The Retarding Force on a Fan-Cart Reversing Direction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aurora, Tarlok S.; Brunner, Bernard J.

2011-01-01

In introductory physics, students learn that an object tossed upward has a constant downward acceleration while going up, at the highest point and while falling down. To demonstrate this concept, a self-propelled fan cart system is used on a frictionless track. A quick push is given to the fan cart and it is allowed to move away on a track under…

Cart Regulates Food Intake in Channel Catfish

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cocaine-and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript (CART) is a potent hypothalamic anorectic peptide in mammals and fish. We hypothesized that increased food intake is associated with changes in expression of CART mRNA within the brain of channel catfish. Objectives were to clone the CART gene, examine ...

Control of an Omni-directional Power-assisted Cart

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maeda, Hiroshi; Fujiwara, Shigeki; Kitano, Hitoshi; Yamashita, Hideki; Fukunaga, Hideo

This paper describes an easy-to-operate, omni-directional cart. This cart includes power assist technology that acts for both the longitudinal and rotational motions of the cart. Two objectives are set for this development. The first objective is to overcome the difficulty of shifting the cart laterally. Therefore, the equation for calculating the cart turning speed is modified so that the moment, which is driven by the operating force in the right/left direction, is offset. As a result, it becomes possible to stabilize the balance between the operating force in the right/left direction and the operating moment, and improve the operating performance. The second objective is to overcome the other difficulty whereby, during the one-hand pull-operation, the cart tended to run off course to the right/left. To solve this problem, we add a positional control in the right/left direction. As a result, we reduce the lateral deviation of the cart, and improve the operating performance.

Fan Cart: The Next Generation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamore, Brian

2016-01-01

For years the fan cart has provided physics students with an excellent resource for exploring fundamental mechanics concepts such as acceleration, Newton's laws, impulse, momentum, work-energy, and energy conversions. "The Physics Teacher" has even seen some excellent do-it-yourself (DIY) fan carts and activities. If you are interested…

Quantitative Evaluation of CART-Containing Cells in Urinary Bladder of Rats with Renovascular Hypertension

PubMed Central

Janiuk, I.; Kasacka, I.

2015-01-01

Recent biological advances make it possible to discover new peptides associated with hypertension. The cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) is a known factor in appetite and feeding behaviour. Various lines of evidence suggest that this peptide participates not only in control of feeding behaviour but also in the regulation of the cardiovascular and sympathetic systems and blood pressure. The role of CART in blood pressure regulation led us to undertake a study aimed at analysing quantitative changes in CART-containing cells in urinary bladders (UB) of rats with renovascular hypertension. We used the Goldblatt model of arterial hypertension (two-kidney, one clip) to evaluate quantitative changes. This model provides researchers with a commonly used tool to analyse the renin-angiotensin system of blood pressure control and, eventually, to develop drugs for the treatment of chronic hypertension. The study was performed on sections of urinary bladders of rats after 3-, 14-, 28-, 42 and 91 days from hypertension induction. Immunohistochemical identification of CART cells was performed on paraffin for the UBs of all the study animals. CART was detected in the endocrine cells, especially numerous in the submucosa and muscularis layers, with a few found in the transitional epithelium and only occasionally in serosa. Hypertension significantly increased the number of CART-positive cells in the rat UBs. After 3 and 42 days following the procedure, statistically significantly higher numbers of CART-positive cells were identified in comparison with the control animals. The differences between the hypertensive rats and the control animals concerned not only the number density of CART-immunoreactive cells but also their localization. After a 6-week period, each of the rats subjected to the renal artery clipping procedure developed stable hypertension. CART appeared in numerous transitional epithelium cells. As this study provides novel findings, the question

Quantitative evaluation of CART-containing cells in urinary bladder of rats with renovascular hypertension.

PubMed

Janiuk, I; Kasacka, I

2015-04-13

Recent biological advances make it possible to discover new peptides associated with hypertension. The cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) is a known factor in appetite and feeding behaviour. Various lines of evidence suggest that this peptide participates not only in control of feeding behaviour but also in the regulation of the cardiovascular and sympathetic systems and blood pressure. The role of CART in blood pressure regulation led us to undertake a study aimed at analysing quantitative changes in CART-containing cells in urinary bladders (UB) of rats with renovascular hypertension. We used the Goldblatt model of arterial hypertension (two-kidney, one clip) to evaluate quantitative changes. This model provides researchers with a commonly used tool to analyse the renin-angiotensin system of blood pressure control and, eventually, to develop drugs for the treatment of chronic hypertension. The study was performed on sections of urinary bladders of rats after 3-, 14-, 28-, 42 and 91 days from hypertension induction. Immunohistochemical identification of CART cells was performed on paraffin for the UBs of all the study animals. CART was detected in the endocrine cells, especially numerous in the submucosa and muscularis layers, with a few found in the transitional epithelium and only occasionally in serosa. Hypertension significantly increased the number of CART-positive cells in the rat UBs. After 3 and 42 days following the procedure, statistically significantly higher numbers of CART-positive cells were identified in comparison with the control animals. The differences between the hypertensive rats and the control animals concerned not only the number density of CART-immunoreactive cells but also their localization. After a 6-week period, each of the rats subjected to the renal artery clipping procedure developed stable hypertension. CART appeared in numerous transitional epithelium cells. As this study provides novel findings, the question

The Rain-Powered Cart

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-05

publication 11 July 2016 Published 5 August 2016 Abstract A frictionless cart in the shape of a right triangle (with the vertical side forward) is...elastically impacted by vertically falling raindrops. The speed of the cart as a function of time can be analytically deduced as an exercise in the use...horizontal surface under the impulse of raindrops (or hail) falling vertically at terminal speed u that bounce elastically [4, 5] off the cart’s two

STS-37 crewmembers move CETA electrical cart along rail in JSC's WETF pool

NASA Image and Video Library

1989-12-06

STS-37 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, Mission Specialist (MS) Jerry L. Ross generates electrical power using hand pedals to move crew and equipment translation aid (CETA) cart along a rail during underwater session in JSC's Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) Bldg 29. Wearing an extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), Ross operates CETA electrical cart as MS Jerome Apt holds onto the back of the cart. The two crewmembers are practicing a extravehicular activity (EVA) spacewalk they will perform in OV-104's payload bay during STS-37. CETA is a type of railroad hand cart planned as a spacewalker's transportation system along the truss of Space Station Freedom (SSF). SCUBA divers monitor astronauts' underwater activity.

Design and Evaluation of a Stand-Up Motorized Prone Cart

PubMed Central

Harrow, Jeffrey J; Malassigné, Pascal; Nelson, Audrey L; Jensen, Robert P; Amato, Margaret; Palacios, Polly L

2007-01-01

Background/Objective: Prone carts are used for mobility by individuals with spinal cord injury in whom seated mobility (wheelchair) is contraindicated due to ischial or sacral pressure ulcers. Currently available prone carts are uncomfortable, subjecting the user to neck and shoulder strain, and make social interaction and performing activities of daily living difficult. A better design of prone carts is needed. In addition, standing devices have shown some medical benefits. The objective was to design and evaluate an improved prone cart that facilitates standing. Design: Engineering development project with user feedback through questionnaire. Users selected by convenience sampling. Methods: A marketing survey was performed of nurse managers of spinal cord injury units. Then 2 prototype carts were designed and built. These carts are able to tilt up to 45° and have a joystick-controlled motor for propulsion and other design features, including a workspace storage shelf and rearview mirrors. The carts were evaluated by both patients and caregivers at 2 Veteran's Administration hospitals. Outcome Measures: Questionnaire of subjects, both patients and caregivers, who used the cart. Findings: Both patients and caregivers liked the carts and the ability to assume a nonhorizontal body angle. The major complaint about the cart was that it seemed too long when it came to making turns. Conclusion: This prone cart design is an improvement over the standard, flat variety. However, further design changes will be necessary. This study provided valuable information that will be useful in the next-generation prone cart design project. PMID:17385270

Pediatric head and neck injuries due to golf cart trauma.

PubMed

Miller, Brandon; Yelverton, Eden; Monico, Jesus; Replogle, William; Jordan, J Randall

2016-09-01

Golf carts are increasingly used off the golf course and are often viewed as innocuous modes of transportation. However, research has shown they can cause significant injuries, particularly to children. Analyze golf cart related head and neck injuries in children and adults from a national database. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was queried for golf cart injuries. The NEISS tracks consumer product related injuries from a sampling of approximately 100 emergency departments across the United States. Age, general diagnosis (concussion, fracture, laceration), body-part injured, disposition (hospitalized, discharged), location injury occurred, and mechanism of injury were analyzed. Over an 11-year period, a total of 3433 total patients were identified. There were 1471 children (16 years old or younger), which compromised 42.9% of the cohort. Children were injured at home or on the road 44.7% of the time compared to only 16.6% of adults (p < 0.003). Children injured their head or neck 42.6% of the time compared to 28.6% of adults (p < 0.0001). Adults who were hit by a car while riding a golf cart or were ejected from the golf cart 44.6% of the time compared to 61.7% of children (p < 0.0001). There were 3.9% of children with a face, head, or neck fracture compared to only 2.4% of adults (p = 0.01). Children are more vulnerable to golf cart related injuries, specifically to the head and neck. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incidence of golf cart-related injury in the United States.

PubMed

McGwin, Gerald; Zoghby, Jonathan T; Griffin, Russell; Rue, Loring W

2008-06-01

Golf carts have become a popular mode of transportation off of the links because of their small size, low maintenance, and ease of use. Case reports suggest severe, debilitating injuries as a consequence of golf cart incidents. To date, there has been no national population-based study of golf cart- related injuries. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System identified individuals who visited participating emergency departments from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2005 for injuries sustained as a result of golf carts. An estimated 48,255 (95% confidence interval, 35,342-61,108) golf cart-related injuries occurred in the U.S. between 2002 and 2005; the injury rate was 4.14 of 100,000 population. The highest injury rates were observed in 10 to 19 year olds and those aged 80 and older. Male patients had a higher injury rate than female patients, and whites had a higher rate than blacks or Asians. Contusions/abrasions were the most common diagnosis for the hip and lower extremity region; fractures were the most common diagnosis for shoulder and upper extremity region; and intracranial injuries, including concussions, subdural hematomas, and hemorrhage, were the most common diagnosis for head and neck region. The two most common geographic settings of injuries were sports fields such as golf courses (45.0%) and places of residence (16.0%). The popularity of golf carts as a means of transportation calls for mandatory safety standards to be met along with implementation of available safety courses for children who will potentially be operating these vehicles.

Design of an automated cart and mount for a hyperspectral imaging system to be used in produce fields

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The goal of this project was to construct a cart and a mounting system that would allow a hyperspectral laser-induced fluorescence imaging system (HLIFIS) to be used to detect fecal material in produce fields. Fecal contaminated produce is a recognized food safety risk. Previous research demonstrate...

Professor: A motorized field-based phenotyping cart

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An easy-to-customize, low-cost, low disturbance, motorized proximal sensing cart for field-based high-throughput phenotyping is described. General dimensions, motor specifications, and a remote operation application are given. The cart, named Professor, supports mounting multiple proximal sensors an...

21 CFR 868.6175 - Cardiopulmonary emergency cart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (b) Classification. Class I (general controls). The device is exempt from the... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Cardiopulmonary emergency cart. 868.6175 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Miscellaneous § 868.6175 Cardiopulmonary emergency cart...

21 CFR 868.6175 - Cardiopulmonary emergency cart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (b) Classification. Class I (general controls). The device is exempt from the... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cardiopulmonary emergency cart. 868.6175 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Miscellaneous § 868.6175 Cardiopulmonary emergency cart...

21 CFR 868.6175 - Cardiopulmonary emergency cart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (b) Classification. Class I (general controls). The device is exempt from the... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Cardiopulmonary emergency cart. 868.6175 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Miscellaneous § 868.6175 Cardiopulmonary emergency cart...

21 CFR 868.6175 - Cardiopulmonary emergency cart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (b) Classification. Class I (general controls). The device is exempt from the... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Cardiopulmonary emergency cart. 868.6175 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Miscellaneous § 868.6175 Cardiopulmonary emergency cart...

21 CFR 868.6175 - Cardiopulmonary emergency cart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (b) Classification. Class I (general controls). The device is exempt from the... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Cardiopulmonary emergency cart. 868.6175 Section... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES ANESTHESIOLOGY DEVICES Miscellaneous § 868.6175 Cardiopulmonary emergency cart...

Shoulder joint loading and posture during medicine cart pushing task.

PubMed

Xu, Xu; Lin, Jia-Hua; Boyer, Jon

2013-01-01

Excessive physical loads and awkward shoulder postures during pushing and pulling are risk factors for shoulder pain. Pushing a medicine cart is a major component of a work shift for nurses and medical assistants in hospitals and other health care facilities. A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the effects of common factors (e.g., lane congestion, cart load stability, floor surface friction) on shoulder joint moment and shoulder elevation angle of participants during cart pushing. Participants pushed a medicine cart on straight tracks and turning around right-angle corners. Peak shoulder joint moments reached 25.1 Nm, 20.3 Nm, and 26.8 Nm for initial, transition, and turning phases of the pushing tasks, indicating that shoulder joint loading while pushing a medical cart is comparable to levels previously reported from heavy manual activities encountered in industry (e.g., garbage collection). Also, except for user experience, all other main study factors, including congestion level, cart load stability, location of transition strip, shoulder tendency, surface friction, and handedness, significantly influenced shoulder joint moment and shoulder elevation angle. The findings provide a better understanding of shoulder exposures associated with medicine cart operations and may be helpful in designing and optimizing the physical environment where medicine carts are used.

The Ballistic Cart on an Incline Revisited.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serway, Raymond A.; And Others

1995-01-01

Presents the theory behind the mechanics demonstration that involves projecting a ball vertically upward from a ballistic cart moving along an inclined plane. The measured overshoot is believed to be due, in part, to the presence of rolling friction and the inertial properties of the cart wheels. (JRH)

Cocaine-and Amphetamine Regulated Transcript (CART) Peptide Is Expressed in Precursor Cells and Somatotropes of the Mouse Pituitary Gland

PubMed Central

Mortensen, Amanda H.

2016-01-01

Cocaine-and Amphetamine Regulated Transcript (CART) peptide is expressed in the brain, endocrine and neuroendocrine systems and secreted into the serum. It is thought to play a role in regulation of hypothalamic pituitary functions. Here we report a spatial and temporal analysis of Cart expression in the pituitaries of adult and developing normal and mutant mice with hypopituitarism. We found that Prop1 is not necessary for initiation of Cart expression in the fetal pituitary at e14.5, but it is required indirectly for maintenance of Cart expression in the postnatal anterior pituitary gland. Pou1f1 deficiency has no effect on Cart expression before or after birth. There is no 1:1 correspondence between CART and any particular cell type. In neonates, CART is detected primarily in non-proliferating, POU1F1-positive cells. CART is also found in some cells that express TSH and GH suggesting a correspondence with committed progenitors of the POU1F1 lineage. In summary, we have characterized the normal temporal and cell specific expression of CART in mouse development and demonstrate that postnatal CART expression in the pituitary gland requires PROP1. PMID:27685990

Temperature dependence of the control of energy homeostasis requires CART signaling.

PubMed

Lau, Jackie; Shi, Yan-Chuan; Herzog, Herbert

2016-10-01

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) is a key neuropeptide with predominant expression in the hypothalamus central to the regulation of diverse biological processes, including food intake and energy expenditure. While there is considerable information on CART's role in the control of feeding, little is known about its thermoregulatory potential. Here we show the consequences of lack of CART signaling on major parameters of energy homeostasis in CART -/- mice under standard ambient housing (RT, 22°C), which is considered a mild cold exposure for mice, and thermoneutral conditions (TN, 30°C). WT mice kept at RT showed an increase in food intake, energy expenditure, BAT UCP-1 expression, and physical activity compared with TN condition, reflecting the augmented energy demand for thermogenesis at RT. On the molecular level, RT housing led to upregulated mRNA expression of TH, CRH, and TRH at the PVN, while NPY, AgRP and CART mRNA levels in the Arc were downregulated. CART -/- mice displayed elevated adiposity and diminished lean mass across both RT and TN. At RT, CART -/- mice showed unchanged food consumption yet greater body weight gain. In addition, an increase in energy expenditure and heightened BAT thermogenesis marked by UCP-1 protein expression was observed in the CART -/- mice. In contrast, TN-housed CART -/- mice exhibited lower weight gain than WT mice accompanied with pronounced reduction in basal feeding. These findings were correlated with reduced BAT temperature, but unchanged energy expenditure and UCP-1 levels. Interestingly, the respiratory exchange ratio for CART -/- mice, which shifted from lower at RT to higher at TN with respect to WT controls, indicates a transition of relative fuel source preference from fat to carbohydrate in the absence of CART signaling. Taken together, these results demonstrate that CART is a critical regulator of energy expenditure, energy partitioning and utilization dependent on the thermal environment

Rolling Friction on a Wheeled Laboratory Cart

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mungan, Carl E.

2012-01-01

A simple model is developed that predicts the coefficient of rolling friction for an undriven laboratory cart on a track that is approximately independent of the mass loaded onto the cart and of the angle of inclination of the track. The model includes both deformation of the wheels/track and frictional torque at the axles/bearings. The concept of…

CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation). PEPNet Tipsheet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larson, Judy, Comp.

1999-01-01

Communication Access Realtime Translation--(CART)--is the instant translation of the spoken word into English text performed by a CART reporter using a stenotype machine, notebook computer and realtime software. The text is then displayed on a computer monitor or other display device for the student who is deaf or hard of hearing to read. This…

Stabilization of an inverted pendulum-cart system by fractional PI-state feedback.

PubMed

Bettayeb, M; Boussalem, C; Mansouri, R; Al-Saggaf, U M

2014-03-01

This paper deals with pole placement PI-state feedback controller design to control an integer order system. The fractional aspect of the control law is introduced by a dynamic state feedback as u(t)=K(p)x(t)+K(I)I(α)(x(t)). The closed loop characteristic polynomial is thus fractional for which the roots are complex to calculate. The proposed method allows us to decompose this polynomial into a first order fractional polynomial and an integer order polynomial of order n-1 (n being the order of the integer system). This new stabilization control algorithm is applied for an inverted pendulum-cart test-bed, and the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control are examined by experiments. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

State of the cart.

PubMed

Bernstein, C; Weiss, S; Lorenzini, B

1994-03-15

Food on wheels: it's here, there and everywhere. But while some operations rev up cart expansion plans, others have shifted into low gear. Here's an update on that '90s phenomenon: mobile merchandising.

Gender-specific increase of bone mass by CART peptide treatment is ovary-dependent.

PubMed

Gerrits, Han; Bakker, Nicole Ec; van de Ven-de Laat, Cindy Jm; Bourgondien, Freek Gm; Peddemors, Carolien; Litjens, Ralph Hgm; Kok, Han J; Vogel, Gerard Mt; Krajnc-Franken, Magda Am; Gossen, Jan A

2011-12-01

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) has emerged as a neurotransmitter and hormone that has been implicated in many processes including food intake, maintenance of body weight, and reward, but also in the regulation of bone mass. CART-deficient mice are characterized by an osteoporotic phenotype, whereas female transgenic mice overexpressing CART display an increase in bone mass. Here we describe experiments that show that peripheral subcutaneous sustained release of different CART peptide isoforms for a period up to 60 days increased bone mass by 80% in intact mice. CART peptides increased trabecular bone mass, but not cortical bone mass, and the increase was caused by reduced osteoclast activity in combination with normal osteoblast activity. The observed effect on bone was gender-specific, because male mice did not respond to treatment with CART peptides. In addition, male transgenic CART overexpressing mice did not display increased bone mass. Ovariectomy (OVX) completely abolished the increase of bone mass by CART peptides, both in CART peptide-treated wild-type mice and in CART transgenic mice. The effect of CART peptide treatment on trabecular bone was not mediated by 17β-estradiol (E(2)) because supplementation of OVX mice with E(2) could not rescue the effect of CART peptides on bone. Together, these results indicate that sustained release of CART peptides increases bone mass in a gender-specific way via a yet unknown mechanism that requires the presence of the ovary. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Virtual Evidence Cart - RP (VEC-RP).

PubMed

Liu, Fang; Fontelo, Paul; Muin, Michael; Ackerman, Michael

2005-01-01

VEC-RP (Virtual Evident Cart) is an open, Web-based, searchable collection of clinical questions and relevant references from MEDLINE/PubMed for healthcare professionals. The architecture consists of four parts: clinical questions, relevant articles from MEDLINE/PubMed, "bottom-line" answers, and peer reviews of entries. Only registered users can add reviews but unregistered users can read them. Feedback from physicians, mostly in the Philippines (RP) who tested the system, is positive.

Ejection of a rear facing, golf cart passenger.

PubMed

Schau, Kyle; Masory, Oren

2013-10-01

The following report details the findings of a series of experiments and simulations performed on a commercially available, shuttle style golf cart during several maneuvers involving rapid accelerations of the vehicle. It is determined that the current set of passive restraints on these types of golf carts are not adequate in preventing ejection of a rear facing passenger during rapid accelerations in the forward and lateral directions. Experimental data and simulations show that a hip restraint must be a minimum of 13 in. above the seat in order to secure a rear facing passenger during sharp turns, compared to the current restraint height of 5 in. Furthermore, it is determined that a restraint directly in front of the rear facing passenger is necessary to prevent ejection. In addressing these issues, golf cart manufacturers could greatly reduce the likelihood of injury due to ejection of a rear facing, golf cart passenger. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Demonstration of Launch Vehicle Slosh Instability on Pole-Cart Platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pei, Jing; Rothhaar, Paul

2015-01-01

Liquid propellant makes up a significant portion of the total weight for large launch vehicles such as Saturn V, Space Shuttle, and the Space Launch System (SLS). Careful attention must be given to the influence of fuel slosh motion on the stability of the vehicle. A well-documented slosh danger zone occurs when the slosh mass is between the vehicle center of mass and the center of percussion. Passive damping via slosh baffle is generally required when the slosh mass is within this region. The pole-cart hardware system, typically used for academic purposes, has similar dynamic characteristics as an unstable launch vehicle. This setup offers a simple and inexpensive way of analyzing slosh dynamics and its impact on flight control design. In this paper, experimental and numerical results from the pole-cart system will be shown and direct analogies to launch vehicle slosh dynamics will be made.

Development and Evaluation of Real-Time Volumetric Compton Gamma-Ray Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnowski, Ross Wegner

An approach to gamma-ray imaging has been developed that enables near real-time volumetric (3D) imaging of unknown environments thus improving the utility of gamma-ray imaging for source-search and radiation mapping applications. The approach, herein dubbed scene data fusion (SDF), is based on integrating mobile radiation imagers with real time tracking and scene reconstruction algorithms to enable a mobile mode of operation and 3D localization of gamma-ray sources. The real-time tracking allows the imager to be moved throughout the environment or around a particular object of interest, obtaining the multiple perspectives necessary for standoff 3D imaging. A 3D model of the scene, provided in real-time by a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm, can be incorporated into the image reconstruction reducing the reconstruction time and improving imaging performance. The SDF concept is demonstrated in this work with a Microsoft Kinect RGB-D sensor, a real-time SLAM solver, and two different mobile gamma-ray imaging platforms. The first is a cart-based imaging platform known as the Volumetric Compton Imager (VCI), comprising two 3D position-sensitive high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors, exhibiting excellent gamma-ray imaging characteristics, but with limited mobility due to the size and weight of the cart. The second system is the High Efficiency Multimodal Imager (HEMI) a hand-portable gamma-ray imager comprising 96 individual cm3 CdZnTe crystals arranged in a two-plane, active-mask configuration. The HEMI instrument has poorer energy and angular resolution than the VCI, but is truly hand-portable, allowing the SDF concept to be tested in multiple environments and for more challenging imaging scenarios. An iterative algorithm based on Compton kinematics is used to reconstruct the gamma-ray source distribution in all three spatial dimensions. Each of the two mobile imaging systems are used to demonstrate SDF for a variety of scenarios, including

Neurochemical evidence that cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) 55-102 peptide modulates the dopaminergic reward system by decreasing the dopamine release in the mouse nucleus accumbens.

PubMed

Rakovska, Angelina; Baranyi, Maria; Windisch, Katalin; Petkova-Kirova, Polina; Gagov, Hristo; Kalfin, Reni

2017-09-01

CART (Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript) peptide is a neurotransmitter naturally occurring in the CNS and found mostly in nucleus accumbens, ventrotegmental area, ventral pallidum, amygdalae and striatum, brain regions associated with drug addiction. In the nucleus accumbens, known for its significant role in motivation, pleasure, reward and reinforcement learning, CART peptide inhibits cocaine and amphetamine-induced dopamine-mediated increases in locomotor activity and behavior, suggesting a CART peptide interaction with the dopaminergic system. Thus in the present study, we examined the effect of CART (55-102) peptide on the basal, electrical field stimulation-evoked (EFS-evoked) (30V, 2Hz, 120 shocks) and returning basal dopamine (DA) release and on the release of the DA metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl acetaldehyde (DOPAL), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol (DOPET), 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT) as well as on norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine-o-quinone (Daq) in isolated mouse nucleus accumbens, in a preparation, in which any CART peptide effects on the dendrites or soma of ventral tegmental projection neurons have been excluded. We further extended our study to assess the effect of CART (55-102) peptide on basal cocaine-induced release of dopamine and its metabolites DOPAL, DOPAC, HVA, DOPET and 3-MT as well as on NE and Daq. To analyze the amount of [ 3 H]dopamine, dopamine metabolites, Daq and NE in the nucleus accumbens superfusate, a high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), coupled with electrochemical, UV and radiochemical detections was used. CART (55-102) peptide, 0.1μM, added alone, exerted: (i) a significant decrease in the basal and EFS-evoked levels of extracellular dopamine (ii) a significant increase in the EFS-evoked and returning basal levels of the dopamine metabolites DOPAC and HVA, major products of dopamine degradation and (iii) a significant decrease in the returning basal

Fire behavior of e-tablets stored in aircraft galley carts.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-04-01

The use of electronic-tablets (e-tablets) as replacements for conventional in-flight entertainment systems has gained popularity : among airlines globally. Innovative methods of storing and charging e-tablets in galley carts have been suggested or ar...

The nucleus accumbens 5-HTR₄-CART pathway ties anorexia to hyperactivity.

PubMed

Jean, A; Laurent, L; Bockaert, J; Charnay, Y; Dusticier, N; Nieoullon, A; Barrot, M; Neve, R; Compan, V

2012-12-11

In mental diseases, the brain does not systematically adjust motor activity to feeding. Probably, the most outlined example is the association between hyperactivity and anorexia in Anorexia nervosa. The neural underpinnings of this 'paradox', however, are poorly elucidated. Although anorexia and hyperactivity prevail over self-preservation, both symptoms rarely exist independently, suggesting commonalities in neural pathways, most likely in the reward system. We previously discovered an addictive molecular facet of anorexia, involving production, in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), of the same transcripts stimulated in response to cocaine and amphetamine (CART) upon stimulation of the 5-HT(4) receptors (5-HTR(4)) or MDMA (ecstasy). Here, we tested whether this pathway predisposes not only to anorexia but also to hyperactivity. Following food restriction, mice are expected to overeat. However, selecting hyperactive and addiction-related animal models, we observed that mice lacking 5-HTR(1B) self-imposed food restriction after deprivation and still displayed anorexia and hyperactivity after ecstasy. Decryption of the mechanisms showed a gain-of-function of 5-HTR(4) in the absence of 5-HTR(1B), associated with CART surplus in the NAc and not in other brain areas. NAc-5-HTR(4) overexpression upregulated NAc-CART, provoked anorexia and hyperactivity. NAc-5-HTR(4) knockdown or blockade reduced ecstasy-induced hyperactivity. Finally, NAc-CART knockdown suppressed hyperactivity upon stimulation of the NAc-5-HTR(4). Additionally, inactivating NAc-5-HTR(4) suppressed ecstasy's preference, strengthening the rewarding facet of anorexia. In conclusion, the NAc-5-HTR(4)/CART pathway establishes a 'tight-junction' between anorexia and hyperactivity, suggesting the existence of a primary functional unit susceptible to limit overeating associated with resting following homeostasis rules.

Automated cart with VIS/NIR hyperspectral reflectance and fluorescence imaging capabilities

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A system to take high-resolution VIS/NIR hyperspectral reflectance and fluorescence images in outdoor fields using ambient lighting or a pulsed laser (355 nm), respectively, for illumination was designed, built, and tested. Components of the system include a semi-autonomous cart, a gated-intensified...

Building community resilience to disasters through a community-based intervention: CART applications.

PubMed

Pfefferbaum, Rose L; Pfefferbaum, Betty; Van Horn, Richard L; Neas, Barbara R; Houston, J Brian

2013-01-01

The Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART)* is a community-driven, publicly available, theory-based, and evidence-informed community intervention designed to build community resilience to disasters and other adversities. Based on principles of participatory action research, CART applications contribute to community resilience by encouraging and supporting community participation and cooperation, communication, self-awareness, and critical reflection. The primary value of CART lies in its ability to stimulate analysis, collaboration, skill building, resource sharing, and purposeful action. In addition to generating community assessment data, CART can be used as a vehicle for delivering other interventions and creating sustainable capacity within communities. Two models for CART implementation are described.

Actual use of and satisfaction associated with rollators and "shopping carts" among frail elderly Japanese people using day-service facilities.

PubMed

Kitajima, Eiji; Moriuchi, Takefumi; Iso, Naoki; Sagari, Akira; Kikuchi, Yasuyuki; Higashi, Toshio

2017-07-01

Purpose This study aimed at clarifying the actual use of and satisfaction with rollators and "shopping carts" (wheeled walkers with storage) among frail elderly people, who were certified by a long-term care insurance system as users of facilities that provide day-service nursing care and rehabilitation. Methods We identified 1247 frail elderly people who used day-service facilities, and evaluated their actual use of, and satisfaction with, rollators and shopping carts. Results Forty-four (3.5%) individuals used rollators, and 53 (4.3%) used shopping carts. The shopping cart group contained more individuals who were certified as care level 1 (26.4%), than the rollator group (20.5%), and 52.8% of the shopping cart group was certified as care levels 1-3. The scores for "repairs and services" and "follow-up" from the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology second version (QUEST 2.0) survey were significantly higher in the rollator group than in the shopping cart group. Conclusions The QUEST 2.0 scores revealed that shopping cart users exhibit insufficient "repairs and services" and "follow-up" scores. As frail elderly people with poor care status accounted for >50% of the shopping cart group, these individuals urgently need walking aids that are tailored to their care status. Implications for Rehabilitation We conclude that walking aid fitting must be tailored to each persons care status, and suggest that a system should be established to allow occupational or physical therapists to provide this fitting Moreover, our analysis of the QUEST2.0 service scores revealed that repairs, services, and follow-up are insufficient to meet the needs of shopping cart users.

Integral backstepping sliding mode control for underactuated systems: swing-up and stabilization of the Cart-Pendulum System.

PubMed

Adhikary, Nabanita; Mahanta, Chitralekha

2013-11-01

In this paper an integral backstepping sliding mode controller is proposed for controlling underactuated systems. A feedback control law is designed based on backstepping algorithm and a sliding surface is introduced in the final stage of the algorithm. The backstepping algorithm makes the controller immune to matched and mismatched uncertainties and the sliding mode control provides robustness. The proposed controller ensures asymptotic stability. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is compared against a coupled sliding mode controller for swing-up and stabilization of the Cart-Pendulum System. Simulation results show that the proposed integral backstepping sliding mode controller is able to reject both matched and mismatched uncertainties with a chattering free control law, while utilizing less control effort than the sliding mode controller. Copyright © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teachers' Pets II--Circling Carts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, Robert

1975-01-01

Describes a demonstration which illustrates that a body moving with constant speed can be accelerating. The students ride in a circle on a cart made with plywood and roller skates and equipped with bubble accelerometers. (MLH)

Object Transportation by Two Mobile Robots with Hand Carts

PubMed Central

Hara, Tatsunori

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a methodology by which two small mobile robots can grasp, lift, and transport large objects using hand carts. The specific problems involve generating robot actions and determining the hand cart positions to achieve the stable loading of objects onto the carts. These problems are solved using nonlinear optimization, and we propose an algorithm for generating robot actions. The proposed method was verified through simulations and experiments using actual devices in a real environment. The proposed method could reduce the number of robots required to transport large objects with 50–60%. In addition, we demonstrated the efficacy of this task in real environments where errors occur in robot sensing and movement. PMID:27433499

Object Transportation by Two Mobile Robots with Hand Carts.

PubMed

Sakuyama, Takuya; Figueroa Heredia, Jorge David; Ogata, Taiki; Hara, Tatsunori; Ota, Jun

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a methodology by which two small mobile robots can grasp, lift, and transport large objects using hand carts. The specific problems involve generating robot actions and determining the hand cart positions to achieve the stable loading of objects onto the carts. These problems are solved using nonlinear optimization, and we propose an algorithm for generating robot actions. The proposed method was verified through simulations and experiments using actual devices in a real environment. The proposed method could reduce the number of robots required to transport large objects with 50-60%. In addition, we demonstrated the efficacy of this task in real environments where errors occur in robot sensing and movement.

Innovative Varied-Fidelity Simulation Mobile Teaching Cart and Education Project.

PubMed

Harding, Andrew D; Cullinane Whalen, Kathryn; Silverman, Bradley S

2015-09-01

The use of a varied-fidelity simulation mobile teaching cart is a teaching tool that offers unique advantages in the acute care setting. The cart is used to demonstrate the use of patient monitoring devices, and there are a variety of software tools available with the monitoring technology to ensure that the outputs, including electrocardiographic waves, are analyzed appropriately by nursing staff using this varied-fidelity simulation mobile teaching cart. Bringing varied-fidelity simulation to the nurses' work area is a unique application setting. Copyright © 2015 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Portable compton gamma-ray detection system

DOEpatents

Rowland, Mark S [Alamo, CA; Oldaker, Mark E [Pleasanton, CA

2008-03-04

A Compton scattered gamma-ray detector system. The system comprises a gamma-ray spectrometer and an annular array of individual scintillators. The scintillators are positioned so that they are arrayed around the gamma-ray spectrometer. The annular array of individual scintillators includes a first scintillator. A radiation shield is positioned around the first scintillator. A multi-channel analyzer is operatively connected to the gamma-ray spectrometer and the annular array of individual scintillators.

The nucleus accumbens 5-HTR4-CART pathway ties anorexia to hyperactivity

PubMed Central

Jean, A; Laurent, L; Bockaert, J; Charnay, Y; Dusticier, N; Nieoullon, A; Barrot, M; Neve, R; Compan, V

2012-01-01

In mental diseases, the brain does not systematically adjust motor activity to feeding. Probably, the most outlined example is the association between hyperactivity and anorexia in Anorexia nervosa. The neural underpinnings of this ‘paradox', however, are poorly elucidated. Although anorexia and hyperactivity prevail over self-preservation, both symptoms rarely exist independently, suggesting commonalities in neural pathways, most likely in the reward system. We previously discovered an addictive molecular facet of anorexia, involving production, in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), of the same transcripts stimulated in response to cocaine and amphetamine (CART) upon stimulation of the 5-HT4 receptors (5-HTR4) or MDMA (ecstasy). Here, we tested whether this pathway predisposes not only to anorexia but also to hyperactivity. Following food restriction, mice are expected to overeat. However, selecting hyperactive and addiction-related animal models, we observed that mice lacking 5-HTR1B self-imposed food restriction after deprivation and still displayed anorexia and hyperactivity after ecstasy. Decryption of the mechanisms showed a gain-of-function of 5-HTR4 in the absence of 5-HTR1B, associated with CART surplus in the NAc and not in other brain areas. NAc-5-HTR4 overexpression upregulated NAc-CART, provoked anorexia and hyperactivity. NAc-5-HTR4 knockdown or blockade reduced ecstasy-induced hyperactivity. Finally, NAc-CART knockdown suppressed hyperactivity upon stimulation of the NAc-5-HTR4. Additionally, inactivating NAc-5-HTR4 suppressed ecstasy's preference, strengthening the rewarding facet of anorexia. In conclusion, the NAc-5-HTR4/CART pathway establishes a ‘tight-junction' between anorexia and hyperactivity, suggesting the existence of a primary functional unit susceptible to limit overeating associated with resting following homeostasis rules. PMID:23233022

Advances in Gamma-Ray Imaging with Intensified Quantum-Imaging Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Ling

Nuclear medicine, an important branch of modern medical imaging, is an essential tool for both diagnosis and treatment of disease. As the fundamental element of nuclear medicine imaging, the gamma camera is able to detect gamma-ray photons emitted by radiotracers injected into a patient and form an image of the radiotracer distribution, reflecting biological functions of organs or tissues. Recently, an intensified CCD/CMOS-based quantum detector, called iQID, was developed in the Center for Gamma-Ray Imaging. Originally designed as a novel type of gamma camera, iQID demonstrated ultra-high spatial resolution (< 100 micron) and many other advantages over traditional gamma cameras. This work focuses on advancing this conceptually-proven gamma-ray imaging technology to make it ready for both preclinical and clinical applications. To start with, a Monte Carlo simulation of the key light-intensification device, i.e. the image intensifier, was developed, which revealed the dominating factor(s) that limit energy resolution performance of the iQID cameras. For preclinical imaging applications, a previously-developed iQID-based single-photon-emission computed-tomography (SPECT) system, called FastSPECT III, was fully advanced in terms of data acquisition software, system sensitivity and effective FOV by developing and adopting a new photon-counting algorithm, thicker columnar scintillation detectors, and system calibration method. Originally designed for mouse brain imaging, the system is now able to provide full-body mouse imaging with sub-350-micron spatial resolution. To further advance the iQID technology to include clinical imaging applications, a novel large-area iQID gamma camera, called LA-iQID, was developed from concept to prototype. Sub-mm system resolution in an effective FOV of 188 mm x 188 mm has been achieved. The camera architecture, system components, design and integration, data acquisition, camera calibration, and performance evaluation are presented in

Purification and characterisation of a new hypothalamic satiety peptide, cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART), produced in yeast.

PubMed

Thim, L; Nielsen, P F; Judge, M E; Andersen, A S; Diers, I; Egel-Mitani, M; Hastrup, S

1998-05-29

Cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) is a newly discovered hypothalamic peptide with a potent appetite suppressing activity following intracerebroventricular administration. When the mature rat CART sequence encoding CART(1-102) was inserted in the yeast expression plasmid three CART peptides could be purified from the fermentation broth reflecting processing at dibasic sequences. None of these corresponded to the naturally occurring CART(55-102). In order to obtain CART(55-102) the precursor Glu-Glu-Ile-Asp-CART(55-102) has been produced and CART(55-102) was generated by digestion of the precursor with dipeptidylaminopeptidase-1. All four generated CART peptides have been characterised by N-terminal amino acid sequencing and mass spectrometry. The CART peptides contain six cysteine residues and using the yeast expressed CART(62-102) the disulphide bond configuration was found to be I-III, II-V and IV-VI. When the four CART peptides were intracerebroventricularly injected in fasted mice (0.1 to 2.0 microg) they all produced a dose dependent inhibition of food intake.

Digital gamma-gamma coincidence HPGe system for environmental analysis.

PubMed

Marković, Nikola; Roos, Per; Nielsen, Sven Poul

2017-08-01

The performance of a new gamma-gamma coincidence spectrometer system for environmental samples analysis at the Center for Nuclear Technologies of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is reported. Nutech Coincidence Low Energy Germanium Sandwich (NUCLeGeS) system consists of two HPGe detectors in a surface laboratory with a digital acquisition system used to collect the data in time-stamped list mode with 10ns time resolution. The spectrometer is used in both anticoincidence and coincidence modes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Verbal Prompts on Child Safety-Belt Use in Shopping Carts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barker, Mae R.; Bailey, Jon S.; Lee, Natalie

2004-01-01

Each year thousands of children are injured by falling from shopping carts. Buckling children into the seats of shopping carts could prevent many of these injuries. A combined reversal and multiple baseline across settings design was used to evaluate the impact of verbal prompts on shopping cart safety-belt use in two stores. Safety-belt use…

Myeloid Conditioning with c-kit-Targeted CAR-T Cells Enables Donor Stem Cell Engraftment.

PubMed

Arai, Yasuyuki; Choi, Uimook; Corsino, Cristina I; Koontz, Sherry M; Tajima, Masaki; Sweeney, Colin L; Black, Mary A; Feldman, Steven A; Dinauer, Mary C; Malech, Harry L

2018-05-02

We report a novel approach to bone marrow (BM) conditioning using c-kit-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T (c-kit CAR-T) cells in mice. Previous reports using anti-c-kit or anti-CD45 antibody linked to a toxin such as saporin have been promising. We developed a distinctly different approach using c-kit CAR-T cells. Initial studies demonstrated in vitro killing of hematopoietic stem cells by c-kit CAR-T cells but poor expansion in vivo and poor migration of CAR-T cells into BM. Pre-treatment of recipient mice with low-dose cyclophosphamide (125 mg/kg) together with CXCR4 transduction in the CAR-T cells enhanced trafficking to and expansion in BM (<1%-13.1%). This resulted in significant depletion of the BM c-kit + population (9.0%-0.1%). Because congenic Thy1.1 CAR-T cells were used in the Thy1.2-recipient mice, anti-Thy1.1 antibody could be used to deplete CAR-T cells in vivo before donor BM transplant. This achieved 20%-40% multilineage engraftment. We applied this conditioning to achieve an average of 28% correction of chronic granulomatous disease mice by wild-type BM transplant. Our findings provide a proof of concept that c-kit CAR-T cells can achieve effective BM conditioning without chemo-/radiotherapy. Our work also demonstrates that co-expression of a trafficking receptor can enhance targeting of CAR-T cells to a designated tissue. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Italian translation and cross-cultural comparison with the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS).

PubMed

Simonelli, A; Sacchi, C; Cantoni, L; Brown, M; Frewen, P

2017-01-01

Background : The Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS) is a computer-administered survey designed to assess retrospectively the socio-ecological context in which instances of child abuse may have occurred. To date, studies supporting the validity of the CARTS have only been undertaken in English-speaking North American populations. Validation projects in other countries and cross-cultural comparisons are therefore warranted. Objective : Develop and preliminarily evaluate the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the CARTS on college students and compare such observations to data acquired from Canadian students. Method : Seventy-nine undergraduate students from the University of Padua (Italy) completed an Italian translation of the CARTS as well as measures of childhood experiences, mental health and attachment, responses to which were compared to those obtained in 288 Canadian students who completed the CARTS in English. Results : Internal consistency and convergent validity with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Parental Bonding Instrument were found to be acceptable for the Italian translation. Within the Italian sample, correlation analyses suggested that CARTS Mother ratings referring to attachment and abuse were associated with romantic attachment, whereas CARTS Father ratings were significantly correlated to PTSD symptoms and other symptoms of psychopathology-distress. Significant differences between Italian and Canadian students across the relationship types for the CARTS abuse and attachment scales were found, indicating that Italian students rated their mothers and fathers as simultaneously less abusive, but also less as a source of secure attachment. Conclusions : The results of this preliminary study seem to suggest convergent validity of the Italian CARTS and the association between childhood attachment-related experiences and romantic attachment. Cultural variations were identified between Canadian and Italian

Italian translation and cross-cultural comparison with the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS)

PubMed Central

Simonelli, A.; Sacchi, C.; Cantoni, L.; Brown, M.; Frewen, P.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: The Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS) is a computer-administered survey designed to assess retrospectively the socio-ecological context in which instances of child abuse may have occurred. To date, studies supporting the validity of the CARTS have only been undertaken in English-speaking North American populations. Validation projects in other countries and cross-cultural comparisons are therefore warranted. Objective: Develop and preliminarily evaluate the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the CARTS on college students and compare such observations to data acquired from Canadian students. Method: Seventy-nine undergraduate students from the University of Padua (Italy) completed an Italian translation of the CARTS as well as measures of childhood experiences, mental health and attachment, responses to which were compared to those obtained in 288 Canadian students who completed the CARTS in English. Results: Internal consistency and convergent validity with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and Parental Bonding Instrument were found to be acceptable for the Italian translation. Within the Italian sample, correlation analyses suggested that CARTS Mother ratings referring to attachment and abuse were associated with romantic attachment, whereas CARTS Father ratings were significantly correlated to PTSD symptoms and other symptoms of psychopathology-distress. Significant differences between Italian and Canadian students across the relationship types for the CARTS abuse and attachment scales were found, indicating that Italian students rated their mothers and fathers as simultaneously less abusive, but also less as a source of secure attachment. Conclusions: The results of this preliminary study seem to suggest convergent validity of the Italian CARTS and the association between childhood attachment-related experiences and romantic attachment. Cultural variations were identified between Canadian and Italian

Incorporation of Immune Checkpoint Blockade into Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells (CAR-Ts): Combination or Built-In CAR-T

PubMed Central

Yoon, Dok Hyun; Osborn, Mark J.; Tolar, Jakub; Kim, Chong Jai

2018-01-01

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy represents the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved gene therapy and these engineered cells function with unprecedented efficacy in the treatment of refractory CD19 positive hematologic malignancies. CAR translation to solid tumors is also being actively investigated; however, efficacy to date has been variable due to tumor-evolved mechanisms that inhibit local immune cell activity. To bolster the potency of CAR-T cells, modulation of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment with immune-checkpoint blockade is a promising strategy. The impact of this approach on hematological malignancies is in its infancy, and in this review we discuss CAR-T cells and their synergy with immune-checkpoint blockade. PMID:29364163

Gamma-ray imaging and holdup assays of 235-F PuFF cells 1 & 2

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

Aucott, T.

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) Nuclear Measurements (L4120) was tasked with performing enhanced characterization of the holdup in the PuFF shielded cells. Assays were performed in accordance with L16.1-ADS-2460 using two high-resolution gamma-ray detectors. The first detector, an In Situ Object Counting System (ISOCS)-characterized detector, was used in conjunction with the ISOCS Geometry Composer software to quantify grams of holdup. The second detector, a Germanium Gamma-ray Imager (GeGI), was used to visualize the location and relative intensity of the holdup in the cells. Carts and collimators were specially designed to perform optimum assays of the cells. Thick, pencil-beam tungsten collimatorsmore » were fabricated to allow for extremely precise targeting of items of interest inside the cells. Carts were designed with a wide range of motion to position and align the detectors. A total of 24 measurements were made, each typically 24 hours or longer to provide sufficient statistical precision. This report presents the results of the enhanced characterization for cells 1 and 2. The measured gram values agree very well with results from the 2014 study. In addition, images were created using both the 2014 data and the new GeGI data. The GeGI images of the cells walls reveal significant Pu-238 holdup on the surface of the walls in cells 1 and 2. Additionally, holdup is visible in the two pass-throughs from cell 1 to the wing cabinets. This report documents the final element (exterior measurements coupled with gamma-ray imaging and modeling) of the enhanced characterization of cells 1-5 (East Cell Line).« less

The PASCO Wireless Smart Cart: A Game Changer in the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shakur, Asif; Connor, Rainor

2018-03-01

With the introduction of the Wireless Smart Cart by PASCO scientific in April 2016, we expect a paradigm shift in undergraduate physics laboratory instruction. We have evaluated the feasibility of using the smart cart by carrying out experiments that are usually performed using traditional PASCO equipment. The simplicity, convenience, and cost-saving achieved by replacing a plethora of traditional laboratory sensors, wires, and equipment clutter with the smart cart are reported here.

MONICA: A Compact, Portable Dual Gamma Camera System for Mouse Whole-Body Imaging

PubMed Central

Xi, Wenze; Seidel, Jurgen; Karkareka, John W.; Pohida, Thomas J.; Milenic, Diane E.; Proffitt, James; Majewski, Stan; Weisenberger, Andrew G.; Green, Michael V.; Choyke, Peter L.

2009-01-01

Introduction We describe a compact, portable dual-gamma camera system (named “MONICA” for MObile Nuclear Imaging CAmeras) for visualizing and analyzing the whole-body biodistribution of putative diagnostic and therapeutic single photon emitting radiotracers in animals the size of mice. Methods Two identical, miniature pixelated NaI(Tl) gamma cameras were fabricated and installed “looking up” through the tabletop of a compact portable cart. Mice are placed directly on the tabletop for imaging. Camera imaging performance was evaluated with phantoms and field performance was evaluated in a weeklong In-111 imaging study performed in a mouse tumor xenograft model. Results Tc-99m performance measurements, using a photopeak energy window of 140 keV ± 10%, yielded the following results: spatial resolution (FWHM at 1-cm), 2.2-mm; sensitivity, 149 cps/MBq (5.5 cps/μCi); energy resolution (FWHM), 10.8%; count rate linearity (count rate vs. activity), r2 = 0.99 for 0–185 MBq (0–5 mCi) in the field-of-view (FOV); spatial uniformity, < 3% count rate variation across the FOV. Tumor and whole-body distributions of the In-111 agent were well visualized in all animals in 5-minute images acquired throughout the 168-hour study period. Conclusion Performance measurements indicate that MONICA is well suited to whole-body single photon mouse imaging. The field study suggests that inter-device communications and user-oriented interfaces included in the MONICA design facilitate use of the system in practice. We believe that MONICA may be particularly useful early in the (cancer) drug development cycle where basic whole-body biodistribution data can direct future development of the agent under study and where logistical factors, e.g. limited imaging space, portability, and, potentially, cost are important. PMID:20346864

Schoolchildren's Consumption of Competitive Foods and Beverages, Excluding a la Carte

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kakarala, Madhuri; Keast, Debra R.; Hoerr, Sharon

2010-01-01

Background: Competitive foods/beverages are those in school vending machines, school stores, snack bars, special sales, and items sold a la carte in the school cafeteria that compete with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) meal program offerings. Grouping a la carte items with less nutritious items allowed in less regulated venues may…

An Extension of CART's Pruning Algorithm. Program Statistics Research Technical Report No. 91-11.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Sung-Ho

Among the computer-based methods used for the construction of trees such as AID, THAID, CART, and FACT, the only one that uses an algorithm that first grows a tree and then prunes the tree is CART. The pruning component of CART is analogous in spirit to the backward elimination approach in regression analysis. This idea provides a tool in…

New analogs of the CART peptide with anorexigenic potency: the importance of individual disulfide bridges.

PubMed

Blechová, Miroslava; Nagelová, Veronika; Záková, Lenka; Demianová, Zuzana; Zelezná, Blanka; Maletínská, Lenka

2013-01-01

The CART (cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript) peptide is an anorexigenic neuropeptide that acts in the hypothalamus. The receptor and the mechanism of action of this peptide are still unknown. In our previous study, we showed that the CART peptide binds specifically to PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells in both the native and differentiated into neuronal phenotype. Two biologically active forms, CART(55-102) and CART(61-102), with equal biological activity, contain three disulfide bridges. To clarify the importance of each of these disulfide bridges in maintaining the biological activity of CART(61-102), an Ala scan at particular S-S bridges forming cysteines was performed, and analogs with only one or two disulfide bridges were synthesized. In this study, a stabilized CART(61-102) analog with norleucine instead of methionine at position 67 was also prepared and was found to bind to PC12 cells with an anorexigenic potency similar to that of CART(61-102). The binding study revealed that out of all analogs tested, [Ala(68,86)]CART(61-102), which contains two disulfide bridges (positions 74-94 and 88-101), preserved a high affinity to both native PC12 cells and those that had been differentiated into neurons. In food intake and behavioral tests with mice after intracerebroventricular administration, this analog showed strong and long-lasting anorexigenic potency. Therefore, the disulfide bridge between cysteines 68 and 86 in CART(61-102) can be omitted without a loss of biological activity, but the preservation of two other disulfide bridges and the full-length peptide are essential for biological activity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Single-cell multiplexed cytokine profiling of CD19 CAR-T cells reveals a diverse landscape of polyfunctional antigen-specific response.

PubMed

Xue, Qiong; Bettini, Emily; Paczkowski, Patrick; Ng, Colin; Kaiser, Alaina; McConnell, Timothy; Kodrasi, Olja; Quigley, Máire F; Heath, James; Fan, Rong; Mackay, Sean; Dudley, Mark E; Kassim, Sadik H; Zhou, Jing

2017-11-21

dimensional data requires new visualization methods to further define precise polyfunctional response differences in these products. The presented biomarker capture and analysis system provides a more sensitive and comprehensive functional assessment of CAR-T pre-infusion products and may provide insights into the safety and efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy.

CAR-T cells and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

PubMed

Liu, Jun; Zhang, Xi; Zhong, Jiang F; Zhang, Cheng

2017-10-01

Relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has a low remission rate after chemotherapy, a high relapse rate and poor long-term survival even when allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is performed. Chimeric antigen receptors redirected T cells (CAR-T cells) can enhance disease remission with a favorable outcome for relapsed/refractory ALL, though some cases quickly relapsed after CAR-T cell treatment. Thus, treatment with CAR-T cells followed by allo-HSCT may be the best way to treat relapsed/refractory ALL. In this review, we first discuss the different types of CAR-T cells. We then discuss the treatment of relapsed/refractory ALL using only CAR-T cells. Finally, we discuss the use of CAR-T cells, followed by allo-HSCT, for the treatment of relapsed/refractory ALL.

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide (CART) in the telencephalon of the catfish, Clarias gariepinus: distribution and response to fasting, 2-deoxy-D-glucose, glucose, insulin, and leptin treatments.

PubMed

Subhedar, Nishikant; Barsagade, Vikas G; Singru, Praful S; Thim, Lars; Clausen, Jes Thorn

2011-05-01

The cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide (CART)-containing system in the forebrain of Clarias gariepinus was studied with immunocytochemistry. While the immunoreactivity was prominently seen in the neurons of the entopeduncular nucleus (EN) located in the ventral telencephalon, CART-immunoreactive fibers were widely distributed in the dorsal and ventral telencephalon. In view of the established role of CART in energy metabolism, we investigated the response of the CART immunoreactive system to positive and negative nutritional conditions. Neurons of the EN and fibers in the different areas of the telencephalon showed significant reduction in CART immunoreactivity following 48 hours food deprivation, or 2 hours following intracranial administration of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG, 100 ng/g body weight, a metabolic antagonist of glucose). However, intracranial injection of glucose (100 ng/g body weight) resulted in a distinct increase in CART immunoreactivity in these components. In mammals, insulin and leptin have been recognized as adiposity agents that convey peripheral energy status-related information to brain. Intracranial administration of insulin (3 mU/fish) and leptin (10 ng/g body weight) significantly increased CART immunoreactivity in the EN neurons and in the fiber network within 2 hours. Superfusion of the EN-containing tissue fragments in the medium enriched in glucose, insulin, or leptin evoked a significant increase in CART immunoreactivity in the EN neurons, but 2DG reduced the immunoreactivity. We suggest that CART-containing neurons of the EN, and fibers in the telencephalon, may process the energy status-related information and contribute to satiety. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Faster Aerodynamic Simulation With Cart3D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

A NASA-developed aerodynamic simulation tool is ensuring the safety of future space operations while providing designers and engineers with an automated, highly accurate computer simulation suite. Cart3D, co-winner of NASA's 2002 Software of the Year award, is the result of over 10 years of research and software development conducted by Michael Aftosmis and Dr. John Melton of Ames Research Center and Professor Marsha Berger of the Courant Institute at New York University. Cart3D offers a revolutionary approach to computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the computer simulation of how fluids and gases flow around an object of a particular design. By fusing technological advancements in diverse fields such as mineralogy, computer graphics, computational geometry, and fluid dynamics, the software provides a new industrial geometry processing and fluid analysis capability with unsurpassed automation and efficiency.

Combinations of techniques that effectively change health behavior: evidence from Meta-CART analysis.

PubMed

Dusseldorp, Elise; van Genugten, Lenneke; van Buuren, Stef; Verheijden, Marieke W; van Empelen, Pepijn

2014-12-01

Many health-promoting interventions combine multiple behavior change techniques (BCTs) to maximize effectiveness. Although, in theory, BCTs can amplify each other, the available meta-analyses have not been able to identify specific combinations of techniques that provide synergistic effects. This study overcomes some of the shortcomings in the current methodology by applying classification and regression trees (CART) to meta-analytic data in a special way, referred to as Meta-CART. The aim was to identify particular combinations of BCTs that explain intervention success. A reanalysis of data from Michie, Abraham, Whittington, McAteer, and Gupta (2009) was performed. These data included effect sizes from 122 interventions targeted at physical activity and healthy eating, and the coding of the interventions into 26 BCTs. A CART analysis was performed using the BCTs as predictors and treatment success (i.e., effect size) as outcome. A subgroup meta-analysis using a mixed effects model was performed to compare the treatment effect in the subgroups found by CART. Meta-CART identified the following most effective combinations: Provide information about behavior-health link with Prompt intention formation (mean effect size ḡ = 0.46), and Provide information about behavior-health link with Provide information on consequences and Use of follow-up prompts (ḡ = 0.44). Least effective interventions were those using Provide feedback on performance without using Provide instruction (ḡ = 0.05). Specific combinations of BCTs increase the likelihood of achieving change in health behavior, whereas other combinations decrease this likelihood. Meta-CART successfully identified these combinations and thus provides a viable methodology in the context of meta-analysis.

Art on a Cart: A National Mixed Methods Investigation of Elementary Art Teacher Experiences and Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lung, Heidi K.

2013-01-01

This study investigated the practice of elementary art teachers who utilize carts for the delivery of art lessons; to understand how the art on a cart practice influences art educators' approaches to curriculum development and instruction; and to identify challenges, benefits, and best practices. The practice of art on a cart is defined as the…

A gamma beam profile imager for ELI-NP Gamma Beam System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardarelli, P.; Paternò, G.; Di Domenico, G.; Consoli, E.; Marziani, M.; Andreotti, M.; Evangelisti, F.; Squerzanti, S.; Gambaccini, M.; Albergo, S.; Cappello, G.; Tricomi, A.; Veltri, M.; Adriani, O.; Borgheresi, R.; Graziani, G.; Passaleva, G.; Serban, A.; Starodubtsev, O.; Variola, A.; Palumbo, L.

2018-06-01

The Gamma Beam System of ELI-Nuclear Physics is a high brilliance monochromatic gamma source based on the inverse Compton interaction between an intense high power laser and a bright electron beam with tunable energy. The source, currently being assembled in Magurele (Romania), is designed to provide a beam with tunable average energy ranging from 0.2 to 19.5 MeV, rms energy bandwidth down to 0.5% and flux of about 108 photons/s. The system includes a set of detectors for the diagnostic and complete characterization of the gamma beam. To evaluate the spatial distribution of the beam a gamma beam profile imager is required. For this purpose, a detector based on a scintillator target coupled to a CCD camera was designed and a prototype was tested at INFN-Ferrara laboratories. A set of analytical calculations and Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to optimize the imager design and evaluate the performance expected with ELI-NP gamma beam. In this work the design of the imager is described in detail, as well as the simulation tools used and the results obtained. The simulation parameters were tuned and cross-checked with the experimental measurements carried out on the assembled prototype using the beam from an x-ray tube.

Multiparameter comparative analysis reveals differential impacts of various cytokines on CART cell phenotype and function ex vivo and in vivo

PubMed Central

Xu, Xiao-Jun; Song, De-Gang; Poussin, Mathilde; Ye, Qunrui; Sharma, Prannda; Rodríguez-García, Alba; Tang, Yong-Min; Powell, Daniel J.

2016-01-01

Exogenous cytokines are widely applied to enhance the anti-tumor ability of immune cells. However, systematic comparative studies of their effects on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T (CART) cells are lacking. In this study, CART cells targeting folate receptor-alpha were generated and expanded ex vivo in the presence of different cytokines (IL-2, IL-7, IL-15, IL-18, and IL-21), and their expansion, phenotype and cytotoxic capacity were evaluated, in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the effect of the administration of these cytokines along with CART cells in vivo was also studied. IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15 favored the ex vivo expansion of CART cells compared to other cytokines or no cytokine treatment. IL-7 induced the highest proportion of memory stem cell-like CART cells in the final product, and IL-21 supported the expansion of CART cells with a younger phenotype, while IL-2 induced more differentiated CART cells. IL-2 and IL-15-exposed CART cells secreted more proinflammatory cytokines and presented stronger tumor-lysis ability in vitro. However, when tested in vivo, CART cells exposed to IL-2 ex vivo showed the least anti-tumor effect. In contrast, the administration of IL-15 and IL-21 in combination with CART cells in vivo increased their tumor killing capacity. According to our results, IL-7 and IL-15 show promise to promote ex vivo expansion of CART cells, while IL-15 and IL-21 seem better suited for in vivo administration after CART cell infusion. Collectively, these results may have a profound impact on the efficacy of CART cells in both hematologic and solid cancers. PMID:27409425

Finding and applying evidence during clinical rounds: the "evidence cart".

PubMed

Sackett, D L; Straus, S E

1998-10-21

Physicians need easy access to evidence for clinical decisions while they care for patients but, to our knowledge, no investigators have assessed use of evidence during rounds with house staff. To determine if it was feasible to find and apply evidence during clinical rounds, using an "evidence cart" that contains multiple sources of evidence and the means for projecting and printing them. Descriptive feasibility study of use of evidence during 1 month (April 1997) and anonymous questionnaire (May 1997). General medicine inpatient service. Medical students, house staff, fellows, and attending consultant. Evidence cart that included 2 secondary sources developed by the department (critically appraised topics [CATs] and Redbook), Best Evidence, JAMA Rational Clinical Examination series, the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, a physical examination textbook, a radiology anatomy textbook, and a Simulscope, which allows several people to listen simultaneously to the same signs on physical examination. Number of times sources were used, type of sources searched and success of searches, time needed to search, and whether the search affected patient care. The evidence cart was used 98 times, but could not be taken on bedside rounds because of its bulk; hard copies of several sources were taken instead. When the evidence cart was used during team rounds and student rounds, some sources could be accessed quickly enough (10.2-25.4 seconds) to be practical on our service. Of 98 searches, 79 (81%) sought evidence that could affect diagnostic and/or treatment decisions. Seventy-one (90%) of 79 searches regarding patient management were successful, and when assessed from the perspective of the most junior team members responsible for each patient's evaluation and management, 37 (52%) of the 71 successful searches confirmed their current or tentative diagnostic or treatment plans, 18 (25%) led to a new diagnostic skill, an additional test, or a new management decision, and 16 (23

Etiologies of pediatric craniofacial injuries: a comparison of injuries involving all-terrain vehicles and golf carts.

PubMed

White, Lauren C; McKinnon, Brian J; Hughes, C Anthony

2013-03-01

To determine incidence and etiologies of craniofacial injuries in the pediatric population through comparison of injuries caused by all-terrain vehicles and golf cart trauma. Case series with chart review. Level 1 trauma center. Retrospective review of pediatric traumas at a tertiary academic medical center from 2003 to 2012 identified 196 patients whose injuries resulted from accidents involving either all-terrain vehicles or golf carts. Data was collected and variables such as age, gender, driver vs. passenger, location of accident, Glasgow coma scale, Injury severity scale, Abbreviated injury scale, and presence or absence of helmet use were examined. 196 pediatric patients were identified: 68 patients had injuries resulting from golf cart accidents, and 128 patients from ATV accidents. 66.4% of ATV-related traumas were male, compared to 52.9% of golf cart-related traumas. Ages of injured patients were similar between the two modalities with average age of ATV traumas 10.8 (±4.0) years and golf cart traumas 10.0 (±4.6) years. Caucasians were most commonly involved in both ATV (79.7%) and golf cart traumas (85.3%). 58.6% of all ATV related trauma and 69.1% of all golf cart trauma resulted in craniofacial injuries. The most common craniofacial injury was a closed head injury with brief loss of consciousness, occurring in 46.1% of the ATV traumas and 54.4% of the golf cart traumas. Temporal bone fractures were the second most common type of craniofacial injury, occurring in 5.5% of ATV accidents and 7.4% of the golf cart traumas. Length of hospital stay and, cases requiring surgery and severity scores were similar between both populations. Intensive care admissions and injury severity scores approached but not reach statistical significance (0.096 and 0.083, respectively). The only statistically significant differences between the two modalities were helmet use (P=0.00018%) and days requiring ventilator assistance (P=0.025). ATVs and golf carts are often exempt

STS-37 crewmembers test CETA hand cart during training session in JSC's WETF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

STS-37 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, Mission Specialist (MS) Jerry L. Ross and MS Jerome Apt test crew and equipment translation aid (CETA) manual hand over hand cart during underwater session in JSC's Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) Bldg 29. Wearing an extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), Ross pulls the CETA manual cart along the rail while Apt holds onto the back of the cart. The test will determine how difficult it is to maneuver cargo in such a manner when it is done in space on STS-37. The goal is to find the best method for astronauts to move around the exterior of Space Station Freedom (SSF).

Demographic and financial characteristics of school districts with low and high à la Carte sales in rural Kansas Public Schools.

PubMed

Nollen, Nicole L; Kimminau, Kim S; Nazir, Niaman

2011-06-01

Reducing à la carte items in schools-foods and beverages sold outside the reimbursable meals program-can have important implications for childhood obesity. However, schools are reluctant to reduce à la carte offerings because of the impact these changes could have on revenue. Some foodservice programs operate with limited à la carte sales, but little is known about these programs. This secondary data analysis compared rural and urban/suburban school districts with low and high à la carte sales. Foodservice financial records (2007-2008) were obtained from the Kansas State Department of Education for all public K-12 school districts (n=302). χ² and t tests were used to examine the independent association of variables to à la carte sales. A multivariate model was then constructed of the factors most strongly associated with low à la carte sales. In rural districts with low à la carte sales, lunch prices and participation were higher, lunch costs and à la carte quality were lower, and fewer free/reduced price lunches were served compared to rural districts with high à la carte sales. Lunch price (odds ratio=1.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 1.4) and free/reduced price lunch participation (odds ratio=3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 9.8) remained in the multivariate model predicting low à la carte sales. No differences were found between urban/suburban districts with low and high à la carte sales. Findings highlight important factors to maintaining low à la carte sales. Schools should consider raising lunch prices and increasing meal participation rates as two potential strategies for reducing the sale of à la carte items without compromising foodservice revenue. Copyright © 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting minimum push and pull forces of manual carts.

PubMed

Al-Eisawi, K W; Kerk, C J; Congleton, J J; Amendola, A A; Jenkins, O C; Gaines, W

1999-06-01

The minimum forces needed to manually push or pull a 4-wheel cart of differing weights with similar wheel sizes from a stationary state were measured on four floor materials under different conditions of wheel width, diameter, and orientation. Cart load was increased from 0 to 181.4 kg in increments of 36.3 kg. The floor materials were smooth concrete, tile, asphalt, and industrial carpet. Two wheel widths were tested: 25 and 38 mm. Wheel diameters were 51, 102, and 153 mm. Wheel orientation was tested at four levels: F0R0 (all four wheels aligned in the forward direction), F0R90 (the two front wheels, the wheels furthest from the cart handle, aligned in the forward direction and the two rear wheels, the wheels closest to the cart handle, aligned at 90 degrees to the forward direction), F90R0 (the two front wheels aligned at 90 degrees to the forward direction and the two rear wheels aligned in the forward direction), and F90R90 (all four wheels aligned at 90 degrees to the forward direction). Wheel width did not have a significant effect on the minimum push/pull forces. The minimum push/pull forces were linearly proportional to cart weight, and inversely proportional to wheel diameter. The coefficients of rolling friction were estimated as 2.2, 2.4, 3.3, and 4.5 mm for hard rubber wheels rolling on smooth concrete, tile, asphalt, and industrial carpet floors, respectively. The effect of wheel orientation was not consistent over the tested conditions, but, in general, the smallest minimum push/pull forces were measured with all four wheels aligned in the forward direction, whereas the largest minimum push/pull forces were measured when all four wheels were aligned at 90 degrees to the forward direction. There was no significant difference between the push and pull forces when all four wheels were aligned in the forward direction.

The PASCO Wireless Smart Cart: A Game Changer in the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shakur, Asif; Connor, Rainor

2018-01-01

With the introduction of the Wireless Smart Cart by PASCO scientific in April 2016, we expect a paradigm shift in undergraduate physics laboratory instruction. We have evaluated the feasibility of using the smart cart by carrying out experiments that are usually performed using traditional PASCO equipment. The simplicity, convenience, and…

The Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART): an intervention to build community resilience to disasters.

PubMed

Pfefferbaum, Rose L; Pfefferbaum, Betty; Van Horn, Richard L; Klomp, Richard W; Norris, Fran H; Reissman, Dori B

2013-01-01

Community resilience has emerged as a construct to support and foster healthy individual, family, and community adaptation to mass casualty incidents. The Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART) is a publicly available theory-based and evidence-informed community intervention designed to enhance community resilience by bringing stakeholders together to address community issues in a process that includes assessment, feedback, planning, and action. Tools include a field-tested community resilience survey and other assessment and analytical instruments. The CART process encourages public engagement in problem solving and the development and use of local assets to address community needs. CART recognizes 4 interrelated domains that contribute to community resilience: connection and caring, resources, transformative potential, and disaster management. The primary value of CART is its contribution to community participation, communication, self-awareness, cooperation, and critical reflection and its ability to stimulate analysis, collaboration, skill building, resource sharing, and purposeful action.

Expression of Cocaine and Amphetamine Regulated Transcript (CART) in the Porcine Intramural Neurons of Stomach in the Course of Experimentally Induced Diabetes Mellitus.

PubMed

Bulc, Michał; Gonkowski, Sławomir; Całka, Jarosław

2015-11-01

In the present study, the effect of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on the cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript-like immunoreactive (CART-LI) enteric nervous structures was investigated within the porcine stomach. To induce diabetes, the pigs were administered intravenously streptozotocin at a dose of 150 mg/kg of body weight. A significant decrease of the number of CART-LI perikarya was observed in the myenteric plexus of the gastric antrum, corpus, and pylorus in the experimental group. In contrast, submucous plexus was devoid of CART-positive neuronal cells both in control and experimental animals. In the control group, the highest densities of CART-LI nerve fibers were observed in the circular muscle layer of antrum and slightly less nerve fibers were present in the muscle layer of corpus and pylorus. In turn, submucous layer of all studied stomach regions revealed relatively smaller number of CART-positive nerve fibers. Diabetes caused statistically significant decrease in the expression of CART-LI nerve fibers only in the antrum circular muscle layer. Also, no changes in the CART-like immunoreactivity in the intraganglionic nerve fibers were observed. The obtained results suggest that acute hyperglycemia produced significant reduction of the CART expression in enteric perikarya throughout entire stomach as well as decrease of density the CART-LI fibers in circular muscle layer of the antrum. Additionally, we suggest that CART might be involved in the regulation of stomach function especially in the gastric motility.

Toward dialysis "a la carte".

PubMed

Funck-Brentano, J L

1987-12-01

From the very beginning, the artificial kidney postponed the death of patients with end-stage renal failure. For years, owing to the performance of the machine, the patient was obliged to follow a severe diet in order to maintain good humoral and circulatory status. Now technological improvements allow "dialysis à la carte," whereby each individual achieves a better clinical status. The next step will be automation of the procedure to improve its security, mainly for dialysis performed at home.

The Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q): development and initial validation.

PubMed

Jowett, Sophia; Ntoumanis, Nikos

2004-08-01

The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a self-report instrument that measures the nature of the coach-athlete relationship. Jowett et al.'s (Jowett & Meek, 2000; Jowett, in press) qualitative case studies and relevant literature were used to generate items for an instrument that measures affective, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of the coach-athlete relationship. Two studies were carried out in an attempt to assess content, predictive, and construct validity, as well as internal consistency, of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q), using two independent British samples. Principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to reduce the number of items, identify principal components, and confirm the latent structure of the CART-Q. Results supported the multidimensional nature of the coach-athlete relationship. The latent structure of the CART-Q was underlined by the latent variables of coaches' and athletes' Closeness (emotions), Commitment (cognitions), and Complementarity (behaviors).

Engineer pedals STS-37 CETA electrical cart along track in JSC MAIL Bldg 9A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

McDonnell Douglas engineer Gary Peters operates crew and equipment translation aid (CETA) electrical hand pedal cart in JSC's Mockup and Integration Laboratory (MAIL) Bldg 9A. Peters, wearing extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) boots and positioned in portable foot restraint (PFR), is suspended above CETA cart and track via harness to simulate weightlessness. The electrical cart is moved by electricity generated from turning hand pedals. CETA will be tested in orbit in the payload bay of Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, during STS-37.

Wide-field Diffuse Amacrine Cells in the Monkey Retina Contain Immunoreactive Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript (CART)

PubMed Central

Liu, Weiley S.; Davis, Elizabeth P.; Lee, Stephen J.; Tseng, Luke; Chuang, Alice Z.; Whitaker, Christopher M.; Massey, Stephen C.; Sherman, Michael B.; Marshak, David W.

2016-01-01

The goals of this study were to localize the neuropeptide Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript (CART) in primate retinas and to describe the morphology, neurotransmitter content and synaptic connections of the neurons that contain it. Using in situ hybridization, light and electron microscopic immunolabeling, CART was localized to GABAergic amacrine cells in baboon retinas. The CART-positive cells had thin, varicose dendrites that gradually descended through the inner plexiform layer and ramified extensively in the innermost stratum. They resembled two types of wide-field diffuse amacrine cells that had been described previously in macaque retinas using the Golgi method and also A17, serotonin-accumulating and waterfall cells of other mammals. The CART-positive cells received synapses from rod bipolar cell axons and made synapses onto the axons in a reciprocal configuration. The CART-positive cells also received synapses from other amacrine cells. Some of these were located on their primary dendrites, and the presynaptic cells there included dopaminergic amacrine cells. Although some CART-positive somas were localized in the ganglion cell layer, they did not contain the ganglion cell marker RNA binding protein with multiple splicing (RBPMS). Based on these results and electrophysiological studies in other mammals, the CART-positive amacrine cells would be expected to play a major role in the primary rod pathway of primates, providing feedback inhibition to rod bipolar cells. PMID:27568514

Evaluation of CART peptide level in rat plasma and CSF: Possible role as a biomarker in opioid addiction.

PubMed

Bakhtazad, Atefeh; Vousooghi, Nasim; Garmabi, Behzad; Zarrindast, Mohammad Reza

2016-10-01

It has been shown previously that cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptide has a modulatory role and homeostatic regulatory effect in motivation to and reward of the drugs of abuse specially psychostimulants. Recent data also showed that in addition to psychostimulants, CART is critically involved in the different stages of opioid addiction. Here we have evaluated the fluctuations in the level of CART peptide in plasma and CSF in different phases of opioid addiction to find out whether CART can serve as a suitable marker in opioid addiction studies. Male rats were randomly distributed in groups of control, acute low-dose (10mg/kg) morphine, acute high-dose morphine (80mg/kg), chronic escalating doses of morphine, withdrawal syndrome precipitated by administration of naloxone (1mg/kg), and abstinent after long-term drug-free maintenance of addicted animals. The level of CART peptide in CSF and plasma samples was measured by enzyme immunoassay. CART peptide concentration in the CSF and plasma was significantly elevated in acute high-dose morphine and withdrawal state animals and down-regulated in addicted rats. In abstinent group, CART peptide level was up-regulated in plasma but not in CSF samples. As the observed results are in agreement with data regarding the CART mRNA and protein expression in the brain reward pathway in opioid addiction phases, it may be suggested that evaluation of CART peptide level in CSF or plasma could be a suitable marker which reflects the rises and falls of the peptide concentration in brain in the development of opioid addiction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Control of trunk motion following sudden stop perturbations during cart pushing.

PubMed

Lee, Yun-Ju; Hoozemans, Marco J M; van Dieën, Jaap H

2011-01-04

External perturbations during pushing tasks have been suggested to be a risk factor for low-back symptoms. An experiment was designed to investigate whether self-induced and externally induced sudden stops while pushing a high inertia cart influence trunk motions, and how flexor and extensor muscles counteract these perturbations. Twelve healthy male participants pushed a 200 kg cart at shoulder height and hip height. Pushing while walking was compared to situations in which participants had to stop the cart suddenly (self-induced stop) or in which the wheels of the cart were unexpectedly blocked (externally induced stop). For the perturbed conditions, the peak values and the maximum changes from the reference condition (pushing while walking) of the external moment at L5/S1, trunk inclination and electromyographic amplitudes of trunk muscles were determined. In the self-induced stop, a voluntary trunk extension occurred. Initial responses in both stops consisted of flexor and extensor muscle cocontraction. In self-induced stops this was followed by sustained extensor activity. In the externally induced stops, an external extension moment caused a decrease in trunk inclination. The opposite directions of the internal moment and trunk motion in the externally induced stop while pushing at shoulder height may indicate insufficient active control of trunk posture. Consequently, sudden blocking of the wheels in pushing at shoulder height may put the low back at risk of mechanical injury. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Substance use and adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS receiving cART in Latin America

PubMed Central

De Boni, Raquel B.; Shepherd, Bryan E.; Grinsztejn, Beatriz; Cesar, Carina; Cortés, Claudia; Padgett, Denis; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Belaunzarán-Zamudio, Pablo F.; Rebeiro, Peter F.; Duda, Stephany N.; McGowan, Catherine C.

2016-01-01

This cross-sectional study describes substance use prevalence and its association with cART adherence among 3343 individuals receiving care at HIV clinics in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru. A rapid screening tool evaluated self-reported 7-day recall of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine use, and missed cART doses. Overall, 29.3% individuals reported having ≥ 1 alcoholic drinks, 5.0% reported any illicit drug use and 17.0% reported missed cART doses. In the logistic regression model, compared to no substance use, alcohol use (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=2.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.99–3.05), illicit drug use (AOR=3.57, 95% CI: 2.02–6.30), and using both alcohol and illicit drugs (AOR=4.98, 95% CI: 3.19–7.79) were associated with missed cART doses. The associations between substance use and likelihood of missing cART doses point to the need of targeting alcohol and illicit drug use to improve adherence among people living with HIV in Latin America. PMID:27091028

Improving CART-Cell Therapy of Solid Tumors with Oncolytic Virus-Driven Production of a Bispecific T-cell Engager.

PubMed

Wing, Anna; Fajardo, Carlos Alberto; Posey, Avery D; Shaw, Carolyn; Da, Tong; Young, Regina M; Alemany, Ramon; June, Carl H; Guedan, Sonia

2018-05-01

T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CART) have shown significant promise in clinical trials to treat hematologic malignancies, but their efficacy in solid tumors has been limited. Oncolytic viruses have the potential to act in synergy with immunotherapies due to their immunogenic oncolytic properties and the opportunity of incorporating therapeutic transgenes in their genomes. Here, we hypothesized that an oncolytic adenovirus armed with an EGFR-targeting, bispecific T-cell engager (OAd-BiTE) would improve the outcome of CART-cell therapy in solid tumors. We report that CART cells targeting the folate receptor alpha (FR-α) successfully infiltrated preestablished xenograft tumors but failed to induce complete responses, presumably due to the presence of antigen-negative cancer cells. We demonstrated that OAd-BiTE-mediated oncolysis significantly improved CART-cell activation and proliferation, while increasing cytokine production and cytotoxicity, and showed an in vitro favorable safety profile compared with EGFR-targeting CARTs. BiTEs secreted from infected cells redirected CART cells toward EGFR in the absence of FR-α, thereby addressing tumor heterogeneity. BiTE secretion also redirected CAR-negative, nonspecific T cells found in CART-cell preparations toward tumor cells. The combinatorial approach improved antitumor efficacy and prolonged survival in mouse models of cancer when compared with the monotherapies, and this was the result of an increased BiTE-mediated T-cell activation in tumors. Overall, these results demonstrated that the combination of a BiTE-expressing oncolytic virus with adoptive CART-cell therapy overcomes key limitations of CART cells and BiTEs as monotherapies in solid tumors and encourage its further evaluation in human trials. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(5); 605-16. ©2018 AACR . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

The hypothalamic satiety peptide CART is expressed in anorectic and non-anorectic pancreatic islet tumors and in the normal islet of Langerhans.

PubMed

Jensen, P B; Kristensen, P; Clausen, J T; Judge, M E; Hastrup, S; Thim, L; Wulff, B S; Foged, C; Jensen, J; Holst, J J; Madsen, O D

1999-03-26

The hypothalamic satiety peptide CART (cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript) is expressed at high levels in anorectic rat glucagonomas but not in hypoglycemic insulinomas. However, a non-anorectic metastasis derived from the glucagonoma retained high CART expression levels and produced circulating CART levels comparable to that of the anorectic tumors. Moreover, distinct glucagonoma lines derived by stable HES-1 transfection of the insulinoma caused severe anorexia but retained low circulating levels of CART comparable to that of insulinoma bearing or control rats. Islet tumor associated anorexia and circulating CART levels are thus not correlated, and in line with this peripheral administration of CART (5-50 mg/kg) produced no effect on feeding behavior. In the rat two alternatively spliced forms of CART mRNA exist and quantitative PCR revealed expression of both forms in the hypothalamus, in the different islet tumors, and in the islets of Langerhans. Immunocytochemistry as well as in situ hybridization localized CART expression to the somatostatin producing islet D cell. A potential endocrine/paracrine role of islet CART remains to be clarified.

PRIM versus CART in subgroup discovery: when patience is harmful.

PubMed

Abu-Hanna, Ameen; Nannings, Barry; Dongelmans, Dave; Hasman, Arie

2010-10-01

We systematically compare the established algorithms CART (Classification and Regression Trees) and PRIM (Patient Rule Induction Method) in a subgroup discovery task on a large real-world high-dimensional clinical database. Contrary to current conjectures, PRIM's performance was generally inferior to CART's. PRIM often considered "peeling of" a large chunk of data at a value of a relevant discrete ordinal variable unattractive, ultimately missing an important subgroup. This finding has considerable significance in clinical medicine where ordinal scores are ubiquitous. PRIM's utility in clinical databases would increase when global information about (ordinal) variables is better put to use and when the search algorithm keeps track of alternative solutions.

Fault detection and diagnosis of induction motors using motor current signature analysis and a hybrid FMM-CART model.

PubMed

Seera, Manjeevan; Lim, Chee Peng; Ishak, Dahaman; Singh, Harapajan

2012-01-01

In this paper, a novel approach to detect and classify comprehensive fault conditions of induction motors using a hybrid fuzzy min-max (FMM) neural network and classification and regression tree (CART) is proposed. The hybrid model, known as FMM-CART, exploits the advantages of both FMM and CART for undertaking data classification and rule extraction problems. A series of real experiments is conducted, whereby the motor current signature analysis method is applied to form a database comprising stator current signatures under different motor conditions. The signal harmonics from the power spectral density are extracted as discriminative input features for fault detection and classification with FMM-CART. A comprehensive list of induction motor fault conditions, viz., broken rotor bars, unbalanced voltages, stator winding faults, and eccentricity problems, has been successfully classified using FMM-CART with good accuracy rates. The results are comparable, if not better, than those reported in the literature. Useful explanatory rules in the form of a decision tree are also elicited from FMM-CART to analyze and understand different fault conditions of induction motors.

Nonparametric Subgroup Identification by PRIM and CART: A Simulation and Application Study

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Two nonparametric methods for the identification of subgroups with outstanding outcome values are described and compared to each other in a simulation study and an application to clinical data. The Patient Rule Induction Method (PRIM) searches for box-shaped areas in the given data which exceed a minimal size and average outcome. This is achieved via a combination of iterative peeling and pasting steps, where small fractions of the data are removed or added to the current box. As an alternative, Classification and Regression Trees (CART) prediction models perform sequential binary splits of the data to produce subsets which can be interpreted as subgroups of heterogeneous outcome. PRIM and CART were compared in a simulation study to investigate their strengths and weaknesses under various data settings, taking different performance measures into account. PRIM was shown to be superior in rather complex settings such as those with few observations, a smaller signal-to-noise ratio, and more than one subgroup. CART showed the best performance in simpler situations. A practical application of the two methods was illustrated using a clinical data set. For this application, both methods produced similar results but the higher amount of user involvement of PRIM became apparent. PRIM can be flexibly tuned by the user, whereas CART, although simpler to implement, is rather static. PMID:28611849

Nonparametric Subgroup Identification by PRIM and CART: A Simulation and Application Study.

PubMed

Ott, Armin; Hapfelmeier, Alexander

2017-01-01

Two nonparametric methods for the identification of subgroups with outstanding outcome values are described and compared to each other in a simulation study and an application to clinical data. The Patient Rule Induction Method (PRIM) searches for box-shaped areas in the given data which exceed a minimal size and average outcome. This is achieved via a combination of iterative peeling and pasting steps, where small fractions of the data are removed or added to the current box. As an alternative, Classification and Regression Trees (CART) prediction models perform sequential binary splits of the data to produce subsets which can be interpreted as subgroups of heterogeneous outcome. PRIM and CART were compared in a simulation study to investigate their strengths and weaknesses under various data settings, taking different performance measures into account. PRIM was shown to be superior in rather complex settings such as those with few observations, a smaller signal-to-noise ratio, and more than one subgroup. CART showed the best performance in simpler situations. A practical application of the two methods was illustrated using a clinical data set. For this application, both methods produced similar results but the higher amount of user involvement of PRIM became apparent. PRIM can be flexibly tuned by the user, whereas CART, although simpler to implement, is rather static.

Spending at mobile fruit and vegetable carts and using SNAP benefits to pay, Bronx, New York, 2013 and 2014.

PubMed

Breck, Andrew; Kiszko, Kamila M; Abrams, Courtney; Elbel, Brian

2015-06-04

This study examines purchases at fruit and vegetable carts and evaluates the potential benefits of expanding the availability of electronic benefit transfer machines at Green Carts. Customers at 4 Green Carts in the Bronx, New York, were surveyed in 3 waves from June 2013 through July 2014. Customers who used Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits spent on average $3.86 more than customers who paid with cash. This finding suggests that there may be benefits to increasing the availability of electronic benefit transfer machines at Green Carts.

Increase in cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) in specific areas of the mouse brain by acute caffeine administration.

PubMed

Cho, Jin Hee; Cho, Yun Ha; Kim, Hyo Young; Cha, Seung Ha; Ryu, Hyun; Jang, Wooyoung; Shin, Kyung Ho

2015-04-01

Caffeine produces a variety of behavioral effects including increased alertness, reduced food intake, anxiogenic effects, and dependence upon repeated exposure. Although many of the effects of caffeine are mediated by its ability to block adenosine receptors, it is possible that other neural substrates, such as cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART), may be involved in the effects of caffeine. Indeed, a recent study demonstrated that repeated caffeine administration increases CART in the mouse striatum. However, it is not clear whether acute caffeine administration alters CART in other areas of the brain. To explore this possibility, we investigated the dose- and time-dependent changes in CART immunoreactivity (CART-IR) after a single dose of caffeine in mice. We found that a high dose of caffeine (100 mg/kg) significantly increased CART-IR 2 h after administration in the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh), dorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (dBNST), central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN), arcuate hypothalamic nucleus (Arc), and locus coeruleus (LC), and returned to control levels after 8 h. But this increase was not observed in other brain areas. In addition, caffeine administration at doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg appears to produce dose-dependent increases in CART-IR in these brain areas; however, the magnitude of increase in CART-IR observed at a dose of 50 mg/kg was similar or greater than that observed at a dose of 100 mg/kg. This result suggests that CART-IR in AcbSh, dBNST, CeA, PVN, Arc, and LC is selectively affected by caffeine administration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Leptin regulation of bone resorption by the sympathetic nervous system and CART.

PubMed

Elefteriou, Florent; Ahn, Jong Deok; Takeda, Shu; Starbuck, Michael; Yang, Xiangli; Liu, Xiuyun; Kondo, Hisataka; Richards, William G; Bannon, Tony W; Noda, Masaki; Clement, Karine; Vaisse, Christian; Karsenty, Gerard

2005-03-24

Bone remodelling, the mechanism by which vertebrates regulate bone mass, comprises two phases, namely resorption by osteoclasts and formation by osteoblasts; osteoblasts are multifunctional cells also controlling osteoclast differentiation. Sympathetic signalling via beta2-adrenergic receptors (Adrb2) present on osteoblasts controls bone formation downstream of leptin. Here we show, by analysing Adrb2-deficient mice, that the sympathetic nervous system favours bone resorption by increasing expression in osteoblast progenitor cells of the osteoclast differentiation factor Rankl. This sympathetic function requires phosphorylation (by protein kinase A) of ATF4, a cell-specific CREB-related transcription factor essential for osteoblast differentiation and function. That bone resorption cannot increase in gonadectomized Adrb2-deficient mice highlights the biological importance of this regulation, but also contrasts sharply with the increase in bone resorption characterizing another hypogonadic mouse with low sympathetic tone, the ob/ob mouse. This discrepancy is explained, in part, by the fact that CART ('cocaine amphetamine regulated transcript'), a neuropeptide whose expression is controlled by leptin and nearly abolished in ob/ob mice, inhibits bone resorption by modulating Rankl expression. Our study establishes that leptin-regulated neural pathways control both aspects of bone remodelling, and demonstrates that integrity of sympathetic signalling is necessary for the increase in bone resorption caused by gonadal failure.

Teaching a La Cart: Music on Wheels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrett, Joelle

2005-01-01

In this article, the author shares her experiences with teaching room-to-room or "from a cart". Depending on the building's structure, she often carried percussion instruments up and down stairs, pushed full-size pianos in and out of rooms, and transferred student books from one classroom to the next, doing what she thought was her job.Teaching…

Safety, tumor trafficking and immunogenicity of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells specific for TAG-72 in colorectal cancer.

PubMed

Hege, Kristen M; Bergsland, Emily K; Fisher, George A; Nemunaitis, John J; Warren, Robert S; McArthur, James G; Lin, Andy A; Schlom, Jeffrey; June, Carl H; Sherwin, Stephen A

2017-01-01

T cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have established efficacy in the treatment of B-cell malignancies, but their relevance in solid tumors remains undefined. Here we report results of the first human trials of CAR-T cells in the treatment of solid tumors performed in the 1990s. Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) were treated in two phase 1 trials with first-generation retroviral transduced CAR-T cells targeting tumor-associated glycoprotein (TAG)-72 and including a CD3-zeta intracellular signaling domain (CART72 cells). In trial C-9701 and C-9702, CART72 cells were administered in escalating doses up to 10 10 total cells; in trial C-9701 CART72 cells were administered by intravenous infusion. In trial C-9702, CART72 cells were administered via direct hepatic artery infusion in patients with colorectal liver metastases. In both trials, a brief course of interferon-alpha (IFN-α) was given with each CART72 infusion to upregulate expression of TAG-72. Fourteen patients were enrolled in C-9701 and nine in C-9702. CART72 manufacturing success rate was 100% with an average transduction efficiency of 38%. Ten patients were treated in CC-9701 and 6 in CC-9702. Symptoms consistent with low-grade, cytokine release syndrome were observed in both trials without clear evidence of on target/off tumor toxicity. Detectable, but mostly short-term (≤14 weeks), persistence of CART72 cells was observed in blood; one patient had CART72 cells detectable at 48 weeks. Trafficking to tumor tissues was confirmed in a tumor biopsy from one of three patients. A subset of patients had 111 Indium-labeled CART72 cells injected, and trafficking could be detected to liver, but T cells appeared largely excluded from large metastatic deposits. Tumor biomarkers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and TAG-72 were measured in serum; there was a precipitous decline of TAG-72, but not CEA, in some patients due to induction of an interfering antibody to the TAG-72

Preconception use of cART by HIV-positive pregnant women increases the risk of infants being born small for gestational age.

PubMed

Snijdewind, Ingrid J M; Smit, Colette; Godfried, Mieke H; Bakker, Rachel; Nellen, Jeannine F J B; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; van Leeuwen, Elisabeth; Reiss, Peter; Steegers, Eric A P; van der Ende, Marchina E

2018-01-01

The benefits of combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) in HIV-positive pregnant women (improved maternal health and prevention of mother to child transmission [pMTCT]) currently outweigh the adverse effects due to cART. As the variety of cART increases, however, the question arises as to which type of cART is safest for pregnant women and women of childbearing age. We studied the effect of timing and exposure to different classes of cART on adverse birth outcomes in a large HIV cohort in the Netherlands. We included singleton HEU infants registered in the ATHENA cohort from 1997 to 2015. Multivariate logistic regression analysis for single and multiple pregnancies was used to evaluate predictors of small for gestational age (SGA, birth weight <10th percentile for gestational age), low birth weight and preterm delivery. A total of 1392 children born to 1022 mothers were included. Of these, 331 (23.8%) children were SGA. Women starting cART before conception had an increased risk of having a SGA infant compared to women starting cART after conception (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.03-1.77, p = 0.03). The risk for SGA was highest in women who started a protease inhibitor-(PI) based regimen prior to pregnancy, compared with women who initiated PI-based cART during pregnancy. While the association of preterm delivery and preconception cART was significant in univariate analysis, on multivariate analysis only a non-significant trend was observed (OR 1.39, 95% CI 0.94-1.92, p = 0.06) in women who had started cART before compared to after conception. In multivariate analysis, the risk of low birth weight (OR 1.34, 95% CI 0.94-1.92, p = 0.11) was not significantly increased in women who had started cART prior to conception compared to after conception. In our cohort of pregnant HIV-positive women, the use of cART prior to conception, most notably a PI-based regimen, was associated with intrauterine growth restriction resulting in SGA. Data showed a non-significant trend in the risk

Chimeric-antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy for solid tumors: challenges and opportunities

PubMed Central

Xia, An-Liang; Wang, Xiao-Chen; Lu, Yi-Jun; Lu, Xiao-Jie; Sun, Beicheng

2017-01-01

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells (CAR-T cells) have been shown to have unprecedented efficacy in B cell malignancies, most notably in B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) with up to a 90% complete remission rate using anti-CD19 CAR-T cells. However, CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumors currently is faced with numerous challenges such as physical barriers, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and the specificity and safety. The clinical results in solid tumors have been much less encouraging, with multiple cases of toxicity and a lack of therapeutic response. In this review, we will discuss the current stats and challenges of CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumors, and propose possibl e solutions and future perspectives. PMID:29163850

Gamma-ray tracking method for pet systems

DOEpatents

Mihailescu, Lucian; Vetter, Kai M.

2010-06-08

Gamma-ray tracking methods for use with granular, position sensitive detectors identify the sequence of the interactions taking place in the detector and, hence, the position of the first interaction. The improved position resolution in finding the first interaction in the detection system determines a better definition of the direction of the gamma-ray photon, and hence, a superior source image resolution. A PET system using such a method will have increased efficiency and position resolution.

Assessing community resilience: A CART survey application in an impoverished urban community

PubMed Central

Pfefferbaum, Rose L.; Pfefferbaum, Betty; Zhao, Yan D.; Van Horn, Richard L.; McCarter, Grady S. “Mack”; Leonard, Michael B.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT This article describes an application of the Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART) Assessment Survey which has been recognized as an important community tool to assist communities in their resilience-building efforts. Developed to assist communities in assessing their resilience to disasters and other adversities, the CART survey can be used to obtain baseline information about a community, to identify relative community strengths and challenges, and to re-examine a community after a disaster or post intervention. This article, which describes an application of the survey in a community of 5 poverty neighborhoods, illustrates the use of the instrument, explicates aspects of community resilience, and provides possible explanations for the results. The paper also demonstrates how a community agency that serves many of the functions of a broker organization can enhance community resilience. Survey results suggest various dimensions of community resilience (as represented by core CART community resilience items and CART domains) and potential predictors. Correlates included homeownership, engagement with local entities/activities, prior experience with a personal emergency or crisis while living in the neighborhood, and involvement with a community organization that focuses on building safe and caring communities through personal relationships. In addition to influencing residents' perceptions of their community, it is likely that the community organization, which served as a sponsor for this application, contributes directly to community resilience through programs and initiatives that enhance social capital and resource acquisition and mobilization. PMID:28229014

Assessing community resilience: A CART survey application in an impoverished urban community.

PubMed

Pfefferbaum, Rose L; Pfefferbaum, Betty; Zhao, Yan D; Van Horn, Richard L; McCarter, Grady S Mack; Leonard, Michael B

2016-01-01

This article describes an application of the Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART) Assessment Survey which has been recognized as an important community tool to assist communities in their resilience-building efforts. Developed to assist communities in assessing their resilience to disasters and other adversities, the CART survey can be used to obtain baseline information about a community, to identify relative community strengths and challenges, and to re-examine a community after a disaster or post intervention. This article, which describes an application of the survey in a community of 5 poverty neighborhoods, illustrates the use of the instrument, explicates aspects of community resilience, and provides possible explanations for the results. The paper also demonstrates how a community agency that serves many of the functions of a broker organization can enhance community resilience. Survey results suggest various dimensions of community resilience (as represented by core CART community resilience items and CART domains) and potential predictors. Correlates included homeownership, engagement with local entities/activities, prior experience with a personal emergency or crisis while living in the neighborhood, and involvement with a community organization that focuses on building safe and caring communities through personal relationships. In addition to influencing residents' perceptions of their community, it is likely that the community organization, which served as a sponsor for this application, contributes directly to community resilience through programs and initiatives that enhance social capital and resource acquisition and mobilization.

Assessing the HIV Care Continuum in Latin America: progress in clinical retention, cART use and viral suppression

PubMed Central

Rebeiro, Peter F; Cesar, Carina; Shepherd, Bryan E; De Boni, Raquel B; Cortés, Claudia P; Rodriguez, Fernanda; Belaunzarán-Zamudio, Pablo; Pape, Jean W; Padgett, Denis; Hoces, Daniel; McGowan, Catherine C; Cahn, Pedro

2016-01-01

Introduction We assessed trends in HIV Care Continuum outcomes associated with delayed disease progression and reduced transmission within a large Latin American cohort over a decade: clinical retention, combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) use and viral suppression (VS). Methods Adults from Caribbean, Central and South America network for HIV epidemiology clinical cohorts in seven countries contributed data between 2003 and 2012. Retention was defined as two or more HIV care visits annually, >90 days apart. cART was defined as prescription of three or more antiretroviral agents annually. VS was defined as HIV-1 RNA <200 copies/mL at last measurement annually. cART and VS denominators were subjects with at least one visit annually. Multivariable modified Poisson regression was used to assess temporal trends and examine associations between age, sex, HIV transmission mode, cohort, calendar year and time in care. Results Among 18,799 individuals in retention analyses, 14,380 in cART analyses and 13,330 in VS analyses, differences existed between those meeting indicator definitions versus those not by most characteristics. Retention, cART and VS significantly improved from 2003 to 2012 (63 to 77%, 74 to 91% and 53 to 82%, respectively; p<0.05, each). Female sex (risk ratio (RR)=0.97 vs. males) and injection drug use as HIV transmission mode (RR=0.83 vs. male sexual contact with males (MSM)) were significantly associated with lower retention, but unrelated with cART or VS. MSM (RR=0.96) significantly decreased the probability of cART compared with heterosexual transmission. Conclusions HIV Care Continuum outcomes improved over time in Latin America, though disparities for vulnerable groups remain. Efforts must be made to increase retention, cART and VS, while engaging in additional research to sustain progress in these settings. PMID:27065108

Preconception use of cART by HIV-positive pregnant women increases the risk of infants being born small for gestational age

PubMed Central

Smit, Colette; Godfried, Mieke H.; Bakker, Rachel; Nellen, Jeannine F. J. B.; Jaddoe, Vincent W. V.; van Leeuwen, Elisabeth; Reiss, Peter; Steegers, Eric A. P.; van der Ende, Marchina E.

2018-01-01

Background The benefits of combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) in HIV-positive pregnant women (improved maternal health and prevention of mother to child transmission [pMTCT]) currently outweigh the adverse effects due to cART. As the variety of cART increases, however, the question arises as to which type of cART is safest for pregnant women and women of childbearing age. We studied the effect of timing and exposure to different classes of cART on adverse birth outcomes in a large HIV cohort in the Netherlands. Materials and methods We included singleton HEU infants registered in the ATHENA cohort from 1997 to 2015. Multivariate logistic regression analysis for single and multiple pregnancies was used to evaluate predictors of small for gestational age (SGA, birth weight <10th percentile for gestational age), low birth weight and preterm delivery. Results A total of 1392 children born to 1022 mothers were included. Of these, 331 (23.8%) children were SGA. Women starting cART before conception had an increased risk of having a SGA infant compared to women starting cART after conception (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.03−1.77, p = 0.03). The risk for SGA was highest in women who started a protease inhibitor-(PI) based regimen prior to pregnancy, compared with women who initiated PI-based cART during pregnancy. While the association of preterm delivery and preconception cART was significant in univariate analysis, on multivariate analysis only a non-significant trend was observed (OR 1.39, 95% CI 0.94−1.92, p = 0.06) in women who had started cART before compared to after conception. In multivariate analysis, the risk of low birth weight (OR 1.34, 95% CI 0.94−1.92, p = 0.11) was not significantly increased in women who had started cART prior to conception compared to after conception. Conclusion In our cohort of pregnant HIV-positive women, the use of cART prior to conception, most notably a PI-based regimen, was associated with intrauterine growth restriction

The Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otte, Nepomuk

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation of imag-ing atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays. It has the goal of providing an order of magnitude increase in sensitivity for Very High Energy Gamma-ray ( 100 GeV to 100 TeV) astronomy compared to currently operating arrays such as CANGAROO, HESS, MAGIC, and VERITAS. After an overview of the science such an array would enable, we discuss the development of the components of the telescope system that are required to achieve the sensitivity goal. AGIS stresses improvements in several areas of IACT technology including component reliability as well as exploring cost reduction possibilities in order to achieve its goal. We discuss alterna-tives for the telescopes and positioners: a novel Schwarzschild-Couder telescope offering a wide field of view with a relatively smaller plate scale, and possibilities for rapid slewing in order to address the search for and/or study of Gamma-ray Bursts in the VHE gamma-ray regime. We also discuss options for a high pixel count camera system providing the necessary finer solid angle per pixel and possibilities for a fast topological trigger that would offer improved realtime background rejection and lower energy thresholds.

Nursing perception of the impact of medication carts on patient safety and ergonomics in a teaching health care center.

PubMed

Rochais, Élise; Atkinson, Suzanne; Bussières, Jean-François

2013-04-01

In our Quebec (Canada) University Hospital Center, 68 medication carts have been implemented as part of a nationally funded project on drug distribution technologies. There are limited data published about the impact of medication carts in point-of-care units. Our main objective was to assess nursing staff's perception and satisfaction of medication carts on patient safety and ergonomics. Quantitative and qualitative cross-sectional study. Data were gathered from a printed questionnaire administered to nurses and an organized focus group composed of nurses and pharmacists. A total of 195 nurses completed the questionnaire. Eighty percent of the nurses agreed that medication carts made health care staff's work easier and 64% agreed that it helped to reduce medication incidents/accidents. Only 27% and 43% agreed that carts' location reduces the risk of patients' interruptions and colleagues' interruptions, respectively. A total of 17 suggestions were extracted from the focus group (n = 7 nurses; n = 3 pharmacist) and will be implemented in the next year. This descriptive study confirms the positive perception and satisfaction of nurses exposed to medication carts. However, interruptions are a major concern and source of dissatisfaction. The focus group has revealed many issues which will be improved.

A hybrid PCA-CART-MARS-based prognostic approach of the remaining useful life for aircraft engines.

PubMed

Sánchez Lasheras, Fernando; García Nieto, Paulino José; de Cos Juez, Francisco Javier; Mayo Bayón, Ricardo; González Suárez, Victor Manuel

2015-03-23

Prognostics is an engineering discipline that predicts the future health of a system. In this research work, a data-driven approach for prognostics is proposed. Indeed, the present paper describes a data-driven hybrid model for the successful prediction of the remaining useful life of aircraft engines. The approach combines the multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) technique with the principal component analysis (PCA), dendrograms and classification and regression trees (CARTs). Elements extracted from sensor signals are used to train this hybrid model, representing different levels of health for aircraft engines. In this way, this hybrid algorithm is used to predict the trends of these elements. Based on this fitting, one can determine the future health state of a system and estimate its remaining useful life (RUL) with accuracy. To evaluate the proposed approach, a test was carried out using aircraft engine signals collected from physical sensors (temperature, pressure, speed, fuel flow, etc.). Simulation results show that the PCA-CART-MARS-based approach can forecast faults long before they occur and can predict the RUL. The proposed hybrid model presents as its main advantage the fact that it does not require information about the previous operation states of the input variables of the engine. The performance of this model was compared with those obtained by other benchmark models (multivariate linear regression and artificial neural networks) also applied in recent years for the modeling of remaining useful life. Therefore, the PCA-CART-MARS-based approach is very promising in the field of prognostics of the RUL for aircraft engines.

A Hybrid PCA-CART-MARS-Based Prognostic Approach of the Remaining Useful Life for Aircraft Engines

PubMed Central

Lasheras, Fernando Sánchez; Nieto, Paulino José García; de Cos Juez, Francisco Javier; Bayón, Ricardo Mayo; Suárez, Victor Manuel González

2015-01-01

Prognostics is an engineering discipline that predicts the future health of a system. In this research work, a data-driven approach for prognostics is proposed. Indeed, the present paper describes a data-driven hybrid model for the successful prediction of the remaining useful life of aircraft engines. The approach combines the multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) technique with the principal component analysis (PCA), dendrograms and classification and regression trees (CARTs). Elements extracted from sensor signals are used to train this hybrid model, representing different levels of health for aircraft engines. In this way, this hybrid algorithm is used to predict the trends of these elements. Based on this fitting, one can determine the future health state of a system and estimate its remaining useful life (RUL) with accuracy. To evaluate the proposed approach, a test was carried out using aircraft engine signals collected from physical sensors (temperature, pressure, speed, fuel flow, etc.). Simulation results show that the PCA-CART-MARS-based approach can forecast faults long before they occur and can predict the RUL. The proposed hybrid model presents as its main advantage the fact that it does not require information about the previous operation states of the input variables of the engine. The performance of this model was compared with those obtained by other benchmark models (multivariate linear regression and artificial neural networks) also applied in recent years for the modeling of remaining useful life. Therefore, the PCA-CART-MARS-based approach is very promising in the field of prognostics of the RUL for aircraft engines. PMID:25806876

The structure, logic of operation and distinctive features of the system of triggers and counting signals formation for gamma-telescope GAMMA-400

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Topchiev, N. P.; Galper, A. M.; Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Arkhangelskaja, I. V.; Kheymits, M. D.; Suchkov, S. I.; Yurkin, Y. T.

2017-01-01

Scientific project GAMMA-400 (Gamma Astronomical Multifunctional Modular Apparatus) relates to the new generation of space observatories intended to perform an indirect search for signatures of dark matter in the cosmic-ray fluxes, measurements of characteristics of diffuse gamma-ray emission and gamma-rays from the Sun during periods of solar activity, gamma-ray bursts, extended and point gamma-ray sources, electron/positron and cosmic-ray nuclei fluxes up to TeV energy region by means of the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope represents the core of the scientific complex. The system of triggers and counting signals formation of the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope constitutes the pipelined processor structure which collects data from the gamma-ray telescope subsystems and produces summary information used in forming the trigger decision for each event. The system design is based on the use of state-of-the-art reconfigurable logic devices and fast data links. The basic structure, logic of operation and distinctive features of the system are presented.

Could EBT Machines Increase Fruit and Vegetable Purchases at New York City Green Carts?

PubMed

Breck, Andrew; Kiszko, Kamila; Martinez, Olivia; Abrams, Courtney; Elbel, Brian

2017-09-21

Residents of some low-income neighborhoods have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. In 2008, New York City issued new mobile fruit and vegetable cart licenses for neighborhoods with inadequate availability of fresh produce. Some of these carts were equipped with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) machines, allowing them to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This article examines the association between type and quantities of fruits and vegetables purchased from mobile fruit and vegetable vendors and consumer characteristics, including payment method. Customers at 4 produce carts in the Bronx, New York, were surveyed during 3 periods in 2013 and 2014. Survey data, including purchased fruit and vegetable quantities, were analyzed using multivariable negative binomial regressions, with payment method (cash only vs EBT or EBT and cash) as the primary independent variable. Covariates included availability of EBT, vendor, and customer sociodemographic characteristics. A total of 779 adults participated in this study. Shoppers who used SNAP benefits purchased an average of 5.4 more cup equivalents of fruits and vegetables than did shoppers who paid with cash. Approximately 80% of this difference was due to higher quantities of purchased fruits. Expanding access to EBT machines at mobile produce carts may increase purchases of fruits and vegetables from these vendors.

Could EBT Machines Increase Fruit and Vegetable Purchases at New York City Green Carts?

PubMed Central

Breck, Andrew; Kiszko, Kamila; Martinez, Olivia; Abrams, Courtney

2017-01-01

Introduction Residents of some low-income neighborhoods have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. In 2008, New York City issued new mobile fruit and vegetable cart licenses for neighborhoods with inadequate availability of fresh produce. Some of these carts were equipped with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) machines, allowing them to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This article examines the association between type and quantities of fruits and vegetables purchased from mobile fruit and vegetable vendors and consumer characteristics, including payment method. Methods Customers at 4 produce carts in the Bronx, New York, were surveyed during 3 periods in 2013 and 2014. Survey data, including purchased fruit and vegetable quantities, were analyzed using multivariable negative binomial regressions, with payment method (cash only vs EBT or EBT and cash) as the primary independent variable. Covariates included availability of EBT, vendor, and customer sociodemographic characteristics. Results A total of 779 adults participated in this study. Shoppers who used SNAP benefits purchased an average of 5.4 more cup equivalents of fruits and vegetables than did shoppers who paid with cash. Approximately 80% of this difference was due to higher quantities of purchased fruits. Conclusion Expanding access to EBT machines at mobile produce carts may increase purchases of fruits and vegetables from these vendors. PMID:28934080

143. MOBILE HIGH PRESSURE NITROGEN CART STORED IN CONTROL ROOM ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

143. MOBILE HIGH PRESSURE NITROGEN CART STORED IN CONTROL ROOM (214), LSB (BLDG. 751) - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

Endothelial Activation and Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption in Neurotoxicity after Adoptive Immunotherapy with CD19 CAR-T Cells.

PubMed

Gust, Juliane; Hay, Kevin A; Hanafi, Laïla-Aïcha; Li, Daniel; Myerson, David; Gonzalez-Cuyar, Luis F; Yeung, Cecilia; Liles, W Conrad; Wurfel, Mark; Lopez, Jose A; Chen, Junmei; Chung, Dominic; Harju-Baker, Susanna; Özpolat, Tahsin; Fink, Kathleen R; Riddell, Stanley R; Maloney, David G; Turtle, Cameron J

2017-12-01

Lymphodepletion chemotherapy followed by infusion of CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor-modified T (CAR-T) cells can be complicated by neurologic adverse events (AE) in patients with refractory B-cell malignancies. In 133 adults treated with CD19 CAR-T cells, we found that acute lymphoblastic leukemia, high CD19 + cells in bone marrow, high CAR-T cell dose, cytokine release syndrome, and preexisting neurologic comorbidities were associated with increased risk of neurologic AEs. Patients with severe neurotoxicity demonstrated evidence of endothelial activation, including disseminated intravascular coagulation, capillary leak, and increased blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. The permeable BBB failed to protect the cerebrospinal fluid from high concentrations of systemic cytokines, including IFNγ, which induced brain vascular pericyte stress and their secretion of endothelium-activating cytokines. Endothelial activation and multifocal vascular disruption were found in the brain of a patient with fatal neurotoxicity. Biomarkers of endothelial activation were higher before treatment in patients who subsequently developed grade ≥4 neurotoxicity. Significance: We provide a detailed clinical, radiologic, and pathologic characterization of neurotoxicity after CD19 CAR-T cells, and identify risk factors for neurotoxicity. We show endothelial dysfunction and increased BBB permeability in neurotoxicity and find that patients with evidence of endothelial activation before lymphodepletion may be at increased risk of neurotoxicity. Cancer Discov; 7(12); 1404-19. ©2017 AACR. See related commentary by Mackall and Miklos, p. 1371 This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1355 . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript (CART) Expression is Differentially Regulated in the Hypothalamic Para ventricular Nucleus of Lactating Rats Exposed to Suckling or Cold Stimulation

PubMed Central

Sánchez, Edith; Fekete, Csaba; Lechan, Ronald M.; Joseph-Bravo, Patricia

2007-01-01

Neural stimuli, such as suckling or cold exposure, increase TRH mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the rat hypothalamus, yet only suckling induces prolactin secretion. As TRH co-localizes with cocaine-and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) in hypophysiotropic neurons of the PVN, and CART inhibits TRH-induced prolactin release but not TRH-induced TSH release in adenohypophyseal cell cultures, we raised the possibility that differential regulation of CART gene expression in the PVN may explain the differences in prolactin secretion following each of the two stimuli. Primiparous female rats were mated and handled daily during the pre- and postpartum periods. After delivery, the litter was adjusted to 8 pups and at mid-lactation, dams were separated from their pups for 8 hours and exposed to either 1h of cold or 30 min of suckling. Long term effects of suckling were studied by separating pups from their mothers for 24h, followed by a 12h period of continuous suckling. Serum TSH levels increased in response to cold exposure, while prolactin levels were increased by suckling and diminished by cold exposure. CART mRNA levels increased in rostral and mid parts of the medial parvocellular PVN following cold exposure but not after suckling stimulation. These data demonstrate a differential regulation of CART gene expression in hypophysiotropic neurons in response to stimuli that increase TRH mRNA levels, and suggest that CART activation in the PVN may contribute to the decrease in PRL release when the thyroid axis is activated by cold exposure. Section: Regulatory systems PMID:17174283

Genetic Regulation of Hypothalamic Cocaine and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript (CART) in BxD Inbred Mice

PubMed Central

Hawks, Brian W.; Li, Wei; Garlow, Steven J.

2009-01-01

Cocaine-Amphetamine Regulated Transcript (CART) peptides are implicated in a wide range of behaviors including in the reinforcing properties of psychostimulants, feeding and energy balance and stress and anxiety responses. We conducted a complex trait analysis to examine natural variation in the regulation of CART transcript abundance (CARTta) in the hypothalamus. CART transcript abundance was measured in total hypothalamic RNA from 26 BxD recombinant inbred (RI) mouse strains and in the C57BL/6 (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) progenitor strains. The strain distribution pattern for CARTta was continuous across the RI panel, which is consistent with this being a quantitative trait. Marker regression and interval mapping revealed significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) on mouse chromosome 4 (around 58.2cM) and chromosome 11 (between 20–36cM) that influence CARTta and account for 31% of the between strain variance in this phenotype. There are numerous candidate genes and QTL in these chromosomal regions that may indicate shared genetic regulation between CART expression and other neurobiological processes referable to known actions of this neuropeptide. PMID:18199428

The Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART): development of a survey instrument to assess community resilience.

PubMed

Pfefferbaum, Rose L; Neas, Barbara R; Pfefferbaum, Betty; Norris, Fran H; Van Horn, Richard L

2013-01-01

While building community resilience to disasters is becoming an important strategy in emergency management, this is a new field of research with few available instruments for assessing community resilience. This article describes the development of the Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART) survey instrument. CART is a community intervention designed to enhance community resilience to disasters, in part, by engaging communities in measuring it. The survey instrument, originally based on community capacity and related literature and on key informant input, was refined through a series of four field tests. Community organizations worked with researchers in a participatory action process that provided access to samples and helped to guide the research. Exploratory factor analysis performed after each field test led to the identification of four interrelated constructs (also called domains) which represent the foundation for CART Connection and Caring, Resources, Transformative Potential, and Disaster Management. This model was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis on two community samples. The CART survey can provide data for organizations and communities interested in assessing a community's resilience to disasters. Baseline data, preferably collected pre disaster can be compared to data collected post disaster and/or post intervention.

Switch-mediated activation and retargeting of CAR-T cells for B-cell malignancies

PubMed Central

Rodgers, David T.; Mazagova, Magdalena; Hampton, Eric N.; Cao, Yu; Ramadoss, Nitya S.; Hardy, Ian R.; Schulman, Andrew; Du, Juanjuan; Wang, Feng; Singer, Oded; Ma, Jennifer; Nunez, Vanessa; Shen, Jiayin; Woods, Ashley K.; Wright, Timothy M.; Schultz, Peter G.; Kim, Chan Hyuk; Young, Travis S.

2016-01-01

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy has produced impressive results in clinical trials for B-cell malignancies. However, safety concerns related to the inability to control CAR-T cells once infused into the patient remain a significant challenge. Here we report the engineering of recombinant antibody-based bifunctional switches that consist of a tumor antigen-specific Fab molecule engrafted with a peptide neo-epitope, which is bound exclusively by a peptide-specific switchable CAR-T cell (sCAR-T). The switch redirects the activity of the bio-orthogonal sCAR-T cells through the selective formation of immunological synapses, in which the sCAR-T cell, switch, and target cell interact in a structurally defined and temporally controlled manner. Optimized switches specific for CD19 controlled the activity, tissue-homing, cytokine release, and phenotype of sCAR-T cells in a dose-titratable manner in a Nalm-6 xenograft rodent model of B-cell leukemia. The sCAR–T-cell dosing regimen could be tuned to provide efficacy comparable to the corresponding conventional CART-19, but with lower cytokine levels, thereby offering a method of mitigating cytokine release syndrome in clinical translation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this methodology is readily adaptable to targeting CD20 on cancer cells using the same sCAR-T cell, suggesting that this approach may be broadly applicable to heterogeneous and resistant tumor populations, as well as other liquid and solid tumor antigens. PMID:26759369

Effect of desipramine and citalopram treatment on forced swimming test-induced changes in cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) immunoreactivity in mice.

PubMed

Chung, Sung; Kim, Hee Jeong; Kim, Hyun Ju; Choi, Sun Hye; Kim, Jin Wook; Kim, Jeong Min; Shin, Kyung Ho

2014-05-01

Recent study demonstrates antidepressant-like effect of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) in the forced swimming test (FST), but less is known about whether antidepressant treatments alter levels of CART immunoreactivity (CART-IR) in the FST. To explore this possibility, we assessed the treatment effects of desipramine and citalopram, which inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin into the presynaptic terminals, respectively, on changes in levels of CART-IR before and after the test swim in mouse brain. Levels of CART-IR in the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh), dorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (dBNST), and hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) were significantly increased before the test swim by desipramine and citalopram treatments. This increase in CART-IR in the AcbSh, dBNST, and PVN before the test swim remained elevated by desipramine treatment after the test swim, but this increase in these brain areas returned to near control levels after test swim by citalopram treatment. Citalopram, but not desipramine, treatment increased levels of CART-IR in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and the locus ceruleus (LC) before the test swim, and this increase was returned to control levels after the test swim in the CeA, but not in the LC. These results suggest common and distinct regulation of CART by desipramine and citalopram treatments in the FST and raise the possibility that CART in the AcbSh, dBNST, and CeA may be involved in antidepressant-like effect in the FST.

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptide immunoreactivity in the brain of the CCK-1 receptor deficient obese OLETF rat

PubMed Central

Abraham, Hajnalka; Covasa, Mihai; Hajnal, Andras

2013-01-01

Cocaine- and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) peptide is expressed in brain areas involved in homeostatic regulation and reward. CART has been shown to reduce food intake but the underlying mechanisms and the relevance of this effect to obesity yet remain unknown. Therefore, we used immunohistochemistry to investigate expression of CART peptide in various brain regions of the obese Otsuka Long Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats lacking the CCK-1 receptor. Analysis revealed that whereas the distribution of CART peptide-immunoreactive neurons and axonal networks was identical in OLETF rats and lean controls, intensity of CART immunoreactivity was significantly reduced in the rostral part of the nucleus accumbens (p<0.01), the basolateral complex of the amygdala (p<0.05), and the rostro-medial nucleus of solitary tract (p<0.001) of the OLETF rats. These areas are involved in reward and integration of taste and viscerosensory information and have been previously associated with altered functions in this strain. The findings suggest that in addition to previously described deficits in peripheral satiety signals and augmented orexigenic regulation, the anorectic effect of CART peptide may also be diminished in OLETF rats. PMID:19533109

Z{gamma}{gamma}{gamma} {yields} 0 Processes in SANC

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

Bardin, D. Yu., E-mail: bardin@nu.jinr.ru; Kalinovskaya, L. V., E-mail: kalinov@nu.jinr.ru; Uglov, E. D., E-mail: corner@nu.jinr.ru

2013-11-15

We describe the analytic and numerical evaluation of the {gamma}{gamma} {yields} {gamma}Z process cross section and the Z {yields} {gamma}{gamma}{gamma} decay rate within the SANC system multi-channel approach at the one-loop accuracy level with all masses taken into account. The corresponding package for numeric calculations is presented. For checking of the results' correctness we make a comparison with the other independent calculations.

DETAIL VIEW OF THE ROCKET TRANSFER CART. NOTE THE VALVE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

DETAIL VIEW OF THE ROCKET TRANSFER CART. NOTE THE VALVE BOX IN THE FOREGROUND RIGHT WITH AN EYE WASH FAUCET PROJECTING OUT. - Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Rocket (Missile) Test Stand, Dodd Road, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: How Not to Put the CART Before the Horse

PubMed Central

Kenderian, Saad S.; Porter, David L.; Gill, Saar

2016-01-01

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) remains an important and potentially curative option in most hematological malignancies. As a form of immunotherapy, allogeneic HCT offers the potential for durable remissions but is limited by transplant related morbidity and mortality due to organ toxicity, infection and graft versus host disease. The recent positive outcomes of chimeric antigen receptor T (CART) cell therapy in B cell malignancies may herald a paradigm shift in the management of these disorders and perhaps other hematological malignancies. Clinical trials will now need to address the relative roles of CART cells and HCT in the context of transplant-eligible patients. In this review we summarize the state of the art of the development of CART cell therapy for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma and discuss our perspective of how CART cell therapy can be applied in the context of HCT. PMID:27638367

AGIS -- the Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krennrich, Frank

2009-05-01

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System, AGIS, is envisioned to become the follow-up mission of the current generation of very high energy gamma-ray telescopes, namely, H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS. These instruments have provided a glimpse of the TeV gamma-ray sky, showing more than 70 sources while their detailed studies constrain a wealth of physics and astrophysics. The particle acceleration, emission and absorption processes in these sources permit the study of extreme physical conditions found in galactic and extragalactic TeV sources. AGIS will dramatically improve the sensitivity and angular resolution of TeV gamma-ray observations and therefore provide unique prospects for particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. This talk will provide an overview of the science drivers, scientific capabilities and the novel technical approaches that are pursued to maximize the performance of the large array concept of AGIS.

CART DIAGNOSIS OF WATERSHED IMPAIRMENT IN THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION

EPA Science Inventory

Many factors ( stressors ) can lead to increased concentrations of nutrients and sediments, and these factors change across watersheds. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) is a statistical approach that can be used to "diagnose" which factors are important stressors on a pe...

EM61 MK2 Cart Data Collection and Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

number. 1. REPORT DATE JUN 2011 2 . REPORT TYPE N/A 3. DATES COVERED - 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE EM61 MK2 Cart Data Collection and Analysis... 2   1.3  REGULATORY DRIVERS... 2   1.3.1  OBJECTIVE OF THE ADVISORY GROUP .......................................................... 2   2.0  TECHNOLOGY

Simulation at the point of care: reduced-cost, in situ training via a mobile cart.

PubMed

Weinstock, Peter H; Kappus, Liana J; Garden, Alexander; Burns, Jeffrey P

2009-03-01

The rapid growth of simulation in health care has challenged traditional paradigms of hospital-based education and training. Simulation addresses patient safety through deliberative practice of high-risk low-frequency events within a safe, structured environment. Despite its inherent appeal, widespread adoption of simulation is prohibited by high cost, limited space, interruptions to clinical duties, and the inability to replicate important nuances of clinical environments. We therefore sought to develop a reduced-cost low-space mobile cart to provide realistic simulation experiences to a range of providers within the clinical environment and to serve as a model for transportable, cost-effective, widespread simulation-based training of bona-fide workplace teams. Descriptive study. A tertiary care pediatric teaching hospital. A self-contained mobile simulation cart was constructed at a cost of $8054 (mannequin not included). The cart is compatible with any mannequin and contains all equipment needed to produce a high quality simulation experience equivalent to that of our on-site center--including didactics and debriefing with videotaped recordings complete with vital sign overlay. Over a 3-year period the cart delivered 57 courses to 425 participants from five pediatric departments. All individuals were trained among their native teams and within their own clinical environment. By bringing all pedagogical elements to the actual clinical environment, a mobile cart can provide simulation to hospital teams that might not otherwise benefit from the educational tool. By reducing the setup cost and the need for dedicated space, the mobile approach provides a mechanism to increase the number of institutions capable of harnessing the power of simulation-based education internationally.

Les traces matérielles de la Carte du Ciel. Le cas des observatoires d'Alger et de Bordeaux.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Guet Tully, F.; Davoigneau, J.; Lamy, J.; de La Noë, J.; Rousseau, J.-M.; Sadsaoud, H.

2008-06-01

Le chapitre évoque les traces matérielles de la Carte du ciel subsistant dans les observatoires d'Alger et de Bordeaux. Les auteurs examinent d'abord l'opération d'inventaire du patrimoine astronomique entreprise à partir du milieu des années 1990. Ils examinent ensuite les éléments concrets constituant aujourd'hui le patrimoine de la Carte du Ciel : lunettes, abris, accessoires, laboratoires, réseaux, plaques de verre, registres, machines à mesurer les clichés, et cartes.

Pushing, pulling and manoeuvring an industrial cart: a psychophysiological study.

PubMed

Giagloglou, Evanthia; Radenkovic, Milan; Brankovic, Sasa; Antoniou, Panagiotis; Zivanovic-Macuzic, Ivana

2017-09-18

One of the most frequent manual occupational tasks involves the pushing and pulling of a cart. Although several studies have associated health risks with pushing and pulling, the effects are not clear since occupational tasks have social, cognitive and physical components. The present work investigates a real case of a pushing and pulling occupational task from a manufacturing company. The study initially characterizes the case in accordance with Standard No. ISO 11228-2:2007 as low risk. An experiment with 14 individuals during three modalities of pushing and pulling was performed in order to further investigate the task with the application of electrophysiology. At the end, a simple questionnaire was given. The results show electrophysiological differences among the three modalities of pushing and pulling, with a major difference between action with no load and fully loaded with a full range of motions on the cart to handle.

Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis of endometrial carcinoma: Seeing the forest for the trees.

PubMed

Barlin, Joyce N; Zhou, Qin; St Clair, Caryn M; Iasonos, Alexia; Soslow, Robert A; Alektiar, Kaled M; Hensley, Martee L; Leitao, Mario M; Barakat, Richard R; Abu-Rustum, Nadeem R

2013-09-01

The objectives of the study are to evaluate which clinicopathologic factors influenced overall survival (OS) in endometrial carcinoma and to determine if the surgical effort to assess para-aortic (PA) lymph nodes (LNs) at initial staging surgery impacts OS. All patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer from 1/1993-12/2011 who had LNs excised were included. PALN assessment was defined by the identification of one or more PALNs on final pathology. A multivariate analysis was performed to assess the effect of PALNs on OS. A form of recursive partitioning called classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was implemented. Variables included: age, stage, tumor subtype, grade, myometrial invasion, total LNs removed, evaluation of PALNs, and adjuvant chemotherapy. The cohort included 1920 patients, with a median age of 62 years. The median number of LNs removed was 16 (range, 1-99). The removal of PALNs was not associated with OS (P=0.450). Using the CART hierarchically, stage I vs. stages II-IV and grades 1-2 vs. grade 3 emerged as predictors of OS. If the tree was allowed to grow, further branching was based on age and myometrial invasion. Total number of LNs removed and assessment of PALNs as defined in this study were not predictive of OS. This innovative CART analysis emphasized the importance of proper stage assignment and a binary grading system in impacting OS. Notably, the total number of LNs removed and specific evaluation of PALNs as defined in this study were not important predictors of OS. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Deploying a Proximal Sensing Cart to Identify Drought-Adaptive Traits in Upland Cotton for High-Throughput Phenotyping

PubMed Central

Thompson, Alison L.; Thorp, Kelly R.; Conley, Matthew; Andrade-Sanchez, Pedro; Heun, John T.; Dyer, John M.; White, Jeffery W.

2018-01-01

Field-based high-throughput phenotyping is an emerging approach to quantify difficult, time-sensitive plant traits in relevant growing conditions. Proximal sensing carts represent an alternative platform to more costly high-clearance tractors for phenotyping dynamic traits in the field. A proximal sensing cart and specifically a deployment protocol, were developed to phenotype traits related to drought tolerance in the field. The cart-sensor package included an infrared thermometer, ultrasonic transducer, multi-spectral reflectance sensor, weather station, and RGB cameras. The cart deployment protocol was evaluated on 35 upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) entries grown in 2017 at Maricopa, AZ, United States. Experimental plots were grown under well-watered and water-limited conditions using a (0,1) alpha lattice design and evaluated in June and July. Total collection time of the 0.87 hectare field averaged 2 h and 27 min and produced 50.7 MB and 45.7 GB of data from the sensors and RGB cameras, respectively. Canopy temperature, crop water stress index (CWSI), canopy height, normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI), and leaf area index (LAI) differed among entries and showed an interaction with the water regime (p < 0.05). Broad-sense heritability (H2) estimates ranged from 0.097 to 0.574 across all phenotypes and collections. Canopy cover estimated from RGB images increased with counts of established plants (r = 0.747, p = 0.033). Based on the cart-derived phenotypes, three entries were found to have improved drought-adaptive traits compared to a local adapted cultivar. These results indicate that the deployment protocol developed for the cart and sensor package can measure multiple traits rapidly and accurately to characterize complex plant traits under drought conditions. PMID:29868041

Short-Term High-Fat Diet Increases Leptin Activation of CART Neurons and Advances Puberty in Female Mice.

PubMed

Venancio, Jade Cabestre; Margatho, Lisandra Oliveira; Rorato, Rodrigo; Rosales, Roberta Ribeiro Costa; Debarba, Lucas Kniess; Coletti, Ricardo; Antunes-Rodrigues, Jose; Elias, Carol F; Elias, Lucila Leico K

2017-11-01

Leptin is a permissive factor for puberty initiation, participating as a metabolic cue in the activation of the kisspeptin (Kiss1)-gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuronal circuitry; however, it has no direct effect on Kiss1 neurons. Leptin acts on hypothalamic cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) neurons, participating in the regulation of energy homeostasis. We investigated the influence of a short-term high-fat diet (HFD) on the effect of leptin on puberty timing. Kiss1-hrGFP female mice received a HFD or regular diet (RD) after weaning at postnatal day (PN)21 and were studied at PN28 and PN32. The HFD increased body weight and plasma leptin concentrations and decreased the age at vaginal opening (HFD, 32 ± 0.53 days; RD, 38 ± 0.67 days). Similar colocalization of neurokinin B and dynorphin in Kiss1-hrGFP neurons of the arcuate nucleus (ARC) was observed between the HFD and RD groups. The HFD increased CART expression in the ARC and Kiss1 messenger RNA expression in the anteroventral periventricular (AVPV)/anterior periventricular (Pe). The HFD also increased the number of ARC CART neurons expressing leptin-induced phosphorylated STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) at PN32. Close apposition of CART fibers to Kiss1-hrGFP neurons was observed in the ARC of both RD- and HFD-fed mice. In conclusion, these data reinforce the notion that a HFD increases kisspeptin expression in the AVPV/Pe and advances puberty initiation. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the HFD-induced earlier puberty is associated with an increase in CART expression in the ARC. Therefore, these data indicate that CART neurons in the ARC can mediate the effect of leptin on Kiss1 neurons in early puberty induced by a HFD. Copyright © 2017 Endocrine Society.

Gamma-telescopes Fermi/LAT and GAMMA-400 Trigger Systems Event Recognizing Methods Comparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arkhangelskaja, I. V.; Murchenko, A. E.; Chasovikov, E. N.; Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Kheymits, M. D.

Usually instruments for high-energy γ-quanta registration consists of converter (where γ-quanta produced pairs) and calorimeter for particles energy measurements surrounded by anticoincidence shield used to events identification (whether incident particle was charged or neutral). The influence of pair formation by γ-quanta in shield and the backsplash (moved in the opposite direction particles created due high energy γ-rays interact with calorimeter) should be taken into account. It leads to decrease both effective area and registration efficiency at E>10 GeV. In the presented article the event recognizing methods used in Fermi/LAT trigger system is considered in comparison with the ones applied in counting and triggers signals formation system of gamma-telescope GAMMA-400. The GAMMA-400 (Gamma Astronomical Multifunctional Modular Apparatus) will be the new high-apogee space γ-observatory. The GAMMA-400 consist of converter-tracker based on silicon-strip coordinate detectors interleaved with tungsten foils, imaging calorimeter make of 2 layers of double (x, y) silicon strip coordinate detectors interleaved with planes of CsI(Tl) crystals and the electromagnetic calorimeter CC2 consists only of CsI(Tl) crystals. Several plastics detections systems used as anticoincidence shield, for particles energy and moving direction estimations. The main differences of GAMMA-400 constructions from Fermi/LAT one are using the time-of-flight system with base of 50 cm and double layer structure of plastic detectors provides more effective particles direction definition and backsplash rejection. Also two calorimeters in GAMMA-400 composed the total absorbtion spectrometer with total thickness ∼ 25 X0 or ∼1.2 λ0 for vertical incident particles registration and 54 X0 or 2.5 λ0 for laterally incident ones (where λ0 is nuclear interaction length). It provides energy resolution 1-2% for 10 GeV-3.0×103 GeV events while the Fermi/LAT energy resolution does not reach such a

Intermittent Feedback-Control Strategy for Stabilizing Inverted Pendulum on Manually Controlled Cart as Analogy to Human Stick Balancing

PubMed Central

Yoshikawa, Naoya; Suzuki, Yasuyuki; Kiyono, Ken; Nomura, Taishin

2016-01-01

The stabilization of an inverted pendulum on a manually controlled cart (cart-inverted-pendulum; CIP) in an upright position, which is analogous to balancing a stick on a fingertip, is considered in order to investigate how the human central nervous system (CNS) stabilizes unstable dynamics due to mechanical instability and time delays in neural feedback control. We explore the possibility that a type of intermittent time-delayed feedback control, which has been proposed for human postural control during quiet standing, is also a promising strategy for the CIP task and stick balancing on a fingertip. Such a strategy hypothesizes that the CNS exploits transient contracting dynamics along a stable manifold of a saddle-type unstable upright equilibrium of the inverted pendulum in the absence of control by inactivating neural feedback control intermittently for compensating delay-induced instability. To this end, the motions of a CIP stabilized by human subjects were experimentally acquired, and computational models of the system were employed to characterize the experimental behaviors. We first confirmed fat-tailed non-Gaussian temporal fluctuation in the acceleration distribution of the pendulum, as well as the power-law distributions of corrective cart movements for skilled subjects, which was previously reported for stick balancing. We then showed that the experimental behaviors could be better described by the models with an intermittent delayed feedback controller than by those with the conventional continuous delayed feedback controller, suggesting that the human CNS stabilizes the upright posture of the pendulum by utilizing the intermittent delayed feedback-control strategy. PMID:27148031

Intermittent Feedback-Control Strategy for Stabilizing Inverted Pendulum on Manually Controlled Cart as Analogy to Human Stick Balancing.

PubMed

Yoshikawa, Naoya; Suzuki, Yasuyuki; Kiyono, Ken; Nomura, Taishin

2016-01-01

The stabilization of an inverted pendulum on a manually controlled cart (cart-inverted-pendulum; CIP) in an upright position, which is analogous to balancing a stick on a fingertip, is considered in order to investigate how the human central nervous system (CNS) stabilizes unstable dynamics due to mechanical instability and time delays in neural feedback control. We explore the possibility that a type of intermittent time-delayed feedback control, which has been proposed for human postural control during quiet standing, is also a promising strategy for the CIP task and stick balancing on a fingertip. Such a strategy hypothesizes that the CNS exploits transient contracting dynamics along a stable manifold of a saddle-type unstable upright equilibrium of the inverted pendulum in the absence of control by inactivating neural feedback control intermittently for compensating delay-induced instability. To this end, the motions of a CIP stabilized by human subjects were experimentally acquired, and computational models of the system were employed to characterize the experimental behaviors. We first confirmed fat-tailed non-Gaussian temporal fluctuation in the acceleration distribution of the pendulum, as well as the power-law distributions of corrective cart movements for skilled subjects, which was previously reported for stick balancing. We then showed that the experimental behaviors could be better described by the models with an intermittent delayed feedback controller than by those with the conventional continuous delayed feedback controller, suggesting that the human CNS stabilizes the upright posture of the pendulum by utilizing the intermittent delayed feedback-control strategy.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: How Not to Put the CART Before the Horse.

PubMed

Kenderian, Saad S; Porter, David L; Gill, Saar

2017-02-01

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) remains an important and potentially curative option for most hematologic malignancies. As a form of immunotherapy, allogeneic HCT (allo-HCT) offers the potential for durable remissions but is limited by transplantation- related morbidity and mortality owing to organ toxicity, infection, and graft-versus-host disease. The recent positive outcomes of chimeric antigen receptor T (CART) cell therapy in B cell malignancies may herald a paradigm shift in the management of these disorders and perhaps other hematologic malignancies as well. Clinical trials are now needed to address the relative roles of CART cells and HCT in the context of transplantation-eligible patients. In this review, we summarize the state of the art of the development of CART cell therapy for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma and discuss our perspective of how CART cell therapy can be applied in the context of HCT. Copyright © 2017 The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

P300/CBP acts as a coactivator to cartilage homeoprotein-1 (Cart1), paired-like homeoprotein, through acetylation of the conserved lysine residue adjacent to the homeodomain.

PubMed

Iioka, Takashi; Furukawa, Keizo; Yamaguchi, Akira; Shindo, Hiroyuki; Yamashita, Shunichi; Tsukazaki, Tomoo

2003-08-01

The paired-like homeoprotein, Cart1, is involved in skeletal development. We describe here that the general coactivator p300/CBP controls the transcription activity of Cart1 through acetylation of a lysine residue that is highly conserved in other homeoproteins. Acetylation of this residue increases the interaction between p300/CBP and Cart1 and enhances its transcriptional activation. Cart1 encodes a paired-like homeoprotein expressed selectively in chondrocyte lineage during embryonic development. Although its target gene remains unknown, gene disruption studies have revealed that Cart1 plays an important role for craniofacial bone formation as well as limb development by cooperating with another homeoprotein, Alx4. In this report, we study the functional involvement of p300/CBP, coactivators with intrinsic histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity, in the transcriptional control of Cart1. To study the transcription activity of Cart1, a reporter construct containing a putative Cart1 binding site was transiently transfected with the expression vectors of each protein. The interaction between p300/CBP and Cart1 was investigated by glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down, yeast two-hybrid, and immunoprecipitation assays. In vitro acetylation assay was performed with the recombinant p300-HAT domain and Cart1 in the presence of acetyl-CoA. p300 and CBP stimulate Cart1-dependent transcription activity, and this transactivation is inhibited by E1A and Tax, oncoproteins that suppress the activity of p300/CBP. Cart1 binds to p300 in vivo and in vitro, and this requires the homeodomain of Cart 1 and N-terminal 139 amino acids of p300. Confocal microscopy analysis shows that Cart1 recruits overexpressed and endogenous p300 to a Cart1-specific subnuclear compartment. Cart1 is acetylated in vivo and sodium butyrate and trichostatin A, histone deacetylase inhibitors, markedly enhance the transcription activity of Cart1. Deletion and mutagenesis analysis identifies the 131st

A large-area gamma-ray imaging telescope system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koch, D. G.

1983-01-01

The concept definition of using the External Tank (ET) of the Space Shuttle as the basis for constructing a large area gamma ray imaging telescope in space is detailed. The telescope will be used to locate and study cosmic sources of gamma rays of energy greater than 100 MeV. Both the telescope properties and the means whereby an ET is used for this purpose are described. A parallel is drawn between those systems that would be common to both a Space Station and this ET application. In addition, those systems necessary for support of the telescope can form the basis for using the ET as part of the Space Station. The major conclusions of this concept definition are that the ET is ideal for making into a gamma ray telescope, and that this telescope will provide a substantial increase in collecting area.

Cocaine-and-Amphetamine-Regulated-Transcript (CART) peptide attenuates dopamine- and cocaine-mediated locomotor activity in both male and female rats: lack of sex differences

PubMed Central

Job, Martin O.; Perry, JoAnna; Shen, Li L.; Kuhar, Michael J.

2014-01-01

Cocaine-and-Amphetamine Regulated Transcript peptide (CART peptide) is known for having an inhibitory effect on dopamine (DA)- and cocaine-mediated actions and is postulated to be a homeostatic, regulatory factor in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Some sex differences in cocaine-mediated LMA and in the expression and function of CART peptide have been reported. However, it is not known if the inhibitory effect of CART peptide on cocaine-mediated locomotor activity (LMA) is sexually dimorphic. In this study, the effect of CART 55-102 on LMA due to intra-NAc DA and i.p. cocaine were determined in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. The results show that CART 55-102 blunted or reduced both the DA- and cocaine-induced LMA in both males and females. In conclusion, CART peptide is effective in blunting DA- and cocaine-mediated LMA in both males and females. PMID:24630272

Using CART to Identify Thresholds and Hierarchies in the Determinants of Funding Decisions.

PubMed

Schilling, Chris; Mortimer, Duncan; Dalziel, Kim

2017-02-01

There is much interest in understanding decision-making processes that determine funding outcomes for health interventions. We use classification and regression trees (CART) to identify cost-effectiveness thresholds and hierarchies in the determinants of funding decisions. The hierarchical structure of CART is suited to analyzing complex conditional and nonlinear relationships. Our analysis uncovered hierarchies where interventions were grouped according to their type and objective. Cost-effectiveness thresholds varied markedly depending on which group the intervention belonged to: lifestyle-type interventions with a prevention objective had an incremental cost-effectiveness threshold of $2356, suggesting that such interventions need to be close to cost saving or dominant to be funded. For lifestyle-type interventions with a treatment objective, the threshold was much higher at $37,024. Lower down the tree, intervention attributes such as the level of patient contribution and the eligibility for government reimbursement influenced the likelihood of funding within groups of similar interventions. Comparison between our CART models and previously published results demonstrated concurrence with standard regression techniques while providing additional insights regarding the role of the funding environment and the structure of decision-maker preferences.

Dendritic cell immunotherapy followed by cART interruption during HIV-1 infection induces plasma protein markers of cellular immunity and neutrophil recruitment.

PubMed

van den Ham, Henk-Jan; Cooper, Jason D; Tomasik, Jakub; Bahn, Sabine; Aerts, Joeri L; Osterhaus, Albert D M E; Gruters, Rob A; Andeweg, Arno C

2018-01-01

To characterize the host response to dendritic cell-based immunotherapy and subsequent combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) interruption in HIV-1-infected individuals at the plasma protein level. An autologous dendritic cell (DC) therapeutic vaccine was administered to HIV-infected individuals, stable on cART. The effect of vaccination was evaluated at the plasma protein level during the period preceding cART interruption, during analytical therapy interruption and at viral reactivation. Healthy controls and post-exposure prophylactically treated healthy individuals were included as controls. Plasma marker ('analyte') levels including cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and hormones were measured in trial participants and control plasma samples using a multiplex immunoassay. Analyte levels were analysed using principle component analysis, cluster analysis and limma. Blood neutrophil counts were analysed using linear regression. Plasma analyte levels of HIV-infected individuals are markedly different from those of healthy controls and HIV-negative individuals receiving post-exposure prophylaxis. Viral reactivation following cART interruption also affects multiple analytes, but cART interruption itself only has only a minor effect. We find that Thyroxine-Binding Globulin (TBG) levels and late-stage neutrophil numbers correlate with the time off cART after DC vaccination. Furthermore, analysis shows that cART alters several regulators of blood glucose levels, including C-peptide, chromogranin-A and leptin. HIV reactivation is associated with the upregulation of CXCR3 ligands. Chronic HIV infection leads to a change in multiple plasma analyte levels, as does virus reactivation after cART interruption. Furthermore, we find evidence for the involvement of TBG and neutrophils in the response to DC-vaccination in the setting of HIV-infection.

Dendritic cell immunotherapy followed by cART interruption during HIV-1 infection induces plasma protein markers of cellular immunity and neutrophil recruitment

PubMed Central

Cooper, Jason D.; Tomasik, Jakub; Bahn, Sabine; Aerts, Joeri L.; Osterhaus, Albert D. M. E.; Gruters, Rob A.; Andeweg, Arno C.

2018-01-01

Objectives To characterize the host response to dendritic cell-based immunotherapy and subsequent combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) interruption in HIV-1-infected individuals at the plasma protein level. Design An autologous dendritic cell (DC) therapeutic vaccine was administered to HIV-infected individuals, stable on cART. The effect of vaccination was evaluated at the plasma protein level during the period preceding cART interruption, during analytical therapy interruption and at viral reactivation. Healthy controls and post-exposure prophylactically treated healthy individuals were included as controls. Methods Plasma marker (‘analyte’) levels including cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and hormones were measured in trial participants and control plasma samples using a multiplex immunoassay. Analyte levels were analysed using principle component analysis, cluster analysis and limma. Blood neutrophil counts were analysed using linear regression. Results Plasma analyte levels of HIV-infected individuals are markedly different from those of healthy controls and HIV-negative individuals receiving post-exposure prophylaxis. Viral reactivation following cART interruption also affects multiple analytes, but cART interruption itself only has only a minor effect. We find that Thyroxine-Binding Globulin (TBG) levels and late-stage neutrophil numbers correlate with the time off cART after DC vaccination. Furthermore, analysis shows that cART alters several regulators of blood glucose levels, including C-peptide, chromogranin-A and leptin. HIV reactivation is associated with the upregulation of CXCR3 ligands. Conclusions Chronic HIV infection leads to a change in multiple plasma analyte levels, as does virus reactivation after cART interruption. Furthermore, we find evidence for the involvement of TBG and neutrophils in the response to DC-vaccination in the setting of HIV-infection. PMID:29389978

Evaluation of 3D Gamma index calculation implemented in two commercial dosimetry systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Aitang; Arumugam, Sankar; Deshpande, Shrikant; George, Armia; Vial, Philip; Holloway, Lois; Goozee, Gary

2015-01-01

3D Gamma index is one of the metrics which have been widely used for clinical routine patient specific quality assurance for IMRT, Tomotherapy and VMAT. The algorithms for calculating the 3D Gamma index using global and local methods implemented in two software tools: PTW- VeriSoft® as a part of OCTIVIUS 4D dosimeter systems and 3DVHTM from Sun Nuclear were assessed. The Gamma index calculated by the two systems was compared with manual calculated for one data set. The Gamma pass rate calculated by the two systems was compared using 3%/3mm, 2%/2mm, 3%/2mm and 2%/3mm for two additional data sets. The Gamma indexes calculated by the two systems were accurate, but Gamma pass rates calculated by the two software tools for same data set with the same dose threshold were different due to the different interpolation of raw dose data by the two systems and different implementation of Gamma index calculation and other modules in the two software tools. The mean difference was -1.3%±3.38 (1SD) with a maximum difference of 11.7%.

Application of CART3D to Complex Propulsion-Airframe Integration with Vehicle Sketch Pad

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hahn, Andrew S.

2012-01-01

Vehicle Sketch Pad (VSP) is an easy-to-use modeler used to generate aircraft geometries for use in conceptual design and analysis. It has been used in the past to generate metageometries for aerodynamic analyses ranging from handbook methods to Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics (CFD). As desirable as it is to bring high order analyses, such as CFD, into the conceptual design process, this has been difficult and time consuming in practice due to the manual nature of both surface and volume grid generation. Over the last couple of years, VSP has had a major upgrade of its surface triangulation and export capability. This has enhanced its ability to work with Cart3D, an inviscid, three dimensional fluid flow toolset. The combination of VSP and Cart3D allows performing inviscid CFD on complex geometries with relatively high productivity. This paper will illustrate the use of VSP with Cart3D through an example case of a complex propulsion-airframe integration (PAI) of an over-wing nacelle (OWN) airliner configuration.

Rolling-refresher simulation improves performance and retention of paediatric intensive care unit nurse code cart management.

PubMed

Singleton, Marcy N; Allen, Kimberly F; Li, Zhongze; McNerney, Kevin; Naber, Urs H; Braga, Matthew S

2018-04-01

Paediatric Intensive Care Unit Nurses (PICU RNs) manage the code cart during paediatric emergencies at the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. These are low -frequency, high-stakes events. An uncontrolled intervention study with 6-month follow-up. A collaboration of physician and nursing experts developed a rolling-refresher training programme consisting of five simulated scenarios, including 22 code cart skills, to establish nursing code cart competency. The cohort of PICU RNs underwent a competency assessment in training 1. To achieve competence, the participating RN received immediate feedback and instruction and repeated each task until mastery during training 1. The competencies were repeated 6 months later, designated training 2. Thirty-two RNs participated in training 1. Sixteen RNs (50%) completed the second training. Our rolling-refresher training programme resulted in a 43% reduction in the odds of first attempt failures between training 1 and training 2 (p=0.01). Multivariate linear regression evaluating the difference in first attempt failure between training 1 and training 2 revealed that the following covariates were not significantly associated with this improvement: interval Paediatric Advanced Life Support training, interval use of the code cart or defibrillator (either real or simulated) and time between training sessions. Univariate analysis between the two trainings revealed a statistically significant reduction in first attempt failures for: preparing an epinephrine infusion (72% vs 41%, p=0.04) and providing bag-mask ventilation (28% vs 0%, p=0.02). Our rolling-refresher training programme demonstrated significant improvement in performance for low-frequency, high-risk skills required to manage a paediatric code cart with retention after initial training.

Psychometric properties of the Belgian coach version of the coach-athlete relationship questionnaire (CART-Q).

PubMed

Balduck, A-L; Jowett, S

2010-10-01

The study examined the psychometric properties of the Belgian coach version of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q). The questionnaire includes three dimensions (Closeness, Commitment, and Complementarity) in a model that intends to measure the quality of the coach-athlete relationship. Belgian coaches (n=144) of athletes who performed at various competition levels in such sports as football, basketball, and volleyball responded to the CART-Q and to the Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS). A confirmatory factor analysis proved to be slightly more satisfactory for a three-order factor model, compared with a hierarchical first-order factor model. The three factors showed acceptable internal consistency scores. Moreover, functional associations between the three factors and coach leadership behaviors were found offering support to the instrument's concurrent validity. The findings support previous validation studies and verify the psychometric properties of the CART-Q applied to Belgian coaches of team sports. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

An application of CART algorithm in genetics: IGFs and cGH polymorphisms in Japanese quail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaplan, Selçuk

2017-04-01

The avian insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGFs) and avian growth hormone (cGH) genes are the most important genes that can affect bird performance traits because of its important function in growth and metabolism. Understanding the molecular genetic basis of variation in growth-related traits is of importance for continued improvement and increased rates of genetic gain. The objective of the present study was to identify polymorphisms of cGH and IGFs genes in Japanese quail using conventional least square method (LSM) and CART algorithm. Therefore, this study was aimed to demonstrate at determining the polymorphisms of two genes related growth characteristics via CART algorithm. A simulated data set was generated to analyze by adhering the results of some poultry genetic studies which it includes live weights at 5 weeks of age, 3 alleles and 6 genotypes of cGH and 2 alleles and 3 genotypes of IGFs. As a result, it has been determined that the CART algorithm has some advantages as for that LSM.

Experimental study of the vidicon system for information recording using the wide-gap spark chamber of gamma - telescope gamma-I

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Akimov, V. V.; Bazer-Bashv, R.; Voronov, S. A.; Galper, A. M.; Gro, M.; Kalinkin, L. F.; Kerl, P.; Kozlov, V. D.; Koten, F.; Kretol, D.

1979-01-01

The development of the gamma ray telescope is investigated. The wide gap spark chambers, used to identify the gamma quanta and to determine the directions of their arrival, are examined. Two systems of information recording with the spark chambers photographic and vidicon system are compared.

Olfactory system gamma oscillations: the physiological dissection of a cognitive neural system

PubMed Central

Rojas-Líbano, Daniel

2008-01-01

Oscillatory phenomena have been a focus of dynamical systems research since the time of the classical studies on the pendulum by Galileo. Fast cortical oscillations also have a long and storied history in neurophysiology, and olfactory oscillations have led the way with a depth of explanation not present in the literature of most other cortical systems. From the earliest studies of odor-evoked oscillations by Adrian, many reports have focused on mechanisms and functional associations of these oscillations, in particular for the so-called gamma oscillations. As a result, much information is now available regarding the biophysical mechanisms that underlie the oscillations in the mammalian olfactory system. Recent studies have expanded on these and addressed functionality directly in mammals and in the analogous insect system. Sub-bands within the rodent gamma oscillatory band associated with specific behavioral and cognitive states have also been identified. All this makes oscillatory neuronal networks a unique interdisciplinary platform from which to study neurocognitive and dynamical phenomena in intact, freely behaving animals. We present here a summary of what has been learned about the functional role and mechanisms of gamma oscillations in the olfactory system as a guide for similar studies in other cortical systems. PMID:19003484

CAR-T cells targeting CLL-1 as an approach to treat acute myeloid leukemia.

PubMed

Wang, Jinghua; Chen, Siyu; Xiao, Wei; Li, Wende; Wang, Liang; Yang, Shuo; Wang, Weida; Xu, Liping; Liao, Shuangye; Liu, Wenjian; Wang, Yang; Liu, Nawei; Zhang, Jianeng; Xia, Xiaojun; Kang, Tiebang; Chen, Gong; Cai, Xiuyu; Yang, Han; Zhang, Xing; Lu, Yue; Zhou, Penghui

2018-01-10

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common types of adult acute leukemia. Standard chemotherapies can induce complete remission in selected patients; however, a majority of patients eventually relapse and succumb to the disease. Thus, the development of novel therapeutics for AML is urgently needed. Human C-type lectin-like molecule-1 (CLL-1) is a type II transmembrane glycoprotein, and its expression is restricted to myeloid cells and the majority of AML blasts. Moreover, CLL-1 is expressed in leukemia stem cells (LSCs), but absent in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which may provide a potential therapeutic target for AML treatment. We tested the expression of CLL-1 antigen on peripheral blood cells and bone marrow cells in healthy donor and AML patients. Then, we developed a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) containing a CLL1-specific single-chain variable fragment, in combination with CD28, 4-1BB costimulatory domains, and CD3-ζ signaling domain. We further investigate the function of CLL-1 CAR-T cells. The CLL-1 CAR-T cells specifically lysed CLL-1 + cell lines as well as primary AML patient samples in vitro. Strong anti-leukemic activity was observed in vivo by using a xenograft model of disseminated AML. Importantly, CLL-1 + myeloid progenitor cells and mature myeloid cells were specifically eliminated by CLL-1 CAR-T cells, while normal HSCs were not targeted due to the lack of CLL-1 expression. CLL-1 CAR-T represents a promising immunotherapy for the treatment of AML.

Using CART to segment road images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Bob; Lienhart, Rainer

2006-01-01

The 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge is a 132 mile race through the desert with autonomous robotic vehicles. Lasers mounted on the car roof provide a map of the road up to 20 meters ahead of the car but the car needs to see further in order to go fast enough to win the race. Computer vision can extend that map of the road ahead but desert road is notoriously similar to the surrounding desert. The CART algorithm (Classification and Regression Trees) provided a machine learning boost to find road while at the same time measuring when that road could not be distinguished from surrounding desert.

CD19 targeted CAR-T therapy versus chemotherapy in re-induction treatment of refractory/relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results of a case-controlled study.

PubMed

Wei, Guoqing; Hu, Yongxian; Pu, Chengfei; Yu, Jian; Luo, Yi; Shi, Jimin; Cui, Qu; Wu, Wenjun; Wang, Jinping; Xiao, Lei; Wu, Zhao; Huang, He

2018-05-01

Chimeric antigen receptor modified T cells against CD19 (CART19s) have potent anti-leukemia activities in patients with refractory/relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R ALL). This study was designed to investigate the correlation between safety/efficacy and therapeutic modalities including chemotherapy and CART19 therapy. Total 23 and 69 patients were enrolled in the CART19 group and in the chemotherapy group, respectively. The safety and efficacy profiles of 66 and 22 patients in the 2 groups were evaluated. The complete remission (CR) rate was higher in the CART19 group than that in the chemotherapy group (90.9 vs 37.9%, P = 0.000). For patients relapsed after allo-HSCT and chemotherapy, CR rates were 100% (8/8) vs 48.0% (12/25) (P = 0.009) and 85.7% (12/14) vs 31.7% (13/41) (P = 0.000), respectively. Moreover, a higher percentage in the CART19 group had results below the threshold for minimal residual disease (100 vs 7.58%, P = 0.000). In survival analysis, the overall survival rate at 12 months was higher in the CART19 group than that in the chemotherapy group (60.9 vs 10.1%, P = 0.000). For post-transplant patients achieving CR, 25.0% (2/8) and 75.0% (9/12) complicated with GVHD (P = 0.04) in the CART19 group and chemotherapy group, respectively. For all CR patients, the median duration of absolute neutrophil count less than 500/μL and platelet count less than 20,000/μL were longer in the CART19 group than in the chemotherapy group (p = 0.0047 and 0.0003, respectively). Our data demonstrated that patients with CART19s therapy acquired higher rates of remission and longer survival, confirming the encouraging application of CART19 therapy in R/R ALL.

32 CFR 636.29 - Go-carts, minibikes, and all terrain vehicles (ATV's).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS) Fort Stewart, Georgia § 636.29 Go-carts, minibikes, and all terrain vehicles (ATV's... applicable Georgia State Law and Fort Stewart traffic laws and regulations contained in this part. (b) “Go...

Engineers test STS-37 CETA electrical hand pedal cart in JSC MAIL Bldg 9A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

McDonnell Douglas engineers Noland Talley (left) and Gary Peters (center) and ILC-Dover engineer Richard Richard Smallcombe prepare test setup for the evaluation of the crew and equipment translation aid (CETA) electrical hand pedal cart in JSC's Mockup and Integration Laboratory (MAIL) Bldg 9A. Peters, wearing extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) boots and positioned in portable foot restraint (PFR), is suspended above CETA cart and track via harness to simulate weightlessness. CETA will be tested in orbit in the payload bay of Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, during STS-37.

Development of gamma-photon/Cerenkov-light hybrid system for simultaneous imaging of I-131 radionuclide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Seiichi; Suzuki, Mayumi; Kato, Katsuhiko; Watabe, Tadashi; Ikeda, Hayato; Kanai, Yasukazu; Ogata, Yoshimune; Hatazawa, Jun

2016-09-01

Although iodine 131 (I-131) is used for radionuclide therapy, high resolution images are difficult to obtain with conventional gamma cameras because of the high energy of I-131 gamma photons (364 keV). Cerenkov-light imaging is a possible method for beta emitting radionuclides, and I-131 (606 MeV maximum beta energy) is a candidate to obtain high resolution images. We developed a high energy gamma camera system for I-131 radionuclide and combined it with a Cerenkov-light imaging system to form a gamma-photon/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system to compare the simultaneously measured images of these two modalities. The high energy gamma imaging detector used 0.85-mm×0.85-mm×10-mm thick GAGG scintillator pixels arranged in a 44×44 matrix with a 0.1-mm thick reflector and optical coupled to a Hamamatsu 2 in. square position sensitive photomultiplier tube (PSPMT: H12700 MOD). The gamma imaging detector was encased in a 2 cm thick tungsten shield, and a pinhole collimator was mounted on its top to form a gamma camera system. The Cerenkov-light imaging system was made of a high sensitivity cooled CCD camera. The Cerenkov-light imaging system was combined with the gamma camera using optical mirrors to image the same area of the subject. With this configuration, we simultaneously imaged the gamma photons and the Cerenkov-light from I-131 in the subjects. The spatial resolution and sensitivity of the gamma camera system for I-131 were respectively 3 mm FWHM and 10 cps/MBq for the high sensitivity collimator at 10 cm from the collimator surface. The spatial resolution of the Cerenkov-light imaging system was 0.64 mm FWHM at 10 cm from the system surface. Thyroid phantom and rat images were successfully obtained with the developed gamma-photon/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system, allowing direct comparison of these two modalities. Our developed gamma-photon/Cerenkov-light hybrid imaging system will be useful to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these two

A Nocturnal Boundary Layer Simulation over the ARM-CART Site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werth, D.; Leclerc, M.; Duarte, H.; Fischer, M.; Kurzeja, R.; Parker, M.

2008-12-01

The nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) is characterized by strong inversions and weak turbulent motions. It is during this time that low-level jets (LLJs) often form as the winds aloft reach speeds approaching 15-25m/s at levels below 1000m. During the daytime, turbulent mixing quickly damps such organized motion, but at night the surface cooling establishes an inversion which reduces turbulence and allows jets to form uninhibited. A field project over the ARM-CART site during a period of several nights in September, 2007 was conducted to explore the jet evolution. Data was collected from a tower and analyzed for turbulent behavior. With data limited to a single location, however, the full range of NBL behavior is difficult to determine. The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) is therefore used to simulate the ARM-CART NBL field experiment and validated against the data collected from the site. This model was run at high resolution, and is ideal for calculating the interactions among the various motions within the boundary layer and their influence on the surface. The model can provide information throughout the NBL - with a larger domain, a simulation of the NBL can provide information over a large range of locations and heights. In particular, we are interested in the way that the simulated NBL eddies are affected by their height and proximity to the LLJ, and how this compares to the tower results. The eddy sizes that exist in the model are limited by its grid spacing, but a series of smaller, finer nests allow us to study eddy motion at the relevant scales for short periods.

Theoretical study of the NO gamma system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langhoff, Stephen R.; Bauschlicher, Charles W., Jr.; Partridge, Harry

1988-01-01

A systematic study of the NO gamma system with level of correlation treatment was carried out using large Gaussian basis sets to determine the potential curves for the X2Pi and A2Sigma(+) states of NO. It is shown that the A2Sigma-X2Pi electronic transition moment (gamma system) increases monotonically with decreasing internuclear distance and that the increase in the moment as r decreases is correlated with the increasing degree of diffuse character in the X2Pi state. The results of a study of the X2Pi and A2Sigma(+) dipole moment functions showed that the X2Pi vibrationally averaged dipole moments and the (1-0) and (2-0) vibration-rotation band intensities agree well with experimental data.

Differential expression of CART in ewes with differing ovulation rates.

PubMed

Juengel, Jennifer L; French, Michelle C; Quirke, Laurel D; Kauff, Alexia; Smith, George W; Johnstone, Peter D

2017-04-01

We hypothesised that cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript ( CARTPT ) would be differentially expressed in ewes with differing ovulation rates. Expression of mRNA for CARTPT , as well as LHCGR , FSHR , CYP19A1 and CYP17A1 was determined in antral follicles ≥1 mm in diameter collected during the follicular phase in ewes heterozygous for the Booroola and Inverdale genes (I+B+; average ovulation rate 4) and ++ contemporaries (++; average ovulation rate 1.8). In ++ ewes ( n  = 6), CARTPT was expressed in small follicles (1 to <3 mm diameter), where 18.8 ± 2.5% follicles expressed CARTPT CART peptide was also detected in follicular fluid of some follicles of ++ ewes. In I+B+ ewes, 5/6 ewes did not have any follicles that expressed CARTPT , and no CART peptide was detected in any follicle examined. Expression pattern of CYP19A1 differed between I+B+ and ++ ewes with an increased percentage of small and medium follicles (3 to <4.5 mm diameter) but decreased percentage of large follicles (≥4.5 mm diameter) expressing CYP19A1 in the I+B+ ewes. Many of the large follicles from the I+B+ ewes appeared non-functional and expression of LHCGR , FSHR , CYP17A1 and CYP19A1 was less than that observed in ++ ewes. Expression of FSHR and CYP17A1 was not different between groups in small and medium follicles, but LHCGR expression was approximately double in I+B+ ewes compared to that in ++ ewes. Thus, ewes with high ovulation rates had a distinct pattern of expression of CARTPT mRNA and protein compared to ewes with normal ovulation rates, providing evidence for CART being important in the regulation of ovulation rate. © 2017 Society for Reproduction and Fertility.

A Modified Laptop Program: Putting the Carts in the Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, Michael M.; Ross, Steven M.; Wan, Weiping; Potter, Allison; Wilson, Yola

2004-01-01

Four fifth grade classrooms embarked on a modified ubiquitous computing initiative in Fall 2003. Two 15-computer wireless laptop carts were shared among the four classrooms in an effort to integrate technology across the curriculum and affect change in student learning and teacher pedagogy. This initiative?in contrast to other 1:1 programs and…

A La Carts: You Want Wireless Mobility? Have a COW

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villano, Matt

2006-01-01

Computers on wheels, or COWs, combine the wireless technology of today with the audio/visual carts of yesteryear for an entirely new spin on mobility. Increasingly used by districts with laptop computing initiatives, COWs are among the hottest high-tech sellers in schools today, according to market research firm Quality Education Data. In this…

CD4+ cell count recovery in naïve patients initiating cART, who achieved and maintained plasma HIV-RNA suppression.

PubMed

Costagliola, Dominique; Lacombe, Jean-Marc; Ghosn, Jade; Delaugerre, Constance; Pialoux, Gilles; Cuzin, Lise; Launay, Odile; Ménard, Amélie; de Truchis, Pierre; Mary-Krause, Murielle; Weiss, Laurence; Delfraissy, Jean-François

2014-01-01

A key objective of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) is to reach and maintain high CD4 cell counts to provide long-term protection against AIDS-defining opportunistic infections and malignancies, as well as other comorbidities. However, a high proportion of patients present late for care. Our objective was to assess CD4 cell count recovery up to seven years in naïve patients initiating cART with at least three drugs in usual clinical care. From the French Hospital Database on HIV, we selected naïve individuals initiating cART from 2000 with at least two years of follow-up. Participants were further required to have achieved viral load suppression by six months after initiating cART and were censored in case of virological failure. We calculated the proportion of patients (Kaplan-Meier estimates) who achieved CD4 recovery to >500/mm(3) according to baseline CD4 cell count. A total of 15,025 patients were analyzed with a median follow-up on ART of 65.5 months (IQR: 42.3-96.0). At cART initiation, the median age was 38.6 years (IQR: 32.2-46.0), 9734 (64.8%) were men, median CD4 cell count was 239 (IQR: 130-336) and 2668 (17.8%) had a prior AIDS event. RESULTS are presented in the Table 1. This study shows that CD4 cell counts continue to increase seven years after cART initiation, whatever the baseline CD4 cell count. Failing to achieve CD4 recovery with continuous viral load suppression is rare for naïve patients initiating cART in routine clinical practice, but takes substantially longer in patients who initiate antiretroviral therapy at low CD4 cell counts.

Study of gamma detection capabilities of the REWARD mobile spectroscopic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balbuena, J. P.; Baptista, M.; Barros, S.; Dambacher, M.; Disch, C.; Fiederle, M.; Kuehn, S.; Parzefall, U.

2017-07-01

REWARD is a novel mobile spectroscopic radiation detector system for Homeland Security applications. The system integrates gamma and neutron detection equipped with wireless communication. A comprehensive simulation study on its gamma detection capabilities in different radioactive scenarios is presented in this work. The gamma detection unit consists of a precise energy resolution system based on two stacked (Cd,Zn)Te sensors working in coincidence sum mode. The volume of each of these CZT sensors is 1 cm3. The investigated energy windows used to determine the detection capabilities of the detector correspond to the gamma emissions from 137Cs and 60Co radioactive sources (662 keV and 1173/1333 keV respectively). Monte Carlo and Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) simulations are combined to determine its sensing capabilities for different radiation sources and estimate the limits of detection of the sensing unit as a function of source activity for several shielding materials.

ROBOCAL: An automated NDA (nondestructive analysis) calorimetry and gamma isotopic system

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

Hurd, J.R.; Powell, W.D.; Ostenak, C.A.

1989-11-01

ROBOCAL, which is presently being developed and tested at Los Alamos National Laboratory, is a full-scale, prototype robotic system for remote calorimetric and gamma-ray analysis of special nuclear materials. It integrates a fully automated, multidrawer, vertical stacker-retriever system for staging unmeasured nuclear materials, and a fully automated gantry robot for computer-based selection and transfer of nuclear materials to calorimetric and gamma-ray measurement stations. Since ROBOCAL is designed for minimal operator intervention, a completely programmed user interface is provided to interact with the automated mechanical and assay systems. The assay system is designed to completely integrate calorimetric and gamma-ray data acquisitionmore » and to perform state-of-the-art analyses on both homogeneous and heterogeneous distributions of nuclear materials in a wide variety of matrices.« less

The Ontogeny and Brain Distribution Dynamics of the Appetite Regulators NPY, CART and pOX in Larval Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua L.).

PubMed

Le, Hoang T M D; Angotzi, Anna Rita; Ebbesson, Lars O E; Karlsen, Ørjan; Rønnestad, Ivar

2016-01-01

Similar to many marine teleost species, Atlantic cod undergo remarkable physiological changes during the early life stages with concurrent and profound changes in feeding biology and ecology. In contrast to the digestive system, very little is known about the ontogeny and the localization of the centers that control appetite and feed ingestion in the developing brain of fish. We examined the expression patterns of three appetite regulating factors (orexigenic: neuropeptide Y, NPY; prepro-orexin, pOX and anorexigenic: cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript, CART) in discrete brain regions of developing Atlantic cod using chromogenic and double fluorescent in situ hybridization. Differential temporal and spatial expression patterns for each appetite regulator were found from first feeding (4 days post hatch; dph) to juvenile stage (76 dph). Neurons expressing NPY mRNA were detected in the telencephalon (highest expression), diencephalon, and optic tectum from 4 dph onward. CART mRNA expression had a wider distribution along the anterior-posterior brain axis, including both telencephalon and diencephalon from 4 dph. From 46 dph, CART transcripts were also detected in the olfactory bulb, region of the nucleus of medial longitudinal fascicle, optic tectum and midbrain tegmentum. At 4 and 20 dph, pOX mRNA expression was exclusively found in the preoptic region, but extended to the hypothalamus at 46 and 76 dph. Co-expression of both CART and pOX genes were also observed in several hypothalamic neurons throughout larval development. Our results show that both orexigenic and anorexigenic factors are present in the telencephalon, diencephalon and mesencephalon in cod larvae. The telencephalon mostly contains key factors of hunger control (NPY), while the diencephalon, and particularly the hypothalamus may have a more complex role in modulating the multifunctional control of appetite in this species. As the larvae develop, the overall progression in temporal and

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Simulation Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fegan, Stephen; Buckley, J. H.; Bugaev, S.; Funk, S.; Konopelko, A.; Maier, G.; Vassiliev, V. V.; Simulation Studies Working Group; AGIS Collaboration

2008-03-01

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation instrument in ground-based very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. It has the goal of achieving significant improvement in sensitivity over current experiments. We present the results of simulation studies of various possible designs for AGIS. The primary characteristics of the array performance, collecting area, angular resolution, background rejection, and sensitivity are discussed.

Immunological quality and performance of tumor vessel-targeting CAR-T cells prepared by mRNA-EP for clinical research

PubMed Central

Inoo, Kanako; Inagaki, Ryo; Fujiwara, Kento; Sasawatari, Shigemi; Kamigaki, Takashi; Nakagawa, Shinsaku; Okada, Naoki

2016-01-01

We previously reported that tumor vessel-redirected T cells, which were genetically engineered with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) specific for vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2), demonstrated significant antitumor effects in various murine solid tumor models. In the present study, we prepared anti-VEGFR2 CAR-T cells by CAR-coding mRNA electroporation (mRNA-EP) and analyzed their immunological characteristics and functions for use in clinical research. The expression of anti-VEGFR2 CAR on murine and human T cells was detected with approximately 100% efficiency for a few days, after peaking 6–12 hours after mRNA-EP. Triple transfer of murine anti-VEGFR2 CAR-T cells into B16BL6 tumor-bearing mice demonstrated an antitumor effect comparable to that for the single transfer of CAR-T cells engineered with retroviral vector. The mRNA-EP did not cause any damage or defects to human T-cell characteristics, as determined by viability, growth, and phenotypic parameters. Additionally, two kinds of human anti-VEGFR2 CAR-T cells, which expressed different CAR construction, differentiated to effector phase with cytokine secretion and cytotoxic activity in antigen-specific manner. These results indicate that our anti-VEGFR2 CAR-T cells prepared by mRNA-EP have the potential in terms of quality and performance to offer the prospect of safety and efficacy in clinical research as cellular medicine. PMID:27909701

Therapeutic potential of CAR-T cell-derived exosomes: a cell-free modality for targeted cancer therapy.

PubMed

Tang, Xiang-Jun; Sun, Xu-Yong; Huang, Kuan-Ming; Zhang, Li; Yang, Zhuo-Shun; Zou, Dan-Dan; Wang, Bin; Warnock, Garth L; Dai, Long-Jun; Luo, Jie

2015-12-29

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based T-cell adoptive immunotherapy is a distinctively promising therapy for cancer. The engineering of CARs into T cells provides T cells with tumor-targeting capabilities and intensifies their cytotoxic activity through stimulated cell expansion and enhanced cytokine production. As a novel and potent therapeutic modality, there exists some uncontrollable processes which are the potential sources of adverse events. As an extension of this impactful modality, CAR-T cell-derived exosomes may substitute CAR-T cells to act as ultimate attackers, thereby overcoming some limitations. Exosomes retain most characteristics of parent cells and play an essential role in intercellular communications via transmitting their cargo to recipient cells. The application of CAR-T cell-derived exosomes will make this cell-based therapy more clinically controllable as it also provides a cell-free platform to diversify anticancer mediators, which responds effectively to the complexity and volatility of cancer. It is believed that the appropriate application of both cellular and exosomal platforms will make this effective treatment more practicable.

Gamma Band Activity in the Reticular Activating System

PubMed Central

Urbano, Francisco J.; Kezunovic, Nebojsa; Hyde, James; Simon, Christen; Beck, Paige; Garcia-Rill, Edgar

2012-01-01

This review considers recent evidence showing that cells in three regions of the reticular activating system (RAS) exhibit gamma band activity, and describes the mechanisms behind such manifestation. Specifically, we discuss how cells in the mesopontine pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), intralaminar parafascicular nucleus (Pf), and pontine subcoeruleus nucleus dorsalis (SubCD) all fire in the beta/gamma band range when maximally activated, but no higher. The mechanisms behind this ceiling effect have been recently elucidated. We describe recent findings showing that every cell in the PPN have high-threshold, voltage-dependent P/Q-type calcium channels that are essential, while N-type calcium channels are permissive, to gamma band activity. Every cell in the Pf also showed that P/Q-type and N-type calcium channels are responsible for this activity. On the other hand, every SubCD cell exhibited sodium-dependent subthreshold oscillations. A novel mechanism for sleep–wake control based on well-known transmitter interactions, electrical coupling, and gamma band activity is described. The data presented here on inherent gamma band activity demonstrates the global nature of sleep–wake oscillation that is orchestrated by brainstem–thalamic mechanism, and questions the undue importance given to the hypothalamus for regulation of sleep–wakefulness. The discovery of gamma band activity in the RAS follows recent reports of such activity in other subcortical regions like the hippocampus and cerebellum. We hypothesize that, rather than participating in the temporal binding of sensory events as seen in the cortex, gamma band activity manifested in the RAS may help stabilize coherence related to arousal, providing a stable activation state during waking and paradoxical sleep. Most of our thoughts and actions are driven by pre-conscious processes. We speculate that continuous sensory input will induce gamma band activity in the RAS that could participate in the processes of

Classification and regression tree (CART) analyses of genomic signatures reveal sets of tetramers that discriminate temperature optima of archaea and bacteria

PubMed Central

Dyer, Betsey D.; Kahn, Michael J.; LeBlanc, Mark D.

2008-01-01

Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was applied to genome-wide tetranucleotide frequencies (genomic signatures) of 195 archaea and bacteria. Although genomic signatures have typically been used to classify evolutionary divergence, in this study, convergent evolution was the focus. Temperature optima for most of the organisms examined could be distinguished by CART analyses of tetranucleotide frequencies. This suggests that pervasive (nonlinear) qualities of genomes may reflect certain environmental conditions (such as temperature) in which those genomes evolved. The predominant use of GAGA and AGGA as the discriminating tetramers in CART models suggests that purine-loading and codon biases of thermophiles may explain some of the results. PMID:19054742

Development of polarization-controlled multi-pass Thomson scattering system in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror

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

Yoshikawa, M.; Morimoto, M.; Shima, Y.

2012-10-15

In the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror, the typical electron density is comparable to that of the peripheral plasma of torus-type fusion devices. Therefore, an effective method to increase Thomson scattering (TS) signals is required in order to improve signal quality. In GAMMA 10, the yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG)-TS system comprises a laser, incident optics, light collection optics, signal detection electronics, and a data recording system. We have been developing a multi-pass TS method for a polarization-based system based on the GAMMA 10 YAG TS. To evaluate the effectiveness of the polarization-based configuration, the multi-pass system was installed in the GAMMA 10 YAG-TSmore » system, which is capable of double-pass scattering. We carried out a Rayleigh scattering experiment and applied this double-pass scattering system to the GAMMA 10 plasma. The integrated scattering signal was made about twice as large by the double-pass system.« less

Shopper marketing nutrition interventions: Social norms on grocery carts increase produce spending without increasing shopper budgets.

PubMed

Payne, Collin R; Niculescu, Mihai; Just, David R; Kelly, Michael P

2015-01-01

We assessed the efficacy of an easy-to-implement shopper marketing nutrition intervention in a pilot and two additional studies to increase produce demand without decreasing store profitability or increasing shopper budgets. We created grocery cart placards that detailed the number of produce items purchased (i.e., descriptive norm) at particular stores (i.e., provincial norm). The effect of these placards on produce spending was assessed across 971,706 individual person grocery store transactions aggregated by day. The pilot study designated a baseline period (in both control and intervention store) followed by installation of grocery cart placards (in the intervention store) for two weeks. The pilot study was conducted in Texas in 2012. In two additional stores, we designated baseline periods followed by 28 days of the same grocery cart placard intervention as in the pilot. Additional interventions were conducted in New Mexico in 2013. The pilot study resulted in a significant difference between average produce spending per day per person across treatment periods (i.e., intervention versus same time period in control) (16%) and the difference between average produce spending per day per person across stores in the control periods (4%); Furthermore, the same intervention in two additional stores resulted in significant produce spending increases of 12.4% and 7.5% per day per person respectively. In all stores, total spending did not change. Descriptive and provincial social norm messages (i.e., on grocery cart placards) may be an overlooked tool to increase produce demand without decreasing store profitability and increasing shopper budgets.

Shopper marketing nutrition interventions: Social norms on grocery carts increase produce spending without increasing shopper budgets☆

PubMed Central

Payne, Collin R.; Niculescu, Mihai; Just, David R.; Kelly, Michael P.

2015-01-01

Objectives We assessed the efficacy of an easy-to-implement shopper marketing nutrition intervention in a pilot and two additional studies to increase produce demand without decreasing store profitability or increasing shopper budgets. Methods We created grocery cart placards that detailed the number of produce items purchased (i.e., descriptive norm) at particular stores (i.e., provincial norm). The effect of these placards on produce spending was assessed across 971,706 individual person grocery store transactions aggregated by day. The pilot study designated a baseline period (in both control and intervention store) followed by installation of grocery cart placards (in the intervention store) for two weeks. The pilot study was conducted in Texas in 2012. In two additional stores, we designated baseline periods followed by 28 days of the same grocery cart placard intervention as in the pilot. Additional interventions were conducted in New Mexico in 2013. Results The pilot study resulted in a significant difference between average produce spending per day per person across treatment periods (i.e., intervention versus same time period in control) (16%) and the difference between average produce spending per day per person across stores in the control periods (4%); Furthermore, the same intervention in two additional stores resulted in significant produce spending increases of 12.4% and 7.5% per day per person respectively. In all stores, total spending did not change. Conclusions Descriptive and provincial social norm messages (i.e., on grocery cart placards) may be an overlooked tool to increase produce demand without decreasing store profitability and increasing shopper budgets. PMID:26844084

Impact of Portion-Size Control for School a la Carte Items: Changes in Kilocalories and Macronutrients Purchased by Middle School Students

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We assessed the impact of a pilot middle school a la carte intervention on food and beverage purchases, kilocalories, fat, carbohydrate, and protein sold per student, and nutrient density of the foods sold. A la carte sales were obtained from six middle schools in three states for 1 baseline week an...

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Cordoba Carte du Ciel-Astrographic Catalog, CCAC (Orellana+, 2010)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orellana, R. B.; de Biasi, M. S.; Bustos Fierro, I. H.; Calderon, J. H.

2010-07-01

This is Cordoba Carte du Ciel-Astrographic Catalog (CCAC) constructed from four Carte du Ciel and one Astrographic Catalog photographic plates for first epoch positions in the region of the open cluster Collinder 132. The plates were digitized using the MAMA measuring machine from the Paris Observatory. Stars from Tycho-2 catalogue (Hog et al., 2000, Cat. I/259) were used as reference stars. Every plate was reduced independently from the others adopting a first order polynomial in the measured coordinates. Proper motions were calculated using the CCAC positions as first epoch, and as second epoch the positions given by UCAC2 (Zacharias et al., 2004, Cat. I/289) and USNO-B1.0 (Monet et al., 2003, Cat. I/284). (2 data files).

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007257 (23 March 2009) --- Astronaut Richard Arnold, STS-119 mission specialist, participates in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Joseph Acaba (out of frame), mission specialist, helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007323 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (right) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007259 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (left) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007237 (23 March 2009) --- Astronaut Richard Arnold, STS-119 mission specialist, participates in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Joseph Acaba (out of frame), mission specialist, helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007302 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (left) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007243 (23 March 2009) --- Astronaut Richard Arnold, STS-119 mission specialist, participates in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Joseph Acaba (out of frame), mission specialist, helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007312 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (bottom) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007270 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (bottom) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007274 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (bottom) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007332 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (right) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007266 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (bottom) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007311 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (bottom) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007298 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (left) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

STS-119 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) 3 Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart 2 Relocate OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

S119-E-007278 (23 March 2009) --- Astronauts Richard Arnold (right) and Joseph Acaba, both STS-119 mission specialists, participate in the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk, Arnold and Acaba helped robotic arm operators relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment, installed a new coupler on the CETA cart, lubricated snares on the "B" end of the space station's robotic arm and performed a few "get ahead" tasks.

Method and System for Gamma-Ray Localization Induced Spacecraft Navigation Using Celestial Gamma-Ray Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hisamoto, Chuck (Inventor); Arzoumanian, Zaven (Inventor); Sheikh, Suneel I. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A method and system for spacecraft navigation using distant celestial gamma-ray bursts which offer detectable, bright, high-energy events that provide well-defined characteristics conducive to accurate time-alignment among spatially separated spacecraft. Utilizing assemblages of photons from distant gamma-ray bursts, relative range between two spacecraft can be accurately computed along the direction to each burst's source based upon the difference in arrival time of the burst emission at each spacecraft's location. Correlation methods used to time-align the high-energy burst profiles are provided. The spacecraft navigation may be carried out autonomously or in a central control mode of operation.

Indoor space 3D visual reconstruction using mobile cart with laser scanner and cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gashongore, Prince Dukundane; Kawasue, Kikuhito; Yoshida, Kumiko; Aoki, Ryota

2017-02-01

Indoor space 3D visual reconstruction has many applications and, once done accurately, it enables people to conduct different indoor activities in an efficient manner. For example, an effective and efficient emergency rescue response can be accomplished in a fire disaster situation by using 3D visual information of a destroyed building. Therefore, an accurate Indoor Space 3D visual reconstruction system which can be operated in any given environment without GPS has been developed using a Human-Operated mobile cart equipped with a laser scanner, CCD camera, omnidirectional camera and a computer. By using the system, accurate indoor 3D Visual Data is reconstructed automatically. The obtained 3D data can be used for rescue operations, guiding blind or partially sighted persons and so forth.

Liver macrophage-associated inflammation correlates with SIV burden and is substantially reduced following cART

PubMed Central

Green, Richard R.; Brown, Rachel R.; Wood, Matthew P.; Hensley-McBain, Tiffany; Chang, Jean; Miller, Andrew D.; Lifson, Jeffrey D.; Mavigner, Maud; Gale, Michael; Silvestri, Guido; Chahroudi, Ann; Klatt, Nichole R.

2018-01-01

Liver disease is a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality during HIV infection, despite the use of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). The precise mechanisms of liver disease during HIV infection are poorly understood partially due to the difficulty in obtaining human liver samples as well as the presence of confounding factors (e.g. hepatitis co-infection, alcohol use). Utilizing the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) macaque model, a controlled study was conducted to evaluate the factors associated with liver inflammation and the impact of cART. We observed an increase in hepatic macrophages during untreated SIV infection that was associated with a number of inflammatory and fibrosis mediators (TNFα, CCL3, TGFβ). Moreover, an upregulation in the macrophage chemoattractant factor CCL2 was detected in the livers of SIV-infected macaques that coincided with an increase in the number of activated CD16+ monocyte/macrophages and T cells expressing the cognate receptor CCR2. Expression of Mac387 on monocyte/macrophages further indicated that these cells recently migrated to the liver. The hepatic macrophage and T cell levels strongly correlated with liver SIV DNA levels, and were not associated with the levels of 16S bacterial DNA. Utilizing in situ hybridization, SIV-infected cells were found primarily within portal triads, and were identified as T cells. Microarray analysis identified a strong antiviral transcriptomic signature in the liver during SIV infection. In contrast, macaques treated with cART exhibited lower levels of liver macrophages and had a substantial, but not complete, reduction in their inflammatory profile. In addition, residual SIV DNA and bacteria 16S DNA were detected in the livers during cART, implicating the liver as a site on-going immune activation during antiretroviral therapy. These findings provide mechanistic insights regarding how SIV infection promotes liver inflammation through macrophage recruitment, with implications

Minimum Detectable Activity for Tomographic Gamma Scanning System

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

Venkataraman, Ram; Smith, Susan; Kirkpatrick, J. M.

2015-01-01

For any radiation measurement system, it is useful to explore and establish the detection limits and a minimum detectable activity (MDA) for the radionuclides of interest, even if the system is to be used at far higher values. The MDA serves as an important figure of merit, and often a system is optimized and configured so that it can meet the MDA requirements of a measurement campaign. The non-destructive assay (NDA) systems based on gamma ray analysis are no exception and well established conventions, such the Currie method, exist for estimating the detection limits and the MDA. However, the Tomographicmore » Gamma Scanning (TGS) technique poses some challenges for the estimation of detection limits and MDAs. The TGS combines high resolution gamma ray spectrometry (HRGS) with low spatial resolution image reconstruction techniques. In non-imaging gamma ray based NDA techniques measured counts in a full energy peak can be used to estimate the activity of a radionuclide, independently of other counting trials. However, in the case of the TGS each “view” is a full spectral grab (each a counting trial), and each scan consists of 150 spectral grabs in the transmission and emission scans per vertical layer of the item. The set of views in a complete scan are then used to solve for the radionuclide activities on a voxel by voxel basis, over 16 layers of a 10x10 voxel grid. Thus, the raw count data are not independent trials any more, but rather constitute input to a matrix solution for the emission image values at the various locations inside the item volume used in the reconstruction. So, the validity of the methods used to estimate MDA for an imaging technique such as TGS warrant a close scrutiny, because the pair-counting concept of Currie is not directly applicable. One can also raise questions as to whether the TGS, along with other image reconstruction techniques which heavily intertwine data, is a suitable method if one expects to measure samples whose

Carte du Ciel, San Fernando zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abad, C.

2014-06-01

An updated summary of a future large astrometric catalogue is presented, based on the two most important astrometric projects carried out by the Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada de San Fernando (ROA). The goal is to make a catalogue of positions and proper motions based on ROA's Cart du Ciel (CdC) and the Astrographic Catalogue (AC) San Fernando zone plates, and the HAMC2 meridian circle catalogue. The CdC and AC plates are being reduced together to provide first-epoch positions while HAMC2 will provide second-epoch ones. New techniques have been applied, that range from using a commercial flatbed scanner to the proper reduction schemes to avoid systematics from it. Only thirty plates (out of 540) remain to be processed, due to scanning problems that are being solved.

The Ontogeny and Brain Distribution Dynamics of the Appetite Regulators NPY, CART and pOX in Larval Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua L.)

PubMed Central

Le, Hoang T. M. D.; Angotzi, Anna Rita; Ebbesson, Lars O. E.; Karlsen, Ørjan

2016-01-01

Similar to many marine teleost species, Atlantic cod undergo remarkable physiological changes during the early life stages with concurrent and profound changes in feeding biology and ecology. In contrast to the digestive system, very little is known about the ontogeny and the localization of the centers that control appetite and feed ingestion in the developing brain of fish. We examined the expression patterns of three appetite regulating factors (orexigenic: neuropeptide Y, NPY; prepro-orexin, pOX and anorexigenic: cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript, CART) in discrete brain regions of developing Atlantic cod using chromogenic and double fluorescent in situ hybridization. Differential temporal and spatial expression patterns for each appetite regulator were found from first feeding (4 days post hatch; dph) to juvenile stage (76 dph). Neurons expressing NPY mRNA were detected in the telencephalon (highest expression), diencephalon, and optic tectum from 4 dph onward. CART mRNA expression had a wider distribution along the anterior-posterior brain axis, including both telencephalon and diencephalon from 4 dph. From 46 dph, CART transcripts were also detected in the olfactory bulb, region of the nucleus of medial longitudinal fascicle, optic tectum and midbrain tegmentum. At 4 and 20 dph, pOX mRNA expression was exclusively found in the preoptic region, but extended to the hypothalamus at 46 and 76 dph. Co-expression of both CART and pOX genes were also observed in several hypothalamic neurons throughout larval development. Our results show that both orexigenic and anorexigenic factors are present in the telencephalon, diencephalon and mesencephalon in cod larvae. The telencephalon mostly contains key factors of hunger control (NPY), while the diencephalon, and particularly the hypothalamus may have a more complex role in modulating the multifunctional control of appetite in this species. As the larvae develop, the overall progression in temporal and

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS)-Simulation Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maier, G.; Buckley, J.; Bugaev, V.; Fegan, S.; Funk, S.; Konopelko, A.; Vassiliev, V. V.

2008-12-01

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a US-led concept for a next-generation instrument in ground-based very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. The most important design requirement for AGIS is a sensitivity of about 10 times greater than current observatories like Veritas, H.E.S.S or MAGIC. We present results of simulation studies of various possible designs for AGIS. The primary characteristics of the array performance, collecting area, angular resolution, background rejection, and sensitivity are discussed.

Performance analysis of OOK-based FSO systems in Gamma-Gamma turbulence with imprecise channel models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Jianfeng; Zhao, Xiaohui

2017-11-01

For an FSO communication system with imprecise channel model, we investigate its system performance based on outage probability, average BEP and ergodic capacity. The exact FSO links are modeled as Gamma-Gamma fading channel in consideration of both atmospheric turbulence and pointing errors, and the imprecise channel model is treated as the superposition of exact channel gain and a Gaussian random variable. After we derive the PDF, CDF and nth moment of the imprecise channel gain, and based on these statistics the expressions for the outage probability, the average BEP and the ergodic capacity in terms of the Meijer's G functions are obtained. Both numerical and analytical results are presented. The simulation results show that the communication performance deteriorates in the imprecise channel model, and approaches to the exact performance curves as the channel model becomes accurate.

Energy behavior of an electromechanical system with internal impacts and uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lima, Roberta; Sampaio, Rubens

2016-07-01

This paper analyzes the maximal energy stored in an elastic barrier due to the impacts of a pendulum fitted within a vibro-impact electromechanical system considering the existence of epistemic uncertainties in the system parameters. The vibro-impact electromechanical system is composed of two subsystems. The first subsystem is the electromechanical system composed by a motor, cart and pendulum, and the second is an elastic barrier. The first will be called striker system. The pendulum is fitted within the cart. Its suspension point is fixed in the cart, so that it may exist a relative motion between cart and pendulum. The influence of the DC motor in the dynamic behavior of the pendulum is considered. The coupling between the motor and the cart is made by a scotch yoke mechanism, so that the motor rotational motion is transformed in horizontal cart motion over a rail. The pendulum is modeled as a mathematical pendulum (bar without mass and particle of mass mp at the end). A flexible barrier, placed inside the cart, constrains the pendulum motion. Due to the relative motion between the cart and the pendulum, impacts may occur between these two elements. The objective of the paper is to analyze the energy stored in the barrier due to impacts as a function of some parameters of the electromechanical system from a deterministic and from a stochastic viewpoint. The system is designed as an aid in drilling. The impacts damage or fracture the rock and facilitate the conventional drilling.

The Effects of Direction of Exertion, Path, and Load Placement in Nursing Cart Pushing and Pulling Tasks: An Electromyographical Study.

PubMed

Kao, Huei Chu; Lin, Chiuhsiang Joe; Lee, Yung Hui; Chen, Su Huang

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of direction of exertion (DOE) (pushing, pulling), path (walking in a straight line, turning left, walking uphill), and load placement (LP) (the 18 blocks were indicated by X, Y and Z axis; there were 3 levels on the X axis, 2 levels on the Y axis, and 3 levels on the Z axis) on muscle activity and ratings of perceived exertion in nursing cart pushing and pulling tasks. Ten participants who were female students and not experienced nurses were recruited to participate in the experiment. Each participant performed 108 experimental trials in the study, consisting of 2 directions of exertion (push and pull), 3 paths, and 18 load placements (indicated by X, Y and Z axes). A 23kg load was placed into one load placement. The dependent variables were electromyographic (EMG) data of four muscles collected bilaterally as follows: Left (L) and right (R) trapezius (TR), flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), extensor digitorum (ED), and erector spinae (ES) and subjective ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Split-split-plot ANOVA was conducted to analyze significant differences between DOE, path, and LP in the EMG and RPE data. Pulling cart tasks produced a significantly higher activation of the muscles (RTR:54.4%, LTR:50.3%, LFDS:57.0%, LED:63.4%, RES:40.7%, LES:36.7%) than pushing cart tasks (RTR:42.4%, LTR:35.1%, LFDS:32.3%, LED:55.1%, RES:33.3%, LES:32.1%). A significantly greater perceived exertion was found in pulling cart tasks than pushing cart tasks. Significantly higher activation of all muscles and perceived exertion were observed for walking uphill than walking in a straight line and turning left. Significantly lower muscle activity of all muscles and subject ratings were observed for the central position on the X axis, the bottom position on the Y axis, and the posterior position on the Z axis. These findings suggest that nursing staff should adopt forward pushing when moving a nursing cart, instead of backward

The Effects of Direction of Exertion, Path, and Load Placement in Nursing Cart Pushing and Pulling Tasks: An Electromyographical Study

PubMed Central

Kao, Huei Chu; Lin, Chiuhsiang Joe; Lee, Yung Hui; Chen, Su Huang

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of direction of exertion (DOE) (pushing, pulling), path (walking in a straight line, turning left, walking uphill), and load placement (LP) (the 18 blocks were indicated by X, Y and Z axis; there were 3 levels on the X axis, 2 levels on the Y axis, and 3 levels on the Z axis) on muscle activity and ratings of perceived exertion in nursing cart pushing and pulling tasks. Ten participants who were female students and not experienced nurses were recruited to participate in the experiment. Each participant performed 108 experimental trials in the study, consisting of 2 directions of exertion (push and pull), 3 paths, and 18 load placements (indicated by X, Y and Z axes). A 23kg load was placed into one load placement. The dependent variables were electromyographic (EMG) data of four muscles collected bilaterally as follows: Left (L) and right (R) trapezius (TR), flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), extensor digitorum (ED), and erector spinae (ES) and subjective ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Split-split-plot ANOVA was conducted to analyze significant differences between DOE, path, and LP in the EMG and RPE data. Pulling cart tasks produced a significantly higher activation of the muscles (RTR:54.4%, LTR:50.3%, LFDS:57.0%, LED:63.4%, RES:40.7%, LES:36.7%) than pushing cart tasks (RTR:42.4%, LTR:35.1%, LFDS:32.3%, LED:55.1%, RES:33.3%, LES:32.1%). A significantly greater perceived exertion was found in pulling cart tasks than pushing cart tasks. Significantly higher activation of all muscles and perceived exertion were observed for walking uphill than walking in a straight line and turning left. Significantly lower muscle activity of all muscles and subject ratings were observed for the central position on the X axis, the bottom position on the Y axis, and the posterior position on the Z axis. These findings suggest that nursing staff should adopt forward pushing when moving a nursing cart, instead of backward

An analytical biomarker for treatment of patients with recurrent B-ALL after remission induced by infusion of anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells.

PubMed

Zhang, Yajing; Zhang, Wenying; Dai, Hanren; Wang, Yao; Shi, Fengxia; Wang, Chunmeng; Guo, Yelei; Liu, Yang; Chen, Meixia; Feng, Kaichao; Zhang, Yan; Liu, Chuanjie; Yang, Qingming; Li, Suxia; Han, Weidong

2016-04-01

Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor-modified T (CAR-T-19) cells have emerged as a powerful targeted immunotherapy for B-cell lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia with a remarkable clinical response in recent trials. Nonetheless, few data are available on the subsequent clinical monitoring and treatment of the patients, especially those with disease recurrence after CAR-T-19 cell infusion. Here, we analyzed three patients who survived after our phase I clinical trial and who were studied by means of biomarkers reflecting persistence of CAR-T-19 cells in vivo and predictive factors directing further treatment. One patient achieved 9-week sustained complete remission and subsequently received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Another patient who showed relapse after 20 weeks without detectable leukemia in the cerebrospinal fluid after CAR-T-19 cell treatment was able to achieve a morphological remission under the influence of stand-alone low-dose chemotherapeutic agents. The third patient gradually developed extensive extramedullary involvement in tissues with scarce immune- cell infiltration during a long period of hematopoietic remission after CAR-T-19 cell therapy. Long-term and discontinuous increases in serum cytokines (mainly interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein) were identified in two patients (Nos. 1 and 6) even though only a low copy number of CAR molecules could be detected in their peripheral blood. This finding was suggestive of persistent functional activity of CAR-T-19 cells. Combined analyses of laboratory biomarkers with their clinical manifestations before and after salvage treatment showed that the persistent immunosurveillance mediated by CAR-T-19 cells would inevitably potentiate the leukemia-killing effectiveness of subsequent chemotherapy in patients who showed relapse after CAR-T-19-induced remission.

Impact of early cART on HIV blood and semen compartments at the time of primary infection.

PubMed

Chéret, Antoine; Durier, Christine; Mélard, Adeline; Ploquin, Mickaël; Heitzmann, Julia; Lécuroux, Camille; Avettand-Fenoël, Véronique; David, Ludivine; Pialoux, Gilles; Chennebault, Jean-Marie; Müller-Trutwin, Michaela; Goujard, Cécile; Rouzioux, Christine; Meyer, Laurence

2017-01-01

HIV-infected cells in semen facilitate viral transmission. We studied the establishment of HIV reservoirs in semen and blood during PHI, along with systemic immune activation and the impact of early cART. Patients in the ANRS-147-OPTIPRIM trial received two years of early cART. Nineteen patients of the trial were analyzed, out of which 8 had acute PHI (WB ≤1 Ab). We quantified total cell-associated (ca) HIV-DNA in blood and semen and HIV-RNA in blood and semen plasma samples, collected during PHI and at 24 months of treatment. At enrollment, HIV-RNA load was higher in blood than in semen (median 5.66 vs 4.22 log10 cp/mL, p<0.0001). Semen HIV-RNA load correlated strongly with blood HIV-RNA load (r = 0.81, p = 0.02, the CD4 cell count (r = -0.98, p<0.0001), and the CD4/CD8 ratio (r = -0.85, p<0.01) in acute infection but not in later stages of PHI. Median blood and seminal cellular HIV-DNA levels were 3.59 and 0.31 log10cp/106 cells, respectively. HIV-DNA load peaked in semen later than in blood and then correlated with blood IP10 level (r = 0.62, p = 0.04). HIV-RNA was undetectable in blood and semen after two years of effective cART. Semen HIV-DNA load declined similarly, except in one patient who had persistently high IP-10 and IL-6 levels and used recreational drugs. HIV reservoir cells are found in semen during PHI, with gradual compartmentalization. Its size was linked to the plasma IP-10 level. Early treatment purges both the virus and infected cells, reducing the high risk of transmission during PHI. NCT01033760.

Extracellular NGFR Spacers Allow Efficient Tracking and Enrichment of Fully Functional CAR-T Cells Co-Expressing a Suicide Gene

PubMed Central

Casucci, Monica; Falcone, Laura; Camisa, Barbara; Norelli, Margherita; Porcellini, Simona; Stornaiuolo, Anna; Ciceri, Fabio; Traversari, Catia; Bordignon, Claudio; Bonini, Chiara; Bondanza, Attilio

2018-01-01

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell immunotherapy is at the forefront of innovative cancer therapeutics. However, lack of standardization of cellular products within the same clinical trial and lack of harmonization between different trials have hindered the clear identification of efficacy and safety determinants that should be unveiled in order to advance the field. With the aim of facilitating the isolation and in vivo tracking of CAR-T cells, we here propose the inclusion within the CAR molecule of a novel extracellular spacer based on the low-affinity nerve-growth-factor receptor (NGFR). We screened four different spacer designs using as target antigen the CD44 isoform variant 6 (CD44v6). We successfully generated NGFR-spaced CD44v6 CAR-T cells that could be efficiently enriched with clinical-grade immuno-magnetic beads without negative consequences on subsequent expansion, immuno-phenotype, in vitro antitumor reactivity, and conditional ablation when co-expressing a suicide gene. Most importantly, these cells could be tracked with anti-NGFR monoclonal antibodies in NSG mice, where they expanded, persisted, and exerted potent antitumor effects against both high leukemia and myeloma burdens. Similar results were obtained with NGFR-enriched CAR-T cells specific for CD19 or CEA, suggesting the universality of this strategy. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the incorporation of the NGFR marker gene within the CAR sequence allows for a single molecule to simultaneously work as a therapeutic and selection/tracking gene. Looking ahead, NGFR spacer enrichment might allow good manufacturing procedures-manufacturing of standardized CAR-T cell products with high therapeutic potential, which could be harmonized in different clinical trials and used in combination with a suicide gene for future application in the allogeneic setting. PMID:29619024

Nano drug delivery systems and gamma radiation sterilization.

PubMed

Sakar, F; Özer, A Y; Erdogan, S; Ekizoglu, M; Kart, D; Özalp, M; Colak, S; Zencir, Y

2017-09-01

In recent years, drug delivery systems such as liposomes and microparticles have been used in clinic for the treatment of different diseases and from a regulatory point of view, a parenterally applied drug and drug delivery systems must be sterile and pyrogen free. Radiation sterilization is a method recognized by pharmacopoeias to achieve sterility criteria of parenterals. It has the ability to kill microorganisms in therapeutic products. The ability of, however, irradiation might also affect the performance of drug delivery systems. One of the most critical points is irradiation dose, because certain undesirable chemical and physical changes may accompany with the irradiation, especially with the traditionally applied dose of 25 kGy. Its ionizing property may cause fragmentation of covalent bond. The care must be paid to the applied dose. In this research, the effects of gamma irradiation on different drug delivery systems such as chitosan microparticles, liposomes, niosomes and sphingosomes were investigated. According to the experimental data, it can be concluded that gamma irradiation can be a suitable sterilization technique for liposome, niosome and sphingosome dispersions. When all irradiated drug carrier systems were taken into consideration, chitosan glutamate microparticles were found as the most radioresistant drug delivery system among the others.

Human adaptive immune system Rag2-/-gamma(c)-/- mice.

PubMed

Chicha, Laurie; Tussiwand, Roxane; Traggiai, Elisabetta; Mazzucchelli, Luca; Bronz, Lucio; Piffaretti, Jean-Claude; Lanzavecchia, Antonio; Manz, Markus G

2005-06-01

Although many biologic principles are conserved in mice and humans, species-specific differences exist, for example, in susceptibility and response to pathogens, that often do not allow direct implementation of findings in experimental mice to humans. Research in humans, however, for ethical and practical reasons, is largely restricted to in vitro assays that lack components and the complexity of a living organism. To nevertheless study the human hematopoietic and immune system in vivo, xenotransplantation assays have been developed that substitute human components to small animals. Here, we summarize our recent findings that transplantation of human cord blood CD34(+) cells to newborn Rag2(-/-)gamma(c)(-/-) mice leads to de novo development of major functional components of the human adaptive immune system. These human adaptive immune system Rag2(-/-)gamma(c)(-/-) (huAIS-RG) mice can now be used as a technically straightforward preclinical model to evaluate in vivo human adaptive immune system development as well as immune responses, for example, to vaccines or live infectious pathogens.

System to quantify gamma-ray radial energy deposition in semiconductor detectors

DOEpatents

Kammeraad, Judith E.; Blair, Jerome J.

2001-01-01

A system for measuring gamma-ray radial energy deposition is provided for use in conjunction with a semiconductor detector. The detector comprises two electrodes and a detector material, and defines a plurality of zones within the detecting material in parallel with the two electrodes. The detector produces a charge signal E(t) when a gamma-ray interacts with the detector. Digitizing means are provided for converting the charge signal E(t) into a digitized signal. A computational means receives the digitized signal and calculates in which of the plurality of zones the gamma-ray deposited energy when interacting with the detector. The computational means produces an output indicating the amount of energy deposited by the gamma-ray in each of the plurality of zones.

Age, Sex & Nutritional Status Modify CD4+T-Cell Recovery Rate in HIV/Tuberculosis Co-infected Patients on cART

PubMed Central

Ezeamama, Amara E; Mupere, Ezekiel; Oloya, James; Martinez, Leonardo; Kakaire, Robert; Yin, Xiaoping; Sekandi, Juliet N; Whalen, Christopher C

2015-01-01

Background We examined baseline age and combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) as determinants of CD4+T-cell recovery during six months of tuberculosis (TB) therapy with/without cART. We determined whether this association was modified by patient sex and nutritional status. Methods This longitudinal analysis included 208 immune-competent, non-pregnant, ART-naive HIV-positive patients from Uganda with a first episode of pulmonary TB. CD4+T-cell count was measured using flow cytometry. Age was defined as ≤24, 25–29, 30–34, 35–39 vs. ≥ 40 years. Nutritional status was defined as normal (>18.5kg/m2) vs. underweight (≤18.5kg/m2) using body mass index (BMI). Multivariate random-effects linear mixed models were fitted to estimate differences in CD4+T-cell recovery in relation to specified determinants. Results cART was associated with a monthly rise of 15.7 cells/μL (p<0.001). Overall, age was not associated with CD4+T-cell recovery during TB therapy (p=0.655). However, among patients on cART, age-associated CD4+T-cell recovery rate varied by sex and nutritional status such that age <40 vs. ≥ 40 years predicted superior absolute CD4+T-cell recovery among females (p=0.006) and among patients with BMI≥18.5kg/m2 (p<0.001). Conclusions TB infected HIV-positive patients ≥ 40 years have a slower rate of immune restoration given cART-particularly if BMI>18.5kg/m2 or female. They may benefit from increased monitoring and nutritional support during cART. PMID:25910854

Experiments to Determine Whether Recursive Partitioning (CART) or an Artificial Neural Network Overcomes Theoretical Limitations of Cox Proportional Hazards Regression

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kattan, Michael W.; Hess, Kenneth R.; Kattan, Michael W.

1998-01-01

New computationally intensive tools for medical survival analyses include recursive partitioning (also called CART) and artificial neural networks. A challenge that remains is to better understand the behavior of these techniques in effort to know when they will be effective tools. Theoretically they may overcome limitations of the traditional multivariable survival technique, the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Experiments were designed to test whether the new tools would, in practice, overcome these limitations. Two datasets in which theory suggests CART and the neural network should outperform the Cox model were selected. The first was a published leukemia dataset manipulated to have a strong interaction that CART should detect. The second was a published cirrhosis dataset with pronounced nonlinear effects that a neural network should fit. Repeated sampling of 50 training and testing subsets was applied to each technique. The concordance index C was calculated as a measure of predictive accuracy by each technique on the testing dataset. In the interaction dataset, CART outperformed Cox (P less than 0.05) with a C improvement of 0.1 (95% Cl, 0.08 to 0.12). In the nonlinear dataset, the neural network outperformed the Cox model (P less than 0.05), but by a very slight amount (0.015). As predicted by theory, CART and the neural network were able to overcome limitations of the Cox model. Experiments like these are important to increase our understanding of when one of these new techniques will outperform the standard Cox model. Further research is necessary to predict which technique will do best a priori and to assess the magnitude of superiority.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: V Garofalo Carting Cleans up New York With

Science.gov Websites

Natural Gas TrucksA> V Garofalo Carting Cleans up New York With Natural Gas Trucks to someone by up Long Island, New York, with compressed natural gas trucks. For information about this project and FuelEconomy.gov. Provided by Maryland Public Television Related Videos Photo of a car Hydrogen

21 CFR 862.1360 - Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and isoenzymes test system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Chemistry Test Systems § 862.1360 Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and isoenzymes test system. (a...

21 CFR 862.1360 - Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and isoenzymes test system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Chemistry Test Systems § 862.1360 Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and isoenzymes test system. (a...

Second Servings and a La Carte Sales to Elementary Children in the National School Lunch Program and Potential Implications for Childhood Obesity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilder, Amanda J.

2012-01-01

The sale of second servings and/or a la carte purchases made by elementary students participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) was investigated in this mixed methods case study. The percentage of elementary students in one school district who purchase second servings and/or a la carte items, in addition to the regularly purchased…

A system for the measurement of delayed neutrons and gammas from special nuclear materials

DOE PAGES

Andrews, M. T.; Corcoran, E. C.; Goorley, J. T.; ...

2014-11-27

The delayed neutron counting (DNC) system at the Royal Military College of Canada has been upgraded to accommodate concurrent delayed neutron and gamma measurements. This delayed neutron and gamma counting (DNGC) system uses a SLOWPOKE-2 reactor to irradiate fissile materials before their transfer to a counting arrangement consisting of six ³He and one HPGe detector. The application of this system is demonstrated in an example where delayed neutron and gamma emissions are used in complement to examine ²³³U content and determine fissile mass with an average relative error and accuracy of -2.2 and 1.5 %, respectively.

Beneficial Effects of cART Initiated during Primary and Chronic HIV-1 Infection on Immunoglobulin-Expression of Memory B-Cell Subsets.

PubMed

Pogliaghi, Manuela; Ripa, Marco; Pensieroso, Simone; Tolazzi, Monica; Chiappetta, Stefania; Nozza, Silvia; Lazzarin, Adriano; Tambussi, Giuseppe; Scarlatti, Gabriella

2015-01-01

During HIV-1 infection the B-cell compartment undergoes profound changes towards terminal differentiation, which are only partially restored by antiretroviral therapy (cART). To investigate the impact of infection as early as during primary HIV-1 infection (PHI) we assessed distribution of B-cell subsets in 19 PHI and 25 chronic HIV-1-infected (CHI) individuals before and during 48 weeks of cART as compared to healthy controls (n = 23). We also analysed Immunoglobulin-expression of memory B-cell subsets to identify alterations in Immunoglobulin-maturation. Determination of B-cell subsets at baseline showed that total and Naive B-cells were decreased whereas Activated Memory (AM), Tissue-like Memory (TLM) B-cells and Plasma cells were increased in both PHI and CHI patients. After 4 weeks of cART total B-cells increased, while AM, TLM B-cells and Plasma cells decreased, although without reaching normal levels in either group of individuals. This trend was maintained until week 48, though only total B-cells normalized in both PHI and CHI. Resting Memory (RM) B-cells were preserved since baseline. This subset remained stable in CHI, while was expanded by an early initiation of cART during PHI. Untreated CHI patients showed IgM-overexpression at the expenses of switched (IgM-IgD-) phenotypes of the memory subsets. Interestingly, in PHI patients a significant alteration of Immunoglobulin-expression was evident at BL in TLM cells, and after 4 weeks, despite treatment, in AM and RM subsets. After 48 weeks of therapy, Immunoglobulin-expression of AM and RM almost normalized, but remained perturbed in TLM cells in both groups. In conclusion, aberrant activated and exhausted B-cell phenotypes rose already during PHI, while most of the alterations in Ig-expression seen in CHI appeared later, despite 4 weeks of effective cART. After 48 weeks of cART B-cell subsets distribution improved although without full normalization, while Immunoglobulin-expression normalized among AM and

A simultaneous beta and coincidence-gamma imaging system for plant leaves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranjbar, Homayoon; Wen, Jie; Mathews, Aswin J.; Komarov, Sergey; Wang, Qiang; Li, Ke; O'Sullivan, Joseph A.; Tai, Yuan-Chuan

2016-05-01

Positron emitting isotopes, such as 11C, 13N, and 18F, can be used to label molecules. The tracers, such as 11CO2, are delivered to plants to study their biological processes, particularly metabolism and photosynthesis, which may contribute to the development of plants that have a higher yield of crops and biomass. Measurements and resulting images from PET scanners are not quantitative in young plant structures or in plant leaves due to poor positron annihilation in thin objects. To address this problem we have designed, assembled, modeled, and tested a nuclear imaging system (simultaneous beta-gamma imager). The imager can simultaneously detect positrons ({β+} ) and coincidence-gamma rays (γ). The imaging system employs two planar detectors; one is a regular gamma detector which has a LYSO crystal array, and the other is a phoswich detector which has an additional BC-404 plastic scintillator for beta detection. A forward model for positrons is proposed along with a joint image reconstruction formulation to utilize the beta and coincidence-gamma measurements for estimating radioactivity distribution in plant leaves. The joint reconstruction algorithm first reconstructs beta and gamma images independently to estimate the thickness component of the beta forward model and afterward jointly estimates the radioactivity distribution in the object. We have validated the physics model and reconstruction framework through a phantom imaging study and imaging a tomato leaf that has absorbed 11CO2. The results demonstrate that the simultaneously acquired beta and coincidence-gamma data, combined with our proposed joint reconstruction algorithm, improved the quantitative accuracy of estimating radioactivity distribution in thin objects such as leaves. We used the structural similarity (SSIM) index for comparing the leaf images from the simultaneous beta-gamma imager with the ground truth image. The jointly reconstructed images yield SSIM indices of 0.69 and 0.63, whereas the

A simultaneous beta and coincidence-gamma imaging system for plant leaves.

PubMed

Ranjbar, Homayoon; Wen, Jie; Mathews, Aswin J; Komarov, Sergey; Wang, Qiang; Li, Ke; O'Sullivan, Joseph A; Tai, Yuan-Chuan

2016-05-07

Positron emitting isotopes, such as (11)C, (13)N, and (18)F, can be used to label molecules. The tracers, such as (11)CO2, are delivered to plants to study their biological processes, particularly metabolism and photosynthesis, which may contribute to the development of plants that have a higher yield of crops and biomass. Measurements and resulting images from PET scanners are not quantitative in young plant structures or in plant leaves due to poor positron annihilation in thin objects. To address this problem we have designed, assembled, modeled, and tested a nuclear imaging system (simultaneous beta-gamma imager). The imager can simultaneously detect positrons ([Formula: see text]) and coincidence-gamma rays (γ). The imaging system employs two planar detectors; one is a regular gamma detector which has a LYSO crystal array, and the other is a phoswich detector which has an additional BC-404 plastic scintillator for beta detection. A forward model for positrons is proposed along with a joint image reconstruction formulation to utilize the beta and coincidence-gamma measurements for estimating radioactivity distribution in plant leaves. The joint reconstruction algorithm first reconstructs beta and gamma images independently to estimate the thickness component of the beta forward model and afterward jointly estimates the radioactivity distribution in the object. We have validated the physics model and reconstruction framework through a phantom imaging study and imaging a tomato leaf that has absorbed (11)CO2. The results demonstrate that the simultaneously acquired beta and coincidence-gamma data, combined with our proposed joint reconstruction algorithm, improved the quantitative accuracy of estimating radioactivity distribution in thin objects such as leaves. We used the structural similarity (SSIM) index for comparing the leaf images from the simultaneous beta-gamma imager with the ground truth image. The jointly reconstructed images yield SSIM indices of 0

Anthelmintic Resistance of Strongyle Nematodes to Ivermectin and Fenbendazole on Cart Horses in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia.

PubMed

Seyoum, Zewdu; Zewdu, Alemu; Dagnachew, Shimelis; Bogale, Basazinew

2017-01-01

A study was conducted from November 2015 to April 2016 to determine fenbendazole and ivermectin resistance status of intestinal nematodes of cart horses in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia. Forty-five strongyle infected animals were used for this study. The animals were randomly allocated into three groups (15 horses per group). Group I was treated with fenbendazole and Group II with ivermectin and Group III was left untreated. Faecal samples were collected from each cart horse before and after treatment. Accordingly, the reduction in the mean fecal egg count at fourteen days of treatment for ivermectin and fenbendazole was 97.25% and 79.4%, respectively. It was significantly different in net egg count between treatment and control groups after treatment. From the study, resistance level was determined for fenbendazole and suspected for ivermectin. In addition, a questionnaire survey was also conducted on 90 selected cart owners to assess their perception on anthelmintics. In the survey, the most available drugs in the study area used by the owners were fenbendazole and ivermectin. Most respondents have no knowledge about drug management techniques. Hence, animal health extension services to create awareness regarding anthelmintic management that plays a key role in reducing the anthelmintic resistance parasites.

Anthelmintic Resistance of Strongyle Nematodes to Ivermectin and Fenbendazole on Cart Horses in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Zewdu, Alemu; Dagnachew, Shimelis; Bogale, Basazinew

2017-01-01

A study was conducted from November 2015 to April 2016 to determine fenbendazole and ivermectin resistance status of intestinal nematodes of cart horses in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia. Forty-five strongyle infected animals were used for this study. The animals were randomly allocated into three groups (15 horses per group). Group I was treated with fenbendazole and Group II with ivermectin and Group III was left untreated. Faecal samples were collected from each cart horse before and after treatment. Accordingly, the reduction in the mean fecal egg count at fourteen days of treatment for ivermectin and fenbendazole was 97.25% and 79.4%, respectively. It was significantly different in net egg count between treatment and control groups after treatment. From the study, resistance level was determined for fenbendazole and suspected for ivermectin. In addition, a questionnaire survey was also conducted on 90 selected cart owners to assess their perception on anthelmintics. In the survey, the most available drugs in the study area used by the owners were fenbendazole and ivermectin. Most respondents have no knowledge about drug management techniques. Hence, animal health extension services to create awareness regarding anthelmintic management that plays a key role in reducing the anthelmintic resistance parasites. PMID:28265572

Growth kinetics of gamma-prime precipitates in a directionally solidified eutectic, gamma/gamma-prime-delta

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tewari, S. N.

1976-01-01

A directionally solidified eutectic alloy (DSEA), of those viewed as potential candidates for the next generation of aircraft gas turbine blade materials, is studied for the gamma-prime growth kinetics, in the system Ni-Nb-Cr-Al, specifically: Ni-20 w/o Nb-6 w/o Cr-2.5 w/o Al gamma/gamma-prime-delta DSEA. Heat treatment, polishing and etching, and preparation for electron micrography are described, and the size distribution of gamma-prime phase following various anneals is plotted, along with gamma-prime growth kinetics in this specific DSEA, and the cube of gamma-prime particle size vs anneal time. Activation energies and coarsening kinetics are studied.

REBOCOL (Robotic Calorimetry): An automated NDA (Nondestructive assay) calorimetry and gamma isotopic system

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

Hurd, J.R.; Bonner, C.A.; Ostenak, C.A.

1989-01-01

ROBOCAL, which is presently being developed and tested at Los Alamos National Laboratory, is a full-scale, prototypical robotic system, for remote calorimetric and gamma-ray analysis of special nuclear materials. It integrates a fully automated, multi-drawer, vertical stacker-retriever system for staging unmeasured nuclear materials, and a fully automated gantry robot for computer-based selection and transfer of nuclear materials to calorimetric and gamma-ray measurement stations. Since ROBOCAL is designed for minimal operator intervention, a completely programmed user interface and data-base system are provided to interact with the automated mechanical and assay systems. The assay system is designed to completely integrate calorimetric andmore » gamma-ray data acquisition and to perform state-of-the-art analyses on both homogeneous and heterogeneous distributions of nuclear materials in a wide variety of matrices. 10 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs.« less

An application in identifying high-risk populations in alternative tobacco product use utilizing logistic regression and CART: a heuristic comparison.

PubMed

Lei, Yang; Nollen, Nikki; Ahluwahlia, Jasjit S; Yu, Qing; Mayo, Matthew S

2015-04-09

Other forms of tobacco use are increasing in prevalence, yet most tobacco control efforts are aimed at cigarettes. In light of this, it is important to identify individuals who are using both cigarettes and alternative tobacco products (ATPs). Most previous studies have used regression models. We conducted a traditional logistic regression model and a classification and regression tree (CART) model to illustrate and discuss the added advantages of using CART in the setting of identifying high-risk subgroups of ATP users among cigarettes smokers. The data were collected from an online cross-sectional survey administered by Survey Sampling International between July 5, 2012 and August 15, 2012. Eligible participants self-identified as current smokers, African American, White, or Latino (of any race), were English-speaking, and were at least 25 years old. The study sample included 2,376 participants and was divided into independent training and validation samples for a hold out validation. Logistic regression and CART models were used to examine the important predictors of cigarettes + ATP users. The logistic regression model identified nine important factors: gender, age, race, nicotine dependence, buying cigarettes or borrowing, whether the price of cigarettes influences the brand purchased, whether the participants set limits on cigarettes per day, alcohol use scores, and discrimination frequencies. The C-index of the logistic regression model was 0.74, indicating good discriminatory capability. The model performed well in the validation cohort also with good discrimination (c-index = 0.73) and excellent calibration (R-square = 0.96 in the calibration regression). The parsimonious CART model identified gender, age, alcohol use score, race, and discrimination frequencies to be the most important factors. It also revealed interesting partial interactions. The c-index is 0.70 for the training sample and 0.69 for the validation sample. The misclassification

Resonance production in. gamma gamma. collisions

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

Renard, F.M.

1983-04-01

The processes ..gamma gamma.. ..-->.. hadrons can be depicted as follows. One photon creates a q anti q pair which starts to evolve; the other photon can either (A) make its own q anti q pair and the (q anti q q anti q) system continue to evolve or (B) interact with the quarks of the first pair and lead to a modified (q anti q) system in interaction with C = +1 quantum numbers. A review of the recent theoretical activity concerning resonance production and related problems is given under the following headings: hadronic C = +1 spectroscopy (qmore » anti q, qq anti q anti q, q anti q g, gg, ggg bound states and mixing effects); exclusive ..gamma gamma.. processes (generalities, unitarized Born method, VDM and QCD); total cross section (soft and hard contributions); q/sup 2/ dependence of soft processes (soft/hard separation, 1/sup +- +/ resonances); and polarization effects. (WHK)« less

NRF Based Nondestructive Inspection System for SNM by Using Laser-Compton-Backscattering Gamma-Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohgaki, H.; Omer, M.; Negm, H.; Daito, I.; Zen, H.; Kii, T.; Masuda, K.; Hori, T.; Hajima, R.; Hayakawa, T.; Shizuma, T.; Kando, M.

2015-10-01

A non-destructive inspection system for special nuclear materials (SNMs) hidden in a sea cargo has been developed. The system consists of a fast screening system using neutron generated by inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) device and an isotope identification system using nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) measurements with laser Compton backscattering (LCS) gamma-rays has been developed. The neutron flux of 108 n/sec has been achieved by the IEC in static mode. We have developed a modified neutron reactor noise analysis method to detect fission neutron in a short time. The LCS gamma-rays has been generated by using a small racetrack microtoron accelerator and an intense sub-nano second laser colliding head-on to the electron beam. The gamma-ray flux has been achieved more than 105 photons/s. The NRF gamma-rays will be measured using LaBr3(Ce) scintillation detector array whose performance has been measured by NRF experiment of U-235 in HIGS facility. The whole inspection system has been designed to satisfy a demand from the sea port.

Development of an all-in-one gamma camera/CCD system for safeguard verification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyun-Il; An, Su Jung; Chung, Yong Hyun; Kwak, Sung-Woo

2014-12-01

For the purpose of monitoring and verifying efforts at safeguarding radioactive materials in various fields, a new all-in-one gamma camera/charged coupled device (CCD) system was developed. This combined system consists of a gamma camera, which gathers energy and position information on gamma-ray sources, and a CCD camera, which identifies the specific location in a monitored area. Therefore, 2-D image information and quantitative information regarding gamma-ray sources can be obtained using fused images. A gamma camera consists of a diverging collimator, a 22 × 22 array CsI(Na) pixelated scintillation crystal with a pixel size of 2 × 2 × 6 mm3 and Hamamatsu H8500 position-sensitive photomultiplier tube (PSPMT). The Basler scA640-70gc CCD camera, which delivers 70 frames per second at video graphics array (VGA) resolution, was employed. Performance testing was performed using a Co-57 point source 30 cm from the detector. The measured spatial resolution and sensitivity were 4.77 mm full width at half maximum (FWHM) and 7.78 cps/MBq, respectively. The energy resolution was 18% at 122 keV. These results demonstrate that the combined system has considerable potential for radiation monitoring.

Cervical cancer survival prediction using hybrid of SMOTE, CART and smooth support vector machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purnami, S. W.; Khasanah, P. M.; Sumartini, S. H.; Chosuvivatwong, V.; Sriplung, H.

2016-04-01

According to the WHO, every two minutes there is one patient who died from cervical cancer. The high mortality rate is due to the lack of awareness of women for early detection. There are several factors that supposedly influence the survival of cervical cancer patients, including age, anemia status, stage, type of treatment, complications and secondary disease. This study wants to classify/predict cervical cancer survival based on those factors. Various classifications methods: classification and regression tree (CART), smooth support vector machine (SSVM), three order spline SSVM (TSSVM) were used. Since the data of cervical cancer are imbalanced, synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) is used for handling imbalanced dataset. Performances of these methods are evaluated using accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Results of this study show that balancing data using SMOTE as preprocessing can improve performance of classification. The SMOTE-SSVM method provided better result than SMOTE-TSSVM and SMOTE-CART.

Clinical pharmacology of CAR-T cells: Linking cellular pharmacodynamics to pharmacokinetics and antitumor effects.

PubMed

Norelli, M; Casucci, M; Bonini, C; Bondanza, A

2016-01-01

Adoptive cell transfer of T cells genetically modified with tumor-reactive chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) is a rapidly emerging field in oncology, which in preliminary clinical trials has already shown striking antitumor efficacy. Despite these premises, there are still a number of open issues related to CAR-T cells, spanning from their exact mechanism of action (pharmacodynamics), to the factors associated with their in vivo persistence (pharmacokinetics), and, finally, to the relative contribution of each of the two in determining the antitumor effects and accompanying toxicities. In light of the unprecedented curative potential of CAR-T cells and of their predicted wide availability in the next few years, in this review we will summarize the current knowledge on the clinical pharmacology aspects of what is anticipated to be a brand new class of biopharmaceuticals to join the therapeutic armamentarium of cancer doctors. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Influence of the Biosphere on Precipitation: July 1995 Studies with the ARM-CART Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sud, Y. C.; Mocko, D. M.; Walker, G. K.; Koster, Randal D.

2000-01-01

Ensemble sets of simulation experiments were conducted with a single column model (SCM) using the Goddard GEOS II GCM physics containing a recent version of the Cumulus Scheme (McRAS) and a biosphere based land-fluxes scheme (SSiB). The study used the 18 July to 5 August 1995 ARM-CART (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement-Cloud Atmospheric Radiation Test-bed) data, which was collected at the ARM-CART site in the mid-western United States and analyzed for single column modeling (SCM) studies. The new findings affirm the earlier findings that the vegetation, which increases the solar energy absorption at the surface together with soil and soil-moisture dependent processes, which modulate the surface, fluxes (particularly evapotranspiration) together help to increase the local rainfall. In addition, the results also show that for the particular study period roughly 50% of the increased evaporation over the ARM-CART site would be converted into rainfall with the Column, while the remainder would be advected out to the large-scale. Notwithstanding the limitations of only one-way interaction (i.e., the large-scale influencing the regional physics and not vice versa), the current SCM simulations show a very robust relationship. The evaporation-precipitation relationship turns out to be independent of the soil types, and soil moisture; however, it is weakly dependent on the vegetation cover because of its surface-albedo effect. Clearly, these inferences are prone to weaknesses of the SCM physics, the assumptions of the large-scale being unaffected by gridscale (SCM-scale) changes in moist processes, and other limitations of the evaluation procedures.

Plasma interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 concentrations in systemic meningococcal disease compared with severe systemic Gram-positive septic shock.

PubMed

Bjerre, Anna; Brusletto, Berit; Høiby, Ernst Arne; Kierulf, Peter; Brandtzaeg, Petter

2004-02-01

To analyze plasma interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 concentrations in patients with systemic meningococcal disease and patients with severe Gram-positive septic shock caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus. To study the in vitro cytokine (interferon-gamma and interleukin-10) responses in a whole blood model boosted with heat-killed Neisseria meningitidis, S. pneumoniae, and S. aureus before and after treatment with recombinant interleukin-10 or recombinant interferon-gamma. Experimental study. Laboratory. Plasma samples were collected from patients with systemic meningococcal disease (n = 66) and patients with severe Gram-positive septic shock caused by S. pneumoniae (n = 4) or S. aureus (n = 3). Whole blood was boosted with heat-killed N. meningitidis, S. pneumoniae, and S. aureus (1 x 106 colony forming units/mL), and plasmas were analyzed for interleukin-10 or interferon-gamma at 0, 5, 12, and 24 hrs. Furthermore, recombinant interleukin-10 or recombinant interferon-gamma was added before bacteria, and the effect on the secretion of interferon-gamma and interleukin-10, respectively, was analyzed after 24 hrs. The median concentration of interferon-gamma was 15 pg/mL and of interleukin-10 was 10,269 pg/mL in patients with meningococcal septic shock (n = 24) compared with median interferon-gamma concentration of 3400 pg/mL and interleukin-10 concentration of 465 pg/mL in patients with severe Gram-positive shock (p =.001). Increased interferon-gamma concentrations were associated with case fatality (p =.011). In a whole blood model we demonstrated that 1 x 106 colony forming units/mL of N. meningitidis induced more interleukin-10 but less interferon-gamma than S. pneumoniae. S. aureus induced minimal secretion of both cytokines. Recombinant interleukin-10 efficiently down-regulated the secretion of interferon-gamma, and vice versa, as shown in a whole blood model. We speculate whether high concentrations of interleukin-10 contribute to the

Using Classification and Regression Trees (CART) and random forests to analyze attrition: Results from two simulations.

PubMed

Hayes, Timothy; Usami, Satoshi; Jacobucci, Ross; McArdle, John J

2015-12-01

In this article, we describe a recent development in the analysis of attrition: using classification and regression trees (CART) and random forest methods to generate inverse sampling weights. These flexible machine learning techniques have the potential to capture complex nonlinear, interactive selection models, yet to our knowledge, their performance in the missing data analysis context has never been evaluated. To assess the potential benefits of these methods, we compare their performance with commonly employed multiple imputation and complete case techniques in 2 simulations. These initial results suggest that weights computed from pruned CART analyses performed well in terms of both bias and efficiency when compared with other methods. We discuss the implications of these findings for applied researchers. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Using Classification and Regression Trees (CART) and Random Forests to Analyze Attrition: Results From Two Simulations

PubMed Central

Hayes, Timothy; Usami, Satoshi; Jacobucci, Ross; McArdle, John J.

2016-01-01

In this article, we describe a recent development in the analysis of attrition: using classification and regression trees (CART) and random forest methods to generate inverse sampling weights. These flexible machine learning techniques have the potential to capture complex nonlinear, interactive selection models, yet to our knowledge, their performance in the missing data analysis context has never been evaluated. To assess the potential benefits of these methods, we compare their performance with commonly employed multiple imputation and complete case techniques in 2 simulations. These initial results suggest that weights computed from pruned CART analyses performed well in terms of both bias and efficiency when compared with other methods. We discuss the implications of these findings for applied researchers. PMID:26389526

Low-background gamma-ray spectrometry for the international monitoring system

DOE PAGES

Greenwood, L. R.; Cantaloub, M. G.; Burnett, J. L.; ...

2016-12-28

PNNL has developed two low-background gamma-ray spectrometers in a new shallow underground laboratory, thereby significantly improving its ability to detect low levels of gamma-ray emitting fission or activation products in airborne particulate in samples from the IMS (International Monitoring System). Furthermore, the combination of cosmic veto panels, dry nitrogen gas to reduce radon and low background shielding results in a reduction of the background count rate by about a factor of 100 compared to detectors operating above ground at our laboratory.

SER Analysis of MPPM-Coded MIMO-FSO System over Uncorrelated and Correlated Gamma-Gamma Atmospheric Turbulence Channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khallaf, Haitham S.; Garrido-Balsells, José M.; Shalaby, Hossam M. H.; Sampei, Seiichi

2015-12-01

The performance of multiple-input multiple-output free space optical (MIMO-FSO) communication systems, that adopt multipulse pulse position modulation (MPPM) techniques, is analyzed. Both exact and approximate symbol-error rates (SERs) are derived for both cases of uncorrelated and correlated channels. The effects of background noise, receiver shot-noise, and atmospheric turbulence are taken into consideration in our analysis. The random fluctuations of the received optical irradiance, produced by the atmospheric turbulence, is modeled by the widely used gamma-gamma statistical distribution. Uncorrelated MIMO channels are modeled by the α-μ distribution. A closed-form expression for the probability density function of the optical received irradiance is derived for the case of correlated MIMO channels. Using our analytical expressions, the degradation of the system performance with the increment of the correlation coefficients between MIMO channels is corroborated.

Mini gamma camera, camera system and method of use

DOEpatents

Majewski, Stanislaw; Weisenberger, Andrew G.; Wojcik, Randolph F.

2001-01-01

A gamma camera comprising essentially and in order from the front outer or gamma ray impinging surface: 1) a collimator, 2) a scintillator layer, 3) a light guide, 4) an array of position sensitive, high resolution photomultiplier tubes, and 5) printed circuitry for receipt of the output of the photomultipliers. There is also described, a system wherein the output supplied by the high resolution, position sensitive photomultipiler tubes is communicated to: a) a digitizer and b) a computer where it is processed using advanced image processing techniques and a specific algorithm to calculate the center of gravity of any abnormality observed during imaging, and c) optional image display and telecommunications ports.

Beneficial Effects of cART Initiated during Primary and Chronic HIV-1 Infection on Immunoglobulin-Expression of Memory B-Cell Subsets

PubMed Central

Pensieroso, Simone; Tolazzi, Monica; Chiappetta, Stefania; Nozza, Silvia; Lazzarin, Adriano; Tambussi, Giuseppe; Scarlatti, Gabriella

2015-01-01

Introduction During HIV-1 infection the B-cell compartment undergoes profound changes towards terminal differentiation, which are only partially restored by antiretroviral therapy (cART). Materials and Methods To investigate the impact of infection as early as during primary HIV-1 infection (PHI) we assessed distribution of B-cell subsets in 19 PHI and 25 chronic HIV-1-infected (CHI) individuals before and during 48 weeks of cART as compared to healthy controls (n = 23). We also analysed Immunoglobulin-expression of memory B-cell subsets to identify alterations in Immunoglobulin-maturation. Results Determination of B-cell subsets at baseline showed that total and Naive B-cells were decreased whereas Activated Memory (AM), Tissue-like Memory (TLM) B-cells and Plasma cells were increased in both PHI and CHI patients. After 4 weeks of cART total B-cells increased, while AM, TLM B-cells and Plasma cells decreased, although without reaching normal levels in either group of individuals. This trend was maintained until week 48, though only total B-cells normalized in both PHI and CHI. Resting Memory (RM) B-cells were preserved since baseline. This subset remained stable in CHI, while was expanded by an early initiation of cART during PHI. Untreated CHI patients showed IgM-overexpression at the expenses of switched (IgM-IgD-) phenotypes of the memory subsets. Interestingly, in PHI patients a significant alteration of Immunoglobulin-expression was evident at BL in TLM cells, and after 4 weeks, despite treatment, in AM and RM subsets. After 48 weeks of therapy, Immunoglobulin-expression of AM and RM almost normalized, but remained perturbed in TLM cells in both groups. Conclusions In conclusion, aberrant activated and exhausted B-cell phenotypes rose already during PHI, while most of the alterations in Ig-expression seen in CHI appeared later, despite 4 weeks of effective cART. After 48 weeks of cART B-cell subsets distribution improved although without full normalization

One-dimensional collision carts computer model and its design ideas for productive experiential learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wee, Loo Kang

2012-05-01

We develop an Easy Java Simulation (EJS) model for students to experience the physics of idealized one-dimensional collision carts. The physics model is described and simulated by both continuous dynamics and discrete transition during collision. In designing the simulations, we discuss briefly three pedagogical considerations namely (1) a consistent simulation world view with a pen and paper representation, (2) a data table, scientific graphs and symbolic mathematical representations for ease of data collection and multiple representational visualizations and (3) a game for simple concept testing that can further support learning. We also suggest using a physical world setup augmented by simulation by highlighting three advantages of real collision carts equipment such as a tacit 3D experience, random errors in measurement and the conceptual significance of conservation of momentum applied to just before and after collision. General feedback from the students has been relatively positive, and we hope teachers will find the simulation useful in their own classes.

AMPX: a modular code system for generating coupled multigroup neutron-gamma libraries from ENDF/B

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

Greene, N.M.; Lucius, J.L.; Petrie, L.M.

1976-03-01

AMPX is a modular system for producing coupled multigroup neutron-gamma cross section sets. Basic neutron and gamma cross-section data for AMPX are obtained from ENDF/B libraries. Most commonly used operations required to generate and collapse multigroup cross-section sets are provided in the system. AMPX is flexibly dimensioned; neutron group structures, and gamma group structures, and expansion orders to represent anisotropic processes are all arbitrary and limited only by available computer core and budget. The basic processes provided will (1) generate multigroup neutron cross sections; (2) generate multigroup gamma cross sections; (3) generate gamma yields for gamma-producing neutron interactions; (4) combinemore » neutron cross sections, gamma cross sections, and gamma yields into final ''coupled sets''; (5) perform one-dimensional discrete ordinates transport or diffusion theory calculations for neutrons and gammas and, on option, collapse the cross sections to a broad-group structure, using the one-dimensional results as weighting functions; (6) plot cross sections, on option, to facilitate the ''evaluation'' of a particular multigroup set of data; (7) update and maintain multigroup cross section libraries in such a manner as to make it not only easy to combine new data with previously processed data but also to do it in a single pass on the computer; and (8) output multigroup cross sections in convenient formats for other codes. (auth)« less

A Mobile Automated Tomographic Gamma Scanning System - 13231

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

Kirkpatrick, J.M.; LeBlanc, P.J.; Nakazawa, D.

2013-07-01

Canberra Industries have recently designed and built a new automated Tomographic Gamma Scanning (TGS) system for mobile deployment. The TGS technique combines high-resolution gamma spectroscopy with low spatial resolution 3-dimensional image reconstruction to provide increased accuracy over traditional approaches for the assay of non-uniform source distributions in low-to medium-density, non-heterogeneous matrices. Originally pioneered by R. Estep at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the TGS method has been further developed and commercialized by Canberra Industries in recent years. The present system advances the state of the art on several fronts: it is designed to be housed in a standard cargo transportmore » container for ease of transport, allowing waste characterization at multiple facilities under the purview of a single operator. Conveyor feed, drum rotator, and detector and collimator positioning mechanisms operated by programmable logic control (PLC) allow automated batch mode operation. The variable geometry settings can accommodate a wide range of waste packaging, including but not limited to standard 220 liter drums, 380 liter overpack drums, and smaller 20 liter cans. A 20 mCi Eu-152 transmission source provides attenuation corrections for drum matrices up to 1 g/cm{sup 3} in TGS mode; the system can be operated in Segmented Gamma Scanning (SGS) mode to measure higher density drums. To support TGS assays at higher densities, the source shield is sufficient to house an alternate Co-60 transmission source of higher activity, up to 250 mCi. An automated shutter and attenuator assembly is provided for operating the system with a dual intensity transmission source. The system's 1500 kg capacity rotator turntable can handle heavy containers such as concrete lined 380 liter overpack drums. Finally, data acquisition utilizes Canberra's Broad Energy Germanium (BEGE) detector and Lynx MCA, with 32 k channels, providing better than 0.1 ke

Neutron monitoring systems including gamma thermometers and methods of calibrating nuclear instruments using gamma thermometers

DOEpatents

Moen, Stephan Craig; Meyers, Craig Glenn; Petzen, John Alexander; Foard, Adam Muhling

2012-08-07

A method of calibrating a nuclear instrument using a gamma thermometer may include: measuring, in the instrument, local neutron flux; generating, from the instrument, a first signal proportional to the neutron flux; measuring, in the gamma thermometer, local gamma flux; generating, from the gamma thermometer, a second signal proportional to the gamma flux; compensating the second signal; and calibrating a gain of the instrument based on the compensated second signal. Compensating the second signal may include: calculating selected yield fractions for specific groups of delayed gamma sources; calculating time constants for the specific groups; calculating a third signal that corresponds to delayed local gamma flux based on the selected yield fractions and time constants; and calculating the compensated second signal by subtracting the third signal from the second signal. The specific groups may have decay time constants greater than 5.times.10.sup.-1 seconds and less than 5.times.10.sup.5 seconds.

Inventory versus Checklist Approach to Assess Middle School a la Carte Food Availability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hearst, Mary O.; Lytle, Leslie A.; Pasch, Keryn E.; Heitzler, Carrie D.

2009-01-01

Background: The purpose of this research is to evaluate 2 methods of assessing foods available on school a la carte lines for schools' ability to assess the proportion of foods that are healthful options. Methods: This observational study used data collected at 38 middle schools, October 2006-May 2007. An inventory method was used to collect…

One-Dimensional Collision Carts Computer Model and Its Design Ideas for Productive Experiential Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wee, Loo Kang

2012-01-01

We develop an Easy Java Simulation (EJS) model for students to experience the physics of idealized one-dimensional collision carts. The physics model is described and simulated by both continuous dynamics and discrete transition during collision. In designing the simulations, we discuss briefly three pedagogical considerations namely (1) a…

Lopez-Alegria and Herrington work near CETA cart 2 during STS-113 EVA OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-11-26

STS113-714-033 (26-30 November 2002) --- Astronauts Michael E. Lopez-Alegria (right) and John B. Herrington, STS-113 mission specialists, work near the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart on a truss on the International Space Station (ISS) during a scheduled spacewalk for the mission.

CETA truck and EVA restraint system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beals, David C.; Merson, Wayne R.

1991-01-01

The Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) experiment is an extravehicular activity (EVA) Space Transportation System (STS) based flight experiment which will explore various modes of transporting astronauts and light equipment for Space Station Freedom (SSF). The basic elements of CETA are: (1) two 25 foot long sections of monorail, which will be EVA assembled in the STS cargo bay to become a single 50 ft. rail called the track; (2) a wheeled baseplate called the truck which rolls along the track and can accept three cart concepts; and (3) the three carts which are designated manual, electric, and mechanical. The three carts serve as the astronaut restraint and locomotive interfaces with the track. The manual cart is powered by the astronaut grasping the track's handrail and pulling himself along. The electric cart is operated by an astronaut turning a generator which powers the electric motor and drives the cart. The mechanical cart is driven by a Bendix type transmission and is similar in concept to a man-propelled railroad cart. During launch and landing, the truck is attached to the deployable track by means of EVA removable restraint bolts and held in position by a system of retractable shims. These shims are positioned on the exterior of the rail for launch and landing and rotate out of the way for the duration of the experiment. The shims are held in position by strips of Velcro nap, which rub against the sides of the shim and exert a tailored force. The amount of force required to rotate the shims was a major EVA concern, along with operational repeatability and extreme temperature effects. The restraint system was tested in a thermal-vac and vibration environment and was shown to meet all of the initial design requirements. Using design inputs from the astronauts who will perform the EVA, CETA evolved through an iterative design process and represented a cooperative effort.

Changes in intestinal microbiota in HIV-1-infected subjects following cART initiation: influence of CD4+ T cell count.

PubMed

Ji, Yongjia; Zhang, Fengdi; Zhang, Renfang; Shen, Yinzhong; Liu, Li; Wang, Jiangrong; Yang, Junyang; Tang, Qi; Xun, Jingna; Qi, Tangkai; Wang, Zhenyan; Song, Wei; Tang, Yang; Chen, Jun; Lu, Hongzhou

2018-06-22

The roles of immunodeficiency and combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) in shaping the gut microbiota in HIV-1-infected subjects (HISs) have not been described thoroughly by time-series investigations. In this study, 36 antiretroviral-naïve HISs were enrolled to prospectively assess alterations in the fecal microbiota and plasma markers of microbial translocation and inflammation with cART. At baseline, the species α-diversity of the fecal microbiota was significantly lower in HISs with a CD4 + T cell count <300/mm 3 than in HISs with a CD4 + T cell count >300/mm 3 (Shannon index: Median 2.557 vs. 2.981, P = 0.006; Simpson index: Median 0.168 vs. 0.096, P = 0.004). Additionally, the baseline α-diversity indices correlated with CD4 + T cell counts (Shannon index: r = 0.474, P = 0.004; Simpson index: r = -0.467, P = 0.004) and the specific plasma biomarkers for microbial translocation and inflammation. After cART introduction, the species α-diversity of fecal microbiota in HISs with CD4 + T cell counts <300/mm 3 was significantly restored (Shannon index: Median 2.557 vs. 2.791, P = 0.007; Simpson index: Median 0.168 vs. 0.112, P = 0.004), while the variances were insignificant among HISs with CD4+ T cell counts >300/mm 3 (Shannon index: Median 2.981 vs. 2.934, P = 0.179; Simpson index: Median 0.096 vs. 0.119, P = 0.082). Meanwhile, with cART introduction, alterations in the gut microbial composition were more significant in the subgroup with CD4 + T cell counts >300/mm 3 , corresponding to increases in the specific plasma inflammatory markers. These findings implicated the interactive roles of immunodeficiency and cART for affecting gut microbiota in HIV-1-infected individuals, providing new insights into intestinal microbiome dysbiosis related to HIV-1 infection.

Research on the system performance evaluation of minimum-shift keying in uplink ground-to-satellite with gamma-gamma distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yi; Zhang, Ao; Ma, Jing

2017-07-01

Minimum-shift keying (MSK) has the advantages of constant envelope, continuous phase, and high spectral efficiency, and it is applied in radio communication and optical fiber communication. MSK modulation of coherent detection is proposed in the ground-to-satellite laser communication system; in addition, considering the inherent noise of uplink, such as intensity scintillation and beam wander, the communication performance of the MSK modulation system with coherent detection is studied in the uplink ground-to-satellite laser. Based on the gamma-gamma channel model, the closed form of bit error rate (BER) of MSK modulation with coherent detection is derived. In weak, medium, and strong turbulence, the BER performance of the MSK modulation system is simulated and analyzed. To meet the requirements of the ground-to-satellite coherent MSK system to optimize the parameters and configuration of the transmitter and receiver, the influence of the beam divergence angle, the zenith angle, the transmitter beam radius, and the receiver diameter are studied.

21 CFR 862.1360 - Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and isoenzymes test system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY DEVICES Clinical Chemistry Test Systems § 862.1360 Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and isoenzymes test system. (a... alcoholic cirrhosis and primary and secondary liver tumors. (b) Classification. Class I (general controls...

Exploring the social determinants of mental health service use using intersectionality theory and CART analysis.

PubMed

Cairney, John; Veldhuizen, Scott; Vigod, Simone; Streiner, David L; Wade, Terrance J; Kurdyak, Paul

2014-02-01

Fewer than half of individuals with a mental disorder seek formal care in a given year. Much research has been conducted on the factors that influence service use in this population, but the methods generally used cannot easily identify the complex interactions that are thought to exist. In this paper, we examine predictors of subsequent service use among respondents to a population health survey who met criteria for a past-year mood, anxiety or substance-related disorder. To determine service use, we use an administrative database including all physician consultations in the period of interest. To identify predictors, we use classification tree (CART) analysis, a data mining technique with the ability to identify unsuspected interactions. We compare results to those from logistic regression models. We identify 1213 individuals with past-year disorder. In the year after the survey, 24% (n=312) of these had a mental health-related physician consultation. Logistic regression revealed that age, sex and marital status predicted service use. CART analysis yielded a set of rules based on age, sex, marital status and income adequacy, with marital status playing a role among men and by income adequacy important among women. CART analysis proved moderately effective overall, with agreement of 60%, sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 53%. Results highlight the potential of data-mining techniques to uncover complex interactions, and offer support to the view that the intersection of multiple statuses influence health and behaviour in ways that are difficult to identify with conventional statistics. The disadvantages of these methods are also discussed.

Test results of a new detector system for gamma ray isotopic measurements

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

Malcom, J.E.; Bonner, C.A.; Hurd, J.R.

1993-08-01

A new type of gamma-ray detector system for isotopic measurements has been developed. This new system, a ``Duo detector`` array, consists of two intrinsic germanium detectors, a planar followed by a coaxial mounted on the same axis within a single cryostat assembly. This configuration allows the isotopic analysis system to take advantage of spectral data results that are collected simultaneously from different gamma-ray energy regimes. Princeton Gamma Tech (PGT) produced several prototypes of this Duo detector array which were then tested by Rocky Flats personnel until the design was optimized. An application for this detector design is in automated, roboticizedmore » NDA systems such as those being developed at the Los Alamos TA-55 Plutonium Facility. The Duo detector design reduces the space necessary for the isotopic instrument by a factor of two (only one liquid nitrogen dewar is needed), and also reduces the complexity of the mechanical systems and controlling software. Data will be presented on measurements of nuclear material with a Duo detector for a wide variety of matrices. Results indicate that the maximum count rate can be increased up to 100,000 counts per second yet maintaining excellent resolution and energy rate product.« less

[Regulating human interferon-gamma gene expression in marrow stromal cells in mice by Tet-off system].

PubMed

Qin, Xin-Tian; Lu, Yue; Tan, Yin-Duo; Chen, Xiao-Qin; Gen, Qi-Rong

2008-01-01

We have constructed plasmid "pTre-IFN-gamma" and proved that the Tet-off system could regulate the expression of human interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) gene in murine marrow stromal cells in vitro. This study was to investigate the regulatory reversibility of Tet-off system and its effect on the expression of human IFN-gamma gene in murine marrow stromal cells in mice. Plasmids pTet-off and pTre-IFN-gamma were co-transfected into murine marrow stromal cells. The expression of IFN-gamma in marrow stromal cells was detected with ELISA. The marrow stromal cells were transfused into BABL/c naked mice after co-transfection. The expression of IFN-gamma mRNA in the spleen was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). IFN-gamma protein was detected in the culture solution of marrow stromal cells after co-transfection. The secretion peak appeared within the first 72 h. The protein level of IFN-gamma was significantly lower in 300 ng/ml tetracycline hydrochloride-treated marrow stroma cells than in untreated cells [(67.11+/-22.14) pg/1 x 10(7) cells vs. (319.96+/-29.04) pg/1 x 10(7) cells, P<0.001]; its expression was increased when removed tetracycline hydrochloride (P=0.032). The expression of human IFN-gamma mRNA was detected in the spleen. The mRNA level of IFN-gamma was significantly higher in untreated group than in continuous tetracycline hydrochloride-treated group [(1.5+/-0.7)x10(5) copies . (100 mg)(-1) vs. (6.9+/-5.3)x10(2) copies . (100 mg)(-1), P<0.001]; its expression in the mice received tetracycline hydrochloride for one single time lay between the above two groups with significant difference. In mice, Tet-off system could rapidly, efficiently and reversibly regulate the expression of human IFN-gamma gene in marrow stromal cells in vitro and in vivo.

Gamma signatures of the C-BORD Tagged Neutron Inspection System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sardet, A.; Pérot, B.; Carasco, C.; Sannié, G.; Moretto, S.; Nebbia, G.; Fontana, C.; Pino, F.; Iovene, A.; Tintori, C.

2018-01-01

In the frame of C-BORD project (H2020 program of the EU), a Rapidly relocatable Tagged Neutron Inspection System (RRTNIS) is being developed to non-intrusively detect explosives, chemical threats, and other illicit goods in cargo containers. Material identification is performed through gamma spectroscopy, using twenty NaI detectors and four LaBr3 detectors, to determine the different elements composing the inspected item from their specific gamma signatures induced by fast neutrons. This is performed using an unfolding algorithm to decompose the energy spectrum of a suspect item, selected by X-ray radiography and on which the RRTNIS inspection is focused, on a database of pure element gamma signatures. This paper reports on simulated signatures for the NaI and LaBr3 detectors, constructed using the MCNP6 code. First experimental spectra of a few elements of interest are also presented.

Efficacy and safety of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy in patients with haematological and solid malignancies: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Grigor, Emma J M; Fergusson, Dean A; Haggar, Fatima; Kekre, Natasha; Atkins, Harold; Shorr, Risa; Holt, Robert A; Hutton, Brian; Ramsay, Tim; Seftel, Matthew; Jonker, Derek; Daugaard, Mads; Thavorn, Kednapa; Presseau, Justin; Lalu, Manoj M

2017-12-29

Patients with relapsed or refractory malignancies have a poor prognosis. Immunotherapy with chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells redirects a patient's immune cells against the tumour antigen. CAR-T cell therapy has demonstrated promise in treating patients with several haematological malignancies, including acute B-cell lymphoblastic leukaemia and B-cell lymphomas. CAR-T cell therapy for patients with other solid tumours is also being tested. Safety is an important consideration in CAR-T cell therapy given the potential for serious adverse events, including death. Previous reviews on CAR-T cell therapy have been limited in scope and methodology. Herein, we present a protocol for a systematic review to identify CAR-T cell interventional studies and examine the safety and efficacy of this therapy in patients with haematology malignancies and solid tumours. We will search MEDLINE, including In-Process and Epub Ahead of Print, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from 1946 to 22 February 2017. Studies will be screened by title, abstract and full text independently and in duplicate. Studies that report administering CAR-T cells of any chimeric antigen receptor construct targeting antigens in patients with haematological malignancies and solid tumours will be eligible for inclusion. Outcomes to be extracted will include complete response rate (primary outcome), overall response rate, overall survival, relapse and adverse events. A meta-analysis will be performed to synthesise the prevalence of outcomes reported as proportions with 95% CIs. The potential for bias within included studies will be assessed using a modified Institute of Health Economics tool. Heterogeneity of effect sizes will be determined using the Cochrane I 2 statistic. The review findings will be submitted for peer-reviewed journal publication and presented at relevant conferences and scientific meetings to promote knowledge transfer. CRD42017075331. © Article author(s) (or

Science with the Advanced Gamma Ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppi, Paolo

2009-05-01

We present the scientific drivers for the Advanced Gamma Ray Imaging System (AGIS), a concept for the next-generation ground- based gamma-ray experiment, comprised of an array of ˜100 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Design requirements for AGIS include achieving a sensitivity an order of magnitude better than the current generation of space or ground-based instruments in the energy range of 40 GeV to ˜100 TeV. We present here an overview of the scientific goals of AGIS, including the prospects for understanding VHE phenomena in the vicinity of accreting black holes, particle acceleration in a variety of astrophysical environments, indirect detection of dark matter, study of cosmological background radiation fields, and particle physics beyond the standard model.

SU-F-T-236: Comparison of Two IMRT/VMAT QA Systems Using Gamma Index Analysis

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

Dogan, N; Denissova, S

2016-06-15

Purpose: The goal of this study is to assess differences in the Gamma index pass rates when using two commercial QA systems and provide optimum Gamma index parameters for pre-treatment patient specific QA. Methods: Twenty-two VMAT cases that consisted of prostate, lung, head and neck, spine, brain and pancreas, were included in this study. The verification plans have been calculated using AcurosXB(V11) algorithm for different dose grids (1.5mm, 2.5mm, 3mm). The measurements were performed on TrueBeam(Varian) accelerator using both EPID(S1000) portal imager and ArcCheck(SunNuclearCorp) devices. Gamma index criteria variation of 3%/3mm, 2%/3mm, 2%/2mm and threshold (TH) doses of 5% tomore » 50% were used in analysis. Results: The differences in Gamma pass rates between two devices are not statistically significant for 3%/3mm, yielding pass rate higher than 95%. Increase of lower dose TH showed reduced pass rates for both devices. ArcCheck’s more pronounced effect can be attributed to higher contribution of lower dose region spread. As expected, tightening criteria to 2%/2mm (TH: 10%) decreased Gamma pass rates below 95%. Higher EPID (92%) pass rates compared to ArcCheck (86%) probably due to better spatial resolution. Portal Dosimetry results showed lower Gamma pass rates for composite plans compared to individual field pass rates. This may be due to the expansion in the analyzed region which includes pixels not included in the separate field analysis. Decreasing dose grid size from 2.5mm to 1.5mm did not show statistically significant (p<0.05) differences in Gamma pass rates for both QA devices. Conclusion: Overall, both system measurements agree well with calculated dose when using gamma index criteria of 3%/3mm for a variety of VMAT cases. Variability between two systems increases using different dose GRID, TH and tighter gamma criteria and must be carefully assessed prior to clinical use.« less

NeoCart, an autologous cartilage tissue implant, compared with microfracture for treatment of distal femoral cartilage lesions: an FDA phase-II prospective, randomized clinical trial after two years.

PubMed

Crawford, Dennis C; DeBerardino, Thomas M; Williams, Riley J

2012-06-06

Despite introduction of autologous chondrocyte therapy for repair of hyaline articular cartilage injury in 1994, microfracture remains a primary standard of care. NeoCart, an autologous cartilage tissue implant, was compared with microfracture in a multisite prospective, randomized trial of a tissue-engineered bioimplant for treating articular cartilage injuries in the knee. Thirty patients were randomized at a ratio of two to one (two were treated with an autologous cartilage tissue implant [NeoCart] for each patient treated with microfracture) at the time of arthroscopic confirmation of an International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) grade-III lesion(s). Microfracture or cartilage biopsy was performed. NeoCart, produced by seeding a type-I collagen matrix scaffold with autogenous chondrocytes and bioreactor treatment, was implanted six weeks following arthroscopic cartilage biopsy. Standard evaluations were performed with validated clinical outcomes measures. Three, six, twelve, and twenty-four-month data are reported. The mean duration of follow-up (and standard deviation) was 26 ± 2 months. There were twenty-one patients in the NeoCart group and nine in the microfracture group. The mean age (40 ± 9 years), body mass index (BMI) (28 ± 4 kg/m2), duration between the first symptoms and treatment (3 ± 5 years), and lesion size (287 ± 138 mm2 in the NeoCart group and 252 ± 135 mm2 in the microfracture group) were similar between the groups. Adverse event rates per procedure did not differ between the treatment arms. The scores on the Short Form-36 (SF-36), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) activities of daily living (ADL) scale, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) form improved from baseline (p < 0.05) to two years postoperatively in both treatment groups. In the NeoCart group, improvement, compared with baseline, was significant (p < 0.05) for all measures at six, twelve, and twenty-four months. Improvement in the NeoCart

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Telescope Optical System Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vassiliev, Vladimir; Buckley, Jim; Falcone, Abe; Fegan, Steven; Finley, John; Gaurino, Victor; Hanna, David; Kaaret, Philip; Konopelko, Alex; Krawczynski, Henric; Romani, Roger; Weekes, Trevor

2008-04-01

AGIS is a conceptual design for a future ground-based gamma-ray observatory based on an array of ˜100 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) with a sensitivity to gamma-rays in the energy range 40 GeV-100 TeV. The anticipated improvement of AGIS sensitivity, angular resolution, and reliability of operation imposes demanding technological and cost requirements on the design of the IACTs. In this submission we focus on the optical system (OS) of the AGIS telescopes and consider options which include traditional Davies-Cotton and the other prime- focus telescope designs, as well as a novel two-mirror aplanatic OS originally proposed by Schwarzschild. Emerging new mirror production technologies based on replication processes such as cold and hot glass slumping, cured CFRP, and electroforming provide new opportunities for cost effective solutions for the design of the OS. We evaluate the capabilities of these mirror fabrication methods for the AGIS project.

Classification and regression tree (CART) model to predict pulmonary tuberculosis in hospitalized patients.

PubMed

Aguiar, Fabio S; Almeida, Luciana L; Ruffino-Netto, Antonio; Kritski, Afranio Lineu; Mello, Fernanda Cq; Werneck, Guilherme L

2012-08-07

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a public health issue worldwide. The lack of specific clinical symptoms to diagnose TB makes the correct decision to admit patients to respiratory isolation a difficult task for the clinician. Isolation of patients without the disease is common and increases health costs. Decision models for the diagnosis of TB in patients attending hospitals can increase the quality of care and decrease costs, without the risk of hospital transmission. We present a predictive model for predicting pulmonary TB in hospitalized patients in a high prevalence area in order to contribute to a more rational use of isolation rooms without increasing the risk of transmission. Cross sectional study of patients admitted to CFFH from March 2003 to December 2004. A classification and regression tree (CART) model was generated and validated. The area under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were used to evaluate the performance of model. Validation of the model was performed with a different sample of patients admitted to the same hospital from January to December 2005. We studied 290 patients admitted with clinical suspicion of TB. Diagnosis was confirmed in 26.5% of them. Pulmonary TB was present in 83.7% of the patients with TB (62.3% with positive sputum smear) and HIV/AIDS was present in 56.9% of patients. The validated CART model showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 60.00%, 76.16%, 33.33%, and 90.55%, respectively. The AUC was 79.70%. The CART model developed for these hospitalized patients with clinical suspicion of TB had fair to good predictive performance for pulmonary TB. The most important variable for prediction of TB diagnosis was chest radiograph results. Prospective validation is still necessary, but our model offer an alternative for decision making in whether to isolate patients with clinical suspicion of TB in tertiary health facilities in

Identifying drought adaptive traits in upland cotton using a proximal sensing cart for high-throughput phenotyping

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Field-based high-throughput phenotyping is an emerging approach to characterize difficult, time-sensitive plant traits in relevant growing conditions. Proximal sensing carts have been developed as an alternative platform to more costly high-clearance tractors for phenotyping dynamic traits in the fi...

An alpha–gamma coincidence spectrometer based on the Photon–Electron Rejecting Alpha Liquid Scintillation (PERALS®) system

DOE PAGES

Cadieux, J. R.; Fugate, G. A.; King, III, G. S.

2015-02-07

Here, an alpha–gamma coincidence spectrometer has been developed for the measurement of selected actinide isotopes in the presence of high beta/gamma fields. The system is based on a PERALS® liquid scintillation counter for beta/alpha discrimination and was successfully tested with both high purity germanium and bismuth germanate, gamma-ray detectors using conventional analog electronics.

The Gamma-ray Sky with Fermi

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David

2012-01-01

Gamma rays reveal extreme, nonthermal conditions in the Universe. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been exploring the gamma-ray sky for more than four years, enabling a search for powerful transients like gamma-ray bursts, novae, solar flares, and flaring active galactic nuclei, as well as long-term studies including pulsars, binary systems, supernova remnants, and searches for predicted sources of gamma rays such as dark matter annihilation. Some results include a stringent limit on Lorentz invariance derived from a gamma-ray burst, unexpected gamma-ray variability from the Crab Nebula, a huge gamma-ray structure associated with the center of our galaxy, surprising behavior from some gamma-ray binary systems, and a possible constraint on some WIMP models for dark matter.

CART V: recent advancements in computer-aided camouflage assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Thomas; Müller, Markus

2011-05-01

In order to facilitate systematic, computer aided improvements of camouflage and concealment assessment methods, the software system CART (Camouflage Assessment in Real-Time) was built up for the camouflage assessment of objects in multispectral image sequences (see contributions to SPIE 2007-2010 [1], [2], [3], [4]). It comprises a semi-automatic marking of target objects (ground truth generation) including their propagation over the image sequence and the evaluation via user-defined feature extractors as well as methods to assess the object's movement conspicuity. In this fifth part in an annual series at the SPIE conference in Orlando, this paper presents the enhancements over the recent year and addresses the camouflage assessment of static and moving objects in multispectral image data that can show noise or image artefacts. The presented methods fathom the correlations between image processing and camouflage assessment. A novel algorithm is presented based on template matching to assess the structural inconspicuity of an object objectively and quantitatively. The results can easily be combined with an MTI (moving target indication) based movement conspicuity assessment function in order to explore the influence of object movement to a camouflage effect in different environments. As the results show, the presented methods contribute to a significant benefit in the field of camouflage assessment.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY), cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) and cholecystokinin (CCK) in winter skate (Raja ocellata): cDNA cloning, tissue distribution and mRNA expression responses to fasting.

PubMed

MacDonald, Erin; Volkoff, Hélène

2009-04-01

cDNAs encoding for neuropeptide Y (NPY), cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) and cholecystokinin (CCK) were cloned in an elasmobranch fish, the winter skate. mRNA tissue distribution was examined for the three peptides as well as the effects of two weeks of fasting on their expression. Skate NPY, CART and CCK sequences display similarities with sequences for teleost fish but in general the degree of identity is relatively low (50%). All three peptides are present in brain and in several peripheral tissues, including gut and gonads. Within the brain, the three peptides are expressed in the hypothalamus, telencephalon, optic tectum and cerebellum. Two weeks of fasting induced an increase in telencephalon NPY and an increase in CCK in the gut but had no effects on hypothalamic NPY, CART and CCK, or on telencephalon CART. Our results provide basis for further investigation into the regulation of feeding in winter skate.

Effects of pushing height on trunk posture and trunk muscle activity when a cart suddenly starts or stops moving.

PubMed

Lee, Yun-Ju; Hoozemans, Marco J M; van Dieën, Jaap H

2012-01-01

Unexpected sudden (un)loading of the trunk may induce inadequate responses of trunk muscles and uncontrolled trunk motion. These unexpected perturbations may occur in pushing tasks, when the cart suddenly starts moving (unloading) or is blocked by an obstacle (loading). In pushing, handle height affects the user's working posture, which may influence trunk muscle activity and trunk movement in response to the perturbation. Eleven healthy male subjects pushed a 200 kg cart with handles at shoulder and hip height in a start condition (sudden release of brakes) and a stop condition (bumping into an obstacle). Before the perturbation, the baseline of the trunk inclination, internal moment and trunk extensor muscle activity were significantly higher when pushing at hip height than at shoulder height. After the perturbation, the changes in trunk inclination and internal moment were significantly larger when pushing at shoulder height than at hip height in both conditions. The opposite directions of changes in trunk inclination and internal moment suggest that the unexpected perturbations caused uncontrolled trunk motion. Pushing at shoulder height may impose a high risk of low-back injury due to the low trunk stiffness and large involuntary trunk motion occurring after carts suddenly move or stop.

Automated parking garage system model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collins, E. R., Jr.

1975-01-01

A one-twenty-fifth scale model of the key components of an automated parking garage system is described. The design of the model required transferring a vehicle from an entry level, vertically (+Z, -Z), to a storage location at any one of four storage positions (+X, -X, +Y, +Y, -Y) on the storage levels. There are three primary subsystems: (1) a screw jack to provide the vertical motion of the elevator, (2) a cam-driven track-switching device to provide X to Y motion, and (3) a transfer cart to provide horizontal travel and a small amount to vertical motion for transfer to the storage location. Motive power is provided by dc permanent magnet gear motors, one each for the elevator and track switching device and two for the transfer cart drive system (one driving the cart horizontally and the other providing the vertical transfer). The control system, through the use of a microprocessor, provides complete automation through a feedback system which utilizes sensing devices.

Initial results from a multiple monoenergetic gamma radiography system for nuclear security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Day, Buckley E.; Hartwig, Zachary S.; Lanza, Richard C.; Danagoulian, Areg

2016-10-01

The detection of assembled nuclear devices and concealed special nuclear materials (SNM) such as plutonium or uranium in commercial cargo traffic is a major challenge in mitigating the threat of nuclear terrorism. Currently available radiographic and active interrogation systems use ∼1-10 MeV bremsstrahlung photon beams. Although simple to build and operate, bremsstrahlung-based systems deliver high radiation doses to the cargo and to potential stowaways. To eliminate problematic issues of high dose, we are developing a novel technique known as multiple monoenergetic gamma radiography (MMGR). MMGR uses ion-induced nuclear reactions to produce two monoenergetic gammas for dual-energy radiography. This allows us to image the areal density and effective atomic number (Zeff) of scanned cargo. We present initial results from the proof-of-concept experiment, which was conducted at the MIT Bates Research and Engineering Center. The purpose of the experiment was to assess the capabilities of MMGR to measure areal density and Zeff of container cargo mockups. The experiment used a 3.0 MeV radiofrequency quadrupole accelerator to create sources of 4.44 MeV and 15.11 MeV gammas from the 11B(d,nγ)12C reaction in a thick natural boron target; the gammas are detected by an array of NaI(Tl) detectors after transmission through cargo mockups . The measured fluxes of transmitted 4.44 MeV and 15.11 MeV gammas were used to assess the areal density and Zeff. Initial results show that MMGR is capable of discriminating the presence of high-Z materials concealed in up to 30 cm of iron shielding from low- and mid-Z materials present in the cargo mockup.

Gamma ray transients

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cline, Thomas L.

1987-01-01

The discovery of cosmic gamma ray bursts was made with systems designed at Los Alamos Laboratory for the detection of nuclear explosions beyond the atmosphere. HELIOS-2 was the first gamma ray burst instrument launched; its initial results in 1976, seemed to deepen the mystery around gamma ray transients. Interplanetary spacecraft data were reviewed in terms of explaining the behavior and source of the transients.

Astronomy in my shopping cart: Today I bought some asteroids, hundreds of black holes and three Solar Systems!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boccato, C.; Lazzaretto, E.

2008-06-01

Here we will present a pilot project that will be tested and developed throughout 2007/08 in advance of the International Year of Astronomy. Why "putting astronomy in the shopping cart"? The aim of the project is to publicise astrophysics at a popular level, choosing a place that best matches the meaning of the word `popular': the shopping mall. With this project we want to arouse consumer interest in science, making use of the supermarket inside any shopping mall: a place people are familiar with and where they find common consumer goods. The final purpose is to give our science consumer the chance to bring home shopping bags filled not only with consumer goods, but also with a piece of knowledge about astronomy, astrophysics and the way astronomers work and think to understand the Universe and its phenomena.

Loss of the HVEM tumor suppressor in lymphoma and restoration by modified CAR-T cells

PubMed Central

Sanghvi, Viraj; Amin, Rada; Oricchio, Elisa; Jiang, Man; Mottok, Anja; Denis-Lagache, Nicolas; Ciriello, Giovanni; Tam, Wayne; Teruya-Feldstein, Julie; de Stanchina, Elisa; Chan, Wing C.; Malek, Sami N.; Ennishi, Daisuke; Brentjens, Renier J.; Gascoyne, Randy D.; Cogne, Michel; Tarte, Karin; Wendel, Hans-Guido

2016-01-01

The HVEM (TNFRSF14) receptor gene is among the most frequently mutated genes in germinal center lymphomas. We report that loss of HVEM leads to cell autonomous activation of B cell proliferation and drives the development of GC lymphomas in vivo. HVEM deficient lymphoma B cells also induce a tumor supportive microenvironment marked by exacerbated lymphoid stroma activation and increased recruitment of T follicular helper (TFH) cells. These changes result from the disruption of inhibitory cell-cell interactions between the HVEM and BTLA (B and T Lymphocyte Attenuator) receptors. Accordingly, administration of the HVEM ectodomain protein (solHVEM(P37-V202)) binds BTLA and restores tumor suppression. To deliver solHVEM to lymphomas in vivo we engineered CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that produce solHVEM locally and continuously. These modified CAR-T cells show enhanced therapeutic activity against xenografted lymphomas. Hence, the HVEM-BTLA axis opposes lymphoma development and our study illustrates the use of CAR-T cells as ‘micro-pharmacies’ able to deliver an anti-cancer protein. PMID:27693350

Real time method and computer system for identifying radioactive materials from HPGe gamma-ray spectroscopy

DOEpatents

Rowland, Mark S.; Howard, Douglas E.; Wong, James L.; Jessup, James L.; Bianchini, Greg M.; Miller, Wayne O.

2007-10-23

A real-time method and computer system for identifying radioactive materials which collects gamma count rates from a HPGe gamma-radiation detector to produce a high-resolution gamma-ray energy spectrum. A library of nuclear material definitions ("library definitions") is provided, with each uniquely associated with a nuclide or isotope material and each comprising at least one logic condition associated with a spectral parameter of a gamma-ray energy spectrum. The method determines whether the spectral parameters of said high-resolution gamma-ray energy spectrum satisfy all the logic conditions of any one of the library definitions, and subsequently uniquely identifies the material type as that nuclide or isotope material associated with the satisfied library definition. The method is iteratively repeated to update the spectrum and identification in real time.

Lopez-Alegria and Herrington test foot restraints on CETA cart 2 during STS-113 EVA OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-11-26

STS113-714-024 (26-30 November 2002) --- Astronauts Michael E. Lopez-Alegria (right) and John B. Herrington, STS-113 mission specialists, work near the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart on a truss on the International Space Station (ISS) during a scheduled spacewalk for the mission.

The Gamma-ray Universe through Fermi

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.

2012-01-01

Gamma rays, the most powerful form of light, reveal extreme conditions in the Universe. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and its smaller cousin AGILE have been exploring the gamma-ray sky for several years, enabling a search for powerful transients like gamma-ray bursts, novae, solar flares, and flaring active galactic nuclei, as well as long-term studies including pulsars, binary systems, supernova remnants, and searches for predicted sources of gamma rays such as dark matter annihilation. Some results include a stringent limit on Lorentz invariance derived from a gamma-ray burst, unexpected gamma-ray variability from the Crab Nebula, a huge ga.nuna-ray structure associated with the center of our galaxy, surprising behavior from some gamma-ray binary systems, and a possible constraint on some WIMP models for dark matter.

Evaluation of the gamma radiation shielding parameters of bismuth modified quaternary glass system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, Parminder; Singh, K. J.; Thakur, Sonika

2018-05-01

Glasses modified with heavy metal oxides (HMO) are an interesting area of research in the field of gamma-ray shielding. Bismuth modified lithium-zinc-borate glasses have been studied whereby bismuth oxide is added from 0 to 50 mol%. The gamma ray shielding properties of the glasses were evaluated at photon energy 662 keV with the help of XMuDat computer program by using the Hubbell and Seltzer database. Various gamma ray shielding parameters such as attenuation coefficient, shield thickness in terms of half and tenth value layer, effective atomic number have been studied in this work. A useful comparison of this glass system has been made with standard radiation shielding concretes viz. ordinary, barite and iron concrete. The glass samples containing 20 to 50 mol% bismuth oxide have shown better gamma ray shielding properties and hence have the potential to become good radiation absorbers.

L4-L5 compression and anterior/posterior joint shear forces in cabin attendants during the initial push/pull actions of airplane meal carts.

PubMed

Sandfeld, Jesper; Rosgaard, Christian; Jensen, Bente Rona

2014-07-01

The aim of the present study was to assess the acute low back load of cabin attendants during cart handling and to identify working situations which present the highest strain on the worker. In a setup, 17 cabin attendants (ten females and seven males) pushed, pulled and turned a 20 kg standard meal cart (L: 0.5m × W: 0.3 m × H: 0.92 m) loaded with extra 20 kg and 40 kg, respectively on two different surfaces (carpet and linoleum) and at three floor inclinations (-2°, 0° and +2°). Two force transducers were mounted as handles. Two-dimensional movement analysis was performed and a 4D WATBAK modelling tool was used to calculate the acute L4-L5 load. No working situations created loads greater than the accepted values for single exertions, however compression and anterior/posterior shear forces during pulling and turning were much higher when compared with pushing. There were significant effects of handling the cart on different floor types, at the varying inclinations and with different cart weights. Additionally, when external forces were reduced, the cabin attendants did not decrease push/pull force proportionally and thus the L4-L5 load did not decrease as much as expected. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Ultra-wide Range Gamma Detector System for Search and Locate Operations

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

Odell, D. Mackenzie Odell; Harpring, Larry J.; Moore, Frank S. Jr.

2005-10-26

Collecting debris samples following a nuclear event requires that operations be conducted from a considerable stand-off distance. An ultra-wide range gamma detector system has been constructed to accomplish both long range radiation search and close range hot sample collection functions. Constructed and tested on a REMOTEC Andros platform, the system has demonstrated reliable operation over six orders of magnitude of gamma dose from 100's of uR/hr to over 100 R/hr. Functional elements include a remotely controlled variable collimator assembly, a NaI(Tl)/photomultiplier tube detector, a proprietary digital radiation instrument, a coaxially mounted video camera, a digital compass, and both local andmore » remote control computers with a user interface designed for long range operations. Long range sensitivity and target location, as well as close range sample selection performance are presented.« less

Dynamic gamma knife radiosurgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luan, Shuang; Swanson, Nathan; Chen, Zhe; Ma, Lijun

2009-03-01

Gamma knife has been the treatment of choice for various brain tumors and functional disorders. Current gamma knife radiosurgery is planned in a 'ball-packing' approach and delivered in a 'step-and-shoot' manner, i.e. it aims to 'pack' the different sized spherical high-dose volumes (called 'shots') into a tumor volume. We have developed a dynamic scheme for gamma knife radiosurgery based on the concept of 'dose-painting' to take advantage of the new robotic patient positioning system on the latest Gamma Knife C™ and Perfexion™ units. In our scheme, the spherical high dose volume created by the gamma knife unit will be viewed as a 3D spherical 'paintbrush', and treatment planning reduces to finding the best route of this 'paintbrush' to 'paint' a 3D tumor volume. Under our dose-painting concept, gamma knife radiosurgery becomes dynamic, where the patient moves continuously under the robotic positioning system. We have implemented a fully automatic dynamic gamma knife radiosurgery treatment planning system, where the inverse planning problem is solved as a traveling salesman problem combined with constrained least-square optimizations. We have also carried out experimental studies of dynamic gamma knife radiosurgery and showed the following. (1) Dynamic gamma knife radiosurgery is ideally suited for fully automatic inverse planning, where high quality radiosurgery plans can be obtained in minutes of computation. (2) Dynamic radiosurgery plans are more conformal than step-and-shoot plans and can maintain a steep dose gradient (around 13% per mm) between the target tumor volume and the surrounding critical structures. (3) It is possible to prescribe multiple isodose lines with dynamic gamma knife radiosurgery, so that the treatment can cover the periphery of the target volume while escalating the dose for high tumor burden regions. (4) With dynamic gamma knife radiosurgery, one can obtain a family of plans representing a tradeoff between the delivery time and the

A feasibility study of an integrated NIR/gamma/visible imaging system for endoscopic sentinel lymph node mapping.

PubMed

Kang, Han Gyu; Lee, Ho-Young; Kim, Kyeong Min; Song, Seong-Hyun; Hong, Gun Chul; Hong, Seong Jong

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to integrate NIR, gamma, and visible imaging tools into a single endoscopic system to overcome the limitation of NIR using gamma imaging and to demonstrate the feasibility of endoscopic NIR/gamma/visible fusion imaging for sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping with a small animal. The endoscopic NIR/gamma/visible imaging system consists of a tungsten pinhole collimator, a plastic focusing lens, a BGO crystal (11 × 11 × 2 mm 3 ), a fiber-optic taper (front = 11 × 11 mm 2 , end = 4 × 4 mm 2 ), a 122-cm long endoscopic fiber bundle, an NIR emission filter, a relay lens, and a CCD camera. A custom-made Derenzo-like phantom filled with a mixture of 99m Tc and indocyanine green (ICG) was used to assess the spatial resolution of the NIR and gamma images. The ICG fluorophore was excited using a light-emitting diode (LED) with an excitation filter (723-758 nm), and the emitted fluorescence photons were detected with an emission filter (780-820 nm) for a duration of 100 ms. Subsequently, the 99m Tc distribution in the phantom was imaged for 3 min. The feasibility of in vivo SLN mapping with a mouse was investigated by injecting a mixture of 99m Tc-antimony sulfur colloid (12 MBq) and ICG (0.1 mL) into the right paw of the mouse (C57/B6) subcutaneously. After one hour, NIR, gamma, and visible images were acquired sequentially. Subsequently, the dissected SLN was imaged in the same way as the in vivo SLN mapping. The NIR, gamma, and visible images of the Derenzo-like phantom can be obtained with the proposed endoscopic imaging system. The NIR/gamma/visible fusion image of the SLN showed a good correlation among the NIR, gamma, and visible images both for the in vivo and ex vivo imaging. We demonstrated the feasibility of the integrated NIR/gamma/visible imaging system using a single endoscopic fiber bundle. In future, we plan to investigate miniaturization of the endoscope head and simultaneous NIR/gamma/visible imaging with

Modeling and Investigation of Heavy Oxide and Alkali-Halide Scintillators for Potential Use in Neutron and Gamma Detection Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

INVESTIGATION OF HEAVY OXIDE AND ALKALI-HALIDE SCINTILLATORS FOR POTENTIAL USE IN NEUTRON AND GAMMA DETECTION SYSTEMS by Jeremy S. Cadiente June...AND ALKALI- HALIDE SCINTILLATORS FOR POTENTIAL USE IN NEUTRON AND GAMMA DETECTION SYSTEMS 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Jeremy S. Cadiente 7...fast neutron detection efficiencies well over 40%, were investigated for potential use as highly efficient gamma- neutron radiation detectors. The

Survival Outcomes and Effect of Early vs. Deferred cART Among HIV-Infected Patients Diagnosed at the Time of an AIDS-Defining Event: A Cohort Analysis

PubMed Central

Mussini, Cristina; Johnson, Margaret; d'Arminio Monforte, Antonella; Antinori, Andrea; Gill, M. John; Sighinolfi, Laura; Uberti-Foppa, Caterina; Borghi, Vanni; Sabin, Caroline

2011-01-01

Objectives We analyzed clinical progression among persons diagnosed with HIV at the time of an AIDS-defining event, and assessed the impact on outcome of timing of combined antiretroviral treatment (cART). Methods Retrospective, European and Canadian multicohort study.. Patients were diagnosed with HIV from 1997–2004 and had clinical AIDS from 30 days before to 14 days after diagnosis. Clinical progression (new AIDS event, death) was described using Kaplan-Meier analysis stratifying by type of AIDS event. Factors associated with progression were identified with multivariable Cox regression. Progression rates were compared between those starting early (<30 days after AIDS event) or deferred (30–270 days after AIDS event) cART. Results The median (interquartile range) CD4 count and viral load (VL) at diagnosis of the 584 patients were 42 (16, 119) cells/µL and 5.2 (4.5, 5.7) log10 copies/mL. Clinical progression was observed in 165 (28.3%) patients. Older age, a higher VL at diagnosis, and a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (vs. other AIDS events) were independently associated with disease progression. Of 366 patients with an opportunistic infection, 178 (48.6%) received early cART. There was no significant difference in clinical progression between those initiating cART early and those deferring treatment (adjusted hazard ratio 1.32 [95% confidence interval 0.87, 2.00], p = 0.20). Conclusions Older patients and patients with high VL or NHL at diagnosis had a worse outcome. Our data suggest that earlier initiation of cART may be beneficial among HIV-infected patients diagnosed with clinical AIDS in our setting. PMID:22043301

Low gamma counting for measuring NORM/TENORM with a radon reducing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paschoa, Anselmo S.

2001-06-01

A detection system for counting low levels of gamma radiation was built by upgrading an existing rectangular chamber made of 18 metric tonne of steel fabricated before World War II. The internal walls, the ceiling, and the floor of the chamber are covered with copper sheets. The new detection system consists of a stainless steel hollow cylinder with variable circular apertures in the cylindrical wall and in the base, to allow introduction of a NaI (Tl) crystal, or alternatively, a HPGe detector in its interior. This counting system is mounted inside the larger chamber, which in turn is located in a subsurface air-conditioned room. The access to the subsurface room is made from a larger entrance room through a tunnel plus a glass anteroom to decrease the air-exchange rate. Both sample and detector are housed inside the stainless steel cylinder. This cylinder is filled with hyper pure nitrogen gas, before counting a sample, to prevent radon coming into contact with the detector surface. As a consequence, the contribution of the 214Bi photopeaks to the background gamma spectra is minimized. The reduction of the gamma radiation background near the detector facilitates measurement of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), and/or technologically enhanced NORM (TENORM), which are usually at concentration levels only slightly higher than those typically found in the natural radioactive background.

Antiinflammatory effects of aprepitant coadministration with cART regimen containing ritonavir in HIV-infected adults

PubMed Central

Spitsin, Sergei; Barrett, Jeffrey S.; Pappa, Vasiliki; Kim, Deborah; Evans, Dwight L.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND. HIV-infected individuals, even well controlled with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), have systemic inflammation and comorbidities. Substance P (SP) is an undecapeptide, which mediates neurotransmission and inflammation through its cognate neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R). Plasma SP levels are elevated in HIV-infected individuals. The FDA-approved antiemetic aprepitant, an NK1R antagonist, has anti-HIV effects and antiinflammatory actions. We evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, and antiinflammatory properties of aprepitant in HIV-positive individuals receiving cART. METHODS. We conducted a phase 1B study of 12 HIV-positive individuals on a ritonavir-containing regimen (HIV viral load less than 40 copies/ml and CD4 > 400 cells/μl). Participants received open-label aprepitant 375 mg per day for 28 days and were followed for an additional 30 days. Changes in plasma levels of proinflammatory markers were assessed using flow cytometry, ELISA, luminex, and SOMAscan assays. RESULTS. The mean peak aprepitant plasma concentration was 30.7 ± 15.3 μg/ml at day 14 and 23.3 ± 12.3 μg/ml at day 28. Aprepitant treatment resulted in decreased plasma SP levels and affected 176 plasma proteins (56 after FDR) and several metabolic pathways, including inflammation and lipid metabolism. No change in soluble CD163 was observed. Aprepitant treatment was associated with a moderate increases in total and HDL cholesterol and affected select hematologic and metabolic markers, which returned to baseline levels 30 days after aprepitant treatment was stopped. There were 12 mild and 10 moderate adverse events (AE). CONCLUSIONS. Aprepitant is safe and well tolerated. The antiinflammatory properties of aprepitant make it a possible adjunctive therapy for comorbid conditions associated with HIV infection. TRIAL REGISTRATION. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02154360). FUNDING. This research was funded by NIH UO1 MH090325, P30 MH097488, and PO1 MH105303. PMID:28978797

Detection system for high-resolution gamma radiation spectroscopy with neutron time-of-flight filtering

DOEpatents

Dioszegi, Istvan; Salwen, Cynthia; Vanier, Peter

2014-12-30

A .gamma.-radiation detection system that includes at least one semiconductor detector such as HPGe-Detector, a position-sensitive .alpha.-Detector, a TOF Controller, and a Digitizer/Integrator. The Digitizer/Integrator starts to process the energy signals of a .gamma.-radiation sent from the HPGe-Detector instantly when the HPGe-Detector detects the .gamma.-radiation. Subsequently, it is determined whether a coincidence exists between the .alpha.-particles and .gamma.-radiation signal, based on a determination of the time-of-flight of neutrons obtained from the .alpha.-Detector and the HPGe-Detector. If it is determined that the time-of-flight falls within a predetermined coincidence window, the Digitizer/Integrator is allowed to continue and complete the energy signal processing. If, however, there is no coincidence, the Digitizer/Integrator is instructed to be clear and reset its operation instantly.

Neutron interrogation system using high gamma ray signature to detect contraband special nuclear materials in cargo

DOEpatents

Slaughter, Dennis R.; Pohl, Bertram A.; Dougan, Arden D.; Bernstein, Adam; Prussin, Stanley G.; Norman, Eric B.

2008-04-15

A system for inspecting cargo for the presence of special nuclear material. The cargo is irradiated with neutrons. The neutrons produce fission products in the special nuclear material which generate gamma rays. The gamma rays are detecting indicating the presence of the special nuclear material.

HIV-associated cognitive performance and psychomotor impairment in a Thai cohort on long-term cART.

PubMed

Do, Tanya C; Kerr, Stephen J; Avihingsanon, Anchalee; Suksawek, Saowaluk; Klungkang, Supalak; Channgam, Taweesak; Odermatt, Christoph C; Maek-A-Nantawat, Wirach; Ruxtungtham, Kiat; Ananworanich, Jintanat; Valcour, Victor; Reiss, Peter; Wit, Ferdinand W

2018-01-01

To assess cognitive performance and psychomotor impairment in an HIV-positive cohort, well-suppressed on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), in an Asian resource-limited setting. Cross-sectional sociodemographic and cognitive data were collected in 329 HIV-positive and 510 HIV-negative participants. Cognitive performance was assessed using the International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), WAIS-III Digit Symbol, Trail Making A, and Grooved Pegboard (both hands). Psychomotor test scores in the HIV-positive participants were converted to Z-scores using scores of the HIV-negative participants as normative data. Psychomotor impairment was defined as performance on two tests more than 1 standard deviation (SD) from controls or more than 2 SD on one test. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were used to investigate associations between HIV and non-HIV-related covariates and poorer cognitive performance and psychomotor impairment. HIV-positive participants, mean age 45 (SD 7.69) years received cART for a median of 12.1 years (interquartile range [IQR] 9.1-14.4). Median CD4 cell count was 563 cells/mm 3 (IQR 435-725), and 92.77% had plasma HIV RNA <40 copies/mL. The adjusted mean differences between HIV-positive versus HIV-negative cohorts indicated significantly inferior cognitive performance (tests all P <0.001) with increasing age and lower income, independently associated. Psychomotor impairment was found ( P <0.02) in all tests except the Grooved Pegboard non-dominant hand ( P =0.48). Psychomotor impairment prevalence was 43% in the HIV-positive cohort, associated with male gender and lower income. In this study, in individuals with viral suppression rates >90% on long-term cART, we found that inferior cognitive performance and psychomotor impairment were primarily associated with non-HIV-related factors.

Sneaky Gamma-Rays: Using Gravitational Lensing to Avoid Gamma-Gamma-Absorption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boettcher, Markus; Barnacka, Anna

2014-08-01

It has recently been suggested that gravitational lensing studies of gamma-ray blazars might be a promising avenue to probe the location of the gamma-ray emitting region in blazars. Motivated by these prospects, we have investigated potential gamma-gamma absorption signatures of intervening lenses in the very-high-energy gamma-ray emission from lensedblazars. We considered intervening galaxies and individual stars within these galaxies. We find that the collective radiation field of galaxies acting as sources of macrolensing are not expected to lead to significant gamma-gamma absorption. Individual stars within intervening galaxies could, in principle, cause a significant opacity to gamma-gamma absorption for VHE gamma-rays if the impact parameter (the distance of closest approach of the gamma-ray to the center of the star) is small enough. However, we find that the curvature of the photon path due to gravitational lensing will cause gamma-ray photons to maintain a sufficiently large distance from such stars to avoid significant gamma-gamma absorption. This re-inforces the prospect of gravitational-lensing studies of gamma-ray blazars without interference due to gamma-gamma absorption due to the lensing objects.

The costs and calorie content of a la carte food items purchased by students during school lunch

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

School environments influence student food choices. A la carte foods and beverages are often low nutrient and energy dense. This study assessed how much money students spent for these foods, and the total kilocalories purchased per student during the 2012–2013 school year. Six elementary and four in...

Loss of the HVEM Tumor Suppressor in Lymphoma and Restoration by Modified CAR-T Cells.

PubMed

Boice, Michael; Salloum, Darin; Mourcin, Frederic; Sanghvi, Viraj; Amin, Rada; Oricchio, Elisa; Jiang, Man; Mottok, Anja; Denis-Lagache, Nicolas; Ciriello, Giovanni; Tam, Wayne; Teruya-Feldstein, Julie; de Stanchina, Elisa; Chan, Wing C; Malek, Sami N; Ennishi, Daisuke; Brentjens, Renier J; Gascoyne, Randy D; Cogné, Michel; Tarte, Karin; Wendel, Hans-Guido

2016-10-06

The HVEM (TNFRSF14) receptor gene is among the most frequently mutated genes in germinal center lymphomas. We report that loss of HVEM leads to cell-autonomous activation of B cell proliferation and drives the development of GC lymphomas in vivo. HVEM-deficient lymphoma B cells also induce a tumor-supportive microenvironment marked by exacerbated lymphoid stroma activation and increased recruitment of T follicular helper (T FH ) cells. These changes result from the disruption of inhibitory cell-cell interactions between the HVEM and BTLA (B and T lymphocyte attenuator) receptors. Accordingly, administration of the HVEM ectodomain protein (solHVEM (P37-V202) ) binds BTLA and restores tumor suppression. To deliver solHVEM to lymphomas in vivo, we engineered CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that produce solHVEM locally and continuously. These modified CAR-T cells show enhanced therapeutic activity against xenografted lymphomas. Hence, the HVEM-BTLA axis opposes lymphoma development, and our study illustrates the use of CAR-T cells as "micro-pharmacies" able to deliver an anti-cancer protein. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Considerations pertaining to cell collection and administration of industry-manufactured autologous CAR-T cells, in relation to French healthcare organization and regulations.

PubMed

Chabannon, Christian; Larghero, Jérôme

2018-05-01

Access to treatment with CAR-T Cells at European hospitals in general and at French hospitals in particular remains limited, when compared with the situation that prevails in the USA or in certain Asian countries. Multiple reasons explain why European investigators lag behind their US or Chinese colleagues in this clinical research area. Some of these reasons are related to the European and French regulatory landscapes that hamper the design and rapid implementation of organizational solutions needed for safe and efficient administration of CAR-T Cells. We here identify some of these pressing issues and propose some possible paths to move forward. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Photodetectors for the Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, Robert G.; Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System AGIS Collaboration

2010-03-01

The Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation very high energy gamma-ray observatory. Design goals include an order of magnitude better sensitivity, better angular resolution, and a lower energy threshold than existing Cherenkov telescopes. Each telescope is equipped with a camera that detects and records the Cherenkov-light flashes from air showers. The camera is comprised of a pixelated focal plane of blue sensitive and fast (nanosecond) photon detectors that detect the photon signal and convert it into an electrical one. Given the scale of AGIS, the camera must be reliable and cost effective. The Schwarzschild-Couder optical design yields a smaller plate scale than present-day Cherenkov telescopes, enabling the use of more compact, multi-pixel devices, including multianode photomultipliers or Geiger avalanche photodiodes. We present the conceptual design of the focal plane for the camera and results from testing candidate! focal plane sensors.

The control and data acquisition structure for the GAMMA-400 space gamma-telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arkhangelskiy, Andrey

2016-07-01

The GAMMA-400 space project is intended for precision investigation of the cosmic gamma-emission in the energy band from keV region up to several TeV, electrons and positrons fluxes from ˜~1~GeV up to ˜~10~TeV and high energy cosmic-ray nuclei fluxes. A description of the control and data acquisition structure for gamma-telescope involved in the GAMMA 400 space project is given. The technical capabilities of all specialized equipment providing the functioning of the scientific instrumentation and satellite support systems are unified in a single structure. Control of the scientific instruments is maintained using one-time pulse radio commands and program commands transmitted via onboard control system and scientific data acquisition system. Up to 100~GByte of data per day can be transferred to the ground segment of the project. The correctness of the proposed and implemented structure, engineering solutions and electronic elemental base selection has been verified experimentally with the scientific complex prototype in the laboratory conditions.

Design of Dual-Road Transportable Portal Monitoring System for Visible Light and Gamma-Ray Imaging

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

Karnowski, Thomas Paul; Cunningham, Mark F; Goddard Jr, James Samuel

2010-01-01

The use of radiation sensors as portal monitors is increasing due to heightened concerns over the smuggling of fissile material. Transportable systems that can detect significant quantities of fissile material that might be present in vehicular traffic are of particular interest, especially if they can be rapidly deployed to different locations. To serve this application, we have constructed a rapid-deployment portal monitor that uses visible-light and gamma-ray imaging to allow simultaneous monitoring of multiple lanes of traffic from the side of a roadway. The system operation uses machine vision methods on the visible-light images to detect vehicles as they entermore » and exit the field of view and to measure their position in each frame. The visible-light and gamma-ray cameras are synchronized which allows the gamma-ray imager to harvest gamma-ray data specific to each vehicle, integrating its radiation signature for the entire time that it is in the field of view. Thus our system creates vehicle-specific radiation signatures and avoids source confusion problems that plague non-imaging approaches to the same problem. Our current prototype instrument was designed for measurement of upto five lanes of freeway traffic with a pair of instruments, one on either side of the roadway. Stereoscopic cameras are used with a third alignment camera for motion compensation and are mounted on a 50 deployable mast. In this paper we discuss the design considerations for the machine-vision system, the algorithms used for vehicle detection and position estimates, and the overall architecture of the system. We also discuss system calibration for rapid deployment. We conclude with notes on preliminary performance and deployment.« less

Design of dual-road transportable portal monitoring system for visible light and gamma-ray imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karnowski, Thomas P.; Cunningham, Mark F.; Goddard, James S.; Cheriyadat, Anil M.; Hornback, Donald E.; Fabris, Lorenzo; Kerekes, Ryan A.; Ziock, Klaus-Peter; Bradley, E. Craig; Chesser, J.; Marchant, W.

2010-04-01

The use of radiation sensors as portal monitors is increasing due to heightened concerns over the smuggling of fissile material. Transportable systems that can detect significant quantities of fissile material that might be present in vehicular traffic are of particular interest, especially if they can be rapidly deployed to different locations. To serve this application, we have constructed a rapid-deployment portal monitor that uses visible-light and gamma-ray imaging to allow simultaneous monitoring of multiple lanes of traffic from the side of a roadway. The system operation uses machine vision methods on the visible-light images to detect vehicles as they enter and exit the field of view and to measure their position in each frame. The visible-light and gamma-ray cameras are synchronized which allows the gamma-ray imager to harvest gamma-ray data specific to each vehicle, integrating its radiation signature for the entire time that it is in the field of view. Thus our system creates vehicle-specific radiation signatures and avoids source confusion problems that plague non-imaging approaches to the same problem. Our current prototype instrument was designed for measurement of upto five lanes of freeway traffic with a pair of instruments, one on either side of the roadway. Stereoscopic cameras are used with a third "alignment" camera for motion compensation and are mounted on a 50' deployable mast. In this paper we discuss the design considerations for the machine-vision system, the algorithms used for vehicle detection and position estimates, and the overall architecture of the system. We also discuss system calibration for rapid deployment. We conclude with notes on preliminary performance and deployment.

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Focal Plane Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukherjee, Reshmi; Byrum, K.; Drake, G.; Falcone, A.; Funk, S.; Horan, D.; Tajima, H.; Wagner, B.; Williams, D.

2008-04-01

Report of the Focal Plane Instrumentation Working Group, AGIS collaboration: The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation instrument in ground-based very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. It has the goal of achieving significant improvement in sensitivity over current experiments. One of the main requirements for AGIS will be to achieve higher angular resolution than current imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). Simulations show that a substantial improvement in angular resolution may be achieved if the pixel size is reduced to 0.05 deg, below that of current IACTs. Reducing the cost per channel and improving reliability and modularity are other important considerations. Here we present several alternatives being considered for AGIS, including both silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMTs) and summarize results from feasibility testing by various AGIS photodetector group members.

System of Programmed Modules for Measuring Photographs with a Gamma-Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Averin, S. A.; Veselova, G. V.; Navasardyan, G. V.

1978-01-01

Physical experiments using tracking cameras resulted in hundreds of thousands of stereo photographs of events being received. To process such a large volume of information, automatic and semiautomatic measuring systems are required. At the Institute of Space Research of the Academy of Science of the USSR, a system for processing film information from the spark gamma-telescope was developed. The system is based on a BPS-75 projector in line with the minicomputer Elektronika 1001. The report describes this system. The various computer programs available to the operators are discussed.

Piezoelectric wafer active sensors under gamma radiation exposure toward applications for structural health monitoring of nuclear dry cask storage systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faisal Haider, Mohammad; Mei, Hanfei; Lin, Bin; Yu, Lingyu; Giurgiutiu, Victor; Lam, Poh-Sang; Verst, Christopher

2018-03-01

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is in urgent need and must be integrated into the nuclear-spent fuel storage systems to guarantee the safe operation. The dry cask storage system (DCSS) is such storage facility, which is licensed for temporary storage for nuclear-spent fuel at the independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) for certain predetermined period of time. Gamma radiation is one of the major radiation sources near DCSS. Therefore, a detailed experimental investigation was completed on the gamma radiation endurance of piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) transducers for SHM applications to the DCSS system. The irradiation test was done in a Co-60 gamma irradiator. Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) and Gallium Orthophosphate (GaPO4) PWAS transducers were exposed to 40.7 kGy gamma radiation. Total radiation dose was achieved in two different radiation dose rates: (a) slower radiation rate at 0.1 kGy/hr for 20 hours (b) accelerated radiation rate at 1.233 kGy/hr for 32 hours. The total cumulative radiation dose of 40.7 kGy is equivalent to 45 years of operation in DCSS system. Electro-mechanical impedance and admittance (EMIA) signatures and electrical capacitance were measured to evaluate the PWAS performance after each gamma radiation exposure. The change in resonance frequency of PZT-PWAS transducer for both in-plane and thickness mode was observed. The GaPO4-PWAS EMIA spectra do not show a significant shift in resonance frequency after gamma irradiation exposure. Radiation endurance of new high-temperature HPZ-HiT PWAS transducer was also evaluated. The HPZ-HiT transducers were exposed to gamma radiation at 1.233 kGy/hr for 160 hours with 80 hours interval. Therefore, the total accumulated gamma radiation dose is 184 kGy. No significant change in impedance spectra was observed due to gamma radiation exposure.

Environmental assessment for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program: Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site

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

Policastro, A.J.; Pfingston, J.M.; Maloney, D.M.

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is aimed at supplying improved predictive capability of climate change, particularly the prediction of cloud-climate feedback. The objective will be achieved by measuring the atmospheric radiation and physical and meteorological quantities that control solar radiation in the earth`s atmosphere and using this information to test global climate and related models. The proposed action is to construct and operate a Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) research site in the southern Great Plains as part of the Department of Energy`s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program whose objective is to develop an improved predictive capability of global climatemore » change. The purpose of this CART research site in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma would be to collect meteorological and other scientific information to better characterize the processes controlling radiation transfer on a global scale. Impacts which could result from this facility are described.« less

The Z {yields} cc-bar {yields} {gamma}{gamma}*, Z {yields} bb-bar {yields} {gamma}{gamma}* triangle diagrams and the Z {yields} {gamma}{psi}, Z {yields} {gamma}Y decays

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

Achasov, N. N., E-mail: achasov@math.nsc.ru

2011-03-15

The approach to the Z {yields} {gamma}{psi} and Z {yields} {gamma}Y decay study is presented in detail, based on the sum rules for the Z {yields} cc-bar {yields} {gamma}{gamma}* and Z {yields} bb-bar {yields} {gamma}{gamma}* amplitudes and their derivatives. The branching ratios of the Z {yields} {gamma}{psi} and Z {yields} {gamma}Y decays are calculated for different hypotheses on saturation of the sum rules. The lower bounds of {Sigma}{sub {psi}} BR(Z {yields} {gamma}{psi}) = 1.95 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -7} and {Sigma}{sub {upsilon}} BR(Z {yields} {gamma}Y) = 7.23 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -7} are found. Deviations from the lower bounds are discussed, including the possibilitymore » of BR(Z {yields} {gamma}J/{psi}(1S)) {approx} BR(Z {yields} {gamma}Y(1S)) {approx} 10{sup -6}, that could be probably measured in LHC. The angular distributions in the Z {yields} {gamma}{psi} and Z {yields} {gamma}Y decays are also calculated.« less

Focal Plane Detectors for the Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, R. G.; Byrum, K.; Drake, G.; Funk, S.; Otte, N.; Smith, A.; Tajima, H.; Williams, D.

2009-05-01

The Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation observatory in ground-based very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. It is being designed to achieve a significant improvement in sensitivity compared to current Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope (IACT) Arrays. One of the main requirements in order that AGIS fulfills this goal will be to achieve higher angular resolution than current IACTs. Simulations show that a substantial improvement in angular resolution may be achieved if the pixel size is reduced to 0.05 deg, i.e. two to three times smaller than for current IACT cameras. Here we present results from testing of alternatives being considered for AGIS, including both silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMTs).

Nonflammable Hydraulic Power System for Tactical Aircraft. Volume 2. Equipment and Systems Test and Evaluation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-01

hold large quantities of air in solution at high pressures and at 8000 psi CTFE holds 500 times its volume of standard atmospheric air. Since air...cart bleeding can be expected to reduce dissolved air to about 1.5 times the amount held at atmospheric pressure. This is more than adequate for...aircraft hydraulic systems while circulating fluid through the cart reservoir which is vented to atmosphere . After open loop air bleeding, the aircraft

Turning a Common Lab Exercise into a Challenging Lab Experiment: Revisiting the Cart on an Inclined Track

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amato, Joseph C.; Williams, Roger E.

2010-01-01

A common lab exercise in the introductory college physics course employs a low-friction cart and associated track to study the validity of Newton's second law. Yet for college students, especially those who have already encountered a good high school physics course, the exercise must seem a little pointless. These students have already learned to…

A study of interdiffusion in beta + gamma/gamma + gamma prime Ni-Cr-Al. M.S. Thesis. Final Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carol, L. A.

1985-01-01

Ternary diffusion in the NiCrAl system at 1200 C was studied with beta + gamma/gamma + gamma prime infinite diffusion couples. Interdiffusion resulted in the formation of complex, multiphase diffusion zones. Concentration/distance profiles for Cr and Al in the phases present in the diffusion zone were measured after 200 hr. The Ni-rich portion of the NiCrAl phase diagram (1200 C) was also determined. From these data, bulk Cr and Al profiles were calculated and translated to diffusion paths on the ternary isotherm. Growth layer kinetics of the layers present in the diffusion zone were also measured.

Combination neutron-gamma ray detector

DOEpatents

Stuart, Travis P.; Tipton, Wilbur J.

1976-10-26

A radiation detection system capable of detecting neutron and gamma events and distinguishing therebetween. The system includes a detector for a photomultiplier which utilizes a combination of two phosphor materials, the first of which is in the form of small glass beads which scintillate primarily in response to neutrons and the second of which is a plastic matrix which scintillates in response to gammas. A combination of pulse shape and pulse height discrimination techniques is utilized to provide an essentially complete separation of the neutron and gamma events.

Camera Concepts for the Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nepomuk Otte, Adam

2009-05-01

The Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation observatory in ground-based very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. Design goals are ten times better sensitivity, higher angular resolution, and a lower energy threshold than existing Cherenkov telescopes. Each telescope is equipped with a camera that detects and records the Cherenkov-light flashes from air showers. The camera is comprised of a pixelated focal plane of blue sensitive and fast (nanosecond) photon detectors that detect the photon signal and convert it into an electrical one. The incorporation of trigger electronics and signal digitization into the camera are under study. Given the size of AGIS, the camera must be reliable, robust, and cost effective. We are investigating several directions that include innovative technologies such as Geiger-mode avalanche-photodiodes as a possible detector and switched capacitor arrays for the digitization.

Genetic polymorphisms associated with fatty liver disease and fibrosis in HIV positive patients receiving combined antiretroviral therapy (cART)

PubMed Central

Luda, Carolin; Schwarze-Zander, Carolynne; Boesecke, Christoph; Hansel, Cordula; Nischalke, Hans-Dieter; Lutz, Philipp; Mohr, Raphael; Wasmuth, Jan-Christian; Strassburg, Christian P.; Trebicka, Jonel; Rockstroh, Jürgen Kurt; Spengler, Ulrich

2017-01-01

Hepatic steatosis can occur with any antiretroviral therapy (cART). Although single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified to predispose to alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, their role for treatment-associated steatosis in HIV-positive patients remains unclear. We determined the frequency of PNPLA3 (rs738409), CSPG3/NCAN (rs2228603), GCKR (rs780094), PPP1R3B (rs4240624), TM6SF (rs8542926), LYPLAL1 (rs12137855) and MBOAT7 (rs626283) by RT-PCR in 117 HIV-positive patients on cART and stratified participants based on their “controlled attenuation parameter” (CAP) into probable (CAP: 215–300 dB/m) and definite (CAP >300 dB/m) hepatic steatosis. We analyzed CAP values and routine metabolic parameters according to the allele frequencies. Sixty-five (55.6%) and 13 (11.1%) patients were allocated to probable and definite steatosis. CAP values (p = 0.012) and serum triglycerides (p = 0.043) were increased in carriers of the GCKR (rs780094) A allele. Cox logistic regression identified triglycerides (p = 0.006), bilirubin (p = 0.021) and BMI (p = 0.068), but not the genetic parameters as risk factors for the occurrence of hepatic steatosis. Taken together, according to the limited sample size, this exploratory study generates the hypothesis that genetic polymorphisms seem to exert minor effects on the risk for fatty liver disease in HIV-positive patients on cART. Nevertheless, SNPs may modify metabolic complications once metabolic abnormalities have developed. Hence, subsequent analysis of a larger cohort is needed. PMID:28594920

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Galactic Astrophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Digel, Seth William; Funk, S.; Kaaret, P. E.; Tajima, H.; AGIS Collaboration

2010-03-01

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS), a concept for a next-generation atmospheric Cherenkov telescope array, would provide unprecedented sensitivity and resolution in the energy range >50 GeV, allowing great advances in the understanding of the populations and physics of sources of high-energy gamma rays in the Milky Way. Extrapolation based on the known source classes and the performance parameters for AGIS indicates that a survey of the Galactic plane with AGIS will reveal hundreds of TeV sources in exquisite detail, for population studies of a variety of source classes, and detailed studies of individual sources. AGIS will be able to study propagation effects on the cosmic rays produced by Galactic sources by detecting the diffuse glow from their interactions in dense interstellar gas. AGIS will complement and extend results now being obtained in the GeV range with the Fermi mission, by providing superior angular resolution and sensitivity to variability on short time scales, and of course by probing energies that Fermi cannot reach.

Tissue-equivalent TL sheet dosimetry system for X- and gamma-ray dose mapping.

PubMed

Nariyama, N; Konnai, A; Ohnishi, S; Odano, N; Yamaji, A; Ozasa, N; Ishikawa, Y

2006-01-01

To measure dose distribution for X- and gamma rays simply and accurately, a tissue-equivalent thermoluminescent (TL) sheet-type dosemeter and reader system were developed. The TL sheet is composed of LiF:Mg,Cu,P and ETFE polymer, and the thickness is 0.2 mm. For the TL reading, a square heating plate, 20 cm on each side, was developed, and the temperature distribution was measured with an infrared thermal imaging camera. As a result, linearity within 2% and the homogeneity within 3% were confirmed. The TL signal emitted is detected using a CCD camera and displayed as a spatial dose distribution. Irradiation using synchrotron radiation between 10 and 100 keV and (60)Co gamma rays showed that the TL sheet dosimetry system was promising for radiation dose mapping for various purposes.

Causes of Death among AIDS Patients after Introduction of Free Combination Antiretroviral Therapy (cART) in Three Chinese Provinces, 2010-2011.

PubMed

Wang, Liyan; Ge, Lin; Wang, Lu; Morano, Jamie P; Guo, Wei; Khoshnood, Kaveh; Qin, Qianqian; Ding, Zhengwei; Sun, Dingyong; Liu, Xiaoyan; Luo, Hongbing; Tillman, Jonas; Cui, Yan

2015-01-01

Although AIDS-related deaths have had significant economic and social impact following an increased disease burden internationally, few studies have evaluated the cause of AIDS-related deaths among patients with AIDS on combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) in China. This study examines the causes of death among AIDS-patients in China and uses a methodology to increase data accuracy compared to the previous studies on AIDS-related mortality in China, that have taken the reported cause of death in the National HIV Registry at face-value. Death certificates/medical records were examined and a cross-sectional survey was conducted in three provinces to verify the causes of death among AIDS patients who died between January 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011. Chi-square analysis was conducted to examine the categorical variables by causes of death and by ART status. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to evaluate factors associated with AIDS-related death versus non-AIDS related death. This study used a sample of 1,109 subjects. The average age at death was 44.5 years. AIDS-related deaths were significantly higher than non-AIDS and injury-related deaths. In the sample, 41.9% (465/1109) were deceased within a year of HIV diagnosis and 52.7% (584/1109) of the deceased AIDS patients were not on cART. For AIDS-related deaths (n = 798), statistically significant factors included CD4 count <200 cells/mm3 at the time of cART initiation (AOR 1.94, 95%CI 1.24-3.05), ART naïve (AOR 1.69, 95%CI 1.09-2.61; p = 0.019) and age <39 years (AOR 2.96, 95%CI 1.77-4.96). For the AIDS patients that were deceased, only those who initiated cART while at a CD4 count ≥200 cells/mm3 were less likely to die from AIDS-related causes compared to those who didn't initiate ART at all.

Wagging the Dog, Carting the Horse: Testing and Improving Schools. Summary of Conference Proceedings. Research into Practice Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herman, Joan; And Others

The purpose of the conference, "Wagging the Dog, Carting the Horse: Testing vs. Improving California Schools," was to discuss alternative perspectives on testing and evaluation in education and their role in improving teaching and learning. Four papers were presented: (1) "Using Educational Evaluation for the Improvement of California Schools," by…

Poor Linkage to Care Despite Significant Improvement in Access to Early cART in Central Poland - Data from Test and Keep in Care (TAK) Project.

PubMed

Kowalska, Justyna D; Shepherd, Leah; Ankiersztejn-Bartczak, Magdalena; Cybula, Aneta; Czeszko-Paprocka, Hanna; Firląg-Burkacka, Ewa; Mocroft, Amanda; Horban, Andrzej

2016-01-01

The main objective of the TAK project is investigating barriers in accessing HIV care after HIV-diagnosis at the CBVCTs of central Poland. Here we describe factors associated with and changes over time in linkage to care and access to cART. Data collected in 2010-2013 in CBVCTs were linked with HIV clinics records using unique identifiers. Individuals were followed from the day of CBVCTs visit until first clinical visit or 4/06/2014. Cox-proportional hazard models were used to identify factors associated with being linked to care and starting cART. In total 232 persons were diagnosed HIV-positive and 144 (62.1% 95%CI: 55.5-68.3) persons were linked to care. There was no change over time in linkage to care (p = 0.48), while time to starting cART decreased (p = 0.02). Multivariate factors associated with a lower rate of linkage to care were hetero/bisexual sexual orientation, lower education, not having an HIV-positive partner and not using condoms in a stable relationship. Multivariate factors associated with starting cART were lower education, recent year of linked to care, and first HIV RNA and CD4 cell count. Benefits of linkage to care, measured by access to early treatment, steadily improved in recent years. However at least 1 in 3 persons aware of their HIV status in central Poland remained outside professional healthcare. Persons at higher risk of remaining outside care, thus target population for future interventions, are bi/heterosexuals and those with lower levels of education.

Development and characterization of a round hand-held silicon photomultiplier based gamma camera for intraoperative imaging

PubMed Central

Popovic, Kosta; McKisson, Jack E.; Kross, Brian; Lee, Seungjoon; McKisson, John; Weisenberger, Andrew G.; Proffitt, James; Stolin, Alexander; Majewski, Stan; Williams, Mark B.

2017-01-01

This paper describes the development of a hand-held gamma camera for intraoperative surgical guidance that is based on silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) technology. The camera incorporates a cerium doped lanthanum bromide (LaBr3:Ce) plate scintillator, an array of 80 SiPM photodetectors and a two-layer parallel-hole collimator. The field of view is circular with a 60 mm diameter. The disk-shaped camera housing is 75 mm in diameter, approximately 40.5 mm thick and has a mass of only 1.4 kg, permitting either hand-held or arm-mounted use. All camera components are integrated on a mobile cart that allows easy transport. The camera was developed for use in surgical procedures including determination of the location and extent of primary carcinomas, detection of secondary lesions and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). Here we describe the camera design and its principal operating characteristics, including spatial resolution, energy resolution, sensitivity uniformity, and geometric linearity. The gamma camera has an intrinsic spatial resolution of 4.2 mm FWHM, an energy resolution of 21.1 % FWHM at 140 keV, and a sensitivity of 481 and 73 cps/MBq when using the single- and double-layer collimators, respectively. PMID:28286345

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Characterization and Clinical Outcomes After NeoCart Surgical Therapy as a Primary Reparative Treatment for Knee Cartilage Injuries.

PubMed

Anderson, Devon E; Williams, Riley J; DeBerardino, Thomas M; Taylor, Dean C; Ma, C Benjamin; Kane, Marie S; Crawford, Dennis C

2017-03-01

Autologous cartilage tissue implants, including the NeoCart implant, are intended to repair focal articular cartilage lesions. Short-term results from United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) phase I and phase II clinical trials indicated that the NeoCart implant was safe when surgically applied as a cell-based therapy and efficacious compared with microfracture. Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis would reveal NeoCart tissue maturation through to 60-month follow-up. Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Patients with symptomatic full-thickness cartilage lesions of the distal femoral condyle were treated with NeoCart in FDA clinical trials. Safety and efficacy were evaluated prospectively by MRI and clinical patient-reported outcomes (PROs) through to 60-month follow-up. Qualitative MRI metrics were quantified according to modified MOCART (magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue) criteria, with an independent evaluation of repair tissue signal intensity. Subjective PROs and objective range of motion (ROM) were obtained at baseline and through to 60 months. Twenty-nine patients treated with NeoCart were observed over a mean of 52.0 ± 15.5 months (median, 60 months). MOCART analyses indicated significant improvement ( P < .001) in cartilage quality from 3 to 24 months, with stabilization from 24 to 60 months. Signal intensity of the repair tissue evolved from hyperintense at early follow-up to isointense after 6 months and to hypointense after 24 months. The temporal progression toward hypointense T2 signals at later time points observed here indicated a further reorganization of the repair tissue toward a dense tissue that was less similar to the surrounding native tissue. However, 80% of patients showed evidence of subchondral bone changes on MRI at all time points; 4 patients (14%) showed no improvement of MRI criteria. Compared with baseline values, significant improvement ( P < .001) was seen in PROs (mean [�

Future prospects for gamma-ray

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C.

1980-01-01

Astrophysical phenomena discussed are: the very energetic and nuclear processes associated with compact objects; astrophysical nucleo-synthesis; solar particle acceleration; the chemical composition of the planets and other bodies of the solar system; the structure of our galaxy; the origin and dynamic pressure effects of the cosmic rays; the high energy particles and energetic processes in other galaxies, especially active ones; and the degree of matter antimater symmetry of the universe. The gamma ray results of GAMMA-I, the gamma ray observatory, the gamma ray burst network, solar polar, and very high energy gamma ray telescopes on the ground provide justification for more sophisticated telescopes.

First results of electron temperature measurements by the use of multi-pass Thomson scattering system in GAMMA 10

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

Yoshikawa, M., E-mail: yosikawa@prc.tsukuba.ac.jp; Nagasu, K.; Shimamura, Y.

2014-11-15

A multi-pass Thomson scattering (TS) has the advantage of enhancing scattered signals. We constructed a multi-pass TS system for a polarisation-based system and an image relaying system modelled on the GAMMA 10 TS system. We undertook Raman scattering experiments both for the multi-pass setting and for checking the optical components. Moreover, we applied the system to the electron temperature measurements in the GAMMA 10 plasma for the first time. The integrated scattering signal was magnified by approximately three times by using the multi-pass TS system with four passes. The electron temperature measurement accuracy is improved by using this multi-pass system.

First results of electron temperature measurements by the use of multi-pass Thomson scattering system in GAMMA 10.

PubMed

Yoshikawa, M; Yasuhara, R; Nagasu, K; Shimamura, Y; Shima, Y; Kohagura, J; Sakamoto, M; Nakashima, Y; Imai, T; Ichimura, M; Yamada, I; Funaba, H; Kawahata, K; Minami, T

2014-11-01

A multi-pass Thomson scattering (TS) has the advantage of enhancing scattered signals. We constructed a multi-pass TS system for a polarisation-based system and an image relaying system modelled on the GAMMA 10 TS system. We undertook Raman scattering experiments both for the multi-pass setting and for checking the optical components. Moreover, we applied the system to the electron temperature measurements in the GAMMA 10 plasma for the first time. The integrated scattering signal was magnified by approximately three times by using the multi-pass TS system with four passes. The electron temperature measurement accuracy is improved by using this multi-pass system.

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Telescope Mechanical Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guarino, V.; Buckley, J.; Byrum, K.; Falcone, A.; Fegan, S.; Finley, J.; Hanna, D.; Horan, D.; Kaaret, P.; Konopelko, A.; Krawczynski, H.; Krennrich, F.; Wagner, R.; Woods, M.; Vassiliev, V.

2008-04-01

The concept of a future ground-based gamma-ray observatory, AGIS, in the energy range 40 GeV-100 TeV is based on an array of sim 100 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). The anticipated improvements of AGIS sensitivity, angular resolution and reliability of operation impose demanding technological and cost requirements on the design of IACTs. The relatively inexpensive Davies-Cotton telescope design has been used in ground-based gamma-ray astronomy for almost fifty years and is an excellent option. We are also exploring alternative designs and in this submission we focus on the recent mechanical design of a two-mirror telescope with a Schwarzschild-Couder (SC) optical system. The mechanical structure provides support points for mirrors and camera. The design was driven by the requirement of minimizing the deflections of the mirror support structures. The structure is also designed to be able to slew in elevation and azimuth at 10 degrees/sec.

Portable Plating System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flores, R.

1984-01-01

Plating system mounted on portable cart includes 30-gallon (23.5 liter) electrolyte tank, filler pump, heaters, replenishing anodes, plating rectifiers and tank rectifier to continously remove contaminants.

Method of Grassland Information Extraction Based on Multi-Level Segmentation and Cart Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Y.; Chen, T.; He, J.; Wen, Q.; Liu, F.; Wang, Z.

2018-04-01

It is difficult to extract grassland accurately by traditional classification methods, such as supervised method based on pixels or objects. This paper proposed a new method combing the multi-level segmentation with CART (classification and regression tree) model. The multi-level segmentation which combined the multi-resolution segmentation and the spectral difference segmentation could avoid the over and insufficient segmentation seen in the single segmentation mode. The CART model was established based on the spectral characteristics and texture feature which were excavated from training sample data. Xilinhaote City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was chosen as the typical study area and the proposed method was verified by using visual interpretation results as approximate truth value. Meanwhile, the comparison with the nearest neighbor supervised classification method was obtained. The experimental results showed that the total precision of classification and the Kappa coefficient of the proposed method was 95 % and 0.9, respectively. However, the total precision of classification and the Kappa coefficient of the nearest neighbor supervised classification method was 80 % and 0.56, respectively. The result suggested that the accuracy of classification proposed in this paper was higher than the nearest neighbor supervised classification method. The experiment certificated that the proposed method was an effective extraction method of grassland information, which could enhance the boundary of grassland classification and avoid the restriction of grassland distribution scale. This method was also applicable to the extraction of grassland information in other regions with complicated spatial features, which could avoid the interference of woodland, arable land and water body effectively.

Nondestructive Inspection System for Special Nuclear Material Using Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion Neutrons and Laser Compton Scattering Gamma-Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohgaki, H.; Daito, I.; Zen, H.; Kii, T.; Masuda, K.; Misawa, T.; Hajima, R.; Hayakawa, T.; Shizuma, T.; Kando, M.; Fujimoto, S.

2017-07-01

A Neutron/Gamma-ray combined inspection system for hidden special nuclear materials (SNMs) in cargo containers has been developed under a program of Japan Science and Technology Agency in Japan. This inspection system consists of an active neutron-detection system for fast screening and a laser Compton backscattering gamma-ray source in coupling with nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) method for precise inspection. The inertial electrostatic confinement fusion device has been adopted as a neutron source and two neutron-detection methods, delayed neutron noise analysis method and high-energy neutron-detection method, have been developed to realize the fast screening system. The prototype system has been constructed and tested in the Reactor Research Institute, Kyoto University. For the generation of the laser Compton backscattering gamma-ray beam, a race track microtron accelerator has been used to reduce the size of the system. For the NRF measurement, an array of LaBr3(Ce) scintillation detectors has been adopted to realize a low-cost detection system. The prototype of the gamma-ray system has been demonstrated in the Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology. By using numerical simulations based on the data taken from these prototype systems and the inspection-flow, the system designed by this program can detect 1 kg of highly enriched 235U (HEU) hidden in an empty 20-ft container within several minutes.

The structure of control and data transfer management system for the GAMMA-400 scientific complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Bobkov, S. G.; Serdin, O. V.; Gorbunov, M. S.; Topchiev, N. P.

2016-02-01

A description of the control and data transfer management system for scientific instrumentation involved in the GAMMA-400 space project is given. The technical capabilities of all specialized equipment to provide the functioning of the scientific instrumentation and satellite support systems are unified in a single structure. Control of the scientific instruments is maintained using one-time pulse radio commands, as well as program commands in the form of 16-bit code words, which are transmitted via onboard control system and scientific data acquisition system. Up to 100 GByte of data per day can be transferred to the ground segment of the project. The correctness of the proposed and implemented structure, engineering solutions and electronic elemental base selection has been verified by the experimental working-off of the prototype of the GAMMA-400 scientific complex in laboratory conditions.

New developments of the CARTE thermochemical code: A two-phase equation of state for nanocarbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubois, Vincent; Pineau, Nicolas

2016-01-01

We developed a new equation of state (EOS) for nanocarbons in the thermodynamic range of high explosives detonation products (up to 50 GPa and 4000 K). This EOS was fitted to an extensive database of thermodynamic properties computed by molecular dynamics simulations of nanodiamonds and nano-onions with the LCBOPII potential. We reproduced the detonation properties of a variety of high explosives with the CARTE thermochemical code, including carbon-poor and carbon-rich explosives, with excellent accuracy.

Low mother-to-child-transmission rate of Hepatitis C virus in cART treated HIV-1 infected mothers.

PubMed

Snijdewind, I J M; Smit, C; Schutten, M; Nellen, F J B; Kroon, F P; Reiss, P; van der Ende, M E

2015-07-01

Maternal transmission is the most common cause of HCV infection in children. HIV co-infection and high levels of plasma HCV-RNA have been associated with increased HCV transmission rates. We assessed the vertical HCV transmission rate in the HIV-HCV co-infected group of pregnant women on cART. We conducted a retrospective study in a Dutch cohort of HIV-positive pregnant women and their children. We identified co-infected mothers. Results of the HCV tests of the children were obtained. All 21 women were on cART at the time of delivery. We analyzed data of the 24 live-born children at risk for mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HCV between 1996 and 2009. HIV-RNA was <500 copies/ml during 18/24 [75%] deliveries, the median CD4(+) cell count was 419 cells/μl (290-768). There was no transmission of HIV. The median plasma HCV-RNA in our cohort of 23 non-transmitting deliveries in 21 women was 3.5×10E5 viral eq/ml (IQR 9.6×104-1.5×106veq/mL). One of 24 live-born children was found to be infected with HCV genotype 1. At the time of delivery the maternal plasma HIV-RNA was <50 copies/ml, the CD4(+) cell count was 160 cells/μl and maternal plasma HCV-RNA was 4.6×10E6 veq/ml. This amounted to a prevalence of HCV-MTCT of 4%. In this well-defined cohort of HIV-HCV co-infected pregnant women, all treated with cART during pregnancy, a modest rate of vertical HCV transmission was observed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The agile alert system for gamma-ray transients

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

Bulgarelli, A.; Trifoglio, M.; Gianotti, F.

2014-01-20

In recent years, a new generation of space missions has offered great opportunities for discovery in high-energy astrophysics. In this article we focus on the scientific operations of the Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID) on board the AGILE space mission. AGILE-GRID, sensitive in the energy range of 30 MeV-30 GeV, has detected many γ-ray transients of both galactic and extragalactic origin. This work presents the AGILE innovative approach to fast γ-ray transient detection, which is a challenging task and a crucial part of the AGILE scientific program. The goals are to describe (1) the AGILE Gamma-Ray Alert System, (2) a newmore » algorithm for blind search identification of transients within a short processing time, (3) the AGILE procedure for γ-ray transient alert management, and (4) the likelihood of ratio tests that are necessary to evaluate the post-trial statistical significance of the results. Special algorithms and an optimized sequence of tasks are necessary to reach our goal. Data are automatically analyzed at every orbital downlink by an alert pipeline operating on different timescales. As proper flux thresholds are exceeded, alerts are automatically generated and sent as SMS messages to cellular telephones, via e-mail, and via push notifications from an application for smartphones and tablets. These alerts are crosschecked with the results of two pipelines, and a manual analysis is performed. Being a small scientific-class mission, AGILE is characterized by optimization of both scientific analysis and ground-segment resources. The system is capable of generating alerts within two to three hours of a data downlink, an unprecedented reaction time in γ-ray astrophysics.« less

The AGILE Alert System for Gamma-Ray Transients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulgarelli, A.; Trifoglio, M.; Gianotti, F.; Tavani, M.; Parmiggiani, N.; Fioretti, V.; Chen, A. W.; Vercellone, S.; Pittori, C.; Verrecchia, F.; Lucarelli, F.; Santolamazza, P.; Fanari, G.; Giommi, P.; Beneventano, D.; Argan, A.; Trois, A.; Scalise, E.; Longo, F.; Pellizzoni, A.; Pucella, G.; Colafrancesco, S.; Conforti, V.; Tempesta, P.; Cerone, M.; Sabatini, P.; Annoni, G.; Valentini, G.; Salotti, L.

2014-01-01

In recent years, a new generation of space missions has offered great opportunities for discovery in high-energy astrophysics. In this article we focus on the scientific operations of the Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID) on board the AGILE space mission. AGILE-GRID, sensitive in the energy range of 30 MeV-30 GeV, has detected many γ-ray transients of both galactic and extragalactic origin. This work presents the AGILE innovative approach to fast γ-ray transient detection, which is a challenging task and a crucial part of the AGILE scientific program. The goals are to describe (1) the AGILE Gamma-Ray Alert System, (2) a new algorithm for blind search identification of transients within a short processing time, (3) the AGILE procedure for γ-ray transient alert management, and (4) the likelihood of ratio tests that are necessary to evaluate the post-trial statistical significance of the results. Special algorithms and an optimized sequence of tasks are necessary to reach our goal. Data are automatically analyzed at every orbital downlink by an alert pipeline operating on different timescales. As proper flux thresholds are exceeded, alerts are automatically generated and sent as SMS messages to cellular telephones, via e-mail, and via push notifications from an application for smartphones and tablets. These alerts are crosschecked with the results of two pipelines, and a manual analysis is performed. Being a small scientific-class mission, AGILE is characterized by optimization of both scientific analysis and ground-segment resources. The system is capable of generating alerts within two to three hours of a data downlink, an unprecedented reaction time in γ-ray astrophysics.

Application of a water quality model in the White Cart water catchment, Glasgow, UK.

PubMed

Liu, S; Tucker, P; Mansell, M; Hursthouse, A

2003-03-01

Water quality models of urban systems have previously focused on point source (sewerage system) inputs. Little attention has been given to diffuse inputs and research into diffuse pollution has been largely confined to agriculture sources. This paper reports on new research that is aimed at integrating diffuse inputs into an urban water quality model. An integrated model is introduced that is made up of four modules: hydrology, contaminant point sources, nutrient cycling and leaching. The hydrology module, T&T consists of a TOPMODEL (a TOPography-based hydrological MODEL), which simulates runoff from pervious areas and a two-tank model, which simulates runoff from impervious urban areas. Linked into the two-tank model, the contaminant point source module simulates the overflow from the sewerage system in heavy rain. The widely known SOILN (SOIL Nitrate model) is the basis of nitrogen cycle module. Finally, the leaching module consists of two functions: the production function and the transfer function. The production function is based on SLIM (Solute Leaching Intermediate Model) while the transfer function is based on the 'flushing hypothesis' which postulates a relationship between contaminant concentrations in the receiving water course and the extent to which the catchment is saturated. This paper outlines the modelling methodology and the model structures that have been developed. An application of this model in the White Cart catchment (Glasgow) is also included.

Comparison of the Between the Flags calling criteria to the MEWS, NEWS and the electronic Cardiac Arrest Risk Triage (eCART) score for the identification of deteriorating ward patients.

PubMed

Green, Malcolm; Lander, Harvey; Snyder, Ashley; Hudson, Paul; Churpek, Matthew; Edelson, Dana

2018-02-01

Traditionally, paper based observation charts have been used to identify deteriorating patients, with emerging recent electronic medical records allowing electronic algorithms to risk stratify and help direct the response to deterioration. We sought to compare the Between the Flags (BTF) calling criteria to the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS), National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and electronic Cardiac Arrest Risk Triage (eCART) score. Multicenter retrospective analysis of electronic health record data from all patients admitted to five US hospitals from November 2008-August 2013. Cardiac arrest, ICU transfer or death within 24h of a score RESULTS: Overall accuracy was highest for eCART, with an AUC of 0.801 (95% CI 0.799-0.802), followed by NEWS, MEWS and BTF respectively (0.718 [0.716-0.720]; 0.698 [0.696-0.700]; 0.663 [0.661-0.664]). BTF criteria had a high risk (Red Zone) specificity of 95.0% and a moderate risk (Yellow Zone) specificity of 27.5%, which corresponded to MEWS thresholds of >=4 and >=2, NEWS thresholds of >=5 and >=2, and eCART thresholds of >=12 and >=4, respectively. At those thresholds, eCART caught 22 more adverse events per 10,000 patients than BTF using the moderate risk criteria and 13 more using high risk criteria, while MEWS and NEWS identified the same or fewer. An electronically generated eCART score was more accurate than commonly used paper based observation tools for predicting the composite outcome of in-hospital cardiac arrest, ICU transfer and death within 24h of observation. The outcomes of this analysis lend weight for a move towards an algorithm based electronic risk identification tool for deteriorating patients to ensure earlier detection and prevent adverse events in the hospital. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Differences in the direction of change of cerebral function parameters are evident over three years in HIV-infected individuals electively commencing initial cART.

PubMed

Winston, Alan; Puls, Rebekah; Kerr, Stephen J; Duncombe, Chris; Li, Patrick; Gill, John M; Ramautarsing, Reshmie; Taylor-Robinson, Simon D; Emery, Sean; Cooper, David A

2015-01-01

Changes in cerebral metabolite ratios (CMR) measured on 1H-MRS and changes in cognitive function (CF) are described in subjects commencing combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), although the dynamics of such changes are poorly understood. Neuroasymptomatic, HIV-infected subjects electively commencing cART were eligible. CMR were assessed in three anatomical voxels and CF assessed at baseline, week 48 and week 144. Overall differences in absolute change in CMRs and CF parameters between 0-48 and 48-144 weeks were assessed. Twenty-two subjects completed study procedures. Plasma HIV-RNA was <50 copies/mL in all at week 48 and in all, but two subjects at week 144. In general, between weeks 0-48 a rise in N-acetyl-aspartate(NAA)/Creatine(Cr) ratio and a decline in myo-Inositol(mI)/Cr ratio were observed. Between weeks 48-144, small rises in NAA/Cr ratio were observed in two anatomical voxels, whereas a rise in mI/Cr ratio was observed in all anatomical locations (0.31 (0.66) and -0.27 (1.35) between weeks 0-48 and 0.13 (0.91) and 1.13 (1.71) between weeks 48-144 for absolute changes in NAA/Cr and mI/Cr (SD) in frontal-grey voxel, respectively). Global CF score improved between weeks 0-48 and then declined between weeks 48-144 (0.63 (1.16) and -0.63 (0.1.41) for mean absolute change (SD) between weeks 0-48 and weeks 48-144, respectively). The direction of change of cerebral function parameters differs over time in HIV-infected subjects commencing cART, highlighting the need for long-term follow-up in such studies. The changes we have observed between weeks 48-144 may represent the initial development of cerebral toxicities from cART.

Evaluation of alternative model selection criteria in the analysis of unimodal response curves using CART

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ribic, C.A.; Miller, T.W.

1998-01-01

We investigated CART performance with a unimodal response curve for one continuous response and four continuous explanatory variables, where two variables were important (ie directly related to the response) and the other two were not. We explored performance under three relationship strengths and two explanatory variable conditions: equal importance and one variable four times as important as the other. We compared CART variable selection performance using three tree-selection rules ('minimum risk', 'minimum risk complexity', 'one standard error') to stepwise polynomial ordinary least squares (OLS) under four sample size conditions. The one-standard-error and minimum-risk-complexity methods performed about as well as stepwise OLS with large sample sizes when the relationship was strong. With weaker relationships, equally important explanatory variables and larger sample sizes, the one-standard-error and minimum-risk-complexity rules performed better than stepwise OLS. With weaker relationships and explanatory variables of unequal importance, tree-structured methods did not perform as well as stepwise OLS. Comparing performance within tree-structured methods, with a strong relationship and equally important explanatory variables, the one-standard-error-rule was more likely to choose the correct model than were the other tree-selection rules 1) with weaker relationships and equally important explanatory variables; and 2) under all relationship strengths when explanatory variables were of unequal importance and sample sizes were lower.

A role for gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and the amino acid transport system xc- in cystine transport by a human pancreatic duct cell line.

PubMed Central

Sweiry, J H; Sastre, J; Viña, J; Elsässer, H P; Mann, G E

1995-01-01

1. The roles of the gamma-glutamyl cycle and the anionic amino acid transport system xc- in mediating L-cystine uptake were investigated in cultured human pancreatic duct PaTu 8902 cells. This cell line exhibits morphological features of normal pancreatic duct cells and expresses gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GT, EC 2.3.2.2), an enzyme involved in the metabolism and regulation of intracellular glutathione (GSH). 2. Uptake of L-cystine (10 microM) was linear for up to 10 min, temperature dependent, Na+ independent, saturable (Michaelis-Menten constant (Km), 86 +/- 25 microM; maximal velocity (Vmax), 109 +/- 33 nmol (mg protein)-1 h-1) and reduced by 80-90% by a 50-fold excess concentration of L-glutamate and L-homocysteic acid, but not L-aspartate. These transport properties resemble those described for system xc-, which exchanges cystine for intracellular glutamate. 3. Acivicin, a known inhibitor of gamma-GT, decreased gamma-GT activity from 2.58 +/- 0.96 to 0.97 +/- 0.11 mU (mg protein)-1 and decreased the initial rates of L-cystine and L-glutamine uptake by 41-55%. Anthglutin (1-gamma-L-glutamyl-2-(2-carboxyphenylhyl)hydrazine), a structurally different inhibitor of gamma-GT, also caused a concentration-dependent (0.01-1 mM) decrease in gamma-GT activity and L-cystine uptake. 4. Neither acivicin nor anthglutin inhibited the uptake of L-glutamate, a poor substrate for gamma-GT. 5. In the presence of a 500-fold excess concentration of glutamate, which should abolish entry of cystine via system xc-, the remaining fraction of cystine transport was inhibited by 50% by acivicin, suggesting that transport is, in part, dependent on the activity of gamma-GT. 6. Cystine transport was also 60-80% inhibited by a series of gamma-glutamyl amino acids (5 mM) including gamma-glutamyl-glutamate, gamma-glutamyl-glutamine and gamma-glutamyl-glycine. alpha-Dipeptides inhibited cystine transport by only 6-22%. 7. These findings demonstrate that in human pancreatic duct Pa

"It's a Bit like Flying": Developing Participatory Theatre with the Under-Twos--A Case Study of Oily Cart

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Susan

2004-01-01

This article describes a case study of a new venture by the children's theatre company Oily Cart to develop a participatory theatre piece for carers and their under-two-year-olds, entitled Clouds. Given what little is known about how to design and conduct arts events with this age phase, a case study offered the opportunity to identify features…

Sizing up the population of gamma-ray binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubus, Guillaume; Guillard, Nicolas; Petrucci, Pierre-Olivier; Martin, Pierrick

2017-12-01

Context. Gamma-ray binaries are thought to be composed of a young pulsar in orbit around a massive O or Be star with their gamma-ray emission powered by pulsar spin-down. The number of such systems in our Galaxy is not known. Aims: We aim to estimate the total number of gamma-ray binaries in our Galaxy and to evaluate the prospects for new detections in the GeV and TeV energy range, taking into account that their gamma-ray emission is modulated on the orbital period. Methods: We modelled the population of gamma-ray binaries and evaluated the fraction of detected systems in surveys with the Fermi-LAT (GeV), H.E.S.S., HAWC and CTA (TeV) using observation-based and synthetic template light curves. Results: The detected fraction depends more on the orbit-average flux than on the light-curve shape. Our best estimate for the number of gamma-ray binaries is 101-52+89 systems. A handful of discoveries are expected by pursuing the Fermi-LAT survey. Discoveries in TeV surveys are less likely. However, this depends on the relative amounts of power emitted in GeV and TeV domains. There could be as many as ≈ 200 HESS J0632+057-like systems with a high ratio of TeV to GeV emission compared to other gamma-ray binaries. Statistics allow for as many as three discoveries in five years of HAWC observations and five discoveries in the first two years of the CTA Galactic Plane survey. Conclusions: We favour continued Fermi-LAT observations over ground-based TeV surveys to find new gamma-ray binaries. Gamma-ray observations are most sensitive to short orbital period systems with a high spin-down pulsar power. Radio pulsar surveys (SKA) are likely to be more efficient in detecting long orbital period systems, providing a complementary probe into the gamma-ray binary population.

Gadolinium-doped water cerenkov-based neutron and high energy gamma-ray detector and radiation portal monitoring system

DOEpatents

Dazeley, Steven A; Svoboda, Robert C; Bernstein, Adam; Bowden, Nathaniel

2013-02-12

A water Cerenkov-based neutron and high energy gamma ray detector and radiation portal monitoring system using water doped with a Gadolinium (Gd)-based compound as the Cerenkov radiator. An optically opaque enclosure is provided surrounding a detection chamber filled with the Cerenkov radiator, and photomultipliers are optically connected to the detect Cerenkov radiation generated by the Cerenkov radiator from incident high energy gamma rays or gamma rays induced by neutron capture on the Gd of incident neutrons from a fission source. The PMT signals are then used to determine time correlations indicative of neutron multiplicity events characteristic of a fission source.

Design and Optimization of a Dual-HPGe Gamma Spectrometer and Its Cosmic Veto System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Weihua; Ro, Hyunje; Liu, Chuanlei; Hoffman, Ian; Ungar, Kurt

2017-03-01

In this paper, a dual high purity germanium (HPGe) gamma spectrometer detection system with an increased solid angle was developed. The detection system consists of a pair of Broad Energy Germanium (BE-5030p) detectors and an XIA LLC digital gamma finder/Pixie-4 data-acquisition system. A data file processor was developed containing five modules that parses Pixie-4 list-mode data output files and classifies detections into anticoincident/coincident events and their specific coincidence types (double/triple/quadruple) for further analysis. A novel cosmic veto system was installed in the detection system. It was designed to be easy to install around an existing system while still providing sufficient cosmic veto shielding comparable to other designs. This paper describes the coverage and efficiency of this cosmic veto and the data processing system. It has been demonstrated that the cosmic veto system can provide a mean background reduction of 66.1%, which results in a mean MDA improvement of 58.3%. The counting time to meet the required MDA for specific radionuclide can be reduced by a factor of 2-3 compared to those using a conventional HPGe system. This paper also provides an initial overview of coincidence timing distributions between an incoming event from a cosmic veto plate and HPGe detector.

Imaging system for cardiac planar imaging using a dedicated dual-head gamma camera

DOEpatents

Majewski, Stanislaw [Morgantown, VA; Umeno, Marc M [Woodinville, WA

2011-09-13

A cardiac imaging system employing dual gamma imaging heads co-registered with one another to provide two dynamic simultaneous views of the heart sector of a patient torso. A first gamma imaging head is positioned in a first orientation with respect to the heart sector and a second gamma imaging head is positioned in a second orientation with respect to the heart sector. An adjustment arrangement is capable of adjusting the distance between the separate imaging heads and the angle between the heads. With the angle between the imaging heads set to 180 degrees and operating in a range of 140-159 keV and at a rate of up to 500kHz, the imaging heads are co-registered to produce simultaneous dynamic recording of two stereotactic views of the heart. The use of co-registered imaging heads maximizes the uniformity of detection sensitivity of blood flow in and around the heart over the whole heart volume and minimizes radiation absorption effects. A normalization/image fusion technique is implemented pixel-by-corresponding pixel to increase signal for any cardiac region viewed in two images obtained from the two opposed detector heads for the same time bin. The imaging system is capable of producing enhanced first pass studies, bloodpool studies including planar, gated and non-gated EKG studies, planar EKG perfusion studies, and planar hot spot imaging.

Anticonvulsant properties of alpha, gamma, and alpha, gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones.

PubMed

Klunk, W E; Covey, D F; Ferrendelli, J A

1982-09-01

Derivatives of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) substituted on the alpha- and/or gamma-positions were synthesized and tested for their effects on behavior in mice, on the electroencephalographs and blood pressure of paralyzed-ventilated guinea pigs, and on electrical activity of incubated hippocampal slices. Several compounds, including alpha-ethyl-alpha-methyl GBL (alpha-EMGBL), alpha, alpha-dimethyl GBL, alpha, gamma-diethyl-alpha, gamma-dimethyl GBL, and gamma-ethyl-gamma-methyl GBL, prevented seizures induced by pentylenetetrazol, beta-ethyl-beta-methyl-gamma-butyrolactone (beta-EMGBL), picrotoxin, or all three compounds in mice and guinea pigs but had no effect on seizures induced by maximal electroshock or bicuculline. Neither gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) nor alpha-isopropylidine GBL had any anticonvulsant activity. The anticonvulsant alpha-substituted compounds had a potent hypotensive effect and antagonized the hypertensive effect of beta-EMGBL, alpha-EMGBL was tested in incubated hippocampal slices and was found to depress basal activity and antagonize excitation induced by beta-EMGBL. These results demonstrate that alpha-alkyl-substituted GBL and, to a lesser extent, gamma-substituted derivatives are anticonvulsant agents and that their effects are strikingly different from those of GHB or beta-alkyl-substituted GBLs, which are epileptogenic. Possibly beta- and alpha-substituted GBLs act at the same site as agonists and antagonists, respectively.

The scientific data acquisition system of the GAMMA-400 space project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobkov, S. G.; Serdin, O. V.; Gorbunov, M. S.; Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Topchiev, N. P.

2016-02-01

The description of scientific data acquisition system (SDAS) designed by SRISA for the GAMMA-400 space project is presented. We consider the problem of different level electronics unification: the set of reliable fault-tolerant integrated circuits fabricated on Silicon-on-Insulator 0.25 mkm CMOS technology and the high-speed interfaces and reliable modules used in the space instruments. The characteristics of reliable fault-tolerant very large scale integration (VLSI) technology designed by SRISA for the developing of computation systems for space applications are considered. The scalable net structure of SDAS based on Serial RapidIO interface including real-time operating system BAGET is described too.

Highlights of GeV Gamma-Ray Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.

2010-01-01

Because high-energy gamma rays are primarily produced by high-energy particle interactions, the gamma-ray survey of the sky by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope offers a view of sites of cosmic ray production and interactions. Gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae, binary sources, and Active Galactic Nuclei are all phenomena that reveal particle acceleration through their gamma-ray emission. Diffuse Galactic gamma radiation, Solar System gamma-ray sources, and energetic radiation from supernova remnants are likely tracers of high-energy particle interactions with matter and photon fields. This paper will present a broad overview of the constantly changing sky seen with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi spacecraft.

Hard gamma radiation background from coding collimator of gamma telescope under space experiment conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleksandrov, A. P.; Berezovoy, A. N.; Galper, A. M.; Grachev, V. M.; Dmitrenko, V. V.; Kirillov-Ugryumov, V. G.; Lebedev, V. V.; Lyakhov, V. A.; Moiseyev, A. A.; Ulin, S. Y.

1985-09-01

Coding collimators are used to improve the angular resolution of gamma-ray telescopes at energies above 50 MeV. However, the interaction of cosmic rays with the collimation material can lead to the appearance of a gamma-ray background flux which can have a deleterious effect on measurement efficiency. An experiment was performed on the Salyut-6-Soyuz spacecraft system with the Elena-F small-scale gamma-ray telescope in order to measure the magnitude of this background. It is shown that, even at a zenith angle of approximately zero degrees (the angle at which the gamma-ray observations are made), the coding collimator has only an insignificant effect on the background conditions.

Simulation of land use change in the three gorges reservoir area based on CART-CA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Min

2018-05-01

This study proposes a new method to simulate spatiotemporal complex multiple land uses by using classification and regression tree algorithm (CART) based CA model. In this model, we use classification and regression tree algorithm to calculate land class conversion probability, and combine neighborhood factor, random factor to extract cellular transformation rules. The overall Kappa coefficient is 0.8014 and the overall accuracy is 0.8821 in the land dynamic simulation results of the three gorges reservoir area from 2000 to 2010, and the simulation results are satisfactory.

Propensity score estimation: neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees (CART), and meta-classifiers as alternatives to logistic regression.

PubMed

Westreich, Daniel; Lessler, Justin; Funk, Michele Jonsson

2010-08-01

Propensity scores for the analysis of observational data are typically estimated using logistic regression. Our objective in this review was to assess machine learning alternatives to logistic regression, which may accomplish the same goals but with fewer assumptions or greater accuracy. We identified alternative methods for propensity score estimation and/or classification from the public health, biostatistics, discrete mathematics, and computer science literature, and evaluated these algorithms for applicability to the problem of propensity score estimation, potential advantages over logistic regression, and ease of use. We identified four techniques as alternatives to logistic regression: neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees (classification and regression trees [CART]), and meta-classifiers (in particular, boosting). Although the assumptions of logistic regression are well understood, those assumptions are frequently ignored. All four alternatives have advantages and disadvantages compared with logistic regression. Boosting (meta-classifiers) and, to a lesser extent, decision trees (particularly CART), appear to be most promising for use in the context of propensity score analysis, but extensive simulation studies are needed to establish their utility in practice. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Formation of gamma'-Ni3Al via the Peritectoid Reaction: gamma plus beta (+Al2O3) equals gamma'(+Al2O3)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Copland, Evan

2008-01-01

The activities of Al and Ni were measured using multi-cell Knudsen effusion-cell mass spectrometry (multi-cell KEMS), over the composition range 8 - 32 at.%Al and temperature range T = 1400 - 1750 K in the Ni-Al-O system. These measurements establish that equilibrium solidification of gamma'-Ni3Al-containing alloys occurs by the eutectic reaction, L (+ Al2O3) = gamma + beta (+ Al2O3), at 1640 plus or minus 1 K and a liquid composition of 24.8 plus or minus 0.2 at.%Al (at an unknown oxygen content). The {gamma + beta + Al2O3} phase field is stable over the temperature range 1633 - 1640 K, and gamma'-Ni3Al forms via the peritectiod, gamma + beta (+ Al2O3) = gamma'(+ Al2O3), at 1633 plus or minus 1 K. This behavior is inconsistent with the current Ni-Al phase diagram and a new diagram is proposed. This new Ni-Al phase diagram explains a number of unusual steady state solidification structures reported previously and provides a much simpler reaction scheme in the vicinity of the gamma'-Ni3Al phase field.

Fieldable computer system for determining gamma-ray pulse-height distributions, flux spectra, and dose rates from Little Boy

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

Moss, C.E.; Lucas, M.C.; Tisinger, E.W.

1984-01-01

Our system consists of a LeCroy 3500 data acquisition system with a built-in CAMAC crate and eight bismuth-germanate detectors 7.62 cm in diameter and 7.62 cm long. Gamma-ray pulse-height distributions are acquired simultaneously for up to eight positions. The system was very carefully calibrated and characterized from 0.1 to 8.3 MeV using gamma-ray spectra from a variety of radioactive sources. By fitting the pulse-height distributions from the sources with a function containing 17 parameters, we determined theoretical repsonse functions. We use these response functions to unfold the distributions to obtain flux spectra. A flux-to-dose-rate conversion curve based on the workmore » of Dimbylow and Francis is then used to obtain dose rates. Direct use of measured spectra and flux-to-dose-rate curves to obtain dose rates avoids the errors that can arise from spectrum dependence in simple gamma-ray dosimeter instruments. We present some gamma-ray doses for the Little Boy assembly operated at low power. These results can be used to determine the exposures of the Hiroshima survivors and thus aid in the establishment of radation exposure limits for the nuclear industry.« less

SU-E-T-117: Analysis of the ArcCHECK Dosimetry Gamma Failure Using the 3DVH System

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

Cho, S; Choi, W; Lee, H

2015-06-15

Purpose: To evaluate gamma analysis failure for the VMAT patient specific QA using ArcCHECK cylindrical phantom. The 3DVH system(Sun Nuclear, FL) was used to analyze the dose difference statistic between measured dose and treatment planning system calculated dose. Methods: Four case of gamma analysis failure were selected retrospectively. Our institution gamma analysis indexes were absolute dose, 3%/3mm and 90%pass rate in the ArcCHECK dosimetry. The collapsed cone convolution superposition (CCCS) dose calculation algorithm for VMAT was used. Dose delivery was performed with Elekta Agility. The A1SL(standard imaging, WI) and cavity plug were used for point dose measurement. Delivery QA plansmore » and images were used for 3DVH Reference data instead of patient plan and image. The measured data of ‘.txt’ file was used for comparison at diodes to acquire a global dose level. The,.acml’ file was used for AC-PDP and to calculated point dose. Results: The global dose of 3DVH was calculated as 1.10 Gy, 1.13, 1.01 and 0.2 Gy respectively. The global dose of 0.2 Gy case was induced by distance discrepancy. The TPS calculated point dose of was 2.33 Gy to 2.77 Gy and 3DVH calculated dose was 2.33 Gy to 2.68 Gy. The maximum dose differences were −2.83% and −3.1% for TPS vs. measured dose and TPS vs. 3DVH calculated respectively in the same case. The difference between measured and 3DVH was 0.1% in that case. The 3DVH gamma pass rate was 98% to 99.7%. Conclusion: We found the TPS calculation error by 3DVH calculation using ArcCHECK measured dose. It seemed that our CCCS algorithm RTP system over estimated at the central region and underestimated scattering at the peripheral diode detector point. The relative gamma analysis and point dose measurement would be recommended for VMAT DQA in the gamma failure case of ArcCHECK dosimetry.« less

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS) Telescope Optical System Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bugaev, V.; Buckley, J.; Diegel, S.; Falcone, A.; Fegan, S.; Finley, J.; Guarino, V.; Hanna, D.; Kaaret, P.; Konopelko, A.; Krawczynski, H.; Ramsey, B.; Romani, R.; Vassiliev, V.; Weekes, T.

2008-12-01

AGIS is a conceptual design for a future ground-based gamma-ray observatory operating in the energy range 25 GeV-100 TeV, which is based on an array of ~20-100 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). The desired improvement in sensitivity, angular resolution, and reliability of operation of AGIS imposes demanding technological and cost requirements on the design of the IACTs. We are considering several options for the optical system (OS) of the AGIS telescopes, which include the traditional Davies-Cotton design as well as novel two-mirror design. Emerging mirror production technologies based on replication processes such as cold and hot glass slumping, cured carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), and electroforming provide new opportunities for cost-effective solutions for the design of the OS.

Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie E.; Michelson, Peter F.; Paclesas, William S.; Ritz, Steven

2012-01-01

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, launched in June 2008, is an observatory designed to survey the high-energy gamma-ray sky. The primary instrument, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), provides observations from 20 MeV to greater than 300 GeV. A second instrument, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), provides observations of transients from less than 10 keV to 40 MeV. We describe the design and performance of the instruments and their subsystems, the spacecraft and the ground system.

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Camera Electronics Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajima, Hiroyasu; Buckley, J.; Byrum, K.; Drake, G.; Falcone, A.; Funk, S.; Holder, J.; Horan, D.; Krawczynski, H.; Ong, R.; Swordy, S.; Wagner, R.; Wakely, S.; Williams, D.; Camera Electronics Working Group; AGIS Collaboration

2008-03-01

AGIS, a next generation of atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays, aims to achieve a sensitivity level of a milliCrab for gamma-ray observations in in the energy band of 40 GeV to 100 TeV. Such improvement requires cost reduction of individual components with high reliability in order to equip the order of 100 telescopes necessary to achieve the sensitivity goal. We are exploring several design concepts to reduce the cost of camera electronics while improving their performance. These design concepts include systems based on multi-channel waveform sampling ASIC optimized for AGIS, a system based on IIT (image intensifier tube) for large channel (order of 1 million channels) readout as well as a multiplexed FADC system based on the current VERITAS readout design. Here we present trade-off studies of these design concepts.

The effect of alloying on gamma and gamma prime in nickel-base superalloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dreshfield, R. L.; Wallace, J. F.

1972-01-01

An investigation was conducted to determine the compositional limits of gamma and gamma prime phases in nickel-base superalloys. Fifty-one nickel-base alloys were melted under vacuum and heat treated for 4 hours at 1190 C followed by 1008 hours at 850 C. The alloys had the following composition ranges: A1 4.0 to 13 atomic percent, Cr 6.5 to 20.5 percent, Ti 0.25 to 4.75 percent, Mo 0.0 to 6.0 percent, and W 0.0 to 4.0 percent. The residues from the ammonium sulfate electrolytic extraction for the two-phase alloys were analyzed chemically and by X-ray diffraction. The results of the investigation were used to assemble a mathematical model of the gamma-gamma prime region of the Ni-Al-Cr-Ti-Mo-W system. A computer program was written to analyze the model of the phase diagram. Some of these results are also presented graphically. The resulting model is capable of satisfactorily predicting the compositions of conjugate gamma-gamma prime phases in the alloys investigated and twelve of fifteen commercial superalloys studied.

Estimation of neutron energy distributions from prompt gamma emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panikkath, Priyada; Udupi, Ashwini; Sarkar, P. K.

2017-11-01

A technique of estimating the incident neutron energy distribution from emitted prompt gamma intensities from a system exposed to neutrons is presented. The emitted prompt gamma intensities or the measured photo peaks in a gamma detector are related to the incident neutron energy distribution through a convolution of the response of the system generating the prompt gammas to mono-energetic neutrons. Presently, the system studied is a cylinder of high density polyethylene (HDPE) placed inside another cylinder of borated HDPE (BHDPE) having an outer Pb-cover and exposed to neutrons. The emitted five prompt gamma peaks from hydrogen, boron, carbon and lead can be utilized to unfold the incident neutron energy distribution as an under-determined deconvolution problem. Such an under-determined set of equations are solved using the genetic algorithm based Monte Carlo de-convolution code GAMCD. Feasibility of the proposed technique is demonstrated theoretically using the Monte Carlo calculated response matrix and intensities of emitted prompt gammas from the Pb-covered BHDPE-HDPE system in the case of several incident neutron spectra spanning different energy ranges.

Gamma-Ray Signatures Improvement of the EURITRACK Tagged Neutron Inspection System Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanawati, Wassila El; Carasco, Cedric; Perot, Bertrand; Mariani, Alain; Raoux, Anne-Cecile; Valkovic, Vladivoj; Sudac, Davorin; Obhodas, Jasmina; Baricevic, Martina

2010-10-01

The EURopean Illicit TRAfficking Countermeasures Kit (EURITRACK) inspection system uses 14 MeV neutrons produced by the D(T,n α) reaction to detect explosives in cargo containers. Reactions induced by fast neutrons inside the container produce gamma rays, which are detected in coincidence with the associated alpha particle, the detection of which allows the neutron direction to be determined. The neutron path length is obtained from a neutron time-of-flight measurement, thus allowing the origin of the gamma rays inside the container to be determined, while the chemical composition of the target material is correlated with their energy spectrum. Gamma-ray spectra have been collected with the inspection portal equipped with large volume NaI (Tl) detectors, in order to build a database of signatures for various elements (C, O, N, Fe, Pb, Al, Na, Si, Cl, Cu, Zn) with a low energy threshold of 0.6 MeV. The spectra are compared with previous ones, which were acquired with a 1.35 MeV threshold. The new library is currently being tested to unfold the energy spectra of transported goods into elemental contributions. Results are compared with data processed with the old 1.35 MeV threshold database, thus illustrating the improvement for material identification.

A data acquisition and control system for high-speed gamma-ray tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hjertaker, B. T.; Maad, R.; Schuster, E.; Almås, O. A.; Johansen, G. A.

2008-09-01

A data acquisition and control system (DACS) for high-speed gamma-ray tomography based on the USB (Universal Serial Bus) and Ethernet communication protocols has been designed and implemented. The high-speed gamma-ray tomograph comprises five 500 mCi 241Am gamma-ray sources, each at a principal energy of 59.5 keV, which corresponds to five detector modules, each consisting of 17 CdZnTe detectors. The DACS design is based on Microchip's PIC18F4550 and PIC18F4620 microcontrollers, which facilitates an USB 2.0 interface protocol and an Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) interface protocol, respectively. By implementing the USB- and Ethernet-based DACS, a sufficiently high data acquisition rate is obtained and no dedicated hardware installation is required for the data acquisition computer, assuming that it is already equipped with a standard USB and/or Ethernet port. The API (Application Programming Interface) for the DACS is founded on the National Instrument's LabVIEW® graphical development tool, which provides a simple and robust foundation for further application software developments for the tomograph. The data acquisition interval, i.e. the integration time, of the high-speed gamma-ray tomograph is user selectable and is a function of the statistical measurement accuracy required for the specific application. The bandwidth of the DACS is 85 kBytes s-1 for the USB communication protocol and 28 kBytes s-1 for the Ethernet protocol. When using the iterative least square technique reconstruction algorithm with a 1 ms integration time, the USB-based DACS provides an online image update rate of 38 Hz, i.e. 38 frames per second, whereas 31 Hz for the Ethernet-based DACS. The off-line image update rate (storage to disk) for the USB-based DACS is 278 Hz using a 1 ms integration time. Initial characterization of the high-speed gamma-ray tomograph using the DACS on polypropylene phantoms is presented in the paper.

Technical note: A 3D-printed phantom for routine accuracy check of Gamma Knife Icon HDMM system.

PubMed

Wu, Chuan; Radevic, Marlyn B; Glass, Jennifer S; Skubic, Stan E

2018-05-23

To report a novel 3D-printed device ("SH phantom") that is designed for routine accuracy check of the Gamma Knife Icon High Definition Motion Management (HDMM) system. SH phantom was designed using tinkerCAD software and printed on a commercial 3D printer. We evaluated the SH phantom on our Gamma Knife Icon unit regarding its usability and accuracy for routine HDMM QA. Single-axis and multiple-axis measurements validated the SH phantom design and implementation. An HDMM QA accuracy of 0.22 mm or better along single axis was found using SH phantom. The SH phantom proved to be a quick and simple tool to use to perform the HDMM system QA. The SH phantom was tested successfully and adopted by us as part of monthly QA for the Gamma Knife Icon. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Absence of Fc epsilonRI alpha chain results in upregulation of Fc gammaRIII-dependent mast cell degranulation and anaphylaxis. Evidence of competition between Fc epsilonRI and Fc gammaRIII for limiting amounts of FcR beta and gamma chains.

PubMed Central

Dombrowicz, D; Flamand, V; Miyajima, I; Ravetch, J V; Galli, S J; Kinet, J P

1997-01-01

In mouse mast cells, both Fc epsilonRI and Fc gammaRIII are alpha beta gamma2 tetrameric complexes in which different alpha chains confer IgE or IgG ligand recognition while the signaling FcR beta and gamma chains are identical. We used primarily noninvasive techniques (changes in body temperature, dye extravasation) to assess systemic anaphylactic responses in nonanesthetized wild-type, Fc epsilonRI alpha chain -/- and FcR gamma chain -/- mice. We confirm that systemic anaphylaxis in mice can be mediated largely through IgG1 and Fc gammaRIII and we provide direct evidence that these responses reflect activation of Fc gammaRIII rather than Fc gammaRI. Furthermore, we show that Fc gammaRIII-dependent responses are more intense in normal than in congenic mast cell-deficient KitW/KitW-v mice, indicating that Fc gammaRIII responses have mast cell-dependent and -independent components. Finally, we demonstrate that the upregulation of cell surface expression of Fc gammaRIII seen in Fc epsilonRI alpha chain -/- mice corresponds to an increased association of Fc gammaRIII alpha chains with FcR beta and gamma chains and is associated with enhanced Fc gammaRIII-dependent mast cell degranulation and systemic anaphylactic responses. Therefore, the phenotype of the Fc epsilonRI alpha chain -/- mice suggests that expression of Fc epsilonRI and Fc gammaRIII is limited by availability of the FcR beta and gamma chains and that, in normal mice, changes in the expression of one receptor (Fc epsilonRI) may influence the expression of functional responses dependent on the other (Fc gammaRIII). PMID:9062349

Technical Note: Relationships between gamma criteria and action levels: Results of a multicenter audit of gamma agreement index results.

PubMed

Crowe, Scott B; Sutherland, Bess; Wilks, Rachael; Seshadri, Venkatakrishnan; Sylvander, Steven; Trapp, Jamie V; Kairn, Tanya

2016-03-01

The aim of this work was to use a multicenter audit of modulated radiotherapy quality assurance (QA) data to provide a practical examination of gamma evaluation criteria and action level selection. The use of the gamma evaluation method for patient-specific pretreatment QA is widespread, with most commercial solutions implementing the method. Gamma agreement indices were calculated using the criteria 1%/1 mm, 2%/2 mm, 2%/3 mm, 3%/2 mm, 3%/3 mm, and 5%/3 mm for 1265 pretreatment QA measurements, planned at seven treatment centers, using four different treatment planning systems, delivered using three different delivery systems (intensity-modulated radiation therapy, volumetric-modulated arc therapy, and helical tomotherapy) and measured using three different dose measurement systems. The sensitivity of each pair of gamma criteria was evaluated relative to the gamma agreement indices calculated using 3%/3 mm. A linear relationship was observed for 2%/2 mm, 2%/3 mm, and 3%/2 mm. This result implies that most beams failing at 3%/3 mm would also fail for those criteria, if the action level was adjusted appropriately. Some borderline plans might be passed or failed depending on the relative priority (tighter tolerance) used for dose difference or distance to agreement evaluation. Dosimeter resolution and treatment modality were found to have a smaller effect on the results of QA measurements than the number of dimensions (2D or 3D) over which the gamma evaluation was calculated. This work provides a method (and a large sample of results) for calculating equivalent action levels for different gamma evaluation criteria. This work constitutes a valuable guide for clinical decision making and a means to compare published gamma evaluation results from studies using different evaluation criteria. More generally, the data provided by this work support the recommendation that gamma criteria that specifically prioritize the property of greatest clinical importance for each

Gamma-ray background induced by atmospheric neutrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Y.-Q.

1984-03-01

A small piggyback detector system is used to study the reduction of gamma-ray background induced by atmospheric neutrons in the type of actively shielded gamma-ray spectroscopes. The system consists of two 1.5 x 1.5 arcsec NaI crystal units, one of which is surrounded by some neutron shield material. The results of a balloon flight in 1981 are presented. The data show that a shield of 3 cm-thick pure paraffin cannot reduce the gamma-ray background. On the contrary, it may even cause some enhancement.

Formation of gamma(sup prime)-Ni3Al via the Peritectoid Reaction: gamma + beta (+ Al2O3)=gamma(sup prime)(+ Al2O3)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Copeland, Evan

2008-01-01

The activities of Al and Ni were measured using multi-cell Knudsen effusion-cell mass spectrometry (multi-cell KEMS), over the composition range 8-32 at.%Al and temperature range T=1400-1750 K in the Ni-Al-O system. These measurements establish that equilibrium solidification of gamma(sup prime)-Ni3Al-containing alloys occurs by the eutectic reaction, L (+ Al2O3)=gamma + Beta(+ Al2O3), at 1640 +/- 1 K and a liquid composition of 24.8 +/- 0.2 at.%al (at an unknown oxygen content). The {gamma + Beta (+Al2O3} phase field is stable over the temperature range 1633-1640 K, and gamma(sup prime)-Ni3Al forms via the peritectoid, gamma + Beta (+ Al2O3)=gamma(sup prime) (+ Al2O3), at 1633 +/- 1 K. This behavior is consistent with the current Ni-Al phase diagram and a new diagram is proposed. This new Ni-Al phase diagram explains a number of unusual steady-state solidification structures reported previously and provides a much simpler reaction scheme in the vicinity of the gamma(sup prime)-Ni2Al phase field.

Method and system for determining radiation shielding thickness and gamma-ray energy

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

Klann, Raymond T.; Vilim, Richard B.; de la Barrera, Sergio

2015-12-15

A system and method for determining the shielding thickness of a detected radiation source. The gamma ray spectrum of a radiation detector is utilized to estimate the shielding between the detector and the radiation source. The determination of the shielding may be used to adjust the information from known source-localization techniques to provide improved performance and accuracy of locating the source of radiation.

Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marisaldi, Martino; Fuschino, Fabio; Labanti, Claudio; Tavani, Marco; Argan, Andrea; Del Monte, Ettore; Longo, Francesco; Barbiellini, Guido; Giuliani, Andrea; Trois, Alessio; Bulgarelli, Andrea; Gianotti, Fulvio; Trifoglio, Massimo

2013-08-01

Lightning and thunderstorm systems in general have been recently recognized as powerful particle accelerators, capable of producing electrons, positrons, gamma-rays and neutrons with energies as high as several tens of MeV. In fact, these natural systems turn out to be the highest energy and most efficient natural particle accelerators on Earth. Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) are millisecond long, very intense bursts of gamma-rays and are one of the most intriguing manifestation of these natural accelerators. Only three currently operative missions are capable of detecting TGFs from space: the RHESSI, Fermi and AGILE satellites. In this paper we review the characteristics of TGFs, including energy spectrum, timing structure, beam geometry and correlation with lightning, and the basic principles of the associated production models. Then we focus on the recent AGILE discoveries concerning the high energy extension of the TGF spectrum up to 100 MeV, which is difficult to reconcile with current theoretical models.

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Camera Electronics Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajima, H.; Buckley, J.; Byrum, K.; Drake, G.; Falcone, A.; Funk, S.; Holder, J.; Horan, D.; Krawczynski, H.; Ong, R.; Swordy, S.; Wagner, R.; Williams, D.

2008-04-01

AGIS, a next generation of atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays, aims to achieve a sensitivity level of a milliCrab for gamma-ray observations in the energy band of 40 GeV to 100 TeV. Such improvement requires cost reduction of individual components with high reliability in order to equip the order of 100 telescopes necessary to achieve the sensitivity goal. We are exploring several design concepts to reduce the cost of camera electronics while improving their performance. These design concepts include systems based on multi-channel waveform sampling ASIC optimized for AGIS, a system based on IIT (image intensifier tube) for large channel (order of 1 million channels) readout as well as a multiplexed FADC system based on the current VERITAS readout design. Here we present trade-off in the studies of these design concepts.

Olfactory bulb gamma oscillations are enhanced with task demands.

PubMed

Beshel, Jennifer; Kopell, Nancy; Kay, Leslie M

2007-08-01

Fast oscillations in neural assemblies have been proposed as a mechanism to facilitate stimulus representation in a variety of sensory systems across animal species. In the olfactory system, intervention studies suggest that oscillations in the gamma frequency range play a role in fine odor discrimination. However, there is still no direct evidence that such oscillations are intrinsically altered in intact systems to aid in stimulus disambiguation. Here we show that gamma oscillatory power in the rat olfactory bulb during a two-alternative choice task is modulated in the intact system according to task demands with dramatic increases in gamma power during discrimination of molecularly similar odorants in contrast to dissimilar odorants. This elevation in power evolves over the course of criterion performance, is specific to the gamma frequency band (65-85 Hz), and is independent of changes in the theta or beta frequency band range. Furthermore, these high amplitude gamma oscillations are restricted to the olfactory bulb, such that concurrent piriform cortex recordings show no evidence of enhanced gamma power during these high-amplitude events. Our results display no modulation in the power of beta oscillations (15-28 Hz) shown previously to increase with odor learning in a Go/No-go task, and we suggest that the oscillatory profile of the olfactory system may be influenced by both odor discrimination demands and task type. The results reported here indicate that enhancement of local gamma power may reflect a switch in the dynamics of the system to a strategy that optimizes stimulus resolution when input signals are ambiguous.

Registered particles onboard identification in the various apertures of GAMMA-400 space gamma-telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arkhangelskaja, Irene

2016-07-01

GAMMA-400 (Gamma Astronomical Multifunctional Modular Apparatus) will be the gamma-telescope onboard international satellite gamma-observatory designed for particle registration in the wide energy band. Its parameters are optimized for detection of gamma-quanta with the energy ˜ 100 GeV in the main aperture. The main scientific goals of GAMMA-400 are to investigate fluxes of γ-rays and the electron-positron cosmic ray component possibly generated by dark matter particles decay or annihilation and to search for and study in detail discrete γ-ray sources, to investigate the energy spectra of Galactic and extragalactic diffuse γ-rays, and to study γ-ray bursts and γ-emission from the active Sun. This article presents analysis of detected events identification procedures and energy resolution in three apertures provide particles registration both from upper and lateral directions based on GAMMA-400 modeling due special designed software. Time and segmentation methods are used to reject backsplash (backscattering particles created when high energy γ-rays interact with the calorimeter's matter and move in the opposite direction) in the main aperture while only energy deposition analysis allows to reject this effect in the additional and lateral ones. The main aperture provides the best angular (all strip layers information analysis) and energy (energy deposition in the all detectors studying) resolution in the energy range 0.1 - 3 × 10^{3} GeV. The energy resolution in this band is 1%. Triggers in the main aperture will be formed using information about particle direction provided by time of flight system and presence of charged particle or backsplash signal formed according to analysis of energy deposition in combination of all two-layers anticoincidence systems individual detectors. In the additional aperture gamma-telescope allows to register events in the energy band 10 × 10^{-3} - 3 × 10^{3} GeV. The additional aperture energy resolution provides due to

Studying the High Energy Gamma Ray Sky with Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamae, T.; Ohsugi, T.; Thompson, D. J.; Watanabe, K.

1998-01-01

Building on the success of the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) will make a major step in the study of such subjects as blazars, gamma Ray bursts, the search for dark matter, supernova remnants, pulsars, diffuse radiation, and unidentified high energy sources. The instrument will be built on new and mature detector technologies such as silicon strip detectors, low-power low-noise LSI, and a multilevel data acquisition system. GLAST is in the research and development phase, and one full tower (of 25 total) is now being built in collaborating institutes. The prototype tower will be tested thoroughly at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in the fall of 1999.

Focal Plane Detectors for the Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otte, A. N.; Byrum, K.; Drake, G.; Falcone, A.; Funk, S.; Horan, D.; Mukherjee, R.; Smith, A.; Tajima, H.; Wagner, R. G.; Williams, D. A.

2008-12-01

The Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation observatory in ground-based very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. Design goals are ten times better sensitivity, higher angular resolution, and a lower energy threshold than existing Cherenkov telescopes. Simulations show that a substantial improvement in angular resolution may be achieved if the pixel diameter is reduced to the order of 0.05 deg, i.e. two to three times smaller than the pixel diameter of current Cherenkov telescope cameras. At these dimensions, photon detectors with smaller physical dimensions can be attractive alternatives to the classical photomultiplier tube (PMT). Furthermore, the operation of an experiment with the size of AGIS requires photon detectors that are among other things more reliable, more durable, and possibly higher efficiency photon detectors. Alternative photon detectors we are considering for AGIS include both silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMTs). Here we present results from laboratory testing of MAPMTs and SiPMs along with results from the first incorporation of these devices into cameras on test bed Cherenkov telescopes.

A gamma-gamma coincidence/anticoincidence spectrometer for low-level cosmogenic (22)Na/(7)Be activity ratio measurement.

PubMed

Zhang, Weihua; Ungar, Kurt; Stukel, Matthew; Mekarski, Pawel

2014-04-01

In this study, a digital gamma-gamma coincidence/anticoincidence spectrometer was developed and examined for low-level cosmogenic (22)Na and (7)Be in air-filter sample monitoring. The spectrometer consists of two bismuth germanate scintillators (BGO) and an XIA LLC Digital Gamma Finder (DGF)/Pixie-4 software and card package. The spectrometer design allows a more selective measurement of (22)Na with a significant background reduction by gamma-gamma coincidence events processing. Hence, the system provides a more sensitive way to quantify trace amounts of (22)Na than normal high resolution gamma spectrometry providing a critical limit of 3 mBq within a 20 h count. The use of a list-mode data acquisition technique enabled simultaneous determination of (22)Na and (7)Be activity concentrations using a single measurement by coincidence and anticoincidence mode respectively. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

gamma-Hexachlorocyclohexane (gamma-HCH)

Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

gamma - Hexachlorocyclohexane ( gamma - HCH ) ; CASRN 58 - 89 - 9 Human health assessment information on a chemical substance is included in the IRIS database only after a comprehensive review of toxicity data , as outlined in the IRIS assessment development process . Sections I ( Health Hazard Asse

Comparison of penumbra regions produced by ancient Gamma knife model C and Gamma ART 6000 using Monte Carlo MCNP6 simulation.

PubMed

Banaee, Nooshin; Asgari, Sepideh; Nedaie, Hassan Ali

2018-07-01

The accuracy of penumbral measurements in radiotherapy is pivotal because dose planning computers require accurate data to adequately modeling the beams, which in turn are used to calculate patient dose distributions. Gamma knife is a non-invasive intracranial technique based on principles of the Leksell stereotactic system for open deep brain surgeries, invented and developed by Professor Lars Leksell. The aim of this study is to compare the penumbra widths of Leksell Gamma Knife model C and Gamma ART 6000. Initially, the structure of both systems were simulated by using Monte Carlo MCNP6 code and after validating the accuracy of simulation, beam profiles of different collimators were plotted. MCNP6 beam profile calculations showed that the penumbra values of Leksell Gamma knife model C and Gamma ART 6000 for 18, 14, 8 and 4 mm collimators are 9.7, 7.9, 4.3, 2.6 and 8.2, 6.9, 3.6, 2.4, respectively. The results of this study showed that since Gamma ART 6000 has larger solid angle in comparison with Gamma Knife model C, it produces better beam profile penumbras than Gamma Knife model C in the direct plane. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This photograph shows the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (GRO) being deployed by the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis during the STS-37 mission in April 1991. The GRO reentered Earth atmosphere and ended its successful mission in June 2000. For nearly 9 years, the GRO Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), designed and built by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), kept an unblinking watch on the universe to alert scientists to the invisible, mysterious gamma-ray bursts that had puzzled them for decades. By studying gamma-rays from objects like black holes, pulsars, quasars, neutron stars, and other exotic objects, scientists could discover clues to the birth, evolution, and death of stars, galaxies, and the universe. The gamma-ray instrument was one of four major science instruments aboard the Compton. It consisted of eight detectors, or modules, located at each corner of the rectangular satellite to simultaneously scan the entire universe for bursts of gamma-rays ranging in duration from fractions of a second to minutes. In January 1999, the instrument, via the Internet, cued a computer-controlled telescope at Las Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, within 20 seconds of registering a burst. With this capability, the gamma-ray experiment came to serve as a gamma-ray burst alert for the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and major gound-based observatories around the world. Thirty-seven universities, observatories, and NASA centers in 19 states, and 11 more institutions in Europe and Russia, participated in the BATSE science program.

Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This photograph shows the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory being released from the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis during the STS-35 mission in April 1991. The GRO reentered the Earth's atmosphere and ended its successful mission in June 2000. For nearly 9 years, GRO's Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), designed and built by the Marshall Space Flight Center, kept an unblinking watch on the universe to alert scientist to the invisible, mysterious gamma-ray bursts that had puzzled them for decades. By studying gamma-rays from objects like black holes, pulsars, quasars, neutron stars, and other exotic objects, scientists could discover clues to the birth, evolution, and death of star, galaxies, and the universe. The gamma-ray instrument was one of four major science instruments aboard the Compton. It consisted of eight detectors, or modules, located at each corner of the rectangular satellite to simultaneously scan the entire universe for bursts of gamma-rays ranging in duration from fractions of a second to minutes. In January 1999, the instrument, via the Internet, cued a computer-controlled telescope at Las Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, within 20 seconds of registering a burst. With this capability, the gamma-ray experiment came to serve as a gamma-ray burst alert for the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and major gound-based observatories around the world. Thirty-seven universities, observatories, and NASA centers in 19 states, and 11 more institutions in Europe and Russia, participated in BATSE's science program.

The North Slope of Alaska and Adjacent Arctic Ocean (NSA/AAO) cart site begins operation: Collaboration with SHEBA and FIRE

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

Zak, D. B.; Church, H.; Ivey, M.

2000-04-04

Since the 1997 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team Meeting, the North Slope of Alaska and Adjacent Arctic Ocean (NSA/AAO) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site has come into being. Much has happened even since the 1998 Science Team Meeting at which this paper was presented. To maximize its usefulness, this paper has been updated to include developments through July 1998.

Unidentified Gamma-Ray Sources: Hunting Gamma-Ray Blazars

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

Massaro, F.; D'Abrusco, R.; Tosti, G.

2012-04-02

One of the main scientific objectives of the ongoing Fermi mission is unveiling the nature of the unidentified {gamma}-ray sources (UGSs). Despite the large improvements of Fermi in the localization of {gamma}-ray sources with respect to the past {gamma}-ray missions, about one third of the Fermi-detected objects are still not associated to low energy counterparts. Recently, using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) survey, we discovered that blazars, the rarest class of Active Galactic Nuclei and the largest population of {gamma}-ray sources, can be recognized and separated from other extragalactic sources on the basis of their infrared (IR) colors. Basedmore » on this result, we designed an association method for the {gamma}-ray sources to recognize if there is a blazar candidate within the positional uncertainty region of a generic {gamma}-ray source. With this new IR diagnostic tool, we searched for {gamma}-ray blazar candidates associated to the UGS sample of the second Fermi {gamma}-ray catalog (2FGL). We found that our method associates at least one {gamma}-ray blazar candidate as a counterpart each of 156 out of 313 UGSs analyzed. These new low-energy candidates have the same IR properties as the blazars associated to {gamma}-ray sources in the 2FGL catalog.« less

UNIDENTIFIED {gamma}-RAY SOURCES: HUNTING {gamma}-RAY BLAZARS

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

Massaro, F.; Ajello, M.; D'Abrusco, R.

2012-06-10

One of the main scientific objectives of the ongoing Fermi mission is unveiling the nature of unidentified {gamma}-ray sources (UGSs). Despite the major improvements of Fermi in the localization of {gamma}-ray sources with respect to the past {gamma}-ray missions, about one-third of the Fermi-detected objects are still not associated with low-energy counterparts. Recently, using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer survey, we discovered that blazars, the rarest class of active galactic nuclei and the largest population of {gamma}-ray sources, can be recognized and separated from other extragalactic sources on the basis of their infrared (IR) colors. Based on this result, wemore » designed an association method for the {gamma}-ray sources to recognize if there is a blazar candidate within the positional uncertainty region of a generic {gamma}-ray source. With this new IR diagnostic tool, we searched for {gamma}-ray blazar candidates associated with the UGS sample of the second Fermi {gamma}-ray LAT catalog (2FGL). We found that our method associates at least one {gamma}-ray blazar candidate as a counterpart to each of 156 out of 313 UGSs analyzed. These new low-energy candidates have the same IR properties as the blazars associated with {gamma}-ray sources in the 2FGL catalog.« less

Development of Camera Electronics for the Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajima, Hiroyasu

2009-05-01

AGIS, a next generation of atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays, aims to achieve a sensitivity level of a milliCrab for gamma-ray observations in in the energy band of 40 GeV to 100 TeV. Such improvement requires cost reduction of individual components with high reliability in order to equip the order of 100 telescopes necessary to achieve the sensitivity goal. We are exploring several design concepts to reduce the cost of camera electronics while improving their performance. We have developed test systems for some of these concepts and are testing their performance. Here we present test results of the test systems.

Remote sensing data from CLARET: A prototype CART data set

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eberhard, Wynn L.; Uttal, Taneil; Clark, Kurt A.; Cupp, Richard E.; Dutton, Ellsworth G.; Fedor, Leonard, S.; Intrieri, Janet M.; Matrosov, Sergey Y.; Snider, Jack B.; Willis, Ron J.

1992-01-01

The data set containing radiation, meteorological , and cloud sensor observations is documented. It was prepared for use by the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program and other interested scientists. These data are a precursor of the types of data that ARM Cloud And Radiation Testbed (CART) sites will provide. The data are from the Cloud Lidar And Radar Exploratory Test (CLARET) conducted by the Wave Propagation Laboratory during autumn 1989 in the Denver-Boulder area of Colorado primarily for the purpose of developing new cloud-sensing techniques on cirrus. After becoming aware of the experiment, ARM scientists requested archival of subsets of the data to assist in the developing ARM program. Five CLARET cases were selected: two with cirrus, one with stratus, one with mixed-phase clouds, and one with clear skies. Satellite data from the stratus case and one cirrus case were analyzed for statistics on cloud cover and top height. The main body of the selected data are available on diskette from the Wave Propagation Laboratory or Los Alamos National Laboratory.

An improved time of flight gamma-ray telescope to monitor diffuse gamma-ray in the energy range 5 MeV - 50 MeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dacostafereiraneri, A.; Bui-Van, A.; Lavigne, J. M.; Sabaud, C.; Vedrenne, G.; Agrinier, B.; Gouiffes, C.

1985-01-01

A time of flight measuring device is the basic triggering system of most of medium and high energy gamma-ray telescopes. A simple gamma-ray telescope has been built in order to check in flight conditions the functioning of an advanced time of flight system. The technical ratings of the system are described. This telescope has been flown twice with stratospheric balloons, its axis being oriented at various Zenital directions. Flight results are presented for diffuse gamma-rays, atmospheric secondaries, and various causes of noise in the 5 MeV-50 MeV energy range.

The Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, David A.; AGIS Collaboration

2009-01-01

The spectacular astrophysical discoveries made by the present generation of ground-based gamma-ray observatories have opened a new era in the exploration of the highest energy Universe and have conclusively established the field of very-high-energy (VHE) astronomy, covering the energy regime above about 50 GeV. The detection of nearly 100 galactic and extragalactic sources has generated considerable interest in the astronomy, astrophysics and particle physics communities and has stimulated ambitious ideas and plans for future gamma-ray observatories. AGIS is a concept for a next generation VHE observatory with a collecting area on the scale of a square kilometer being developed by an international collaboration. It would have significantly improved angular and energy resolution, increased field of view, and an order of magnitude increase in sensitivity over existing space or ground-based instruments in the energy range 40 GeV to 100 TeV. The scientific motivations and R&D roadmap for AGIS will be discussed.

Cen A Optical Gamma Composite

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA release April 1, 2010 The gamma-ray output from Cen A's lobes exceeds their radio output by more than ten times. High-energy gamma rays detected by Fermi's Large Area Telescope are depicted as purple in this gamma ray/optical composite of the galaxy. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration, Capella Observatory To learn more about these images go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/smokestack-plumes.html NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.

The neutron-gamma Feynman variance to mean approach: Gamma detection and total neutron-gamma detection (theory and practice)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chernikova, Dina; Axell, Kåre; Avdic, Senada; Pázsit, Imre; Nordlund, Anders; Allard, Stefan

2015-05-01

Two versions of the neutron-gamma variance to mean (Feynman-alpha method or Feynman-Y function) formula for either gamma detection only or total neutron-gamma detection, respectively, are derived and compared in this paper. The new formulas have particular importance for detectors of either gamma photons or detectors sensitive to both neutron and gamma radiation. If applied to a plastic or liquid scintillation detector, the total neutron-gamma detection Feynman-Y expression corresponds to a situation where no discrimination is made between neutrons and gamma particles. The gamma variance to mean formulas are useful when a detector of only gamma radiation is used or when working with a combined neutron-gamma detector at high count rates. The theoretical derivation is based on the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation with the inclusion of general reactions and corresponding intensities for neutrons and gammas, but with the inclusion of prompt reactions only. A one energy group approximation is considered. The comparison of the two different theories is made by using reaction intensities obtained in MCNPX simulations with a simplified geometry for two scintillation detectors and a 252Cf-source. In addition, the variance to mean ratios, neutron, gamma and total neutron-gamma are evaluated experimentally for a weak 252Cf neutron-gamma source, a 137Cs random gamma source and a 22Na correlated gamma source. Due to the focus being on the possibility of using neutron-gamma variance to mean theories for both reactor and safeguards applications, we limited the present study to the general analytical expressions for Feynman-alpha formulas.

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Telescope Optical System Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanna, David S.; Buckley, J. H.; Falcone, A.; Fegan, S.; Finley, J.; Guarino, V.; Kaaret, P.; Krawczynski, H.; Krennrich, F.; Konopelko, A.; Romani, R.; Vassilliev, V.; Optical System Working Group; AGIS Collaboration

2008-03-01

The concept of a future ground-based gamma-ray observatory, AGIS, in the energy range 20 GeV-200 TeV is based on an array of 50-200 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). The anticipated improvement of AGIS sensitivity, angular resolution, and reliability of operation imposes demanding technological and cost requirements on the design of IACTs. In this submission we will focus on the optical system (OS) of AGIS telescopes and consider options which include traditional Davies-Cotton and the other prime-focus telescope designs, as well as the novel two-mirror aplanatic OS originally proposed by Schwarzschild. The emerging new mirror production technologies based on replication processes, such as cold and hot glass slumping, cured CFRP, and electroforming, provide new opportunities for cost effective solutions for the design of the OS. We initially evaluate capabilities of these mirror fabrication methods for the AGIS project.

A Compact, Portable, Reduced-Cost, Gamma Ray Spectroscopic System for Nuclear Verification Final Report CRADA No. TSB-1551-98

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

Lavietes, A.; Kalkhoran, N.

The overall goal of this project was to demonstrate a compact gamma-ray spectroscopic system with better energy resolution and lower costs than scintillator-based detector systems for uranium enrichment analysis applications.

Quality assurance for gamma knives

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

Jones, E.D.; Banks, W.W.; Fischer, L.E.

1995-09-01

This report describes and summarizes the results of a quality assurance (QA) study of the Gamma Knife, a nuclear medical device used for the gamma irradiation of intracranial lesions. Focus was on the physical aspects of QA and did not address issues that are essentially medical, such as patient selection or prescription of dose. A risk-based QA assessment approach was used. Sample programs for quality control and assurance are included. The use of the Gamma Knife was found to conform to existing standards and guidelines concerning radiation safety and quality control of external beam therapies (shielding, safety reviews, radiation surveys,more » interlock systems, exposure monitoring, good medical physics practices, etc.) and to be compliant with NRC teletherapy regulations. There are, however, current practices for the Gamma Knife not covered by existing, formalized regulations, standards, or guidelines. These practices have been adopted by Gamma Knife users and continue to be developed with further experience. Some of these have appeared in publications or presentations and are slowly finding their way into recommendations of professional organizations.« less

Stop waiting and start creating: service learning with an outpatient bone marrow transplant unit art cart program.

PubMed

Fletcher, Tina; Bayer, Christina; Beyer, Emily; Gonzales, Jessica; Ralston, Ashley; Yount, Phyllis

2013-01-01

This paper examines how master of occupational therapy students, their occupational therapy instructor, and a community-based licensed clinical social worker collaborated in a service learning art cart program on an outpatient bone marrow transplant unit. As they progressed through the phases of Kolb's model of service learning, occupational therapy students, their occupational therapy instructor, and the licensed clinical social worker were all able to meet mutual goals of serving a unique patient population, increasing knowledge of best practices, and building and fostering university/community relationships.

Nuclear fuel microsphere gamma analyzer

DOEpatents

Valentine, Kenneth H.; Long, Jr., Ernest L.; Willey, Melvin G.

1977-01-01

A gamma analyzer system is provided for the analysis of nuclear fuel microspheres and other radioactive particles. The system consists of an analysis turntable with means for loading, in sequence, a plurality of stations within the turntable; a gamma ray detector for determining the spectrum of a sample in one section; means for analyzing the spectrum; and a receiver turntable to collect the analyzed material in stations according to the spectrum analysis. Accordingly, particles may be sorted according to their quality; e.g., fuel particles with fractured coatings may be separated from those that are not fractured, or according to other properties.

A luminous gamma-ray binary in the large magellanic cloud

DOE PAGES

Corbet, R. H. D.; Chomiuk, L.; Coe, M. J.; ...

2016-09-27

Gamma-ray binaries consist of a neutron star or a black hole interacting with a normal star to produce gamma-ray emission that dominates the radiative output of the system. Previously, only a handful of such systems have been discovered, all within our Galaxy. We report the discovery of a luminous gamma-ray binary in the Large Magellanic Cloud, found with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), from a search for periodic modulation in all sources in the third Fermi LAT catalog. This is the first such system to be found outside the Milky Way. Furthermore, the system has an orbital period ofmore » 10.3 days, and is associated with a massive O5III star located in the supernova remnant DEM L241, previously identified as the candidate high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) CXOU J053600.0–673507. X-ray and radio emission are also modulated on the 10.3 day period, but are in anti-phase with the gamma-ray modulation. Optical radial velocity measurements suggest that the system contains a neutron star. The source is significantly more luminous than similar sources in the Milky Way, at radio, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths. The detection of this extra-galactic system, but no new Galactic systems, raises the possibility that the predicted number of gamma-ray binaries in our Galaxy has been overestimated, and that HMXBs may be born containing relatively slowly rotating neutron stars.« less

Cost analysis of Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery.

PubMed

Griffiths, Alison; Marinovich, Luke; Barton, Michael B; Lord, Sarah J

2007-01-01

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is used to treat intracranial lesions and vascular malformations as an addition or replacement to whole brain radiotherapy and microsurgery. SRS can be delivered by hardware and software appended to standard linear accelerators (Linacs) or by dedicated systems such as Gamma Knife, which has been proposed as a more accurate and user friendly technology. Internationally, dedicated systems have been funded, despite limitations in evidence. However, some countries including Australia have not recommended additional reimbursement for dedicated systems. This study compares the costs of Linac radiosurgery with Gamma Knife radiosurgery. Due to limited evidence on comparative effects, the economic analysis was restricted to a cost evaluation. The base-case analysis assumed a modified Linac was used only to treat SRS patients. However, because a modified Linac could be used to treat other radiotherapy patients, a second analysis assumed spare time was used to meet other radiotherapy needs, and Linac capital costs were apportioned according to SRS use. The incremental cost of Gamma Knife versus a modified Linac was estimated as AU$209 per patient. This result is sensitive to variations in assumptions. A second analysis proportioning capital costs according to SRS use showed that Gamma Knife may cost up to AU$1673 more per patient. Gamma Knife may be cost competitive only if demand for SRS services is high enough to fully use equipment working time. However, given low patient demand and competing radiotherapy needs, Gamma Knife appears more costly and further evidence of survival or quality of life advantages may be required to justify reimbursement.

Focal Plane Detectors for the Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, Robert G.; AGIS Photodetector Group; Byrum, K.; Drake, G.; Falcone, A.; Funk, S.; Horan, D.; Mukherjee, R.; Tajima, H.; Williams, D.

2008-03-01

The Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation observatory in ground-based very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. It is being designed to achieve a significant improvement in sensitivity compared to current Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope (IACT) Arrays. One of the main requirements in order that AGIS fulfill this goal will be to achieve higher angular resolution than current IACTs. Simulations show that a substantial improvement in angular resolution may be achieved if the pixel size is reduced to less than 0.05 deg, i.e. two to three times smaller than the pixel size of current IACT cameras. With finer pixelation and the plan to deploy on the order of 100 telescopes in the AGIS array, the channel count will exceed 1,000,000 imaging pixels. High uniformity and long mean time-to-failure will be important aspects of a successful photodetector technology choice. Here we present alternatives being considered for AGIS, including both silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMTs). Results from laboratory testing of MAPMTs and SiPMs are presented along with results from the first incorporation of these devices in cameras on test bed Cherenkov telescopes.

Derivation of a Multiparameter Gamma Model for Analyzing the Residence-Time Distribution Function for Nonideal Flow Systems as an Alternative to the Advection-Dispersion Equation

DOE PAGES

Embry, Irucka; Roland, Victor; Agbaje, Oluropo; ...

2013-01-01

A new residence-time distribution (RTD) function has been developed and applied to quantitative dye studies as an alternative to the traditional advection-dispersion equation (AdDE). The new method is based on a jointly combined four-parameter gamma probability density function (PDF). The gamma residence-time distribution (RTD) function and its first and second moments are derived from the individual two-parameter gamma distributions of randomly distributed variables, tracer travel distance, and linear velocity, which are based on their relationship with time. The gamma RTD function was used on a steady-state, nonideal system modeled as a plug-flow reactor (PFR) in the laboratory to validate themore » effectiveness of the model. The normalized forms of the gamma RTD and the advection-dispersion equation RTD were compared with the normalized tracer RTD. The normalized gamma RTD had a lower mean-absolute deviation (MAD) (0.16) than the normalized form of the advection-dispersion equation (0.26) when compared to the normalized tracer RTD. The gamma RTD function is tied back to the actual physical site due to its randomly distributed variables. The results validate using the gamma RTD as a suitable alternative to the advection-dispersion equation for quantitative tracer studies of non-ideal flow systems.« less

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Extragalactic Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppi, Paolo S.; Extragalactic Science Working Group; AGIS Collaboration

2010-03-01

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS), a proposed next-generation array of Cherenkov telescopes, will provide an unprecedented view of the high energy universe. We discuss how AGIS, with its larger effective area, improved angular resolution, lower threshold, and an order of magnitude increase in sensitivity, impacts the extragalactic science possible in the very high energy domain. Likely source classes detectable by AGIS include AGN, GRBs, clusters, star-forming galaxies, and possibly the cascade radiation surrounding powerful cosmic accelerators. AGIS should see many of the sources discovered by Fermi. With its better sensitivity and angular resolution, AGIS then becomes a key instrument for identifying and characterizing Fermi survey sources, the majority of which will have limited Fermi photon statistics and localizations.

System and plastic scintillator for discrimination of thermal neutron, fast neutron, and gamma radiation

DOEpatents

Zaitseva, Natalia P.; Carman, M. Leslie; Faust, Michelle A.; Glenn, Andrew M.; Martinez, H. Paul; Pawelczak, Iwona A.; Payne, Stephen A.

2017-05-16

A scintillator material according to one embodiment includes a polymer matrix; a primary dye in the polymer matrix, the primary dye being a fluorescent dye, the primary dye being present in an amount of 3 wt % or more; and at least one component in the polymer matrix, the component being selected from a group consisting of B, Li, Gd, a B-containing compound, a Li-containing compound and a Gd-containing compound, wherein the scintillator material exhibits an optical response signature for thermal neutrons that is different than an optical response signature for fast neutrons and gamma rays. A system according to one embodiment includes a scintillator material as disclosed herein and a photodetector for detecting the response of the material to fast neutron, thermal neutron and gamma ray irradiation.

A gamma-secretase inhibitor decreases amyloid-beta production in the central nervous system

PubMed Central

Bateman, Randall J.; Siemers, Eric R.; Mawuenyega, Kwasi G.; Wen, Guolin; Browning, Karen R.; Sigurdson, Wendy C.; Yarasheski, Kevin E.; Friedrich, Stuart W.; DeMattos, Ronald B.; May, Patrick C.; Paul, Steven M.; Holtzman, David M.

2009-01-01

Objective Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) by over-production or under-clearance in the central nervous system is hypothesized to be a necessary event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer Disease. However, previously there has not been a method to determine drug effects on Aβ production or clearance in the human central nervous system. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a gamma-secretase inhibitor on the production of Aβ in the human CNS. Methods We utilized a recently developed method of stable-isotope labeling combined with cerebrospinal fluid sampling to directly measure Aβ production during treatment of a gamma-secretase inhibitor, LY450139. We assessed whether this drug could decrease central nervous system Aβ production in healthy men (age 21–50) at single oral doses of 100mg, 140mg, or 280mg (N=5 per group). Results LY450139 significantly decreased the production of central nervous system Aβ in a dose-dependent fashion, with inhibition of Aβ generation of 47%, 52%, and 84% over a 12 hour period with doses of 100 mg, 140, and 280 mg respectively. There was no difference in Aβ clearance. Interpretation Stable isotope labeling of central nervous system proteins can be utilized to assess the effects of drugs on the production and clearance rates of proteins targeted as potential disease modifying treatments for Alzheimer Disease and other central nervous system disorders. Results from this approach can assist in making decisions about drug dosing and frequency in the design of larger and longer clinical trials for diseases such as Alzheimer Disease, and may accelerate effective drug validation. PMID:19360898

Influence of Sub-grid-Scale Isentropic Transports on McRAS Evaluations using ARM-CART SCM Datasets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sud, Y. C.; Walker, G. K.; Tao, W. K.

2004-01-01

In GCM-physics evaluations with the currently available ARM-CART SCM datasets, McRAS produced very similar character of near surface errors of simulated temperature and humidity containing typically warm and moist biases near the surface and cold and dry biases aloft. We argued it must have a common cause presumably rooted in the model physics. Lack of vertical adjustment of horizontal transport was thought to be a plausible source. Clearly, debarring such a freedom would force the incoming air to diffuse into the grid-cell which would naturally bias the surface air to become warm and moist while the upper air becomes cold and dry, a characteristic feature of McRAS biases. Since, the errors were significantly larger in the two winter cases that contain potentially more intense episodes of cold and warm advective transports, it further reaffirmed our argument and provided additional motivation to introduce the corrections. When the horizontal advective transports were suitably modified to allow rising and/or sinking following isentropic pathways of subgrid scale motions, the outcome was to cool and dry (or warm and moisten) the lower (or upper) levels. Ever, crude approximations invoking such a correction reduced the temperature and humidity biases considerably. The tests were performed on all the available ARM-CART SCM cases with consistent outcome. With the isentropic corrections implemented through two different numerical approximations, virtually similar benefits were derived further confirming the robustness of our inferences. These results suggest the need for insentropic advective transport adjustment in a GCM due to subgrid scale motions.

Survival in HIV-infected patients after a cancer diagnosis in the cART Era: results of an italian multicenter study.

PubMed

Gotti, Daria; Raffetti, Elena; Albini, Laura; Sighinolfi, Laura; Maggiolo, Franco; Di Filippo, Elisa; Ladisa, Nicoletta; Angarano, Gioacchino; Lapadula, Giuseppe; Pan, Angelo; Esposti, Anna Degli; Fabbiani, Massimiliano; Focà, Emanuele; Scalzini, Alfredo; Donato, Francesco; Quiros-Roldan, Eugenia

2014-01-01

We studied survival and associated risk factors in an Italian nationwide cohort of HIV-infected individuals after an AIDS-defining cancer (ADC) or non-AIDS-defining cancer (NADC) diagnosis in the modern cART era. Multi-center, retrospective, observational study of HIV patients included in the MASTER Italian Cohort with a cancer diagnosis from January 1998 to September 2012. Malignancies were divided into ADC or NADC on the basis of the Centre for Disease Control-1993 classification. Recurrence of cancer and metastases were excluded. Survivals were estimated according to the Kaplan-Meier method and compared according to the log-rank test. Statistically significant variables at univariate analysis were entered in a multivariate Cox regression model. Eight hundred and sixty-six cancer diagnoses were recorded among 13,388 subjects in the MASTER Database after 1998: 435 (51%) were ADCs and 431 (49%) were NADCs. Survival was more favorable after an ADC diagnosis than a NADC diagnosis (10-year survival: 62.7%±2.9% vs. 46%±4.2%; p = 0.017). Non-Hodgkin lymphoma had lower survival rates than patients with Kaposi sarcoma or cervical cancer (10-year survival: 48.2%±4.3% vs. 72.8%±4.0% vs. 78.5%±9.9%; p<0.001). Regarding NADCs, breast cancer showed better survival (10-year survival: 65.1%±14%) than lung cancer (1-year survival: 28%±8.7%), liver cancer (5-year survival: 31.9%±6.4%) or Hodgkin lymphoma (10-year survival: 24.8%±11.2%). Lower CD4+ count and intravenous drug use were significantly associated with decreased survival after ADCs or NADCs diagnosis. Exposure to cART was found to be associated with prolonged survival only in the case of ADCs. cART has improved survival in patients with an ADC diagnosis, whereas the prognosis after a diagnosis of NADCs is poor. Low CD4+ counts and intravenous drug use are risk factors for survival following a diagnosis of ADCs and Hodgkin lymphoma in the NADC group.

Gamma ray bursts as a signature for entangled gravitational systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basini, Giuseppe; Capozziello, Salvatore; Longo, Giuseppe

2004-01-01

Gamma ray bursts (GRBs), due to their features, can be considered not only extremely energetic, but also as the most relativistic astrophysical objects discovered. Their phenomenology is still matter of debate and, till now, no fully satisfactory model has been formulated to explain the nature of their origin. In the framework of a recently developed new theory, where general conservation laws are always and absolutely conserved in nature, we propose an alternative model where an ``entangled'' gravitational system, dynamically constituted by a black holes connected to a white hole through a worm hole, seems capable of explaining most of the properties inferred for the GRB engine. In particular, it leads to a natural explanation of energetics, beaming, polarization, and, very likely, distribution. On the other hand, GRBs can be considered a signature of such entangled gravitational systems.

Documentation of the data analysis system for the gamma ray monitor aboard OSO-H

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Croteau, S.; Buck, A.; Higbie, P.; Kantauskis, J.; Foss, S.; Chupp, D.; Forrest, D. J.; Suri, A.; Gleske, I.

1973-01-01

The programming system is presented which was developed to prepare the data from the gamma ray monitor on OSO-7 for scientific analysis. The detector, data, and objectives are described in detail. Programs presented include; FEEDER, PASS-1, CAL1, CAL2, PASS-3, Van Allen Belt Predict Program, Computation Center Plot Routine, and Response Function Programs.

Development of a Portable Gamma-ray Survey System for the Measurement of Air Dose Rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goto, Jun; Shobugawa, Yugo; Kawano, Yoh; Amaya, Yoshihiro; Izumikawa, Takuji; Katsuragi, Yoshinori; Shiiya, Tomohiro; Suzuki, Tsubasa; Takahashi, Takeshi; Takahashi, Toshihiro; Yoshida, Hidenori; Naito, Makoto

BIo-Safety Hybrid Automatic MOnitor-Niigata (BISHAMON), a portable gamma-ray survey system, was developed to support victims of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. BISHAMON is capable of constructing a map of the distribution of ambient dose equivalent rates using vehicle-mounted or on-foot survey methods. In this study, we give an overview of BISHAMON and its measurement results including a comparison with those of other systems such as KURAMA.

Very high-energy gamma rays from gamma-ray bursts.

PubMed

Chadwick, Paula M

2007-05-15

Very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy has undergone a transformation in the last few years, with telescopes of unprecedented sensitivity having greatly expanded the source catalogue. Such progress makes the detection of a gamma-ray burst at the highest energies much more likely than previously. This paper describes the facilities currently operating and their chances for detecting gamma-ray bursts, and reviews predictions for VHE gamma-ray emission from gamma-ray bursts. Results to date are summarized.

Radiation detection system for portable gamma-ray spectroscopy

DOEpatents

Rowland, Mark S [Alamo, CA; Howard, Douglas E [Livermore, CA; Wong, James L [Dublin, CA; Jessup, James L [Tracy, CA; Bianchini, Greg M [Livermore, CA; Miller, Wayne O [Livermore, CA

2006-06-20

A portable gamma ray detection apparatus having a gamma ray detector encapsulated by a compact isolation structure having at least two volumetrically-nested enclosures where at least one is a thermal shield. The enclosures are suspension-mounted to each other to successively encapsulate the detector without structural penetrations through the thermal shields. A low power cooler is also provided capable of cooling the detector to cryogenic temperatures without consuming cryogens, due to the heat load reduction by the isolation structure and the reduction in the power requirements of the cooler. The apparatus also includes a lightweight portable power source for supplying power to the apparatus, including to the cooler and the processing means, and reducing the weight of the apparatus to enable handheld operation or toting on a user's person.

Method and system for the combination of non-thermal plasma and metal/metal oxide doped .gamma.-alumina catalysts for diesel engine exhaust aftertreatment system

DOEpatents

Aardahl, Christopher L [Richland, WA; Balmer-Miller, Mari Lou [West Richland, WA; Chanda, Ashok [Peoria, IL; Habeger, Craig F [West Richland, WA; Koshkarian, Kent A [Peoria, IL; Park, Paul W [Peoria, IL

2006-07-25

The present disclosure pertains to a system and method for treatment of oxygen rich exhaust and more specifically to a method and system that combines non-thermal plasma with a metal doped .gamma.-alumina catalyst. Current catalyst systems for the treatment of oxygen rich exhaust are capable of achieving only approximately 7 to 12% NO.sub.x reduction as a passive system and only 25 40% reduction when a supplemental hydrocarbon reductant is injected into the exhaust stream. It has been found that treatment of an oxygen rich exhaust initially with a non-thermal plasma and followed by subsequent treatment with a metal doped .gamma.-alumina prepared by the sol gel method is capable of increasing the NO.sub.x reduction to a level of approximately 90% in the absence of SO.sub.2 and 80% in the presence of 20 ppm of SO.sub.2. Especially useful metals have been found to be indium, gallium, and tin.

Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes due to Particle Acceleration in Tropical Storm Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, O. S.; Fitzpatrick, G.; Priftis, G.; Bedka, K.; Chronis, T.; Mcbreen, S.; Briggs, M.; Cramer, E.; Mailyan, B.; Stanbro, M.

2017-01-01

Terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) are submillisecond flashes of energetic radiation that are believed to emanate from intracloud lightning inside thunderstorms. This emission can be detected hundreds of kilometers from the source by space-based observatories such as the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi). The location of the TGF-producing storms can be determined using very low frequency (VLF) radio measurements made simultaneously with the Fermi detection, allowing additional insight into the mechanisms which produce these phenomena. In this paper, we report 37 TGFs originating from tropical storm systems for the first time. Previous studies to gain insight into how tropical cyclones formed and how destructive they can be include the investigation of lightning flash rates and their dependence on storm evolution. We find TGFs to emanate from a broad range of distances from the storm centers. In hurricanes and severe tropical cyclones, the TGFs are observed to occur predominately from the outer rainbands. A majority of our sample also show TGFs occurring during the strengthening phase of the encompassing storm system. These results verify that TGF production closely follows when and where lightning predominately occurs in cyclones. The intrinsic characteristics of these TGFs were not found to differ from other TGFs reported in larger samples. We also find that some TGF-producing storm cells in tropical storm systems far removed from land have a low number of WWLLN sferics. Although not unique to tropical cyclones, this TGF/sferic ratio may imply a high efficiency for the lightning in these storms to generate TGFs.

GammaScorpion: mobile gamma-ray tomography system for early detection of basal stem rot in oil palm plantations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, Jaafar; Hassan, Hearie; Shari, Mohamad Rabaie; Mohd, Salzali; Mustapha, Mahadi; Mahmood, Airwan Affendi; Jamaludin, Shahrizan; Ngah, Mohd Rosdi; Hamid, Noor Hisham

2013-03-01

Detection of the oil palm stem rot disease Ganoderma is a major issue in estate management and production in Malaysia. Conventional diagnostic techniques are difficult and time consuming when using visual inspection, and destructive and expensive when based on the chemical analysis of root or stem tissue. As an alternative, a transportable gamma-ray computed tomography system for the early detection of basal stem rot (BSR) of oil palms due to Ganoderma was developed locally at the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Kajang, Malaysia. This system produces high quality tomographic images that clearly differentiate between healthy and Ganoderma infected oil palm stems. It has been successfully tested and used to detect the extent of BSR damage in oil palm plantations in Malaysia without the need to cut down the trees. This method offers promise for in situ inspection of oil palm stem diseases compared to the more conventional methods.

Implementing displacement damage calculations for electrons and gamma rays in the Particle and Heavy-Ion Transport code System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwamoto, Yosuke

2018-03-01

In this study, the Monte Carlo displacement damage calculation method in the Particle and Heavy-Ion Transport code System (PHITS) was improved to calculate displacements per atom (DPA) values due to irradiation by electrons (or positrons) and gamma rays. For the damage due to electrons and gamma rays, PHITS simulates electromagnetic cascades using the Electron Gamma Shower version 5 (EGS5) algorithm and calculates DPA values using the recoil energies and the McKinley-Feshbach cross section. A comparison of DPA values calculated by PHITS and the Monte Carlo assisted Classical Method (MCCM) reveals that they were in good agreement for gamma-ray irradiations of silicon and iron at energies that were less than 10 MeV. Above 10 MeV, PHITS can calculate DPA values not only for electrons but also for charged particles produced by photonuclear reactions. In DPA depth distributions under electron and gamma-ray irradiations, build-up effects can be observed near the target's surface. For irradiation of 90-cm-thick carbon by protons with energies of more than 30 GeV, the ratio of the secondary electron DPA values to the total DPA values is more than 10% and increases with an increase in incident energy. In summary, PHITS can calculate DPA values for all particles and materials over a wide energy range between 1 keV and 1 TeV for electrons, gamma rays, and charged particles and between 10-5 eV and 1 TeV for neutrons.

Gamma ray shielding and structural properties of PbO-P2O5-Na2WO4 glass system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dogra, Mridula; Singh, K. J.; Kaur, Kulwinder; Anand, Vikas; Kaur, Parminder

2017-05-01

The present work has been undertaken to study the gamma ray shielding properties of PbO-P2O5-Na2WO4 glass system. The values of mass attenuation coefficient and half value layer parameter at photon energies 511, 662 and 1173 KeV have been determined using XCOM computer software developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology. The density, molar volume, XRD, UV-VIS and Raman studies have been performed to study the structural properties of the prepared glass system to check the possibility of the use of prepared samples as an alternate to conventional concrete for gamma ray shielding applications.

Measuring B to S Gamma, B to D Gamma and |V(Td)/V(Ts)| at BaBar

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

Bard, Deborah; /SLAC

2012-06-01

Using a sample of 471 million B{bar B} events collected with the BaBar detector, we study the sum of seven exclusive final states b {yields} X{sub s(d)}{gamma}, where X{sub s(d)} is a strange (non-strange) hadronic system with a mass of up to 2.0 Gev/c{sup 2}. After correcting for unobserved decay modes, we obtain a branching fraction for b {yields} d{gamma} of (9.2 {+-} 2.0(stat.) {+-} 2.3(syst.)) x 10{sup -6} in this mass range, and a branching fraction for b {yields} s{gamma} of (23.0 {+-} 0.8(stat.) {+-} 3.0(syst.)) x 10{sup -5} in the same mass range. We find BF(b {yields} d{gamma})/BF(bmore » {yields} s{gamma}) = 0.040 {+-} 0.009(stat.) {+-} 0.010(syst.), from which we determine |V{sub td}/V{sub ts}| = 0.199 {+-} 0.022(stat.) {+-} 0.024(syst.) {+-} 0.002(th.).« less

A novel fully integrated handheld gamma camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massari, R.; Ucci, A.; Campisi, C.; Scopinaro, F.; Soluri, A.

2016-10-01

In this paper, we present an innovative, fully integrated handheld gamma camera, namely designed to gather in the same device the gamma ray detector with the display and the embedded computing system. The low power consumption allows the prototype to be battery operated. To be useful in radioguided surgery, an intraoperative gamma camera must be very easy to handle since it must be moved to find a suitable view. Consequently, we have developed the first prototype of a fully integrated, compact and lightweight gamma camera for radiopharmaceuticals fast imaging. The device can operate without cables across the sterile field, so it may be easily used in the operating theater for radioguided surgery. The prototype proposed consists of a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) array coupled with a proprietary scintillation structure based on CsI(Tl) crystals. To read the SiPM output signals, we have developed a very low power readout electronics and a dedicated analog to digital conversion system. One of the most critical aspects we faced designing the prototype was the low power consumption, which is mandatory to develop a battery operated device. We have applied this detection device in the lymphoscintigraphy technique (sentinel lymph node mapping) comparing the results obtained with those of a commercial gamma camera (Philips SKYLight). The results obtained confirm a rapid response of the device and an adequate spatial resolution for the use in the scintigraphic imaging. This work confirms the feasibility of a small gamma camera with an integrated display. This device is designed for radioguided surgery and small organ imaging, but it could be easily combined into surgical navigation systems.

SU-E-T-594: Out-Of-Field Neutron and Gamma Dose Estimated Using TLD-600/700 Pairs in the Wobbling Proton Therapy System

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

Chen, Y; Lin, Y; Medical Physics Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University / Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan

Purpose: Secondary fast neutrons and gamma rays are mainly produced due to the interaction of the primary proton beam with the beam delivery nozzle. These secondary radiation dose to patients and radiation workers are unwanted. The purpose of this study is to estimate the neutron and gamma dose equivalent out of the treatment volume during the wobbling proton therapy system. Methods: Two types of thermoluminescent (TL) dosimeters, TLD-600 ({sup 6}LiF: Mg, Ti) and TLD-700 ({sup 7}LiF: Mg, Ti) were used in this study. They were calibrated in the standard neutron and gamma sources at National Standards Laboratory. Annealing procedure ismore » 400°C for 1 hour, 100°C for 2 hours and spontaneously cooling down to the room temperature in a programmable oven. Two-peak method (a kind of glow curve analysis technique) was used to evaluate the TL response corresponding to the neutron and gamma dose. The TLD pairs were placed outside the treatment field at the neutron-gamma mixed field with 190-MeV proton beam produced by the wobbling system through the polyethylene plate phantom. The results of TLD measurement were compared to the Monte Carlo simulation. Results: The initial experiment results of calculated dose equivalents are 0.63, 0.38, 0.21 and 0.13 mSv per Gy outside the field at the distance of 50, 100, 150 and 200 cm. Conclusion: The TLD-600 and TLD-700 pairs are convenient to estimate neutron and gamma dosimetry during proton therapy. However, an accurate and suitable glow curve analysis technique is necessary. During the wobbling system proton therapy, our results showed that the neutron and gamma doses outside the treatment field are noticeable. This study was supported by the grants from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CMRPD1C0682)« less

Adaptive gamma correction-based expert system for nonuniform illumination face enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdelhamid, Iratni; Mustapha, Aouache; Adel, Oulefki

2018-03-01

The image quality of a face recognition system suffers under severe lighting conditions. Thus, this study aims to develop an approach for nonuniform illumination adjustment based on an adaptive gamma correction (AdaptGC) filter that can solve the aforementioned issue. An approach for adaptive gain factor prediction was developed via neural network model-based cross-validation (NN-CV). To achieve this objective, a gamma correction function and its effects on the face image quality with different gain values were examined first. Second, an orientation histogram (OH) algorithm was assessed as a face's feature descriptor. Subsequently, a density histogram module was developed for face label generation. During the NN-CV construction, the model was assessed to recognize the OH descriptor and predict the face label. The performance of the NN-CV model was evaluated by examining the statistical measures of root mean square error and coefficient of efficiency. Third, to evaluate the AdaptGC enhancement approach, an image quality metric was adopted using enhancement by entropy, contrast per pixel, second-derivative-like measure of enhancement, and sharpness, then supported by visual inspection. The experiment results were examined using five face's databases, namely, extended Yale-B, Carnegie Mellon University-Pose, Illumination, and Expression, Mobio, FERET, and Oulu-CASIA-NIR-VIS. The final results prove that AdaptGC filter implementation compared with state-of-the-art methods is the best choice in terms of contrast and nonuniform illumination adjustment. In summary, the benefits attained prove that AdaptGC is driven by a profitable enhancement rate, which provides satisfying features for high rate face recognition systems.

Modelling, Simulation, Animation, and Real-Time Control (Mosart) for a Class of Electromechanical Systems: A System-Theoretic Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Armando A.; Metzger, Richard P.; Cifdaloz, Oguzhan; Dhirasakdanon, Thanate; Welfert, Bruno

2004-01-01

This paper describes an interactive modelling, simulation, animation, and real-time control (MoSART) environment for a class of 'cart-pendulum' electromechanical systems that may be used to enhance learning within differential equations and linear algebra classes. The environment is useful for conveying fundamental mathematical/systems concepts…

Multidisciplinary approach to converting power chair into motorized prone cart.

PubMed

Brose, Steven W; Wali, Eisha

2014-01-01

Pressure ulcers remain a major source of morbidity and mortality in veterans with neurologic impairment. Management of pressure ulcers typically involves pressure relief over skin regions containing wounds, but this can lead to loss of mobility and independence when the wounds are located in regions that receive pressure from sitting. An innovative, low-cost, multidisciplinary effort was undertaken to maximize quality of life in a veteran with a thoracic-4 level complete spinal cord injury and a stage 4 ischial wound. The person's power wheelchair was converted into a motorized prone cart, allowing navigation of the Department of Veterans Affairs spinal cord injury hospital ward and improved socialization while relieving pressure on the wound. Physical and occupational therapy assisted with the reconfiguration of the power chair and verified safe transfers into the chair and driving of the device. Psychology verified positive psychosocial benefit, while nursing and physician services verified an absence of unwanted pain or skin injury resulting from use of the device. Further investigation of ways to apply this technique is warranted to improve the quality of life of persons with pressure ulcers.

High and low energy gamma beam dump designs for the gamma beam delivery system at ELI-NP

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

Yasin, Zafar, E-mail: zafar.yasin@eli-np.ro; Matei, Catalin; Ur, Calin A.

The Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) is under construction in Magurele, Bucharest, Romania. The facility will use two 10 PW lasers and a high intensity, narrow bandwidth gamma beam for stand-alone and combined laser-gamma experiments. The accurate estimation of particle doses and their restriction within the limits for both personel and general public is very important in the design phase of any nuclear facility. In the present work, Monte Carlo simulations are performed using FLUKA and MCNPX to design 19.4 and 4 MeV gamma beam dumps along with shielding of experimental areas. Dose rate contour plots from both FLUKAmore » and MCNPX along with numerical values of doses in experimental area E8 of the facility are performed. The calculated doses are within the permissible limits. Furthermore, a reasonable agreement between both codes enhances our confidence in using one or both of them for future calculations in beam dump designs, radiation shielding, radioactive inventory, and other calculations releated to radiation protection. Residual dose rates and residual activity calculations are also performed for high-energy beam dump and their effect is negligible in comparison to contributions from prompt radiation.« less

Gamma ray shielding and structural properties of Bi2O3-PbO-B2O3-V2O5 glass system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, Kulwinder; Singh, K. J.; Anand, Vikas

2014-04-01

The present work has been undertaken to evaluate the applicability of Bi2O3-PbO-B2O3-V2O5 glass system as gamma ray shielding material. Gamma ray mass attenuation coefficient has been determined theoretically using WinXcom computer software developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology. A meaningful comparison of their radiation shielding properties has been made in terms of their half value layer parameter with standard radiation shielding concrete 'barite'. Structural properties of the prepared glass system have been investigated in terms of XRD and FTIR techniques in order to check the possibility of their commercial utility as alternate to conventional concrete for gamma ray shielding applications.

Thiazolidinedione, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma ligand, modulates the E-cadherin/beta-catenin system in a human pancreatic cancer cell line, BxPC-3.

PubMed

Ohta, Tetsuo; Elnemr, Ayman; Yamamoto, Miyuki; Ninomiya, Itasu; Fushida, Sachio; Nishimura, Gen-Ichi; Fujimura, Takashi; Kitagawa, Hirohisa; Kayahara, Masato; Shimizu, Koichi; Yi, Shuangqin; Miwa, Koichi

2002-07-01

Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma induces terminal differentiation and growth inhibition associated with G1 cell cycle arrest in some cancer cells. The multifunctional molecule beta-catenin performs important roles in intercellular adhesion and signal transduction. However, no report has focused on actions of PPAR-gamma in regulating the E-cadherin/beta-catenin system. We examined whether thiazolidinedione (TZD), a potent PPAR-gamma ligand, could modulate the E-cadherin/beta-catenin system in a human pancreatic cancer cell line, BxPC-3, that has been found to express PPAR-gamma. According to Western blotting, TZD markedly increased differentiation markers including E-cadherin and carcinoembryonic antigen, while beta-catenin did not change significantly. In untreated cells, fluorescence immunostaining demonstrated beta-catenin predominantly in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus; in TZD-treated cells, beta-catenin localization had dramatically shifted to the plasma membrane, in association with increased E-cadherin at this site. Thus, a PPAR-gamma ligand appears to participate not only in induction of differentiation in pancreatic cancer cells, but also in the regulation of the E-cadherin/beta-catenin system. Such ligands may prove clinically useful as cytostatic anticancer agents.

Immediate initiation of cART is associated with lower levels of cerebrospinal fluid YKL-40, a marker of microglial activation, in HIV-1 infection

PubMed Central

Peluso, Michael J.; Valcour, Victor; Phanuphak, Nittaya; Ananworanich, Jintanat; Fletcsher, James LK; Chalermchai, Thep; Krebs, Shelly J.; Robb, Merlin L.; Hellmuth, Joanna; Gisslén, Magnus; Zetterberg, Henrik; Spudich, Serena

2018-01-01

Objective To characterize cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) YKL-40, a unique biomarker that reflects activation of microglial cells, in acute (AHI) and chronic HIV-1 infection (CHI) and to determine the effect of treatment initiation on levels of this marker. Design Cross-sectional study of two groups of HIV-infected participants at baseline and follow-up timepoints. Methods AHI (n=33) and CHI (n=34) participants underwent CSF and blood sampling before treatment initiation with combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and at follow up on cART in a subset of these individuals (6 months in AHI participants [n=24], 1 year in CHI participants [n=10]). Measured parameters were analyzed at each timepoint. Analyses employed Mann-Whitney tests and Spearman correlations. Results Baseline median YKL-40 was higher in CHI than AHI (96844 versus 80754 ng/L; p=0.011). Elevations in the CHI group relative to the AHI group persisted at follow-up despite treatment (87414 versus 66130 ng/L; p=0.003). In untreated CHI, YKL-40 correlated with neopterin (r=0.51, p=0.0025), chemokine (CXC-motif) ligand-10 (r=0.44, p=0.011), and neurofilament light chain (r=0.56, p=0.0008) in CSF. Conclusions This study is the first to describe the dynamics of CSF YKL-40 in two groups of HIV-infected individuals before and after cART and demonstrates the value of this marker in understanding HIV neuropathogenesis. The results suggest the utility of further exploring the prognostic value of YKL-40, particularly in individuals with early HIV infection or those initiating treatment during CHI. PMID:27819802

Immediate initiation of cART is associated with lower levels of cerebrospinal fluid YKL-40, a marker of microglial activation, in HIV-1 infection.

PubMed

Peluso, Michael J; Valcour, Victor; Phanuphak, Nittaya; Ananworanich, Jintanat; Fletcher, James L K; Chalermchai, Thep; Krebs, Shelly J; Robb, Merlin L; Hellmuth, Joanna; Gisslén, Magnus; Zetterberg, Henrik; Spudich, Serena

2017-01-14

To characterize cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) YKL-40, a unique biomarker that reflects activation of microglial cells, in acute (AHI) and chronic HIV-1 infection (CHI) and to determine the effect of treatment initiation on levels of this marker. A cross-sectional study of two groups of HIV-infected participants at baseline and follow-up timepoints. AHI (n = 33) and CHI (n = 34) participants underwent CSF and blood sampling before treatment initiation with combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and at follow-up on cART in a subset of these individuals [6 months in AHI participants (n = 24), 1 year in CHI participants (n = 10)]. Measured parameters were analyzed at each timepoint. Analyses employed Mann-Whitney tests and Spearman correlations. Baseline median YKL-40 was higher in CHI than AHI (96844 versus 80754 ng/l; P = 0.011). Elevations in the CHI group relative to the AHI group persisted at follow-up despite treatment (87414 versus 66130 ng/l; P = 0.003). In untreated CHI, YKL-40 correlated with neopterin (r = 0.51, P = 0.0025), chemokine (CXC-motif) ligand-10 (r = 0.44, P = 0.011), and neurofilament light chain (r = 0.56, P = 0.0008) in CSF. This study is the first to describe the dynamics of CSF YKL-40 in two groups of HIV-infected individuals before and after cART and demonstrates the value of this marker in understanding HIV neuropathogenesis. The results suggest the utility of further exploring the prognostic value of YKL-40, particularly in individuals with early HIV infection or those initiating treatment during CHI.

Representation of Cognitive Reappraisal Goals in Frontal Gamma Oscillations

PubMed Central

Kang, Jae-Hwan; Jeong, Ji Woon; Kim, Hyun Taek; Kim, Sang Hee; Kim, Sung-Phil

2014-01-01

Recently, numerous efforts have been made to understand the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive regulation of emotion, such as cognitive reappraisal. Many studies have reported that cognitive control of emotion induces increases in neural activity of the control system, including the prefrontal cortex and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and increases or decreases (depending upon the regulation goal) in neural activity of the appraisal system, including the amygdala and the insula. It has been hypothesized that information about regulation goals needs to be processed through interactions between the control and appraisal systems in order to support cognitive reappraisal. However, how this information is represented in the dynamics of cortical activity remains largely unknown. To address this, we investigated temporal changes in gamma band activity (35–55 Hz) in human electroencephalograms during a cognitive reappraisal task that was comprised of three reappraisal goals: to decease, maintain, or increase emotional responses modulated by affect-laden pictures. We examined how the characteristics of gamma oscillations, such as spectral power and large-scale phase synchronization, represented cognitive reappraisal goals. We found that left frontal gamma power decreased, was sustained, or increased when the participants suppressed, maintained, or amplified their emotions, respectively. This change in left frontal gamma power appeared during an interval of 1926 to 2453 ms after stimulus onset. We also found that the number of phase-synchronized pairs of gamma oscillations over the entire brain increased when participants regulated their emotions compared to when they maintained their emotions. These results suggest that left frontal gamma power may reflect cortical representation of emotional states modulated by cognitive reappraisal goals and gamma phase synchronization across whole brain regions may reflect emotional regulatory efforts to achieve these goals

Representation of cognitive reappraisal goals in frontal gamma oscillations.

PubMed

Kang, Jae-Hwan; Jeong, Ji Woon; Kim, Hyun Taek; Kim, Sang Hee; Kim, Sung-Phil

2014-01-01

Recently, numerous efforts have been made to understand the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive regulation of emotion, such as cognitive reappraisal. Many studies have reported that cognitive control of emotion induces increases in neural activity of the control system, including the prefrontal cortex and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and increases or decreases (depending upon the regulation goal) in neural activity of the appraisal system, including the amygdala and the insula. It has been hypothesized that information about regulation goals needs to be processed through interactions between the control and appraisal systems in order to support cognitive reappraisal. However, how this information is represented in the dynamics of cortical activity remains largely unknown. To address this, we investigated temporal changes in gamma band activity (35-55 Hz) in human electroencephalograms during a cognitive reappraisal task that was comprised of three reappraisal goals: to decease, maintain, or increase emotional responses modulated by affect-laden pictures. We examined how the characteristics of gamma oscillations, such as spectral power and large-scale phase synchronization, represented cognitive reappraisal goals. We found that left frontal gamma power decreased, was sustained, or increased when the participants suppressed, maintained, or amplified their emotions, respectively. This change in left frontal gamma power appeared during an interval of 1926 to 2453 ms after stimulus onset. We also found that the number of phase-synchronized pairs of gamma oscillations over the entire brain increased when participants regulated their emotions compared to when they maintained their emotions. These results suggest that left frontal gamma power may reflect cortical representation of emotional states modulated by cognitive reappraisal goals and gamma phase synchronization across whole brain regions may reflect emotional regulatory efforts to achieve these goals

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): Schwarzschild-Couder (SC) Telescope Mechanical and Optical System Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guarino, V.; Vassiliev, V.; Buckley, J.; Byrum, K.; Falcone, A.; Fegan, S.; Finley, J.; Hanna, D.; Kaaret, P.; Konopelko, A.; Krawczynski, H.; Krennrich, F.; Romani, R.; Wagner, R.; Woods, M.

2009-05-01

The concept of a future ground-based gamma-ray observatory, AGIS, in the energy range 20 GeV to 200 TeV is based on an array of 50-100 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). The anticipated improvement of AGIS sensitivity, angular resolution, and reliability of operation imposes demanding technological and cost requirements on the design of IACTs. In this submission, we focus on the optical and mechanical systems for a novel Schwarzschild-Couder two-mirror aplanatic optical system originally proposed by Schwarzschild. Emerging new mirror production technologies based on replication processes, such as cold and hot glass slumping, cured CFRP, and electroforming, provide new opportunities for cost effective solutions for the design of the optical system. We explore capabilities of these mirror fabrication methods for the AGIS project and alignment methods for optical systems. We also study a mechanical structure which will provide support points for mirrors and camera design driven by the requirement of minimizing the deflections of the mirror support structures.

Gamma-ray imaging system for real-time measurements in nuclear waste characterisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caballero, L.; Albiol Colomer, F.; Corbi Bellot, A.; Domingo-Pardo, C.; Leganés Nieto, J. L.; Agramunt Ros, J.; Contreras, P.; Monserrate, M.; Olleros Rodríguez, P.; Pérez Magán, D. L.

2018-03-01

A compact, portable and large field-of-view gamma camera that is able to identify, locate and quantify gamma-ray emitting radioisotopes in real-time has been developed. The device delivers spectroscopic and imaging capabilities that enable its use it in a variety of nuclear waste characterisation scenarios, such as radioactivity monitoring in nuclear power plants and more specifically for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The technical development of this apparatus and some examples of its application in field measurements are reported in this article. The performance of the presented gamma-camera is also benchmarked against other conventional techniques.

GAMSOR: Gamma Source Preparation and DIF3D Flux Solution

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

Smith, M. A.; Lee, C. H.; Hill, R. N.

2016-12-15

Nuclear reactors that rely upon the fission reaction have two modes of thermal energy deposition in the reactor system: neutron absorption and gamma absorption. The gamma rays are typically generated by neutron absorption reactions or during the fission process which means the primary driver of energy production is of course the neutron interaction. In conventional reactor physics methods, the gamma heating component is ignored such that the gamma absorption is forced to occur at the gamma emission site. For experimental reactor systems like EBR-II and FFTF, the placement of structural pins and assemblies internal to the core leads to problemsmore » with power heating predictions because there is no fission power source internal to the assembly to dictate a spatial distribution of the power. As part of the EBR-II support work in the 1980s, the GAMSOR code was developed to assist analysts in calculating the gamma heating. The GAMSOR code is a modified version of DIF3D and actually functions within a sequence of DIF3D calculations. The gamma flux in a conventional fission reactor system does not perturb the neutron flux and thus the gamma flux calculation can be cast as a fixed source problem given a solution to the steady state neutron flux equation. This leads to a sequence of DIF3D calculations, called the GAMSOR sequence, which involves solving the neutron flux, then the gamma flux, then combining the results to do a summary edit. In this manuscript, we go over the GAMSOR code and detail how it is put together and functions. We also discuss how to setup the GAMSOR sequence and input for each DIF3D calculation in the GAMSOR sequence. With the GAMSOR capability, users can take any valid steady state DIF3D calculation and compute the power distribution due to neutron and gamma heating. The MC2-3 code is the preferable companion code to use for generating neutron and gamma cross section data, but the GAMSOR code can accept cross section data from other sources. To

Gamma ray spectroscopy monitoring method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Stagg, William R; Policke, Timothy A

2017-05-16

The present invention relates generally to the field of gamma ray spectroscopy monitoring and a system for accomplishing same to monitor one or more aspects of various isotope production processes. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a monitoring system, and method of utilizing same, for monitoring one or more aspects of an isotope production process where the monitoring system comprises: (A) at least one sample cell; (B) at least one measuring port; (C) at least one adjustable collimator device; (D) at least one shutter; and (E) at least one high resolution gamma ray spectrometer.

Gamma-sky.net: Portal to the gamma-ray sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voruganti, Arjun; Deil, Christoph; Donath, Axel; King, Johannes

2017-01-01

http://gamma-sky.net is a novel interactive website designed for exploring the gamma-ray sky. The Map View portion of the site is powered by the Aladin Lite sky atlas, providing a scalable survey image tesselated onto a three-dimensional sphere. The map allows for interactive pan and zoom navigation as well as search queries by sky position or object name. The default image overlay shows the gamma-ray sky observed by the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray space telescope. Other survey images (e.g. Planck microwave images in low/high frequency bands, ROSAT X-ray image) are available for comparison with the gamma-ray data. Sources from major gamma-ray source catalogs of interest (Fermi-LAT 2FHL, 3FGL and a TeV source catalog) are overlaid over the sky map as markers. Clicking on a given source shows basic information in a popup, and detailed pages for every source are available via the Catalog View component of the website, including information such as source classification, spectrum and light-curve plots, and literature references. We intend for gamma-sky.net to be applicable for both professional astronomers as well as the general public. The website started in early June 2016 and is being developed as an open-source, open data project on GitHub (https://github.com/gammapy/gamma-sky). We plan to extend it to display more gamma-ray and multi-wavelength data. Feedback and contributions are very welcome!

A pulse shape discriminator and an online system for the balloon-borne hard X-ray/gamma-ray detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, T.; Kamae, T.; Tanaka, M.; Gunji, S.; Miyazuki, S.; Tamura, T.; Sekimoto, Y.; Yamaoka, N.; Nishimura, J.; Yajima, N.

Attention is given to a new kind of phoswich counters (the well-type phoswich counter) that will be capable of detecting very low flux hard X-rays/gamma-rays (40-1000 keV) from astronomical objects. A specially designed pulse-shape discriminator (PSD) selects hard X-rays/gamma-rays that has deposited energy only in the detection part. Sixty-four such counters are assembled into an array where each phoswich element acts as an active shield to the neighboring elements too. The ADCs, the TDCs, the hit-pattern latches, and the precision clock are read out by a VME-based online system, stored on an 8-mm video tape, and transmitted to the ground station. The design and performance of the pulse shape discriminator and the online system are described.

GAMSOR: Gamma Source Preparation and DIF3D Flux Solution

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

Smith, M. A.; Lee, C. H.; Hill, R. N.

2017-06-28

Nuclear reactors that rely upon the fission reaction have two modes of thermal energy deposition in the reactor system: neutron absorption and gamma absorption. The gamma rays are typically generated by neutron capture reactions or during the fission process which means the primary driver of energy production is of course the neutron interaction. In conventional reactor physics methods, the gamma heating component is ignored such that the gamma absorption is forced to occur at the gamma emission site. For experimental reactor systems like EBR-II and FFTF, the placement of structural pins and assemblies internal to the core leads to problemsmore » with power heating predictions because there is no fission power source internal to the assembly to dictate a spatial distribution of the power. As part of the EBR-II support work in the 1980s, the GAMSOR code was developed to assist analysts in calculating the gamma heating. The GAMSOR code is a modified version of DIF3D and actually functions within a sequence of DIF3D calculations. The gamma flux in a conventional fission reactor system does not perturb the neutron flux and thus the gamma flux calculation can be cast as a fixed source problem given a solution to the steady state neutron flux equation. This leads to a sequence of DIF3D calculations, called the GAMSOR sequence, which involves solving the neutron flux, then the gamma flux, and then combining the results to do a summary edit. In this manuscript, we go over the GAMSOR code and detail how it is put together and functions. We also discuss how to setup the GAMSOR sequence and input for each DIF3D calculation in the GAMSOR sequence.« less

Survival in HIV-Infected Patients after a Cancer Diagnosis in the cART Era: Results of an Italian Multicenter Study

PubMed Central

Gotti, Daria; Raffetti, Elena; Albini, Laura; Sighinolfi, Laura; Maggiolo, Franco; Di Filippo, Elisa; Ladisa, Nicoletta; Angarano, Gioacchino; Lapadula, Giuseppe; Pan, Angelo; Esposti, Anna Degli; Fabbiani, Massimiliano; Focà, Emanuele; Scalzini, Alfredo; Donato, Francesco; Quiros-Roldan, Eugenia

2014-01-01

Objectives We studied survival and associated risk factors in an Italian nationwide cohort of HIV-infected individuals after an AIDS-defining cancer (ADC) or non-AIDS-defining cancer (NADC) diagnosis in the modern cART era. Methods Multi-center, retrospective, observational study of HIV patients included in the MASTER Italian Cohort with a cancer diagnosis from January 1998 to September 2012. Malignancies were divided into ADC or NADC on the basis of the Centre for Disease Control-1993 classification. Recurrence of cancer and metastases were excluded. Survivals were estimated according to the Kaplan-Meier method and compared according to the log-rank test. Statistically significant variables at univariate analysis were entered in a multivariate Cox regression model. Results Eight hundred and sixty-six cancer diagnoses were recorded among 13,388 subjects in the MASTER Database after 1998: 435 (51%) were ADCs and 431 (49%) were NADCs. Survival was more favorable after an ADC diagnosis than a NADC diagnosis (10-year survival: 62.7%±2.9% vs. 46%±4.2%; p = 0.017). Non-Hodgkin lymphoma had lower survival rates than patients with Kaposi sarcoma or cervical cancer (10-year survival: 48.2%±4.3% vs. 72.8%±4.0% vs. 78.5%±9.9%; p<0.001). Regarding NADCs, breast cancer showed better survival (10-year survival: 65.1%±14%) than lung cancer (1-year survival: 28%±8.7%), liver cancer (5-year survival: 31.9%±6.4%) or Hodgkin lymphoma (10-year survival: 24.8%±11.2%). Lower CD4+ count and intravenous drug use were significantly associated with decreased survival after ADCs or NADCs diagnosis. Exposure to cART was found to be associated with prolonged survival only in the case of ADCs. Conclusions cART has improved survival in patients with an ADC diagnosis, whereas the prognosis after a diagnosis of NADCs is poor. Low CD4+ counts and intravenous drug use are risk factors for survival following a diagnosis of ADCs and Hodgkin lymphoma in the NADC group. PMID:24760049

The EGRET high energy gamma ray telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartman, R. C.; Bertsch, D. L.; Fichtel, C. E.; Hunter, S. D.; Kanbach, G.; Kniffen, D. A.; Kwok, P. W.; Lin, Y. C.; Mattox, J. R.; Mayer-Hasselwander, H. A.

1992-01-01

The Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) is sensitive in the energy range from about 20 MeV to about 30,000 MeV. Electron-positron pair production by incident gamma photons is utilized as the detection mechanism. The pair production occurs in tantalum foils interleaved with the layers of a digital spark chamber system; the spark chamber records the tracks of the electron and positron, allowing the reconstruction of the arrival direction of the gamma ray. If there is no signal from the charged particle anticoincidence detector which surrounds the upper part of the detector, the spark chamber array is triggered by two hodoscopes of plastic scintillators. A time of flight requirement is included to reject events moving backward through the telescope. The energy of the gamma ray is primarily determined by absorption of the energies of the electron and positron in a 20 cm deep NaI(Tl) scintillator.

The EGRET high energy gamma ray telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartman, R. C.; Bertsch, D. L.; Fichtel, C. E.; Hunter, S. D.; Kanbach, G.; Kniffen, D. A.; Kwok, P. W.; Lin, Y. C.; Mattox, J. R.; Mayer-Hasselwander, H. A.; Michelson, P. F.; von Montigny, C.; Nolan, P. L.; Pinkau, K.; Rothermel, H.; Schneid, E.; Sommer, M.; Sreekumar, P.; Thompson, D. J.

1992-02-01

The Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) is sensitive in the energy range from about 20 MeV to about 30,000 MeV. Electron-positron pair production by incident gamma photons is utilized as the detection mechanism. The pair production occurs in tantalum foils interleaved with the layers of a digital spark chamber system; the spark chamber records the tracks of the electron and positron, allowing the reconstruction of the arrival direction of the gamma ray. If there is no signal from the charged particle anticoincidence detector which surrounds the upper part of the detector, the spark chamber array is triggered by two hodoscopes of plastic scintillators. A time of flight requirement is included to reject events moving backward through the telescope. The energy of the gamma ray is primarily determined by absorption of the energies of the electron and positron in a 20 cm deep NaI(Tl) scintillator.

The BATSE experiment on the Gamma Ray Observatory: Solar flare hard x ray and gamma-ray capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishman, G. J.; Meegan, C. A.; Wilson, R. B.; Parnell, T. A.; Paciesas, W. S.; Pendleton, G. N.; Hudson, H. S.; Matteson, J. L.; Peterson, L. E.; Cline, T. L.

1989-01-01

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) for the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) consists of eight detector modules that provide full-sky coverage for gamma-ray bursts and other transient phenomena such as solar flares. Each detector module has a thin, large-area scintillation detector (2025 sq cm) for high time-resolution studies, and a thicker spectroscopy detector (125 sq cm) to extend the energy range and provide better spectral resolution. The total energy range of the system is 15 keV to 100 MeV. These 16 detectors and the associated onboard data system should provide unprecedented capabilities for observing rapid spectral changes and gamma-ray lines from solar flares. The presence of a solar flare can be detected in real-time by BATSE; a trigger signal is sent to two other experiments on the GRO. The launch of the GRO is scheduled for June 1990, so that BATSE can be an important component of the Max '91 campaign.

Mass Cytometry Analysis Reveals the Landscape and Dynamics of CD32a+ CD4+ T Cells From Early HIV Infection to Effective cART.

PubMed

Coindre, Sixtine; Tchitchek, Nicolas; Alaoui, Lamine; Vaslin, Bruno; Bourgeois, Christine; Goujard, Cecile; Avettand-Fenoel, Veronique; Lecuroux, Camille; Bruhns, Pierre; Le Grand, Roger; Beignon, Anne-Sophie; Lambotte, Olivier; Favier, Benoit

2018-01-01

CD32a has been proposed as a specific marker of latently HIV-infected CD4 + T cells. However, CD32a was recently found to be expressed on CD4 + T cells of healthy donors, leading to controversy on the relevance of this marker in HIV persistence. Here, we used mass cytometry to characterize the landscape and variation in the abundance of CD32a + CD4 + T cells during HIV infection. To this end, we analyzed CD32a + CD4 + T cells in primary HIV infection before and after effective combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and in healthy donors. We found that CD32a + CD4 + T cells include heterogeneous subsets that are differentially affected by HIV infection. Our analysis revealed that naive ( N ), central memory ( CM ), and effector/memory ( Eff/Mem ) CD32a + CD4 + T-cell clusters that co-express LILRA2- and CD64-activating receptors were more abundant in primary HIV infection and cART stages. Conversely, LILRA2 - CD32a + CD4 + T-cell clusters of either the T N , T CM , or T Eff/Mem phenotype were more abundant in healthy individuals. Finally, an activated CD32a + CD4 + T Eff/Mem cell cluster co-expressing LILRA2, CD57, and NKG2C was more abundant in all HIV stages, particularly during primary HIV infection. Overall, our data show that multiple abundance modifications of CD32a + CD4 + T-cell subsets occur in the early phase of HIV infection, and some of which are conserved after effective cART. Our study brings a better comprehension of the relationship between CD32a expression and CD4 + T cells during HIV infection.

Performance evaluation of receive-diversity free-space optical communications over correlated Gamma-Gamma fading channels.

PubMed

Yang, Guowei; Khalighi, Mohammad-Ali; Ghassemlooy, Zabih; Bourennane, Salah

2013-08-20

The efficacy of spatial diversity in practical free-space optical communication systems is impaired by the fading correlation among the underlying subchannels. We consider in this paper the generation of correlated Gamma-Gamma random variables in view of evaluating the system outage probability and bit-error-rate under the condition of correlated fading. Considering the case of receive-diversity systems with intensity modulation and direct detection, we propose a set of criteria for setting the correlation coefficients on the small- and large-scale fading components based on scintillation theory. We verify these criteria using wave-optics simulations and further show through Monte Carlo simulations that we can effectively neglect the correlation corresponding to the small-scale turbulence in most practical systems, irrespective of the specific turbulence conditions. This has not been clarified before, to the best of our knowledge. We then present some numerical results to illustrate the effect of fading correlation on the system performance. Our conclusions can be generalized to the cases of multiple-beam and multiple-beam multiple-aperture systems.

Risk factors for amendment in type, duration and setting of prescribed outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) for adult patients with cellulitis: a retrospective cohort study and CART analysis.

PubMed

Quirke, Michael; Curran, Emma May; O'Kelly, Patrick; Moran, Ruth; Daly, Eimear; Aylward, Seamus; McElvaney, Gerry; Wakai, Abel

2018-01-01

To measure the percentage rate and risk factors for amendment in the type, duration and setting of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy ( OPAT) for the treatment of cellulitis. A retrospective cohort study of adult patients receiving OPAT for cellulitis was performed. Treatment amendment (TA) was defined as hospital admission or change in antibiotic therapy in order to achieve clinical response. Multivariable logistic regression (MVLR) and classification and regression tree (CART) analysis were performed. There were 307 patients enrolled. TA occurred in 36 patients (11.7%). Significant risk factors for TA on MVLR were increased age, increased Numerical Pain Scale Score (NPSS) and immunocompromise. The median OPAT duration was 7 days. Increased age, heart rate and C reactive protein were associated with treatment prolongation. CART analysis selected age <64.5 years, female gender and NPSS <2.5 in the final model, generating a low-sensitivity (27.8%), high-specificity (97.1%) decision tree. Increased age, NPSS and immunocompromise were associated with OPAT amendment. These identified risk factors can be used to support an evidence-based approach to patient selection for OPAT in cellulitis. The CART algorithm has good specificity but lacks sensitivity and is shown to be inferior in this study to logistic regression modelling. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Food Environment in Secondary Schools: À La Carte, Vending Machines, and Food Policies and Practices

PubMed Central

French, Simone A.; Story, Mary; Fulkerson, Jayne A.; Gerlach, Anne Faricy

2003-01-01

Objectives. This study described the food environment in 20 Minnesota secondary schools. Methods. Data were collected on school food policies and the availability and nutritional content of foods in school à la carte (ALC) areas and vending machines (VMs). Results. Approximately 36% and 35% of foods in ALC areas and in VMs, respectively, met the lower-fat criterion (≤ 5.5 fat grams/serving). The chips/crackers category constituted the largest share of ALC foods (11.5%). The median number of VMs per school was 12 (4 soft drink, 2 snack, 5 other). Few school food policies were reported. Conclusions. The availability of healthful foods and beverages in schools as well as school food policies that foster healthful food choices among students needs greater attention. PMID:12835203

The gamma knife in ophthalmology. Part One--Uveal melanoma.

PubMed

Wygledowska-Promieńska, Dorota; Jurys, Małgorzata; Wilczyński, Tomasz; Drzyzga, Łukasz

2014-01-01

The Gamma Knife was designed by Lars Leksell in the early 1950's. It gave rise to a new discipline of medicine--stereotactic radiosurgery. Primarily dedicated to neurosurgery, the Gamma Knife has become an alternative, widely used surgery technique. According to Elekta's statistics, approximately 60,000 people are treated with Leksell Gamma Knife every year and it is the most extensively studied stereotactic radiosurgery system in the world. The Leksell Gamma Knife can also be used in ophthalmology. The gamma ray beam concentration enables effective treatment of uveal melanoma, choroidal hemangioma, orbital tumors or even choroidal neovascularization. The virtue of Leksell Gamma Knife is its extreme precision, non-invasiveness and the possibility of outpatient treatment, which significantly reduces costs and diminishes post-operative complications. Innovative solutions shorten a single session to a minimum, which is very comfortable and safe for both staff and patients. Advantages and possible side effects of gamma knife radiosurgery are well-documented in the professional literature. The objective of this review is to present the recognized applications of Leksell Gamma Knife in ophthalmology.

Gamma model and its analysis for phase measuring profilometry.

PubMed

Liu, Kai; Wang, Yongchang; Lau, Daniel L; Hao, Qi; Hassebrook, Laurence G

2010-03-01

Phase measuring profilometry is a method of structured light illumination whose three-dimensional reconstructions are susceptible to error from nonunitary gamma in the associated optical devices. While the effects of this distortion diminish with an increasing number of employed phase-shifted patterns, gamma distortion may be unavoidable in real-time systems where the number of projected patterns is limited by the presence of target motion. A mathematical model is developed for predicting the effects of nonunitary gamma on phase measuring profilometry, while also introducing an accurate gamma calibration method and two strategies for minimizing gamma's effect on phase determination. These phase correction strategies include phase corrections with and without gamma calibration. With the reduction in noise, for three-step phase measuring profilometry, analysis of the root mean squared error of the corrected phase will show a 60x reduction in phase error when the proposed gamma calibration is performed versus 33x reduction without calibration.

Gamma Ray Astrophysics: New insight into the universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C. E.; Trombka, J. I.

1981-01-01

Gamma ray observations of the solar system, the galaxy and extragalactic radiation are reported. Topics include: planets, comets, and asteroids; solar observations; interstellar medium and galactic structure; compact objects; cosmology; and diffuse radiation. The instrumentation used in gamma ray astronomy in covered along with techniques for the analysis of observational spectra.

The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buckley, James

2008-04-01

We describe a concept for a ˜km^2 ground-based gamma-ray experiment (AGIS) comprised of an array of ˜100 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes achieving a sensitivity an order of magnitude better than the current generation of space or ground-based instruments in the energy range of 40 GeV to ˜100 TeV. We present the scientific drivers for AGIS including the prospects for contributions to understanding extragalactic sources such as nearby galaxies, active galaxies, galaxy clusters and GRB; galactic sources such as X-ray binaries, supernova remnants, and pulsar wind nebulae; as well as probes of fundamental physics including indirectly detecting dark matter and probing TeV-scale physics. With the current generation of atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays, TeV astronomy has become well established, with the number TeV gamma-ray sources now nearing 100, including many unidentified and serendipitous sources. Improvements in the instantaneous field of view, angular resolution, effective area and energy resolution of AGIS are certain to provide great scientific returns in high energy astrophysics as well as opening up new discovery space. Here we present an overview of the ongoing design studies for AGIS including the optimization of array parameters as well as an overview of the technical drivers for the observatory.

Mobile refrigeration system for precool and warm up of superconducting magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gandla, S. K.; Longsworth, R. C.

2017-12-01

Conservation of helium has become more important in recent years due to global shortages in supply. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) superconducting magnets use approximately 20% of the world’s helium reserves in liquid form to cool down and maintain operating temperatures at 4 K. This paper describes a mobile cryogenic refrigeration system, which has been developed by Sumitomo (SHI) Cryogenics of America, Inc. to conserve helium by shipping MRI magnets warm and cooling them down or servicing them on site at a medical facility. The system can cool a typical magnet from room temperature to below 40K in less than a week. The system consists of four single stage Displex®-type Gifford-McMahon (GM) expanders in a cryostat with heat exchangers integrated on the cold ends that cool the helium gas, which is circulated in a closed-loop system through the magnet by a cryogenic fan. The system is configured with heaters on the heat exchangers to effectively warm up a magnet. The system includes a scroll vacuum pump, which is used to evacuate the helium circuit with or without the magnet and turbo pump to evacuate the cryostat. Vacuum-jacketed transfer lines connect the cryostat to the magnet. The system is designed with its own controller for continuous operation of precool, warm up and evacuation processes with automatic and manual controls. The cryostat, pumps and gas controls are mounted on a dewar cart. One compressor and the system controller are mounted on a compressor and control cart, and the other three compressors are mounted on separate carts.

Technology Development for AGIS (Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krennrich, Frank

2008-04-01

Next-generation arrays of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes are at the conceptual planning stage and each could consist of on the order of 100 telescopes. The two currently-discussed projects AGIS in the US and CTA in Europe, have the potential to achieve an order of magnitude better sensitivity for Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray observations over state-to-the-art observatories. These projects require a substantial increase in scale from existing 4-telescope arrays such as VERITAS and HESS. The optimization of a large array requires exploring cost reduction and research and development for the individual elements while maximizing their performance as an array. In this context, the technology development program for AGIS will be discussed. This includes developing new optical designs, evaluating new types of photodetectors, developing fast trigger systems, integrating fast digitizers into highly-pixilated cameras, and reliability engineering of the individual components.

Exposure to previous cART is associated with significant liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients.

PubMed

Anadol, Evrim; Lust, Kristina; Boesecke, Christoph; Schwarze-Zander, Carolynne; Mohr, Raphael; Wasmuth, Jan-Christian; Rockstroh, Jürgen Kurt; Trebicka, Jonel

2018-01-01

Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has improved survival in HIV-patients. While the first antiretrovirals, which became available in particular D-drugs (especially didanosine and stavudine) and unboosted protease inhibitors, may impair liver function, the modern cART seems to decrease liver fibrosis. This study assessed the influence of exposure to previous antiretrovirals on liver fibrosis in HIV-infected patients. This observational cross-sectional single-center study recruited 333 HIV patients and assessed liver fibrosis using transient elastography (TE). 83% were male with a median age of 45, while 131 were co-infected with viral hepatitis. Overall, 18% had significant fibrosis and 7.5% had cirrhosis. 11% of HIV mono-infected patients had significant fibrosis and 2% had cirrhosis. HCV infection (OR:5.3), history of exposure to didanosine (OR:2.7) and HIV load below 40copies/mL (OR:0.5) were independently associated with significant fibrosis, while HCV (OR:5.8), exposure to didanosine (OR:2.9) and azidothymidine (OR:2.8) were independently associated with cirrhosis. Interestingly, in HIV mono-infected patients, a HIV-load below 40copies/mL (OR:0.4) was independently associated with significant fibrosis, and didanosine (OR:20.8) with cirrhosis. In conclusion, history of exposure to didanosine and azidothymidine continues to have an impact on the presence of liver cirrhosis in HIV patients. However, HCV co-infection and ongoing HIV-replication have the strongest effect on development of significant fibrosis in these patients.

Cytomegalovirus infection in HIV-infected versus non-infected infants and HIV disease progression in Cytomegalovirus infected versus non infected infants early treated with cART in the ANRS 12140-Pediacam study in Cameroon.

PubMed

Kfutwah, Anfumbom K W; Ngoupo, Paul Alain T; Sofeu, Casimir Ledoux; Ndongo, Francis Ateba; Guemkam, Georgette; Ndiang, Suzie Tetang; Owona, Félicité; Penda, Ida Calixte; Tchendjou, Patrice; Rouzioux, Christine; Warszawski, Josiane; Faye, Albert; Tejiokem, Mathurin Cyrille

2017-03-23

The outcome of CMV/HIV co-infection in infants treated early with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) in resource-limited settings has not been described. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and identify factors associated with early CMV infection in HIV-infected and non-infected infants included in a study in Cameroon, and to compare HIV disease progression and survival after 1 year of early cART, following infants' CMV status. HIV-infected infants followed from birth or from HIV diagnosis before 7 months old and HIV-uninfected infants born to HIV-infected or uninfected mothers were tested for CMV at a median age of 4.0 months [Interquartile range (IQR): 3.4-4.9]. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with CMV infection. Early cART was offered to HIV-infected infants: mortality, immunological and virological outcomes were assessed. Three hundred and sixty-nine infants were tested. The proportion of infants infected with CMV at baseline was significantly higher in HIV-infected than in HIV-uninfected groups (58.9% (86/146) vs 30.0% (67/223), p < 0.001). At baseline, median CMV viral load was higher in HIV-infected (3.7 log copies/ml [IQR; 3.1-4.3]) than in HIV-uninfected infants (2.8 log copies [IQR; 2.1-3.4], p < 0.001). cART was initiated in 90% of HIV-infected infants (132/146) at a median age of 4.0 months (IQR; 3.2-5.9); in this sub-group CMV infection was independently associated with being followed from the time of HIV diagnosis rather than from birth (aOR = 3.1, 95%CI [1.2-8.0]), born to a non-single mother (aOR = 3.4[1.4-8.1]), and breastfeeding (aOR = 7.3 [2.7-19.4]). HIV-infected infants were retested after a median of 7.1 months [4.8-9.5]: CMV was undetectable in 37 of the 61 (60.7%) initially CMV-infected cases and became detectable in 8 of the 38 (21.1%) initially CMV-negative cases. After 1 year of cART, the probability of death (0.185 vs 0.203; p = 0.75), the proportion of

OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ARMOUR FISSION GAS GAMMA FACILITY

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

Terrell, C.W.; McElroy, W.N.

1958-10-31

As the reactor power level is changed frequently, the radiation levels in the gamma facility fluctuate. Data are presented to show the power dependency of the gamma dose rate and the manner of growth and decay. Additional data show the dependercy of the equilibrium gamma activity on the foel temperature and total system pressure. The final phase of the work is directed toward determining an average gamma energy by attenuation measurements with various thicknesses of several materials. The neutrou flux associated with the gas phase activity is determined by foil measurement. From the measurements of dose rate and average gammamore » energy, calculations to determine the number of curies of gas phase decay gamma activity per watt of reactor power are presented. (auth)« less

Hippocampal theta, gamma, and theta-gamma coupling: effects of aging, environmental change, and cholinergic activation

PubMed Central

Jacobson, Tara K.; Howe, Matthew D.; Schmidt, Brandy; Hinman, James R.; Escabí, Monty A.

2013-01-01

Hippocampal theta and gamma oscillations coordinate the timing of multiple inputs to hippocampal neurons and have been linked to information processing and the dynamics of encoding and retrieval. One major influence on hippocampal rhythmicity is from cholinergic afferents. In both humans and rodents, aging is linked to impairments in hippocampus-dependent function along with degradation of cholinergic function. Cholinomimetics can reverse some age-related memory impairments and modulate oscillations in the hippocampus. Therefore, one would expect corresponding changes in these oscillations and possible rescue with the cholinomimetic physostigmine. Hippocampal activity was recorded while animals explored a familiar or a novel maze configuration. Reexposure to a familiar situation resulted in minimal aging effects or changes in theta or gamma oscillations. In contrast, exploration of a novel maze configuration increased theta power; this was greater in adult than old animals, although the deficit was reversed with physostigmine. In contrast to the theta results, the effects of novelty, age, and/or physostigmine on gamma were relatively weak. Unrelated to the behavioral situation were an age-related decrease in the degree of theta-gamma coupling and the fact that physostigmine lowered the frequency of theta in both adult and old animals. The results indicate that age-related changes in gamma and theta modulation of gamma, while reflecting aging changes in hippocampal circuitry, seem less related to aging changes in information processing. In contrast, the data support a role for theta and the cholinergic system in encoding and that hippocampal aging is related to impaired encoding of new information. PMID:23303862

Data systems for science integration within the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

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

Gracio, D.K.; Hatfield, L.D.; Yates, K.R.

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program was developed by the US Department of Energy to support the goals and mission of the US Global Change Research Program. The purpose of the ARM program is to improve the predictive capabilities of General Circulation Models (GCMs) in their treatment of clouds and radiative transfer effects. Three experimental testbeds were designed for the deployment of instruments to collect atmospheric data used to drive the GCMs. Each site, known as a Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART), consists of a highly available, redundant data system for the collection of data from a variety of instrumentation.more » The first CART site was deployed in April 1992 in the Southern Great Plains (SGP), Lamont, Oklahoma, with the other two sites to follow in early 1996 in the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) and in 1997 on the North Slope of Alaska (NSA). Approximately 1.5 GB of data are transferred per day via the Internet from the CART sites, and external data sources to the ARM Experiment Center (EC) at Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Richland, Washington. The Experimental Center is central to the ARM data path and provides for the collection, processing, analysis and delivery of ARM data. Data from the CART sites from a variety of instrumentation, observational systems and from external data sources are transferred to the Experiment Center. The EC processes these data streams on a continuous basis to provide derived data products to the ARM Science Team in near real-time while maintaining a three-month running archive of data.« less

Research in cosmic and gamma ray astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, E. C.; Davis, L., Jr.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Prince, T. A.

1989-01-01

Research activities in cosmic rays, gamma rays, and astrophysical plasmas are covered. The activities are divided into sections and described, followed by a bibliography. The astrophysical aspects of cosmic rays, gamma rays, and of the radiation and electromagnetic field environment of the Earth and other planets are investigated. These investigations are performed by means of energetic particle and photon detector systems flown on spacecraft and balloons.

Development of Oxidation Protection Coatings for Gamma Titanium Aluminide Alloys