of removing OTSCs using a prototype bipolar cutting device is described. A total of 11 patients underwent endoscopic removal of an OTSC. The OTSC was cut at two opposing sites by a prototype device (DC ClipCutter; Ovesco Endoscopy). The remaining clip fragments were extracted using a standard forceps. Mean procedure time was 47 minutes (range 35 - 75 minutes). Cutting of the OTSC at two opposing sites was successful in all cases (100 %). Complete retrieval of all clip fragments was possible in 10 patients (91 %). The overall success rate for cutting and complete removal of the clip was 91 %. No major complications were observed. Removal of OTSCs with the prototype device was feasible and effective. The device may be valuable for OTSC removal in emergency as well as elective indications. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Analysis of left atrial respiratory and cardiac motion for cardiac ablation therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rettmann, M. E.; Holmes, D. R.; Johnson, S. B.; Lehmann, H. I.; Robb, R. A.; Packer, D. L.

2015-03-01

Cardiac ablation therapy is often guided by models built from preoperative computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. One of the challenges in guiding a procedure from a preoperative model is properly synching the preoperative models with cardiac and respiratory motion through computational motion models. In this paper, we describe a methodology for evaluating cardiac and respiratory motion in the left atrium and pulmonary veins of a beating canine heart. Cardiac catheters were used to place metal clips within and near the pulmonary veins and left atrial appendage under fluoroscopic and ultrasound guidance and a contrast-enhanced, 64-slice multidetector CT scan was collected with the clips in place. Each clip was segmented from the CT scan at each of the five phases of the cardiac cycle at both end-inspiration and end-expiration. The centroid of each segmented clip was computed and used to evaluate both cardiac and respiratory motion of the left atrium. A total of three canine studies were completed, with 4 clips analyzed in the first study, 5 clips in the second study, and 2 clips in the third study. Mean respiratory displacement was 0.2+/-1.8 mm in the medial/lateral direction, 4.7+/-4.4 mm in the anterior/posterior direction (moving anterior on inspiration), and 9.0+/-5.0 mm superior/inferior (moving inferior with inspiration). At end inspiration, the mean left atrial cardiac motion at the clip locations was 1.5+/-1.3 mm in the medial/lateral direction, and 2.1+/-2.0 mm in the anterior/posterior and 1.3+/-1.2 mm superior/inferior directions. At end expiration, the mean left atrial cardiac motion at the clip locations was 2.0+/-1.5mm in the medial/lateral direction, 3.0+/-1.8mm in the anterior/posterior direction, and 1.5+/-1.5 mm in the superior/inferior directions.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Economic Comparison Between Endovascular Coiling Versus Neurosurgical Clipping for Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaoxi; Li, Li; Hong, Bo; Xu, Yi; Liu, Yuan; Huang, Qinghai; Liu, Jianmin

2018-05-01

Healthcare expenditures and cost reduction have been under critical surveillance in all countries and are critical for policymakers. This review aims at qualitatively and quantitatively analyzing the difference of hospital costs and length of stay between endovascular coiling versus neurosurgical clipping in ruptured intracranial aneurysms (RAs). MEDLINE, the Cochrane database, Embase, and the Web of Science database were searched and evaluated independently by 2 authors according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cohort studies describing economic hospital cost or length of stay in patients with RAs. A total of 8 studies were included, describing 24,219 RAs treated with neurosurgical clipping and 24,962 RAs with endovascular coiling. Meta-analysis revealed that the total hospital costs (THCs) were similar between coiling versus clipping in RAs (standard mean difference [SMD], -0.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.12 to 0.22; I 2  = 99%; P = 0.50). Subgroup analysis showed that THCs of clipping and coiling were similar in ruptured aneurysms in the United States. However, in South Korea, the THCs of coiling were significantly higher than clipping. In the long run, 1-year medical costs of endovascular treatment were significantly lower than that of clipping in RAs (SMD, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.05-0.25; I 2  = 66%; P = 0.005). In addition, the length of stay of coiled patients was significantly shorter than clipped patients (SMD, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.13-0.45; I 2  = 96%; P < 0.001). Medical costs were region-specified. In the United States, total hospital costs and 1-year medical costs were similar in RA patients treated with endovascular coiling and neurosurgical clipping. However, in countries like South Korea and China, coiling was more expensive. The length of stay was much shorter in coiled patients in all countries. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Airline Operations Aid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), a NASA-developed expert systems program, is used by American Airlines for three purposes: as a rapid prototyping tool; to develop production prototypes; and to develop production application. An example of the latter is CLIPS' use in "Hub S1AAshing," a knowledge based system that recommends contingency plans when severe schedule reductions must be made. Hub S1AAshing has replaced a manual, labor intensive process. It saves time and allows Operations Control Coordinators to handle more difficult situations. Because the system assimilates much of the information necessary to facilitate educated decision making, it minimizes negative impact in situations where it is impossible to operate all flights.

Shaking video stabilization with content completion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Yi; Ye, Qixiang; Liu, Yanmei; Jiao, Jianbin

2009-01-01

A new stabilization algorithm to counterbalance the shaking motion in a video based on classical Kandade-Lucas- Tomasi (KLT) method is presented in this paper. Feature points are evaluated with law of large numbers and clustering algorithm to reduce the side effect of moving foreground. Analysis on the change of motion direction is also carried out to detect the existence of shaking. For video clips with detected shaking, an affine transformation is performed to warp the current frame to the reference one. In addition, the missing content of a frame during the stabilization is completed with optical flow analysis and mosaicking operation. Experiments on video clips demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Maintainable substrate carrier for electroplating

DOEpatents

Chen, Chen-An [Milpitas, CA; Abas, Emmanuel Chua [Laguna, PH; Divino, Edmundo Anida [Cavite, PH; Ermita, Jake Randal G [Laguna, PH; Capulong, Jose Francisco S [Laguna, PH; Castillo, Arnold Villamor [Batangas, PH; Ma,; Xiaobing, Diana [Saratoga, CA

2012-07-17

One embodiment relates to a substrate carrier for use in electroplating a plurality of substrates. The carrier includes a non-conductive carrier body on which the substrates are placed and conductive lines embedded within the carrier body. A plurality of conductive clip attachment parts are attached in a permanent manner to the conductive lines embedded within the carrier body. A plurality of contact clips are attached in a removable manner to the clip attachment parts. The contact clips hold the substrates in place and conductively connecting the substrates with the conductive lines. Other embodiments, aspects and features are also disclosed.

Maintainable substrate carrier for electroplating

DOEpatents

Chen, Chen-An; Abas, Emmanuel Chua; Divino, Edmundo Anida; Ermita, Jake Randal G.; Capulong, Jose Francisco S.; Castillo, Arnold Villamor; Ma, Diana Xiaobing

2016-08-02

One embodiment relates to a substrate carrier for use in electroplating a plurality of substrates. The carrier includes a non-conductive carrier body on which the substrates are placed and conductive lines embedded within the carrier body. A plurality of conductive clip attachment parts are attached in a permanent manner to the conductive lines embedded within the carrier body. A plurality of contact clips are attached in a removable manner to the clip attachment parts. The contact clips hold the substrates in place and conductively connecting the substrates with the conductive lines. Other embodiments, aspects and features are also disclosed.

Anticipation of high arousal aversive and positive movie clips engages common and distinct neural substrates.

PubMed

Greenberg, Tsafrir; Carlson, Joshua M; Rubin, Denis; Cha, Jiook; Mujica-Parodi, Lilianne

2015-04-01

The neural correlates of anxious anticipation have been primarily studied with aversive and neutral stimuli. In this study, we examined the effect of valence on anticipation by using high arousal aversive and positive stimuli and a condition of uncertainty (i.e. either positive or aversive). The task consisted of predetermined cues warning participants of upcoming aversive, positive, 'uncertain' (either aversive or positive) and neutral movie clips. Anticipation of all affective clips engaged common regions including the anterior insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, caudate, inferior parietal and prefrontal cortex that are associated with emotional experience, sustained attention and appraisal. In contrast, the nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex, regions implicated in reward processing, were selectively engaged during anticipation of positive clips (depicting sexually explicit content) and the mid-insula, which has been linked to processing aversive stimuli, was selectively engaged during anticipation of aversive clips (depicting graphic medical procedures); these three areas were also activated during anticipation of 'uncertain' clips reflecting a broad preparatory response for both aversive and positive stimuli. These results suggest that a common circuitry is recruited in anticipation of affective clips regardless of valence, with additional areas preferentially engaged depending on whether expected stimuli are negative or positive. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Anterior petroclinoid fold fenestration: an adjunct to clipping of postero-laterally projecting posterior communicating aneurysms.

PubMed

Nossek, Erez; Setton, Avi; Dehdashti, Amir R; Chalif, David J

2014-10-01

Proximally located posterior communicating artery (PCoA) aneurysms, projecting postero-laterally in proximity to the tentorium, may pose a technical challenge for microsurgical clipping due to obscuration of the proximal aneurysmal neck by the anterior petroclinoid fold. We describe an efficacious technique utilizing fenestration of the anterior petroclinoid fold to facilitate visualization and clipping of PCoA aneurysms abutting this aspect of the tentorium. Of 86 cases of PCoA aneurysms treated between 2003 and 2013, the technique was used in nine (10.5 %) patients to allow for adequate clipping. A 3 mm fenestration in the anterior petroclinoid ligament is created adjacent and lateral to the anterior clinoid process. This fenestration is then widened into a small wedge corridor by bipolar coagulation. In all cases, the proximal aneurysm neck was visualized after the wedge fenestration. Additionally, an adequate corridor for placement of the proximal clip blade was uniformly established. All cases were adequately clipped, with complete occlusion of the aneurysm neck and fundus with preservation of the PCoA. There were two intraoperative ruptures not related to creation of the wedge fenestration. One patient experienced post-operative partial third nerve palsy, which resolved during follow-up. We describe a technique of fenestration of the anterior petroclinoid fold to establish a critical and safe corridor for both visualization and clipping of PCoA aneurysms.

In-depth statistical analysis of the use of a website providing patients' narratives on lifestyle change when living with chronic back pain or coronary heart disease.

PubMed

Schweier, Rebecca; Grande, Gesine; Richter, Cynthia; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Romppel, Matthias

2018-07-01

To investigate the use of lebensstil-aendern.de ("lifestyle change"), a website providing peer narratives of experiences with successful lifestyle change, and to analyze whether peer model characteristics, clip content, and media type have an influence on the number of visitors, dwell time, and exit rates. An in-depth statistical analysis of website use with multilevel regression analyses. In two years, lebensstil-aendern.de attracted 12,844 visitors. The in-depth statistical analysis of usage rates demonstrated that audio clips were less popular than video or text-only clips, longer clips attracted more visitors, and clips by younger and female interviewees were preferred. User preferences for clip content categories differed between heart and back pain patients. Clips about stress management drew the smallest numbers of visitors in both indication modules. Patients are interested in the experiences of others. Because the quality of information for user-generated content is generally low, healthcare providers should include quality-assured patient narratives in their interventions. User preferences for content, medium, and peer characteristics need to be taken into account. If healthcare providers decide to include patient experiences in their websites, they should plan their intervention according to the different needs and preferences of users. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of endomycorrhizal infection, artificial herbivory, and parental cross on growth of Lotus corniculatus L.

PubMed

Borowicz, V A; Fitter, A H

1990-03-01

We examined how combinations of parentage, fungicide application, and artificial herbivory influence growth and shoot phosphorus content in pre-reproductive Lotus corniculatus, using young offspring arising from three parental crosses, two of which had one parent in common. Soil with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi was treated with either water or benomyl, an anti-VAM fungicide, and added to trays containing groups of four full siblings. There were two experiments; in the first no plants were clipped while in the second two of the four plants were clipped to simulate herbivory. In both experiments plants of the two related crosses accumulated more biomass and total shoot P than did plants of the third cross. Plants inoculated with watertreated soil had greater shoot mass and P concentration than did fungicide-treated replicates but the extent of increase in P concentration varied among crosses. In Experiment 2, clipping reduced root mass and resulted in higher shoot P concentration. In this experiment there was a significant interaction of fungicide application and clipping: both unclipped and clipped plants grew better in soil not treated with fungicide, but the increase in shoot mass, total mass, and total P was greater in unclipped plants. Significant interaction of fungicide treatment and clipping is most likely due to reduced availability of carbon to the roots of clipped plants, resulting in poorer symbiotic functioning.

Heavy metal phytoextraction by Sedum alfredii is affected by continual clipping and phosphorus fertilization amendment.

PubMed

Huang, Huagang; Li, Tingqiang; Gupta, D K; He, Zhenli; Yang, Xiao-E; Ni, Bingnan; Li, Mao

2012-01-01

Improving the efficacy of phytoextraction is critical for its successful application in metal contaminated soils. Mineral nutrition affects plant growth and metal absorption and subsequently the accumulation of heavy metal through hyper-accumulator plants. This study assessed the effects of di-hydrogen phosphates (KH2PO4, Ca(H2PO4)2, NaH2PO4 and NH4H2PO4) application at three levels (22, 88 and 352 mg P/kg soil) on Sedum alfredii growth and metal uptake by three consecutive harvests on aged and Zn/Cd combined contaminated paddy soil. The addition of phosphates (P) significantly increased the amount of Zn taken up by S. alfredii due to increased shoot Zn concentration and dry matter yield (DMY) (P < 0.05). The highest phytoextraction of Zn and Cd was observed in KH2PO4 and NH4H2PO4 treatment at 352 mg P/kg soil. The amount of Zn removed by phytoextraction increased in the order of 1st clipping < 2nd clipping < 3rd clipping, and for Cd extraction the order was 2nd clipping < 1st clipping < 3rd clipping. These results indicate that the application of P fertilizers coupled with multiple cuttings can enhance the removal of Zn and Cd from contaminated soils by S. alfredii, thus shortening the time needed for accomplishing remediation goals.

Clipping affects flowering of California poppy at two growth stages

Treesearch

Raymond D. Ratliff; Richard L. Hubbard

1975-01-01

The effects of clipping California-poppy (Eschscholzia californica Cham.) at various growth stages on plant survival, flowering, herbage yield, and root production were studied at the San Joaquin Experimental Range, in central California. Plants were clipped once to a 2-cm stubble at one of six stages. Through the early reproductive stage, a single...

[Clip Sheets from BOCES. Opportunities. Health. Careers. = Oportunidades. Salud. Una Camera En...

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

State Univ. of New York, Geneseo. Coll. at Geneseo. Migrant Center.

This collection of 83 clip sheets, or classroom handouts, was created to help U.S. migrants learn more about health, careers, and general "opportunities" including education programs. They are written in both English and Spanish and are presented in an easily understandable format. Health clip-sheet topics include the following: Abuse; AIDS;…

The "Isms" of Art. Introduction to the 2001-2002 Clip and Save Art Prints.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubbard, Guy

2001-01-01

Provides an introduction to the 2001-2002 Clip and Save Art Prints that will focus on ten art movements from the past 150 years. Includes information on three art movements, or "isms": Classicism, Romanticism, and Realism. Discusses the Clip and Save Art Print format and provides information on three artists. (CMK)

Clipping Versus Coiling in the Management of Posterior Communicating Artery Aneurysms with Third Nerve Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Gaberel, Thomas; Borha, Alin; di Palma, Camille; Emery, Evelyne

2016-03-01

To compare surgical clipping with endovascular coiling in terms of recovery from oculomotor nerve palsy (ONP) in the management of posterior communicating artery (PCoA) aneurysms causing third nerve palsy. We conducted a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis. The meta-analysis included 11 relevant studies involving 384 patients with third nerve palsy caused by PCoA aneurysms at baseline, of whom 257 (67.0%) were treated by clipping and 127 were treated by coiling (33.0%). Pooled odds ratios of the impact of clipping or coiling on complete ONP recovery, lack of ONP recovery, and procedure-related death were calculated. The overall complete ONP recovery rate was 42.5% in the coiling group compared with 83.6% in the clipping group. The increase in complete ONP recovery in the clipping group corresponds to an overall pooled Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio of 4.44 (95% confidence interval = 1.66-11.84). Subgroup analysis revealed a clear benefit of clipping over coiling in patients with ruptured aneurysms, but not in patients with unruptured aneurysms. No procedure-related deaths were reported by any of the 11 studies. Surgical clipping of PCoA aneurysms causing third nerve palsy achieves better ONP recovery than endovascular coiling; this could be particularly true in the case of ruptured aneurysms. In view of the purely observational data, statements about this effect should be made with great caution. A randomized trial would better address the therapeutic dilemma, but pending the results of such a trial, we recommend treating PCoA aneurysms causing ONP with surgery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Oculomotor nerve palsy by posterior communicating artery aneurysms: influence of surgical strategy on recovery.

PubMed

Güresir, Erdem; Schuss, Patrick; Seifert, Volker; Vatter, Hartmut

2012-11-01

Resolution of oculomotor nerve palsy (ONP) after clipping of posterior communicating artery (PCoA) aneurysms has been well documented. However, whether additional decompression of the oculomotor nerve via aneurysm sac dissection or resection is superior to pure aneurysm clipping is the subject of much debate. Therefore, the objective in the present investigation was to analyze the influence of surgical strategy--specifically, clipping with or without aneurysm dissection--on ONP resolution. Between June 1999 and December 2010, 18 consecutive patients with ruptured and unruptured PCoA aneurysms causing ONP were treated at the authors' institution. Oculomotor nerve palsy was evaluated on admission and at follow-up. The electronic database MEDLINE was searched for additional data in published studies of PCoA aneurysms causing ONP. Two reviewers independently extracted data. Overall, 8 studies from the literature review and 6 patients in the current series (121 PCoA aneurysms) met the study inclusion criteria. Ninety-four aneurysms were treated with simple aneurysm neck clipping and 27 with clipping plus aneurysm sac decompression. The surgical strategy, simple aneurysm neck clipping versus clipping plus oculomotor nerve decompression, had no effect on full ONP resolution on univariate (p = 0.5) and multivariate analyses. On multivariate analysis, patients with incomplete ONP at admission were more likely to have full resolution of the palsy than were those with complete ONP at admission (p = 0.03, OR = 4.2, 95% CI 1.1-16). Data in the present study indicated that ONP caused by PCoA aneurysms improves after clipping without and with oculomotor nerve decompression. The resolution of ONP is inversely associated with the initial severity of ONP.

Early retreatment after surgical clipping of ruptured intracranial aneurysms.

PubMed

Ito, Yoshiro; Yamamoto, Tetsuya; Ikeda, Go; Tsuruta, Wataro; Uemura, Kazuya; Komatsu, Yoji; Matsumura, Akira

2017-09-01

Although a rerupture after surgical clipping of ruptured intracranial aneurysms is rare, it is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The causes for retreatment and rupture after surgical clipping are not clearly defined. From a prospectively maintained database of 244 patients who had undergone surgical clipping of ruptured intracranial aneurysms, we selected patients who experienced retreatment or rerupture within 30 days after surgical clipping. Aneurysm occlusions were examined by microvascular Doppler ultrasonography and indocyanine green video-angiography. Indications for retreatment included rerupture and partial occlusion. We analyzed the characteristics and causes of early retreatment. Six patients (2.5%, 95% CI 0.9 to 5.3%) were retreated within 30 days after surgical clipping, including two patients (0.8%, 95% CI 0.1 to 2.9%) who experienced a rerupture. The retreated aneurysms were found in the anterior communicating artery (AcomA) (n = 5) and basilar artery (n = 1). Retreatment of the AcomA (7.5%) was performed significantly more frequently than that of other arteries (0.56%) (p < 0.01). A laterally projected AcomA aneurysm (17.4%) was more frequently retreated than were other aneurysm types (2.3%). Cases of laterally projecting AcomA aneurysms tended to result from an incomplete clip placed using a pterional approach from the opposite side of the aneurysm projection. Despite developments, the rates of retreatment and rerupture after surgical clipping remain similar to those reported previously. Retreatment of the AcomA was significantly more frequent than was retreatment of other arteries. Patients underwent retreatment more frequently when they were originally treated for lateral type aneurysms using a pterional approach from the opposite side of the aneurysm projection. The treatment method and evaluation modalities should be considered carefully for AcomA aneurysms in particular.

Epicardial clip occlusion of the left atrial appendage during cardiac surgery provides optimal surgical results and long-term stability.

PubMed

Kurfirst, Vojtech; Mokrácek, Aleš; Canádyová, Júlia; Frána, Radim; Zeman, Petr

2017-07-01

Occlusion of the left atrial appendage (LAA) has become an integral and important part of the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation. Different methods of surgical occlusion of the LAA have been associated with varying levels of short- and long-term success for closure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term results of epicardial placement and endocardial occlusion in patients undergoing cardiac operative procedures. A total of 101 patients (average age 65.7 years) undergoing cardiac operative procedures with the epicardial AtriClip Exclusion System of the LAA were enrolled in the study. The AtriClip was placed via a sternotomy or a thoracotomy or from a thoracoscopic approach. Postoperative variables, such as thromboembolic events, clip stability and endocardial leakage around the device, were examined by transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and/or computed tomography. Perioperative clip implantation was achieved in 98% of patients. TEE and/or computed tomography conducted during the follow-up period, comprising 1873 patient-months with a mean duration of 18 ± 11 months, revealed no clip migration, no leakage around the device and no clot formation near the remnant cul-de-sac. During the follow-up period, 4 of the cardiac patients experienced transitory ischaemic attacks, whereas no patient experienced a cerebrovascular attack. The Epicardial AtriClip Exclusion System of the LAA appears to be a feasable and safe operative method with a high success rate. Long-term follow-up confirmed clip stability, complete occlussion of the LAA and absence of any atrial fibrilation-related thromboembolic events. These results need to be confirmed by a larger, multicentre study. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Impact of metal artifact reduction software on image quality of gemstone spectral imaging dual-energy cerebral CT angiography after intracranial aneurysm clipping.

PubMed

Dunet, Vincent; Bernasconi, Martine; Hajdu, Steven David; Meuli, Reto Antoine; Daniel, Roy Thomas; Zerlauth, Jean-Baptiste

2017-09-01

We aimed to assess the impact of metal artifact reduction software (MARs) on image quality of gemstone spectral imaging (GSI) dual-energy (DE) cerebral CT angiography (CTA) after intracranial aneurysm clipping. This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board, which waived patient written consent. From January 2013 to September 2016, single source DE cerebral CTA were performed in 45 patients (mean age: 60 ± 9 years, male 9) after intracranial aneurysm clipping and reconstructed with and without MARs. Signal-to-noise (SNR), contrast-to-noise (CNR), and relative CNR (rCNR) ratios were calculated from attenuation values measured in the internal carotid artery (ICA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA). Volume of clip and artifacts and relative clip blurring reduction (rCBR) ratios were also measured at each energy level with/without MARs. Variables were compared between GSI and GSI-MARs using the paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test. MARs significantly reduced metal artifacts at all energy levels but 130 and 140 keV, regardless of clips' location and number. The optimal rCBR was obtained at 110 and 80 keV, respectively, on GSI and GSI-MARs images, with up to 96% rCNR increase on GSI-MARs images. The best compromise between metal artifact reduction and rCNR was obtained at 70-75 and 65-70 keV for GSI and GSI-MARs images, respectively, with up to 15% rCBR and rCNR increase on GSI-MARs images. MARs significantly reduces metal artifacts on DE cerebral CTA after intracranial aneurysm clipping regardless of clips' location and number. It may be used to reduce radiation dose while increasing CNR.

HITS-CLIP yields genome-wide insights into brain alternative RNA processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Licatalosi, Donny D.; Mele, Aldo; Fak, John J.; Ule, Jernej; Kayikci, Melis; Chi, Sung Wook; Clark, Tyson A.; Schweitzer, Anthony C.; Blume, John E.; Wang, Xuning; Darnell, Jennifer C.; Darnell, Robert B.

2008-11-01

Protein-RNA interactions have critical roles in all aspects of gene expression. However, applying biochemical methods to understand such interactions in living tissues has been challenging. Here we develop a genome-wide means of mapping protein-RNA binding sites in vivo, by high-throughput sequencing of RNA isolated by crosslinking immunoprecipitation (HITS-CLIP). HITS-CLIP analysis of the neuron-specific splicing factor Nova revealed extremely reproducible RNA-binding maps in multiple mouse brains. These maps provide genome-wide in vivo biochemical footprints confirming the previous prediction that the position of Nova binding determines the outcome of alternative splicing; moreover, they are sufficiently powerful to predict Nova action de novo. HITS-CLIP revealed a large number of Nova-RNA interactions in 3' untranslated regions, leading to the discovery that Nova regulates alternative polyadenylation in the brain. HITS-CLIP, therefore, provides a robust, unbiased means to identify functional protein-RNA interactions in vivo.

Eliciting positive, negative and mixed emotional states: A film library for affective scientists.

PubMed

Samson, Andrea C; Kreibig, Sylvia D; Soderstrom, Blake; Wade, A Ayanna; Gross, James J

2016-08-01

We describe the creation of a film library designed for researchers interested in positive (amusing), negative (repulsive), mixed (amusing and repulsive) and neutral emotional states. Three hundred 20- to 33-second film clips videotaped by amateurs were selected from video-hosting websites and screened in laboratory studies by 75 female participants on self-reported amusement and repulsion (Experiments 1 and 2). On the basis of pre-defined cut-off values, 51 positive, 39 negative, 59 mixed and 50 neutral film clips were selected. These film clips were then presented to 411 male and female participants in a large online study to identify film clips that reliably induced the target emotions (Experiment 3). Depending on the goal of the study, researchers may choose positive, negative, mixed or neutral emotional film clips on the basis of Experiments 1 and 2 or Experiment 3 ratings.

Using PVM to host CLIPS in distributed environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, Leonard; Pohl, Kym

1994-01-01

It is relatively easy to enhance CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) to support multiple expert systems running in a distributed environment with heterogeneous machines. The task is minimized by using the PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine) code from Oak Ridge Labs to provide the distributed utility. PVM is a library of C and FORTRAN subprograms that supports distributive computing on many different UNIX platforms. A PVM deamon is easily installed on each CPU that enters the virtual machine environment. Any user with rsh or rexec access to a machine can use the one PVM deamon to obtain a generous set of distributed facilities. The ready availability of both CLIPS and PVM makes the combination of software particularly attractive for budget conscious experimentation of heterogeneous distributive computing with multiple CLIPS executables. This paper presents a design that is sufficient to provide essential message passing functions in CLIPS and enable the full range of PVM facilities.

Coordination-Driven Syntheses of Compact Supramolecular Metallacycles toward Extended Metallo-organic Stacked Supramolecular Assemblies.

PubMed

Lescop, Christophe

2017-04-18

One important concept associated with supramolecular chemistry is supramolecular self-assembly, which deals with the way discrete individual components interact via intermolecular interactions in order to build, upon their spontaneous association, high order functional assemblies. The accumulation of these very simple and localized noncovalent interactions (such as H-bonding, dipole-dipole, hydrophobic/hydrophilic, van der Waals, π-π, π-CH, etc.) is ubiquitous in the complexity of natural systems (such as DNA, proteins, membranes, micelles, etc.). It can also be transposed to the directed synthesis of intricate artificial scaffolds, which have anticipated geometries and properties. Among the synthetic strategies based on this concept, coordination-driven supramolecular chemistry uses the robust, reversible, and directional metal-to-ligand coordinative bond to build discrete metallo-supramolecular architectures. Within the last two decades, coordination-driven supramolecular chemistry has proved to be one of the most powerful contemporary synthetic approaches and has provided a significant number of increasingly complex supramolecular assemblies, which have predetermined sizes and geometries. While much focus has been devoted to architectures bearing internal cavities for host-guest chemistry or to generate specific reactivity, particular attention can also be paid to compact supramolecular assemblies given that their specific structures are characterized by peculiar synthetic guiding rules as well as by alternative long-range self-assembling properties. This Account describes how a preassembled Cu I bimetallic clip bearing short intermetallic distances can be used as a U-shaped molecular clip to give general and versatile access to a large variety of original compact supramolecular metallacycles. When this Cu I precursor is reacted with various cyano-capped ditopic linkers that have increasing lengths and complexities, specific effects guiding the selective and straightforward syntheses of such compact supramolecular objects are highlighted. Whereas a subtle compromise between the length of the ditopic linkers and the steric bulk of the molecular clip appears to be a purely stereogeometric preliminary parameter to master, lateral interlinker interactions (π-π stacking interactions or aurophilic interactions depending on the nature of the internal cores of the linkers) can circumvent these constraints regardless of the length of the linkers and allow the selective formation of new compact supramolecular structures. Generally, such derivatives presented a strong tendency to self-assemble in the solid state due to inter-supramolecule interactions. This approach thus opens a new door toward molecular materials having an attractive solid state structure for potential applications related to charge carrier mobility and luminescence properties. These compact supramolecular assemblies can therefore be considered as original secondary binding units directing the predictive preparation of such extended networks. The on-purpose design of original building blocks bearing specific cores allowed the formation of new compact supramolecular metallacycles such as "U-shaped" π-stacked assemblies or "pseudodouble paracyclophanes". Similarly, the control of the secondary structure of one-dimensional coordination polymers alternating π-stacked compact supramolecular metallacycles was also conducted. The results that are discussed in this Account illustrate how the rational design of both preassembled polymetallic precursors bearing short intermetallic distances and ditopic linkers able to induce cumulative lateral weak interactions can implement the general synthetic guiding rules of coordination driven supramolecular chemistry. This opens perspectives to use such compact supramolecular assemblies as secondary building blocks for the design of long-range organized functional molecular materials that have predictable architectures and targeted properties.

First CLIPS Conference Proceedings, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The first Conference of C Language Production Systems (CLIPS) hosted by the NASA-Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in August 1990 is presented. Articles included engineering applications, intelligent tutors and training, intelligent software engineering, automated knowledge acquisition, network applications, verification and validation, enhancements to CLIPS, space shuttle quality control/diagnosis applications, space shuttle and real-time applications, and medical, biological, and agricultural applications.

Microleakage of different temporary filling materials in primary teeth.

PubMed

Odabas, Mesut Enes; Tulunoglu, Ozlem; Ozalp, Serife Ozdemir; Bodur, Haluk

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare the sealing properties of IRM, Coltosol, Cavit G, Adhesor and Clip, which used as temporary filling material in coronal access openings in extracted human primary teeth. Standardized access cavities of 2 x 2 mm were prepared in the eighty-four, caries-free human primary anterior teeth. The teeth were divided randomly into five groups of 16 teeth each. Temporary restorative materials Group A: IRM (Dentsply), Group B: Coltosol (Coltone), Group C: Cavit G (3M), Group D: Adhesor (Spofa Dental) and Group E: Clip (Voco) were applied according to the manufacturer's directions. The specimens were immersed silver nitrate and placed in film developer under fluorescent for 24 hours. The sectioned specimens were evaluated under a digital microscope at x 20 magnifications and blindly scored for microleakage. Clip presented the least microleakage value whereas; Adhesor and IRM presented the higher microleakage values. There were statistically significant differences between Clip and the others groups, while there were no statistically significant differences in microleakage between IRM, Adhesor, Coltosol and Cavit G. However the leakage scores of Clip and Cavit G were congruent (p = 0.454). Amongst the five materials, Clip exhibited a better sealing ability.

Rumen fluid fermentation for enhancement of hydrolysis and acidification of grass clipping.

PubMed

Wang, Siqi; Zhang, Guangming; Zhang, Panyue; Ma, Xiaowen; Li, Fan; Zhang, Haibo; Tao, Xue; Ye, Junpei; Nabi, Mohammad

2018-08-15

Rumen fluid, formed in rumen of ruminants, includes a complex microbial population of bacteria, protozoa, fungi and archaea, and has high ability to degrade lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, rumen fluid was used to ferment grass clipping for enhancing the hydrolysis and acidification of organic matters. Results showed that strict anaerobic condition, higher grass clipping content and smaller particle size of grass clipping were beneficial to the hydrolysis and acidification of organics. The increase of SCOD and total VFA concentration respectively reached 24.9 and 10.2 g/L with a suitable grass clipping content of 5%, a particle size <0.150 mm, and a fermentation time of 48 h. The VFA production was mainly attributed to the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose with a total solid reduction of 55.7%. Firmicutes and Fibrobacteres were the major contributors to the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose. The activity of carboxymethyl cellulose enzyme (CMCase), cellobiase and xylanase reached 0.027, 0.176 and 0.180 U/ml, respectively. The rumen fluid microorganisms successfully enhanced the hydrolysis and acidification of grass clipping. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Responses to water depth and clipping of twenty−three plant species in an Indian monsoonal wetland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Middleton, Beth A.; van der Valk, Arnold; Davis, Craig B.

2015-01-01

Responses of species to disturbances give insights into how species might respond to future wetland changes. In this study, species of monsoonal wetlands belonging to various functional types (graminoid and non−graminoid emergents, submersed aquatic, floating−leaved aquatic) varied in their growth responses to water depth and harvesting. We tested the effects of water depth (moist soil, flooded) and clipping (unclipped, and clipped) on the biomass and longevity of twenty−three dominant plant species of monsoonal wetlands in the Keoladeo National Park, India in a controlled experiment. With respect to total biomass and survival, six species responded positively to flooding and twelve species responded negatively to clipping. Responses to flooding and clipping, however, sometimes interacted. Individualistic responses of species to water levels and clipping regimes were apparent; species within a functional group did not always respond similarly. Therefore, detailed information on the individualistic responses of species may be needed to predict the vegetation composition of post−disturbance wetlands. In particular, as demands for fresh water increase around the world, studies of life history constraints and responses to hydrological changes will aid wetland managers in developing strategies to conserve biodiversity.

Process development for high-resolution 3D-printing of bioresorbable vascular stents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ware, Henry Oliver T.; Farsheed, Adam C.; van Lith, Robert; Baker, Evan; Ameer, Guillermo; Sun, Cheng

2017-02-01

The recent development of "continuous projection microstereolithography" also known as CLIP technology has successfully alleviated the main obstacles surrounding 3D printing technologies: production speed and part quality. Following the same working principle, we further developed the μCLIP process to address the needs for high-resolution 3D printing of biomedical devices with micron-scale precision. Compared to standard stereolithography (SLA) process, μCLIP fabrication can reduce fabrication time from several hours to as little as a few minutes. μCLIP can also produce better surface finish and more uniform mechanical properties than conventional SLA, as each individual "fabrication layer" continuously polymerizes into the subsequent layer. In this study, we report the process development in manufacturing high-resolution bioresorbable stents using our own μCLIP system. The bioresorbable photopolymerizable biomaterial (B-ink) used in this study is methacrylated poly(1, 12 dodecamethylene citrate) (mPDC). Through optimization of our μCLIP process and concentration of B-ink components, we have created a customizable bioresorbable stent with similar mechanical properties exhibited by nitinol stents. Upon optimization, fabricating a 2 cm tall vascular stent that comprises 4000 layers was accomplished in 26.5 minutes.

Effects of orally administered lavender essential oil on responses to anxiety-provoking film clips.

PubMed

Bradley, Belinda F; Brown, Stephen L; Chu, Simon; Lea, Robert W

2009-06-01

Lavender odour is commonly used to alleviate mild anxiety. Double blind studies are difficult to conduct with odours, and there are few reliable investigations of lavender's efficacy. Orally administered lavender capsules (placebo, 100, 200 microl) were tested in a randomised between-subjects (n = 97) double-blind study. Film clips were used to elicit anxiety. Measures included anxiety, State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), mood, positive and negative affect scale (PANAS), heart rate (HR), galvanic skin response (GSR), and heart rate variation (HRV). Following baseline measurements capsules were administered. Participants viewed a neutral film clip, then an anxiety-provoking and light-hearted recovery film clip. For the 200 microl lavender dose during the neutral film clip there was a trend towards reduced state anxiety, GSR and HR and increased HRV. In the anxiety-eliciting film, lavender was mildly beneficial in females but only on HRV measures. In males sympathetic arousal increased during the anxiety film (GSR). HRV significantly increased at 200 microl during all three film clips in females, suggesting decreased anxiety. These findings suggest that lavender has anxiolytic effects in humans under conditions of low anxiety, but these effects may not extend to conditions of high anxiety.

Alleviating travel anxiety through virtual reality and narrated video technology.

PubMed

Ahn, J C; Lee, O

2013-01-01

This study presents an empirical evidence of benefit of narrative video clips in embedded virtual reality websites of hotels for relieving travel anxiety. Even though it was proven that virtual reality functions do provide some relief in travel anxiety, a stronger virtual reality website can be built when narrative video clips that show video clips with narration about important aspects of the hotel. We posit that these important aspects are 1. Escape route and 2. Surrounding neighborhood information, which are derived from the existing research on anxiety disorder as well as travel anxiety. Thus we created a video clip that showed and narrated about the escape route from the hotel room, another video clip that showed and narrated about surrounding neighborhood. We then conducted experiments with this enhanced virtual reality website of a hotel by having human subjects play with the website and fill out a questionnaire. The result confirms our hypothesis that there is a statistically significant relationship between the degree of travel anxiety and psychological relief caused by the use of embedded virtual reality functions with narrative video clips of a hotel website (Tab. 2, Fig. 3, Ref. 26).

Teaching professionalism to first year medical students using video clips.

PubMed

Shevell, Allison Haley; Thomas, Aliki; Fuks, Abraham

2015-01-01

Medical schools are confronted with the challenge of teaching professionalism during medical training. The aim of this study was to examine medical students' perceptions of using video clips as a beneficial teaching tool to learn professionalism and other aspects of physicianship. As part of the longitudinal Physician Apprenticeship course at McGill University, first year medical students viewed video clips from the television series ER. The study used qualitative description and thematic analysis to interpret responses to questionnaires, which explored the educational merits of this exercise. Completed questionnaires were submitted by 112 students from 21 small groups. A major theme concerned the students' perceptions of the utility of video clips as a teaching tool, and consisted of comments organized into 10 categories: "authenticity and believability", "thought provoking", "skills and approaches", "setting", "medium", "level of training", "mentorship", "experiential learning", "effectiveness" and "relevance to practice". Another major theme reflected the qualities of physicianship portrayed in video clips, and included seven categories: "patient-centeredness", "communication", "physician-patient relationship", "professionalism", "ethical behavior", "interprofessional practice" and "mentorship". This study demonstrated that students perceived the value of using video clips from a television series as a means of teaching professionalism and other aspects of physicianship.

Stress analysis of mandibular implant overdenture with locator and bar/clip attachment: Comparative study with differences in the denture base length.

PubMed

Yoo, Jin Suk; Kwon, Kung-Rock; Noh, Kwantae; Lee, Hyeonjong; Paek, Janghyun

2017-06-01

The design of the attachment must provide an optimum stress distribution around the implant. In this study, for implant overdentures with a bar/clip attachment or a locator attachment, the stress transmitted to the implant in accordance with the change in the denture base length and the vertical pressure was measured and analyzed. Test model was created with epoxy resin. The strain gauges made a tight contact with implant surfaces. A universal testing machine was used to exert a vertical pressure on the mandibular implant overdenture and the strain rate of the implants was measured. Means and standard deviations of the maximum micro-deformation rates were determined. 1) Locator attachment: The implants on the working side generally showed higher strain than those on the non-working side. Tensile force was observed on the mesial surface of the implant on the working side, and the compressive force was applied to the buccal surface and on the surfaces of the implant on the non-working side. 2) Bar/clip attachment: The implants on the both non-working and working sides showed high strain; all surfaces except the mesial surface of the implant on the non-working side showed a compressive force. To minimize the strain on implants in mandibular implant overdentures, the attachment of the implant should be carefully selected and the denture base should be extended as much as possible.

A mission executor for an autonomous underwater vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Yuh-Jeng; Wilkinson, Paul

1991-01-01

The Naval Postgraduate School has been conducting research into the design and testing of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). One facet of this research is to incrementally design a software architecture and implement it in an advanced testbed, the AUV II. As part of the high level architecture, a Mission Executor is being constructed using CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) version 5.0. The Mission Executor is an expert system designed to oversee progress from the AUV launch point to a goal area and back to the origin. It is expected that the executor will make informed decisions about the mission, taking into account the navigational path, the vehicle subsystem health, and the sea environment, as well as the specific mission profile which is downloaded from an offboard mission planner. Heuristics for maneuvering, avoidance of uncharted obstacles, waypoint navigation, and reaction to emergencies (essentially the expert knowledge of a submarine captain) are required. Many of the vehicle subsystems are modeled as objects using the CLIPS Object Oriented Language (COOL) embedded in CLIPS 5.0. Also, truth maintenance is applied to the knowledge base to keep configurations updated.

Tears Falling on Goosebumps: Co-occurrence of Emotional Lacrimation and Emotional Piloerection Indicates a Psychophysiological Climax in Emotional Arousal

PubMed Central

Wassiliwizky, Eugen; Jacobsen, Thomas; Heinrich, Jan; Schneiderbauer, Manuel; Menninghaus, Winfried

2017-01-01

This psychophysiological study is the first to examine the relationship between emotional tears and emotional piloerection (i.e., goosebumps). Although both phenomena have been related to peak states of being moved, details about their temporal occurrence and the associated levels of physiological arousal have remained unknown. In our study, we used emotionally powerful film scenes that were self-selected by participants. Our findings show that even within peak moments of emotional arousal, a gradation of intensity is possible. The overlap of tears and goosebumps signifies a maximal climax within peak moments. On the side of the stimulus, we found that displays of prosocial behavior play a crucial role in the elicitation of tears and goosebumps. Finally, based on the results of a formal film analysis of the tears-eliciting clips provided by our participants, as compared to randomly extracted, equally long control clips from the same films, we show how the technical and artistic making of the clips was optimized for the display of social interaction and emotional expressions. PMID:28223946

A knowledge base browser using hypermedia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pocklington, Tony; Wang, Lui

1990-01-01

A hypermedia system is being developed to browse CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) knowledge bases. This system will be used to help train flight controllers for the Mission Control Center. Browsing this knowledge base will be accomplished either by having navigating through the various collection nodes that have already been defined, or through the query languages.

Approaches to Interactive Video Anchors in Problem-Based Science Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumar, David Devraj

2010-01-01

This paper is an invited adaptation of the IEEE Education Society Distinguished Lecture Approaches to Interactive Video Anchors in Problem-Based Science Learning. Interactive video anchors have a cognitive theory base, and they help to enlarge the context of learning with information-rich real-world situations. Carefully selected movie clips and…

Thick Slice and Thin Slice Teaching Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tom, Gail; Tong, Stephanie Tom; Hesse, Charles

2010-01-01

Student-based teaching evaluations are an integral component to institutions of higher education. Previous work on student-based teaching evaluations suggest that evaluations of instructors based upon "thin slice" 30-s video clips of them in the classroom correlate strongly with their end of the term "thick slice" student evaluations. This study's…

Impact of Aneurysm Projection on Intraoperative Complications During Surgical Clipping of Ruptured Posterior Communicating Artery Aneurysms.

PubMed

Fukuda, Hitoshi; Hayashi, Kosuke; Yoshino, Kumiko; Koyama, Takashi; Lo, Benjamin; Kurosaki, Yoshitaka; Yamagata, Sen

2016-03-01

Surgical clipping of ruptured posterior communicating artery (PCoA) aneurysms is a well-established procedure to date. However, preoperative factors associated with procedure-related risk require further elucidation. To investigate the impact of the direction of aneurysm projection on the incidence of procedure-related complications during surgical clipping of ruptured PCoA aneurysms. A total of 65 patients with ruptured PCoA aneurysms who underwent surgical clipping were retrospectively analyzed from a single-center, prospective, observational cohort database in this study. The aneurysms were categorized into lateral and posterior projection groups, depending on direction of the dome. Characteristics and operative findings of each projection group were identified. We also evaluated any correlation of aneurysm projection with the incidence of procedure-related complications. Patients with ruptured PCoA aneurysms with posterior projection more likely presented with good-admission-grade subarachnoid hemorrhage (P = .01, χ test) and were less to also have intracerebral hematoma (P = .01). These aneurysms were found to be associated with higher incidence of intraoperative rupture (P = .02), complex clipping with fenestrated clips (P = .02), and dense adherence to PCoA or its perforators (P = .04) by univariate analysis. Aneurysms with posterior projection were also correlated with procedure-related complications, including postoperative cerebral infarction or hematoma formation (odds ratio, 5.87; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-31.1; P = .04) by multivariable analysis. Ruptured PCoA aneurysms with posterior projection carried a higher risk of procedure-related complications of surgical clipping than those with lateral projection.

The effect of music video clips on adolescent boys' body image, mood, and schema activation.

PubMed

Mulgrew, Kate E; Volcevski-Kostas, Diana; Rendell, Peter G

2014-01-01

There is limited research that has examined experimentally the effects of muscular images on adolescent boys' body image, with no research specifically examining the effects of music television. The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of viewing muscular and attractive singers in music video clips on early, mid, and late adolescent boys' body image, mood, and schema activation. Participants were 180 boys in grade 7 (mean age = 12.73 years), grade 9 (mean age = 14.40 years) or grade 11 (mean age = 16.15 years) who completed pre- and post-test measures of mood and body satisfaction after viewing music videos containing male singers of muscular or average appearance. They also completed measures of schema activation and social comparison after viewing the clips. The results showed that the boys who viewed the muscular clips reported poorer upper body satisfaction, lower appearance satisfaction, lower happiness, and more depressive feelings compared to boys who viewed the clips depicting singers of average appearance. There was no evidence of increased appearance schema activation but the boys who viewed the muscular clips did report higher levels of social comparison to the singers. The results suggest that music video clips are a powerful form of media in conveying information about the male ideal body shape and that negative effects are found in boys as young as 12 years.

Evaluation of Breast Sentinel Lymph Node Coverage by Standard Radiation Therapy Fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rabinovitch, Rachel; Ballonoff, Ari; Newman, Francis M.S.

2008-04-01

Background: Biopsy of the breast sentinel lymph node (SLN) is now a standard staging procedure for early-stage invasive breast cancer. The anatomic location of the breast SLN and its relationship to standard radiation fields has not been described. Methods and Materials: A retrospective review of radiotherapy treatment planning data sets was performed in patients with breast cancer who had undergone SLN biopsy, and those with a surgical clip at the SLN biopsy site were identified. The location of the clip was evaluated relative to vertebral body level on an anterior-posterior digitally reconstructed radiograph, treated whole-breast tangential radiation fields, and standardmore » axillary fields in 106 data sets meeting these criteria. Results: The breast SLN varied in vertebral body level position, ranging from T2 to T7 but most commonly opposite T4. The SLN clip was located below the base of the clavicle in 90%, and hence would be excluded from standard axillary radiotherapy fields where the inferior border is placed at this level. The clip was within the irradiated whole-breast tangent fields in 78%, beneath the superior-posterior corner multileaf collimators in 12%, and outside the tangent field borders in 10%. Conclusions: Standard axillary fields do not encompass the lymph nodes at highest risk of containing tumor in breast cancer patients. Elimination of the superior-posterior corner MLCs from the tangent field design would result in inclusion of the breast SLN in 90% of patients treated with standard whole-breast irradiation.« less

Improvement of registration accuracy in accelerated partial breast irradiation using the point-based rigid-body registration algorithm for patients with implanted fiducial markers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Inoue, Minoru; Yoshimura, Michio, E-mail: myossy@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Sato, Sayaka

2015-04-15

Purpose: To investigate image-registration errors when using fiducial markers with a manual method and the point-based rigid-body registration (PRBR) algorithm in accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) patients, with accompanying fiducial deviations. Methods: Twenty-two consecutive patients were enrolled in a prospective trial examining 10-fraction APBI. Titanium clips were implanted intraoperatively around the seroma in all patients. For image-registration, the positions of the clips in daily kV x-ray images were matched to those in the planning digitally reconstructed radiographs. Fiducial and gravity registration errors (FREs and GREs, respectively), representing resulting misalignments of the edge and center of the target, respectively, were comparedmore » between the manual and algorithm-based methods. Results: In total, 218 fractions were evaluated. Although the mean FRE/GRE values for the manual and algorithm-based methods were within 3 mm (2.3/1.7 and 1.3/0.4 mm, respectively), the percentages of fractions where FRE/GRE exceeded 3 mm using the manual and algorithm-based methods were 18.8%/7.3% and 0%/0%, respectively. Manual registration resulted in 18.6% of patients with fractions of FRE/GRE exceeding 5 mm. The patients with larger clip deviation had significantly more fractions showing large FRE/GRE using manual registration. Conclusions: For image-registration using fiducial markers in APBI, the manual registration results in more fractions with considerable registration error due to loss of fiducial objectivity resulting from their deviation. The authors recommend the PRBR algorithm as a safe and effective strategy for accurate, image-guided registration and PTV margin reduction.« less

CT-image-based conformal brachytherapy of breast cancer. The significance of semi-3-D and 3-D treatment planning.

PubMed

Polgár, C; Major, T; Somogyi, A; Takácsi-Nagy, Z; Mangel, L C; Forrai, G; Sulyok, Z; Fodor, J; Németh, G

2000-03-01

To compare the conventional 2-D, the simulator-guided semi-3-D and the recently developed CT-guided 3-D brachytherapy treatment planning in the interstitial radiotherapy of breast cancer. In 103 patients with T1-2, N0-1 breast cancer the tumor bed was clipped during breast conserving surgery. Fifty-two of them received boost brachytherapy after 46 to 50 Gy teletherapy and 51 patients were treated with brachytherapy alone via flexible implant tubes. Single, double and triple plane implant was used in 6, 89 and 8 cases, respectively. The dose of boost brachytherapy and sole brachytherapy prescribed to dose reference points was 3 times 4.75 Gy and 7 times 5.2 Gy, respectively. The positions of dose reference points varied according to the level (2-D, semi-3-D and 3-D) of treatment planning performed. The treatment planning was based on the 3-D reconstruction of the surgical clips, implant tubes and skin points. In all cases the implantations were planned with a semi-3-D technique aided by simulator. In 10 cases a recently developed CT-guided 3-D planning system was used. The semi-3-D and 3-D treatment plans were compared to hypothetical 2-D plans using dose-volume histograms and dose non-uniformity ratios. The values of mean central dose, mean skin dose, minimal clip dose, proportion of underdosaged clips and mean target surface dose were evaluated. The accuracy of tumor bed localization and the conformity of planning target volume and treated volume were also analyzed in each technique. With the help of conformal semi-3-D and 3-D brachytherapy planning we could define reference dose points, active source positions and dwell times individually. This technique decreased the mean skin dose with 22.2% and reduced the possibility of geographical miss. We could achieve the best conformity between the planning target volume and the treated volume with the CT-image based 3-D treatment planning, at the cost of worse dose homogeneity. The mean treated volume was reduced by 25.1% with semi-3-D planning, however, it was increased by 16.2% with 3-D planning, compared to the 2-D planning. The application of clips into the tumor bed and the conformal (semi-3-D and 3-D) planning help to avoid geographical miss. CT is suitable for 3-D brachytherapy planning. Better local control with less side effects might be achieved with these new techniques. Conformal 3-D brachytherapy calls for new treatment planning concepts, taking the irregular 3-D shape of the target volume into account. The routine clinical application of image-based 3-D brachytherapy is a real aim in the very close future.

Four-year trends in the treatment of cerebral aneurysms in Poland in 2009-2012.

PubMed

Tykocki, Tomasz; Kostyra, Kacper; Czyż, Marcin; Kostkiewicz, Bogusław

2014-05-01

The dilemma concerning the appropriate treatment of the intracranial aneurysms (IAs) has not yet been resolved and still remains under fierce debate. This study refers to the recent trends in the use of and outcomes related to coiling compared with clipping for unruptured and ruptured IAs in Poland over a 4-year period. The analysis refers to treatment of IAs performed in Poland between 2009-2012. Patients' records were cross-matched by ICD-9 codes for ruptured SAH (430) or unruptured cerebral aneurysm (437.3) along with codes for clipping (39.51) and coiling (39.79, 39.72, or 39.52). Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare in-hospital deaths, hospital length of stay (LOS), therapy allocation and aneurysm locations in unruptured vs. ruptured and clipped vs. coiled groups. Differences in the number of procedures between 16 administrative regions were standardized per 100,000 people. In 2009-2012, 11,051 procedures were identified, including 5,968 ruptured and 5,083 unruptured aneurysms. Overall increase was 2.3 % in clipping and 13.1 % in coiling; a significant trend was found in endovascular procedures (p = 0.044). Ruptured aneurysms were clipped more frequently (OR = 1.66;); in unruptured IAs, endovascular procedure was preferred 3.5 times more than clipping. The annual in-hospital mortality was 7.6 % in clipping and 6.7 % in endovascular treatment. LOS was two times longer after clipping in unruptured aneurysms (OR = 2.013). After the procedures were standardized per 100,000 people, the average for Poland was established as 9.09 in 2009, 10.86 in 2010, 10.55 in 2011, and 11.49 in 2012. This index had the highest values in Mazovia (12.9, 2009; 15.4, 2010; 17.4, 2011; 18.6, 2012. Data analysis revealed an increase in overall number of IAs treated in Poland between 2009-2012. A significant upward trend of endovascular procedures was found, whereas the number of clipped aneurysms remained relatively steady over the study period.

Long-term clinical and prosthetic outcomes of soft liner and clip attachments for bar/implant overdentures: a randomised controlled clinical trial.

PubMed

ELsyad, M A; Shaheen, N H; Ashmawy, T M

2017-06-01

Long-term clinical and prosthetic outcomes of soft liner attachments for bar/implant overdentures were not sufficiently investigated. The aim of this trial was to evaluate clinical and prosthetic outcomes of resilient liner and clip attachments for bar/implant-retained mandibular overdenture after 7 years. Thirty edentulous male participants received two implants in the canine areas of the mandible. Three months later, implants were splinted with a resilient bar. Mandibular overdentures were connected to the bars with either clip (CR group, n = 15) or resilient liner (RR group, n = 15) attachments. Plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), vertical bone loss (VBL), horizontal bone loss (HBLO) and prosthetic complications (PCs) were evaluated at denture delivery (T0), 6 (T 6m ), 12 (T1), 24 (T2), 36 (T3), 48 (T4), 60 (T5), 72 (T6) and 84 (T7) months after insertion. PI and GI increased significantly with time for CR and decreased significantly for RR (P < 0·001). PD increased at T1 (CR) and T6 m (RR) and then decreased thereafter (P < 0·05). VBL increased significantly with time in both groups (P < 0·005). HBLO increased at T2 (CR) and T1 (RR) and then decreased thereafter. CR recorded significant higher PI, GI, PD, VBLO and HBLO compared to RR at all observation times (P < 0·042). The survival rates were 96·6% and 100% for CR and RR after 7 years. The most common PCs for CR and RR were clip wears and separation of the resilient liner from the denture base, respectively. Within the limitations of this study, resilient liner attachments are recommended for bar/implant-retained mandibular overdentures than clip attachments in terms of peri-implant tissue health and prosthetic complications after 7 years. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Johannes Vermeer of Delft [1632-1675] and vision in neuroendoscopy

PubMed Central

Azab, Waleed A.; Prevedello, Daniel M.; Carrau, Ricardo L.

2014-01-01

Background: Johannes Vermeer of Delft [1632-1675] was one of the greatest Masters of the Dutch Golden Age who was intensely preoccupied with the behavior of light and other optical effects and was entitled “The Master of Light”. He fastidiously attended to the subtleties of visual expression through geometry, composition, and precise mastery of the rules of perspective. It has been our impression that some visual similarity does exist between neuroendoscopic images and some of Vermeer's paintings. Such a relation could be explained by the fact that optical devices are utilized in producing both types of display. Methods: We reviewed the pertinent medical and art literature, observed some video clips of our endoscopy cases, and inspected digital high resolution images of Vermeer's paintings in order to elaborate on shared optical phenomena between neuroendoscopic views and Vermeer's paintings. Results: Specific optical phenomena are indeed shared by Johannes Vermeer's works and neuroendoscopic vision, namely light and color effects as well as the rules of perspective. Conclusion: From the physical point of view, the possibility that a camera obscura inspired Vermeer's artistic creation makes the existence of a visual link between his paintings and the endoscopic views of the intracranial cavity comprehensible. PMID:25140282

Post-event information presented in a question form eliminates the misinformation effect.

PubMed

Lee, Yuh-shiow; Chen, Kuan-Nan

2013-02-01

This study investigated the influences of sentence surface forms on the misinformation effect. After viewing a film clip, participants received a post-event narrative describing the events in the film. Critical sentences in the post-event narrative, presented in either a statement or a question form, contained misinformation instead of questions with embedded false presuppositions; thus participants did not have to answer questions about the original event. During the final cued-recall test, participants were informed that any relevant information presented in the post-event narrative was not in the original event and that they should not report it. Consistent with previous findings, Experiment 1 demonstrated that post-event information presented as an affirmative statement produced the misinformation effect. More importantly, post-event information presented in a question form, regardless of whether it contained a misleading or studied item, increased the recall of correct information and reduced false recall. Experiment 2 replicated the main finding and ruled out an alternative explanation based on the salience of misleading items. Post-event information presented in a question form created a condition similar to that which produces the testing effect. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

Monitoring wetland of Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve zone by remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, Xinghua; Fan, Zhewen; Fang, Yu; Yu, Yuping; Zhang, Yun

2008-10-01

In order to monitor the wetland of the Poyang Lake national nature reserve zone, we selected three different seasons TM image data which were achieved individually in April 23th in 1988, Nov 2nd in 1994, and Jan 1st in 2000. Based on the band 5, band 4 and band 3of TM image, we divided the land coverage of Poyang Lake national nature reserve zone into three classes--water field, meadow field and the other land use by rule of maximum likelihood. Using the outcome data to make the statistical analysis, combining with the GIS overlay function operation, the land coverage changes of the Poyang Lake national nature reserve zone can be achieved. Clipped by the Poyang Lake national nature reserve zone boundary, the land coverage changes of Poyang Lake national nature reserve zone in three different years can be attained. Compared with the different wetland coverage data in year of 1988, 1994, 2000, the Poyang Lake national nature reserve zone eco-environment can be inferred from it. After analyzing the land coverage changes data, we draw the conclusion that the effort of Poyang Lake national nature reserve administration bureaucracy has worked well in certain sense.

A model of face selection in viewing video stories.

PubMed

Suda, Yuki; Kitazawa, Shigeru

2015-01-19

When typical adults watch TV programs, they show surprisingly stereo-typed gaze behaviours, as indicated by the almost simultaneous shifts of their gazes from one face to another. However, a standard saliency model based on low-level physical features alone failed to explain such typical gaze behaviours. To find rules that explain the typical gaze behaviours, we examined temporo-spatial gaze patterns in adults while they viewed video clips with human characters that were played with or without sound, and in the forward or reverse direction. We here show the following: 1) the "peak" face scanpath, which followed the face that attracted the largest number of views but ignored other objects in the scene, still retained the key features of actual scanpaths, 2) gaze behaviours remained unchanged whether the sound was provided or not, 3) the gaze behaviours were sensitive to time reversal, and 4) nearly 60% of the variance of gaze behaviours was explained by the face saliency that was defined as a function of its size, novelty, head movements, and mouth movements. These results suggest that humans share a face-oriented network that integrates several visual features of multiple faces, and directs our eyes to the most salient face at each moment.

Ischemic mass effect from biliary surgical clips.

PubMed

Mateo, Rod; Tsai, Steven; Stapfer, Maria V; Sher, Linda S; Selby, Rick; Genyk, Yuri S

2008-02-01

Migrating surgical clips in the hepatic hilum are known causes of biliary stricture or obstruction, most often due to direct intraluminal obstruction or secondary stone formation. Two cases are reported on patients with previous cholecystectomies presenting with delayed symptoms of biliary tract stricture. Both patients were successfully treated with a resection of the strictured area and a Roux-en-Y hepatico-jejunostomy. Resected specimens grossly demonstrated surgical clips adjacent to the stricture, but not directly within the lumen, suggestive of an ischemic mass effect, which was supported by histology. In addition to the direct intraluminal obstruction and lithogenic effects of migratory surgical clips, "clipomas" due to an ischemic mass effect can also lead to biliary tract strictures.

Video-Based Test Questions: A Novel Means of Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertenstein, Matthew J.; Wayand, Joseph F.

2008-01-01

Many psychology instructors present videotaped examples of behavior at least occasionally during their courses. However, few include video clips during examinations. We provide examples of video-based questions, offer guidelines for their use, and discuss their benefits and drawbacks. In addition, we provide empirical evidence to support the use…

CLIP-related methodologies and their application to retrovirology.

PubMed

Bieniasz, Paul D; Kutluay, Sebla B

2018-05-02

Virtually every step of HIV-1 replication and numerous cellular antiviral defense mechanisms are regulated by the binding of a viral or cellular RNA-binding protein (RBP) to distinct sequence or structural elements on HIV-1 RNAs. Until recently, these protein-RNA interactions were studied largely by in vitro binding assays complemented with genetics approaches. However, these methods are highly limited in the identification of the relevant targets of RBPs in physiologically relevant settings. Development of crosslinking-immunoprecipitation sequencing (CLIP) methodology has revolutionized the analysis of protein-nucleic acid complexes. CLIP combines immunoprecipitation of covalently crosslinked protein-RNA complexes with high-throughput sequencing, providing a global account of RNA sequences bound by a RBP of interest in cells (or virions) at near-nucleotide resolution. Numerous variants of the CLIP protocol have recently been developed, some with major improvements over the original. Herein, we briefly review these methodologies and give examples of how CLIP has been successfully applied to retrovirology research.

Using popular films to enhance classroom learning: the good, the bad, and the interesting.

PubMed

Butler, Andrew C; Zaromb, Franklin M; Lyle, Keith B; Roediger, Henry L

2009-09-01

Popular history films sometimes contain major historical inaccuracies. Two experiments investigated how watching such films influences people's ability to remember associated texts. Subjects watched film clips and studied texts about various historical topics. Whereas the texts contained only correct information, the film clips contained both correct information (consistent with the text) and misinformation (contradicted by the text). Before watching each clip, subjects received a specific warning, a general warning, or no warning about the misinformation. One week later, they returned for a cued-recall test about the texts. Watching a film clip increased correct recall of consistent information relative to recall of the same information when subjects did not see the clip. However, when the information in the film contradicted the text, subjects often (falsely) recalled misinformation from the film. The specific warning substantially reduced this misinformation effect. Teachers should use popular history films with caution and should warn students about major inaccuracies in the films.

Optimizing assessment of sexual arousal in postmenopausal women using erotic film clips.

PubMed

Ramos Alarcon, Lauren G; Dai, Jing; Collins, Karen; Perez, Mindy; Woodard, Terri; Diamond, Michael P

2017-10-01

This study sought to assess sexual arousal in a subgroup of women by identifying erotic film clips that would be most mentally appealing and physically arousing to postmenopausal women. By measuring levels of mental appeal and self-reported physical arousal using a bidirectional scale, we aimed to elucidate the clips that would best be utilized for sexual health research in the postmenopausal or over 50-year-old subpopulation. Our results showed that postmenopausal women did not rate clips with older versus younger actors differently (p>0.05). The mean mental and mean physical scores were significantly correlated for both premenopausal subject ratings (r=0.69, p<0.001) and postmenopausal subject ratings (r=0.94, p<0.001). Thus postmenopausal women do not show a preference for the age of actors used in erotic film clips; this knowledge is relevant for design of future sexual function research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

iCLIP reveals the function of hnRNP particles in splicing at individual nucleotide resolution

PubMed Central

König, Julian; Zarnack, Kathi; Rot, Gregor; Curk, Tomaž; Kayikci, Melis; Zupan, Blaž; Turner, Daniel J.; Luscombe, Nicholas M.; Ule, Jernej

2010-01-01

In the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, nascent transcripts are associated with heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) particles that are nucleated by hnRNP C. Despite their abundance however, it remained unclear whether these particles control pre-mRNA processing. Here, we developed individual-nucleotide resolution UV-cross-linking and immunoprecipitation (iCLIP) to study the role of hnRNP C in splicing regulation. iCLIP data demonstrate that hnRNP C recognizes uridine tracts with a defined long-range spacing consistent with hnRNP particle organization. hnRNP particles assemble on both introns and exons, but remain generally excluded from splice sites. Integration of transcriptome-wide iCLIP data and alternative splicing profiles into an ‘RNA map’ indicates how the positioning of hnRNP particles determines their effect on inclusion of alternative exons. The ability of high-resolution iCLIP data to provide insights into the mechanism of this regulation holds promise for studies of other higher-order ribonucleoprotein complexes. PMID:20601959

Judgments of Nonverbal Behaviour by Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Can They Detect Signs of Winning and Losing from Brief Video Clips?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Christian; Furley, Philip; Mulhall, Kathleen

2016-01-01

Typically developing children are able to judge who is winning or losing from very short clips of video footage of behaviour between active match play across a number of sports. Inferences from "thin slices" (short video clips) allow participants to make complex judgments about the meaning of posture, gesture and body language. This…

A Simple Recipe for Whitening Old Newspaper Clippings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Henry A.

1995-07-01

Newspaper clippings tend to brown quickly with aging as the result of chromophores that form during the degradation of one or more components of paper. Newsprint that consists of approximately 40% lignin is particularly susceptible to browning due to the relative ease of the oxidation of lignin. For readers who wish to experiment with both whitening and deacidifying old newspaper clippings, a simple recipe requiring few materials is presented.

CLIP-seq analysis of multi-mapped reads discovers novel functional RNA regulatory sites in the human transcriptome.

PubMed

Zhang, Zijun; Xing, Yi

2017-09-19

Crosslinking or RNA immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (CLIP-seq or RIP-seq) allows transcriptome-wide discovery of RNA regulatory sites. As CLIP-seq/RIP-seq reads are short, existing computational tools focus on uniquely mapped reads, while reads mapped to multiple loci are discarded. We present CLAM (CLIP-seq Analysis of Multi-mapped reads). CLAM uses an expectation-maximization algorithm to assign multi-mapped reads and calls peaks combining uniquely and multi-mapped reads. To demonstrate the utility of CLAM, we applied it to a wide range of public CLIP-seq/RIP-seq datasets involving numerous splicing factors, microRNAs and m6A RNA methylation. CLAM recovered a large number of novel RNA regulatory sites inaccessible by uniquely mapped reads. The functional significance of these sites was demonstrated by consensus motif patterns and association with alternative splicing (splicing factors), transcript abundance (AGO2) and mRNA half-life (m6A). CLAM provides a useful tool to discover novel protein-RNA interactions and RNA modification sites from CLIP-seq and RIP-seq data, and reveals the significant contribution of repetitive elements to the RNA regulatory landscape of the human transcriptome. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

[Correction of aphakia with the implantation of the retropupillary iris clip intraocular artificial lens].

PubMed

Szabó, Antal; Papp, András; Borbándy, Ágnes; D Géhl, Zsuzsanna; Nagy, Zoltán Zsolt; Resch, Miklós

2017-01-01

The correction of aphakia might be a challenge for the surgeon. The aim of this study is to describe the authors' experience with the implantation of the retropupillary iris clip intraocular lens. Patients between January 2014 and December 2015 were included in the retrospective study. Retropupillary implantation of iris clip intraocular lens VRSA 54 (AMO Advanced Medical Optics, USA) was performed in all cases. The minimum follow up period was three months. The stability of the intraocular lens and the intraoperative and postoperative complications and the visual acuity were evaluated. During this time period 11 cases (1 female, 10 males) were included in the study. The mean age at the time of the implantation was 57.7 years (between 25-74 years). In 4 cases the iris clip lens was implanted during the first intervention, in 7 cases during the secondary procedure. In all cases the lens was fixated onto the iris posteriorly. The best corrected visual acuity before the iris clip implantation was 0.43 (0.1-1.0) and postoperatively at the time of the follow up 0.49 (0.04-1.0). With the use of the retropupillary implanted iris clip intraocular lens all of the patients could have been rehabilitated without major complications. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(1), 20-24.