Developing a unified monitoring and reporting system: a key to successful restoration of mixed-oak forests throughout the central hardwood region

Treesearch

Daniel A. Yaussy; Gregory J. Nowacki; Thomas M. Schuler; Daniel C. Dey

2008-01-01

Many national forests and grasslands in the Central Hardwoods region of the United States recently have undergone Land Management Plan revision, which include management areas that promote restoration through a variety of management activities. Monitoring is a vital component of adaptive management whereby the effects from a variety of treatments (including controls)...

Biomolecular Modeling in a Process Dynamics and Control Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Jeffrey J.

2006-01-01

I present modifications to the traditional course entitled, "Process dynamics and control," which I renamed "Modeling, dynamics, and control of chemical and biological processes." Additions include the central dogma of biology, pharmacokinetic systems, population balances, control of gene transcription, and large­-scale…

Case Study of an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Service in Australia

PubMed Central

Baum, Fran; Lawless, Angela; Labonté, Ronald; Sanders, David; Boffa, John; Edwards, Tahnia; Javanparast, Sara

2016-01-01

Abstract Universal health coverage provides a framework to achieve health services coverage but does not articulate the model of care desired. Comprehensive primary health care includes promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative interventions and health equity and health as a human right as central goals. In Australia, Aboriginal community-controlled health services have pioneered comprehensive primary health care since their inception in the early 1970s. Our five-year project on comprehensive primary health care in Australia partnered with six services, including one Aboriginal community-controlled health service, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress. Our findings revealed more impressive outcomes in several areas—multidisciplinary work, community participation, cultural respect and accessibility strategies, preventive and promotive work, and advocacy and intersectoral collaboration on social determinants of health—at the Aboriginal community-controlled health service compared to the other participating South Australian services (state-managed and nongovernmental ones). Because of these strengths, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress’s community-controlled model of comprehensive primary health care deserves attention as a promising form of implementation of universal health coverage by articulating a model of care based on health as a human right that pursues the goal of health equity. PMID:28559679

A parameter optimization approach to controller partitioning for integrated flight/propulsion control application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, Phillip; Garg, Sanjay; Holowecky, Brian

1992-01-01

A parameter optimization framework is presented to solve the problem of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation. The controller partitioning problem is briefly discussed and a cost function to be minimized is formulated, such that the resulting 'optimal' partitioned subsystem controllers will closely match the performance (including robustness) properties of the closed-loop system with the centralized controller while maintaining the desired controller partitioning structure. The cost function is written in terms of parameters in a state-space representation of the partitioned sub-controllers. Analytical expressions are obtained for the gradient of this cost function with respect to parameters, and an optimization algorithm is developed using modern computer-aided control design and analysis software. The capabilities of the algorithm are demonstrated by application to partitioned integrated flight/propulsion control design for a modern fighter aircraft in the short approach to landing task. The partitioning optimization is shown to lead to reduced-order subcontrollers that match the closed-loop command tracking and decoupling performance achieved by a high-order centralized controller.

A parameter optimization approach to controller partitioning for integrated flight/propulsion control application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, Phillip H.; Garg, Sanjay; Holowecky, Brian R.

1993-01-01

A parameter optimization framework is presented to solve the problem of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation. The controller partitioning problem is briefly discussed and a cost function to be minimized is formulated, such that the resulting 'optimal' partitioned subsystem controllers will closely match the performance (including robustness) properties of the closed-loop system with the centralized controller while maintaining the desired controller partitioning structure. The cost function is written in terms of parameters in a state-space representation of the partitioned sub-controllers. Analytical expressions are obtained for the gradient of this cost function with respect to parameters, and an optimization algorithm is developed using modern computer-aided control design and analysis software. The capabilities of the algorithm are demonstrated by application to partitioned integrated flight/propulsion control design for a modern fighter aircraft in the short approach to landing task. The partitioning optimization is shown to lead to reduced-order subcontrollers that match the closed-loop command tracking and decoupling performance achieved by a high-order centralized controller.

The Large Introductory Class as an Exercise in Organization Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, John A., III; Van Dyne, Linn

1999-01-01

Four methods for large group instruction differ in control and coordination dimensions: (1) centralization with mutual adjustment; (2) centralization with standardization; (3) decentralization with standardization; and (4) decentralization with mutual adjustment. Other factors to consider include class size and interests of various constituencies:…

Modular Biometric Monitoring System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chmiel, Alan J. (Inventor); Humphreys, Bradley T. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A modular system for acquiring biometric data includes a plurality of data acquisition modules configured to sample biometric data from at least one respective input channel at a data acquisition rate. A representation of the sampled biometric data is stored in memory of each of the plurality of data acquisition modules. A central control system is in communication with each of the plurality of data acquisition modules through a bus. The central control system is configured to control communication of data, via the bus, with each of the plurality of data acquisition modules.

Evaluation bias in objective response rate and disease control rate between blinded independent central review and local assessment: a study-level pooled analysis of phase III randomized control trials in the past seven years.

PubMed

Zhang, Jianrong; Zhang, Yiyin; Tang, Shiyan; Liang, Hengrui; Chen, Difei; Jiang, Long; He, Qihua; Huang, Yu; Wang, Xinyu; Deng, Kexin; Jiang, Shuhan; Zhou, Jiaqing; Xu, Jiaxuan; Chen, Xuanzuo; Liang, Wenhua; He, Jianxing

2017-12-01

In previous studies, complete-case implementation of blind independent central review has been considered unnecessary based on no sign of systematic bias between central and local assessments. In order to further evaluate its value, this study investigated evaluation status between both assessments in phase III trials of anti-cancer drugs for non-hematologic solid tumors. Eligible trials were searched in PubMed with the date of Jan 1, 2010 to Jun 30, 2017. We compared objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) between central and local assessments by study-level pooled analysis and correlation analysis. In pooled analysis, direct comparison was measured by the odds ratio (OR) of central-assessed response status to local-assessed response status; to investigate evaluation bias between central and local assessments, the above calculated OR between experimental (exp-) and control (con-) arms were compared, measured by the ratio of OR. A total of 28 included trials involving 17,466 patients were included (28 with ORR, 16 with DCR). Pooled analysis showed central assessment reported lower ORR and DCR than local assessment, especially in trials with open-label design, central-assessed primary endpoint, and positive primary endpoint outcome, respectively. However, this finding could be found in both experimental [exp-ORR: OR=0.81 (95% CI: 0.76-0.87), P<0.01, I 2 =11%; exp-DCR: OR=0.90 (0.81-1.01), P=0.07, I 2 =42%] and control arms [con-ORR: OR=0.79 (0.72-0.85), P<0.01, I 2 =17%; con-DCR: OR=0.94 (0.86-1.02), P=0.14, I 2 =12%]. No sign of evaluation bias between two assessments was indicated through further analysis [ORR: ratio of OR=1.02 (0.97-1.07), P=0.42, I 2 =0%; DCR: ratio of OR=0.98 (0.93-1.03), P=0.37, I 2 =0%], regardless of mask (open/blind), sample size, tumor type, primary endpoint (central-assessed/local-assessed), and primary endpoint outcome (positive/negative). Correlation analysis demonstrated a high-degree concordance between central and local assessments (exp-ORR, con-ORR, exp-DCR, con-DCR: r>0.90, P<0.01). Blind independent central review remained irreplaceable to monitor local assessment, but its complete-case implementation may be unnecessary.

Neutron economic reactivity control system for light water reactors

DOEpatents

Luce, Robert G.; McCoy, Daniel F.; Merriman, Floyd C.; Gregurech, Steve

1989-01-01

A neutron reactivity control system for a LWBR incorporating a stationary seed-blanket core arrangement. The core arrangement includes a plurality of contiguous hexagonal shaped regions. Each region has a central and a peripheral blanket area juxapositioned an annular seed area. The blanket areas contain thoria fuel rods while the annular seed area includes seed fuel rods and movable thoria shim control rods.

Central neural control of thermoregulation and brown adipose tissue

PubMed Central

Morrison, Shaun F.

2016-01-01

Central neural circuits orchestrate the homeostatic repertoire that maintains body temperature during environmental temperature challenges and alters body temperature during the inflammatory response. This review summarizes the experimental underpinnings of our current model of the CNS pathways controlling the principal thermoeffectors for body temperature regulation: cutaneous vasoconstriction controlling heat loss, and shivering and brown adipose tissue for thermogenesis. The activation of these effectors is regulated by parallel but distinct, effector-specific, core efferent pathways within the CNS that share a common peripheral thermal sensory input. Via the lateral parabrachial nucleus, skin thermal afferent input reaches the hypothalamic preoptic area to inhibit warm-sensitive, inhibitory output neurons which control heat production by inhibiting thermogenesis-promoting neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamus that project to thermogenesis-controlling premotor neurons in the rostral ventromedial medulla, including the raphe pallidus, that descend to provide the excitation of spinal circuits necessary to drive thermogenic thermal effectors. A distinct population of warm-sensitive preoptic neurons controls heat loss through an inhibitory input to raphe pallidus sympathetic premotor neurons controlling cutaneous vasoconstriction. The model proposed for central thermoregulatory control provides a useful platform for further understanding of the functional organization of central thermoregulation and elucidating the hypothalamic circuitry and neurotransmitters involved in body temperature regulation. PMID:26924538

Central neural control of thermoregulation and brown adipose tissue.

PubMed

Morrison, Shaun F

2016-04-01

Central neural circuits orchestrate the homeostatic repertoire that maintains body temperature during environmental temperature challenges and alters body temperature during the inflammatory response. This review summarizes the experimental underpinnings of our current model of the CNS pathways controlling the principal thermoeffectors for body temperature regulation: cutaneous vasoconstriction controlling heat loss, and shivering and brown adipose tissue for thermogenesis. The activation of these effectors is regulated by parallel but distinct, effector-specific, core efferent pathways within the CNS that share a common peripheral thermal sensory input. Via the lateral parabrachial nucleus, skin thermal afferent input reaches the hypothalamic preoptic area to inhibit warm-sensitive, inhibitory output neurons which control heat production by inhibiting thermogenesis-promoting neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamus that project to thermogenesis-controlling premotor neurons in the rostral ventromedial medulla, including the raphe pallidus, that descend to provide the excitation of spinal circuits necessary to drive thermogenic thermal effectors. A distinct population of warm-sensitive preoptic neurons controls heat loss through an inhibitory input to raphe pallidus sympathetic premotor neurons controlling cutaneous vasoconstriction. The model proposed for central thermoregulatory control provides a useful platform for further understanding of the functional organization of central thermoregulation and elucidating the hypothalamic circuitry and neurotransmitters involved in body temperature regulation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abnormal intrinsic functional hubs in alcohol dependence: evidence from a voxelwise degree centrality analysis.

PubMed

Luo, Xiaoping; Guo, Linghong; Dai, Xi-Jian; Wang, Qinglai; Zhu, Wenzhong; Miao, Xinjun; Gong, Honghan

2017-01-01

To explore the abnormal intrinsic functional hubs in alcohol dependence using voxelwise degree centrality analysis approach, and their relationships with clinical features. Twenty-four male alcohol dependence subjects free of medicine (mean age, 50.21±9.62 years) and 24 age- and education-matched male healthy controls (mean age, 50.29±8.92 years) were recruited. The alcohol use disorders identification test and the severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire (SADQ) were administered to assess the severity of alcohol craving. Voxelwise degree centrality approach was used to assess the abnormal intrinsic functional hubs features in alcohol dependence. Simple linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between the clinical features and abnormal intrinsic functional hubs. Compared with healthy controls, alcohol dependence subjects exhibited significantly different degree centrality values in widespread left lateralization brain areas, including higher degree centrality values in the left precentral gyrus (BA 6), right hippocampus (BA 35, 36), and left orbitofrontal cortex (BA 11) and lower degree centrality values in the left cerebellum posterior lobe, bilateral secondary visual network (BA 18), and left precuneus (BA 7, 19). SADQ revealed a negative linear correlation with the degree centrality value in the left precentral gyrus ( R 2 =0.296, P =0.006). The specific abnormal intrinsic functional hubs appear to be disrupted by alcohol intoxication, which implicates at least three principal neural systems: including cerebellar, executive control, and visual cortex, which may further affect the normal motor behavior such as an explicit type of impaired driving behavior. These findings expand our understanding of the functional characteristics of alcohol dependence and may provide a new insight into the understanding of the dysfunction and pathophysiology of alcohol dependence.

Chlorhexidine mouthwash reduces plaque and gingivitis.

PubMed

Herrera, David

2013-03-01

Medline, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases were searched along with the reference lists of all selected studies. Only English language studies were included. Randomised controlled clinical trials comparing chlorhexidine (CHX) to placebo/control mouthrinses for oral hygiene in studies of at least four weeks duration were included. Screening, selection and data abstractions were conducted independently by two reviewers. Where possible meta-analysis of weighted mean differences was carried out using fixed or random effects models where appropriate. Thirty studies were included, with 13 studies contributing to the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found significant differences favouring CHX for a range of indices; the Plaque Index Silness & Löe, Plaque-Index Quigley & Hein (PIQH), the Gingival Index (GI), Papillary BIeeding Index, Bleeding on Marginal Probing and the Lobene Stain Index. Relative to control, the reduction with CHX for plaque was 33% and for gingivitis 26%. CHX rinsing groups demonstrated significantly more staining. In gingivitis patients, CHX mouthrinses together with OH versus placebo, or control mouthrinse provide significant reductions in plaque and gingivitis scores, but a significant increase in staining score.

Circadian Regulation of Pineal Gland Rhythmicity

PubMed Central

Borjigin, Jimo; Zhang, L. Samantha; Calinescu, Anda-Alexandra

2011-01-01

The pineal gland is a neuroendocrine organ of the brain. Its main task is to synthesize and secrete melatonin, a nocturnal hormone with diverse physiological functions. This review will focus on the central and pineal mechanisms in generation of mammalian pineal rhythmicity including melatonin production. In particular, this review covers the following topics: (1) local control of serotonin and melatonin rhythms; (2) neurotransmitters involved in central control of melatonin; (3) plasticity of the neural circuit controlling melatonin production; (4) role of clock genes in melatonin formation; (5) phase control of pineal rhythmicity; (6) impact of light at night on pineal rhythms; and (7) physiological function of the pineal rhythmicity. PMID:21782887

Central Control Room in the Engine Research Building

NASA Image and Video Library

1968-11-21

Operators in the Engine Research Building’s Central Control Room at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. The massive 4.25-acre Engine Research Building contains dozens of test cells, test stands, and altitude chambers. A powerful a collection of compressors and exhausters located in the central portion of the basement provides process air and exhaust for these test areas. This system is connected to similar process air systems in the laboratory’s other large test facilities. The Central Control Room coordinates this activity and communicates with the local utilities. The panels on the wall contain schematics with indicator lights and instrumentation for the atmospheric exhaust, altitude exhaust, refrigerated air, and process air systems. The process air equipment included twelve exhausters, four compressors, refrigeration system, cooling water, and an exhaust system. The operators in the control room kept in contact with engineers running the process air system and those conducting the tests in the test cells. The operators also coordinated with the local power companies to make sure enough electricity was available to operate the powerful compressors and exhausters.

Staged marginal contoured and central excision technique in the surgical management of perianal Paget's disease.

PubMed

Möller, Mecker G; Lugo-Baruqui, Jose Alejandro; Milikowski, Clara; Salgado, Christopher J

2014-04-01

Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is an adenocarcinoma of the apocrine glands with unknown exact prevalence and obscure etiology. It has been divided into primary EMPD and secondary EMPD, in which an internal malignancy is usually associated. Treatment for primary EMPD usually consists of wide lesion excision with negative margins. Multiple methods have been proposed to obtain free-margin status of the disease. These include visible border lesion excision, punch biopsies, and micrographic and frozen-section surgery, with different results but still high recurrence rates. The investigators propose a method consisting of a staged contoured marginal excision using "en face" permanent pathologic analysis preceding the steps of central excision of the lesion and the final reconstruction of the surgical defect. Advantages of this method include adequate margin control allowing final reconstruction and tissue preservation, while minimizing patient discomfort. The staged contoured marginal and central excision technique offers a new alternative to the armamentarium for surgical oncologists for the management of EMPD in which margin control is imperative for control of recurrence rates. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The geo-control system for station keeping and colocation of geostationary satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montenbruck, O.; Eckstein, M. C.; Gonner, J.

1993-01-01

GeoControl is a compact but powerful and accurate software system for station keeping of single and colocated satellites, which has been developed at the German Space Operations Center. It includes four core modules for orbit determination (including maneuver estimation), maneuver planning, monitoring of proximities between colocated satellites, and interference and event prediction. A simple database containing state vector and maneuver information at selected epochs is maintained as a central interface between the modules. A menu driven shell utilizing form screens for data input serves as the central user interface. The software is written in Ada and FORTRAN and may be used on VAX workstations or mainframes under the VMS operating system.

Engine Research Building’s Central Control Room

NASA Image and Video Library

1948-07-21

Operators in the Engine Research Building’s Central Control Room at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory. The massive 4.25-acre Engine Research Building contains dozens of test cells, test stands, and altitude chambers. A powerful collection of compressors and exhausters located in the central portion of the basement provided process air and exhaust for these test areas. This system is connected to similar process air systems in the laboratory’s other large test facilities. The Central Control Room coordinates this activity and communicates with the local utilities. This photograph was taken just after a major upgrade to the control room in 1948. The panels on the wall contain rudimentary floor plans of the different Engine Research Building sections with indicator lights and instrumentation for each test cell. The process air equipment included 12 exhausters, four compressors, a refrigeration system, cooling water, and an exhaust system. The operators in the control room kept in contact with engineers running the process air system and those conducting the tests in the test cells. The operators also coordinated with the local power companies to make sure enough electricity was available to operate the powerful compressors and exhausters.

Early hyperbaric oxygen treatment for nonarteritic central retinal artery obstruction.

PubMed

Menzel-Severing, Johannes; Siekmann, Ullrich; Weinberger, Andreas; Roessler, Gernot; Walter, Peter; Mazinani, Babac

2012-03-01

To compare hyperbaric oxygen treatment combined with hemodilution with hemodilution only in central retinal artery obstruction. Retrospective, nonrandomized case series. We reviewed records of all our patients diagnosed with central retinal artery obstruction between 1997 and 2010. In these patients, hyperbaric oxygen and hemodilution therapy had been administered routinely (oxygen group). Where hyperbaric oxygenation could not be performed, patients were underwent hemodilution only (control group). Patients with presenting visual acuity (VA) of up to 20/200 within 12 hours of onset were included in our analysis. Exclusion criteria included cilioretinal vessels or arteritic occlusion. The oxygen group comprised 51 patients, and the control group comprised 29 patients. Mean baseline VA was counting fingers (oxygen group) and 20/1000 (control group; P = .1). Most other potential confounders, including duration of symptoms, also did not differ significantly at baseline. In the oxygen group, mean VA improvement was 3 lines (P < .0001). This was sustained over a follow-up of 3 months (P = .01). In the control group, mean improvement was 1 line (P = .23 at discharge, P = .17 at follow-up). Differences between both groups were not significant (P = .07 at discharge, P = .26 at follow-up). The number of patients gaining 3 lines or more was 38.0% versus 17.9% at discharge (P = .06) and 35.7% versus 30.8% at follow-up (P = .76). We saw significant VA improvement after the combined treatment, but not when using hemodilution only. Confirming superiority of the combination treatment requires a randomized, prospective trial. A high number of nonresponders highlights the need to improve our understanding and treatment of hypoxia-related metabolic insults after central retinal artery obstruction. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FUNDUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE LIFETIMES AND CENTRAL SEROUS CHORIORETINOPATHY.

PubMed

Dysli, Chantal; Berger, Lieselotte; Wolf, Sebastian; Zinkernagel, Martin S

2017-11-01

To quantify retinal fluorescence lifetimes in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and to identify disease specific lifetime characteristics over the course of disease. Forty-seven participants were included in this study. Patients with central serous chorioretinopathy were imaged with fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence, optical coherence tomography, and fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) and compared with age-matched controls. Retinal autofluorescence was excited using a 473-nm blue laser light and emitted fluorescence light was detected in 2 distinct wavelengths channels (498-560 nm and 560-720 nm). Clinical features, mean retinal autofluorescence lifetimes, autofluorescence intensity, and corresponding optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were further analyzed. Thirty-five central serous chorioretinopathy patients with a mean visual acuity of 78 ETDRS letters (range, 50-90; mean Snellen equivalent: 20/32) and 12 age-matched controls were included. In the acute stage of central serous chorioretinopathy, retinal fluorescence lifetimes were shortened by 15% and 17% in the respective wavelength channels. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that fluorescence lifetimes were significantly influenced by the disease duration (P < 0.001) and accumulation of photoreceptor outer segments (P = 0.03) but independent of the presence or absence of subretinal fluid. Prolonged central macular autofluorescence lifetimes, particularly in eyes with retinal pigment epithelial atrophy, were associated with poor visual acuity. This study establishes that autofluorescence lifetime changes occurring in central serous chorioretinopathy exhibit explicit patterns which can be used to estimate perturbations of the outer retinal layers with a high degree of statistical significance.

40 CFR 63.1252 - Standards: General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... November 15, 1990 may not be included in an emissions averaging group, except where the level of control is... other than this subpart may not be credited in an emission averaging group, unless the level of control... routine maintenance for centralized combustion control devices. The owner or operator may operate non...

Doppler compensation by shifting transmitted object frequency within limits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laughlin, C. R., Jr.; Hollenbaugh, R. C.; Allen, W. K. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

A system and method are disclosed for position locating, deriving centralized air traffic control data, and communicating via voice and digital signals between a multiplicity of remote aircraft, including supersonic transports, and a central station. Such communication takes place through a synchronous satellite relay station. Side tone ranging patterns, as well as the digital and voice signals, are modulated on a carrier transmitted from the central station and received on all of the supersonic transports. Each aircraft communicates with the ground stations via a different frequency multiplexed spectrum. Supersonic transport position is derived from a computer at the central station and supplied to a local air traffic controller. Position is determined in response to variable phase information imposed on the side tones at the aircrafts. Common to all of the side tone techniques is Doppler compensation for the supersonic transport velocity.

Central command: control of cardiac sympathetic and vagal efferent nerve activity and the arterial baroreflex during spontaneous motor behaviour in animals.

PubMed

Matsukawa, Kanji

2012-01-01

Feedforward control by higher brain centres (termed central command) plays a role in the autonomic regulation of the cardiovascular system during exercise. Over the past 20 years, workers in our laboratory have used the precollicular-premammillary decerebrate animal model to identify the neural circuitry involved in the CNS control of cardiac autonomic outflow and arterial baroreflex function. Contrary to the traditional idea that vagal withdrawal at the onset of exercise causes the increase in heart rate, central command did not decrease cardiac vagal efferent nerve activity but did allow cardiac sympathetic efferent nerve activity to produce cardiac acceleration. In addition, central command-evoked inhibition of the aortic baroreceptor-heart rate reflex blunted the baroreflex-mediated bradycardia elicited by aortic nerve stimulation, further increasing the heart rate at the onset of exercise. Spontaneous motor activity and associated cardiovascular responses disappeared in animals decerebrated at the midcollicular level. These findings indicate that the brain region including the caudal diencephalon and extending to the rostral mesencephalon may play a role in generating central command. Bicuculline microinjected into the midbrain ventral tegmental area of decerebrate rats produced a long-lasting repetitive activation of renal sympathetic nerve activity that was synchronized with the motor nerve discharge. When lidocaine was microinjected into the ventral tegmental area, the spontaneous motor activity and associated cardiovascular responses ceased. From these findings, we conclude that cerebral cortical outputs trigger activation of neural circuits within the caudal brain, including the ventral tegmental area, which causes central command to augment cardiac sympathetic outflow at the onset of exercise in decerebrate animal models.

Variable frequency microprocessor clock generator

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

Branson, C.N.

A microprocessor-based system is described comprising: a digital central microprocessor provided with a clock input and having a rate of operation determined by the frequency of a clock signal input thereto; memory means operably coupled to the central microprocessor for storing programs respectively including a plurality of instructions and addressable by the central microprocessor; peripheral device operably connected to the central microprocessor, the first peripheral device being addressable by the central microprocessor for control thereby; a system clock generator for generating a digital reference clock signal having a reference frequency rate; and frequency rate reduction circuit means connected between themore » clock generator and the clock input of the central microprocessor for selectively dividing the reference clock signal to generate a microprocessor clock signal as an input to the central microprocessor for clocking the central microprocessor.« less

Multicenter Cell Processing for Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine Applications - The Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN) Experience

PubMed Central

Gee, Adrian P.; Richman, Sara; Durett, April; McKenna, David; Traverse, Jay; Henry, Timothy; Fisk, Diann; Pepine, Carl; Bloom, Jeannette; Willerson, James; Prater, Karen; Zhao, David; Koç, Jane Reese; Ellis, Steven; Taylor, Doris; Cogle, Christopher; Moyé, Lemuel; Simari, Robert; Skarlatos, Sonia

2013-01-01

Background Aims Multi-center cellular therapy clinical trials require the establishment and implementation of standardized cell processing protocols and associated quality control mechanisms. The aims here were to develop such an infrastructure in support of the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN) and to report on the results of processing for the first 60 patients. Methods Standardized cell preparations, consisting of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells, prepared using the Sepax device were manufactured at each of the five processing facilities that supported the clinical treatment centers. Processing staff underwent centralized training that included proficiency evaluation. Quality was subsequently monitored by a central quality control program that included product evaluation by the CCTRN biorepositories. Results Data from the first 60 procedures demonstrate that uniform products, that met all release criteria, could be manufactured at all five sites within 7 hours of receipt of the bone marrow. Uniformity was facilitated by use of the automated systems (the Sepax for processing and the Endosafe device for endotoxin testing), standardized procedures and centralized quality control. Conclusions Complex multicenter cell therapy and regenerative medicine protocols can, where necessary, successfully utilize local processing facilities once an effective infrastructure is in place to provide training, and quality control. PMID:20524773

Trait-Related Cortical-Subcortical Dissociation in Bipolar Disorder: Analysis of Network Degree Centrality.

PubMed

Zhou, Qian; Womer, Fay Y; Kong, Lingtao; Wu, Feng; Jiang, Xiaowei; Zhou, Yifang; Wang, Dahai; Bai, Chuan; Chang, Miao; Fan, Guoguang; Xu, Ke; He, Yong; Tang, Yanqing; Wang, Fei

2017-05-01

Bipolar disorder is a systemic brain disorder. Accumulated evidence suggested that cortical-subcortical imbalance could be a trait-related pathogenic factor of bipolar disorder. Degree centrality, a robust index of focal connectivity in which the number of direct connections from one node to all nodes is counted, has not previously been studied in bipolar disorder as a whole. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 52 patients with DSM-IV bipolar I disorder and 70 healthy controls recruited between September 2009 and July 2014. Degree centrality was calculated within cerebral gray matter for each subject and compared between patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls. Hub distributions of both groups were explored. Effects of medication exposure and mood state on degree centrality, as well as cortical-subcortical degree centrality correlations, were explored. Compared to healthy controls, patients with bipolar disorder exhibited significant decrease in degree centrality in cortical regions, including the middle temporal pole, inferior temporal gyrus, and ventral prefrontal cortex, but showed significant increase in degree centrality mainly in subcortical regions, including caudate, thalamus, parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampi, anterior cingulate, insula, and amygdala, and a small portion of cortical regions, such as superior and middle frontal gyrus (P < .05, corrected). Spatial distributions of the 2 groups were very similar. No significant effects of medication exposure or mood state on degree centrality were found. Patients with bipolar disorder also showed significant decrease in cortical-subcortical degree centrality correlation (P = .003). These findings further contribute to the mounting evidence of cortical-subcortical dissociation in bipolar disorder pathophysiology. In addition, this study supports the continued development and implementation of graph-based techniques to enhance our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms in mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, which are increasingly viewed as systemic brain disorders rather than disorders arising from disruption within a single structure or a limited number of structures. Due to the heterogeneity of our sample, as well as the small sample size of each medication and mood state subgroups, further investigation is needed to support our findings. © Copyright 2016 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Guidance and examination by ultrasound versus landmark and radiographic method for placement of subclavian central venous catheters: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Central venous catheters play an important role in patient care. Real-time ultrasound-guided subclavian central venous (SCV) cannulation may reduce the incidence of complications and the time between skin penetration and the aspiration of venous blood into the syringe. Ultrasonic diagnosis of catheter misplacement and pneumothorax related to central venous catheterization is rapid and accurate. It is unclear, however, whether ultrasound real-time guidance and examination can reduce procedure times and complication rates when compared with landmark guidance and radiographic examination for SCV catheterization. Methods/Design The Subclavian Central Venous Catheters Guidance and Examination by UltraSound (SUBGEUS) study is an investigator-initiated single center, randomized, controlled two-arm trial. Three hundred patients undergoing SCV catheter placement will be randomized to ultrasound real-time guidance and examination or landmark guidance and radiographic examination. The primary outcome is the time between the beginning of the procedure and control of the catheter. Secondary outcomes include the times required for the six components of the total procedure, the occurrence of complications (pneumothorax, hemothorax, or misplacement), failure of the technique and occurrence of central venous catheter infections. Discussion The SUBGEUS trial is the first randomized controlled study to investigate whether ultrasound real-time guidance and examination for SCV catheter placement reduces all procedure times and the rate of complications. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01888094 PMID:24885789

Theory of mind and central coherence in adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome.

PubMed

Beaumont, Renae; Newcombe, Peter

2006-07-01

The study investigated theory of mind and central coherence abilities in adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger syndrome (AS) using naturalistic tasks. Twenty adults with HFA/AS correctly answered significantly fewer theory of mind questions than 20 controls on a forced-choice response task. On a narrative task, there were no differences in the proportion of mental state words between the two groups, although the participants with HFA/AS were less inclined to provide explanations for characters' mental states. No between-group differences existed on the central coherence questions of the forced-choice response task, and the participants with HFA/AS included an equivalent proportion of explanations for non-mental state phenomena in their narratives as did controls. These results support the theory of mind deficit account of autism spectrum disorders, and suggest that difficulties in mental state attribution cannot be exclusively attributed to weak central coherence.

Fire and water: volcanology, geomorphology, and hydrogeology of the Cascade Range, central Oregon

Treesearch

Katharine V. Cashman; Natalia I. Deligne; Marshall W. Gannett; Gordon E. Grant; Anne Jefferson

2009-01-01

This field trip guide explores the interactions among the geologic evolution, hydrology, and fluvial geomorphology of the central Oregon Cascade Range. Key topics include the geologic control of hydrologic regimes on both the wet and dry sides of the Cascade Range crest, groundwater dynamics and interaction between surface and groundwater in young volcanic arcs, and...

FUNDUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE LIFETIMES AND CENTRAL SEROUS CHORIORETINOPATHY

PubMed Central

Dysli, Chantal; Berger, Lieselotte; Wolf, Sebastian

2017-01-01

Purpose: To quantify retinal fluorescence lifetimes in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and to identify disease specific lifetime characteristics over the course of disease. Methods: Forty-seven participants were included in this study. Patients with central serous chorioretinopathy were imaged with fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence, optical coherence tomography, and fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) and compared with age-matched controls. Retinal autofluorescence was excited using a 473-nm blue laser light and emitted fluorescence light was detected in 2 distinct wavelengths channels (498–560 nm and 560–720 nm). Clinical features, mean retinal autofluorescence lifetimes, autofluorescence intensity, and corresponding optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were further analyzed. Results: Thirty-five central serous chorioretinopathy patients with a mean visual acuity of 78 ETDRS letters (range, 50–90; mean Snellen equivalent: 20/32) and 12 age-matched controls were included. In the acute stage of central serous chorioretinopathy, retinal fluorescence lifetimes were shortened by 15% and 17% in the respective wavelength channels. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that fluorescence lifetimes were significantly influenced by the disease duration (P < 0.001) and accumulation of photoreceptor outer segments (P = 0.03) but independent of the presence or absence of subretinal fluid. Prolonged central macular autofluorescence lifetimes, particularly in eyes with retinal pigment epithelial atrophy, were associated with poor visual acuity. Conclusion: This study establishes that autofluorescence lifetime changes occurring in central serous chorioretinopathy exhibit explicit patterns which can be used to estimate perturbations of the outer retinal layers with a high degree of statistical significance. PMID:28099314

Factors affecting left ventricular synchronicity in hypertensive patients: are arterial stiffness and central blood pressures influential?

PubMed

Kırış, Abdulkadir; Kırış, Gülhanım; Karaman, Kayıhan; Sahin, Mürsel; Gedikli, Omer; Kaplan, Sahin; Orem, Asım; Kutlu, Merih; Kazaz, Zeynep

2012-10-01

Left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony is a common finding in patients with hypertension and is associated with LV hypertrophy. Arterial stiffness (AS) and central (aortic) blood pressures play a significant role in end-organ damage such as LV hypertrophy caused by hypertension. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between AS, central blood pressures (BP) and LV dyssynchrony. Thirty-five newly diagnosed hypertensive patients and 40 controls were enrolled in the study. The entire study population underwent a comprehensive echocardiographic study including tissue synchrony imaging. The 12 segmental model was used to measure the time to regional peak systolic tissue velocity (Ts) in the LV and two dyssynchrony indices were computed. Parameters of AS including pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIx@75), and central systolic and diastolic BP were evaluated by applanation tonometry. The baseline clinical and echocardiographic parameters of both groups were similar except for their BPs. Dyssynchrony indices were prolonged in patients with hypertension as compared to the controls. The standart deviation of Ts of 12 LV segments in patients with hypertension and the controls were 48.7±18.8 vs. 25.8±13.1, respectively (p<0.001), and the maximal difference in Ts between any 2 of 12 LV segments was 143.9±52.2 for hypertension patients vs. 83.8±39.4 for controls (p<0.001). PWV (11.9±2.5 vs. 9.5±1.4, p<0.001), AIx@75 (27.4±8.3 vs. 18.3±9, p=0.009), and central systolic (147.6±20.8 vs. 105.4±11, p<0.001) and diastolic (99.8±14.4 vs. 72.8±9.5, p<0.001) pressures were higher in patients with hypertension than in the controls, respectively. In multivariable analysis, central systolic BP (ß=0.496, p=0.03), LV mass index (ß=0.232, p=0.027), and body mass index (ß=0.308, p=0.002) were found to be independently related to dyssynchrony. Central systolic BP is an independent predictor of LV dyssynchrony, but Aıx@75 did not have an independent effect on LV synchronicity in patients with newly-diagnosed hypertension.

Second generation heliostat development for solar central receiver systems. Volume 4, appendices F-J: Control software test results manufacturing pile installation pile coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1981-03-01

Support documentation for a second generation heliostat project is presented. Flowcharts of control software are included. Numerical and graphic test results are provided. Project management information is also provided.

49 CFR 236.1041 - Training and qualification program, general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... INSTALLATION, INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Positive Train Control Systems § 236.1041 Training and qualification program, general. (a) Training program...-critical elements of the railroad's PTC systems, including central office, wayside, or onboard subsystems...

Effects of dietary pattern and education on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at Dr. Sardjito Central General Hospital, Yogyakarta.

PubMed

Sinorita, Hemi; Saádah; Jazakillah, Setyowati

2008-04-01

to recognize the effect of education and diet on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at Dr. Sardjito Central General Hospital, Jogjakarta. a cross-sectional study was conducted in 88 patients with type 2 DM who had routine visit to the outpatient clinic in Endocrinology Division of Dr. Sardjito Central General Hospital, Jogjakarta. As inclusion criteria, patients who had routine visit in 3 month continuously with fasting plasma glucose (GDN) < or = 126 mg/dl was participated as a well glycemic control group, and the one with GDN > 126 mg/dl as poor glycemic control group. Data were recorded which included age, sex, period of DM, daily diet pattern, and education received. we found that glycemic control was not affected by sex (p=0.52) and age (p=0.38), but it was affected by period of DM (p=0.02). Glycemic control in the present study was affected by dietary pattern (p=0.01), but not by education (p=1.00). the present study has found significant correlation between regulation of dietary pattern and glycemic control (p=0.01).

Diagnostic Accuracy of Central Venous Catheter Confirmation by Bedside Ultrasound Versus Chest Radiography in Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Ablordeppey, Enyo A; Drewry, Anne M; Beyer, Alexander B; Theodoro, Daniel L; Fowler, Susan A; Fuller, Brian M; Carpenter, Christopher R

2017-04-01

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the accuracy of bedside ultrasound for confirmation of central venous catheter position and exclusion of pneumothorax compared with chest radiography. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, reference lists, conference proceedings and ClinicalTrials.gov. Articles and abstracts describing the diagnostic accuracy of bedside ultrasound compared with chest radiography for confirmation of central venous catheters in sufficient detail to reconstruct 2 × 2 contingency tables were reviewed. Primary outcomes included the accuracy of confirming catheter positioning and detecting a pneumothorax. Secondary outcomes included feasibility, interrater reliability, and efficiency to complete bedside ultrasound confirmation of central venous catheter position. Investigators abstracted study details including research design and sonographic imaging technique to detect catheter malposition and procedure-related pneumothorax. Diagnostic accuracy measures included pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio. Fifteen studies with 1,553 central venous catheter placements were identified with a pooled sensitivity and specificity of catheter malposition by ultrasound of 0.82 (0.77-0.86) and 0.98 (0.97-0.99), respectively. The pooled positive and negative likelihood ratios of catheter malposition by ultrasound were 31.12 (14.72-65.78) and 0.25 (0.13-0.47). The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound for pneumothorax detection was nearly 100% in the participating studies. Bedside ultrasound reduced mean central venous catheter confirmation time by 58.3 minutes. Risk of bias and clinical heterogeneity in the studies were high. Bedside ultrasound is faster than radiography at identifying pneumothorax after central venous catheter insertion. When a central venous catheter malposition exists, bedside ultrasound will identify four out of every five earlier than chest radiography.

Optical quality in central serous chorioretinopathy.

PubMed

Lee, Kyungmin; Sohn, Joonhong; Choi, Jong Gil; Chung, Sung Kun

2014-12-02

To assess optical quality and intraocular scattering using the Optical Quality Analysis System (OQAS) in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and to determine the effects of retinal changes on optical quality. This was a prospective, case-control study. Participants were 29 patients with diagnosis of CSC. The control group consisted of the patients' unaffected eyes. Initial logMAR visual acuity, central macular thickness (by spectral domain optical coherence tomography), and optical quality parameters including modulation transfer function (MTF) cutoff frequency, Strehl (2-dimensional) ratio, and OQAS values at 100%, 20%, and 9% contrast levels were investigated. Objective scattering index (OSI) at 4.0-mm pupil size was assessed in both eyes by using the OQAS. After 3 months of treatment, which included observation and focal laser or injections of antivascular endothelial growth factor, every CSC-affected eye was followed. Main outcome measures were differences between clinical parameters of the CSC-affected eye and those of the control eye and changes in those parameters according to the clinical course of CSC over 3 months. In CSC-affected eyes, the MTF cutoff was significantly reduced (P = 0.01), and OSI was significantly increased (P = 0.03). As macular thickness decreased, OSI decreased but did not become normalized compared to the control eye, nor was it statistically significantly correlated with central macular thickness change. Retinal change affected optical quality and intraocular scatter. Therefore, when the severity of a cataract is assessed using the OQAS, retinal status should be considered when interpreting OQAS values. Copyright 2014 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

Central auditory processing and migraine: a controlled study.

PubMed

Agessi, Larissa Mendonça; Villa, Thaís Rodrigues; Dias, Karin Ziliotto; Carvalho, Deusvenir de Souza; Pereira, Liliane Desgualdo

2014-11-08

This study aimed to verify and compare central auditory processing (CAP) performance in migraine with and without aura patients and healthy controls. Forty-one volunteers of both genders, aged between 18 and 40 years, diagnosed with migraine with and without aura by the criteria of "The International Classification of Headache Disorders" (ICDH-3 beta) and a control group of the same age range and with no headache history, were included. Gaps-in-noise (GIN), Duration Pattern test (DPT) and Dichotic Digits Test (DDT) tests were used to assess central auditory processing performance. The volunteers were divided into 3 groups: Migraine with aura (11), migraine without aura (15), and control group (15), matched by age and schooling. Subjects with aura and without aura performed significantly worse in GIN test for right ear (p = .006), for left ear (p = .005) and for DPT test (p < .001) when compared with controls without headache, however no significant differences were found in the DDT test for the right ear (p = .362) and for the left ear (p = .190). Subjects with migraine performed worsened in auditory gap detection, in the discrimination of short and long duration. They also presented impairment in the physiological mechanism of temporal processing, especially in temporal resolution and temporal ordering when compared with controls. Migraine could be related to an impaired central auditory processing. Research Ethics Committee (CEP 0480.10) - UNIFESP.

Herbal medicine for idiopathic central precocious puberty: A protocol for a systematic review of controlled trials.

PubMed

Lee, Hye Lim; Lee, Yoo Been; Choi, Jun-Yong; Lee, Ju Ah

2018-03-01

Herbal medicine is widely used in East Asia to treat idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP). Most of the available clinical trials that investigated herbal medicine for ICPP have been included in this review. This systematic review will assess the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine for ICPP. Eleven databases, including Asian databases, will be searched for studies conducted through 2018. We will include randomized controlled trials assessing herbal medicine for ICPP. The risk of bias will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool, and confidence in the cumulative evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation instrument. This systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated both electronically and in print. The review will be updated to inform and guide health care practices. PROSPER 2018 CRD42018087988.

Pathogenesis of Central and Complex Sleep Apnoea

PubMed Central

Orr, Jeremy E.; Malhotra, Atul; Sands, Scott A.

2016-01-01

Central sleep apnoea (CSA)—the temporary absence or diminution of ventilator effort during sleep—is seen in a variety of forms including periodic breathing in infancy and healthy adults at altitude and Cheyne-Stokes respiration in heart failure. In most circumstances, the cyclic absence of effort is paradoxically a consequence of hypersensitive ventilatory chemoreflex responses to oppose changes in airflow, i.e. elevated loop gain, leading to overshoot/undershoot ventilatory oscillations. Considerable evidence illustrates overlap between CSA and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), including elevated loop gain in patients with OSA and the presence of pharyngeal narrowing during central apnoeas. Indeed, treatment of OSA, whether via CPAP, tracheostomy, or oral appliances, can reveal CSA, an occurrence referred to as complex sleep apnoea. Factors influencing loop gain include increased chemosensitivity (increased controller gain), reduced damping of blood gas levels (increased plant gain) and increased lung to chemoreceptor circulatory delay. Sleep-wake transitions and pharyngeal dilator muscle responses effectively raise the controller gain and therefore also contribute to total loop gain and overall instability. In some circumstances, for example apnoea of infancy and central congenital hypoventilation syndrome, central apnoeas are the consequence of ventilatory depression and defective ventilatory responses, i.e. low loop gain. The efficacy of available treatments for CSA can be explained in terms of their effects on loop gain, e.g. CPAP improves lung volume (plant gain), stimulants reduce the alveolar-inspired PCO2 difference, supplemental oxygen lowers chemosensitivity. Understanding the magnitude of loop gain and the mechanisms contributing to instability may facilitate personalised interventions for CSA. PMID:27797160

Pathogenesis of central and complex sleep apnoea.

PubMed

Orr, Jeremy E; Malhotra, Atul; Sands, Scott A

2017-01-01

Central sleep apnoea (CSA) - the temporary absence or diminution of ventilatory effort during sleep - is seen in a variety of forms including periodic breathing in infancy and healthy adults at altitude and Cheyne-Stokes respiration in heart failure. In most circumstances, the cyclic absence of effort is paradoxically a consequence of hypersensitive ventilatory chemoreflex responses to oppose changes in airflow, that is elevated loop gain, leading to overshoot/undershoot ventilatory oscillations. Considerable evidence illustrates overlap between CSA and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), including elevated loop gain in patients with OSA and the presence of pharyngeal narrowing during central apnoeas. Indeed, treatment of OSA, whether via continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), tracheostomy or oral appliances, can reveal CSA, an occurrence referred to as complex sleep apnoea. Factors influencing loop gain include increased chemosensitivity (increased controller gain), reduced damping of blood gas levels (increased plant gain) and increased lung to chemoreceptor circulatory delay. Sleep-wake transitions and pharyngeal dilator muscle responses effectively raise the controller gain and therefore also contribute to total loop gain and overall instability. In some circumstances, for example apnoea of infancy and central congenital hypoventilation syndrome, central apnoeas are the consequence of ventilatory depression and defective ventilatory responses, that is low loop gain. The efficacy of available treatments for CSA can be explained in terms of their effects on loop gain, for example CPAP improves lung volume (plant gain), stimulants reduce the alveolar-inspired PCO 2 difference and supplemental oxygen lowers chemosensitivity. Understanding the magnitude of loop gain and the mechanisms contributing to instability may facilitate personalized interventions for CSA. © 2016 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

Scapegoating Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaker, Paul S.; Heilman, Elizabeth E.

2008-01-01

In their popular explanation of No Child Left Behind, journalists and other public voices claim that unruly and inefficient public schools are being brought under the control of effective central authorities by scientific, test-driven accountability. Other popular themes of reform in media include mayoral control of schools, non-educators as…

Corporate and Government Control of Education in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, James R.

Perspectives on connections between corporations, the military, and colleges are provided, with attention to whether corporate and government control is exerted over education. According to James Ridgeway's "The Closed Corporation," colleges are central to business/industrial and government/military activity. His examples include:…

Control and protection system for an installation for the combined production of electrical and thermal energy

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

Agazzone, U.; Ausiello, F.P.

1981-06-23

A power-generating installation comprises a plurality of modular power plants each comprised of an internal combustion engine connected to an electric machine. The electric machine is used to start the engine and thereafter operates as a generator supplying power to an electrical network common to all the modular plants. The installation has a control and protection system comprising a plurality of control modules each associated with a respective plant, and a central unit passing control signals to the modules to control starting and stopping of the individual power plants. Upon the detection of abnormal operation or failure of its associatedmore » power plant, each control module transmits an alarm signal back to the central unit which thereupon stops, or prevents the starting, of the corresponding power plant. Parameters monitored by each control module include generated current and inter-winding leakage current of the electric machine.« less

Quality assurance procedures for environmental control and monitoring in plant growth facilities. Report of the North Central Regional 101 Committee on Growth Chamber Use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tibbitts, T. W. (Principal Investigator)

1986-01-01

This report includes procedures for ensuring the quality of the environment provided for plant growth in controlled environment facilities. Biologists and engineers may use these procedures for ensuring quality control during experiments or for ensuring quality control in the design of plant growth facilities. Environmental monitoring prior to and during experiments is included in these procedures. Specific recommendations cover control, acquisition, and calibration for sensor types for the separate parameters of radiation (light), temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and air movement.

Communication and control in an integrated manufacturing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shin, Kang G.; Throne, Robert D.; Muthuswamy, Yogesh K.

1987-01-01

Typically, components in a manufacturing system are all centrally controlled. Due to possible communication bottlenecking, unreliability, and inflexibility caused by using a centralized controller, a new concept of system integration called an Integrated Multi-Robot System (IMRS) was developed. The IMRS can be viewed as a distributed real time system. Some of the current research issues being examined to extend the framework of the IMRS to meet its performance goals are presented. These issues include the use of communication coprocessors to enhance performance, the distribution of tasks and the methods of providing fault tolerance in the IMRS. An application example of real time collision detection, as it relates to the IMRS concept, is also presented and discussed.

Effects of harvesting treatments on the ant community in a Mississippi River bottomland hardwood forest in west-central Mississippi

Treesearch

Lynne C. Thompson; David M. General; Brian Roy Lockhart

2010-01-01

We assessed effects that harvesting treatments had on the ant community in a Mississippi River bottomland hardwood forest in west-central MS. Ants were collected on Pittman Island using pitfall traps from July to November in 1996, 1997, and 2000. The forest received three replicated harvesting treatments in 1995, including: 1) uncut controls (check), 2) selection...

EFFECTS OF INTRAVITREAL RANIBIZUMAB AND BEVACIZUMAB ON THE RETINAL VESSEL SIZE IN DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA.

PubMed

Kurt, Muhammed Mustafa; Çekiç, Osman; Akpolat, Çetin; Elçioglu, Mustafa

2018-06-01

The goal of this study was to assess the effects of a single injection of intravitreal ranibizumab (RAN) or bevacizumab (BEV) on the retinal vessel size in eyes with diabetic macular edema. In total, 32 patients were enrolled in the RAN group, and 30 patients were included in BEV group. Each of these groups was also subdivided into two others groups: a study group and a control group. The study groups were composed of the injected eyes, whereas the noninjected fellow eyes served as the control groups. The patients underwent complete ophthalmic examinations, including optical coherence tomography and fundus fluorescein angiography, and the primary outcome measures included the central retinal artery equivalent, central retinal vein equivalent, and artery-to-vein ratio. In the RAN study group (n = 32), the preinjection mean central retinal artery equivalent (175.42 μm) decreased to 169.01 μm after 1 week, and to 167.47 μm after 1 month (P < 0.001), whereas the baseline central retinal vein equivalent (235.29 μm) decreased initially to 219.90 μm after 1 week, and to 218.36 μm after 1 month (P < 0.001). In the BEV study group (n = 30), the preinjection central retinal artery equivalent (150.21 μm) decreased to 146.25 μm after 1 week, and to 145.89 μm after 1 month (P < 0.001); whereas the baseline central retinal vein equivalent (211.87 μm) decreased initially to 204.59 μm after 1 week and was 205.24 μm after 1 month (P < 0.001). The preinjection artery-to-vein ratio values changed significantly (P = 0.001) after 1 week and after 1 month in the RAN group, but no significant alteration in the artery-to-vein ratio was observed in the BEV group (P = 0.433). In both the RAN (n = 32) and BEV (n = 30) control groups, none of the 3 parameters changed throughout the study period, when compared with the baseline. The results of this study showed that both RAN and BEV injections significantly constricted the retinal blood vessel diameters.

Slow Temporal Summation of Pain for Assessment of Central Pain Sensitivity and Clinical Pain of Fibromyalgia Patients

PubMed Central

Staud, Roland; Weyl, Elizabeth E.; Riley, Joseph L.; Fillingim, Roger B.

2014-01-01

Background In healthy individuals slow temporal summation of pain or wind-up (WU) can be evoked by repetitive heat-pulses at frequencies of ≥.33 Hz. Previous WU studies have used various stimulus frequencies and intensities to characterize central sensitization of human subjects including fibromyalgia (FM) patients. However, many trials demonstrated considerable WU-variability including zero WU or even wind-down (WD) at stimulus intensities sufficient for activating C-nociceptors. Additionally, few WU-protocols have controlled for contributions of individual pain sensitivity to WU-magnitude, which is critical for WU-comparisons. We hypothesized that integration of 3 different WU-trains into a single WU-response function (WU-RF) would not only control for individuals’ pain sensitivity but also better characterize their central pain responding including WU and WD. Methods 33 normal controls (NC) and 38 FM patients participated in a study of heat-WU. We systematically varied stimulus intensities of.4 Hz heat-pulse trains applied to the hands. Pain summation was calculated as difference scores of 1st and 5th heat-pulse ratings. WU-difference (WU-Δ) scores related to 3 heat-pulse trains (44°C, 46°C, 48°C) were integrated into WU-response functions whose slopes were used to assess group differences in central pain sensitivity. WU-aftersensations (WU-AS) at 15 s and 30 s were used to predict clinical FM pain intensity. Results WU-Δ scores linearly accelerated with increasing stimulus intensity (p<.001) in both groups of subjects (FM>NC) from WD to WU. Slope of WU-RF, which is representative of central pain sensitivity, was significantly steeper in FM patients than NC (p<.003). WU-AS predicted clinical FM pain intensity (Pearson’s r = .4; p<.04). Conclusions Compared to single WU series, WU-RFs integrate individuals’ pain sensitivity as well as WU and WD. Slope of WU-RFs was significantly different between FM patients and NC. Therefore WU-RF may be useful for assessing central sensitization of chronic pain patients in research and clinical practice. PMID:24558475

Holiday Perspectives on Air Traffic Control

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-12-14

As America travels over the holidays, NASA’s FutureFlight Central (FFC) is working to help passengers get to their destinations on time. The 360-degree virtual air traffic control tower is capable of simulating traffic and weather conditions to include snow, sleet and rain at almost any airport in the United States.

AGL61 interacts with AGL80 and is required for central cell development in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Steffen, Joshua G; Kang, Il-Ho; Portereiko, Michael F; Lloyd, Alan; Drews, Gary N

2008-09-01

The central cell of the female gametophyte plays a role in pollen tube guidance and in regulating the initiation of endosperm development. Following fertilization, the central cell gives rise to the seed's endosperm, which nourishes the developing embryo within the seed. The molecular mechanisms controlling specification and differentiation of the central cell are poorly understood. We identified AGL61 in a screen for transcription factor genes expressed in the female gametophyte. AGL61 encodes a Type I MADS domain protein, which likely functions as a transcription factor. Consistent with this, an AGL61-green fluorescent protein fusion protein is localized to the nucleus. In the context of the ovule and seed, AGL61 is expressed exclusively in the central cell and early endosperm. agl61 female gametophytes are affected in the central cell specifically. The morphological defects include an overall reduction in size of the central cell and a reduced or absent central cell vacuole. When fertilized with wild-type pollen, agl61 central cells fail to give rise to endosperm. In addition, synergid- and antipodal-expressed genes are ectopically expressed in agl61 central cells. The expression pattern and mutant phenotype of AGL61 are similar to those of AGL80, suggesting that AGL61 may function as a heterodimer with AGL80 within the central cell; consistent with this, AGL61 and AGL80 interact in yeast two-hybrid assays. Together, these data suggest that AGL61 functions as a transcription factor and controls the expression of downstream genes during central cell development.

Central obesity and the Mediterranean diet: A systematic review of intervention trials.

PubMed

Bendall, C L; Mayr, H L; Opie, R S; Bes-Rastrollo, M; Itsiopoulos, C; Thomas, C J

2017-10-17

Central obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, and is a risk factor for cardiometabolic syndrome. The Mediterranean diet pattern has a convincing evidence-base for improving cardiometabolic health. This review investigated the impact of Mediterranean diet interventions on central obesity, specifically. A systematic literature search was conducted in the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and Cochrane library databases. Search terms included: 'Mediterranean Diet', 'Mediterranean dietary pattern', 'central obesity' and 'visceral fat'. The search was limited to English language and humans ≥18 years. Eighteen articles met the eligibility criteria and reported at least one outcome measure of central obesity with Mediterranean diet intervention. Central obesity measures included waist circumference (16 studies), waist-hip ratio (5 studies) and visceral fat (2 studies). Thirteen (72%) of the studies, totaling 7186 subjects (5168 subjects assigned to a Mediterranean Diet), reported a significant reduction in central obesity with a Mediterranean-type diet. However, seven out of these 13 interventions employed energy restriction, and only three showed a statistically significant favorable effect of the Mediterranean diet relative to a control group. This systematic review highlights the potential for a Mediterranean diet intervention to reduce central obesity and in turn reduce obesity-related chronic disease risk and associated public health burden.

Protective effect of intradermal BCG against leprosy; a case-control study in central Brazil.

PubMed

Rodrigues, M L; Silva, S A; Neto, J C; de Andrade, A L; Martelli, C M; Zicker, F

1992-09-01

A case-control study was undertaken to evaluate the protective efficacy of intradermal BCG against leprosy in a high-endemic area of leprosy in central Brazil. Sixty-two cases and 186 controls were included in the study. Cases were all newly diagnosed leprosy patients under 16 years of age attending an outpatient health service, and all of them were schoolchildren. Three controls under 16 years old, frequency matched by sex and age group, were selected from schools geographically located in the area from which the cases came. The presence of BCG was negatively associated with leprosy, indicating a 5.3 risk of leprosy for those nonvaccinated and protective efficacy of 81%. Paucibacillary patients were more likely to have a BCG scar than multibacillary patients.

Fanconi anemia: correlating central nervous system malformations and genetic complementation groups.

PubMed

Johnson-Tesch, Benjamin A; Gawande, Rakhee S; Zhang, Lei; MacMillan, Margaret L; Nascene, David R

2017-06-01

Congenital central nervous system abnormalities in children with Fanconi anemia are poorly characterized, especially with regard to specific genetic complementation groups. To characterize the impact of genetic complementation groups on central nervous system anatomy. Through chart review we identified 36 patients with Fanconi anemia with available brain MRIs at the University of Minnesota (average age, 11.3 years; range, 1-43 years; M:F=19:17), which we reviewed and compared to 19 age- and sex-matched controls (average age, 7.9 years; range, 2-18 years; M:F=9:10). Genotypic information was available for 27 patients (15 FA-A, 2 FA-C, 3 FA-G, and 7 FA-D1 [biallelic mutations in BRCA2 gene]). Of the 36 patients, 61% had at least one congenital central nervous system or skull base abnormality. These included hypoplastic clivus (n=12), hypoplastic adenohypophysis (n=11), platybasia (n=8), pontocerebellar hypoplasia (n=7), isolated pontine hypoplasia (n=4), isolated vermis hypoplasia (n=3), and ectopic neurohypophysis (n=6). Average pituitary volume was significantly less in patients with Fanconi anemia (P<0.0001) than in controls. Basal angle was significantly greater in Fanconi anemia patients (P=0.006), but the basal angle of those with FA-D1 was not significantly different from controls (P=0.239). Clivus length was less in the Fanconi anemia group (P=0.002), but significance was only observed in the FA-D1 subgroup (P<0.0001). Of the seven patients meeting criteria for pontocerebellar hypoplasia, six belonged to the FA-D1 group. Patients with Fanconi anemia have higher incidences of ectopic neurohypophysis, adenohypophysis hypoplasia, platybasia and other midline central nervous system skull base posterior fossa abnormalities than age- and sex-matched controls. Patients with posterior fossa abnormalities, including pontocerebellar hypoplasia, are more likely to have biallelic BRCA2 mutations.

CHOROIDAL THICKNESS IN DIABETIC RETINOPATHY ASSESSED WITH SWEPT-SOURCE OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY.

PubMed

Laíns, Inês; Talcott, Katherine E; Santos, Ana R; Marques, João H; Gil, Pedro; Gil, João; Figueira, João; Husain, Deeba; Kim, Ivana K; Miller, Joan W; Silva, Rufino; Miller, John B

2018-01-01

To compare the choroidal thickness (CT) of diabetic eyes (different stages of disease) with controls, using swept-source optical coherence tomography. A multicenter, prospective, cross-sectional study of diabetic and nondiabetic subjects using swept-source optical coherence tomography imaging. Choroidal thickness maps, according to the nine Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) subfields, were obtained using automated software. Mean CT was calculated as the mean value within the ETDRS grid, and central CT as the mean in the central 1 mm. Diabetic eyes were divided into four groups: no diabetic retinopathy (No DR), nonproliferative DR (NPDR), NPDR with diabetic macular edema (NPDR + DME), and proliferative DR (PDR). Multilevel mixed linear models were performed for analyses. The authors included 50 control and 160 diabetic eyes (n = 27 No DR, n = 51 NPDR, n = 61 NPDR + DME, and n = 21 PDR). Mean CT (ß = -42.9, P = 0.022) and central CT (ß = -50.2, P = 0.013) were statistically significantly thinner in PDR eyes compared with controls, even after adjusting for confounding factors. Controlling for age, DR eyes presented a significantly decreased central CT than diabetic eyes without retinopathy (β = -36.2, P = 0.009). Swept-source optical coherence tomography demonstrates a significant reduction of CT in PDR compared with controls. In the foveal region, the choroid appears to be thinner in DR eyes than in diabetic eyes without retinopathy.

Fresh air indoors

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

Kull, K.

1988-09-01

This article describes and compares ventilation systems for the control of indoor air pollution in residential housing. These include: local exhaust fans, whole-house fans, central exhaust with wall ports, and heat-recovery central ventilation (HRV). HRV's have a higher initial cost than the other systems but they are the only ones that save energy. Homeowners are given guidelines for choosing the system best suited for their homes in terms of efficiency and payback period.

Central Arterial Function Measured by Non-invasive Pulse Wave Analysis is Abnormal in Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

PubMed

Ryan, Thomas D; Parent, John J; Gao, Zhiqian; Khoury, Philip R; Dupont, Elizabeth; Smith, Jennifer N; Wong, Brenda; Urbina, Elaine M; Jefferies, John L

2017-08-01

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive disorder caused by mutation of dystrophin. Cardiovascular involvement includes dilated cardiomyopathy. Non-invasive assessment of vascular function has not been evaluated in DMD. We hypothesize arterial wave reflection is abnormal in patients with DMD. Pulse wave analysis was performed on DMD patients with a SphygmoCor SCOR-PVx System to determine central blood pressure and augmentation index (AIx) as an assessment of arterial wave reflection. Results were compared to a control group. A total of 43 patients with DMD were enrolled, and compared to 43 normal controls. Central systolic blood pressure was lower, while both AIx-75 (7.8 ± 9.6% vs. 2.1 ± 10.4%, p 0.01, DMD vs. normal) and AIx-not corrected (16.8 ± 10.1% vs. -3.6 ± 10.9, p < 0.001, DMD vs. normal) were higher in the DMD compared to control. Using multivariable linear regression model, the variables found to have a significant effect on AIx-not corrected included diagnosis of DMD, height, and heart rate (r 2  = 0.257). The current data suggest that, despite lower central systolic blood pressure, patients with DMD have higher wave reflection when compared to normal controls, which may represent increased arterial stiffness. Overall there appears to be no effect on ventricular systolic function, however the long-term consequence in this group is unknown. Further study is required to determine the mechanism of these differences, which may be related to the effects of systemic steroids or the role of dystrophin in vascular function.

Central auditory processing and migraine: a controlled study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background This study aimed to verify and compare central auditory processing (CAP) performance in migraine with and without aura patients and healthy controls. Methods Forty-one volunteers of both genders, aged between 18 and 40 years, diagnosed with migraine with and without aura by the criteria of “The International Classification of Headache Disorders” (ICDH-3 beta) and a control group of the same age range and with no headache history, were included. Gaps-in-noise (GIN), Duration Pattern test (DPT) and Dichotic Digits Test (DDT) tests were used to assess central auditory processing performance. Results The volunteers were divided into 3 groups: Migraine with aura (11), migraine without aura (15), and control group (15), matched by age and schooling. Subjects with aura and without aura performed significantly worse in GIN test for right ear (p = .006), for left ear (p = .005) and for DPT test (p < .001) when compared with controls without headache, however no significant differences were found in the DDT test for the right ear (p = .362) and for the left ear (p = .190). Conclusions Subjects with migraine performed worsened in auditory gap detection, in the discrimination of short and long duration. They also presented impairment in the physiological mechanism of temporal processing, especially in temporal resolution and temporal ordering when compared with controls. Migraine could be related to an impaired central auditory processing. Clinical trial registration Research Ethics Committee (CEP 0480.10) – UNIFESP PMID:25380661

BIO-Plex Information System Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry; Boulanger, Richard; Arnold, James O. (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

This paper describes a suggested design for an integrated information system for the proposed BIO-Plex (Bioregenerative Planetary Life Support Systems Test Complex) at Johnson Space Center (JSC), including distributed control systems, central control, networks, database servers, personal computers and workstations, applications software, and external communications. The system will have an open commercial computing and networking, architecture. The network will provide automatic real-time transfer of information to database server computers which perform data collection and validation. This information system will support integrated, data sharing applications for everything, from system alarms to management summaries. Most existing complex process control systems have information gaps between the different real time subsystems, between these subsystems and central controller, between the central controller and system level planning and analysis application software, and between the system level applications and management overview reporting. An integrated information system is vitally necessary as the basis for the integration of planning, scheduling, modeling, monitoring, and control, which will allow improved monitoring and control based on timely, accurate and complete data. Data describing the system configuration and the real time processes can be collected, checked and reconciled, analyzed and stored in database servers that can be accessed by all applications. The required technology is available. The only opportunity to design a distributed, nonredundant, integrated system is before it is built. Retrofit is extremely difficult and costly.

Central mechanisms for exercise training-induced reduction in sympatho-excitation in chronic heart failure.

PubMed

Haack, Karla K V; Zucker, Irving H

2015-03-01

The control of sympathetic outflow in the chronic heart failure (CHF) state is markedly abnormal. Patients with heart failure present with increased plasma norepinephrine and increased sympathetic nerve activity. The mechanism for this sympatho-excitation is multiple and varied. Both depression in negative feedback sensory control mechanisms and augmentation of excitatory reflexes contribute to this sympatho-excitation. These include the arterial baroreflex, cardiac reflexes, arterial chemoreflexes and cardiac sympathetic afferent reflexes. In addition, abnormalities in central signaling in autonomic pathways have been implicated in the sympatho-excitatory process in CHF. These mechanisms include increases in central Angiotensin II and the Type 1 receptor, increased in reactive oxygen stress, upregulation in glutamate signaling and NR1 (N-methyl-D-aspartate subtype 1) receptors and others. Exercise training in the CHF state has been shown to reduce sympathetic outflow and result in increased survival and reduced cardiac events. Exercise training has been shown to reduce central Angiotensin II signaling including the Type 1 receptor and reduce oxidative stress by lowering the expression of many of the subunits of NADPH oxidase. In addition, there are profound effects on the central generation of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase in sympatho-regulatory areas of the brain. Recent studies have pointed to the balance between Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) and ACE2, translating into Angiotensin II and Angiotensin 1-7 as important regulators of sympathetic outflow. These enzymes appear to be normalized following exercise training in CHF. Understanding the precise molecular mechanisms by which exercise training is sympatho-inhibitory will uncover new targets for therapy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Central Florida community tree guide: benefits, costs, and strategic planting

Treesearch

Paula J. Peper; E. Gregory McPherson; James R. Simpson; Shannon N. Albers; Qingfu Xiao

2010-01-01

Trees make our cities more attractive and provide many ecosystem services, including air quality improvement, energy conservation, stormwater interception, and atmospheric carbon dioxide reduction. These benefits must be weighed against the costs of maintaining trees, including planting, pruning, irrigation, administration, pest control, liability, cleanup, and removal...

[Ophthalmodynamometry in the diagnostics of Grave's ophthalmopathy].

PubMed

Harder, B; Jonas, J B

2007-11-01

Since endocrine orbitopathy is characterised by exophthalmos and increased orbital tissue pressure which may lead to a compression of and damage to the optic nerve, it was the purpose of this study to evaluate whether the increased orbital tissue pressure in endocrine orbitopathy is associated with an elevated central retinal vein pressure as estimated by ophthalmodynamometry, and whether the central retinal vein pressure changes in the course of the disease. The prospective clinical study included 7 patients (13 eyes) with endocrine orbitopathy. They were screened for the prevalence of a spontaneous pulsation of the central retinal vein. In case of a missing spontaneous pulse, the collapse pressure of the central retinal vein was estimated by a modified ophthalmodynamometry using a corneal contact lens associated ophthalmodynamometric device. A group of 122 patients (156 eyes) without orbital or retinal diseases served as control group. The frequency of a spontaneous pulse of the central retinal vein was significantly lower in the study group (1/13 or 8%) than in the control group (121/156 or 78% p<0.001; odds ratio: 41.5). The central retinal vein collapse pressure as determined by ophthalmodynamometry was significantly higher in the study group (22.7+/-19.5 arbitrary units) than in the control group (4.7+/-12.8 arbitrary units) (p=0.002). For one patient with 7 examinations during a follow-up of 16 months, the central retinal vein pressure increased from 17 arbitrary units to 56 units, and decreased to 14 to 19 arbitrary units after initiation of a systemic therapy and regression of the exophthalmos. Three years later a spontaneous pulsation of the central retinal vein was detectable. Ophthalmodynamometry may be a useful examination for the indirect assessment of the orbital tissue pressure in patients with endocrine orbitopathy.

Status, Vision, and Challenges of an Intelligent Distributed Engine Control Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Behbahani, Alireza; Culley, Dennis; Garg, Sanjay; Millar, Richard; Smith, Bert; Wood, Jim; Mahoney, Tim; Quinn, Ronald; Carpenter, Sheldon; Mailander, Bill;

Quality of information sources about mental disorders: a comparison of Wikipedia with centrally controlled web and printed sources.

PubMed

Reavley, N J; Mackinnon, A J; Morgan, A J; Alvarez-Jimenez, M; Hetrick, S E; Killackey, E; Nelson, B; Purcell, R; Yap, M B H; Jorm, A F

2012-08-01

Although mental health information on the internet is often of poor quality, relatively little is known about the quality of websites, such as Wikipedia, that involve participatory information sharing. The aim of this paper was to explore the quality of user-contributed mental health-related information on Wikipedia and compare this with centrally controlled information sources. Content on 10 mental health-related topics was extracted from 14 frequently accessed websites (including Wikipedia) providing information about depression and schizophrenia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and a psychiatry textbook. The content was rated by experts according to the following criteria: accuracy, up-to-dateness, breadth of coverage, referencing and readability. Ratings varied significantly between resources according to topic. Across all topics, Wikipedia was the most highly rated in all domains except readability. The quality of information on depression and schizophrenia on Wikipedia is generally as good as, or better than, that provided by centrally controlled websites, Encyclopaedia Britannica and a psychiatry textbook.

Central neural mechanisms governing postural cardiovascular mechanisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reis, D. J.

1976-01-01

The results of the vestibular apparatus and cerebellum in orthostatic reflex control are summarized. Mechanisms within the brain which govern circulation reflexes and the consequences of disturbances in their function are also included.

Central neural pathways for thermoregulation.

PubMed

Morrison, Shaun F; Nakamura, Kazuhiro

2011-01-01

Central neural circuits orchestrate a homeostatic repertoire to maintain body temperature during environmental temperature challenges and to alter body temperature during the inflammatory response. This review summarizes the functional organization of the neural pathways through which cutaneous thermal receptors alter thermoregulatory effectors: the cutaneous circulation for heat loss, the brown adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and heart for thermogenesis and species-dependent mechanisms (sweating, panting and saliva spreading) for evaporative heat loss. These effectors are regulated by parallel but distinct, effector-specific neural pathways that share a common peripheral thermal sensory input. The thermal afferent circuits include cutaneous thermal receptors, spinal dorsal horn neurons and lateral parabrachial nucleus neurons projecting to the preoptic area to influence warm-sensitive, inhibitory output neurons which control thermogenesis-promoting neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamus that project to premotor neurons in the rostral ventromedial medulla, including the raphe pallidus, that descend to provide the excitation necessary to drive thermogenic thermal effectors. A distinct population of warm-sensitive preoptic neurons controls heat loss through an inhibitory input to raphe pallidus neurons controlling cutaneous vasoconstriction.

Effects of weightlessness in man.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berry, C. A.

1973-01-01

The program for the Apollo 16 flight was designed to include both safeguards against and investigations of the physiological problems arising from increase in the period of manned space flight. Precautions included the provision of a controlled diet with high potassium content, carefully controlled work loads and work-rest cycles, and an emergency cardiology consultation service, and investigations were made to enable preflight vs postflight comparisons of metabolic, cardiovascular, and central nervous system data. Results of these investigations indicate that adjustment to weightlessness can be satisfactorily assisted by appropriate countermeasures, including attention to diet.

Data Acquisition for Modular Biometric Monitoring System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grodsinsky, Carlos M. (Inventor); Chmiel, Alan J. (Inventor); Humphreys, Bradley T. (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A modular system for acquiring biometric data includes a plurality of data acquisition modules configured to sample biometric data from at least one respective input channel at a data acquisition rate. A representation of the sampled biometric data is stored in memory of each of the plurality of data acquisition modules. A central control system is in communication with each of the plurality of data acquisition modules through a bus. The central control system is configured to collect data asynchronously, via the bus, from the memory of the plurality of data acquisition modules according to a relative fullness of the memory of the plurality of data acquisition modules.

A natural basis for efficient brain-actuated control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Makeig, S.; Enghoff, S.; Jung, T. P.; Sejnowski, T. J.

2000-01-01

The prospect of noninvasive brain-actuated control of computerized screen displays or locomotive devices is of interest to many and of crucial importance to a few 'locked-in' subjects who experience near total motor paralysis while retaining sensory and mental faculties. Currently several groups are attempting to achieve brain-actuated control of screen displays using operant conditioning of particular features of the spontaneous scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) including central mu-rhythms (9-12 Hz). A new EEG decomposition technique, independent component analysis (ICA), appears to be a foundation for new research in the design of systems for detection and operant control of endogenous EEG rhythms to achieve flexible EEG-based communication. ICA separates multichannel EEG data into spatially static and temporally independent components including separate components accounting for posterior alpha rhythms and central mu activities. We demonstrate using data from a visual selective attention task that ICA-derived mu-components can show much stronger spectral reactivity to motor events than activity measures for single scalp channels. ICA decompositions of spontaneous EEG would thus appear to form a natural basis for operant conditioning to achieve efficient and multidimensional brain-actuated control in motor-limited and locked-in subjects.

Diagnostic accuracy of central venous catheter confirmation by bedside ultrasound versus chest radiography in critically ill patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Ablordeppey, Enyo A.; Drewry, Anne M.; Beyer, Alexander B.; Theodoro, Daniel L.; Fowler, Susan A.; Fuller, Brian M.; Carpenter, Christopher R.

2016-01-01

Objective We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the accuracy of bedside ultrasound for confirmation of central venous catheter position and exclusion of pneumothorax compared to chest radiography. Data Sources PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, reference lists, conference proceedings and ClinicalTrials.gov Study Selection Articles and abstracts describing the diagnostic accuracy of bedside ultrasound compared with chest radiography for confirmation of central venous catheters in sufficient detail to reconstruct 2×2 contingency tables were reviewed. Primary outcomes included the accuracy of confirming catheter positioning and detecting a pneumothorax. Secondary outcomes included feasibility, inter-rater reliability, and efficiency to complete bedside ultrasound confirmation of central venous catheter position. Data Extraction Investigators abstracted study details including research design and sonographic imaging technique to detect catheter malposition and procedure-related pneumothorax. Diagnostic accuracy measures included pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio. Data Synthesis 15 studies with 1553 central venous catheter placements were identified with a pooled sensitivity and specificity of catheter malposition by ultrasound of 0.82 [0.77, 0.86] and 0.98 [0.97, 0.99] respectively. The pooled positive and negative likelihood ratios of catheter malposition by ultrasound were 31.12 [14.72, 65.78] and 0.25 [0.13, 0.47]. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound for pneumothorax detection was nearly 100% in the participating studies. Bedside ultrasound reduced mean central venous catheter confirmation time by 58.3 minutes. Risk of bias and clinical heterogeneity in the studies were high. Conclusions Bedside ultrasound is faster than radiography at identifying pneumothorax after central venous catheter insertion. When a central venous catheter malposition exists, bedside ultrasound will identify four out of every five earlier than chest radiography. PMID:27922877

40 CFR 81.243 - Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Central Minnesota Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.243 Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by...

40 CFR 81.243 - Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Central Minnesota Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.243 Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by...

40 CFR 81.243 - Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Central Minnesota Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.243 Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by...

40 CFR 81.243 - Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Central Minnesota Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.243 Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by...

40 CFR 81.243 - Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Central Minnesota Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.243 Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Minnesota Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by...

40 CFR 81.105 - South Central Pennsylvania Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false South Central Pennsylvania Intrastate... Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.105 South Central Pennsylvania Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The South Central Pennsylvania Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial...

40 CFR 81.157 - North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.157 North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area...

40 CFR 81.157 - North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.157 North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area...

40 CFR 81.157 - North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.157 North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area...

40 CFR 81.157 - North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.157 North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area...

40 CFR 81.157 - North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.157 North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The North Central Wisconsin Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area...

Surgical and nonsurgical interventions for vulvar and clitoral pain in girls and women living with female genital mutilation: A systematic review.

PubMed

Ezebialu, Ifeanyichukwu; Okafo, Obiamaka; Oringanje, Chukwudi; Ogbonna, Udoezuo; Udoh, Ekong; Odey, Friday; Meremikwu, Martin M

2017-02-01

Vulvar and clitoral pain are known complications of female genital mutilation (FGM). Several interventions have been used to treat these conditions. This review focuses on surgical and nonsurgical interventions to improve vulvar and clitoral pain in women living with FGM. To evaluate the impact of nonsurgical and surgical interventions for alleviating vulvar and clitoral pain in women living with any type of FGM and to assess the associated adverse events. The search included the following major databases: Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov. These were searched from inception until August 10, 2015 without any language restrictions. Study designs included randomized controlled trials, cluster randomized trials, nonrandomized trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, controlled before-and-after studies, historical control studies, and interrupted time series with reported data comparing outcomes among women with FGM who were treated for clitoral or vulvar pain with either surgical or nonsurgical interventions. Two team members independently screened studies for eligibility. No studies were included. Limited information exists on management of vulvar and clitoral pain in women living with FGM. This constitutes an important area for further research. CRD42015024521. © 2017 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.The World Health Organization retains copyright and all other rights in the manuscript of this article as submitted for publication.

EFFECTS OF INTERNAL LIMITING MEMBRANE PEELING COMBINED WITH REMOVAL OF IDIOPATHIC EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE: A Systematic Review of Literature and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Azuma, Kunihiro; Ueta, Takashi; Eguchi, Shuichiro; Aihara, Makoto

2017-10-01

To evaluate the effects on postoperative prognosis of internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling in conjunction with removal of idiopathic epiretinal membranes (ERMs). MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and EMBASE were systematically searched for studies that compared ILM peeling with no ILM peeling in surgery to remove idiopathic ERM. Outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity, central macular thickness, and ERM recurrence. Studies that compared ILM peeling with no ILM peeling for the treatment of idiopathic ERM were selected. Sixteen studies that included 1,286 eyes were selected. All the included studies were retrospective or prospective comparative studies; no randomized controlled study was identified. Baseline preoperative best-corrected visual acuity and central macular thickness were equal between ILM peeling and no ILM peeling groups. Postoperatively, there was no statistically significant difference in best-corrected visual acuity (mean difference 0.01 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [equivalent to 0.5 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letter]; 95% CI -0.05 to 0.07 [-3.5 to 2.5 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters]; P = 0.83) or central macular thickness (mean difference 13.13 μm; 95% CI -10.66 to 36.93; P = 0.28). However, the recurrence rate of ERM was significantly lower with ILM peeling than with no ILM peeling (odds ratio 0.25; 95% CI 0.12-0.49; P < 0.0001). Currently available evidence in the literature indicates that additional ILM peeling in vitrectomy for idiopathic ERM could result in a significantly lower ERM recurrence rate, but it does not significantly influence postoperative best-corrected visual acuity and central macular thickness.

Vertebrobasilar system computed tomographic angiography in central vertigo

PubMed Central

Paşaoğlu, Lale

2017-01-01

Abstract The incidence of vertigo in the population is 20% to 30% and one-fourth of the cases are related to central causes. The aim of this study was to evaluate computed tomography angiography (CTA) findings of the vertebrobasilar system in central vertigo without stroke. CTA and magnetic resonance images of patients with vertigo were retrospectively evaluated. One hundred twenty-nine patients suspected of having central vertigo according to history, physical examination, and otological and neurological tests without signs of infarction on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging were included in the study. The control group included 120 patients with similar vascular disease risk factors but without vertigo. Vertebral and basilar artery diameters, hypoplasias, exit-site variations of vertebral artery, vertebrobasilar tortuosity, and stenosis of ≥50% detected on CTA were recorded for all patients. Independent-samples t test was used in variables with normal distribution, and Mann–Whitney U test in non-normal distribution. The difference of categorical variable distribution according to groups was analyzed with χ2 and/or Fisher exact test. Vertebral artery hypoplasia and ≥50% stenosis were seen more often in the vertigo group (P = 0.000, <0.001). Overall 78 (60.5%) vertigo patients had ≥50% stenosis, 54 (69.2%) had stenosis at V1 segment, 9 (11.5%) at V2 segment, 2 (2.5%) at V3 segment, and 13 (16.6%) at V4 segment. Both vertigo and control groups had similar basilar artery hypoplasia and ≥50% stenosis rates (P = 0.800, >0.05). CTA may be helpful to clarify the association between abnormal CTA findings of vertebral arteries and central vertigo. This article reveals the opportunity to diagnose posterior circulation abnormalities causing central vertigo with a feasible method such as CTA. PMID:28328808

Vertebrobasilar system computed tomographic angiography in central vertigo.

PubMed

Paşaoğlu, Lale

2017-03-01

The incidence of vertigo in the population is 20% to 30% and one-fourth of the cases are related to central causes. The aim of this study was to evaluate computed tomography angiography (CTA) findings of the vertebrobasilar system in central vertigo without stroke.CTA and magnetic resonance images of patients with vertigo were retrospectively evaluated. One hundred twenty-nine patients suspected of having central vertigo according to history, physical examination, and otological and neurological tests without signs of infarction on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging were included in the study. The control group included 120 patients with similar vascular disease risk factors but without vertigo. Vertebral and basilar artery diameters, hypoplasias, exit-site variations of vertebral artery, vertebrobasilar tortuosity, and stenosis of ≥50% detected on CTA were recorded for all patients. Independent-samples t test was used in variables with normal distribution, and Mann-Whitney U test in non-normal distribution. The difference of categorical variable distribution according to groups was analyzed with χ and/or Fisher exact test.Vertebral artery hypoplasia and ≥50% stenosis were seen more often in the vertigo group (P = 0.000, <0.001). Overall 78 (60.5%) vertigo patients had ≥50% stenosis, 54 (69.2%) had stenosis at V1 segment, 9 (11.5%) at V2 segment, 2 (2.5%) at V3 segment, and 13 (16.6%) at V4 segment. Both vertigo and control groups had similar basilar artery hypoplasia and ≥50% stenosis rates (P = 0.800, >0.05).CTA may be helpful to clarify the association between abnormal CTA findings of vertebral arteries and central vertigo.This article reveals the opportunity to diagnose posterior circulation abnormalities causing central vertigo with a feasible method such as CTA.

The Central Nervous System and Bone Metabolism: An Evolving Story.

PubMed

Dimitri, Paul; Rosen, Cliff

2017-05-01

Our understanding of the control of skeletal metabolism has undergone a dynamic shift in the last two decades, primarily driven by our understanding of energy metabolism. Evidence demonstrating that leptin not only influences bone cells directly, but that it also plays a pivotal role in controlling bone mass centrally, opened up an investigative process that has changed the way in which skeletal metabolism is now perceived. Other central regulators of bone metabolism have since been identified including neuropeptide Y (NPY), serotonin, endocannabinoids, cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART), adiponectin, melatonin and neuromedin U, controlling osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation, proliferation and function. The sympathetic nervous system was originally identified as the predominant efferent pathway mediating central signalling to control skeleton metabolism, in part regulated through circadian genes. More recent evidence points to a role of the parasympathetic nervous system in the control of skeletal metabolism either through muscarinic influence of sympathetic nerves in the brain or directly via nicotinic receptors on osteoclasts, thus providing evidence for broader autonomic skeletal regulation. Sensory innervation of bone has also received focus again widening our understanding of the complex neuronal regulation of bone mass. Whilst scientific advance in this field of bone metabolism has been rapid, progress is still required to understand how these model systems work in relation to the multiple confounders influencing skeletal metabolism, and the relative balance in these neuronal systems required for skeletal growth and development in childhood and maintaining skeletal integrity in adulthood.

Genetic identification of the central nucleus and other components of the central extended amygdala in chicken during development

PubMed Central

Vicario, Alba; Abellán, Antonio; Desfilis, Ester; Medina, Loreta

2014-01-01

In mammals, the central extended amygdala shows a highly complex organization, and is essential for animal survival due to its implication in fear responses. However, many aspects of its evolution are still unknown, and this structure is especially poorly understood in birds. The aim of this study was to define the central extended amygdala in chicken, by means of a battery of region-specific transcription factors (Pax6, Islet1, Nkx2.1) and phenotypic markers that characterize these different subdivisions in mammals. Our results allowed the identification of at least six distinct subdivisions in the lateral part of the avian central extended amygdala: (1) capsular central subdivision; (2) a group of intercalated-like cell patches; (3) oval central nucleus; (4) peri-intrapeduncular (peri-INP) island field; (5) perioval zone; and (6) a rostral part of the subpallial extended amygdala. In addition, we identified three subdivisions of the laterodorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTLd) belonging to the medial region of the chicken central extended amygdala complex. Based on their genetic profile, cellular composition and apparent embryonic origin of the cells, we discuss the similarity of these different subdivisions of chicken with different parts of the mouse central amygdala and surrounding cell masses, including the intercalated amygdalar masses and the sublenticular part of the central extended amygdala. Most of the subdivisions include various subpopulations of cells that apparently originate in the dorsal striatal, ventral striatal, pallidal, and preoptic embryonic domains, reaching their final location by either radial or tangential migrations. Similarly to mammals, the central amygdala and BSTLd of chicken project to the hypothalamus, and include different neurons expressing proenkephalin, corticotropin-releasing factor, somatostatin or tyrosine hydroxylase, which may be involved in the control of different aspects of fear/anxiety-related behavior. PMID:25309337

Initial response of understory vegetation to three alternative thinning treatments

Treesearch

Liane R. Davis; Klaus J. Puettmann

2009-01-01

This study compares initial understory vegetation response among three thinning treatments and a control in 30 - to 50-year-old even-aged Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco (Douglas-fir) stands. It was conducted on four sites on the western slope of the central Oregon Cascades. Treatments included a control (no thinning), a light thinning, and...

Hopes for the Future of Pain Control.

PubMed

Bannister, Kirsty; Kucharczyk, Mateusz; Dickenson, Anthony H

2017-12-01

Here we aim to present an accessible review of the pharmacological targets for pain management, and succinctly discuss the newest trends in pain therapy. A key task for current pain pharmacotherapy is the identification of receptors and channels orchestrating nociception. Notwithstanding peripheral alterations in the receptors and channels following pathophysiological events, the modulatory mechanisms in the central nervous system are also fundamental to the regulation of pain perception. Bridging preclinical and clinical studies of peripheral and central components of pain modulation, we present the different types of pain and relate these to pharmacological interventions. We firstly highlight the roles of several peripheral nociceptors, such as NGF, CGRP, sodium channels, and TRP-family channels that may become novel targets for therapies. In the central nervous system, the roles of calcium channels and gabapentinoids as well as NMDA receptors in generating excitability are covered including ideas on central sensitization. We then turn to central modulatory systems and discuss opioids and monoamines. We aim to explain the importance of central sensitization and the dialogue of the spinal circuits with the brain descending modulatory controls before discussing a mechanism-based effectiveness of antidepressants in pain therapy and their potential to modulate the descending controls. Emphasizing the roles of conditioned pain modulation and its animal's equivalent, diffuse noxious inhibitory controls, we discuss these unique descending modulations as a potential tool for understanding mechanisms in patients suffering from pain. Mechanism-based therapy is the key to picking the correct treatments and recent clinical studies using sensory symptoms of patients as surrogates for underlying mechanisms can be used to subgroup patients and reveal actions of drugs that may be lost when studying heterogenous groups of patients. Key advances in the understanding of basic pain principles will impact our thinking about therapy targets. The complexity of pain syndromes will require tailored pharmacological drugs, often in combination or through drugs with more than one action, and often psychotherapy, to fully control pain.

A neural circuitry that emphasizes spinal feedback generates diverse behaviours of human locomotion

PubMed Central

Song, Seungmoon; Geyer, Hartmut

2015-01-01

Neural networks along the spinal cord contribute substantially to generating locomotion behaviours in humans and other legged animals. However, the neural circuitry involved in this spinal control remains unclear. We here propose a specific circuitry that emphasizes feedback integration over central pattern generation. The circuitry is based on neurophysiologically plausible muscle-reflex pathways that are organized in 10 spinal modules realizing limb functions essential to legged systems in stance and swing. These modules are combined with a supraspinal control layer that adjusts the desired foot placements and selects the leg that is to transition into swing control during double support. Using physics-based simulation, we test the proposed circuitry in a neuromuscular human model that includes neural transmission delays, musculotendon dynamics and compliant foot–ground contacts. We find that the control network is sufficient to compose steady and transitional 3-D locomotion behaviours including walking and running, acceleration and deceleration, slope and stair negotiation, turning, and deliberate obstacle avoidance. The results suggest feedback integration to be functionally more important than central pattern generation in human locomotion across behaviours. In addition, the proposed control architecture may serve as a guide in the search for the neurophysiological origin and circuitry of spinal control in humans. PMID:25920414

[Association between waist circumference and the prevalence/control of hypertension by gender and different body mass index classification in an urban elderly population].

PubMed

Wu, Lei; He, Yao; Jiang, Bin; Liu, Miao; Yang, Shanshan; Zeng, Jing; Wang, Yiyan; Wang, Jianhua; Zhang, Di

2015-12-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between waist circumference and the prevalence/control of hypertension in an urban elderly population. From September 2009 to June 2010, a population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Wanshoulu area of Beijing, China. A total of 2 035 elderly (828 male, 1 207 females) participants aged ≥60 years from a community were included in this study for data analysis. We found that the increased waist circumference could significantly increase the risk of prevalence and poor control of hypertension, with the adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) as 1.04 (1.01-1.08) and 0.96 (0.92-1.00) , respectively. Among those identified pure central obesity females (64.7%) , the prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher than those females with normal body mass index (BMI) or with normal waist circumference (52.2%). The adjusted odds ratio (95%CI) between the above said groups appeared as 1.58 (1.07-2.32). The control rate of hypertension among females (32.9%) with pure central obesity, was lower than that of the females with normal BMI and waist circumference (43.5%) , with an adjusted odds ratio (95%CI) as 0.62 (0.37-1.04, P=0.071). There appeared significant association between people with pure central obesity and the increased risk of prevalence or with poor control of hypertension. More attention should be paid to both the prevalence and control of hypertension programs among females with pure central obesity.

40 CFR 81.127 - Central New York Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Central New York Intrastate Air... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.127 Central New York Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central New York Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by the...

40 CFR 81.95 - Central Florida Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.95 Central Florida Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Florida Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by the boundaries of the... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Central Florida Intrastate Air Quality...

40 CFR 81.95 - Central Florida Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.95 Central Florida Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Florida Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by the boundaries of the... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Central Florida Intrastate Air Quality...

Control Centrality and Hierarchical Structure in Complex Networks

PubMed Central

Liu, Yang-Yu; Slotine, Jean-Jacques; Barabási, Albert-László

2012-01-01

We introduce the concept of control centrality to quantify the ability of a single node to control a directed weighted network. We calculate the distribution of control centrality for several real networks and find that it is mainly determined by the network’s degree distribution. We show that in a directed network without loops the control centrality of a node is uniquely determined by its layer index or topological position in the underlying hierarchical structure of the network. Inspired by the deep relation between control centrality and hierarchical structure in a general directed network, we design an efficient attack strategy against the controllability of malicious networks. PMID:23028542

The descriptive epidemiology of gastric cancer in Central America and comparison with United States Hispanic populations.

PubMed

Corral, Juan E; Delgado Hurtado, Juan J; Domínguez, Ricardo L; Valdez de Cuéllar, Marisabel; Balmore Cruz, Carlos; Morgan, Douglas R

2015-03-01

The aims of this study were to delineate the epidemiology of gastric adenocarcinoma in Central America and contrast it with Hispanic-Latino populations in the USA. Published literature and Central America Ministry of Health databases were used as primary data sources, including national, population-based, and hospital-based registries. US data was obtained from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Epidemiology End Results Program (SEER) registry. Incident gastric adenocarcinoma cases were analyzed for available data between 1985 and 2011, including demographic variables and pathology information. In Central America, 19,741 incident gastric adenocarcinomas were identified. Two thirds of the cases were male, 20.5 % were under age 55, and 58.5 %were from rural areas. In the SEER database (n = 7871), 57.8 % were male and 28.9 % were under age 55. Among the US Hispanics born in Central America with gastric cancer (n = 1210), 50.3 % of cases were male and 38.1 % were under age 55. Non-cardia gastric cancer was more common in Central America (83.3 %), among US Hispanics (80.2 %), and Hispanics born in Central America (86.3 %). Cancers of the antrum were more common in Central America (73.6 %), whereas cancers of the corpus were slightly more common among US Hispanics (54.0 %). Adenocarcinoma of the diffuse subtype was relatively common, both in Central America (35.7 %) and US Hispanics (69.5 %), although Lauren classification was reported in only 50 % of cases. A significant burden of gastric adenocarcinoma is observed in Central America based upon limited available data. Differences are noted between Central America and US Hispanics. Strengthening population-based registries is needed for improved cancer control in Central America, which may have implications for the growing US Hispanic population.

SPARK GAP SWITCH

DOEpatents

Neal, R.B.

1957-12-17

An improved triggered spark gap switch is described, capable of precisely controllable firing time while switching very large amounts of power. The invention in general comprises three electrodes adjustably spaced and adapted to have a large potential impressed between the outer electrodes. The central electrode includes two separate elements electrically connected togetaer and spaced apart to define a pair of spark gaps between the end electrodes. Means are provided to cause the gas flow in the switch to pass towards the central electrode, through a passage in each separate element, and out an exit disposed between the two separate central electrode elements in order to withdraw ions from the spark gap.

Central control of cardiorespiratory interactions in fish.

PubMed

Taylor, Edwin W; Leite, Cleo A C; Levings, Jennifer J

2009-01-01

Fish control the relative flow rates of water and blood over the gills in order to optimise respiratory gas exchange. As both flows are markedly pulsatile, close beat-to-beat relationships can be predicted. Cardiorespiratory interactions in fish are controlled primarily by activity in the parasympathetic nervous system that has its origin in cardiac vagal preganglionic neurons. Recordings of efferent activity in the cardiac vagus include units firing in respiration-related bursts. Bursts of electrical stimuli delivered peripherally to the cardiac vagus or centrally to respiratory branches of cranial nerves can recruit the heart over a range of frequencies. So, phasic, efferent activity in cardiac vagi, that in the intact fish are respiration-related, can cause heart rate to be modulated by the respiratory rhythm. In elasmobranch fishes this phasic activity seems to arise primarily from central feed-forward interactions with respiratory motor neurones that have overlapping distributions with cardiac neurons in the brainstem. In teleost fish, they arise from increased levels of efferent vagal activity arising from reflex stimulation of chemoreceptors and mechanoreceptors in the orobranchial cavity. However, these differences are largely a matter of emphasis as both groups show elements of feed-forward and feed-back control of cardiorespiratory interactions.

Therapeutic Plasma Transfusion in Bleeding Patients: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Levy, Jerrold H; Grottke, Oliver; Fries, Dietmar; Kozek-Langenecker, Sibylle

2017-04-01

Plasma products, including fresh frozen plasma, are administered extensively in a variety of settings from massive transfusion to vitamin K antagonist reversal. Despite the widespread use of plasma as a hemostatic agent in bleeding patients, its effect in comparison with other available choices of hemostatic therapies is unclear. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and databases of ongoing trials for randomized controlled trials that assessed the efficacy and/or safety of therapeutic plasma as an intervention to treat bleeding patients compared with other interventions or placebo. Of 1243 unique publications retrieved in our initial search, no randomized controlled trials were identified. Four nonrandomized studies described the effect of therapeutic plasma in bleeding patients; however, data gathered from these studies did not allow for comparison with other therapeutic interventions primarily as a result of the low number of patients and the use of different (or lack of) comparators. We identified two ongoing trials investigating the efficacy and safety of therapeutic plasma, respectively; however, no data have been released as yet. Although plasma is used extensively in the treatment of bleeding patients, evidence from randomized controlled trials comparing its effect with those of other therapeutic interventions is currently lacking.

IMPAC: An Integrated Methodology for Propulsion and Airframe Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garg, Sanjay; Ouzts, Peter J.; Lorenzo, Carl F.; Mattern, Duane L.

1991-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is actively involved in the development of enabling technologies that will lead towards aircraft with new/enhanced maneuver capabilities such as Short Take-Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) and high angle of attack performance. Because of the high degree of dynamic coupling between the airframe and propulsion systems of these types of aircraft, one key technology is the integration of the flight and propulsion control. The NASA Lewis Research Center approach to developing Integrated Flight Propulsion Control (IFPC) technologies is an in-house research program referred to as IMPAC (Integrated Methodology for Propulsion and Airframe Control). The goals of IMPAC are to develop a viable alternative to the existing integrated control design methodologies that will allow for improved system performance and simplicity of control law synthesis and implementation, and to demonstrate the applicability of the methodology to a supersonic STOVL fighter aircraft. Based on some preliminary control design studies that included evaluation of the existing methodologies, the IFPC design methodology that is emerging at the Lewis Research Center consists of considering the airframe and propulsion system as one integrated system for an initial centralized controller design and then partitioning the centralized controller into separate airframe and propulsion system subcontrollers to ease implementation and to set meaningful design requirements for detailed subsystem control design and evaluation. An overview of IMPAC is provided and detailed discussion of the various important design and evaluation steps in the methodology are included.

Improved usability of a multi-infusion setup using a centralized control interface: A task-based usability test

PubMed Central

Cnossen, Fokie; Dieperink, Willem; Bult, Wouter; de Smet, Anne Marie; Touw, Daan J.; Nijsten, Maarten W.

2017-01-01

The objective of this study was to assess the usability benefits of adding a bedside central control interface that controls all intravenous (IV) infusion pumps compared to the conventional individual control of multiple infusion pumps. Eighteen dedicated ICU nurses volunteered in a between-subjects task-based usability test. A newly developed central control interface was compared to conventional control of multiple infusion pumps in a simulated ICU setting. Task execution time, clicks, errors and questionnaire responses were evaluated. Overall the central control interface outperformed the conventional control in terms of fewer user actions (40±3 vs. 73±20 clicks, p<0.001) and fewer user errors (1±1 vs. 3±2 errors, p<0.05), with no difference in task execution times (421±108 vs. 406±119 seconds, not significant). Questionnaires indicated a significant preference for the central control interface. Despite being novice users of the central control interface, ICU nurses displayed improved performance with the central control interface compared to the conventional interface they were familiar with. We conclude that the new user interface has an overall better usability than the conventional interface. PMID:28800617

Improved usability of a multi-infusion setup using a centralized control interface: A task-based usability test.

PubMed

Doesburg, Frank; Cnossen, Fokie; Dieperink, Willem; Bult, Wouter; de Smet, Anne Marie; Touw, Daan J; Nijsten, Maarten W

2017-01-01

The objective of this study was to assess the usability benefits of adding a bedside central control interface that controls all intravenous (IV) infusion pumps compared to the conventional individual control of multiple infusion pumps. Eighteen dedicated ICU nurses volunteered in a between-subjects task-based usability test. A newly developed central control interface was compared to conventional control of multiple infusion pumps in a simulated ICU setting. Task execution time, clicks, errors and questionnaire responses were evaluated. Overall the central control interface outperformed the conventional control in terms of fewer user actions (40±3 vs. 73±20 clicks, p<0.001) and fewer user errors (1±1 vs. 3±2 errors, p<0.05), with no difference in task execution times (421±108 vs. 406±119 seconds, not significant). Questionnaires indicated a significant preference for the central control interface. Despite being novice users of the central control interface, ICU nurses displayed improved performance with the central control interface compared to the conventional interface they were familiar with. We conclude that the new user interface has an overall better usability than the conventional interface.

Ghrelin action in the brain controls adipocyte metabolism

PubMed Central

Theander-Carrillo, Claudia; Wiedmer, Petra; Cettour-Rose, Philippe; Nogueiras, Ruben; Perez-Tilve, Diego; Pfluger, Paul; Castaneda, Tamara R.; Muzzin, Patrick; Schürmann, Annette; Szanto, Ildiko; Tschöp, Matthias H.; Rohner-Jeanrenaud, Françoise

2006-01-01

Many homeostatic processes, including appetite and food intake, are controlled by neuroendocrine circuits involving the CNS. The CNS also directly regulates adipocyte metabolism, as we have shown here by examining central action of the orexigenic hormone ghrelin. Chronic central ghrelin infusion resulted in increases in the glucose utilization rate of white and brown adipose tissue without affecting skeletal muscle. In white adipocytes, mRNA expression of various fat storage–promoting enzymes such as lipoprotein lipase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase α, fatty acid synthase, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase–1 was markedly increased, while that of the rate-limiting step in fat oxidation, carnitine palmitoyl transferase–1α, was decreased. In brown adipocytes, central ghrelin infusion resulted in lowered expression of the thermogenesis-related mitochondrial uncoupling proteins 1 and 3. These ghrelin effects were dose dependent, occurred independently from ghrelin-induced hyperphagia, and seemed to be mediated by the sympathetic nervous system. Additionally, the expression of some fat storage enzymes was decreased in ghrelin-deficient mice, which led us to conclude that central ghrelin is of physiological relevance in the control of cell metabolism in adipose tissue. These results unravel the existence of what we believe to be a new CNS-based neuroendocrine circuit regulating metabolic homeostasis of adipose tissue. PMID:16767221

Structurally Controlled Geothermal Systems in the Central Cascades Arc-Backarc Regime, Oregon

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

Wannamaker, Philip E.

The goal of this project has been to analyze available magnetotelluric (MT) geophysical surveys, structural geology based on mapping and LiDAR, and fluid geochemical data, to identify high-temperature fluid upwellings, critically stressed rock volumes, and other evidence of structurally-controlled geothermal resources. Data were to be integrated to create conceptual models of volcanic-hosted geothermal resources along the Central Cascades arc segment, especially in the vicinity of Mt. Jefferson to Three Sisters. LiDAR data sets available at Oregon State University (OSU) allowed detailed structural geology modeling through forest canopy. Copious spring and well fluid chemistries, including isotopes, were modeled using Geo-T andmore » TOUGHREACT software.« less

Predicting the Impacts of Climate Change on Central American Agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winter, J. M.; Ruane, A. C.; Rosenzweig, C.

2011-12-01

Agriculture is a vital component of Central America's economy. Poor crop yields and harvest reliability can produce food insecurity, malnutrition, and conflict. Regional climate models (RCMs) and agricultural models have the potential to greatly enhance the efficiency of Central American agriculture and water resources management under both current and future climates. A series of numerical experiments was conducted using Regional Climate Model Version 3 (RegCM3) and the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) to evaluate the ability of RCMs to reproduce the current climate of Central America and assess changes in temperature and precipitation under multiple future climate scenarios. Control simulations were thoroughly compared to a variety of observational datasets, including local weather station data, gridded meteorological data, and high-resolution satellite-based precipitation products. Future climate simulations were analyzed for both mean shifts in climate and changes in climate variability, including extreme events (droughts, heat waves, floods). To explore the impacts of changing climate on maize, bean, and rice yields in Central America, RCM output was used to force the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer Model (DSSAT). These results were synthesized to create climate change impacts predictions for Central American agriculture that explicitly account for evolving distributions of precipitation and temperature extremes.

[Multidimensional Strategy Regarding the Reduction of Central-Line Associated Infection in Pediatric Intensive Care].

PubMed

Rodrigues, Jorge; Dias, Andrea; Oliveira, Guiomar; Farela Neves, José

2016-06-01

To determine the central-line associated bloodstream infection rate after implementation of central venous catheter-care practice bundles and guidelines and to compare it with the previous central-line associated bloodstream infection rate. A prospective, longitudinal, observational descriptive study with an exploratory component was performed in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit during five months. The universe was composed of every child admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit who inserted a central venous catheter. A comparative study with historical controls was performed to evaluate the result of the intervention (group 1 versus group 2). Seventy five children were included, with a median age of 23 months: 22 (29.3%) newborns; 28 (37.3%) with recent surgery and 32 (43.8%) with underlying illness. A total of 105 central venous catheter were inserted, the majority a single central venous catheter (69.3%), with a mean duration of 6.8 ± 6.7 days. The most common type of central venous catheter was the short-term, non-tunneled central venous catheter (45.7%), while the subclavian and brachial flexure veins were the most frequent insertion sites (both 25.7%). There were no cases of central-line associated bloodstream infection reported during this study. Comparing with historical controls (group 1), both groups were similar regarding age, gender, department of origin and place of central venous catheter insertion. In the current study (group 2), the median length of stay was higher, while the mean duration of central venous catheter (excluding peripherally inserted central line) was similar in both groups. There were no statistical differences regarding central venous catheter caliber and number of lumens. Fewer children admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit had central venous catheter inserted in group 2, with no significant difference between single or multiple central venous catheter. After multidimensional strategy implementation there was no reported central-line associated bloodstream infection Conclusions: Efforts must be made to preserve the same degree of multidimensional prevention, in order to confirm the effective reduction of the central-line associated bloodstream infection rate and to allow its maintenance.

Framework and Method for Controlling a Robotic System Using a Distributed Computer Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanders, Adam M. (Inventor); Strawser, Philip A. (Inventor); Barajas, Leandro G. (Inventor); Permenter, Frank Noble (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A robotic system for performing an autonomous task includes a humanoid robot having a plurality of compliant robotic joints, actuators, and other integrated system devices that are controllable in response to control data from various control points, and having sensors for measuring feedback data at the control points. The system includes a multi-level distributed control framework (DCF) for controlling the integrated system components over multiple high-speed communication networks. The DCF has a plurality of first controllers each embedded in a respective one of the integrated system components, e.g., the robotic joints, a second controller coordinating the components via the first controllers, and a third controller for transmitting a signal commanding performance of the autonomous task to the second controller. The DCF virtually centralizes all of the control data and the feedback data in a single location to facilitate control of the robot across the multiple communication networks.

3 CFR - Eligibility of the Economic Community of Central African States To Receive Defense Articles and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., as Amended, and the Arms Export Control Act, as Amended Presidential Documents Other Presidential... Assistance Act of 1961, as Amended, and the Arms Export Control Act, as Amended Memorandum for the Secretary..., including section 503(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and section 3(a)(1) of the Arms...

Programmable Direct-Memory-Access Controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hendry, David F.

1990-01-01

Proposed programmable direct-memory-access controller (DMAC) operates with computer systems of 32000 series, which have 32-bit data buses and use addresses of 24 (or potentially 32) bits. Controller functions with or without help of central processing unit (CPU) and starts itself. Includes such advanced features as ability to compare two blocks of memory for equality and to search block of memory for specific value. Made as single very-large-scale integrated-circuit chip.

40 CFR 81.104 - Central Pennsylvania Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Quality Control Region. 81.104 Section 81.104 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.104 Central Pennsylvania Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Pennsylvania Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by...

40 CFR 81.104 - Central Pennsylvania Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Region. 81.104 Section 81.104 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Air Quality Control Regions § 81.104 Central Pennsylvania Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Pennsylvania Intrastate Air Quality Control Region consists of the territorial area encompassed by...

Central neural pathways for thermoregulation

PubMed Central

Morrison, Shaun F.; Nakamura, Kazuhiro

2010-01-01

Central neural circuits orchestrate a homeostatic repertoire to maintain body temperature during environmental temperature challenges and to alter body temperature during the inflammatory response. This review summarizes the functional organization of the neural pathways through which cutaneous thermal receptors alter thermoregulatory effectors: the cutaneous circulation for heat loss, the brown adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and heart for thermogenesis and species-dependent mechanisms (sweating, panting and saliva spreading) for evaporative heat loss. These effectors are regulated by parallel but distinct, effector-specific neural pathways that share a common peripheral thermal sensory input. The thermal afferent circuits include cutaneous thermal receptors, spinal dorsal horn neurons and lateral parabrachial nucleus neurons projecting to the preoptic area to influence warm-sensitive, inhibitory output neurons which control thermogenesis-promoting neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamus that project to premotor neurons in the rostral ventromedial medulla, including the raphe pallidus, that descend to provide the excitation necessary to drive thermogenic thermal effectors. A distinct population of warm-sensitive preoptic neurons controls heat loss through an inhibitory input to raphe pallidus neurons controlling cutaneous vasoconstriction. PMID:21196160

Low-profile heliostat design for solar central receiver systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fourakis, E.; Severson, A. M.

1977-01-01

Heliostat designs intended to reduce costs and the effect of adverse wind loads on the devices were developed. Included was the low-profile heliostat consisting of a stiff frame with sectional focusing reflectors coupled together to turn as a unit. The entire frame is arranged to turn angularly about a center point. The ability of the heliostat to rotate about both the vertical and horizontal axes permits a central computer control system to continuously aim the sun's reflection onto a selected target. An engineering model of the basic device was built and is being tested. Control and mirror parameters, such as roughness and need for fine aiming, are being studied. The fabrication of these prototypes is in process. The model was also designed to test mirror focusing techniques, heliostat geometry, mechanical functioning, and tracking control. The model can be easily relocated to test mirror imaging on a tower from various directions. In addition to steering and aiming studies, the tests include the effects of temperature changes, wind gusting and weathering. The results of economic studies on this heliostat are also presented.

Clinical relevance of retinal structure in children with laser-treated retinopathy of prematurity versus controls - using optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Stoica, Florina; Chirita-Emandi, Adela; Andreescu, Nicoleta; Stanciu, Alina; Zimbru, Cristian G; Puiu, Maria

2018-03-01

We aimed to assess the macular anatomy using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), in children born preterm who had laser-treated retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and to investigate the relationship between structural changes in macula and visual function. Thirty-seven 3-8 years old children were included in the study in two groups: 20 children born preterm [(<34 weeks of gestation, birthweight (BW) <2000 g)] who had laser-treated ROP in the Neonatology Department, Municipal Clinical Emergency Hospital of Timisoara, Romania; and 17 controls (children born at term, without eye disease, matched for age and gender). Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) imaging (Spectralis OCT) was performed at central fovea and 1 mm nasally. In the ROP group (total 34 eyes), we included both eyes in 14 children, and on one eye in six other children. In the control group, both eyes for all 17 children were included. Central fovea thickness (CFT) was significantly higher in children born preterm and with laser-treated ROP as compared to controls (275 ± 34.8 μm versus 224 ± 27.2 μm; p < 0.001). The laser-treated eyes with ROP had mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) = 0.19 logMAR (20/31 Snellen); 35% had BCVA ≥0.3 logMAR (20/40 Snellen). In receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, with BCVA as static variable (category 0 = BCVA ≤0.3 logMAR), the CFT cut-off was 257 μm (sensitivity: 0.917; specificity: 0.661; area under the curve: 0.810, p = 0.001). Years after the laser intervention, central fovea was significantly thicker in ROP laser-treated children born preterm when compared to controls. Central fovea thickness (CFT) correlated strongly and inversely with BW and gestational age (GA) at birth, while a CFT value above 257 μm was suggestive for suboptimal visual acuity. The proposed cut-off value needs to be validated in future larger studies. © 2017 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Diagnosed a Patient with Central Serous Chorioretinopathy? Now What?: Management of Central Serous Chorioretinopathy.

PubMed

Goldhagen, Brian E; Goldhardt, Raquel

2017-06-01

The goal of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the management options for central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). The majority of cases of acute CSCR may be managed with observation and cessation of corticosteroids, if possible, as well as life-style modifications including stress reduction and control of hypertension. The management of chronic disease is more challenging and may include either medication or laser-based treatment. Management of CSCR necessitates an individualized and selective treatment approach. There is overall poor evidence for the use of systemic and intravitreal medications. From this class of treatments, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists appear to have the greatest potential. Although conventional thermal photocoagulation may be used in select cases, the most promising treatment options at this time for chronic CSCR are photodynamic therapy, either half-dose or half-fluence, and non-damaging (subthreshold) retinal laser therapy.

Physical examination of dizziness in athletes after a concussion: A descriptive study.

PubMed

Reneker, Jennifer C; Cheruvu, Vinay K; Yang, Jingzhen; James, Mark A; Cook, Chad E

2018-04-01

Dizziness is commonly reported after concussion. With the forces experienced at the time of the injury, several anatomical locations may have been altered, causing dizziness. Describe an objective examination and the types of impairment/dysfunction implicated by the results of clinical examination tests in subjects with dizziness after a concussion. Cross-Sectional. Athletes between ages 10-23 were enrolled with a diagnosis of concussion. An examination was completed to identify areas potentially contributing to dizziness, including tests of oculomotor control, the vestibular system, neuromotor control, and musculoskeletal components of the cervical spine. Descriptive analyses were completed to define the anatomical areas/types of dysfunction identified by positive findings of the examination tests. All (n = 41; 100%) subjects had examination findings consistent with central dysfunction. Of these, 36 (97.8%) had oculomotor control deficits; 29 (70.7%) demonstrated motion sensitivity; and 6 (15%) had central vestibular deficits. Nineteen (46.3%) had peripheral dysfunction, including 18 (43.9%) with unilateral hypofunction, and 2 (4.9%) with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Thirty-four (82.9%) had cervical dysfunction, with 11 (26.8%) presenting with cervicogenic dizziness, and 31 (75.6%) with altered neuromotor control. Functional injury to centrally-mediated pathways, specifically oculomotor control, and afferent and efferent pathways in the cervical spine are commonly identified through clinical examination tests in individuals with a complaint of dizziness post-concussion. According to results presented here, a high majority (90%) of the participants demonstrated dizziness that appeared to be multifactorial in nature and was not attributable to one main type of dysfunction. The common pathways between the systems make it difficult to isolate only one anatomical area as a contributor to dizziness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Information system equality for food security--implementation of the food safety control system in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chen, Shaun C; Hsu, Guoo-Shyng Wang; Chiu, Chihwei P

2009-01-01

Food security plays a central role in governing agricultural policies in Taiwan. In addition to overuse or the illegal use of pesticide, meat leanness promoters, animal drugs and melamine in the food supply; as well as foodborne illness draws the greatest public concern due to incidents that occur every year in Taiwan. The present report demonstrates the implementation of a food safety control system in Taiwan. In order to control foodborne outbreaks effectively, the central government of the Department of Health of Taiwan launched the food safety control system which includes both the good hygienic practice (GHP) and the HACCP plan, in the last decade. From 1998 to the present, 302 food affiliations that implemented the system have been validated and accredited by a well-established audit system. The implementation of a food safety control system in compliance with international standards is of crucial importance to ensure complete safety and the high quality of foods, not only for domestic markets, but also for international trade.

Using Microcomputers to Manage Grants.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Jonathan L.; And Others

1982-01-01

Features of microcomputer systems and software that can be useful in administration of research grants are outlined, including immediacy of reporting, flexibility, accurate balance availability, useful coding, accurate payroll control, and forecasting capabilities. These are contrasted with the less flexible centralized computer operation. (MSE)

Nerve conduction studies are safe in patients with central venous catheters.

PubMed

London, Zachary N; Mundwiler, Andrew; Oral, Hakan; Gallagher, Gary W

2017-08-01

It is unknown if central venous catheters bypass the skin's electrical resistance and engender a risk of nerve conduction study-induced cardiac arrhythmia. The objective of this study is to determine if nerve conduction studies affect cardiac conduction and rhythm in patients with central venous catheters. Under continuous 12-lead electrocardiogram monitoring, subjects with and without central venous catheters underwent a series of upper extremity nerve conduction studies. A cardiologist reviewed the electrocardiogram tracings for evidence of cardiac conduction abnormality or arrhythmia. Ten control subjects and 10 subjects with central venous catheters underwent the nerve conduction study protocol. No malignant arrhythmias or conduction abnormalities were noted in either group. Nerve conduction studies of the upper extremities, including both proximal stimulation and repetitive stimulation, do not appear to confer increased risk of cardiac conduction abnormality in those patients with central venous catheters who are not critically ill or have a prior history of arrhythmia. Muscle Nerve 56: 321-323, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Changing concepts in long-term central venous access: catheter selection and cost savings.

PubMed

Horattas, M C; Trupiano, J; Hopkins, S; Pasini, D; Martino, C; Murty, A

2001-02-01

Long-term central venous access is becoming an increasingly important component of health care today. Long-term central venous access is important therapeutically for a multitude of reasons, including the administration of chemotherapy, antibiotics, and total parenteral nutrition. Central venous access can be established in a variety of ways varying from catheters inserted at the bedside to surgically placed ports. Furthermore, in an effort to control costs, many traditionally inpatient therapies have moved to an outpatient setting. This raises many questions regarding catheter selection. Which catheter will result in the best outcome at the least cost? It has become apparent in our hospital that traditionally placed surgical catheters (ie, Hickmans and central venous ports) may no longer be the only options. The objective of this study was to explore the various modalities for establishing central venous access comparing indications, costs, and complications to guide the clinician in choosing the appropriate catheter with the best outcome at the least cost. We evaluated our institution's central venous catheter use during a 3-year period from 1995 through 1997. Data was obtained retrospectively through chart review. In addition to demographic data, specific information regarding catheter type, placement technique, indications, complications, and catheter history were recorded. Cost data were obtained from several departments including surgery, radiology, nursing, anesthesia, pharmacy, and the hospital purchasing department. During a 30-month period, 684 attempted central venous catheter insertions were identified, including 126 surgically placed central venous catheters, 264 peripherally inserted central catheters by the nursing service, and 294 radiologically inserted peripheral ports. Overall complications were rare but tended to be more severe in the surgical group. Relative cost differences between the groups were significant. Charges for peripherally inserted central catheters were $401 per procedure, compared with $3870 for radiologically placed peripheral ports and $3532 to $4296 for surgically placed catheters. Traditional surgically placed central catheters are increasingly being replaced by peripherally inserted central venous access devices. Significant cost savings and fewer severe complications can be realized by preferential use of peripherally inserted central catheters when clinically indicated. Cost savings may not be as significant when comparing radiologically placed versus surgically placed catheters. However, significant cost savings and fewer severe complications are associated with peripheral central venous access versus the surgical or radiologic approach.

Neural control and adaptive neural forward models for insect-like, energy-efficient, and adaptable locomotion of walking machines

PubMed Central

Manoonpong, Poramate; Parlitz, Ulrich; Wörgötter, Florentin

2013-01-01

Living creatures, like walking animals, have found fascinating solutions for the problem of locomotion control. Their movements show the impression of elegance including versatile, energy-efficient, and adaptable locomotion. During the last few decades, roboticists have tried to imitate such natural properties with artificial legged locomotion systems by using different approaches including machine learning algorithms, classical engineering control techniques, and biologically-inspired control mechanisms. However, their levels of performance are still far from the natural ones. By contrast, animal locomotion mechanisms seem to largely depend not only on central mechanisms (central pattern generators, CPGs) and sensory feedback (afferent-based control) but also on internal forward models (efference copies). They are used to a different degree in different animals. Generally, CPGs organize basic rhythmic motions which are shaped by sensory feedback while internal models are used for sensory prediction and state estimations. According to this concept, we present here adaptive neural locomotion control consisting of a CPG mechanism with neuromodulation and local leg control mechanisms based on sensory feedback and adaptive neural forward models with efference copies. This neural closed-loop controller enables a walking machine to perform a multitude of different walking patterns including insect-like leg movements and gaits as well as energy-efficient locomotion. In addition, the forward models allow the machine to autonomously adapt its locomotion to deal with a change of terrain, losing of ground contact during stance phase, stepping on or hitting an obstacle during swing phase, leg damage, and even to promote cockroach-like climbing behavior. Thus, the results presented here show that the employed embodied neural closed-loop system can be a powerful way for developing robust and adaptable machines. PMID:23408775

Electric Water Heater Modeling and Control Strategies for Demand Response

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

Diao, Ruisheng; Lu, Shuai; Elizondo, Marcelo A.

2012-07-22

Abstract— Demand response (DR) has a great potential to provide balancing services at normal operating conditions and emergency support when a power system is subject to disturbances. Effective control strategies can significantly relieve the balancing burden of conventional generators and reduce investment on generation and transmission expansion. This paper is aimed at modeling electric water heaters (EWH) in households and tests their response to control strategies to implement DR. The open-loop response of EWH to a centralized signal is studied by adjusting temperature settings to provide regulation services; and two types of decentralized controllers are tested to provide frequency supportmore » following generator trips. EWH models are included in a simulation platform in DIgSILENT to perform electromechanical simulation, which contains 147 households in a distribution feeder. Simulation results show the dependence of EWH response on water heater usage . These results provide insight suggestions on the need of control strategies to achieve better performance for demand response implementation. Index Terms— Centralized control, decentralized control, demand response, electrical water heater, smart grid« less

40 CFR 81.219 - Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality... Quality Control Regions § 81.219 Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Oregon... outermost boundaries of the area so delimited): In the State of Oregon: Crook County, Deschutes County, Hood...

40 CFR 81.219 - Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality... Quality Control Regions § 81.219 Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Oregon... outermost boundaries of the area so delimited): In the State of Oregon: Crook County, Deschutes County, Hood...

40 CFR 81.219 - Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality... Quality Control Regions § 81.219 Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Oregon... outermost boundaries of the area so delimited): In the State of Oregon: Crook County, Deschutes County, Hood...

40 CFR 81.219 - Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 18 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality... Quality Control Regions § 81.219 Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Oregon... outermost boundaries of the area so delimited): In the State of Oregon: Crook County, Deschutes County, Hood...

40 CFR 81.219 - Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality... Quality Control Regions § 81.219 Central Oregon Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Central Oregon... outermost boundaries of the area so delimited): In the State of Oregon: Crook County, Deschutes County, Hood...

Rumination, event centrality, and perceived control as predictors of post-traumatic growth and distress: The Cognitive Growth and Stress model.

PubMed

Brooks, Matthew; Graham-Kevan, Nicola; Lowe, Michelle; Robinson, Sarita

2017-09-01

The Cognitive Growth and Stress (CGAS) model draws together cognitive processing factors previously untested into a single model. Intrusive rumination, deliberate rumination, present and future perceptions of control, and event centrality were assessed as predictors of post-traumatic growth (PTG) and post-traumatic stress (PTS). The CGAS model is tested on a sample of survivors (N = 250) of a diverse range of adverse events using structural equation modelling techniques. Overall, the best fitting model was supportive of the theorized relations between cognitive constructs and accounted for 30% of the variance in PTG and 68% of the variance in PTS across the sample. Rumination, centrality, and perceived control factors are significant determinants of positive and negative psychological change across the wide spectrum of adversarial events. In its first phase of development, the CGAS model also provides further evidence of the distinct processes of growth and distress following adversity. Clinical implications People can experience positive change after adversity, regardless of life background or types of events experienced. While growth and distress are possible outcomes after adversity, they occur through distinct processes. Support or intervention should consider rumination, event centrality, and perceived control factors to enhance psychological well-being. Cautions/limitations Longitudinal research would further clarify the findings found in this study. Further extension of the model is recommended to include other viable cognitive processes implicated in the development of positive and negative changes after adversity. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

A Direct Comparison of Local-Global Integration in Autism and other Developmental Disorders: Implications for the Central Coherence Hypothesis

PubMed Central

Bernardino, Inês; Mouga, Susana; Almeida, Joana; van Asselen, Marieke; Oliveira, Guiomar; Castelo-Branco, Miguel

2012-01-01

The weak central coherence hypothesis represents one of the current explanatory models in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Several experimental paradigms based on hierarchical figures have been used to test this controversial account. We addressed this hypothesis by testing central coherence in ASD (n = 19 with intellectual disability and n = 20 without intellectual disability), Williams syndrome (WS, n = 18), matched controls with intellectual disability (n = 20) and chronological age-matched controls (n = 20). We predicted that central coherence should be most impaired in ASD for the weak central coherence account to hold true. An alternative account includes dorsal stream dysfunction which dominates in WS. Central coherence was first measured by requiring subjects to perform local/global preference judgments using hierarchical figures under 6 different experimental settings (memory and perception tasks with 3 distinct geometries with and without local/global manipulations). We replicated these experiments under 4 additional conditions (memory/perception*local/global) in which subjects reported the correct local or global configurations. Finally, we used a visuoconstructive task to measure local/global perceptual interference. WS participants were the most impaired in central coherence whereas ASD participants showed a pattern of coherence loss found in other studies only in four task conditions favoring local analysis but it tended to disappear when matching for intellectual disability. We conclude that abnormal central coherence does not provide a comprehensive explanation of ASD deficits and is more prominent in populations, namely WS, characterized by strongly impaired dorsal stream functioning and other phenotypic traits that contrast with the autistic phenotype. Taken together these findings suggest that other mechanisms such as dorsal stream deficits (largest in WS) may underlie impaired central coherence. PMID:22724001

A direct comparison of local-global integration in autism and other developmental disorders: implications for the central coherence hypothesis.

PubMed

Bernardino, Inês; Mouga, Susana; Almeida, Joana; van Asselen, Marieke; Oliveira, Guiomar; Castelo-Branco, Miguel

2012-01-01

The weak central coherence hypothesis represents one of the current explanatory models in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Several experimental paradigms based on hierarchical figures have been used to test this controversial account. We addressed this hypothesis by testing central coherence in ASD (n = 19 with intellectual disability and n = 20 without intellectual disability), Williams syndrome (WS, n = 18), matched controls with intellectual disability (n = 20) and chronological age-matched controls (n = 20). We predicted that central coherence should be most impaired in ASD for the weak central coherence account to hold true. An alternative account includes dorsal stream dysfunction which dominates in WS. Central coherence was first measured by requiring subjects to perform local/global preference judgments using hierarchical figures under 6 different experimental settings (memory and perception tasks with 3 distinct geometries with and without local/global manipulations). We replicated these experiments under 4 additional conditions (memory/perception*local/global) in which subjects reported the correct local or global configurations. Finally, we used a visuoconstructive task to measure local/global perceptual interference. WS participants were the most impaired in central coherence whereas ASD participants showed a pattern of coherence loss found in other studies only in four task conditions favoring local analysis but it tended to disappear when matching for intellectual disability. We conclude that abnormal central coherence does not provide a comprehensive explanation of ASD deficits and is more prominent in populations, namely WS, characterized by strongly impaired dorsal stream functioning and other phenotypic traits that contrast with the autistic phenotype. Taken together these findings suggest that other mechanisms such as dorsal stream deficits (largest in WS) may underlie impaired central coherence.

Wireless remote monitoring of critical facilities

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

Tsai, Hanchung; Anderson, John T.; Liu, Yung Y.

A method, apparatus, and system are provided for monitoring environment parameters of critical facilities. A Remote Area Modular Monitoring (RAMM) apparatus is provided for monitoring environment parameters of critical facilities. The RAMM apparatus includes a battery power supply and a central processor. The RAMM apparatus includes a plurality of sensors monitoring the associated environment parameters and at least one communication module for transmitting one or more monitored environment parameters. The RAMM apparatus is powered by the battery power supply, controlled by the central processor operating a wireless sensor network (WSN) platform when the facility condition is disrupted. The RAMM apparatusmore » includes a housing prepositioned at a strategic location, for example, where a dangerous build-up of contamination and radiation may preclude subsequent manned entrance and surveillance.« less

Peeling the Onion: Why Centralized Control / Decentralized Execution Works

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

March–April 2014 Air & Space Power Journal | 24 Feature Peeling the Onion Why Centralized Control / Decentralized Execution Works Lt Col Alan Docauer...DATES COVERED 00-00-2014 to 00-00-2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Peeling the Onion : Why Centralized Control / Decentralized Execution Works 5a...Air & Space Power Journal | 25 Docauer Peeling the Onion Feature What Is Centralized Control / Decentralized Execution? Emerging in the aftermath of

The relevance of central command for the neural cardiovascular control of exercise.

PubMed

Williamson, J W

2010-11-01

This paper briefly reviews the role of central command in the neural control of the circulation during exercise. While defined as a feedforward component of the cardiovascular control system, central command is also associated with perception of effort or effort sense. The specific factors influencing perception of effort and their effect on autonomic regulation of cardiovascular function during exercise can vary according to condition. Centrally mediated integration of multiple signals occurring during exercise certainly involves feedback mechanisms, but it is unclear whether or how these signals modify central command via their influence on perception of effort. As our understanding of central neural control systems continues to develop, it will be important to examine more closely how multiple sensory signals are prioritized and processed centrally to modulate cardiovascular responses during exercise. The purpose of this article is briefly to review the concepts underlying central command and its assessment via perception of effort, and to identify potential areas for future studies towards determining the role and relevance of central command for neural control of exercise.

The relevance of central command for the neural cardiovascular control of exercise

PubMed Central

Williamson, J W

2010-01-01

This paper briefly reviews the role of central command in the neural control of the circulation during exercise. While defined as a feedfoward component of the cardiovascular control system, central command is also associated with perception of effort or effort sense. The specific factors influencing perception of effort and their effect on autonomic regulation of cardiovascular function during exercise can vary according to condition. Centrally mediated integration of multiple signals occurring during exercise certainly involves feedback mechanisms, but it is unclear whether or how these signals modify central command via their influence on perception of effort. As our understanding of central neural control systems continues to develop, it will be important to examine more closely how multiple sensory signals are prioritized and processed centrally to modulate cardiovascular responses during exercise. The purpose of this article is briefly to review the concepts underlying central command and its assessment via perception of effort, and to identify potential areas for future studies towards determining the role and relevance of central command for neural control of exercise. PMID:20696787

Dynamical network interactions in distributed control of robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buscarino, Arturo; Fortuna, Luigi; Frasca, Mattia; Rizzo, Alessandro

2006-03-01

In this paper the dynamical network model of the interactions within a group of mobile robots is investigated and proposed as a possible strategy for controlling the robots without central coordination. Motivated by the results of the analysis of our simple model, we show that the system performance in the presence of noise can be improved by including long-range connections between the robots. Finally, a suitable strategy based on this model to control exploration and transport is introduced.

Modeling, Analysis, and Control of a Hypersonic Vehicle with Significant Aero-Thermo-Elastic-Propulsion Interactions: Elastic, Thermal and Mass Uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khatri, Jaidev

This thesis examines themodeling, analysis, and control system design issues for scramjet powered hypersonic vehicles. A nonlinear three degrees of freedom longitudinal model which includes aero-propulsion-elasticity effects was used for all analyses. This model is based upon classical compressible flow and Euler-Bernouli structural concepts. Higher fidelity computational fluid dynamics and finite element methods are needed for more precise intermediate and final evaluations. The methods presented within this thesis were shown to be useful for guiding initial control relevant design. The model was used to examine the vehicle's static and dynamic characteristics over the vehicle's trimmable region. The vehicle has significant longitudinal coupling between the fuel equivalency ratio (FER) and the flight path angle (FPA). For control system design, a two-input two-output plant (FER - elevator to speed-FPA) with 11 states (including 3 flexible modes) was used. Velocity, FPA, and pitch were assumed to be available for feedback. Aerodynamic heat modeling and design for the assumed TPS was incorporated to original Bolender's model to study the change in static and dynamic properties. De-centralized control stability, feasibility and limitations issues were dealt with the change in TPS elasticity, mass and physical dimension. The impact of elasticity due to TPS mass, TPS physical dimension as well as prolonged heating was also analyzed to understand performance limitations of de-centralized control designed for nominal model.

40 CFR 81.47 - Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.47 Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Metropolitan Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region has been renamed the Central Oklahoma Intrastate...

40 CFR 81.47 - Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.47 Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Metropolitan Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region has been renamed the Central Oklahoma Intrastate...

40 CFR 81.47 - Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.47 Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Metropolitan Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region has been renamed the Central Oklahoma Intrastate...

40 CFR 81.47 - Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.47 Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Metropolitan Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region has been renamed the Central Oklahoma Intrastate...

40 CFR 81.47 - Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.47 Central Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Metropolitan Oklahoma Intrastate Air Quality Control Region has been renamed the Central Oklahoma Intrastate...

Marketing to Develop the Premier Medical Brand in the Huaihai Economic Zone.

PubMed

Zhang, Peiying; Meng, Qingchao

2015-06-01

Based on the practices at Xuzhou Central Hospital, the authors analyzed the improvements in the healthcare quality and economic efficiency after implementing a brand marketing strategy. Using methods including questionnaires and business controlling means, we summarized that the improvements to the healthcare quality and economic efficiency after strategies were implemented in the areas of network, reputation, academic research, and public welfare. After the implementation of a brand marketing campaign, the medical service quality and brand reputation have been greatly improved. Meanwhile, a central hospital group was formed and gradually became the central healthcare provider in the Huaihai Economic Zone. The new marketing facilitated the drastic increase of medical service and brand reputation.

Native hardwood trees of the central hardwood region

Treesearch

Paula M. Pijut

2005-01-01

Trees are planted for various reasons including, timber production, wildlife habitat, riparian buffers, native woodland restoration, windbreaks, watershed protection, erosion control, and conservation (Indiana NRCS 2002). Establishment of hardwood plantings requires planning, a commitment of time and resources, proper planting, maintenance, and protection....

Library Automation in the Netherlands and Pica.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bossers, Anton; Van Muyen, Martin

1984-01-01

Describes the Pica Library Automation Network (originally the Project for Integrated Catalogue Automation), which is based on a centralized bibliographic database. Highlights include the Pica conception of library automation, online shared cataloging system, circulation control system, acquisition system, and online Dutch union catalog with…

Nuclear receptors and metabolism: from feast to famine.

PubMed

Hong, Suk-Hyun; Ahmadian, Maryam; Yu, Ruth T; Atkins, Annette R; Downes, Michael; Evans, Ronald M

2014-05-01

The ability to adapt to cycles of feast and famine is critical for survival. Communication between multiple metabolic organs must be integrated to properly metabolise nutrients. By controlling networks of genes in major metabolic organs, nuclear hormone receptors (NHRs) play central roles in regulating metabolism in a tissue-specific manner. NHRs also establish daily rhythmicity by controlling the expression of core clock genes both centrally and peripherally. Recent findings show that many of the metabolic effects of NHRs are mediated through certain members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family. This review focuses on the roles of NHRs in critical metabolic organs, including adipose tissue, liver and muscle, during the fed and fasted states, as well as their roles in circadian metabolism and downstream regulation of FGFs.

Anterior Lens Capsule and Iris Thicknesses in Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome.

PubMed

Batur, Muhammed; Seven, Erbil; Tekin, Serek; Yasar, Tekin

2017-11-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate anatomic properties of the lens capsule and iris by anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) in patients with pseudoexfoliation (PEX). This prospective study included 62 eyes of 62 patients with PEX syndrome and 43 eyes of 43 age- and gender-matched controls. All subjects underwent full ophthalmologic examinations including AS-OCT. Pupillary diameter, midperipheral stromal iris thickness, central and temporal lens capsule thicknesses, and peripheral pseudoexfoliation material thickness on the anterior lens capsule surface were measured and recorded. Mean age was 66.8 ± 9.3 years in the PEX group and 65.5 ± 8.9 years in the control group (p = 0.44). The PEX group consisted of 62 patients: 38 men (61.3%) and 24 women (38.7%); the control group included 43 subjects: 25 men (58.1%) and 18 women (41.9%). Pupillary diameter after pharmacologic mydriasis was 21% smaller in the PEX group than controls. Mean midperipheral iris thickness was 36 ± 7.2 μm (7.8%) thinner in the PEX group than that of control group (p = 0.047). The central anterior capsule was a mean of 3.40 ± 0.51 μm (18%) thicker in the PEX group compared to the control group (p = 0.0001). The temporal anterior lens capsule was a mean of 0.17 ± 0.15 μm thicker in the PEX group compared to the control group (p = 0.81). With high-resolution OCT imaging, it has become possible to evaluate the anterior lens capsule without histologic examination and demonstrate that it is thicker than normal in PEX patients.

Heart Rate Responses to Autonomic Challenges in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

PubMed Central

Macey, Paul M.; Kumar, Rajesh; Woo, Mary A.; Yan-Go, Frisca L.; Harper, Ronald M.

2013-01-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is accompanied by structural alterations and dysfunction in central autonomic regulatory regions, which may impair dynamic and static cardiovascular regulation, and contribute to other syndrome pathologies. Characterizing cardiovascular responses to autonomic challenges may provide insights into central nervous system impairments, including contributions by sex, since structural alterations are enhanced in OSA females over males. The objective was to assess heart rate responses in OSA versus healthy control subjects to autonomic challenges, and, separately, characterize female and male patterns. We studied 94 subjects, including 37 newly-diagnosed, untreated OSA patients (6 female, age mean±std: 52.1±8.1 years; 31 male aged 54.3±8.4 years), and 57 healthy control subjects (20 female, 50.5±8.1 years; 37 male, 45.6±9.2 years). We measured instantaneous heart rate with pulse oximetry during cold pressor, hand grip, and Valsalva maneuver challenges. All challenges elicited significant heart rate differences between OSA and control groups during and after challenges (repeated measures ANOVA, p<0.05). In post-hoc analyses, OSA females showed greater impairments than OSA males, which included: for cold pressor, lower initial increase (OSA vs. control: 9.5 vs. 7.3 bpm in females, 7.6 vs. 3.7 bpm in males), OSA delay to initial peak (2.5 s females/0.9 s males), slower mid-challenge rate-of-increase (OSA vs. control: −0.11 vs. 0.09 bpm/s in females, 0.03 vs. 0.06 bpm/s in males); for hand grip, lower initial peak (OSA vs. control: 2.6 vs. 4.6 bpm in females, 5.3 vs. 6.0 bpm in males); for Valsalva maneuver, lower Valsalva ratio (OSA vs. control: 1.14 vs. 1.30 in females, 1.29 vs. 1.34 in males), and OSA delay during phase II (0.68 s females/1.31 s males). Heart rate responses showed lower amplitude, delayed onset, and slower rate changes in OSA patients over healthy controls, and impairments may be more pronounced in females. The dysfunctions may reflect central injury in the syndrome, and suggest autonomic deficiencies that may contribute to further tissue and functional pathologies. PMID:24194842

Characterization of dermatoglyphics in PHOX2B-confirmed congenital central hypoventilation syndrome.

PubMed

Todd, Emily S; Scott, Nicole M; Weese-Mayer, Debra E; Weinberg, Seth M; Berry-Kravis, Elizabeth M; Silvestri, Jean M; Kenny, Anna S; Hauptman, Susan A; Zhou, Lili; Marazita, Mary L

2006-08-01

Individuals with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome have characteristic variants in the PHOX2B gene (primarily polyalanine expansion mutations). The PHOX2B gene acts as a transcriptional activator in the promotion of pan-neuronal differentiation in the autonomic nervous system during early embryologic development, with a primary role in the sympathetic noradrenergic phenotype in vertebrates. Because sympathetic innervation has been hypothesized to affect the development of dermatoglyphic pattern types, we hypothesized that individuals with PHOX2B-confirmed congenital central hypoventilation syndrome would have characteristic dermatoglyphic patterning and that the dermatoglyphic phenotype would be related to the disease-defining PHOX2B genotype. Dermatoglyphic pattern type frequency, left/right symmetry, and genotype/phenotype correlation were assessed for 33 individuals with PHOX2B-confirmed congenital central hypoventilation syndrome and compared with published control data. Dermatoglyphic pattern type frequencies were altered in congenital central hypoventilation syndrome cases versus controls. In particular, there was an increase of arches in females and ulnar loops in males, with the largest differences for the left hand and for individuals with both congenital central hypoventilation syndrome and Hirschsprung disease. Dissimilarity scores between the congenital central hypoventilation syndrome and congenital central hypoventilation syndrome + Hirschsprung disease cases were not significantly different, nor were dissimilarity scores between all of the female and all of the male cases. No significant association was found between the number of polyalanine repeats in the PHOX2B genotypic category and dermatoglyphic pattern frequencies in the congenital central hypoventilation syndrome study groups. These results represent the first report describing specific dermatoglyphic patterning in congenital central hypoventilation syndrome and suggest a relationship between PHOX2B and the expression of dermatoglyphic pattern types. An expanded congenital central hypoventilation syndrome data set to include the full spectrum of PHOX2B mutations is necessary to further delineate the role of PHOX2B in dermatoglyphic patterning.

The Central Nervous System Sites Mediating the Orexigenic Actions of Ghrelin

PubMed Central

Mason, B.L.; Wang, Q.; Zigman, J.M.

2014-01-01

The peptide hormone ghrelin is important for both homeostatic and hedonic eating behaviors, and its orexigenic actions occur mainly via binding to the only known ghrelin receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR). GHSRs are located in several distinct regions of the central nervous system. This review discusses those central nervous system sites that have been found to play critical roles in the orexigenic actions of ghrelin, including hypothalamic nuclei, the hippocampus, the amygdala, the caudal brain stem, and midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Hopefully, this review can be used as a stepping stone for the reader wanting to gain a clearer understanding of the central nervous system sites of direct ghrelin action on feeding behavior, and as inspiration for future studies to provide an even-more-detailed map of the neurocircuitry controlling eating and body weight. PMID:24111557

77 FR 36040 - Watco Holdings, Inc.-Continuance in Control Exemption-San Antonio Central Railroad, L.L.C.

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-15

..., Inc.--Continuance in Control Exemption--San Antonio Central Railroad, L.L.C. Watco Holdings, Inc... Watco to continue in control of San Antonio Central Railroad, L.L.C. (SAC), upon SAC's becoming a Class... exemption in San Antonio Central Railroad, L.L.C.--Lease Exemption-- Port Authority of San Antonio, Docket...

Efficacy, tolerability and safety of cannabinoids in chronic pain associated with rheumatic diseases (fibromyalgia syndrome, back pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis): A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Fitzcharles, M-A; Baerwald, C; Ablin, J; Häuser, W

2016-02-01

In the absence of an ideal treatment for chronic pain associated with rheumatic diseases, there is interest in the potential effects of cannabinoid molecules, particularly in the context of global interest in the legalization of herbal cannabis for medicinal use. A systematic search until April 2015 was conducted in Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, www.cannabis-med.org and clinicaltrials.gov for randomized controlled trials with a study duration of at least 2 weeks and at least ten patients per treatment arm with herbal cannabis or pharmaceutical cannabinoid products in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), osteoarthritis (OA), chronic spinal pain, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pain. Outcomes were reduction of pain, sleep problems, fatigue and limitations of quality of life for efficacy, dropout rates due to adverse events for tolerability, and serious adverse events for safety. The methodology quality of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was evaluated by the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Two RCTs of 2 and 4 weeks duration respectively with nabilone, including 71 FMS patients, one 4-week trial with nabilone, including 30 spinal pain patients, and one 5-week study with tetrahydrocannbinol/cannabidiol, including 58 RA patients were included. One inclusion criterion was pain refractory to conventional treatment in three studies. No RCT with OA patients was found. The risk of bias was high for three studies. The findings of a superiority of cannabinoids over controls (placebo, amitriptyline) were not consistent. Cannabinoids were generally well tolerated despite some troublesome side effects and safe during the study duration. Currently, there is insufficient evidence for recommendation for any cannabinoid preparations for symptom management in patients with chronic pain associated with rheumatic diseases.

The effect of exercise on prevention of the common cold: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial studies.

PubMed

Lee, Hyun Kun; Hwang, In Hong; Kim, Soo Young; Pyo, Se Young

2014-05-01

Because there is no specific treatment for the common cold, many previous studies have focused on prevention of the common cold. There were some studies reporting that regular, moderate-intensity exercise increases immunity and prevents the common cold. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the effects of exercise on prevention of the common cold. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL for studies released through June 2013. We manually searched the references. Two authors independently extracted the data. To assess the risk of bias of included literature, Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias was used. Review Manager ver. 5.2 (RevMan, Cochrane Collaboration) was used for statistical analysis. Four randomized controlled trials were identified. A total of 281 participants, 134 in the exercise group and 147 in the control group, were included. The effect of exercise on the prevention of the common cold had a relative risk (RR) of 0.73 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56 to 0.95; I(2) = 7%). The mean difference of mean illness days between exercise group and control group was -3.50 (95% CI, -6.06 to -0.94; I(2) = 93%). In the subgroup analysis, the RR of under 16 weeks exercise was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.58 to 1.08). In this meta-analysis, regular, moderate-intensity exercise may have an effect on the prevention of the common cold. But numbers of included studies and participants were too small and quality of included studies was relatively poor. Subsequent well-designed studies with larger sample size are needed to clarify the association.

78 FR 41947 - Notice of Availability of a Supplement to the Bighorn Basin Draft Resource Management Plan...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-12

... Washakie Counties, and most of Hot Springs County in north-central Wyoming. The Planning Area includes all... listed in the ADDRESSES section above. In order to reduce the use of paper and control costs, the BLM...

21 CFR 1300.01 - Definitions relating to controlled substances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... substances having a depressant effect on the central nervous system, including its salts, isomers, and salts... paragraph. Automated dispensing system means a mechanical system that performs operations or activities... 1305.06. Readily retrievable means that certain records are kept by automatic data processing systems...

21 CFR 1300.01 - Definitions relating to controlled substances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... substances having a depressant effect on the central nervous system, including its salts, isomers, and salts... paragraph. Automated dispensing system means a mechanical system that performs operations or activities... 1305.06. Readily retrievable means that certain records are kept by automatic data processing systems...

21 CFR 1300.01 - Definitions relating to controlled substances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... substances having a depressant effect on the central nervous system, including its salts, isomers, and salts... paragraph. Automated dispensing system means a mechanical system that performs operations or activities... 1305.06. Readily retrievable means that certain records are kept by automatic data processing systems...

The Evolution of Academic Library Architecture: A Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toombs, Kenneth E.

1992-01-01

Reviews the history of architectural developments in academic libraries. Highlights include natural lighting and the invention of the incandescent bulb; compact shelving; open versus closed stacks; modular construction methods; central air conditioning and controlled environments; interior arrangements; access to handicapped users and staff; and…

Dynamic cerebral autoregulation in stroke patients with a central sympathetic deficit.

PubMed

Gierthmühlen, J; Allardt, A; Sawade, M; Baron, R; Wasner, G

2011-05-01

To investigate the functional role of the sympathetic innervation on cerebral autoregulation. Seventeen patients with infarction of the dorsolateral medulla oblongata affecting central sympathetic pathways (Wallenberg's syndrome) and 21 healthy controls were included in the study. Cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) in the medial cerebral artery was investigated using transcranial Doppler ultrasound during decrease in cerebral perfusion pressure induced by leg-cuff test and tilt table. Upon leg-cuff test, changes of cerebral blood flow and mean arterial blood pressure as well as autoregulatory index did not differ between patients or controls. No differences were found in changes of CBFV, mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate between patients or controls during the tilt table test. We suggest that the sympathetic nervous system does not have an influence on cerebral autoregulation after decrease in perfusion pressure under normotonous conditions. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

The Status of the Quality Control in Acupuncture-Neuroimaging Studies

PubMed Central

Qiu, Ke; Jing, Miaomiao; Liu, Xiaoyan; Gao, Feifei; Liang, Fanrong; Zeng, Fang

2016-01-01

Using neuroimaging techniques to explore the central mechanism of acupuncture gains increasing attention, but the quality control of acupuncture-neuroimaging study remains to be improved. We searched the PubMed Database during 1995 to 2014. The original English articles with neuroimaging scan performed on human beings were included. The data involved quality control including the author, sample size, characteristics of the participant, neuroimaging technology, and acupuncture intervention were extracted and analyzed. The rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria are important guaranty for the participants' homogeneity. The standard operation process of acupuncture and the stricter requirement for acupuncturist play significant role in quality control. More attention should be paid to the quality control in future studies to improve the reproducibility and reliability of the acupuncture-neuroimaging studies. PMID:27242911

Transfer of classical eyeblink conditioning with electrical stimulation of mPFC or tone as conditioned stimulus in guinea pigs.

PubMed

Yao, Juan; Wu, Guang-Yan; Liu, Guo-Long; Liu, Shu-Lei; Yang, Yi; Wu, Bing; Li, Xuan; Feng, Hua; Sui, Jian-Feng

2014-11-01

Learning with a stimulus from one sensory modality can facilitate subsequent learning with a new stimulus from a different sensory modality. To date, the characteristics and mechanism of this phenomenon named transfer effect still remain ambiguous. Our previous work showed that electrical stimulation of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as a conditioned stimulus (CS) could successfully establish classical eyeblink conditioning (EBC). The present study aimed to (1) observe whether transfer of EBC learning would occur when CSs shift between central (mPFC electrical stimulation as a CS, mPFC-CS) and peripheral (tone as a CS, tone CS); (2) compare the difference in transfer effect between the two paradigms, delay EBC (DEBC) and trace EBC (TEBC). A total of 8 groups of guinea pigs were tested in the study, including 4 experimental groups and 4 control groups. Firstly, the experimental groups accepted central (or peripheral) CS paired with corneal airpuff unconditioned stimulus (US); then, CS shifted to the peripheral (or central) and paired with US. The control groups accepted corresponding central (or peripheral) CS and pseudo-paired with US, and then shifted CS from central (or peripheral) to peripheral (or central) and paired with US. The results showed that the acquisition rates of EBC were higher in experimental groups than in control groups after CS switching from central to peripheral or vice versa, and the CR acquisition rate was remarkably higher in DEBC than in TEBC in both transfer ways. The results indicate that EBC transfer can occur between learning established with mPFC-CS and tone CS. Memory of CS-US association for delay paradigm was less disturbed by the sudden switch of CS than for trace paradigm. This study provides new insight into neural mechanisms underlying conditioned reflex as well as the role of mPFC. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Central voice production and pathophysiology of spasmodic dysphonia.

PubMed

Mor, Niv; Simonyan, Kristina; Blitzer, Andrew

2018-01-01

Our ability to speak is complex, and the role of the central nervous system in controlling speech production is often overlooked in the field of otolaryngology. In this brief review, we present an integrated overview of speech production with a focus on the role of central nervous system. The role of central control of voice production is then further discussed in relation to the potential pathophysiology of spasmodic dysphonia (SD). Peer-review articles on central laryngeal control and SD were identified from PUBMED search. Selected articles were augmented with designated relevant publications. Publications that discussed central and peripheral nervous system control of voice production and the central pathophysiology of laryngeal dystonia were chosen. Our ability to speak is regulated by specialized complex mechanisms coordinated by high-level cortical signaling, brainstem reflexes, peripheral nerves, muscles, and mucosal actions. Recent studies suggest that SD results from a primary central disturbance associated with dysfunction at our highest levels of central voice control. The efficacy of botulinum toxin in treating SD may not be limited solely to its local effect on laryngeal muscles and also may modulate the disorder at the level of the central nervous system. Future therapeutic options that target the central nervous system may help modulate the underlying disorder in SD and allow clinicians to better understand the principal pathophysiology. NA.Laryngoscope, 128:177-183, 2018. © 2017 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

In situ soil temperature and heat flux measurements during controlled surface burns at a southern Colorado forest site

Treesearch

W. J. Massman; J. M. Frank; W. D. Shepperd; M. J. Platten

2003-01-01

This study presents in situ soil temperature measurements at 5-6 depths and heat flux measurements at 2-5 depths obtained during the fall/winter of 2001/ 2002 at seven controlled (surface) fires within a ponderosa pine forest site at the Manitou Experimental Forest in central Colorado. Six of these burns included three different (low, medium, and high) fuel loadings...

Fundus autofluorescence in chronic essential hypertension.

PubMed

Ramezani, Alireza; Saberian, Peyman; Soheilian, Masoud; Parsa, Saeed Alipour; Kamali, Homayoun Koohi; Entezari, Morteza; Shahbazi, Mohammad-Mehdi; Yaseri, Mehdi

2014-01-01

To evaluate fundus autofluorescence (FAF) changes in patients with chronic essential hypertension (HTN). In this case-control study, 35 eyes of 35 patients with chronic essential HTN (lasting >5 years) and 31 eyes of 31 volunteers without history of HTN were included. FAF pictures were taken from right eyes of all cases with the Heidelberg retina angiography and then were assessed by two masked retinal specialists. In total, FAF images including 35 images of hypertensive patients and 31 pictures of volunteers, three apparently abnormal patterns were detected. A ring of hyper-autofluorescence in the central macula (doughnut-shaped) was observed in 9 (25.7%) eyes of the hypertensive group but only in 2 (6.5%) eyes of the control group. This difference was statistically significant (P = 0.036) between two groups. Hypo- and/or hyper-autofluorescence patches outside the fovea were the other sign found more in the hypertensive group (22.9%) than in the control group (6.5%); however, the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.089). The third feature was hypo-autofluorescence around the disk noticed in 11 (31.4%) eyes of hypertensive patients compared to 8 (25.8%) eyes of the controls (P = 0.615). A ring of hyper-autofluorescence in the central macula forming a doughnut-shaped feature may be a FAF sign in patients with chronic essential HTN.

The carbon storage regulator (Csr) system exerts a nutrient-specific control over central metabolism in Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917.

PubMed

Revelles, Olga; Millard, Pierre; Nougayrède, Jean-Philippe; Dobrindt, Ulrich; Oswald, Eric; Létisse, Fabien; Portais, Jean-Charles

2013-01-01

The role of the post-transcriptional carbon storage regulator (Csr) system in nutrient utilization and in the control of the central metabolism in E. coli reference commensal strain Nissle 1917 was investigated. Analysis of the growth capabilities of mutants altered for various components of the Csr system (csrA51, csrB, csrC and csrD mutations) showed that only the protein CsrA - the key component of the system - exerts a marked role in carbon nutrition. Attenuation of CsrA activity in the csrA51 mutant affects the growth efficiency on a broad range of physiologically relevant carbon sources, including compounds utilized by the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway. Detailed investigations of the metabolomes and fluxomes of mutants and wild-type cells grown on carbon sources representative of glycolysis and of the ED pathway (glucose and gluconate, respectively), revealed significant re-adjusting of central carbon metabolism for both compounds in the csrA51 mutant. However, the metabolic re-adjusting observed on gluconate was strikingly different from that observed on glucose, indicating a nutrient-specific control of metabolism by the Csr system.

The Carbon Storage Regulator (Csr) System Exerts a Nutrient-Specific Control over Central Metabolism in Escherichia coli Strain Nissle 1917

PubMed Central

Nougayrède, Jean-Philippe; Dobrindt, Ulrich; Oswald, Eric; Létisse, Fabien; Portais, Jean-Charles

2013-01-01

The role of the post-transcriptional carbon storage regulator (Csr) system in nutrient utilization and in the control of the central metabolism in E. coli reference commensal strain Nissle 1917 was investigated. Analysis of the growth capabilities of mutants altered for various components of the Csr system (csrA51, csrB, csrC and csrD mutations) showed that only the protein CsrA - the key component of the system - exerts a marked role in carbon nutrition. Attenuation of CsrA activity in the csrA51 mutant affects the growth efficiency on a broad range of physiologically relevant carbon sources, including compounds utilized by the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway. Detailed investigations of the metabolomes and fluxomes of mutants and wild-type cells grown on carbon sources representative of glycolysis and of the ED pathway (glucose and gluconate, respectively), revealed significant re-adjusting of central carbon metabolism for both compounds in the csrA51 mutant. However, the metabolic re-adjusting observed on gluconate was strikingly different from that observed on glucose, indicating a nutrient-specific control of metabolism by the Csr system. PMID:23840455

Control of energy balance by hypothalamic gene circuitry involving two nuclear receptors, neuron-derived orphan receptor 1 and glucocorticoid receptor.

PubMed

Kim, Sun-Gyun; Lee, Bora; Kim, Dae-Hwan; Kim, Juhee; Lee, Seunghee; Lee, Soo-Kyung; Lee, Jae W

2013-10-01

Nuclear receptors (NRs) regulate diverse physiological processes, including the central nervous system control of energy balance. However, the molecular mechanisms for the central actions of NRs in energy balance remain relatively poorly defined. Here we report a hypothalamic gene network involving two NRs, neuron-derived orphan receptor 1 (NOR1) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which directs the regulated expression of orexigenic neuropeptides agouti-related peptide (AgRP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in response to peripheral signals. Our results suggest that the anorexigenic signal leptin induces NOR1 expression likely via the transcription factor cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB), while the orexigenic signal glucocorticoid mobilizes GR to inhibit NOR1 expression by antagonizing the action of CREB. Also, NOR1 suppresses glucocorticoid-dependent expression of AgRP and NPY. Consistently, relative to wild-type mice, NOR1-null mice showed significantly higher levels of AgRP and NPY and were less responsive to leptin in decreasing the expression of AgRP and NPY. These results identify mutual antagonism between NOR1 and GR to be a key rheostat for peripheral metabolic signals to centrally control energy balance.

Optimizing literature search in systematic reviews - are MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL enough for identifying effect studies within the area of musculoskeletal disorders?

PubMed

Aagaard, Thomas; Lund, Hans; Juhl, Carsten

2016-11-22

When conducting systematic reviews, it is essential to perform a comprehensive literature search to identify all published studies relevant to the specific research question. The Cochrane Collaborations Methodological Expectations of Cochrane Intervention Reviews (MECIR) guidelines state that searching MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL should be considered mandatory. The aim of this study was to evaluate the MECIR recommendations to use MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL combined, and examine the yield of using these to find randomized controlled trials (RCTs) within the area of musculoskeletal disorders. Data sources were systematic reviews published by the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Review Group, including at least five RCTs, reporting a search history, searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and adding reference- and hand-searching. Additional databases were deemed eligible if they indexed RCTs, were in English and used in more than three of the systematic reviews. Relative recall was calculated as the number of studies identified by the literature search divided by the number of eligible studies i.e. included studies in the individual systematic reviews. Finally, cumulative median recall was calculated for MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL combined followed by the databases yielding additional studies. Deemed eligible was twenty-three systematic reviews and the databases included other than MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL was AMED, CINAHL, HealthSTAR, MANTIS, OT-Seeker, PEDro, PsychINFO, SCOPUS, SportDISCUS and Web of Science. Cumulative median recall for combined searching in MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL was 88.9% and increased to 90.9% when adding 10 additional databases. Searching MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL was not sufficient for identifying all effect studies on musculoskeletal disorders, but additional ten databases did only increase the median recall by 2%. It is possible that searching databases is not sufficient to identify all relevant references, and that reviewers must rely upon additional sources in their literature search. However further research is needed.

Dysregulated mTORC1-Dependent Translational Control: From Brain Disorders to Psychoactive Drugs

PubMed Central

Santini, Emanuela; Klann, Eric

2011-01-01

In the last decade, a plethora of studies utilizing pharmacological, biochemical, and genetic approaches have shown that precise translational control is required for long-lasting synaptic plasticity and the formation of long-term memory. Moreover, more recent studies indicate that alterations in translational control are a common pathophysiological feature of human neurological disorders, including developmental disorders, neuropsychiatric disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, translational control mechanisms are susceptible to modification by psychoactive drugs. Taken together, these findings point to a central role for translational control in the regulation of synaptic function and behavior. PMID:22073033

Structural Controllability and Controlling Centrality of Temporal Networks

PubMed Central

Pan, Yujian; Li, Xiang

2014-01-01

Temporal networks are such networks where nodes and interactions may appear and disappear at various time scales. With the evidence of ubiquity of temporal networks in our economy, nature and society, it's urgent and significant to focus on its structural controllability as well as the corresponding characteristics, which nowadays is still an untouched topic. We develop graphic tools to study the structural controllability as well as its characteristics, identifying the intrinsic mechanism of the ability of individuals in controlling a dynamic and large-scale temporal network. Classifying temporal trees of a temporal network into different types, we give (both upper and lower) analytical bounds of the controlling centrality, which are verified by numerical simulations of both artificial and empirical temporal networks. We find that the positive relationship between aggregated degree and controlling centrality as well as the scale-free distribution of node's controlling centrality are virtually independent of the time scale and types of datasets, meaning the inherent robustness and heterogeneity of the controlling centrality of nodes within temporal networks. PMID:24747676

Effect of whole-body mild-cold exposure on arterial stiffness and central haemodynamics: a randomised, cross-over trial in healthy men and women.

PubMed

King, Sibella G; Ahuja, Kiran D K; Wass, Jezreel; Shing, Cecilia M; Adams, Murray J; Davies, Justin E; Sharman, James E; Williams, Andrew D

2013-05-01

Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) are independent predictors of cardiovascular risk and mortality, but little is known about the effect of air temperature changes on these variables. Our study investigated the effect of exposure to whole-body mild-cold on measures of arterial stiffness (aortic and brachial PWV), and on central haemodynamics [including augmented pressure (AP), AIx], and aortic reservoir components [including reservoir and excess pressures (P ex)]. Sixteen healthy volunteers (10 men, age 43 ± 19 years; mean ± SD) were randomised to be studied under conditions of 12 °C (mild-cold) and 21 °C (control) on separate days. Supine resting measures were taken at baseline (ambient temperature) and after 10, 30, and 60 min exposure to each experimental condition in a climate chamber. There was no significant change in brachial blood pressure between mild-cold and control conditions. However, compared to control, AP [+2 mmHg, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.36-4.36; p = 0.01] and AIx (+6 %, 95 % CI 1.24-10.1; p = 0.02) increased, and time to maximum P ex (a component of reservoir function related to timing of peak aortic in-flow) decreased (-7 ms, 95 % CI -15.4 to 2.03; p = 0.01) compared to control. Yet there was no significant change in aortic PWV (+0.04 m/s, 95 % CI -0.47 to 0.55; p = 0.87) or brachial PWV (+0.36 m/s; -0.41 to 1.12; p = 0.35) between conditions. We conclude that mild-cold exposure increases central haemodynamic stress and alters timing of peak aortic in-flow without differentially affecting arterial stiffness.

The evaluation of central corneal thickness and intraocular pressure in conjunction with tear IGF-1 levels in patients with acromegaly.

PubMed

Kan, Emrah; Kan, Elif K; Okuyucu, Ali

2017-08-30

To compare the central corneal thickness (CCT), intraocular pressure (IOP), and tear insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels between patients with acromegaly and a control group and to evaluate the possible effect of tear IGF-1 and duration of the disease on CCT and IOP. We included 31 patients with acromegaly (study group) and 40 age- and sex-matched controls in the study. Patients with acromegaly were divided into 2 subgroups based on disease status (active/inactive). All participants underwent complete ophthalmologic evaluation including CCT and IOP values. Basal tear samples were collected from both groups and tear IGF-1 levels were measured. The CCT, IOP, and tear IGF-1 levels were compared between groups and subgroups and the association between tear IGF-I levels and ocular parameters (CCT, IOP) and disease duration were also evaluated. Central corneal thickness, IOP, and tear IGF-1 levels did not show a significant difference between study and control groups. We also did not find a significant difference in terms of CCT, IOP, or tear IGF-1 levels between subgroups of patients. Correlation analysis did not show an association between the duration of disease and tear IGF-1 levels with CCT or IOP. There was no significant difference in tear IGF-1 levels between patients with acromegaly and controls. Additionally, there was no correlation between disease duration and tear IGF-1 levels with CCT or IOP levels. This lack of association may suggest that tear IGF-1 levels might not have an effect on CCT or IOP findings in patients with acromegaly.

Efficacy of botulinum toxins on bruxism: an evidence-based review.

PubMed

Long, Hu; Liao, Zhengyu; Wang, Yan; Liao, Lina; Lai, Wenli

2012-02-01

The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of botulinum toxins on bruxism. Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase and Science Citation Index), websites (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ClinicalTrials.gov) and the literature database of SIGLE (System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe) were searched from January 1990 to April 2011 for randomised controlled trials or nonrandomised studies assessing the efficacy of botulinum toxins on bruxism. There was no language restriction. Through a predefined search strategy, we retrieved 28 studies from PubMed, 94 from Embase, 60 from the Science Citation Index, two ongoing clinical trials and two from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Of these, only four studies met our inclusion criteria and were finally included. Of the four included studies, two were randomised controlled trials and two were controlled before-and-after studies. These studies showed that botulinum toxin injections can reduce the frequency of bruxism events, decrease bruxism-induced pain levels and satisfy patients' self-assessment with regard to the effectiveness of botulinum toxins on bruxism. In comparison with oral splint, botulinum toxins are equally effective on bruxism. Furthermore, botulinum toxin injections at a dosage of <100 U are safe for otherwise healthy patients. Botulinum toxin injections are effective on bruxism and are safe to use. Therefore, they can be used clinically for otherwise healthy patients with bruxism. © 2012 FDI World Dental Federation.

Building Automation Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honeywell, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.

A number of different automation systems for use in monitoring and controlling building equipment are described in this brochure. The system functions include--(1) collection of information, (2) processing and display of data at a central panel, and (3) taking corrective action by sounding alarms, making adjustments, or automatically starting and…

Perfusion characteristics of Moyamoya disease: an anatomically and clinically oriented analysis and comparison.

PubMed

Schubert, Gerrit Alexander; Czabanka, Marcus; Seiz, Marcel; Horn, Peter; Vajkoczy, Peter; Thomé, Claudius

2014-01-01

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is characterized by unique angiographic features of collateralization. However, a detailed quantification as well as comparative analysis with cerebrovascular atherosclerotic disease (CAD) and healthy controls have not been performed to date. We reviewed 67 patients with MMD undergoing Xenon-enhanced computed tomography, as well as 108 patients with CAD and 5 controls. In addition to cortical, central, and infratentorial regions of interest, particular emphasis was put on regions that are typically involved in MMD (pericallosal territory, basal ganglia). Cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebrovascular reserve capacity (CVRC), and hemodynamic stress distribution were calculated. MMD is characterized by a significant, ubiquitous decrease in CVRC and a cortical but not pericallosal decrease in CBF when compared with controls. Baseline perfusion is maintained within the basal ganglia, and hemodynamic stress distribution confirmed a relative preservation of central regions of interest in MMD, indicative for its characteristic proximal collateralization pattern. In MMD and CAD, cortical and central CBF decreased significantly with age, whereas CVRC and hemodynamic stress distribution are relatively unaffected by age. No difference in CVRC of comparable regions of interest was seen between MMD and CAD, but stress distribution was significantly higher in MMD, illustrating the functionality of the characteristic rete mirabilis. Our data provide quantitative support for a territory-specific perfusion pattern that is unique for MMD, including central preservation of CBF compared with controls and patients with CAD. This correlates well with its characteristic feature of proximal collateralization. CVRC and hemodynamic stress distribution seem to be more robust parameters than CBF alone for assessment of disease severity.

miRNA Profiles in Plasma from Patients with Sleep Disorders Reveal Dysregulation of miRNAs in Narcolepsy and Other Central Hypersomnias

PubMed Central

Holm, Anja; Bang-Berthelsen, Claus Heiner; Knudsen, Stine; Kornum, Birgitte R.; Modvig, Signe; Jennum, Poul; Gammeltoft, Steen

2014-01-01

Study Objectives: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of human diseases including neurological disorders. The aim is to address the involvement of miRNAs in the pathophysiology of central hypersomnias including autoimmune narcolepsy with cataplexy and hypocretin deficiency (type 1 narcolepsy), narcolepsy without cataplexy (type 2 narcolepsy), and idiopathic hypersomnia. Design: We conducted high-throughput analysis of miRNA in plasma from three groups of patients—with type 1 narcolepsy, type 2 narcolepsy, and idiopathic hypersomnia, respectively—in comparison with healthy controls using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) panels. Setting: University hospital based sleep clinic and research laboratories. Patients: Twelve patients with type 1 narcolepsy, 12 patients with type 2 narcolepsy, 12 patients with idiopathic hypersomnia, and 12 healthy controls. Measurements and Results: By analyzing miRNA in plasma with qPCR we identified 50, 24, and 6 miRNAs that were different in patients with type 1 narcolepsy, type 2 narcolepsy, and idiopathic hypersomnia, respectively, compared with healthy controls. Twenty miRNA candidates who fulfilled the criteria of at least two-fold difference and p-value < 0.05 were selected to validate the miRNA changes in an independent cohort of patients. Four miRNAs differed significantly between type 1 narcolepsy patients and healthy controls. Levels of miR-30c, let-7f, and miR-26a were higher, whereas the level of miR-130a was lower in type 1 narcolepsy than healthy controls. The miRNA differences were not specific for type 1 narcolepsy, since the levels of the four miRNAs were also altered in patients with type 2 narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia compared with healthy controls. Conclusion: The levels of four miRNAs differed in plasma from patients with type 1 narcolepsy, type 2 narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia suggesting that alterations of miRNAs may be involved in the pathophysiology of central hypersomnias. Citation: Holm A, Bang-Berthelsen CH, Knudsen S, Kornum BR, Modvig S, Jennum P, Gammeltoft S. miRNA profiles in plasma from patients with sleep disorders reveal dysregulation of miRNAs in narcolepsy and other central hypersomnias. SLEEP 2014;37(9):1525-1533. PMID:25142559

Speech and nonspeech: What are we talking about?

PubMed

Maas, Edwin

2017-08-01

Understanding of the behavioural, cognitive and neural underpinnings of speech production is of interest theoretically, and is important for understanding disorders of speech production and how to assess and treat such disorders in the clinic. This paper addresses two claims about the neuromotor control of speech production: (1) speech is subserved by a distinct, specialised motor control system and (2) speech is holistic and cannot be decomposed into smaller primitives. Both claims have gained traction in recent literature, and are central to a task-dependent model of speech motor control. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate thinking about speech production, its disorders and the clinical implications of these claims. The paper poses several conceptual and empirical challenges for these claims - including the critical importance of defining speech. The emerging conclusion is that a task-dependent model is called into question as its two central claims are founded on ill-defined and inconsistently applied concepts. The paper concludes with discussion of methodological and clinical implications, including the potential utility of diadochokinetic (DDK) tasks in assessment of motor speech disorders and the contraindication of nonspeech oral motor exercises to improve speech function.

Interventions for the treatment of uveitic macular edema: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Karim, Rushmia; Sykakis, Evripidis; Lightman, Susan; Fraser-Bell, Samantha

2013-01-01

Background Uveitic macular edema is the major cause of reduced vision in eyes with uveitis. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of interventions in the treatment of uveitic macular edema. Search strategy Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, and Embase. There were no language or data restrictions in the search for trials. The databases were last searched on December 1, 2011. Reference lists of included trials were searched. Archives of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology, Retina, the British Journal of Ophthalmology, and the New England Journal of Medicine were searched for clinical trials and reviews. Selection criteria Participants of any age and sex with any type of uveitic macular edema were included. Early, chronic, refractory, or secondary uveitic macular edema were included. We included trials that compared any interventions of any dose and duration, including comparison with another treatment, sham treatment, or no treatment. Data collection and analysis Best-corrected visual acuity and central macular thickness were the primary outcome measures. Secondary outcome data including adverse effects were collected. Conclusion More results from randomized controlled trials with long follow-up periods are needed for interventions for uveitic macular edema to assist in determining the overall long-term benefit of different treatments. The only intervention with sufficiently robust randomized controlled trials for a meta-analysis was acetazolamide, which was shown to be ineffective in improving vision in eyes with uveitic macular edema, and is clinically now rarely used. Interventions showing promise in this disease include dexamethasone implants, immunomodulatory drugs and anti-vascular endothelial growth-factor agents. When macular edema has become refractory after multiple interventions, pars plana vitrectomy could be considered. The disease pathophysiology is uncertain and the course of disease unpredictable. As there are no clear guidelines from the literature, interventions should be tailored to the individual patient. PMID:23807831

Central line infections - hospitals

MedlinePlus

... infection; CVC - infection; Central venous device - infection; Infection control - central line infection; Nosocomial infection - central line infection; Hospital acquired infection - central line infection; Patient safety - central ...

The EuroNet paediatric hodgkin network - modern imaging data management for real time central review in multicentre trials.

PubMed

Kurch, L; Mauz-Körholz, C; Bertling, S; Wallinder, M; Kaminska, M; Marwede, D; Tchavdarova, L; Georgi, T W; Elsner, A; Barthel, A; Stoevesandt, D; Hasenclever, D; Sattler, B; Sabri, O; Körholz, D; Kluge, R

2013-11-01

Since 2007, children and adolescents with Hodgkin lymphomas are treated in the Europe-wide EuroNet-PHL trials. A real time central review process for stratification of the patients enhances quality control and efficient therapy management. This process includes reading of all cross-sectional-images. Since reference evaluation is time critical, a fast, easy to handle and safe data transfer is important. In addition, immediate and constant access to all the data has to be guaranteed in case of queries and for regulatory reasons. To meet the mentioned requirements the EuroNet Paediatric Hodgkin Data Network (funded by the European Union - Project Number: 2007108) was established between 2008 and 2011. A respective tailored data protection plan was formulated. The aim of this article is to describe the networks' mode of operation and the advantages for multi-centre trials that include centralized image review. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Multimodal Regulation of Circadian Glucocorticoid Rhythm by Central and Adrenal Clocks.

PubMed

Son, Gi Hoon; Cha, Hyo Kyeong; Chung, Sooyoung; Kim, Kyungjin

2018-05-01

Adrenal glucocorticoids (GCs) control a wide range of physiological processes, including metabolism, cardiovascular and pulmonary activities, immune and inflammatory responses, and various brain functions. During stress responses, GCs are secreted through activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, whereas circulating GC levels in unstressed states follow a robust circadian oscillation with a peak around the onset of the active period of a day. A recent advance in chronobiological research has revealed that multiple regulatory mechanisms, along with classical neuroendocrine regulation, underlie this GC circadian rhythm. The hierarchically organized circadian system, with a central pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and local oscillators in peripheral tissues, including the adrenal gland, mediates periodicities in physiological processes in mammals. In this review, we primarily focus on our understanding of the circadian regulation of adrenal GC rhythm, with particular attention to the cooperative actions of the suprachiasmatic nucleus central and adrenal local clocks, and the clinical implications of this rhythm in human diseases.

Multimodal Regulation of Circadian Glucocorticoid Rhythm by Central and Adrenal Clocks

PubMed Central

Son, Gi Hoon; Cha, Hyo Kyeong; Chung, Sooyoung; Kim, Kyungjin

2018-01-01

Abstract Adrenal glucocorticoids (GCs) control a wide range of physiological processes, including metabolism, cardiovascular and pulmonary activities, immune and inflammatory responses, and various brain functions. During stress responses, GCs are secreted through activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, whereas circulating GC levels in unstressed states follow a robust circadian oscillation with a peak around the onset of the active period of a day. A recent advance in chronobiological research has revealed that multiple regulatory mechanisms, along with classical neuroendocrine regulation, underlie this GC circadian rhythm. The hierarchically organized circadian system, with a central pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and local oscillators in peripheral tissues, including the adrenal gland, mediates periodicities in physiological processes in mammals. In this review, we primarily focus on our understanding of the circadian regulation of adrenal GC rhythm, with particular attention to the cooperative actions of the suprachiasmatic nucleus central and adrenal local clocks, and the clinical implications of this rhythm in human diseases. PMID:29713692

The central molecular clock is robust in the face of behavioural arrhythmia in a Drosophila model of Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Chen, Ko-Fan; Possidente, Bernard; Lomas, David A; Crowther, Damian C

2014-04-01

Circadian behavioural deficits, including sleep irregularity and restlessness in the evening, are a distressing early feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have investigated these phenomena by studying the circadian behaviour of transgenic Drosophila expressing the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ). We find that Aβ expression results in an age-related loss of circadian behavioural rhythms despite ongoing normal molecular oscillations in the central clock neurons. Even in the absence of any behavioural correlate, the synchronised activity of the central clock remains protective, prolonging lifespan, in Aβ flies just as it does in control flies. Confocal microscopy and bioluminescence measurements point to processes downstream of the molecular clock as the main site of Aβ toxicity. In addition, there seems to be significant non-cell-autonomous Aβ toxicity resulting in morphological and probably functional signalling deficits in central clock neurons.

Who's afraid of national laws? Pesticide corporations use trade negotiations to avoid bans and undercut public health protections in Central America.

PubMed

Rosenthal, Erika

2005-01-01

The agrochemical industry is using trade agreements to block proposed bans on pesticides identified as the worst occupational health hazards by a multi-country illness surveillance program in Central America. Through privileged access to closed-door negotiations, industry inserted deregulatory mechanisms, including a regional pesticide registry that invalidates national laws, investors' rights protection, and increased intellectual property protections, into the draft Central American Customs Union and the Central American Free Trade Agreement. These agreements undermine health-based national pesticide registration requirements; weaken health ministries' role in pesticide control; block marketing of cheaper, less toxic pesticides; and have a chilling effect on future pesticide regulatory activity. So long as corporations have privileged access to the trade negotiations and civil society is excluded, the resulting agreements will benefit special interests at the expense of public health.

Invasion of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) into central Africa: what consequences for emerging diseases?

PubMed

Ngoagouni, Carine; Kamgang, Basile; Nakouné, Emmanuel; Paupy, Chistophe; Kazanji, Mirdad

2015-03-31

Aedes albopictus, a mosquito native to Asia, has invaded all five continents during the past three decades. It was reported in central Africa in the 2000s, first in Cameroon, and, since then, has colonised almost all countries of the region. The species, originally considered a secondary vector of dengue viruses, has been showed to play a major role in transmission of chikungunya virus in numerous countries, including in the central African region. We review the current spread of Ae. albopictus in central Africa, its larval ecology and its impact on indigenous species such as Ae. aegypti. We explore the potential of Ae. albopictus to affect the epidemiology of emerging or re-emerging arboviruses and discuss the conventional means for its control, while emphasizing the importance of data on its susceptibility to insecticides to cope with potential outbreaks.

The relationship between executive functioning, central coherence, and repetitive behaviors in the high-functioning autism spectrum.

PubMed

South, Mikle; Ozonoff, Sally; McMahon, William M

2007-09-01

This study examined the relationship between everyday repetitive behavior (primary symptoms of autism) and performance on neuropsychological tests of executive function and central coherence (secondary symptoms). It was hypothesized that the frequency and intensity of repetitive behavior would be positively correlated with laboratory measures of cognitive rigidity and weak central coherence. Participants included 19 individuals (ages 10-19) with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD group) and 18 age- and IQ-matched typically developing controls (TD group). There was partial support in the ASD group for the link between repetitive behavior and executive performance (the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task). There was no support for a link between repetitive behavior and measures of central coherence (a Gestalt Closure test and the Embedded Figures Test). Further research on repetitive behaviors in autism may benefit from a focus on narrow behavioral and cognitive constructs rather than general categories.

Convection-Enhanced Delivery for the Treatment of Pediatric Neurologic Disorders

PubMed Central

Song, Debbie K.; Lonser, Russell R.

2013-01-01

Direct perfusion of specific regions of the central nervous system by convection-enhanced delivery is becoming more widely used for the delivery of compounds in the research and treatment of various neural disorders. In contrast to other currently available central nervous system delivery techniques, convection-enhanced delivery relies on bulk flow for distribution of solute. This allows for safe, targeted, reliable, and homogeneous delivery of small- and large-molecular-weight substances over clinically relevant volumes in a manner that bypasses the blood-central nervous system barrier. Recent studies have also shown that coinfused imaging surrogate tracers can be used to monitor and control the convective distribution of therapeutic agents in vivo. The unique features of convection-enhanced delivery, including the ability to monitor distribution in real-time, provide an opportunity to develop new research and treatment paradigms for pediatric patients with a variety of intrinsic central nervous system disorders. PMID:18952590

The central molecular clock is robust in the face of behavioural arrhythmia in a Drosophila model of Alzheimer’s disease

PubMed Central

Chen, Ko-Fan; Possidente, Bernard; Lomas, David A.; Crowther, Damian C.

2014-01-01

Circadian behavioural deficits, including sleep irregularity and restlessness in the evening, are a distressing early feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We have investigated these phenomena by studying the circadian behaviour of transgenic Drosophila expressing the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ). We find that Aβ expression results in an age-related loss of circadian behavioural rhythms despite ongoing normal molecular oscillations in the central clock neurons. Even in the absence of any behavioural correlate, the synchronised activity of the central clock remains protective, prolonging lifespan, in Aβ flies just as it does in control flies. Confocal microscopy and bioluminescence measurements point to processes downstream of the molecular clock as the main site of Aβ toxicity. In addition, there seems to be significant non-cell-autonomous Aβ toxicity resulting in morphological and probably functional signalling deficits in central clock neurons. PMID:24574361

Cholinergic control of male mating behavior in hamsters: effects of central oxotremorine treatment.

PubMed

Floody, Owen R; Katin, Michael J; Harrington, Lia X; Schassburger, Rachel L

2011-12-01

The responses of rats to intracranial injections of cholinergic drugs implicate acetylcholine in the control of male mating behavior and suggest specific brain areas as mediators of these effects. In particular, past work has linked the medial preoptic area (MPOA) to the control of intromission frequency but implicated areas near the lateral ventricles in effects on the initiation and spacing of intromissions. Studies of responses to systemic cholinergic treatments suggest that acetylcholine is even more important for the control of mating behavior in male hamsters but provide no information on the relevant brain areas. To fill this gap, we observed the effects of central injections of the cholinergic agonist oxotremorine that approached the MPOA along contrasting paths. Both studies suggest that increased cholinergic activity in or near the MPOA can facilitate behavior by reducing the postejaculatory interval and possibly affecting other parts of the mechanisms controlling the initiation of copulation and the efficiency of performance early in an encounter. In addition, oxotremorine caused other changes in behavior that could not be tied to the MPOA and may reflect actions at more dorsal sites, possibly including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and medial septum. These effects were notably heterogeneous, including facilitatory and disruptive effects on male behavior along with a facilitation of lordosis responses to manual stimulation. These results emphasize the number and diversity of elements of sexual behavior in hamsters that are under the partial control of forebrain cholinergic mechanisms. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of an internet-based intervention on Finnish mothers' perceptions of parenting satisfaction, infant centrality and depressive symptoms during the postpartum year.

PubMed

Salonen, Anne H; Pridham, Karen F; Brown, Roger L; Kaunonen, Marja

2014-01-01

this study evaluates how an internet-based intervention affects mothers' parenting satisfaction, infant centrality and depressive symptoms. a quasi-experimental design and repeated measures were used. this study was conducted in two Finnish public maternity hospitals (intervention/control). a convenience sample (N=1300) of primiparous and multiparous Finnish-speaking mothers were invited to participate. Multiple-birth and early discharge mothers receiving home visits were excluded. The analysis included 760 mothers. the intervention offered online support for parenting, breast feeding and infant care beginning from the middle of pregnancy. It consisted of an information database, a peer discussion forum and expert advice. Outcomes were measured by the Evaluation and Infant Centrality subscales of the What Being the Parent of a New Baby is Like-Revised, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale after childbirth, and six weeks, six months and 12 months post partum. Age, parity, parenting self-efficacy, and perception of infant and family functioning were used as the covariates. during the first postpartum year, mothers' parenting satisfaction increased significantly, whereas infant centrality and depressive symptoms decreased within groups. However, these changes were not linear. The mean difference between groups in parenting satisfaction and depressive symptoms was not significant within any of the four assessments. The mean difference in infant centrality between control and intervention mothers was significant only at six weeks post partum. Primiparas scored significantly higher in infant centrality and significantly lower in depressive symptoms than multiparas. an internet-based intervention did not significantly affect mothers' perceptions of parenting satisfaction and depressive symptoms, but intervention mothers experienced higher infant centrality compared with control mothers at six weeks. Parenting self-efficacy was a significant covariate for all measures. Parity needs to be taken into account when infant centrality and depressive symptoms are used as outcome variables in intervention studies. More research is needed to study the potential of information data bank, professional, and peer online support. This study also highlights the need to pay more attention to the selection of the target population, the selection of outcome measures, and implementation issues in intervention research. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Applying Water-Level Difference Control to Central Arizona Project

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Central Arizona Project (CAP) has been supplying Colorado River water to Central Arizona for roughly 25 years. The CAP canal is operated remotely with a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System. Gate position changes are made either manually or through the use of automatic control...

Local Control and Toxicity in a Large Cohort of Central Lung Tumors Treated With Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

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

Modh, Ankit; Rimner, Andreas; Williams, Eric

2014-12-01

Purpose: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in central lung tumors has been associated with higher rates of severe toxicity. We sought to evaluate toxicity and local control in a large cohort and to identify predictive dosimetric parameters. Methods and Materials: We identified patients who received SBRT for central tumors according to either of 2 definitions. Local failure (LF) was estimated using a competing risks model, and multivariate analysis (MVA) was used to assess factors associated with LF. We reviewed patient toxicity and applied Cox proportional hazard analysis and log-rank tests to assess whether dose-volume metrics of normal structures correlated with pulmonarymore » toxicity. Results: One hundred twenty-five patients received SBRT for non-small cell lung cancer (n=103) or metastatic lesions (n=22), using intensity modulated radiation therapy. The most common dose was 45 Gy in 5 fractions. Median follow-up was 17.4 months. Incidence of toxicity ≥ grade 3 was 8.0%, including 5.6% pulmonary toxicity. Sixteen patients (12.8%) experienced esophageal toxicity ≥ grade 2, including 50% of patients in whom PTV overlapped the esophagus. There were 2 treatment-related deaths. Among patients receiving biologically effective dose (BED) ≥80 Gy (n=108), 2-year LF was 21%. On MVA, gross tumor volume (GTV) was significantly associated with LF. None of the studied dose-volume metrics of the lungs, heart, proximal bronchial tree (PBT), or 2 cm expansion of the PBT (“no-fly-zone” [NFZ]) correlated with pulmonary toxicity ≥grade 2. There were no differences in pulmonary toxicity between central tumors located inside the NFZ and those outside the NFZ but with planning target volume (PTV) intersecting the mediastinum. Conclusions: Using moderate doses, SBRT for central lung tumors achieves acceptable local control with low rates of severe toxicity. Dosimetric analysis showed no significant correlation between dose to the lungs, heart, or NFZ and severe pulmonary toxicity. Esophageal toxicity may be an underappreciated risk, particularly when PTV overlaps the esophagus.« less

10 CFR 490.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... biological materials (including neat biodiesel); three P-series fuels (specifically known as Pure Regular... Centrally Fueled means a vehicle can be refueled at least 75 percent of its time at the location that is... of the time at a location that is owned, operated, or controlled by the fleet or covered person, or...

Manager's handbook for balsam fir in the North Central States.

Treesearch

William F. Johnston

1986-01-01

Presents the resource manager with a key to the recommended practices for managing balsam fir stands, especially for timber. Discusses control of growth , establishment, composition, and damaging agents; also discusses managing for boughs and Christmas trees, wildlife habitat, esthetics, water. Includes information on estimating yield and growth.

Smart Grid | Climate Neutral Research Campuses | NREL

Science.gov Websites

begun to build smart grids. Most operate electricity grids that include power generation; load control plant managers use these communications for energy management and load shedding, which are among the top familiar with equipment interoperability, central dispatch, and load shedding. These are common in smart

From Chaos to Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hermann, Jeffrey T.

1992-01-01

Every college should have a campuswide computer publishing policy. Policy options include (1) centralized publishing; (2) franchise, with a number of units doing their own publishing; or (3) limited, with the publications office producing the basics and assisting other units when feasible. To be successful, the policy must also be enforced. (MSE)

77 FR 237 - Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Adjustments to the Allowance System for Controlling HCFC...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-04

..., Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (NAICS code 238220), including Central air-conditioning system and commercial refrigeration installation; HVAC contractors. This list is not intended to be... selecting its highest ODP- weighted consumption year from among the years 1994 through 1997. [[Page 241...

Modular Wireless Data-Acquisition and Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perotti, Jose; Lucena, Angel; Medelius, Pedro; Mata, Carlos; Eckhoff, Anthony; Blalock, Norman

2004-01-01

A modular wireless data-acquisition and control system, now in operation at Kennedy Space Center, offers high performance at relatively low cost. The system includes a central station and a finite number of remote stations that communicate with each other through low-power radio frequency (RF) links. Designed to satisfy stringent requirements for reliability, integrity of data, and low power consumption, this system could be reproduced and adapted to use in a broad range of settings.

On TESOL '83. The Question of Control. Selected Papers from the Annual Convention of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (17th, Toronto, Canada, March 15-20, 1983).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handscombe, Jean, Ed.; And Others

The conference papers presented in this volume explore various aspects of a central question: how will computers be used in language teaching or, more broadly, who will be in control? The volume is divided into three sections: Critical Interactions, Promising Approaches, and Political Influences. Papers included within each of these categories are…

Centralized Command, Distributed Control, and Decentralized Execution - a Command and Control Solution to US Air Force A2/AD Challenges

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-28

Regional Air Component Commander (the Leader) 5 CC-DC- DE Solution to A2/AD – Distributed Theater Air Control System (the System) 9 CC-DC- DE ... Control , Decentralized Execution” to a new framework of “Centralized Command, Distributed Control , and Decentralized Execution” (CC-DC- DE ).4 5 This...USAF C2 challenges in A2/AD environments describes a three-part Centralized Command, Distributed Control , and Decentralized Execution (CC-DC- DE

X-wing fly-by-wire vehicle management system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischer, Jr., William C. (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A complete, computer based, vehicle management system (VMS) for X-Wing aircraft using digital fly-by-wire technology controlling many subsystems and providing functions beyond the classical aircraft flight control system. The vehicle management system receives input signals from a multiplicity of sensors and provides commands to a large number of actuators controlling many subsystems. The VMS includes--segregating flight critical and mission critical factors and providing a greater level of back-up or redundancy for the former; centralizing the computation of functions utilized by several subsystems (e.g. air data, rotor speed, etc.); integrating the control of the flight control functions, the compressor control, the rotor conversion control, vibration alleviation by higher harmonic control, engine power anticipation and self-test, all in the same flight control computer (FCC) hardware units. The VMS uses equivalent redundancy techniques to attain quadruple equivalency levels; includes alternate modes of operation and recovery means to back-up any functions which fail; and uses back-up control software for software redundancy.

Cervical radiofrequency neurotomy reduces central hyperexcitability and improves neck movement in individuals with chronic whiplash.

PubMed

Smith, Ashley Dean; Jull, Gwendolen; Schneider, Geoff; Frizzell, Bevan; Hooper, Robert Allen; Sterling, Michele

2014-01-01

This study aims to determine if cervical medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy reduces psychophysical indicators of augmented central pain processing and improves motor function in individuals with chronic whiplash symptoms. Prospective observational study of consecutive patients with healthy control comparison. Tertiary spinal intervention centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Fifty-three individuals with chronic whiplash associated disorder symptoms (Grade 2); 30 healthy controls. Measures were made at four time points: two prior to radiofrequency neurotomy, and 1- and 3-months post-radiofrequency neurotomy. Measures included: comprehensive quantitative sensory testing (including brachial plexus provocation test), nociceptive flexion reflex, and motor function (cervical range of movement, superficial neck flexor activity during the craniocervical flexion test). Self-report pain and disability measures were also collected. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance and Friedman's tests were performed to investigate the effect of time on the earlier measures. Differences between the whiplash and healthy control groups were investigated with two-tailed independent samples t-test or Mann-Whitney tests. Following cervical radiofrequency neurotomy, there were significant early (within 1 month) and sustained (3 months) improvements in pain, disability, local and widespread hyperalgesia to pressure and thermal stimuli, nociceptive flexor reflex threshold, and brachial plexus provocation test responses as well as increased neck range of motion (all P < 0.0001). A nonsignificant trend for reduced muscle activity with the craniocervical flexion test (P > 0.13) was measured. Attenuation of psychophysical measures of augmented central pain processing and improved cervical movement imply that these processes are maintained by peripheral nociceptive input. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Macular Thickness Variability in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma Patients using Optical Coherence Tomography

PubMed Central

Agarwal, Prakashchand; Sathyan, P; Saini, VK

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Aim: To compare the difference of retinal macular thickness and macular volume using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients with the normal subjects. Materials and methods: This observational case control study included primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients (n = 124 eyes) and healthy subjects in the control group (n = 124 eyes). All subjects underwent detailed history, general and systemic exami -nation. Complete ocular examination included best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit lamp examination, intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness, gonioscopy, dilated fundus biomicroscopy. Field analysis was done by white on white Humphrey Field Analyzer (Carl Zeiss). Optical coherence tomography imaging of macular area was performed using Stratus OCT (OCT 3, Version 4, Carl Zeiss Inc, Dublin, California, USA). In both these groups, parameters analyzed were macular thickness, inner macular thicknesses (IMT), outer macular thicknesses (OMT), central macular thick ness (CMT) and total macular volume (TMV). Results: The POAG group had significantly decreased values of TMV, OMT and IMT, compared to control group, while there was no difference in CMT, presumably due to absence of ganglion cells in the central part. Thus, macular thickness and volume parameters may be used for making the diagnosis of glaucoma especially in patients with abnormalities of disc. Conclusion: Macular thickness parameters correlated well with the diagnosis of glaucoma. How to cite this article: Sharma A, Agarwal P, Sathyan P, Saini VK. Macular Thickness Variability in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma Patients using Optical Coherence Tomography. J Current Glau Prac 2014;8(1):10-14. PMID:26997801

Tryptophan circuit in fatigue: From blood to brain and cognition.

PubMed

Yamashita, Masatoshi; Yamamoto, Takanobu

2017-11-15

Brain tryptophan and its neuroactive metabolites play key roles in central fatigue. However, previous brain function analysis targets may have included both glia and neurons together. Here, we clarified the fatigue-cognitive circuit of the central-peripheral linkage, including the role of glial-neuronal interaction in cognition. Using a rat model of central fatigue induced by chronic sleep disorder (CFSD), we isolated presynaptic terminals and oligodendrocytes. Results showed that compared to control group, presynaptic levels of tryptophan, kynurenine, and kynurenic acid, but not serotonin, in the CFSD group were higher in the hypothalamus and hippocampus. Moreover, CFSD group had higher oligodendrocytic levels of tryptophan, and impaired spatial cognitive memory accuracy and increased hyperactivity and impulsivity. These findings suggest that dynamic change in glial-neuronal interactions within the hypothalamus-hippocampal circuit causes central fatigue, and increased tryptophan-kynurenic acid pathway activity in this circuit causes reduced cognitive function. Additionally, CFSD group had 1.5 times higher plasma levels of tryptophan and kynurenine. Furthermore, in rats undergoing intraperitoneal administration of kynurenine (100mg/kg) versus vehicle, kynurenine-treated rats showed enhanced production of kynurenic acid in the hippocampus, with suppressed recall of retained spatial cognitive memory. The study revealed that uptake of periphery-derived kynurenine and tryptophan into the brain enhances kynurenic acid production in the brain, and the three factors produce amplification effect involved in the role of central-peripheral linkage in central fatigue, triggering cognitive dysfunction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PubMed Central

VANNI, S.; CASATI, C.; MORONI, F.; RISSO, M.; OTTAVIANI, M.; NAZERIAN, P.; GRIFONI, S.; VANNUCCHI, P.

2014-01-01

SUMMARY Vertigo is generally due to a benign disorder, but it is the most common symptom associated with misdiagnosis of stroke. In this pilot study, we preliminarily assessed the diagnostic performance of a structured bedside algorithm to differentiate central from non-central acute vertigo (AV). Adult patients presenting to a single Emergency Department with vertigo were evaluated with STANDING (SponTAneous Nystagmus, Direction, head Impulse test, standiNG) by one of five trained emergency physicians or evaluated ordinarily by the rest of the medical staff (control group). The gold standard was a complete audiologic evaluation by a clinicians who are experts in assessing dizzy patients and neuroimaging. Reliability, sensibility and specificity of STANDING were calculated. Moreover, to evaluate the potential clinical impact of STANDING, neuroimaging and hospitalisation rates were compared with control group. A total of 292 patients were included, and 48 (16.4%) had a diagnosis of central AV. Ninety-eight (33.4%) patients were evaluated with STANDING. The test had good interobserver agreement (k = 0.76), with very high sensitivity (100%, 95%CI 72.3-100%) and specificity (94.3%, 95%CI 90.7-94.3%). Furthermore, hospitalisation and neuroimaging test rates were lower in the STANDING than in the control group (27.6% vs. 50.5% and 31.6% vs. 71.1%, respectively). In conclusion, STANDING seems to be a promising simple structured bedside algorithm that in this preliminary study identified central AV with a very high sensitivity, and was associated with significant reduction of neuroimaging and hospitalisation rates. PMID:25762835

Clarification of Institutional Controls at the Rocky Flats Site Central Operable Unit and Implementation of the Soil Disturbance Review Plan - 13053

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

DiSalvo, Rick; Surovchak, Scott; Spreng, Carl

2013-07-01

Cleanup and closure of DOE's Rocky Flats Site in Colorado, which was placed on the CERCLA National Priority List in 1989, was accomplished under CERCLA, RCRA, and the Colorado Hazardous Waste Act (CHWA). The physical cleanup work was completed in late 2005 and all buildings and other structures that composed the Rocky Flats industrial complex were removed from the surface, but remnants remain in the subsurface. Other remaining features include two landfills closed in place with covers, four groundwater treatment systems, and surface water and groundwater monitoring systems. Under the 2006 Corrective Action Decision/Record of Decision for Rocky Flats Plantmore » (US DOE) Peripheral Operable Unit and the Central Operable Unit (CAD/ROD), the response actions selected for the Central Operable Unit (OU) are institutional controls (ICs), physical controls, and continued monitoring and maintenance. The objectives of these ICs were to prevent unacceptable exposure to remaining subsurface contamination and to prevent contaminants from mobilizing to surface water and to prevent interfering with the proper functioning of the engineered components of the remedy. An amendment in 2011 of the 2006 CAD/ROD clarified the ICs to prevent misinterpretation that would prohibit work to manage and maintain the Central OU property. The 2011 amendment incorporated a protocol for a Soil Disturbance Review Plan for work subject to ICs that requires approval from the State and public notification by DOE prior to conducting approved soil-disturbing work. (authors)« less

Enhanced pressure in the central retinal vein decreases the perfusion pressure in the prelaminar region of the optic nerve head.

PubMed

Stodtmeister, Richard; Ventzke, Sylvana; Spoerl, Eberhard; Boehm, Andreas G; Terai, Naim; Haustein, Michael; Pillunat, Lutz E

2013-07-12

The pressure in the central retinal vein (CRVP) has been shown to be higher in glaucoma patients than in controls. Until now, these measurements have been performed in arbitrary units or in units of ophthalmodynamometric force. In our study, a contact lens dynamometer, calibrated in mm Hg, was used to calculate the retinal perfusion pressure. A total of 27 patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and 27 healthy control subjects were included in the study. The IOP measurement included Goldmann applanation tonometry, whereas the pressure enhancement measurement consisted of contact lens dynamometry. results: the pressures are given in mm hg, and are expressed as the mean ± SD for the control subjects versus the POAG patients: IOP 14.4 ± 2.7 vs. 15.4 ± 2.9, systolic blood pressure 141 ± 20.1 vs. 153 ± 16.5 (P = 0.013), central retinal vein threshold pressure (CRVTP) 11.9 ± 3.8 vs. 16.8 ± 5.0, CRVP 15.0 ± 2.7 vs. 17.9 ± 4.2, and retinal perfusion pressure (PPret) standard 84 ± 12.2 vs. 94 ± 9.1 and new 83 ± 12.2 vs. 91 ± 9.6. The differences in PPret between using the new versus the standard method are 0.55 ± 1.33 vs. -2.5 ± 3.89 (P = 0.041 and P = 0.002, respectively). The PPret was at least 5.0 mm Hg lower in 5 of the 27 POAG patients when the new calculation method was used. The perfusion pressure in the retina and prelaminar region of the optic nerve head (ONH) may be lower than expected because the CRVP may be higher. The pressure measurement in the central retinal vein may be a step toward a better understanding of ONH pathophysiology.

Exercise excess pressure and exercise-induced albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Climie, Rachel E D; Srikanth, Velandai; Keith, Laura J; Davies, Justin E; Sharman, James E

2015-05-01

Exercise-induced albuminuria is common in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in response to maximal exercise, but the response to light-moderate exercise is unclear. Patients with T2DM have abnormal central hemodynamics and greater propensity for exercise hypertension. This study sought to determine the relationship between light-moderate exercise central hemodynamics (including aortic reservoir and excess pressure) and exercise-induced albuminuria. Thirty-nine T2DM (62 ± 9 yr; 49% male) and 39 nondiabetic controls (53 ± 9 yr; 51% male) were examined at rest and during 20 min of light-moderate cycle exercise (30 W; 50 revolutions/min). Albuminuria was assessed by the albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) at rest and 30 min postexercise. Hemodynamics recorded included brachial and central blood pressure (BP), aortic stiffness, augmented pressure (AP), aortic reservoir pressure, and excess pressure integral (Pexcess). There was no difference in ACR between groups before exercise (P > 0.05). Exercise induced a significant rise in ACR in T2DM but not controls (1.73 ± 1.43 vs. 0.53 ± 1.0 mg/mol, P = 0.002). All central hemodynamic variables were significantly higher during exercise in T2DM (i.e., Pexcess, systolic BP and AP; P < 0.01 all). In T2DM (but not controls), exercise Pexcess was associated with postexercise ACR (r = 0.51, P = 0.002), and this relationship was independent of age, sex, body mass index, heart rate, aortic stiffness, antihypertensive medication, and ambulatory daytime systolic BP (β = 0.003, P = 0.003). Light-moderate exercise induced a significant rise in ACR in T2DM, and this was independently associated with Pexcess, a potential marker of vascular dysfunction. These novel findings suggest that Pexcess could be important for appropriate renal function in T2DM. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Altered Whole-Brain and Network-Based Functional Connectivity in Parkinson's Disease.

PubMed

de Schipper, Laura J; Hafkemeijer, Anne; van der Grond, Jeroen; Marinus, Johan; Henselmans, Johanna M L; van Hilten, Jacobus J

2018-01-01

Background: Functional imaging methods, such as resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, reflect changes in neural connectivity and may help to assess the widespread consequences of disease-specific network changes in Parkinson's disease. In this study we used a relatively new graph analysis approach in functional imaging: eigenvector centrality mapping. This model-free method, applied to all voxels in the brain, identifies prominent regions in the brain network hierarchy and detects localized differences between patient populations. In other neurological disorders, eigenvector centrality mapping has been linked to changes in functional connectivity in certain nodes of brain networks. Objectives: Examining changes in functional brain connectivity architecture on a whole brain and network level in patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods: Whole brain resting-state functional architecture was studied with a recently introduced graph analysis approach (eigenvector centrality mapping). Functional connectivity was further investigated in relation to eight known resting-state networks. Cross-sectional analyses included group comparison of functional connectivity measures of Parkinson's disease patients ( n = 107) with control subjects ( n = 58) and correlations with clinical data, including motor and cognitive impairment and a composite measure of predominantly non-dopaminergic symptoms. Results: Eigenvector centrality mapping revealed that frontoparietal regions were more prominent in the whole-brain network function in patients compared to control subjects, while frontal and occipital brain areas were less prominent in patients. Using standard resting-state networks, we found predominantly increased functional connectivity, namely within sensorimotor system and visual networks in patients. Regional group differences in functional connectivity of both techniques between patients and control subjects partly overlapped for highly connected posterior brain regions, in particular in the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus. Clinico-functional imaging relations were not found. Conclusions: Changes on the level of functional brain connectivity architecture might provide a different perspective of pathological consequences of Parkinson's disease. The involvement of specific, highly connected (hub) brain regions may influence whole brain functional network architecture in Parkinson's disease.

Enhanced pain and autonomic responses to ambiguous visual stimuli in chronic Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) type I.

PubMed

Cohen, H E; Hall, J; Harris, N; McCabe, C S; Blake, D R; Jänig, W

2012-02-01

Cortical reorganisation of sensory, motor and autonomic systems can lead to dysfunctional central integrative control. This may contribute to signs and symptoms of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), including pain. It has been hypothesised that central neuroplastic changes may cause afferent sensory feedback conflicts and produce pain. We investigated autonomic responses produced by ambiguous visual stimuli (AVS) in CRPS, and their relationship to pain. Thirty CRPS patients with upper limb involvement and 30 age and sex matched healthy controls had sympathetic autonomic function assessed using laser Doppler flowmetry of the finger pulp at baseline and while viewing a control figure or AVS. Compared to controls, there were diminished vasoconstrictor responses and a significant difference in the ratio of response between affected and unaffected limbs (symmetry ratio) to a deep breath and viewing AVS. While viewing visual stimuli, 33.5% of patients had asymmetric vasomotor responses and all healthy controls had a homologous symmetric pattern of response. Nineteen (61%) CRPS patients had enhanced pain within seconds of viewing the AVS. All the asymmetric vasomotor responses were in this group, and were not predictable from baseline autonomic function. Ten patients had accompanying dystonic reactions in their affected limb: 50% were in the asymmetric sub-group. In conclusion, there is a group of CRPS patients that demonstrate abnormal pain networks interacting with central somatomotor and autonomic integrational pathways. © 2011 European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters.

Central implementation strategies outperform local ones in improving HIV testing in Veterans Healthcare Administration facilities.

PubMed

Goetz, Matthew Bidwell; Hoang, Tuyen; Knapp, Herschel; Burgess, Jane; Fletcher, Michael D; Gifford, Allen L; Asch, Steven M

2013-10-01

Pilot data suggest that a multifaceted approach may increase HIV testing rates, but the scalability of this approach and the level of support needed for successful implementation remain unknown. To evaluate the effectiveness of a scaled-up multi-component intervention in increasing the rate of risk-based and routine HIV diagnostic testing in primary care clinics and the impact of differing levels of program support. Three arm, quasi-experimental implementation research study. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. Persons receiving primary care between June 2009 and September 2011 INTERVENTION: A multimodal program, including a real-time electronic clinical reminder to facilitate HIV testing, provider feedback reports and provider education, was implemented in Central and Local Arm Sites; sites in the Central Arm also received ongoing programmatic support. Control Arm sites had no intervention Frequency of performing HIV testing during the 6 months before and after implementation of a risk-based clinical reminder (phase I) or routine clinical reminder (phase II). The adjusted rate of risk-based testing increased by 0.4 %, 5.6 % and 10.1 % in the Control, Local and Central Arms, respectively (all comparisons, p < 0.01). During phase II, the adjusted rate of routine testing increased by 1.1 %, 6.3 % and 9.2 % in the Control, Local and Central Arms, respectively (all comparisons, p < 0.01). At study end, 70-80 % of patients had been offered an HIV test. Use of clinical reminders, provider feedback, education and social marketing significantly increased the frequency at which HIV testing is offered and performed in VHA facilities. These findings support a multimodal approach toward achieving the goal of having every American know their HIV status as a matter of routine clinical practice.

Multisector Health Policy Networks in 15 Large US Cities.

PubMed

Harris, Jenine K; Leider, J P; Carothers, Bobbi J; Castrucci, Brian C; Hearne, Shelley

2016-01-01

Local health departments (LHDs) have historically not prioritized policy development, although it is one of the 3 core areas they address. One strategy that may influence policy in LHD jurisdictions is the formation of partnerships across sectors to work together on local public health policy. We used a network approach to examine LHD local health policy partnerships across 15 large cities from the Big Cities Health Coalition. We surveyed the health departments and their partners about their working relationships in 5 policy areas: core local funding, tobacco control, obesity and chronic disease, violence and injury prevention, and infant mortality. Drawing on prior literature linking network structures with performance, we examined network density, transitivity, centralization and centrality, member diversity, and assortativity of ties. Networks included an average of 21.8 organizations. Nonprofits and government agencies made up the largest proportions of the networks, with 28.8% and 21.7% of network members, whereas for-profits and foundations made up the smallest proportions in all of the networks, with just 1.2% and 2.4% on average. Mean values of density, transitivity, diversity, assortativity, centralization, and centrality showed similarity across policy areas and most LHDs. The tobacco control and obesity/chronic disease networks were densest and most diverse, whereas the infant mortality policy networks were the most centralized and had the highest assortativity. Core local funding policy networks had lower scores than other policy area networks by most network measures. Urban LHDs partner with organizations from diverse sectors to conduct local public health policy work. Network structures are similar across policy areas jurisdictions. Obesity and chronic disease, tobacco control, and infant mortality networks had structures consistent with higher performing networks, whereas core local funding networks had structures consistent with lower performing networks.

[The relationship between ophthalmic nerve lesion in glaucoma and ocular and systemic haemodynamic disturbance].

PubMed

Liu, L; Yuan, S; Yang, W

1999-04-01

To explore the relationship between the optic nerve lesion in glaucoma and ocular and systemic haemodynamic disturbance. The color Doppler imaging was used to study blood velocity in the ophthalmic, the central retinal and the short posterior ciliary arteries in 34 patients with primary open angle glaucoma, 31 patients with low tension glaucoma and 90 healthy controls. The peak systolic velocity(PSV), the end diastolic velocity (EDV) and resistive index (RI) in each artery were measured, moreover the nailfold microcirculation and blood viscosity in each patient were examined. Compared with the control group, the PSV and EDV of the central retinal arteries were significantly lower while the RI of the central retinal arteries was significantly higher in both POAG and LTG patients. The RI of the short posterior ciliary arteries however was significantly higher in POAG. Nailfold microcirculation shows that some important parameters, including flow pattern, loop surrounding, morphological weighted value, total weighted value and capillary deformity rate in the two glaucoma groups were higher, whereas the flow velocity was lower than in the control group. The plasm viscosity and the whole blood viscosity (low spear) were higher than normal. According to our measurements, the nailfold microcirculation and blood viscosity was worse at the end stage of glaucoma than at early stage. The correlative analysis between measurement results of color doppler imaging and microcirculation and heamorrheology showed that nailfold microcirculation morphological weighted value was negatively correlated with the EDV of the central retinal artery and positively correlated with the RI of the central retinal artery in LTG patients. The abnormity of ocular haemodynamics and systemic microcirculation and blood viscosity is one important factor of optic nerve damage in glaucoma.

Trends analyses of 30 years of ambient 8 hour ozone and precursor monitoring data in the South Central U.S.: progress and challenges.

PubMed

Sather, Mark E; Cavender, Kevin

2016-07-13

In the last 30 years ambient ozone concentrations have notably decreased in the South Central U.S. Yet, current ambient ozone concentrations measured over the past three years 2013-2015 in this area of the U.S. are not meeting the U.S. 2015 8 hour ozone standard of 70 parts per billion (ppb). This paper provides an update on long-term trends analyses of ambient 8 hour ozone and ozone precursor monitoring data collected over the past 30 years (1986-2015) in four South Central U.S. cities, following up on two previously published reviews of 20 and 25 year trends for these cities. All four cities have benefitted from national ozone precursor controls put in place during the 1990s and 2000s involving cleaner vehicles (vehicle fleet turnover/replacement over time), cleaner fuels, cleaner gasoline and diesel engines, and improved inspection/maintenance programs for existing vehicles. Additional ozone precursor emission controls specific to each city are detailed in this paper. The controls have resulted in impressive ambient ozone and ambient ozone precursor concentration reductions in the four South Central U.S. cities over the past 30 years, including 31-70% ambient nitrogen oxides (NOx) concentration declines from historical peaks to the present, 43-72% volatile organic compound (VOC) concentration declines from historical peaks to the present, a related 45-76% VOC reactivity decline for a subset of VOC species from historical peaks to the present, and an 18-38 ppb reduction in city 8 hour ozone design value concentrations. A new challenge for each of the four South Central U.S. cities will be meeting the U.S. 2015 8 hour ozone standard of 70 ppb.

Multisector Health Policy Networks in 15 Large US Cities

PubMed Central

Leider, J. P.; Carothers, Bobbi J.; Castrucci, Brian C.; Hearne, Shelley

2016-01-01

Context: Local health departments (LHDs) have historically not prioritized policy development, although it is one of the 3 core areas they address. One strategy that may influence policy in LHD jurisdictions is the formation of partnerships across sectors to work together on local public health policy. Design: We used a network approach to examine LHD local health policy partnerships across 15 large cities from the Big Cities Health Coalition. Setting/Participants: We surveyed the health departments and their partners about their working relationships in 5 policy areas: core local funding, tobacco control, obesity and chronic disease, violence and injury prevention, and infant mortality. Outcome Measures: Drawing on prior literature linking network structures with performance, we examined network density, transitivity, centralization and centrality, member diversity, and assortativity of ties. Results: Networks included an average of 21.8 organizations. Nonprofits and government agencies made up the largest proportions of the networks, with 28.8% and 21.7% of network members, whereas for-profits and foundations made up the smallest proportions in all of the networks, with just 1.2% and 2.4% on average. Mean values of density, transitivity, diversity, assortativity, centralization, and centrality showed similarity across policy areas and most LHDs. The tobacco control and obesity/chronic disease networks were densest and most diverse, whereas the infant mortality policy networks were the most centralized and had the highest assortativity. Core local funding policy networks had lower scores than other policy area networks by most network measures. Conclusion: Urban LHDs partner with organizations from diverse sectors to conduct local public health policy work. Network structures are similar across policy areas jurisdictions. Obesity and chronic disease, tobacco control, and infant mortality networks had structures consistent with higher performing networks, whereas core local funding networks had structures consistent with lower performing networks. PMID:26910868

Implications of the cattle trade network in Cameroon for regional disease prevention and control

PubMed Central

Motta, Paolo; Porphyre, Thibaud; Handel, Ian; Hamman, Saidou M.; Ngu Ngwa, Victor; Tanya, Vincent; Morgan, Kenton; Christley, Rob; Bronsvoort, Barend M. deC.

2017-01-01

Movement of live animals is a major risk factor for the spread of livestock diseases and zoonotic infections. Understanding contact patterns is key to informing cost-effective surveillance and control strategies. In West and Central Africa some of the most rapid urbanization globally is expected to increase the demand for animal-source foods and the need for safer and more efficient animal production. Livestock trading points represent a strategic contact node in the dissemination of multiple pathogens. From October 2014 to May 2015 official transaction records were collected and a questionnaire-based survey was carried out in cattle markets throughout Western and Central-Northern Cameroon. The data were used to analyse the cattle trade network including a total of 127 livestock markets within Cameroon and five neighboring countries. This study explores for the first time the influence of animal trade on infectious disease spread in the region. The investigations showed that national borders do not present a barrier against pathogen dissemination and that non-neighbouring countries are epidemiologically connected, highlighting the importance of a regional approach to disease surveillance, prevention and control. Furthermore, these findings provide evidence for the benefit of strategic risk-based approaches for disease monitoring, surveillance and control, as well as for communication and training purposes through targeting key regions, highly connected livestock markets and central trading links. PMID:28266589

Implications of the cattle trade network in Cameroon for regional disease prevention and control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Motta, Paolo; Porphyre, Thibaud; Handel, Ian; Hamman, Saidou M.; Ngu Ngwa, Victor; Tanya, Vincent; Morgan, Kenton; Christley, Rob; Bronsvoort, Barend M. Dec.

2017-03-01

Movement of live animals is a major risk factor for the spread of livestock diseases and zoonotic infections. Understanding contact patterns is key to informing cost-effective surveillance and control strategies. In West and Central Africa some of the most rapid urbanization globally is expected to increase the demand for animal-source foods and the need for safer and more efficient animal production. Livestock trading points represent a strategic contact node in the dissemination of multiple pathogens. From October 2014 to May 2015 official transaction records were collected and a questionnaire-based survey was carried out in cattle markets throughout Western and Central-Northern Cameroon. The data were used to analyse the cattle trade network including a total of 127 livestock markets within Cameroon and five neighboring countries. This study explores for the first time the influence of animal trade on infectious disease spread in the region. The investigations showed that national borders do not present a barrier against pathogen dissemination and that non-neighbouring countries are epidemiologically connected, highlighting the importance of a regional approach to disease surveillance, prevention and control. Furthermore, these findings provide evidence for the benefit of strategic risk-based approaches for disease monitoring, surveillance and control, as well as for communication and training purposes through targeting key regions, highly connected livestock markets and central trading links.

Simple repair approach for mitral regurgitation in Barlow disease.

PubMed

Ben Zekry, Sagit; Spiegelstein, Dan; Sternik, Leonid; Lev, Innon; Kogan, Alexander; Kuperstein, Rafael; Raanani, Ehud

2015-11-01

Mitral valve repair for myxomatous Barlow disease is a challenging procedure requiring complex surgery with less than optimal results. The use of ring-only repair has been previously reported but never analyzed or followed-up. We investigated this simple valve repair approach for patients with Barlow disease and multisegment involvement causing mainly central jet. Of 572 patients who underwent mitral valve repair for mitral regurgitation at our medical center, 24 with Barlow disease (aged 47 ± 14 years; 46% male) underwent ring-only repair. Patients were characterized by severely enlarged mitral valve annulus, multisegment prolapse involving both leaflets, and demonstrated mainly a central wide regurgitant jet. Surgical technique included only the implantation of a large mitral annuloplasty ring. Early and late outcome results were compared with those of the remaining patients who underwent conventional mitral valve repair for degenerative disease (controls). All ring-only patients presented with moderate-severe/severe mitral regurgitation (vena contracta, 0.6 ± 0.1 cm; regurgitation volume, 52 ± 17 mL), with mainly a central jet and almost preserved ejection fraction (59% ± 6%). Cardiopulmonary bypass and crossclamp times were significantly shorter compared with controls (P < .0001). At follow-up (ring-only, 38 ± 36 months and controls, 36 ± 29 months), there were no late deaths in the ring-only group compared with 19 (4%) in the controls. Late follow-up revealed New York Heart Association functional class I or II in 95% of ring-only patients, compared with 90% of controls. Freedom from recurrent moderate or severe mitral regurgitation was 100% and 89% in the ring-only and control groups, respectively. Mitral annuloplasty for Barlow disease patients with multisegment involvement and mainly central regurgitant jet is both simple and reproducible with excellent late outcomes. Copyright © 2015 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Common Sense Beliefs about the Central Self, Moral Character, and the Brain

PubMed Central

Fernandez-Duque, Diego; Schwartz, Barry

2016-01-01

To assess lay beliefs about self and brain, we probed people's opinions about the central self, in relation to morality, willful control, and brain relevance. In study 1, 172 participants compared the central self to the peripheral self. The central self, construed at this abstract level, was seen as more brain-based than the peripheral self, less changeable through willful control, and yet more indicative of moral character. In study 2, 210 participants described 18 specific personality traits on 6 dimensions: centrality to self, moral relevance, willful control, brain dependence, temporal stability, and desirability. Consistent with Study 1, centrality to the self, construed at this more concrete level, was positively correlated to brain dependence. Centrality to the self was also correlated to desirability and temporal stability, but not to morality or willful control. We discuss differences and similarities between abstract (Study 1) and concrete (Study 2) levels of construal of the central self, and conclude that in contemporary American society people readily embrace the brain as the underlying substrate of who they truly are. PMID:26793140

Common Sense Beliefs about the Central Self, Moral Character, and the Brain.

PubMed

Fernandez-Duque, Diego; Schwartz, Barry

2015-01-01

To assess lay beliefs about self and brain, we probed people's opinions about the central self, in relation to morality, willful control, and brain relevance. In study 1, 172 participants compared the central self to the peripheral self. The central self, construed at this abstract level, was seen as more brain-based than the peripheral self, less changeable through willful control, and yet more indicative of moral character. In study 2, 210 participants described 18 specific personality traits on 6 dimensions: centrality to self, moral relevance, willful control, brain dependence, temporal stability, and desirability. Consistent with Study 1, centrality to the self, construed at this more concrete level, was positively correlated to brain dependence. Centrality to the self was also correlated to desirability and temporal stability, but not to morality or willful control. We discuss differences and similarities between abstract (Study 1) and concrete (Study 2) levels of construal of the central self, and conclude that in contemporary American society people readily embrace the brain as the underlying substrate of who they truly are.

Central-provincial relations for anti-schistosomiasis policy in china.

PubMed

Fan, Ka-Wai

2012-01-01

This paper discusses central-local relations for healthcare policy in China from a principal-agent perspective, based on schistosomiasis control. In order to control the disease, the central government produced the Outline of the Mid-Long-Term National Plan for Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control (2004-2015) in 2004. By discussing the implementation of the National Outline at the provincial level, the author uses principal-agent theory to examine conflict and coordination between the central and provincial governments. The documents were collected from the Internet. Although the central and provincial governments all want to eliminate schistosomiasis, allocating funding among them creates conflict and forms an obstacle to achieving the goal. This paper extensively discusses the topics related to central-provincial relation and schistosomiasis control program. Further case study on a single province may be needed to intensify the discussion from a micro perspective. The conflict between central and provincial relations needs to be resolved in order to implement the national policy.

Central-Provincial Relations for Anti-Schistosomiasis Policy in China

PubMed Central

FAN, Ka-wai

2012-01-01

This paper discusses central-local relations for healthcare policy in China from a principal-agent perspective, based on schistosomiasis control. In order to control the disease, the central government produced the Outline of the Mid-Long-Term National Plan for Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control (2004–2015) in 2004. By discussing the implementation of the National Outline at the provincial level, the author uses principal-agent theory to examine conflict and coordination between the central and provincial governments. The documents were collected from the Internet. Although the central and provincial governments all want to eliminate schistosomiasis, allocating funding among them creates conflict and forms an obstacle to achieving the goal. This paper extensively discusses the topics related to central-provincial relation and schistosomiasis control program. Further case study on a single province may be needed to intensify the discussion from a micro perspective. The conflict between central and provincial relations needs to be resolved in order to implement the national policy. PMID:23113188

[Meta-analysis of the clinical significance of thyroidectomy combined with central neck dissection in differentiated thyroid carcinoma at the first treatment].

PubMed

Sun, Ronghao; Li, Chao; Fan, Jinchuan; Liu, Jifeng; Chen, Jianchao; Zhang, Bing

2014-02-01

To compare the differences in recurrence rates and surgical complications between thyroidectomy alone and thyroidectomy combined with central neck dissection as initial treatments to differentiated thyroid cancer and evaluate the clinic significance of central neck dissection for these patients. The literatures published in 1998-2013 were searched in Wanfang database, Chongqing VIP database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Pubmed, Medline and Beijing Kangjian foreign medical journal full text service. According to the inclusion and deletion criteria, 30 articles were included. Of them 26 articles involved in complications, hypocalcemia and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy as two major complications were involved in 26 articles and 24 articles respectively, and 26 articles involved in recurrence rate. RevMan5.0 software package was used to perform meta-analysis. Total complication rate in experimental group (plus central neck dissection) was 13.08% higher than that in control group (thyroidectomy only), the odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval (95%CI)] was 2.32[2.02, 2.67], Z value was 11.80, P < 0.01. Hypocalcemia in the experimental group was 11.80% higher than that in control group, OR value [95%CI] was 2.58[2.21, 3.02], Z was 11.98, P < 0.01. The rates of recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis were low in both experimental group (5.26%) and control group(3.95%), and OR value [95%CI] was 1.22 [0.94, 1.58], Z was 1.48, P = 0.14. Recurrence rate in experimental group was 2.23% lower than that in control group, OR value [95%CI] was 0.78 [0.63,0.97], Z was 2.35, P = 0.03. Central compartment dissection as initial treatment to differentiated thyroid cancer may reduce the risk of recurrence, but increases the incidence of total complications and hypocalcemia, and has no significant effect on the rate of the recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis.

Embedded Control System for Smart Walking Assistance Device.

PubMed

Bosnak, Matevz; Skrjanc, Igor

2017-03-01

This paper presents the design and implementation of a unique control system for a smart hoist, a therapeutic device that is used in rehabilitation of walking. The control system features a unique human-machine interface that allows the human to intuitively control the system just by moving or rotating its body. The paper contains an overview of the complete system, including the design and implementation of custom sensors, dc servo motor controllers, communication interfaces and embedded-system based central control system. The prototype of the complete system was tested by conducting a 6-runs experiment on 11 subjects and results are showing that the proposed control system interface is indeed intuitive and simple to adopt by the user.

Effect of Probiotics on Central Nervous System Functions in Animals and Humans: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Wang, Huiying; Lee, In-Seon; Braun, Christoph; Enck, Paul

2016-01-01

To systematically review the effects of probiotics on central nervous system function in animals and humans, to summarize effective interventions (species of probiotic, dose, duration), and to analyze the possibility of translating preclinical studies. Literature searches were conducted in Pubmed, Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Only randomized controlled trials were included. In total, 38 studies were included: 25 in animals and 15 in humans (2 studies were conducted in both). Most studies used Bifidobacterium (eg, B. longum, B. breve, and B. infantis) and Lactobacillus (eg, L. helveticus, and L. rhamnosus), with doses between 109 and 1010 colony-forming units for 2 weeks in animals and 4 weeks in humans. These probiotics showed efficacy in improving psychiatric disorder-related behaviors including anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, and memory abilities, including spatial and non-spatial memory. Because many of the basic science studies showed some efficacy of probiotics on central nervous system function, this background may guide and promote further preclinical and clinical studies. Translating animal studies to human studies has obvious limitations but also suggests possibilities. Here, we provide several suggestions for the translation of animal studies. More experimental designs with both behavioral and neuroimaging measures in healthy volunteers and patients are needed in the future. PMID:27413138

Effect of Probiotics on Central Nervous System Functions in Animals and Humans: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Wang, Huiying; Lee, In-Seon; Braun, Christoph; Enck, Paul

2016-10-30

To systematically review the effects of probiotics on central nervous system function in animals and humans, to summarize effective interventions (species of probiotic, dose, duration), and to analyze the possibility of translating preclinical studies. Literature searches were conducted in Pubmed, Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Only randomized controlled trials were included. In total, 38 studies were included: 25 in animals and 15 in humans (2 studies were conducted in both). Most studies used Bifidobacterium (eg, B. longum , B. breve , and B. infantis ) and Lactobacillus (eg, L. helveticus , and L. rhamnosus ), with doses between 10⁸ and 10¹⁰ colony-forming units for 2 weeks in animals and 4 weeks in humans. These probiotics showed efficacy in improving psychiatric disorder-related behaviors including anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, and memory abilities, including spatial and non-spatial memory. Because many of the basic science studies showed some efficacy of probiotics on central nervous system function, this background may guide and promote further preclinical and clinical studies. Translating animal studies to human studies has obvious limitations but also suggests possibilities. Here, we provide several suggestions for the translation of animal studies. More experimental designs with both behavioral and neuroimaging measures in healthy volunteers and patients are needed in the future.

Supporting productive thinking: The semiotic context for Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE).

PubMed

Flach, John

2017-03-01

The central thesis of this paper is that Rasmussen framed his approach to Cognitive Systems Engineering from the perspective of a Triadic Semiotic Model. This frame became the context for integrating multiple intellectual threads including Control Theory, Information Theory, Ecological Psychology, and Gestalt Psychology into a coherent theoretical framework. The case is made that the triadic semiotic framework is essential for a complete appreciation of the constructs that were central to Rasmussen's approach: Abstraction Hierarchy, Skill-Rules-Knowledge Model, Ecological Interface Design, and Proactive Risk Management. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Melanin concentrating hormone in central hypersomnia.

PubMed

Peyron, Christelle; Valentin, Françoise; Bayard, Sophie; Hanriot, Lucie; Bedetti, Christophe; Rousset, Bernard; Luppi, Pierre-Hervé; Dauvilliers, Yves

2011-09-01

Narcolepsy with cataplexy (NC) is a disabling disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and abnormal rapid eye movement (REM) sleep manifestations, due to a deficient hypocretin/orexin neurotransmission. Melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons involved in the homeostatic regulation of REM sleep are intact. We hypothesized that an increased release of MCH in NC would be partly responsible for the abnormal REM sleep manifestations. Twenty-two untreated patients affected with central hypersomnia were included: 14 NC, six idiopathic hypersomnia with long sleep time, and two post-traumatic hypersomnia. Fourteen neurological patients without any sleep disorders were included as controls. Using radioimmunoassays, we measured hypocretin-1 and MCH levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The MCH level was slightly but significantly lower in patients with hypersomnia (98 ± 32 pg/ml) compared to controls (118 ± 20 pg/ml). After exclusion of patients affected with post-traumatic hypersomnia the difference became non-significant. We also failed to find any association between MCH level and hypocretin level, the severity of daytime sleepiness, the number of SOREMPs, the frequency of cataplexy, and the presence of hypnagogic hallucinations or sleep paralysis. This study reports the first measurement of MCH in CSF using radioimmunoassay technology. It appears to be a non-informative tool to differentiate etiologies of central hypersomnia with or without REM sleep dysregulation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An analysis of leukapheresis and central venous catheter use in the randomized, placebo controlled, phase 3 IMPACT trial of Sipuleucel-T for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer.

PubMed

Flanigan, Robert C; Polcari, Anthony J; Shore, Neil D; Price, Thomas H; Sims, Robert B; Maher, Johnathan C; Whitmore, James B; Corman, John M

2013-02-01

Sipuleucel-T is an autologous cellular immunotherapy. We review the safety of the leukapheresis procedure required for sipuleucel-T preparation and complications related to venous catheter use in the randomized, placebo controlled phase 3 IMPACT (IMmunotherapy for ProstAte Cancer Trial) study (NCT 00065442). A total of 512 patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer were enrolled in the study. All patients were scheduled to undergo 3 standard 1.5 to 2.0 blood volume leukapheresis procedures at 2-week intervals. Leukapheresis related adverse events and those related to venous catheter use were reviewed. Immune cell counts were examined throughout the treatment course. Of 512 enrolled patients 506 underwent 1 or more leukapheresis procedures and were included in this analysis. Adverse events were comparable between the sipuleucel-T and control arms. Leukapheresis related adverse events were primarily associated with transient hypocalcemia (39.3%). Most leukapheresis related adverse events (97%) were of mild/moderate intensity. Median white blood cell count and absolute monocyte and lymphocyte counts were stable and within normal ranges throughout the treatment course. Of all patients 23.3% had a central venous catheter placed primarily for leukapheresis. Patients with vs without a central venous catheter had a higher risk of infection potentially related to catheter use (11.9% vs 1.3%, p <0.0001) and a trend toward a higher incidence of venous vascular events potentially related to catheter use, excluding the central nervous system (5.9% vs 2.1%, p = 0.06). Adverse events related to leukapheresis are manageable and quickly reversible. The majority of patients can undergo leukapheresis without a central venous catheter. Central venous catheters are associated with an increased risk of infections and venous vascular events. Peripheral intravenous access should be used when feasible. Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Resistance Training Augments Cerebral Blood Flow Pulsatility: Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Nakamura, Nobuhiro; Muraoka, Isao

2018-06-11

Increased central arterial stiffness and/or decreased compliance reduces buffer function and increases cerebral blood flow (CBF) pulsatility, which leads to increased cerebral microvascular damage, resulting in the augmentation of the risk of cerebrovascular diseases. Resistance-trained men showed higher central arterial stiffness and lower arterial compliance than age-matched, sedentary men. This study examined the effect of increased central arterial stiffness and/or decreased arterial compliance on CBF pulsatility. The study participants included 31 young healthy men (15 resistance-trained men, aged 21 ± 1 years; and 16 controls, aged 23 ± 1 years). β-Stiffness index and arterial compliance were measured in the right carotid artery as index of central arterial stiffness and compliance, respectively. The pulsatility index (PI) was measured in the middle cerebral artery as index of CBF pulsatility. β-Stiffness index and PI were significantly higher in the resistance-trained group than in the control group (β-stiffness index: 5.3 ± 0.3 vs. 3.5 ± 0.3 a.u., P < 0.05, PI: 0.80 ± 0.02 vs. 0.70 ± 0.02, P < 0.05). The resistance-trained group showed significantly lower arterial compliance than the control group (0.16 ± 0.01 vs. 0.23 ± 0.01 mm2/mm Hg, P < 0.05). Positive and negative correlations were observed between β-stiffness index and PI (r = 0.39, P < 0.05), and between arterial compliance and PI (r = -0.59, P < 0.05), respectively. The resistance-trained group showed higher central arterial stiffness and PI and lower arterial compliance. Central arterial stiffness and arterial compliance were associated with PI. Increased arterial stiffness and decreased arterial compliance with resistance training impair buffer function, resulting in increased CBF pulsatility. Trial Number UMIN000023816 URL: http://www.umin.ac.jp/icdr/index.html Official scientific title of the study: effect of increase arterial stiffness by resistance training on cerebral hemodynamic.

Pbx3 Deficiency Results in Central Hypoventilation

PubMed Central

Rhee, Joon Whan; Arata, Akiko; Selleri, Licia; Jacobs, Yakop; Arata, Satoru; Onimaru, Hiroshi; Cleary, Michael L.

2004-01-01

Pbx proteins comprise a family of TALE (three amino acid loop extension) class homeodomain transcription factors that are implicated in developmental gene expression through their abilities to form hetero-oligomeric DNA-binding complexes and function as transcriptional regulators in numerous cell types. We demonstrate here that one member of this family, Pbx3, is expressed at high levels predominantly in the developing central nervous system, including a region of the medulla oblongata that is implicated in the control of respiration. Pbx3-deficient mice develop to term but die within a few hours of birth from central respiratory failure due to abnormal activity of inspiratory neurons in the medulla. This partially phenocopies the defect in mice deficient for Rnx, a metaHox homeodomain transcription factor, that we demonstrate here is capable of forming a DNA-binding complex with Pbx3. Rnx expression is unperturbed in Pbx3-deficient mice, but its ability to enhance transcription in vitro as a complex with TALE proteins is compromised in the absence of Pbx3. Thus, Pbx3 is essential for respiration and, like its DNA-binding partner Rnx, is critical for proper development of medullary respiratory control mechanisms. Pbx3-deficient mice provide a model for congenital central hypoventilation syndrome and suggest that Pbx3 mutations may promote the pathogenesis of this disorder. PMID:15466398

Perceptual processing deficits underlying reduced FFOV efficiency in older adults.

PubMed

Power, Garry F; Conlon, Elizabeth G

2017-01-01

Older adults are known to perform more poorly on measures of the functional field of view (FFOV) than younger adults. Specific contributions by poor bottom-up and or top-down control of visual attention to the reduced FFOV of older adults were investigated. Error rates of older and younger adults were compared on a FFOV task in which a central identification task, peripheral localization task, and peripheral distractors were presented in high and low contrast. Older adults made more errors in all conditions. The effect of age was independent of the contrast of the peripheral target or distractors. The performance cost of including the central task was measured and found to be negligible for younger adults. For older adults performance costs were present in all conditions, greater with distractors than without, and greater for a low rather than high contrast central stimulus when the peripheral target was high contrast. These results are consistent with older adults compensating for reduced sensory input or bottom-up capture of attention by relying more heavily on top-down control for which they are resource limited.

Roost networks of northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) in a managed landscape

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, J.B.; Mark, Ford W.; Edwards, J.W.

2012-01-01

Maternity groups of many bat species conform to fission-fusion models and movements among diurnal roost trees and individual bats belonging to these groups use networks of roost trees. Forest disturbances may alter roost networks and characteristics of roost trees. Therefore, at the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia, we examined roost tree networks of northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) in forest stands subjected to prescribed fire and in unmanipulated control treatments in 2008 and 2009. Northern myotis formed social groups whose roost areas and roost tree networks overlapped to some extent. Roost tree networks largely resembled scale-free network models, as 61% had a single central node roost tree. In control treatments, central node roost trees were in early stages of decay and surrounded by greater basal area than other trees within the networks. In prescribed fire treatments, central node roost trees were small in diameter, low in the forest canopy, and surrounded by low basal area compared to other trees in networks. Our results indicate that forest disturbances, including prescribed fire, can affect availability and distribution of roosts within roost tree networks. ?? 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Cortical neuronal cytoskeletal changes associated with FIV infection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobson, S.; Henriksen, S. J.; Prospero-Garcia, O.; Phillips, T. R.; Elder, J. H.; Young, W. G.; Bloom, F. E.; Fox, H. S.

1997-01-01

HIV-1 infection is often complicated by central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Degenerative neuronal changes as well as neuronal loss have been documented in individuals with AIDS. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection of cats provides a model for both the immune and the central nervous system manifestations of HIV infection of humans. In this study we have examined neurons in the frontal cortex of feline immunodeficiency virus-infected cats and controls for immunoreactivity with SMI 32, an antibody recognizing a non-phosphorylated epitope on neurofilaments. We noted a significant increase in the number of immunoreactive pyramidal cells in infected animals compared to controls. The changes seen in the neuronal cytoskeleton as a consequence of the inoculation with FIV were similar to those seen in humans undergoing the normal aging process as well as those suffering from neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's and dementia pugilistica. The changes we noted in the feline brain were also similar to that reported in animals with traumatic injuries or with spontaneously occurring or induced motor neuron diseases, suggesting that the increase in reactivity represents a deleterious effect of FIV on the central nervous system.

Evaluation of central and peripheral neuropathy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PubMed

Aras, Yeşim Güzey; Aydemir, Yusuf; Güngen, Belma Doğan; Güngen, Adil Can

2018-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the frequency and characteristics of peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) involvement in COPD. The study included 41 COPD patients and 41 healthy volunteers. Electrophysiological studies were carried out: electromyography (EMG) and visual evoked potentials (VEPs). The median nerve, ulnar nerve, common peroneal nerve, and tibial nerve were evaluated for latency, amplitude, and conduction velocity. The mean age of patients with COPD was 61.8 years and disease duration 10.3 years. There was no difference between patient and control groups in terms of age, BMI, smoking status, or biochemical parameters. Upon VEP examination, latencies were significantly prolonged and amplitudes shortened in the patient group compared to the control group. In EMG measurements, conduction velocity and amplitudes in all nerves were low in the patient group. Similarly, latencies in all nerves were higher in patients with COPD. Central and peripheral nervous system involvement could develop in patients with moderate-severe COPD, and these patients should be monitored for neuropathic changes in combination with neurological examination.

Non-destructive evaluation means and method of flaw reconstruction utilizing an ultrasonic multi-viewing transducer data acquistion system

DOEpatents

Thompson, Donald O.; Wormley, Samuel J.

1989-03-28

A multi-viewing ultrasound transducer acquisition system for non-destructive evaluation, flaw detection and flaw reconstruction in materials. A multiple transducer assembly includes a central transducer surrounded by a plurality of perimeter transducers, each perimeter transducer having an axis of transmission which can be angularly oriented with respect to the axis of transmission of the central transducer to intersect the axis of transmission of the central transducer. A control apparatus automatically and remotely positions the transducer assembly with respect to the material by a positioning apparatus and adjusts the pe GRANT REFERENCE This invention was conceived and reduced to practice at least in part under a grant from the Department of Energy under Contract No. W-7407-ENG-82.

Distributed Engine Control Empirical/Analytical Verification Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeCastro, Jonathan; Hettler, Eric; Yedavalli, Rama; Mitra, Sayan

2013-01-01

NASA's vision for an intelligent engine will be realized with the development of a truly distributed control system featuring highly reliable, modular, and dependable components capable of both surviving the harsh engine operating environment and decentralized functionality. A set of control system verification tools was developed and applied to a C-MAPSS40K engine model, and metrics were established to assess the stability and performance of these control systems on the same platform. A software tool was developed that allows designers to assemble easily a distributed control system in software and immediately assess the overall impacts of the system on the target (simulated) platform, allowing control system designers to converge rapidly on acceptable architectures with consideration to all required hardware elements. The software developed in this program will be installed on a distributed hardware-in-the-loop (DHIL) simulation tool to assist NASA and the Distributed Engine Control Working Group (DECWG) in integrating DCS (distributed engine control systems) components onto existing and next-generation engines.The distributed engine control simulator blockset for MATLAB/Simulink and hardware simulator provides the capability to simulate virtual subcomponents, as well as swap actual subcomponents for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) analysis. Subcomponents can be the communication network, smart sensor or actuator nodes, or a centralized control system. The distributed engine control blockset for MATLAB/Simulink is a software development tool. The software includes an engine simulation, a communication network simulation, control algorithms, and analysis algorithms set up in a modular environment for rapid simulation of different network architectures; the hardware consists of an embedded device running parts of the CMAPSS engine simulator and controlled through Simulink. The distributed engine control simulation, evaluation, and analysis technology provides unique capabilities to study the effects of a given change to the control system in the context of the distributed paradigm. The simulation tool can support treatment of all components within the control system, both virtual and real; these include communication data network, smart sensor and actuator nodes, centralized control system (FADEC full authority digital engine control), and the aircraft engine itself. The DECsim tool can allow simulation-based prototyping of control laws, control architectures, and decentralization strategies before hardware is integrated into the system. With the configuration specified, the simulator allows a variety of key factors to be systematically assessed. Such factors include control system performance, reliability, weight, and bandwidth utilization.

On the Reporting of Experimental and Control Therapies in Stroke Rehabilitation Trials: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Lohse, Keith R; Pathania, Anupriya; Wegman, Rebecca; Boyd, Lara A; Lang, Catherine E

2018-03-01

To use the Centralized Open-Access Rehabilitation database for Stroke to explore reporting of both experimental and control interventions in randomized controlled trials for stroke rehabilitation (including upper and lower extremity therapies). The Centralized Open-Access Rehabilitation database for Stroke was created from a search of MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health from the earliest available date to May 31, 2014. A total of 2892 titles were reduced to 514 that were screened by full text. This screening left 215 randomized controlled trials in the database (489 independent groups representing 12,847 patients). Using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods, we performed a text-based analysis of how the procedures of experimental and control therapies were described. Experimental and control groups were rated by 2 independent coders according to the Template for Intervention Description and Replication criteria. Linear mixed-effects regression with a random effect of study (groups nested within studies) showed that experimental groups had statistically more words in their procedures (mean, 271.8 words) than did control groups (mean, 154.8 words) (P<.001). Experimental groups had statistically more references in their procedures (mean, 1.60 references) than did control groups (mean, .82 references) (P<.001). Experimental groups also scored significantly higher on the total Template for Intervention Description and Replication checklist (mean score, 7.43 points) than did control groups (mean score, 5.23 points) (P<.001). Control treatments in stroke motor rehabilitation trials are underdescribed relative to experimental treatments. These poor descriptions are especially problematic for "conventional" therapy control groups. Poor reporting is a threat to the internal validity and generalizability of clinical trial results. We recommend authors use preregistered protocols and established reporting criteria to improve transparency. Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Partitioning of centralized integrated flight/propulsion control design for decentralized implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garg, Sanjay

1993-01-01

The notion of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized, hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control (IFPC) implementation is discussed. A systematic procedure is developed for determining partitioned airframe and engine subsystem controllers (subcontrollers), with the desired interconnection structure, that approximate the closed-loop performance and robustness characteristics of a given centralized controller. The procedure is demonstrated by application to IFPC design for a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft in the landing-approach-to-hover-transition flight phase.

Milrinone and mortality in adult cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Zangrillo, Alberto; Biondi-Zoccai, Giuseppe; Ponschab, Martin; Greco, Massimiliano; Corno, Laura; Covello, Remo Daniel; Cabrini, Luca; Bignami, Elena; Melisurgo, Giulio; Landoni, Giovanni

2012-02-01

The authors conducted a review of randomized studies to show whether there are any increases or decreases in survival when using milrinone in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. A meta-analysis. Hospitals. Five hundred eighteen patients from 13 randomized trials. None. BioMedCentral, PubMed EMBASE, the Cochrane central register of clinical trials, and conference proceedings were searched for randomized trials that compared milrinone versus placebo or any other control in the setting of cardiac surgery that reported data on mortality. Overall analysis showed that milrinone increased perioperative mortality (13/249 [5.2%] in the milrinone group v 6/269 [2.2%] in the control arm, odds ratio [OR] = 2.67 [1.05-6.79], p for effect = 0.04, p for heterogeneity = 0.23, I(2) = 25% with 518 patients and 13 studies included). Subanalyses confirmed increased mortality with milrinone (9/84 deaths [10.7%] v 3/105 deaths [2.9%] with other drugs as control, OR = 4.19 [1.27-13.84], p = 0.02) with 189 patients and 5 studies included) but did not confirm a difference in mortality (4/165 [2.4%] in the milrinone group v 3/164 [1.8%] with placebo or nothing as control, OR = 1.27 [0.28-5.84], p = 0.76 with 329 patients and 8 studies included). This analysis suggests that milrinone might increase mortality in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The effect was seen only in patients having an active inotropic drug for comparison and not in the placebo subgroup. Therefore, the question remains whether milrinone increased mortality or if the control inotropic drugs were more protective. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Closely Spaced Independent Parallel Runway Simulation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-10-01

facility consists of the Central Computer Facility, the Controller Laboratory, and the Simulator Pilot Complex. CENTRAL COMPUTER FACILITY. The Central... Computer Facility consists of a group of mainframes, minicomputers, and associated peripherals which host the operational and data acquisition...in the Controller Laboratory and convert their verbal directives into a keyboard entry which is transmitted to the Central Computer Complex, where

Cumulative Evidence of Randomized Controlled and Observational Studies on Catheter-Related Infection Risk of Central Venous Catheter Insertion Site in ICU Patients: A Pairwise and Network Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Arvaniti, Kostoula; Lathyris, Dimitrios; Blot, Stijn; Apostolidou-Kiouti, Fani; Koulenti, Despoina; Haidich, Anna-Bettina

2017-04-01

Selection of central venous catheter insertion site in ICU patients could help reduce catheter-related infections. Although subclavian was considered the most appropriate site, its preferential use in ICU patients is not generalized and questioned by contradicted meta-analysis results. In addition, conflicting data exist on alternative site selection whenever subclavian is contraindicated. To compare catheter-related bloodstream infection and colonization risk between the three sites (subclavian, internal jugular, and femoral) in adult ICU patients. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials, CINAHL, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials and observational ones. Extracted data were analyzed by pairwise and network meta-analysis. Twenty studies were included; 11 were observational, seven were randomized controlled trials for other outcomes, and two were randomized controlled trials for sites. We evaluated 18,554 central venous catheters: 9,331 from observational studies, 5,482 from randomized controlled trials for other outcomes, and 3,741 from randomized controlled trials for sites. Colonization risk was higher for internal jugular (relative risk, 2.25 [95% CI, 1.84-2.75]; I = 0%) and femoral (relative risk, 2.92 [95% CI, 2.11-4.04]; I = 24%), compared with subclavian. Catheter-related bloodstream infection risk was comparable for internal jugular and subclavian, higher for femoral than subclavian (relative risk, 2.44 [95% CI, 1.25-4.75]; I = 61%), and lower for internal jugular than femoral (relative risk, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.34-0.89]; I = 61%). When observational studies that did not control for baseline characteristics were excluded, catheter-related bloodstream infection risk was comparable between the sites. In ICU patients, internal jugular and subclavian may, similarly, decrease catheter-related bloodstream infection risk, when compared with femoral. Subclavian could be suggested as the most appropriate site, whenever colonization risk is considered and not, otherwise, contraindicated. Current evidence on catheter-related bloodstream infection femoral risk, compared with the other sites, is inconclusive.

Central Plateau Cleanup at DOE's Hanford Site - 12504

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

Dowell, Jonathan

The discussion of Hanford's Central Plateau includes significant work in and around the center of the Hanford Site - located about 7 miles from the Columbia River. The Central Plateau is the area to which operations will be shrunk in 2015 when River Corridor cleanup is complete. This work includes retrieval and disposal of buried waste from miles of trenches; the cleanup and closure of massive processing canyons; the clean-out and demolition to 'slab on grade' of the high-hazard Plutonium Finishing Plant; installation of key groundwater treatment facilities to contain and shrink plumes of contaminated groundwater; demolition of all othermore » unneeded facilities; and the completion of decisions about remaining Central Plateau waste sites. A stated goal of EM has been to shrink the footprint of active cleanup to less than 10 square miles by 2020. By the end of FY2011, Hanford will have reduced the active footprint of cleanup by 64 percent exceeding the goal of 49 percent. By 2015, Hanford will reduce the active footprint of cleanup by more than 90 percent. The remaining footprint reduction will occur between 2015 and 2020. The Central Plateau is a 75-square-mile region near the center of the Hanford Site including the area designated in the Hanford Comprehensive Land Use Plan Environmental Impact Statement (DOE 1999) and Record of Decision (64 FR 61615) as the Industrial-Exclusive Area, a rectangular area of about 20 square miles in the center of the Central Plateau. The Industrial-Exclusive Area contains the 200 East and 200 West Areas that have been used primarily for Hanford's nuclear fuel processing and waste management and disposal activities. The Central Plateau also encompasses the 200 Area CERCLA National Priorities List site. The Central Plateau has a large physical inventory of chemical processing and support facilities, tank systems, liquid and solid waste disposal and storage facilities, utility systems, administrative facilities, and groundwater monitoring wells. As a companion to the Hanford Site Cleanup Completion Framework document, DOE issued its draft Central Plateau Cleanup Completion Strategy in September 2009 to provide an outline of DOE's vision for completion of cleanup activities across the Central Plateau. As major elements of the Hanford cleanup along the Columbia River Corridor near completion, DOE believed it appropriate to articulate the agency vision for the remainder of the cleanup mission. The Central Plateau Cleanup Completion Strategy and the Hanford Site Cleanup Completion Framework were provided to the regulatory community, the Tribal Nations, political leaders, the public, and Hanford stakeholders to promote dialogue on Hanford's future. The Central Plateau Cleanup Completion Strategy describes DOE's vision for completion of Central Plateau cleanup and outlines the decisions needed to achieve the vision. The Central Plateau strategy involves steps to: (1) contain and remediate contaminated groundwater, (2) implement a geographic cleanup approach that guides remedy selection from a plateau-wide perspective, (3) evaluate and deploy viable treatment methods for deep vadose contamination to provide long-term protection of the groundwater, and (4) conduct essential waste management operations in coordination with cleanup actions. The strategy will also help optimize Central Plateau readiness to use funding when it is available upon completion of River Corridor cleanup projects. One aspect of the Central Plateau strategy is to put in place the process to identify the final footprint for permanent waste management and containment of residual contamination within the 20-square-mile Industrial-Exclusive Area. The final footprint identified for permanent waste management and containment of residual contamination should be as small as practical and remain under federal ownership and control for as long as a potential hazard exists. Outside the final footprint, the remainder of the Central Plateau will be available for other uses consistent with the Hanford Comprehensive Land-Use Plan (DOE 1999), while maintained under federal ownership and control. (author)« less

Value of body mass index in the diagnosis of obesity according to DEXA in well-controlled RA patients.

PubMed

Tello-Winniczuk, Nina; Vega-Morales, David; García-Hernandez, Pedro A; Esquivel-Valerio, Jorge A; Garza-Elizondo, Mario A; Arana-Guajardo, Ana C

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has an indirect effect on body composition. Body mass index (BMI) is not a valid predictor of body fat in RA patients. To evaluate the accuracy of BMI in identifying obesity diagnosed according to dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in well-controlled RA patients. An observational, cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical study. We used 3 different cutoffs for obesity as determined by DXA: >35% total fat, >40% total fat, and >35% central fat mass (central obesity). One hundred one patients were included. We found that 35% total fat corresponded to a BMI of 24kg/m 2 , with a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 75% (area under the curve [AUC] 0.917); 40% total fat to a BMI of 25kg/m 2 , with a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 39% (AUC 0.822); and 35% central fat mass to a BMI of 22kg/m 2 , with a sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 84% (AUC 0.951). Obesity according to DXA was underdiagnosed when the classic BMI cutoffs were used in well-controlled RA patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

Posterior Insular Molecular Changes in Myofascial Pain

PubMed Central

Gerstner, G.E.; Gracely, R.H.; Deebajah, A.; Ichesco, E.; Quintero, A.; Clauw, D.J.; Sundgren, P.C.

2012-01-01

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) include craniocervical pain conditions with unclear etiologies. Central changes are suspected; however, few neuroimaging studies of TMD exist. Single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was used before and after pressure-pain testing to assess glutamate (Glu), glutamine (Gln), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and choline (Cho) levels in the right and left posterior insulae of 11 individuals with myofascial TMD and 11 matched control individuals. Glu levels were significantly lower in all individuals after pain testing. Among those with TMD, left-insular Gln levels were related to reported pain, left posterior insular NAA and Cho levels were significantly higher at baseline than in control individuals, and NAA levels were significantly correlated with pain-symptom duration, suggesting adaptive changes. The results suggest that significant central cellular and molecular changes can occur in individuals with TMD. PMID:22451533

Manager's handbook for black spruce in the north-central states.

Treesearch

William F. Johnston

1977-01-01

Presents the resource manager with a key for choosing silvicultural practices to manage black spruce stands, especially for pulpwood on organic soil sites. Discusses control of growth, establishment, composition, and damaging agents; also discusses managing for Christmas trees, wildlife habitat, water, and esthetics. Includes yield and growth data, and broadcast...

Manager's handbook for northern white cedar in the north-central states.

Treesearch

William F. Johnston

1977-01-01

Presents the resource manager with a key for choosing silvicultural practices to manage northern white cedar stands, especially for timber and deeryards on organic soil sites. Discusses control of growth, composition, establishment, and damaging agents; also discusses managing for other wildlife habitat, water, and esthetics. Includes yield data and broadcast burning...

Effectiveness of a School HIV/AIDS Prevention Program for Spanish Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Espada, Jose P.; Orgiles, Mireia; Morales, Alexandra; Ballester, Rafael; Huedo-Medina, Tania B.

2012-01-01

Due to a lack of controlled studies on HIV prevention interventions among Spanish adolescents, COMPAS, a five-session behavioral intervention, was developed and tested on Spanish adolescents aged 15-18. Participants included 827 adolescents from central, east and north Spain. Six hundred and seven students (M = 15.71 years) received the…

Legal Perspectives on Services To Address Child Abuse and Neglect.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lloyd, David W.

The first and central issue in children's services is the extent to which government may limit or supplant parental action in the control, nurture, and direction of children. Three major governmental approaches include prohibiting behavior; prescribing behavior; and taking direct protective action. There are two legal issues related to prevention…

ALEPH: Israel's Research Library Network: Background, Evolution, and Implications for Networking in a Small Country.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazinger, Susan S.

1991-01-01

Describes ALEPH, the research library network in Israel, and analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of its decentralized structure. Highlights include comparisons between RLIN and ALEPH; centralized versus decentralized networks; the format of ALEPH; authority control in ALEPH; and non-Roman scripts in both networks. (16 references) (LRW)

Preliminary design of a solar central receiver for a site-specific repowering application (Saguaro Power Plant). Volume III. Specifications. Final report, October 1982-September 1983

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

Weber, E.R.

1983-09-01

This volume on specifications for the Saguaro Power Plant includes the following: subsystem interface definition document; solar collector subsystem specification; receiver specification; thermal energy storage specification; solar steam generator specification; and master control system specification.

Proceedings of the South Central Technology Access Conference (1st, Little Rock, Arkansas, December 4-5, 1989).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanBiervliet, Alan, Ed.; Parette, Phil, Ed.

This proceedings provides the text of 17 conference presentations on access to technology for persons with disabilities. Titles and authors include: "There Is Funding Out There" (Anna C. Hofmann); "Assessment and Prescription for Adaptive Driving Controls" (Michael K. Shipp); "Technology Transfer for the Community Dwelling…

An overview of the serpin superfamily

PubMed Central

Law, Ruby HP; Zhang, Qingwei; McGowan, Sheena; Buckle, Ashley M; Silverman, Gary A; Wong, Wilson; Rosado, Carlos J; Langendorf, Chris G; Pike, Rob N; Bird, Philip I; Whisstock, James C

2006-01-01

Serpins are a broadly distributed family of protease inhibitors that use a conformational change to inhibit target enzymes. They are central in controlling many important proteolytic cascades, including the mammalian coagulation pathways. Serpins are conformationally labile and many of the disease-linked mutations of serpins result in misfolding or in pathogenic, inactive polymers. PMID:16737556

Reform of Teacher Education in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shi, Xiaoguang; Englert, Peter A. J.

2008-01-01

For more than 20 years the People's Republic of China has engaged in a significant transformation of its economy and social institutions, including its education system. This article provides a general picture of what changes have taken place in Chinese teacher education at a time of rapid transition from central control to devolved and…

Central nervous tissue: an excitable medium. a study using the retinal spreading depression as a tool.

PubMed

Hanke, Wolfgang; de Lima, Vera Maura Fernandes

2008-02-13

According to its physicochemical properties, neuronal tissue, including the central nervous system (CNS) and thus the human brain, is an excitable medium, which consequently exhibits, among other things, self-organization, pattern formation and propagating waves. Furthermore, such systems can be controlled by weak external forces. The spreading depression (SD), a propagating wave of excitation-depression, is such an event, which is additionally linked to a variety of medically important situations, classical migraine being just one example. Especially in retinal tissue, a true part of the CNS, the SD can be observed very easily with the naked eye and by video imaging techniques due to its big intrinsic optical signal. We have investigated the retinal SD and its control by external physical parameters such as gravity and temperature. Beyond this, especially due to its medical relevance, the control of CNS excitability by pharmacological tools is of specific interest, and we have studied this question in detail using the retinal SD as an experimental tool to collect information about the control of CNS tissue excitability.

Anger, Sadness and Fear in Response to Breaking Crime and Accident News Stories: How Emotions Influence Support for Alcohol-Control Public Policies via Concern about Risks

PubMed Central

Solloway, Tyler; Slater, Michael D.; Chung, Adrienne; Goodall, Catherine

2015-01-01

Prior research shows that discrete emotions, notably anger and fear, can explain effects of news articles on health and alcohol-control policy support. This study advances prior work by coding expressed emotional responses to messages (as opposed to directly manipulated emotions or forced responses), incorporating and controlling for central thoughts, including sadness (a particularly relevant response to tragic stories), and examining concern’s mediating role between emotion and policy support. An experiment with a national online adult panel had participants read one of 60 violent crime or accident news stories, each manipulated to mention or withhold alcohol’s causal contribution. Multi-group structural equation models suggest that stories not mentioning alcohol had a direct effect on policy support via fear and central thoughts, unmediated by concern. When alcohol was mentioned, sadness and anger affects alcohol-control support through concern. Findings help confirm that emotional responses are key in determining news story effects on public support of health policies. PMID:26491487

Impact of different dietary approaches on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes: a protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

PubMed

Schwingshackl, Lukas; Chaimani, Anna; Hoffmann, Georg; Schwedhelm, Carolina; Boeing, Heiner

2017-03-20

Dietary advice is one of the cornerstones in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The American Diabetes Association recommended a hypocaloric diet for overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes in order to induce weight loss. However, there is limited evidence on the optimal approaches to control hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes patients. The aim of the present study is to assess the comparative efficacy of different dietary approaches on glycemic control and blood lipids in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a systematic review including a standard pairwise and network meta-analysis of randomized trials. We will conduct searches in Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) on the Cochrane Library, PubMed (from 1966), and Google Scholar. Citations, abstracts, and relevant papers will be screened for eligibility by two reviewers independently. Randomized controlled trials (with a control group or randomized trials with at least two intervention groups) will be included if they meet the following criteria: (1) include type 2 diabetes mellitus, (2) include patients aged ≥18 years, (3) include dietary intervention (different type of diets: e.g., Mediterranean dietary pattern, low-carbohydrate diet, low-fat diet, vegetarian diet, high protein diet); either hypo, iso-caloric, or ad libitum diets, (4) minimum intervention period of 12 weeks. For each outcome measure of interest, random effects pairwise and network meta-analyses will be performed in order to determine the pooled relative effect of each intervention relative to every other intervention in terms of the post-intervention values (or mean differences between the changes from baseline value scores). Subgroup analyses are planned for study length, sample size, age, and sex. This systematic review will synthesize the available evidence on the comparative efficacy of different dietary approaches in the management of glycosylated hemoglobin (primary outcome), fasting glucose, and cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. The results of the present network meta-analysis will influence evidence-based treatment decisions since it will be fundamental for based recommendations in the management of type 2 diabetes. PROSPERO 42016047464.

11. CENTRAL ATLAS CONTROL CONSOLE IN SLC3W CONTROL ROOM. COMMUNICATIONS ...

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

11. CENTRAL ATLAS CONTROL CONSOLE IN SLC-3W CONTROL ROOM. COMMUNICATIONS HEADSETS IN FOREGROUND. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

Cost Utility Analysis of Percutaneous Adhesiolysis in Managing Pain of Post-lumbar Surgery Syndrome and Lumbar Central Spinal Stenosis.

PubMed

Manchikanti, Laxmaiah; Helm, Standiford; Pampati, Vidyasagar; Racz, Gabor B

2015-06-01

The increase in the number of interventions for the management of chronic pain and associated escalation of healthcare costs has captured the attention of health policymakers, in no small part due to the lack of documentation of efficacy, cost-effectiveness, or cost utility analysis. A recent cost utility analysis of caudal epidural injections in managing chronic low back pain of various pathologies showed a high cost utility with improvement in quality of life years, competitive with various other modalities of treatments. However, there are no analyses derived from high-quality controlled studies related to the cost utility of percutaneous adhesiolysis in the treatment of post-lumbar surgery syndrome or lumbar central spinal stenosis. This analysis is based on 2 previously published controlled studies. To assess the cost utility of percutaneous adhesiolysis procedures in managing chronic low back and lower extremity pain secondary to post-lumbar surgery syndrome and lumbar central spinal stenosis. A private, specialty referral interventional pain management center in the United States. Two controlled studies were conducted assessing the clinical effectiveness of percutaneous adhesiolysis for post-lumbar surgery syndrome and lumbar central spinal stenosis in an interventional pain management setting utilizing contemporary interventional pain management practices. A cost utility analysis was performed with direct payment data for a total of 130 patients in treatment groups over a 2-year period. Various outcome measures were included with significant improvement, defined as at least 50% improvement with reduction in pain and disability status. The results of 2 controlled studies of low back pain with 60 and 70 patients and a 2-year follow-up with the actual reimbursement data showed cost utility for 1 year of quality-adjusted life year (QALY) of USD $2,652 for post-lumbar surgery syndrome and USD $2,649 for lumbar central spinal stenosis. The results of this assessment show that the cost utility of managing chronic, intractable low back pain with percutaneous adhesiolysis at a QALY that is similar or lower in price than medical therapy only, physical therapy, manipulation, spinal cord stimulation, and surgery. The limitations of this cost utility analysis are that it is a single-center evaluation, with the inclusion of costs of adhesiolysis procedures in an ambulatory surgery center and physician visits, rather than all related costs including drug therapy and costs of disability in multiple settings. This cost utility analysis of percutaneous adhesiolysis in the treatment of post-lumbar surgery syndrome and lumbar central spinal stenosis shows the clinical effectiveness and cost utility of these procedures at USD $2,650 per one year of QALY when performed in an ambulatory surgery center. © 2014 World Institute of Pain.

Physiotherapy treatment approaches for the recovery of postural control and lower limb function following stroke: a systematic review.

PubMed

Pollock, Alex; Baer, Gillian; Langhorne, Peter; Pomeroy, Valerie

2007-05-01

To determine whether there is a difference in global dependency and functional independence in patients with stroke associated with different approaches to physiotherapy treatment. We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (last searched May 2005), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2005), MEDLINE (1966 to May 2005), EMBASE (1980 to May 2005) and CINAHL (1982 to May 2005). We contacted experts and researchers with an interest in stroke rehabilitation. Inclusion criteria were: (a) randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials; (b) adults with a clinical diagnosis of stroke; (c) physiotherapy treatment approaches aimed at promoting postural control and lower limb function; (d) measures of disability, motor impairment or participation. Two independent reviewers categorized identified trials according to the inclusion/exclusion criteria, documented the methodological quality and extracted the data. Twenty trials (1087 patients) were included in the review. Comparisons included: neurophysiological approach versus other approach; motor learning approach versus other approach; mixed approach versus other approach for the outcomes of global dependency and functional independence. A mixed approach was significantly more effective than no treatment control at improving functional independence (standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.08 to 1.80). There were no significant differences found for any other comparisons. Physiotherapy intervention, using a 'mix' of components from different 'approaches' is more effective than no treatment control in attaining functional independence following stroke. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that any one physiotherapy 'approach' is more effective in promoting recovery of disability than any other approach.

Central venous access by trainees: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the use of simulation to improve success rate on patients.

PubMed

Madenci, Arin L; Solis, Carolina V; de Moya, Marc A

2014-02-01

Simulation training for invasive procedures may improve patient safety by enabling efficient training. This study is a meta-analysis with rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria designed to assess the real patient procedural success of simulation training for central venous access. Published randomized controlled trials and prospective 2-group cohort studies that used simulation for the training of procedures involving central venous access were identified. The quality of each study was assessed. The primary outcome was the proportion of trainees who demonstrated the ability to successfully complete the procedure. Secondary outcomes included the mean number of attempts to procedural success and periprocedural adverse events. Proportions were compared between groups using risk ratios (RRs), whereas continuous variables were compared using weighted mean differences. Random-effects analysis was used to determine pooled effect sizes. We identified 550 studies, of which 5 (3 randomized controlled trials, 2 prospective 2-group cohort studies) studies of central venous catheter (CVC) insertion were included in the meta-analysis, composed of 407 medical trainees. The simulation group had a significantly larger proportion of trainees who successfully placed CVCs (RR, 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.16, P<0.01). In addition, the simulation group had significantly fewer mean attempts to CVC insertion (weighted mean difference, -1.42; 95% CI, -2.34 to -0.49, P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the rate of adverse events between the groups (RR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.19-1.29; P=0.15). Training programs should consider adopting simulation training for CVC insertion to improve the real patient procedural success of trainees.

Computer program for post-flight evaluation of the control surface response for an attitude controlled missile

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knauber, R. N.

1982-01-01

A FORTRAN IV coded computer program is presented for post-flight analysis of a missile's control surface response. It includes preprocessing of digitized telemetry data for time lags, biases, non-linear calibration changes and filtering. Measurements include autopilot attitude rate and displacement gyro output and four control surface deflections. Simple first order lags are assumed for the pitch, yaw and roll axes of control. Each actuator is also assumed to be represented by a first order lag. Mixing of pitch, yaw and roll commands to four control surfaces is assumed. A pseudo-inverse technique is used to obtain the pitch, yaw and roll components from the four measured deflections. This program has been used for over 10 years on the NASA/SCOUT launch vehicle for post-flight analysis and was helpful in detecting incipient actuator stall due to excessive hinge moments. The program is currently set up for a CDC CYBER 175 computer system. It requires 34K words of memory and contains 675 cards. A sample problem presented herein including the optional plotting requires eleven (11) seconds of central processor time.

Fighting rabies in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia--experts call for a regional initiative for rabies elimination.

PubMed

Aikimbayev, A; Briggs, D; Coltan, G; Dodet, B; Farahtaj, F; Imnadze, P; Korejwo, J; Moiseieva, A; Tordo, N; Usluer, G; Vodopija, R; Vranješ, N

2014-05-01

MEEREB is an informal network of rabies experts from the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, seeking to eliminate rabies from the region. They met for the second time to review the current rabies situation, both globally and in their respective countries, highlighting current rabies control problems and potential solutions. Success stories in Latin America, in Western Europe, in some Asian countries, as well as in Croatia and Serbia prove that elimination of human rabies is achievable in the MEEREB region. It requires political willingness and cooperation of all stakeholders, including Ministries of Health and of Agriculture; adequate management of animal bites through post-exposure prophylaxis; pre-exposure prophylaxis for populations at high risk of rabies exposure, animal vaccination and humane control of stray dog populations. MEEREB members called for a regional initiative for rabies elimination in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. They are confident that the elimination of human rabies of canine origin can be achieved in the region through adopting a One Health approach, and that campaigns for rabies elimination will have significant benefit for public health, including strengthening the structure for control of other zoonoses. © 2013 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Emotional Stress as a Risk for Hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africans: Are We Ignoring the Odds?

PubMed

Malan, Leoné; Malan, Nico T

2017-01-01

Globally most interventions focus on improving lifestyle habits and treatment regimens to combat hypertension as a non-communicable disease (NCD). However, despite these interventions and improved medical treatments, blood pressure (BP) values are still on the rise and poorly controlled in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Other factors contributing to hypertension prevalence, such as chronic emotional stress, might provide some insight for future health policy approaches.Currently, Hypertension Society guidelines do not mention emotional stress as a probable cause for hypertension. Recently the 2014 World Global Health reports, suggested that African governments should consider using World Health Organization hypertension data as a proxy indicator for social well-being. However, the possibility that a stressful life and taxing environmental factors might disturb central neural control of BP regulation has largely been ignored in SSA.Linking emotional stress to vascular dysregulation is therefore one way to investigate increased cardiometabolic challenges, neurotransmitter depletion and disturbed hemodynamics. Disruption of stress response pathways and subsequent changes in lifestyle habits as ways of coping with a stressful life, and as probable cause for hypertension prevalence in SSA, may be included in future preventive measures. We will provide an overview on emotional stress and central neural control of BP and will include also implications thereof for clinical practice in SSA cohorts.

Emergency vehicle traffic signal preemption system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachelder, Aaron D. (Inventor); Foster, Conrad F. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

An emergency vehicle traffic light preemption system for preemption of traffic lights at an intersection to allow safe passage of emergency vehicles. The system includes a real-time status monitor of an intersection which is relayed to a control module for transmission to emergency vehicles as well as to a central dispatch office. The system also provides for audio warnings at an intersection to protect pedestrians who may not be in a position to see visual warnings or for various reasons cannot hear the approach of emergency vehicles. A transponder mounted on an emergency vehicle provides autonomous control so the vehicle operator can attend to getting to an emergency and not be concerned with the operation of the system. Activation of a priority-code (i.e. Code-3) situation provides communications with each intersection being approached by an emergency vehicle and indicates whether the intersection is preempted or if there is any conflict with other approaching emergency vehicles. On-board diagnostics handle various information including heading, speed, and acceleration sent to a control module which is transmitted to an intersection and which also simultaneously receives information regarding the status of an intersection. Real-time communications and operations software allow central and remote monitoring, logging, and command of intersections and vehicles.

MIP- MULTIMISSION INTERACTIVE PICTURE PLANNING PROGRAM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callahan, J. D.

1994-01-01

The Multimission Interactive Picture Planner, MIP, is a scientifically accurate and fast, 3D animation program for deep space. MIP is also versatile, reasonably comprehensive, portable, and will run on microcomputers. New techniques were developed to rapidly perform the calculations and transformations necessary to animate scientifically accurate 3D space. At the same time, portability is maintained, as the transformations and clipping have been written in FORTRAN 77 code. MIP was primarily designed to handle Voyager, Galileo, and the Space Telescope. It can, however, be adapted to handle other missions. The space simulation consists of a rotating body (usually a planet), any natural satellites, a spacecraft, the sun, stars, descriptive labelling, and field of view boxes. The central body and natural satellites are tri-axial wireframe representations with terminators, limbs, and landmarks. Hidden lines are removed for the central body and natural satellites, but not for the scene as a whole so that bodies may be seen behind one another. The program has considerable flexibility in its step time, observer position, viewed object, field of view, etc. Most parameters may be changed from the keyboard while the simulation is running. When MIP is executed it will ask the user for a control file, which should be prepared before execution. The control file identifies which mission MIP should simulate, the star catalog files, the ephemerides files to be used, the central body, planets, asteroids, and comets, and solar system landmarks and constants such as planets, asteroids, and comets. The control file also describes the fields of view. Control files are included to simulate the Voyager 1 encounter at Jupiter and the Giotto spacecraft's flyby of Halley's comet. Data is included for Voyager 1 and 2 (all 6 planetary encounters) and Giotto. MIP was written for an IBM PC or compatibles. It requires 512K of RAM, a CGA or compatible graphics adapter, and DOS 2.0 or higher. Users must supply their own graphics primitives to clear the screen, change the color, and connect 2D points with straight lines. Also, the users must tie in the graphics primitives along with their ephemeris readers. (MIP does everything else including clipping.) MIP was developed in 1988.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for preventing central venous catheter-related infection: results of a knowledge test among 3405 European intensive care nurses.

PubMed

Labeau, Sonia O; Vandijck, Dominique M; Rello, Jordi; Adam, Sheila; Rosa, Ana; Wenisch, Christoph; Bäckman, Carl; Agbaht, Kemal; Csomos, Akos; Seha, Myriam; Dimopoulos, George; Vandewoude, Koenraad H; Blot, Stijn I

2009-01-01

To determine European intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' knowledge of guidelines for preventing central venous catheter-related infection from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Multicountry survey (October 2006-March 2007). Twenty-two European countries. ICU nurses. Using a validated multiple-choice test, knowledge of ten recommendations for central venous catheter-related infection prevention was evaluated (one point per question) and assessed in relation to participants' gender, ICU experience, number of ICU beds, and acquisition of a specialized ICU qualification. We collected 3405 questionnaires (70.9% response rate); mean test score was 44.4%. Fifty-six percent knew that central venous catheters should be replaced on indication only, and 74% knew this also concerns replacement over a guidewire. Replacing pressure transducers and tubing every 4 days, and using coated devices in patients requiring a central venous catheter >5 days in settings with high infection rates only were recognized as recommended by 53% and 31%, respectively. Central venous catheters dressings in general are known to be changed on indication and at least once weekly by 43%, and 26% recognized that both polyurethane and gauze dressings are recommended. Only 14% checked 2% aqueous chlorhexidine as the recommended disinfection solution; 30% knew antibiotic ointments are not recommended because they trigger resistance. Replacing administration sets within 24 hrs after administering lipid emulsions was recognized as recommended by 90%, but only 26% knew sets should be replaced every 96 hrs when administering neither lipid emulsions nor blood products. Professional seniority and number of ICU beds showed to be independently associated with better test scores. Opportunities exist to optimize knowledge of central venous catheter-related infection prevention among European ICU nurses. We recommend including central venous catheter-related infection prevention guidelines in educational curricula and continuing refresher education programs.

Integrated flight/propulsion control system design based on a centralized approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garg, Sanjay; Mattern, Duane L.; Bullard, Randy E.

1989-01-01

An integrated flight/propulsion control system design is presented for the piloted longitudinal landing task with a modern, statically unstable, fighter aircraft. A centralized compensator based on the Linear Quadratic Gaussian/Loop Transfer Recovery methodology is first obtained to satisfy the feedback loop performance and robustness specificiations. This high-order centralized compensator is then partitioned into airframe and engine sub-controllers based on modal controllability/observability for the compensator modes. The order of the sub-controllers is then reduced using internally-balanced realization techniques and the sub-controllers are simplified by neglecting the insignificant feedbacks. These sub-controllers have the advantage that they can be implemented as separate controllers on the airframe and the engine while still retaining the important performance and stability characteristics of the full-order centralized compensator. Command prefilters are then designed for the closed-loop system with the simplified sub-controllers to obtain the desired system response to airframe and engine command inputs, and the overall system performance evaluation results are presented.

Robustness of a distributed neural network controller for locomotion in a hexapod robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chiel, Hillel J.; Beer, Randall D.; Quinn, Roger D.; Espenschied, Kenneth S.

1992-01-01

A distributed neural-network controller for locomotion, based on insect neurobiology, has been used to control a hexapod robot. How robust is this controller? Disabling any single sensor, effector, or central component did not prevent the robot from walking. Furthermore, statically stable gaits could be established using either sensor input or central connections. Thus, a complex interplay between central neural elements and sensor inputs is responsible for the robustness of the controller and its ability to generate a continuous range of gaits. These results suggest that biologically inspired neural-network controllers may be a robust method for robotic control.

Command in Air War: Centralized vs. Decentralized Control of Combat Airpower

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-05-19

centralized control of these missions, requiring a full day for scheduling a target, was ineffective at supporting the D-day invasion and even proved...dangerous to friendly troops. Americans developed a method of scheduling a steady stream of...controller took over this function. Thus, although the aircraft were still scheduled and routed by a centralized �Combined Operations Center,� they

Bias in effect size of systemic lupus erythematosus susceptibility loci across Europe: a case-control study

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Introduction We aimed to investigate whether the effect size of the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) risk alleles varies across European subpopulations. Methods European SLE patients (n = 1,742) and ethnically matched healthy controls (n = 2,101) were recruited at 17 centres from 10 different countries. Only individuals with self-reported ancestry from the country of origin were included. In addition, participants were genotyped for top ancestry informative markers and for 25 SLE associated SNPs. The results were used to compare effect sizes between the Central Eureopan and Southern European subgroups. Results Twenty of the 25 SNPs showed independent association with SLE, These SNPs showed a significant bias to larger effect sizes in the Southern subgroup, with 15/20 showing this trend (P = 0.019) and a larger mean odds ratio of the 20 SNPs (1.46 vs. 1.34, P = 0.02) as well as a larger difference in the number of risk alleles (2.06 vs. 1.63, P = 0.027) between SLE patients and controls than for Central Europeans. This bias was reflected in a very significant difference in the cumulative genetic risk score (4.31 vs. 3.48, P = 1.8 × 10-32). Effect size bias was accompanied by a lower number of SLE risk alleles in the Southern subjects, both patients and controls, the difference being more marked between the controls (P = 1.1 × 10-8) than between the Southern and Central European patients (P = 0.016). Seven of these SNPs showed significant allele frequency clines. Conclusion Our findings showed a bias to larger effect sizes of SLE loci in the Southern Europeans relative to the Central Europeans together with clines of SLE risk allele frequencies. These results indicate the need to study risk allele clines and the implications of the polygenic model of inheritance in SLE. PMID:22541939

How to Manage and Control Healthcare Associated Infections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijaya, L.

2018-03-01

Healthcare associated infections (HAI) are the major complications of modern medical therapy. The most important HAIs are related to invasive devices including central line- associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and surgical-site infections (SSI). Excessive use of antibiotics has also led to the emergence and the global dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria over the last few decades. Reducing HAIs will involve a multi-modal approach to infection control practices as well as antibiotic stewardship program.

Preliminary design of a solar central receiver for a site-specific repowering application (Saguaro Power Plant). Volume IV. Appendixes. Final report, October 1982-September 1983

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

Weber, E.R.

1983-09-01

The appendixes for the Saguaro Power Plant includes the following: receiver configuration selection report; cooperating modes and transitions; failure modes analysis; control system analysis; computer codes and simulation models; procurement package scope descriptions; responsibility matrix; solar system flow diagram component purpose list; thermal storage component and system test plans; solar steam generator tube-to-tubesheet weld analysis; pipeline listing; management control schedule; and system list and definitions.

Effectiveness of electrocardiographic guidance in CVAD tip placement.

PubMed

Walker, Graham; Chan, Raymond J; Alexandrou, Evan; Webster, Joan; Rickard, Claire

International standard practice for the correct confirmation of the central venous access device is the chest X-ray. The intracavitary electrocardiogram-based insertion method is radiation-free, and allows real-time placement verification, providing immediate treatment and reduced requirement for post-procedural repositioning. Relevant databases were searched for prospective randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi RCTs that compared the effectiveness of electrocardiogram-guided catheter tip positioning with placement using surface-anatomy-guided insertion plus chest X-ray confirmation. The primary outcome was accurate catheter tip placement. Secondary outcomes included complications, patient satisfaction and costs. Five studies involving 729 participants were included. Electrocardiogram-guided insertion was more accurate than surface anatomy guided insertion (odds ratio: 8.3; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.38; 50.07; p=0.02). There was a lack of reporting on complications, patient satisfaction and costs. The evidence suggests that intracavitary electrocardiogram-based positioning is superior to surface-anatomy-guided positioning of central venous access devices, leading to significantly more successful placements. This technique could potentially remove the requirement for post-procedural chest X-ray, especially during peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line insertion.

Type 2 diabetes–related foot care knowledge and foot self-care practice interventions in the United States: a systematic review of the literature

PubMed Central

Bonner, Timethia; Foster, Margaret; Spears-Lanoix, Erica

2016-01-01

Introduction The purpose of this systematic literature review is to review published studies on foot care knowledge and foot care practice interventions as part of diabetic foot care self-management interventions. Methods Medline, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched. References from the included studies were reviewed to identify any missing studies that could be included. Only foot care knowledge and foot care practice intervention studies that focused on the person living with type 2 diabetes were included in this review. Author, study design, sample, intervention, and results were extracted. Results Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria and were classified according to randomized controlled trial (n=9), survey design (n=13), cohort studies (n=4), cross-sectional studies (n=2), qualitative studies (n=2), and case series (n=1). Improving lower extremity complications associated with type 2 diabetes can be done through effective foot care interventions that include foot care knowledge and foot care practices. Conclusion Preventing these complications, understanding the risk factors, and having the ability to manage complications outside of the clinical encounter is an important part of a diabetes foot self-care management program. Interventions and research studies that aim to reduce lower extremity complications are still lacking. Further research is needed to test foot care interventions across multiple populations and geographic locations. PMID:26899439

Type 2 diabetes-related foot care knowledge and foot self-care practice interventions in the United States: a systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Bonner, Timethia; Foster, Margaret; Spears-Lanoix, Erica

2016-01-01

The purpose of this systematic literature review is to review published studies on foot care knowledge and foot care practice interventions as part of diabetic foot care self-management interventions. Medline, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched. References from the included studies were reviewed to identify any missing studies that could be included. Only foot care knowledge and foot care practice intervention studies that focused on the person living with type 2 diabetes were included in this review. Author, study design, sample, intervention, and results were extracted. Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria and were classified according to randomized controlled trial (n=9), survey design (n=13), cohort studies (n=4), cross-sectional studies (n=2), qualitative studies (n=2), and case series (n=1). Improving lower extremity complications associated with type 2 diabetes can be done through effective foot care interventions that include foot care knowledge and foot care practices. Preventing these complications, understanding the risk factors, and having the ability to manage complications outside of the clinical encounter is an important part of a diabetes foot self-care management program. Interventions and research studies that aim to reduce lower extremity complications are still lacking. Further research is needed to test foot care interventions across multiple populations and geographic locations.

The Effect of Ocular Surface Regularity on Contrast Sensitivity and Straylight in Dry Eye.

PubMed

Koh, Shizuka; Maeda, Naoyuki; Ikeda, Chikako; Asonuma, Sanae; Ogawa, Mai; Hiraoka, Takahiro; Oshika, Tetsuro; Nishida, Kohji

2017-05-01

To investigate the association between visual function and ocular surface regularity in dry eye. We enrolled 52 eyes of 52 dry eye patients (34 dry eyes with superficial punctate keratopathy [SPK] in the central corneal region [central SPK] and 18 dry eyes without central SPK) and 20 eyes of 20 normal control subjects. All eyes had a best-corrected distance visual acuity better than 20/20. We measured two indices of contrast sensitivity function under photopic conditions: contrast sensitivity and letter contrast sensitivity. The area under the log contrast sensitivity function (AULCSF) was calculated from the obtained contrast sensitivity data. Straylight was quantified using a straylight meter. Dry eyes with central SPK had significantly decreased contrast sensitivity function, including AULCSF and letter contrast sensitivity than those without central SPK and normal eyes (P < 0.05 for each). While the straylight values in both dry eye groups did not differ, straylight values were greater than those in normal eyes (P < 0.05 for both). In dry eye, the AULCSF and letter contrast sensitivity negatively correlated with the central SPK score (R = -0.485, P < 0.001, and R = -0.541, P < 0.001, respectively). In dry eye, reduced contrast sensitivity in part results from central SPK overlying the optical zone and the increased straylight results from tear film instability rather than central SPK.

Central Artery Stiffness, Baroreflex Sensitivity, and Brain White Matter Neuronal Fiber Integrity in Older Adults

PubMed Central

Tarumi, Takashi; de Jong, Daan L.K.; Zhu, David C.; Tseng, Benjamin Y.; Liu, Jie; Hill, Candace; Riley, Jonathan; Womack, Kyle B.; Kerwin, Diana R.; Lu, Hanzhang; Cullum, C. Munro; Zhang, Rong

2015-01-01

Cerebral hypoperfusion elevates the risk of brain white matter (WM) lesions and cognitive impairment. Central artery stiffness impairs baroreflex, which controls systemic arterial perfusion, and may deteriorate neuronal fiber integrity of brain WM. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations among brain WM neuronal fiber integrity, baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), and central artery stiffness in older adults. Fifty-four adults (65±6 years) with normal cognitive function or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were tested. The neuronal fiber integrity of brain WM was assessed from diffusion metrics acquired by diffusion tensor imaging. BRS was measured in response to acute changes in blood pressure induced by bolus injections of vasoactive drugs. Central artery stiffness was measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). The WM diffusion metrics including fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial (RD) and axial (AD) diffusivities, BRS, and cfPWV were not different between the control and MCI groups. Thus, the data from both groups were combined for subsequent analyses. Across WM, fiber tracts with decreased FA and increased RD were associated with lower BRS and higher cfPWV, with many of the areas presenting spatial overlap. In particular, the BRS assessed during hypotension was strongly correlated with FA and RD when compared with hypertension. Executive function performance was associated with FA and RD in the areas that correlated with cfPWV and BRS. These findings suggest that baroreflex-mediated control of systemic arterial perfusion, especially during hypotension, may play a crucial role in maintaining neuronal fiber integrity of brain WM in older adults. PMID:25623500

[Periodontal treatment for cardiovascular risk factors: a systematic review].

PubMed

Deng, Linkai; Li, Chunjie; Li, Qian; Zhang, Yukui; Zhao, Hongwei

2013-10-01

To evaluate the efficacy of periodontal treatment for the management of cardiovascular risk factors. Eligible studies in Cochrane Controlled Trials Register/CENTRAL, PubMed, EMBASE, and China Biology Medicine disc (CBMdisc) were searched until October 13, 2011. References of the included studies were hand searched. Two reviewers assessed the risk of bias and extracted the data of the included studies in duplicate. Meta-analysis was conducted with Revman 5.1. Six randomized controlled trials involving 682 participants were included. One case had low risk of bias, another one had moderate risk of bias, and the remaining four had high risk of bias. Meta-analysis showed that periodontal treatment has no significant effect on C-reactive protein, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides (P > 0.05). However, the treatment had a significant effect on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [MD = 0.05, 95% CI (0.00, 0.09), P = 0.04]. Periodontal treatment has good effects on controlling high-density lipoprotein cholesterol although more randomized controlled trials must be conducted to verify its effectiveness.

Once more on the equilibrium-point hypothesis (lambda model) for motor control.

PubMed

Feldman, A G

1986-03-01

The equilibrium control hypothesis (lambda model) is considered with special reference to the following concepts: (a) the length-force invariant characteristic (IC) of the muscle together with central and reflex systems subserving its activity; (b) the tonic stretch reflex threshold (lambda) as an independent measure of central commands descending to alpha and gamma motoneurons; (c) the equilibrium point, defined in terms of lambda, IC and static load characteristics, which is associated with the notion that posture and movement are controlled by a single mechanism; and (d) the muscle activation area (a reformulation of the "size principle")--the area of kinematic and command variables in which a rank-ordered recruitment of motor units takes place. The model is used for the interpretation of various motor phenomena, particularly electromyographic patterns. The stretch reflex in the lambda model has no mechanism to follow-up a certain muscle length prescribed by central commands. Rather, its task is to bring the system to an equilibrium, load-dependent position. Another currently popular version defines the equilibrium point concept in terms of alpha motoneuron activity alone (the alpha model). Although the model imitates (as does the lambda model) spring-like properties of motor performance, it nevertheless is inconsistent with a substantial data base on intact motor control. An analysis of alpha models, including their treatment of motor performance in deafferented animals, reveals that they suffer from grave shortcomings. It is concluded that parameterization of the stretch reflex is a basis for intact motor control. Muscle deafferentation impairs this graceful mechanism though it does not remove the possibility of movement.

[Logistics of collection and transportation of biological samples and the organization of the central laboratory in the ELSA-Brasil].

PubMed

Fedeli, Ligia G; Vidigal, Pedro G; Leite, Claudia Mendes; Castilhos, Cristina D; Pimentel, Robércia Anjos; Maniero, Viviane C; Mill, Jose Geraldo; Lotufo, Paulo A; Pereira, Alexandre C; Bensenor, Isabela M

2013-06-01

The ELSA (Estudo Longitudinal de Saúde do Adulto - Brazilian Longitudinal Study for Adult Health) is a multicenter cohort study which aims at the identification of risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in the Brazilian population. The paper describes the strategies for the collection, processing, transportation, and quality control of blood and urine tests in the ELSA. The study decided to centralize the tests at one single laboratory. The processing of the samples was performed at the local laboratories, reducing the weight of the material to be transported, and diminishing the costs of transportation to the central laboratory at the Universidade de São Paulo Hospital. The study included tests for the evaluation of diabetes, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, electrolyte abnormalities, thyroid hormones, uric acid, hepatic enzyme abnormalities, inflammation, and total blood cell count. In addition, leukocyte DNA, urine, plasma and serum samples were stored. The central laboratory performed approximately 375,000 tests.

Genomic Epidemiology Reconstructs the Introduction and Spread of Zika Virus in Central America and Mexico.

PubMed

Thézé, Julien; Li, Tony; du Plessis, Louis; Bouquet, Jerome; Kraemer, Moritz U G; Somasekar, Sneha; Yu, Guixia; de Cesare, Mariateresa; Balmaseda, Angel; Kuan, Guillermina; Harris, Eva; Wu, Chieh-Hsi; Ansari, M Azim; Bowden, Rory; Faria, Nuno R; Yagi, Shigeo; Messenger, Sharon; Brooks, Trevor; Stone, Mars; Bloch, Evan M; Busch, Michael; Muñoz-Medina, José E; González-Bonilla, Cesar R; Wolinsky, Steven; López, Susana; Arias, Carlos F; Bonsall, David; Chiu, Charles Y; Pybus, Oliver G

2018-06-13

The Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic in the Americas established ZIKV as a major public health threat and uncovered its association with severe diseases, including microcephaly. However, genetic epidemiology in some at-risk regions, particularly Central America and Mexico, remains limited. We report 61 ZIKV genomes from this region, generated using metagenomic sequencing with ZIKV-specific enrichment, and combine phylogenetic, epidemiological, and environmental data to reconstruct ZIKV transmission. These analyses revealed multiple independent ZIKV introductions to Central America and Mexico. One introduction, likely from Brazil via Honduras, led to most infections and the undetected spread of ZIKV through the region from late 2014. Multiple lines of evidence indicate biannual peaks of ZIKV transmission in the region, likely driven by varying local environmental conditions for mosquito vectors and herd immunity. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of ZIKV transmission in Central America and Mexico challenges arbovirus surveillance and disease control measures. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Controlling ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors with light: principles and potential

PubMed Central

Reiner, Andreas; Levitz, Joshua; Isacoff, Ehud Y.

2014-01-01

Light offers unique advantages for studying and manipulating biomolecules and the cellular processes that they control. Optical control of ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors has garnered significant interest, since these receptors are central to signaling at neuronal synapses and only optical approaches provide the spatial and temporal resolution required to directly probe receptor function in cells and tissue. Following the classical method of glutamate photo-uncaging, recently developed methods have added other forms of remote control, including those with high molecular specificity and genetic targeting. These tools open the door to the direct optical control of synaptic transmission and plasticity, as well as the probing of native receptor function in intact neural circuits. PMID:25573450

Ubiquitin enzymes in the regulation of immune responses.

PubMed

Ebner, Petra; Versteeg, Gijs A; Ikeda, Fumiyo

2017-08-01

Ubiquitination plays a central role in the regulation of various biological functions including immune responses. Ubiquitination is induced by a cascade of enzymatic reactions by E1 ubiquitin activating enzyme, E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, and E3 ubiquitin ligase, and reversed by deubiquitinases. Depending on the enzymes, specific linkage types of ubiquitin chains are generated or hydrolyzed. Because different linkage types of ubiquitin chains control the fate of the substrate, understanding the regulatory mechanisms of ubiquitin enzymes is central. In this review, we highlight the most recent knowledge of ubiquitination in the immune signaling cascades including the T cell and B cell signaling cascades as well as the TNF signaling cascade regulated by various ubiquitin enzymes. Furthermore, we highlight the TRIM ubiquitin ligase family as one of the examples of critical E3 ubiquitin ligases in the regulation of immune responses.

New Cancer Prevention and Control Central Institutional Review Board Established | Division of Cancer Prevention

Cancer.gov

The NCI Central Institutional Review Board (CIRB) Initiative announced the establishment of the Cancer Prevention and Control (CPC) CIRB January 14, extending the benefits of centralized review to investigators participating in clinical trials sponsored by the Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP). |

Corneal backscatter in insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients: a pilot study.

PubMed

Calvo-Maroto, Ana M; Pérez-Cambrodí, Rafael J; Esteve-Taboada, José J; García-Lázaro, Santiago; Cerviño, Aleja Ndro

2017-06-01

To compare central corneal backscatter obtained from Scheimpflug images between patients with insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM and NIDDM, respectively) and healthy controls. Seven patients with IDDM (7 eyes), eleven patients with NIDDM (11 eyes), and sixteen healthy subjects (16 eyes) were included in this pilot study. Scheimpflug imaging system (Pentacam, Oculus Inc., Germany) was used to obtain optical sections of the cornea. Seven meridians were analyzed for each eye, oriented from 70° to 110°. Optical density values for the central 3-mm and 5-mm zones of the cornea were obtained by image analysis using external software. Corneal backscatter was significantly higher in the diabetic patients than in the controls for the central 3-mm (p=0.016) and 5-mm (p=0.014) zones. No significant differences in corneal backscatter were found between the IDDM and NIDDM groups for either zone (both p>0.05). In the NIDDM group, significant correlations were observed for both central zones between corneal backscatter and age (3 mm: r=0.604, p=0.025; 5 mm: r=0.614, p=0.022) and central corneal thickness (3 mm: r=0.641, p=0.017; 5 mm: r=0.671, p=0.012); this was not found in the IDDM group (p>0.05). The presence of diabetes showed a significant effect on central corneal backscatter (Kruskal-Wallis test, p<0.001). Diabetic patients showed higher values of corneal light backscatter than healthy subjects. Corneal optical density analysis may be a useful tool for monitoring and assessing the ocular changes caused by diabetes.

1977 Florida Statewide Conference on Institutional Research. The Shift in Decision Making Responsibilities: Institutional Research Response.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strenglein, Denise, Ed.

Centralized control of budgets and programs, a growing consumerism among students, and collective bargaining are among the issues addressed in a Florida statewide conference on institutional research. papers and reports include: the keynote address; a legislative workshop; a collective bargaining panel; The New College Story as Told by 103 Alumni…

After the Fall: The Use of Surplus Capacity in an Academic Library Automation System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, A. J.

The possible uses of excess central processing unit capacity in an integrated academic library automation system discussed in this draft proposal include (1) in-house services such as word processing, electronic mail, management decision support using PERT/CPM techniques, and control of physical plant operation; (2) public services such as the…

The 10 MWe solar thermal central receiver pilot plant solar facilities design integration, RADL item 1-10

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1980-07-01

Accomplishments are reported in the areas of: program management, system integration, the beam characterization system, receiver unit, thermal storage subsystems, master control system, plant support subsystem and engineering services. A solar facilities design integration program action items update is included. Work plan changes and cost underruns are discussed briefly. (LEW)

Hydraulic modeling and meander migration of the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico

Treesearch

Michael J. Sixta

2004-01-01

The dynamic characteristics of the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) in central New Mexico have been of both interest and concern for the regulatory agencies involved with its management. The MRG has experienced sedimentation problems, prompting the development and implementation of sediment detention and flood control features, including the construction of Cochiti Dam in 1973...

Intracellular Signalling in Retinal Ischemia

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-07-01

36) However, vascularization of the RPE is not known to occur in human diseases of photoreceptor degeneration, such as retinitis pigmentosa ...A.C. (1986) Retinitis pigmentosa and retinal neovascularization. Ophthalmology 91, 1599- 1603. Figure la: Control rat retina, 8 weeks of age, central...TITLE (Include Security Classification) Intracellular Signalling in Retinal Ischemia 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) Burns, Margaret Sue; Bellhorn, Roy William

78 FR 12420 - Identification of Additional Vessels Pursuant to the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-22

... controlled by the Government of Iran under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part... Property of the Government of Iran and Iranian Financial Institutions'' (the ``Order''). Section 1 (a) of... Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the...

Some Comments on Reports of Postsecondary Commissions in Relation to Community Colleges in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Gordon

1975-01-01

An examination of the issues of centralized control and parity of esteem in Canadian systems of higher education. Includes a profile of Canadian college systems in the various provinces placing them in three categories (unitary, binary, and ternary) on the basis of purpose, administrative structure, and articulation with universities. (JT)

Detection and identification of Amylostereum areolatum (Russulales: Amylostereaceae) in the mycangia of Sirex nigricornis (Hymenoptera: Siricaidae) in central Louisiana

Treesearch

Rabiu Olatinwo; Jeremy Allison; James Meeker; Wood Johnson; Douglas Streett; M. Catherine Aime; Christopher Carlton

2014-01-01

The woodwasp Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) has become established in North America. A primary tactic for the management of S. noctilio in the southern hemisphere has been the development of a biological control agent, Deladenus siricidicola Bedding. This nematode has a bicyclic life cycle including a...

Central control of body temperature

PubMed Central

Morrison, Shaun F.

2016-01-01

Central neural circuits orchestrate the behavioral and autonomic repertoire that maintains body temperature during environmental temperature challenges and alters body temperature during the inflammatory response and behavioral states and in response to declining energy homeostasis. This review summarizes the central nervous system circuit mechanisms controlling the principal thermoeffectors for body temperature regulation: cutaneous vasoconstriction regulating heat loss and shivering and brown adipose tissue for thermogenesis. The activation of these thermoeffectors is regulated by parallel but distinct efferent pathways within the central nervous system that share a common peripheral thermal sensory input. The model for the neural circuit mechanism underlying central thermoregulatory control provides a useful platform for further understanding of the functional organization of central thermoregulation, for elucidating the hypothalamic circuitry and neurotransmitters involved in body temperature regulation, and for the discovery of novel therapeutic approaches to modulating body temperature and energy homeostasis. PMID:27239289

Central control of body temperature.

PubMed

Morrison, Shaun F

2016-01-01

Central neural circuits orchestrate the behavioral and autonomic repertoire that maintains body temperature during environmental temperature challenges and alters body temperature during the inflammatory response and behavioral states and in response to declining energy homeostasis. This review summarizes the central nervous system circuit mechanisms controlling the principal thermoeffectors for body temperature regulation: cutaneous vasoconstriction regulating heat loss and shivering and brown adipose tissue for thermogenesis. The activation of these thermoeffectors is regulated by parallel but distinct efferent pathways within the central nervous system that share a common peripheral thermal sensory input. The model for the neural circuit mechanism underlying central thermoregulatory control provides a useful platform for further understanding of the functional organization of central thermoregulation, for elucidating the hypothalamic circuitry and neurotransmitters involved in body temperature regulation, and for the discovery of novel therapeutic approaches to modulating body temperature and energy homeostasis.

Chondroitin sulfates and their binding molecules in the central nervous system.

PubMed

Djerbal, L; Lortat-Jacob, H; Kwok, Jcf

2017-06-01

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is the most abundant glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in the central nervous system (CNS) matrix. Its sulfation and epimerization patterns give rise to different forms of CS, which enables it to interact specifically and with a significant affinity with various signalling molecules in the matrix including growth factors, receptors and guidance molecules. These interactions control numerous biological and pathological processes, during development and in adulthood. In this review, we describe the specific interactions of different families of proteins involved in various physiological and cognitive mechanisms with CSs in CNS matrix. A better understanding of these interactions could promote a development of inhibitors to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

Selection of alternative central-station technologies for the Satellite Power System (SPS) comparative assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samsa, M.

1980-01-01

An important effort is the Satellite Power System (SPS) comparative Assessment is the selection and characterization of alternative technologies to be compared with the SPS concept. The ground rules, criteria, and screening procedure applied in the selection of those alternative technologies are summarized. The final set of central station alternatives selected for comparison with the SPS concept includes: (1) light water reactor with improved fuel utilization, (2) conventional coal combustion with improved environmental controls, (3) open cycle gas turbine with integral low Btu gasifier, (4) terrestrial photovoltaic, (5) liquid metal fast breeder reactor, and (6) magnetic confinement fusion.

Development and evaluation of vision rehabilitation devices.

PubMed

Luo, Gang; Peli, Eli

2011-01-01

We have developed a range of vision rehabilitation devices and techniques for people with impaired vision due to either central vision loss or severely restricted peripheral visual field. We have conducted evaluation studies with patients to test the utilities of these techniques in an effort to document their advantages as well as their limitations. Here we describe our work on a visual field expander based on a head mounted display (HMD) for tunnel vision, a vision enhancement device for central vision loss, and a frequency domain JPEG/MPEG based image enhancement technique. All the evaluation studies included visual search paradigms that are suitable for conducting indoor controllable experiments.

August, 2002 - floods events, affected areas revitalisation and prevention for the future in the central Bohemian region, Czech Republic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bina, L.; Vacha, F.; Vodova, J.

2003-04-01

Central Bohemian Region is located in a shape of a ring surrounding the capitol of Prague. Its total territorial area is 11.014 sq.km and population of 1 130.000 inhabitants. According to EU nomenclature of regional statistical units, the Central Bohemian Region is classified as an independent NUTS II. Bohemia's biggest rivers, Vltava and Labe form the region's backbone dividing it along a north-south line, besides that there are Sazava and Berounka, the two big headwaters of Vltava, which flow through the region and there also are some cascade man made lakes and 2 important big dams - Orlik and Slapy on the Vltava River in the area of the region. Overflowing of these rivers and their feeders including cracking of high-water dams during the floods in August 2002 caused total or partial destruction or damage of more than 200 towns and villages and total losses to the extend of 450 mil. EUR. The worst impact was on damaged or destroyed human dwellings, social infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, humanitarian facilities) and technical infrastructure (roads, waterworks, power distribution). Also businesses were considerably damaged including transport terminals in the area of river ports. Flowage of Spolana Neratovice chemical works caused critical environmental havoc. Regional crisis staff with regional Governor in the lead worked continuously during the floods and a regional integrated rescue system was subordinated to it. Due to the huge extent of the floods the crisis staff coordinated its work with central bodies of state including the Government and single "power" resorts (army, interior, transport). Immediately after floods a regional - controlled management was set up including an executive body for regional revitalisation which is connected to state coordinating resort - Ministry for Local Development, EU sources and humanitarian aid. In addition to a program of regional revitalisation additional preventive flood control programs are being developed including fields of: urban planning revision, river flow measures, revision of operation mode of dams, modification of waterworks' conception in areas liable to flooding and finally a program of power sources prevention during emergency situation (this program had been started before the floods). Regional establishment puts emphasis on preparation of preventive projects and management mentioned. An international co-operation of regions affected by floods and possibly building of joint teams for prevention measures proposal would be very effective and useful.

Glossary

MedlinePlus

... effective, directed treatments. Central Nervous System The "central command system" of the body, it includes the brain, ... The central nervous system (CNS) is the "central command system" of the body, and includes the brain, ...

Central and Peripheral Molecular Targets for Anti-Obesity Pharmacotherapy

PubMed Central

Valentino, Michael A.; Lin, Jieru E.; Waldman, Scott A.

2011-01-01

Obesity has emerged as one of the principle worldwide health concerns of the modern era, and there exists a tremendous unmet clinical need for safe and effective therapies to combat this global pandemic. The prevalence of obesity and its associated co-morbidities, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, has focused drug discovery and development on generating effective modalities for the treatment and prevention of obesity. Early efforts in the field of obesity pharmacotherapy centered on agents with indeterminate mechanisms of action producing treatment paradigms characterized by significant off-target effects. During the past two decades, new insights have been made into the physiologic regulation of energy balance and the subordinate central and peripheral circuits coordinating appetite, metabolism, and lipogenesis. These studies have revealed previously unrecognized molecular targets for controlling appetite and managing weight from which has emerged a new wave of targeted pharmacotherapies to prevent and control obesity. PMID:20445536

Prebiotic synthesis of phosphoenol pyruvate by α-phosphorylation-controlled triose glycolysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coggins, Adam J.; Powner, Matthew W.

2017-04-01

Phosphoenol pyruvate is the highest-energy phosphate found in living organisms and is one of the most versatile molecules in metabolism. Consequently, it is an essential intermediate in a wide variety of biochemical pathways, including carbon fixation, the shikimate pathway, substrate-level phosphorylation, gluconeogenesis and glycolysis. Triose glycolysis (generation of ATP from glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate via phosphoenol pyruvate) is among the most central and highly conserved pathways in metabolism. Here, we demonstrate the efficient and robust synthesis of phosphoenol pyruvate from prebiotic nucleotide precursors, glycolaldehyde and glyceraldehyde. Furthermore, phosphoenol pyruvate is derived within an α-phosphorylation controlled reaction network that gives access to glyceric acid 2-phosphate, glyceric acid 3-phosphate, phosphoserine and pyruvate. Our results demonstrate that the key components of a core metabolic pathway central to energy transduction and amino acid, sugar, nucleotide and lipid biosyntheses can be reconstituted in high yield under mild, prebiotically plausible conditions.

Building Airport Surface HITL Simulation Capability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chinn, Fay Cherie

2016-01-01

FutureFlight Central is a high fidelity, real-time simulator designed to study surface operations and automation. As an air traffic control tower simulator, FFC allows stakeholders such as the FAA, controllers, pilots, airports, and airlines to develop and test advanced surface and terminal area concepts and automation including NextGen and beyond automation concepts and tools. These technologies will improve the safety, capacity and environmental issues facing the National Airspace system. FFC also has extensive video streaming capabilities, which combined with the 3-D database capability makes the facility ideal for any research needing an immersive virtual and or video environment. FutureFlight Central allows human in the loop testing which accommodates human interactions and errors giving a more complete picture than fast time simulations. This presentation describes FFCs capabilities and the components necessary to build an airport surface human in the loop simulation capability.

13. DETAIL OF CENTER OF CENTRAL CONTROL CONSOLE IN SLC3W ...

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

13. DETAIL OF CENTER OF CENTRAL CONTROL CONSOLE IN SLC-3W CONTROL ROOM SHOWING USAF LAUNCH CONTROLLER AND ASSISTANT USAF LAUNCH CONTROLLER PANELS. CONSOLES AND CHAIRS NEAR NORTH WALL IN BACKGROUND. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

The Role of Ankle Proprioception for Balance Control in relation to Sports Performance and Injury.

PubMed

Han, Jia; Anson, Judith; Waddington, Gordon; Adams, Roger; Liu, Yu

2015-01-01

Balance control improvement is one of the most important goals in sports and exercise. Better balance is strongly positively associated with enhanced athletic performance and negatively associated with lower limb sports injuries. Proprioception plays an essential role in balance control, and ankle proprioception is arguably the most important. This paper reviews ankle proprioception and explores synergies with balance control, specifically in a sporting context. Central processing of ankle proprioceptive information, along with other sensory information, enables integration for balance control. When assessing ankle proprioception, the most generalizable findings arise from methods that are ecologically valid, allow proprioceptive signals to be integrated with general vision in the central nervous system, and reflect the signal-in-noise nature of central processing. Ankle proprioceptive intervention concepts driven by such a central processing theory are further proposed and discussed for the improvement of balance control in sport.

The Role of Ankle Proprioception for Balance Control in relation to Sports Performance and Injury

PubMed Central

Han, Jia; Waddington, Gordon; Adams, Roger; Liu, Yu

2015-01-01

Balance control improvement is one of the most important goals in sports and exercise. Better balance is strongly positively associated with enhanced athletic performance and negatively associated with lower limb sports injuries. Proprioception plays an essential role in balance control, and ankle proprioception is arguably the most important. This paper reviews ankle proprioception and explores synergies with balance control, specifically in a sporting context. Central processing of ankle proprioceptive information, along with other sensory information, enables integration for balance control. When assessing ankle proprioception, the most generalizable findings arise from methods that are ecologically valid, allow proprioceptive signals to be integrated with general vision in the central nervous system, and reflect the signal-in-noise nature of central processing. Ankle proprioceptive intervention concepts driven by such a central processing theory are further proposed and discussed for the improvement of balance control in sport. PMID:26583139

Smart home technologies for health and social care support.

PubMed

Martin, Suzanne; Kelly, Greg; Kernohan, W George; McCreight, Bernadette; Nugent, Christopher

2008-10-08

The integration of smart home technology to support health and social care is acquiring an increasing global significance. Provision is framed within the context of a rapidly changing population profile, which is impacting on the number of people requiring health and social care, workforce availability and the funding of healthcare systems. To explore the effectiveness of smart home technologies as an intervention for people with physical disability, cognitive impairment or learning disability, who are living at home, and to consider the impact on the individual's health status and on the financial resources of health care. We searched the following databases for primary studies: (a) the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Register, (b) the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), (The Cochrane Library, issue 1, 2007), and (c) bibliographic databases, including MEDLINE (1966 to March 2007), EMBASE (1980 to March 2007) and CINAHL (1982 to March 2007). We also searched the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE). We searched the electronic databases using a strategy developed by the EPOC Trials Search Co-ordinator. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-experimental studies, controlled before and after studies (CBAs) and interrupted time series analyses (ITS). Participants included adults over the age of 18, living in their home in a community setting. Participants with a physical disability, dementia or a learning disability were included. The included interventions were social alarms, electronic assistive devices, telecare social alert platforms, environmental control systems, automated home environments and 'ubiquitous homes'. Outcome measures included any objective measure that records an impact on a participant's quality of life, healthcare professional workload, economic outcomes, costs to healthcare provider or costs to participant. We included measures of service satisfaction, device satisfaction and healthcare professional attitudes or satisfaction. One review author completed the search strategy with the support of a life and health sciences librarian. Two review authors independently screened titles and abstracts of results. No studies were identified which met the inclusion criteria. This review highlights the current lack of empirical evidence to support or refute the use of smart home technologies within health and social care, which is significant for practitioners and healthcare consumers.

Plasma transfusions prior to insertion of central lines for people with abnormal coagulation

PubMed Central

Hall, David P; Estcourt, Lise J; Doree, Carolyn; Hopewell, Sally; Trivella, Marialena; Walsh, Timothy S

2016-01-01

Background The insertion of central venous catheters (CVCs) may be associated with peri- and post-procedural bleeding. People who require a central line often have disorders of coagulation as a result of their underlying illness, co-morbidities or the effects of treatment. Clinical practice in some institutions is to mitigate the risk of bleeding in these patients by prophylactically transfusing fresh frozen plasma (FFP) in order to correct clotting factor deficiencies prior to central line insertion. However, FFP transfusion is not without risk, and it remains unclear whether this intervention is associated with reduced rates of bleeding or other clinically-meaningful outcomes. Objectives To assess the effect of different prophylactic plasma transfusion regimens prior to central line insertion in people with abnormal coagulation. Search methods We searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (the Cochrane Library 2016, Issue 3), PubMed (e-publications only), Ovid MEDLINE (from 1946), Ovid Embase (from 1974), the Transfusion Evidence Library (from 1950) and ongoing trial databases to 1 March 2016. Selection criteria We included RCTs involving transfusions of plasma to prevent bleeding in people of any age with abnormal coagulation requiring insertion of a central venous catheter, published in English. Data collection and analysis We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Main results We identified four trials eligible for inclusion, of which three are ongoing. We did not exclude any studies because they were not published in English. The included study randomised 81 adults in intensive care whose INR (International Normalised Ratio) was greater than or equal to 1.5 to no FFP or to a single dose of 12 mL/kg FFP prior to undergoing central venous catheterisation (58 participants) or other invasive procedure (23 participants). It is the subgroup of 58 adults undergoing CVC insertion that were included in this review, the study authors provided unpublished data for this review’s outcomes. The quality of the evidence was low or very low across different outcomes according to the GRADE methodology. The included study was at high risk of bias due to lack of blinding of participants and personnel and imbalance in the number of participants who had liver disease between study arms. There was insufficient evidence to determine a difference in major procedure-related bleeding within 24 hours (one RCT; 58 participants; no events in either study arm, very low-quality evidence). We are very uncertain whether FFP reduces minor procedure-related bleeding within 24 hours of the study (one RCT; 58 participants, RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.12 to 3.70, very low-quality evidence). No studies were found that looked at: all-cause mortality; the proportion of participants receiving plasma or red cell transfusions; serious adverse reactions (transfusion or line-related complications); number of days in hospital; change in INR; or quality of life. The three ongoing studies are still recruiting participants (expected recruitment: up to 355 participants in total). and are due to be completed by February 2018. Authors’ conclusions There is only very limited evidence from one RCT to inform the decision whether or not to administer prophylactic plasma prior to central venous catheterisation for people with abnormal coagulation. It is not possible from the current RCT evidence to recommend whether or not prophylactic plasma transfusion is beneficial or harmful in this situation. The three ongoing RCTs will not be able to answer this review’s questions, because they are small studies and do not address all of the comparisons included in this review (355 participants in total). To detect an increase in the proportion of participants who had major bleeding from 1 in 100 to 2 in 100 would require a study containing at least 4634 participants (80% power, 5% significance). PMID:27647489

Effect of different East Coast fever control strategies on disease incidence in traditionally managed Sanga cattle in Central Province of Zambia.

PubMed

Minjauw, B; Otte, M J; James, A D; de Castro, J J; Sinyangwe, P

1998-05-01

A clinical trial, including five East Coast fever (ECF) control strategies (involving tick control and/or immunisation by infection-and-treatment) in five different groups of traditionally managed Sanga cattle, was conducted in Central Province of Zambia over 2.5 years between 1992 and 1995. Two groups were kept under intensive tick control by weekly acaricide treatment by hand spray; (one immunised and one non-immunised), two groups were under no tick control (one immunised and one non-immunised), and a fifth, immunised group was maintained under strategic tick control (18 sprays yr-1). ECF-specific mortality was highest in the non-immunised and non-treated group, while no difference in ECF-specific mortality could be observed between animals treated for ECF by immunisation or by tick control. Acaricide treatment and/or immunisation reduced the risk of clinical ECF by 92%. The results of an artificial challenge experiment at the end of the field trial indicated that about 60% of the animals in the control group had become infected with Theileria parva without showing clinical signs. ECF incidence in non-vaccinated cattle markedly declined six months after immunisation--suggesting that the carrier state induced by immunisation did not lead to a persistent high incidence, and might accelerate the progress to endemicity.

Serum biochemical markers of central nerve system damage in children with acute elemental mercury intoxicatıon.

PubMed

Yılmaz, F M; Yılmaz, H; Tutkun, E; Uysal, S; Carman, K B; Dılber, C; Ercan, M

2014-01-01

Acute mercury intoxication among children can occur through unintentional exposure, and neurotoxicity is one of the main findings in acute exposures. In this study, we aimed to study the central nerve system markers, namely neuron-specific enolase (NSE), S100B, and glutamate receptor (GRIA 1) levels and discuss the mechanisms of central nerve system damage and whether these parameters could be used as markers of acute elemental mercury intoxication neurotoxicity. This is a case-control study which includes 169 children with acute elemental mercury intoxication, who were exposed to mercury in the school laboratory from a broken jar, and 45 sex- and age-matched controls without mercury exposure. Patient group were divided into three subgroups according to the neurological examination performed during the admission. Neuropathy Group included the children with neurological symptoms including peripheral neuropathy and decreased muscle strength (n = 39) (with or without dilated pupils). Dilated Pupil Group included the children who had mid-dilated/dilated pupils (n = 52). Asymptomatic Exposure Group included the children who did not have any neurological symptoms (n = 78). Serum NSE, S100B, GRIA 1, blood, and urine mercury levels were determined. NSE, S100B, GRIA 1, and blood mercury levels were significantly higher in exposed group than the nonexposed subjects (Median values NSE 22.4 ng/mL, 17.2 ng/mL; S100B 0.09 ng/mL, 0.08 ng/mL; GRIA 1 70.6 pg/mL, 54.1 pg/mL, and blood mercury 15.2 μg/L, 0.23 μg/L for exposed and nonexposed groups, respectively). GRIA 1 levels found to differ between exposed and nonexposed groups and it has also been found to be increased in the subgroups with positive neurological findings compared to that in neurological finding negative groups. S100B levels were found to be increased in exposed and having neurological symptom groups. There was not a significant difference between exposed-not having neurological symptom patients and control group. NSE levels were found to be higher in all subgroups when compared to those in controls, however there was not a significant difference between the subgroups. Serum NSE, GRIA 1, and S100B were increased with mercury exposure. GRIA 1 and S100B levels were observed to have the power to discriminate neurological symptom positive and negative groups. The increase in S100B levels are thought to be protecting the neurons and preventing further NSE elevations.

Plasma boundary shape control and real-time equilibrium reconstruction on NSTX-U

DOE PAGES

Boyer, M. D.; Battaglia, D. J.; Mueller, D.; ...

2018-01-25

Here, the upgrade to the National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX-U) included two main improvements: a larger center-stack, enabling higher toroidal field and longer pulse duration, and the addition of three new tangentially aimed neutral beam sources, which increase available heating and current drive, and allow for flexibility in shaping power, torque, current, and particle deposition profiles. To best use these new capabilities and meet the high-performance operational goals of NSTX-U, major upgrades to the NSTX-U control system (NCS) hardware and software have been made. Several control algorithms, including those used for real-time equilibrium reconstruction and shape control, have been upgradedmore » to improve and extend plasma control capabilities. As part of the commissioning phase of first plasma operations, the shape control system was tuned to control the boundary in both inner-wall limited and diverted discharges. It has been used to accurately track the requested evolution of the boundary (including the size of the inner gap between the plasma and central solenoid, which is a challenge for the ST configuration), X-point locations, and strike point locations, enabling repeatable discharge evolutions for scenario development and diagnostic commissioning.« less

Plasma boundary shape control and real-time equilibrium reconstruction on NSTX-U

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

Boyer, M. D.; Battaglia, D. J.; Mueller, D.

Here, the upgrade to the National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX-U) included two main improvements: a larger center-stack, enabling higher toroidal field and longer pulse duration, and the addition of three new tangentially aimed neutral beam sources, which increase available heating and current drive, and allow for flexibility in shaping power, torque, current, and particle deposition profiles. To best use these new capabilities and meet the high-performance operational goals of NSTX-U, major upgrades to the NSTX-U control system (NCS) hardware and software have been made. Several control algorithms, including those used for real-time equilibrium reconstruction and shape control, have been upgradedmore » to improve and extend plasma control capabilities. As part of the commissioning phase of first plasma operations, the shape control system was tuned to control the boundary in both inner-wall limited and diverted discharges. It has been used to accurately track the requested evolution of the boundary (including the size of the inner gap between the plasma and central solenoid, which is a challenge for the ST configuration), X-point locations, and strike point locations, enabling repeatable discharge evolutions for scenario development and diagnostic commissioning.« less

Plasma boundary shape control and real-time equilibrium reconstruction on NSTX-U

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyer, M. D.; Battaglia, D. J.; Mueller, D.; Eidietis, N.; Erickson, K.; Ferron, J.; Gates, D. A.; Gerhardt, S.; Johnson, R.; Kolemen, E.; Menard, J.; Myers, C. E.; Sabbagh, S. A.; Scotti, F.; Vail, P.

2018-03-01

The upgrade to the National Spherical Torus eXperiment (NSTX-U) included two main improvements: a larger center-stack, enabling higher toroidal field and longer pulse duration, and the addition of three new tangentially aimed neutral beam sources, which increase available heating and current drive, and allow for flexibility in shaping power, torque, current, and particle deposition profiles. To best use these new capabilities and meet the high-performance operational goals of NSTX-U, major upgrades to the NSTX-U control system (NCS) hardware and software have been made. Several control algorithms, including those used for real-time equilibrium reconstruction and shape control, have been upgraded to improve and extend plasma control capabilities. As part of the commissioning phase of first plasma operations, the shape control system was tuned to control the boundary in both inner-wall limited and diverted discharges. It has been used to accurately track the requested evolution of the boundary (including the size of the inner gap between the plasma and central solenoid, which is a challenge for the ST configuration), X-point locations, and strike point locations, enabling repeatable discharge evolutions for scenario development and diagnostic commissioning.

Orthodontic treatment in periodontitis‐susceptible subjects: a systematic literature review

PubMed Central

Lindsten, Rune; Slotte, Christer; Bjerklin, Krister

2016-01-01

Abstract The aim is to evaluate the literature for clinical scientific data on possible effects of orthodontic treatment on periodontal status in periodontitis‐susceptible subjects. A systematic literature review was performed on studies in English using PubMed, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library central databases (1965‐2014). By manually searching reference lists of selected studies, we identified additional articles; then we searched these publications: Journal of Periodontology, Periodontology 2000, Journal of Clinical Periodontology, American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Angle Orthodontist, International Journal of Periodontics & Restorative Dentistry, and European Journal of Orthodontics. Search terms included randomized clinical trials, controlled clinical trials, prospective and retrospective clinical studies, case series >5 patients, periodontitis, orthodontics, alveolar bone loss, tooth migration, tooth movement, orthodontic extrusion, and orthodontic intrusion. Only studies on orthodontic treatment in periodontally compromised dentitions were included. One randomized controlled clinical trial, one controlled clinical trial, and 12 clinical studies were included. No evidence currently exists from controlled studies and randomized controlled clinical trials, which shows that orthodontic treatment improves or aggravates the status of periodontally compromised dentitions. PMID:29744163

Disrupted topological organization in whole-brain functional networks of heroin-dependent individuals: a resting-state FMRI study.

PubMed

Jiang, Guihua; Wen, Xue; Qiu, Yingwei; Zhang, Ruibin; Wang, Junjing; Li, Meng; Ma, Xiaofen; Tian, Junzhang; Huang, Ruiwang

2013-01-01

Neuroimaging studies have shown that heroin addiction is related to abnormalities in widespread local regions and in the functional connectivity of the brain. However, little is known about whether heroin addiction changes the topological organization of whole-brain functional networks. Seventeen heroin-dependent individuals (HDIs) and 15 age-, gender-matched normal controls (NCs) were enrolled, and the resting-state functional magnetic resonance images (RS-fMRI) were acquired from these subjects. We constructed the brain functional networks of HDIs and NCs, and compared the between-group differences in network topological properties using graph theory method. We found that the HDIs showed decreases in the normalized clustering coefficient and in small-worldness compared to the NCs. Furthermore, the HDIs exhibited significantly decreased nodal centralities primarily in regions of cognitive control network, including the bilateral middle cingulate gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, and right precuneus, but significantly increased nodal centralities primarily in the left hippocampus. The between-group differences in nodal centralities were not corrected by multiple comparisons suggesting these should be considered as an exploratory analysis. Moreover, nodal centralities in the left hippocampus were positively correlated with the duration of heroin addiction. Overall, our results indicated that disruptions occur in the whole-brain functional networks of HDIs, findings which may be helpful in further understanding the mechanisms underlying heroin addiction.

Robot Task Commander with Extensible Programming Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, Stephen W (Inventor); Wightman, Brian J (Inventor); Dinh, Duy Paul (Inventor); Yamokoski, John D. (Inventor); Gooding, Dustin R (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A system for developing distributed robot application-level software includes a robot having an associated control module which controls motion of the robot in response to a commanded task, and a robot task commander (RTC) in networked communication with the control module over a network transport layer (NTL). The RTC includes a script engine(s) and a GUI, with a processor and a centralized library of library blocks constructed from an interpretive computer programming code and having input and output connections. The GUI provides access to a Visual Programming Language (VPL) environment and a text editor. In executing a method, the VPL is opened, a task for the robot is built from the code library blocks, and data is assigned to input and output connections identifying input and output data for each block. A task sequence(s) is sent to the control module(s) over the NTL to command execution of the task.

Pharmacologic intervention for retained placenta: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Duffy, James M N; Mylan, Sophie; Showell, Marian; Wilson, Matthew J A; Khan, Khalid S

2015-03-01

To assess the effectiveness and safety of pharmacologic interventions for the treatment of retained placenta (when the placenta remains undelivered after 30 minutes of active management of the third stage of labor). We searched: 1) Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), 2) Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register, 3) EMBASE, and 4) MEDLINE from inception to June 2014. Randomized controlled trials comparing a pharmacologic intervention(s) with a placebo for the treatment of retained placenta were included. Sixteen randomized controlled trials, including 1,683 participants, were included. Study characteristics and quality were recorded. The meta-analysis was based on random-effects methods for pooled data. There were no statistically significant differences in the requirement to perform manual removal of a placenta in patients treated with oxytocin (55% compared with 60%; relative risk [RR] 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73-1.02; 10 randomized controlled trials [RCTs]), prostaglandins (44% compared with 55%; RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.58-1.15; four RCTs), nitroglycerin (85% compared with 80%; RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.80-1.41; one RCT), or oxytocin and nitroglycerin (52% compared with 79%; RR 0.23, 95% CI 0.01-8.48; two RCTs) compared with placebo. There was limited reporting of secondary outcomes. As opposed to the use of oxytocin as part of the active management of the third stage of labor that has been shown to diminish bleeding in the third stage, once the diagnosis of retained placenta has been made, no pharmacologic treatment has been shown to be effective. When retained placenta is diagnosed, immediate manual removal of the placenta should be considered. PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, CRD42014010641.

Care delivery and self-management strategies for children with epilepsy.

PubMed

Lindsay, Bruce; Bradley, Peter M

2010-12-08

Epilepsy care for children has been criticised for its lack of impact. Various service models and strategies have been developed in response to perceived inadequacies in care provision for children and their families. We set out to compare the effectiveness of specialist or dedicated teams or individuals in the care of children with epilepsy with usual care services. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library February issue, 2010), MEDLINE (1950 to March 2010), EMBASE (1988 to May 2006*), PsycINFO (1806 to March 2010) and CINAHL (1982 to March 2010).*Please note that as we currently do not have access to EMBASE, we have been unable to update this aspect of our searching. We included randomised controlled trials, controlled or matched trials, cohort studies or other prospective studies with a control group, or time series studies. Each review author independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed the quality of included studies. Four trials and five reports are included in this review. They report on four different education and counselling programmes for children, children and parents, or teenagers and parents. Each programme showed some benefits for the well-being of children with epilepsy, but each trial had methodological flaws and no single programme was evaluated by more than one study. While each of the programmes in this review showed some benefit to children with epilepsy their impacts were extremely variable. No programme showed benefits across the full range of outcomes. No study appears to have demonstrated any detrimental effects but the evidence in favour of any single programme is insufficient to make it possible to recommend one programme rather than another. More trials, carried out by independent research teams, are needed.

Central Corneal Thickness Increase Due to Stromal Thickening With Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy Severity.

PubMed

Kumar, Navasuja; Pop-Busui, Rodica; Musch, David C; Reed, David M; Momont, Anna C; Hussain, Munira; Raval, Nilesh; Moroi, Sayoko E; Shtein, Roni

2018-06-19

To investigate the relationship between central corneal thickness (CCT) and diabetes disease severity among patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) compared with controls. In this cross-sectional study, 34 participants were examined. DPN status was assessed by clinical examination, nerve conduction studies, and quantitative sensory testing. All participants underwent comprehensive eye examination that included intraocular pressure measured by Goldmann applanation tonometry. CCT was measured by ultrasound pachymetry, and the thickness of corneal layers was assessed by corneal confocal microscopy. Association of CCT and DPN was examined using ANOVA. Among the 34 participants, there were 9 controls, 16 patients with mild DPN, and 9 patients with severe DPN. CCT was significantly increased in the DPN groups compared with controls (P = 0.0003). Mean CCT among controls was 552.7 ± 29.2 μm compared with 583.4 ± 25.0 μm in the mild DPN group and 613.3 ± 28.8 μm in the severe DPN group. In addition, stromal thickness differed significantly between the 3 study groups (P = 0.045). Mean stromal thickness among controls was 439.5 ± 23.5 μm compared with 478.9 ± 37.5 μm in the mild DPN group and 494.5 ± 39.1 μm in the severe DPN group. This study demonstrates that CCT increases with DPN severity because of an increase in stromal thickness. CCT increase associated with DPN has important clinical implications including glaucoma progression, keratoconus susceptibility, and intraocular pressure assessment and should be accounted for when evaluating patients with diabetes.

QT interval dispersion in the patients with central serous chorioretinopathy

PubMed Central

Dagli, Necati; Turgut, Burak; Tanyildizi, Rumeysa; Kobat, Sabiha; Kobat, Mehmet Ali; Dogdu, Orhan

2015-01-01

AIM To evaluate QT dispersion (QTD) in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). METHODS This clinical, comperative, case-control study included 30 patients with CSC at acute phase (Group 1) and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (Group 2, the control group). From all subjects, a 12-lead surface electrocardiography was obtained. The heart rate (HR), QT maximum (QTmax), QT minimum (QTmin), QT corrected (QTc), QTD and Tmean were manually measured and analyzed. Student's t-test and Pearson's method of correlation were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The patient and control groups were matched for age, smoking status (rate and duration) and gender. There were no significant differences with regard to these among the groups (P>0.05). The participants included 19 men (63.3%) and 11 women (36.7%) in Group 1, 20 men (66.7%) and 10 women (33.3%) in Group 2. QTmax, QTD and QTc were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (P<0.001 for QTmax, P=0.01 for QTD and P=0.001 for QTc). QTmin, Tmean and HR did not differ significantly between the study groups (P=0.28 for QTmin, P=0.56 for Tmean and P>0.05 for HR). No significant correlation was found between duration of the disorder and QTD values (r=0.13, P>0.05). CONCLUSION These findings suggest that CSC may be associated with an increase in QTD and that the patients might be at risk for ventricular arrhythmia. PMID:25709909

QT interval dispersion in the patients with central serous chorioretinopathy.

PubMed

Dagli, Necati; Turgut, Burak; Tanyildizi, Rumeysa; Kobat, Sabiha; Kobat, Mehmet Ali; Dogdu, Orhan

2015-01-01

To evaluate QT dispersion (QTD) in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). This clinical, comperative, case-control study included 30 patients with CSC at acute phase (Group 1) and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (Group 2, the control group). From all subjects, a 12-lead surface electrocardiography was obtained. The heart rate (HR), QT maximum (QTmax), QT minimum (QTmin), QT corrected (QTc), QTD and Tmean were manually measured and analyzed. Student's t-test and Pearson's method of correlation were used for statistical analysis. The patient and control groups were matched for age, smoking status (rate and duration) and gender. There were no significant differences with regard to these among the groups (P>0.05). The participants included 19 men (63.3%) and 11 women (36.7%) in Group 1, 20 men (66.7%) and 10 women (33.3%) in Group 2. QTmax, QTD and QTc were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (P<0.001 for QTmax, P=0.01 for QTD and P=0.001 for QTc). QTmin, Tmean and HR did not differ significantly between the study groups (P=0.28 for QTmin, P=0.56 for Tmean and P>0.05 for HR). No significant correlation was found between duration of the disorder and QTD values (r=0.13, P>0.05). These findings suggest that CSC may be associated with an increase in QTD and that the patients might be at risk for ventricular arrhythmia.

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease in a Nigerian population with type II diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Olusanya, Titilola Osawaye; Lesi, Olufunmilayo Adenike; Adeyomoye, Adekunle Ayokunle; Fasanmade, Olufemi Adetola

2016-01-01

Worldwide, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become an important cause of chronic liver disease and cardiovascular morbidity, even more so in subjects with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of NAFLD in an African population with Type II Diabetes Mellitus. We performed a case control study and evaluated anthropometric and biochemical risk factors for NAFLD in 336 subjects (T2DM and non-diabetic controls). Parameters assessed included estimation of BMI (Body Mass Index), measurement of waist circumference (WC), serum cholesterol including HDL-C, LDL-C and triglyceride and serum transaminases (ALT and AST). Hepatitis B and C viral antibody screening was also performed. The diagnosis of NAFLD was confirmed by identification of hepatic steatosis on abdominal ultrasound scan evaluation and exclusion of significant alcohol consumption. NAFLD was identified in 16.7% (28 of 168) patients with T2DM compared with 1.2% (2 of 168) non-diabetic controls (Odds Ratio 16.6; p < 0.001). Central obesity (WC > 102cm) and dyslipidaemia (HDL-c < 40mg/dl) were independently associated with NAFLD in male subjects with T2DM (p = 0.03 and p = 0.04 respectively). NAFLD occurred more frequently in patients with T2DM than controls and was associated with central obesity and dyslipidaemia. The diabetic subjects with NAFLD will require more intensive therapy to decrease the risk of hepatic, cardiovascular and other adverse events.

Behavior analysis and neuroscience: Complementary disciplines.

PubMed

Donahoe, John W

2017-05-01

Behavior analysis and neuroscience are disciplines in their own right but are united in that both are subfields of a common overarching field-biology. What most fundamentally unites these disciplines is a shared commitment to selectionism, the Darwinian mode of explanation. In selectionism, the order and complexity observed in nature are seen as the cumulative products of selection processes acting over time on a population of variants-favoring some and disfavoring others-with the affected variants contributing to the population on which future selections operate. In the case of behavior analysis, the central selection process is selection by reinforcement; in neuroscience it is natural selection. The two selection processes are inter-related in that selection by reinforcement is itself the product of natural selection. The present paper illustrates the complementary nature of behavior analysis and neuroscience through considering their joint contributions to three central problem areas: reinforcement-including conditioned reinforcement, stimulus control-including equivalence classes, and memory-including reminding and remembering. © 2017 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Peripheral input and its importance for central sensitization.

PubMed

Baron, Ralf; Hans, Guy; Dickenson, Anthony H

2013-11-01

Many pain states begin with damage to tissue and/or nerves in the periphery, leading to enhanced transmitter release within the spinal cord and central sensitization. Manifestations of this central sensitization are windup and long-term potentiation. Hyperexcitable spinal neurons show reduced thresholds, greater evoked responses, increased receptive field sizes, and ongoing stimulus-independent activity; these changes probably underlie the allodynia, hyperalgesia, and spontaneous pain seen in patients. Central sensitization is maintained by continuing input from the periphery, but also modulated by descending controls, both inhibitory and facilitatory, from the midbrain and brainstem. The projections of sensitized spinal neurons to the brain, in turn, alter the processing of painful messages by higher centers. Several mechanisms contribute to central sensitization. Repetitive activation of primary afferent C fibers leads to a synaptic strengthening of nociceptive transmission. It may also induce facilitation of non-nociceptive Aβ fibers and nociceptive Aδ fibers, giving rise to dynamic mechanical allodynia and mechanical hyperalgesia. In postherpetic neuralgia and complex regional pain syndrome, for example, these symptoms are maintained and modulated by peripheral nociceptive input. Diagnosing central sensitization can be particularly difficult. In addition to the medical history, quantitative sensory testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging may be useful, but diagnostic criteria that include both subjective and objective measures of central augmentation are needed. Mounting evidence indicates that treatment strategies that desensitize the peripheral and central nervous systems are required. These should generally involve a multimodal approach, so that therapies may target the peripheral drivers of central sensitization and/or the central consequences. © 2013 American Neurological Association.

Application of controller partitioning optimization procedure to integrated flight/propulsion control design for a STOVL aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garg, Sanjay; Schmidt, Phillip H.

1993-01-01

A parameter optimization framework has earlier been developed to solve the problem of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized, hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation. This paper presents results from the application of the controller partitioning optimization procedure to IFPC design for a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft in transition flight. The controller partitioning problem and the parameter optimization algorithm are briefly described. Insight is provided into choosing various 'user' selected parameters in the optimization cost function such that the resulting optimized subcontrollers will meet the characteristics of the centralized controller that are crucial to achieving the desired closed-loop performance and robustness, while maintaining the desired subcontroller structure constraints that are crucial for IFPC implementation. The optimization procedure is shown to improve upon the initial partitioned subcontrollers and lead to performance comparable to that achieved with the centralized controller. This application also provides insight into the issues that should be addressed at the centralized control design level in order to obtain implementable partitioned subcontrollers.

Assembly of opto-electronic module with improved heat sink

DOEpatents

Chan, Benson; Fortier, Paul Francis; Freitag, Ladd William; Galli, Gary T.; Guindon, Francois; Johnson, Glen Walden; Letourneau, Martial; Sherman, John H.; Tetreault, Real

2004-11-23

A heat sink for a transceiver optoelectronic module including dual direct heat paths and a structure which encloses a number of chips having a central web which electrically isolates transmitter and receiver chips from each other. A retainer for an optical coupler having a port into which epoxy is poured. An overmolded base for an optoelectronic module having epoxy flow controller members built thereon. Assembly methods for an optoelectronic module including gap setting and variation of a TAB bonding process.

Use and abuse of prescribed opioids, central nervous system depressants, and stimulants among U.S. active duty military personnel in FY 2010.

PubMed

Jeffery, Diana D; May, Laurie; Luckey, Bill; Balison, Barbara M; Klette, Kevin L

2014-10-01

This study establishes rates of use/abuse of Schedule II-IV prescription medications in U.S. active duty military personnel, and characterizes correlates of such use/abuse. All active duty personnel serving for 12 months during fiscal year 2010 were included. Data were obtained from medical and pharmacy claims and drug screening results. Logistic regression models were used to examine predictors of drug use, along with bivariate analyses to compare abuse of prescribed and illegal drugs. Nearly one-third of active duty service members received at least one prescription for opioids, central nervous system depressants, or stimulants, with 26.4% having received at least one prescription for opioids. About 0.7%, 1.4%, and 0.6% of the total force received >90-day prescriptions for opioids, central nervous system depressants, or stimulants, respectively. Battlefield injury, receipt of psychotropic medications, and substance abuse adverse events were predictive of >90-day supply of opioids. About 0.7% of the total force had documented known drug abuse for prescribed drugs compared to 0.4% for illegal drug abuse. We recommend systematic monitoring of prescriptions for controlled substances which may carry serious consequences, evaluation of the impact of controlled substances on military readiness, and examination of the rationale for prescribing controlled drugs. Reprint & Copyright © 2014 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

The metabolic syndrome in a Congolese population and its implications for metabolic syndrome definitions.

PubMed

Longo-Mbenza, B; Kasiam Lasi On'kin, J B; Nge Okwe, A; Kangola Kabangu, N

2011-01-01

Metabolic syndrome defined by International cut-off values are limited to detect people at high cardiometabolic risk in Central Africans in comparison with metabolic syndrome defined by ethnic-specific definition. We examined the relationship between metabolic syndromes, diabetes control, abdominal obesity, HDL-cholesterol groups and atherosclerotic complications. A representative sample of type-2 diabetic central Africans from Kinshasa were studied. Outcome measures included control of diabetes, atherosclerosis, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, metabolic syndromes and atherosclerosis. Of 1266 type-2 diabetic patients (48.8%), (61.8%), (27.1%) and (81%) had uncontrolled diabetes, atherosclerotics, metabolic syndrome (IDF/Europe), and metabolic syndrome (IDF/local) respectively. There was a significant U-shaped relationship between atherosclerotics complications, insulin resistance, delta postprandial glycaemia and HDL-cholesterol stratification. There was also a significant U-shaped relationship between cardiometabolic risk (P<0.01) and atherosclerotic complications. Type-2 diabetic Central Africans exhibit very high rates of uncontrolled diabetes, atherosclerotic complications and metabolic syndrome. Both, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, low and very high HDL-cholesterol levels are cardiometabolic risk factors. Crown Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The evolution and phylogeography of the African elephant inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence and nuclear microsatellite markers.

PubMed

Eggert, Lori S; Rasner, Caylor A; Woodruff, David S

2002-10-07

Recent genetic results support the recognition of two African elephant species: Loxodonta africana, the savannah elephant, and Loxodonta cyclotis, the forest elephant. The study, however, did not include the populations of West Africa, where the taxonomic affinities of elephants have been much debated. We examined mitochondrial cytochrome b control region sequences and four microsatellite loci to investigate the genetic differences between the forest and savannah elephants of West and Central Africa. We then combined our data with published control region sequences from across Africa to examine patterns at the continental level. Our analysis reveals several deeply divergent lineages that do not correspond with the currently recognized taxonomy: (i) the forest elephants of Central Africa; the forest and savannah elephants of West Africa; and (iii) the savannah elephants of eastern, southern and Central Africa. We propose that the complex phylogeographic patterns we detect in African elephants result from repeated continental-scale climatic changes over their five-to-six million year evolutionary history. Until there is consensus on the taxonomy, we suggest that the genetic and ecological distinctness of these lineages should be an important factor in conservation management planning.

Cannabinoid type-1 receptor signaling in central serotonergic neurons regulates anxiety-like behavior and sociability

PubMed Central

Häring, Martin; Enk, Vanessa; Aparisi Rey, Alejandro; Loch, Sebastian; Ruiz de Azua, Inigo; Weber, Tillmann; Bartsch, Dusan; Monory, Krisztina; Lutz, Beat

2015-01-01

The endocannabinoid (eCB) system possesses neuromodulatory functions by influencing the release of various neurotransmitters, including γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate. A functional interaction between eCBs and the serotonergic system has already been suggested. Previously, we showed that cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptor mRNA and protein are localized in serotonergic neurons of the raphe nuclei, implying that the eCB system can modulate serotonergic functions. In order to substantiate the physiological role of the CB1 receptor in serotonergic neurons of the raphe nuclei, we generated serotonergic 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) neuron-specific CB1 receptor-deficient mice, using the Cre/loxP system with a tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase under the control of the regulatory sequences of the tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene (TPH2-CreERT2), thus, restricting the recombination to 5-HT neurons of the central nervous system (CNS). Applying several different behavioral paradigms, we revealed that mice lacking the CB1 receptor in serotonergic neurons are more anxious and less sociable than control littermates. Thus, we were able to show that functional CB1 receptor signaling in central serotonergic neurons modulates distinct behaviors in mice. PMID:26388750

Reading Comprehension in Children with ADHD: Cognitive Underpinnings of the Centrality Deficit

PubMed Central

Miller, Amanda C.; Keenan, Janice M.; Betjemann, Rebecca S.; Willcutt, Erik; Pennington, Bruce F.; Olson, Richard K.

2012-01-01

We examined reading comprehension in children with ADHD by assessing their ability to build a coherent mental representation that allows them to recall central and peripheral information. We compared children with ADHD (mean age 9.78) to word reading-matched controls (mean age 9.89) on their ability to retell a passage. We found that even though children with ADHD recalled more central than peripheral information, they showed their greatest deficit, relative to controls, on central information – a centrality deficit (Miller & Keenan, 2009). We explored the cognitive underpinnings of this deficit using regressions to compare how well cognitive factors (working memory, inhibition, processing speed, and IQ) predicted the ability to recall central information, after controlling for word reading ability, and whether these cognitive factors interacted with ADHD symptoms. Working memory accounted for the most unique variance. Although previous evidence for reading comprehension difficulties in children with ADHD have been mixed, this study suggests that even when word reading ability is controlled, children with ADHD have difficulty building a coherent mental representation, and this difficulty is likely related to deficits in working memory. PMID:23054132

Sex-Dependent Effects of Prenatal Stress on Social Memory in Rats: A Role for Differential Expression of Central Vasopressin-1a Receptors.

PubMed

Grundwald, N J; Benítez, D P; Brunton, P J

2016-04-01

Prenatal stress (PNS) affects a number of traits in the offspring, including stress axis regulation, emotionality and cognition; however, much less is known about the effects of PNS on social memory and the underlying central mechanisms. In the present study, we investigated social preference, social memory under basal and stress conditions and olfactory memory for social and nonsocial odours in the adult offspring of dams exposed to social stress during late pregnancy. Given the key roles that the central oxytocin and vasopressin systems play in facilitating social memory, we further investigated the effects of PNS on the central expression of mRNA for oxytocin (Oxtr) and vasopressin-1a (Avpr1a) receptors. PNS did not affect social preference in either sex; however, social memory was impaired under basal conditions in PNS females but not PNS males. Accordingly, Avpr1a mRNA expression in the lateral septum and bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) was unaltered in males but was significantly lower in PNS females compared to controls. No differences in Oxtr mRNA expression were detected between control and PNS offspring in either sex in any of the brain regions examined. Social memory deficits in PNS females persisted when social odours were used; however, this does not appear to be a result of impaired olfaction because memory for nonsocial odours was similar in control and PNS females. Under acute stress conditions, deficits in social memory were observed in both male and female control offspring; however, PNS males were unaffected. Moreover, acute stress facilitated social memory in PNS females and this was associated with an up-regulation of Avpr1a mRNA in the lateral septum and BNST. Our data support a role for altered signalling via central Avpr1a in PNS-induced sex-dependent changes in social memory and may have implications for understanding the aetiology of neurodevelopmental disorders characterised by social behaviour deficits in humans. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

78 FR 65237 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Central, AK

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-31

...-0017; Airspace Docket No. 13-AAL-1] Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Central, AK AGENCY... action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Central Airport, Central, AK. Controlled airspace is... of aircraft operations at Central Airport, Central, AK. DATES: Comments must be received on or before...

Finasteride for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy.

PubMed

Forooghian, Farzin; Meleth, Annal D; Cukras, Catherine; Chew, Emily Y; Wong, Wai T; Meyerle, Catherine B

2011-04-01

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of finasteride, an inhibitor of dihydrotestosterone synthesis, in the treatment of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy. Five patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy were prospectively enrolled in this pilot study. Patients were administered finasteride (5 mg) daily for 3 months, after which study medication was withheld and patients were observed for 3 months. Main outcome measures included best-corrected visual acuity, central subfield macular thickness, and subretinal fluid volume as assessed by optical coherence tomography. Serum dihydrotestosterone, serum testosterone, and urinary cortisol were also measured. There was no change in mean best-corrected visual acuity. Mean center-subfield macular thickness and subretinal fluid volume reached a nadir at 3 months and rose to levels that were below baseline by 6 months. The changes in both optical coherence tomography parameters paralleled those in serum dihydrotestosterone level. In four patients, center-subfield macular thickness and/or subretinal fluid volume increased after discontinuation of finasteride. In the remaining patient, both optical coherence tomography parameters normalized with finasteride and remained stable when the study medication was discontinued. Finasteride may represent a novel medical treatment for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy. Larger controlled clinical trials are needed to further assess the efficacy of finasteride for the treatment of central serous chorioretinopathy.

Geographical variations in the prevalence and management of cardiovascular risk factors in outpatients with CAD: Data from the contemporary CLARIFY registry.

PubMed

Ferrari, Roberto; Ford, Ian; Greenlaw, Nicola; Tardif, Jean-Claude; Tendera, Michal; Abergel, Hélène; Fox, Kim; Hu, Dayi; Shalnova, Svetlana; Steg, Ph Gabriel

2015-08-01

To determine the current prevalence and control of major cardiovascular risk factors in stable CAD outpatients worldwide. We analysed variations in cardiovascular risk factors in stable CAD outpatients from CLARIFY, a 5-year observational longitudinal cohort study, in seven geographical zones (Western/Central Europe; Canada/South Africa/Australia/UK; Eastern Europe; Central/South America; Middle East; East Asia; and India). Patient presentation (N=32,954, mean age 64.2 years, 78% male) varied between zones, as did prevalence of risk factors (all p < 0.0001). Obesity ranged from 20% (East Asia) to 42% (Middle East), raised blood pressure from 28% (Central/South America and East Asia) to 48% (Eastern Europe), raised LDL cholesterol from 24% (Canada/South Africa/Australia/UK) to 65% (Eastern Europe), elevated heart rate (≥70 bpm) from 38% (Western/Central Europe) to 78% (India), diabetes from 17% (Eastern Europe) to 60% (Middle East), and smoking from 6% (Central/South America) to 19% (Eastern Europe). Aspirin and lipid-lowering drugs were widely used everywhere (≥84% and ≥88%, respectively). Rates of risk factor control varied geographically (all p < 0.0001). Rate of controlled blood pressure in hypertension varied from 47% (Eastern Europe) to 66% (Central/South America), glucose control in diabetes from 23% (India) to 51% (Western/Central Europe and East Asia), controlled LDL cholesterol and dyslipidaemia from 32% (Eastern Europe) to 75% (Canada/South Africa/Australia/UK), heart rate <70 bpm from 22% (India) to 62% (Western/Central Europe), and heart rate ≤60 bpm in angina patients from 2% (India) to 29% (Canada/South Africa/Australia/UK and Central/South America). Prevalence and control of major cardiovascular risk factors in stable CAD vary markedly worldwide. Many stable CAD outpatients are being treated suboptimally. © The European Society of Cardiology 2014.

Effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for the prevention of bloodstream infections in infants admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit: A systematic review.

PubMed

Helder, Onno; van den Hoogen, Agnes; de Boer, Coby; van Goudoever, Johannes; Verboon-Maciolek, Malgosia; Kornelisse, René

2013-06-01

Bloodstream infections are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in very low birth weight infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units. To evaluate the available evidence for the effectiveness of non-pharmacological bloodstream infection-preventive measures in infants admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit. A systematic review of randomized, controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, interrupted time series and pretest-posttest studies. PubMed, CINAHL, Web-of-Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Embase were searched. The systematic review was carried out according to the guidelines of the Center for Reviews and Dissemination. The methodological quality of the individual studies was evaluated with the quantitative evaluation form of McMaster University. The review included randomized, controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, interrupted time series, and pre-posttest studies published from January 1990 to January 2011. Quantitative pooling of the results was not feasible due to the high heterogeneity of the interventions, methods and outcome measures. Instead, we present the studies in tabular form and provide a narrative account of the study characteristics and results. Fifteen studies out of 288 generated hits were selected and categorized as research on: hand hygiene (5), intravenous (IV) bundles (4), closed IV sets/patches/filters (4), surveillance (1), and percutaneously inserted central catheter teams (1). IV bundles including proper insertion and proper maintenance showed to be the most effective intervention for preventing bloodstream infection in infants; in three out of four studies on IV bundles, a statistically significant reduction of bloodstream infections was mentioned. Although the methodological quality of most studies was not very robust, we conclude that IV bundles may decrease bloodstream infections in infants. However, differences in IV bundle components and in practices limited the underpinning evidence. There is limited evidence that the introduction of a percutaneously inserted central catheter team results in bloodstream infection reduction. Hand hygiene promotion increases hand hygiene among healthcare workers, but there is inconclusive evidence that this intervention subsequently leads to a bloodstream infection reduction in infants. Future studies must be well designed, with standardized outcome measures. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Study on the overall implementation status of the National Demonstration Areas for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases].

PubMed

Li, J J; Li, J L; Zhang, J; Jin, R R; Ma, S; Deng, G J; Su, X W; Bian, F; Qu, Y M; Hu, L L; Jiang, Y

2018-04-10

Objective: To understand the current overall status of implementation on the National Demonstration Areas of Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases. Methods: According to the scheme design of the questionnaires, all the National Demonstration Areas were involved in this study. For each National Demonstration Areas, eight departments were selected to complete a total of 12 questionnaires. Results: Scores related to the implementation of the National Demonstration Areas accounted for 71.8% of the total 170 points. Based on the scores gathered from this study, the 23-items-index-system that represented the status of project implementation was classified into seven categories. Categories with higher percentile scores would include: monitoring (88.0%), safeguard measures (75.0%), health education and health promotion (75.0%). Categories with lower percentile scores would include: the national health lifestyle actions (67.7%), community diagnosis (66.7%), discovery and intervention of high-risk groups (64.7%), and patient management (60.9%). There were significant differences noticed among the eastern, central and western areas on items as safeguard measures, health education/promotion, discovery and intervention of high-risk groups. In all, the implementation programs in the eastern Demonstration Areas seemed better than in the central or western regions. As for the 23 items, five of the highest scores appeared on policy support, mortality surveillance, tumor registration, reporting system on cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events, and on tobacco control, respectively. However, the lowest five scores fell on healthy diet, patient self-management program, oral hygiene, setting up the demonstration units and promotion on basic public health services, respectively. The overall scores in the eastern region was higher than that in the central or the western regions. The scores in the central and western regions showed basically the same. Conclusions: The overall status of implementation on the National Demonstration Areas was satisfactory. Future attention should be focusing on patient management as well as discovery and intervention of high-risk groups, which also presented the lowest scores, in this survey.

Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic intraplate magmatism in Central Asia and its relation with mantle diapirism: Evidence from the South Khangai volcanic region, Mongolia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yarmolyuk, Vladimir V.; Kudryashova, Ekaterina A.; Kozlovsky, Alexander M.; Lebedev, Vladimir A.; Savatenkov, Valery M.

2015-11-01

The South Khangai volcanic region (SKVR) comprises fields of Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic volcanic rocks scattered over southern and central Mongolia. Evolution of the region from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cenozoic includes 13 successive igneous episodes that are more or less evenly distributed in time. Major patterns in the distribution of different-aged volcanic complexes were controlled by a systematic temporal migration of volcanic centers over the region. The total length of their trajectory exceeds 1600 km. Principle characteristics of local magmatism are determined. The composition of igneous rocks varies from basanites to rhyolites (predominantly, high-K rocks), with geochemistry close to that of OIB. The rock composition, however, underwent transformations in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic. Rejuvenation of mafic rocks is accompanied by decrease in the contents of HREE and increase of Nb and Ta. According to isotope data, the SKVR magmatic melts were derived from three isotope sources that differed in the Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions and successively alternated in time. In the Early Cretaceous, the predominant source composition was controlled by interaction of the EMII- and PREMA-type mantle materials. The PREMA-type mantle material dominated quantitatively in the Late Cretaceous and initial Early Cenozoic. From the latest Early Cenozoic to Late Cenozoic, the magma source also contained the EMI-type material along with the PREMA-type. The structural fabric, rock composition, major evolutionary pattern, and inner structure of SKVR generally comply with the criteria used to distinguish the mantle plume-related regions. Analogous features can be seen in other regions of recent volcanism in Central Asia (South Baikal, Udokan, Vitim, and Tok Stanovik). The structural autonomy of these regions suggests that distribution of the Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic volcanism in Central Asia was controlled by a group of relatively small hot finger-type mantle plumes associated with the common hot mantle field of Central Asia.

Discontinuities Characteristics of the Upper Jurassic Arab-D Reservoir Equivalent Tight Carbonates Outcrops, Central Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdlmutalib, Ammar; Abdullatif, Osman

2017-04-01

Jurassic carbonates represent an important part of the Mesozoic petroleum system in the Arabian Peninsula in terms of source rocks, reservoirs, and seals. Jurassic Outcrop equivalents are well exposed in central Saudi Arabia and which allow examining and measuring different scales of geological heterogeneities that are difficult to collect from the subsurface due to limitations of data and techniques. Identifying carbonates Discontinuities characteristics at outcrops might help to understand and predict their properties and behavior in the subsurface. The main objective of this study is to identify the lithofacies and the discontinuities properties of the upper Jurassic carbonates of the Arab D member and the Jubaila Formation (Arab-D reservoir) based on their outcrop equivalent strata in central Saudi Arabia. The sedimentologic analysis revealed several lithofacies types that vary in their thickness, abundances, cyclicity and vertical and lateral stacking patterns. The carbonates lithofacies included mudstone, wackestone, packstone, and grainstone. These lithofacies indicate deposition within tidal flat, skeletal banks and shallow to deep lagoonal paleoenvironmental settings. Field investigations of the outcrops revealed two types of discontinuities within Arab D Member and Upper Jubaila. These are depositional discontinuities and tectonic fractures and which all vary in their orientation, intensity, spacing, aperture and displacements. It seems that both regional and local controls have affected the fracture development within these carbonate rocks. On the regional scale, the fractures seem to be structurally controlled by the Central Arabian Graben System, which affected central Saudi Arabia. While, locally, at the outcrop scale, stratigraphic, depositional and diagenetic controls appear to have influenced the fracture development and intensity. The fracture sets and orientations identified on outcrops show similarity to those fracture sets revealed in the upper Jurassic carbonates in the subsurface which suggest inter-relationships. Therefore, the integration of discontinuities characteristics revealed from the Arab-D outcrop with subsurface data might help to understand and predict discontinuity properties and patterns of the Arab-D reservoir in the subsurface.

A Single Early Introduction of HIV-1 Subtype B into Central America Accounts for Most Current Cases

PubMed Central

Murillo, Wendy; Veras, Nazle; Prosperi, Mattia; de Rivera, Ivette Lorenzana; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela; Morales-Miranda, Sonia; Juarez, Sandra I.; Yang, Chunfu; DeVos, Joshua; Marín, José Pablo; Mild, Mattias; Albert, Jan

2013-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) variants show considerable geographical separation across the world, but there is limited information from Central America. We provide the first detailed investigation of the genetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in six Central American countries. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on 625 HIV-1 pol gene sequences collected between 2002 and 2010 in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Belize. Published sequences from neighboring countries (n = 57) and the rest of the world (n = 740) were included as controls. Maximum likelihood methods were used to explore phylogenetic relationships. Bayesian coalescence-based methods were used to time HIV-1 introductions. Nearly all (98.9%) Central American sequences were of subtype B. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 437 (70%) sequences clustered within five significantly supported monophyletic clades formed essentially by Central American sequences. One clade contained 386 (62%) sequences from all six countries; the other four clades were smaller and more country specific, suggesting discrete subepidemics. The existence of one large well-supported Central American clade provides evidence that a single introduction of HIV-1 subtype B in Central America accounts for most current cases. An introduction during the early phase of the HIV-1 pandemic may explain its epidemiological success. Moreover, the smaller clades suggest a subsequent regional spread related to specific transmission networks within each country. PMID:23616665

The use of gabapentin in the management of postoperative pain after total hip arthroplasty: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

PubMed

Han, Chao; Li, Xiao-Dan; Jiang, Hong-Qiang; Ma, Jian-Xiong; Ma, Xin-Long

2016-07-12

Pain management after total hip arthroplasty (THA) varies and has been widely studied in recent years. Gabapentin as a third-generation antiepileptic drug that selectively affects the nociceptive process has been used for pain relief after THA. This meta-analysis was conducted to examine the efficacy of gabapentin in THA. An electronic-based search was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving gabapentin and a placebo for THA were included. The meta-analysis was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Five trials met the inclusion criteria. The cumulative narcotic consumption and the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at 24 and 48 h postoperatively were used for postoperative pain assessment. There was a significant decrease in morphine consumption at 24 h (P = 0.00). Compared with the control group, the VAS score (at rest) at 48 h was less in the gabapentin group (P = 0.00). The administration of gabapentin is effective in decreasing postoperative narcotic consumption and the VAS score.

Central Safety Factor and Normalized Beta Control Under Near-Zero Input Torque Constraints in DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pajares, Andres; Wehner, William; Schuster, Eugenio; Burrell, Keith; Ferron, John; Walker, Michael; Humphreys, David; Lehigh University Team; Atomics Team, General

2017-10-01

DIII-D experiments have assessed the capability of combined central safety factor (q0) and normalized beta (βN) control under near-zero net torque to facilitate access to QH-mode with reverse Ip and normal Bt. Regulation of q0 and βN can prevent magneto-hydrodynamic instabilities that deteriorate plasma performance in discharges with a monotonically increasing safety-factor profile. Zero-input-torque scenarios are of special interest because future burning plasma tokamaks such as ITER will most likely operate with very low input torque, which makes these scenarios more susceptible to locked modes. To support studies of such scenarios, a controller for simultaneous regulation of q0 and βN has been developed using near-zero net input torque actuators including balanced neutral beam injection (NBI) and electron-cyclotron heating & current drive (ECH/ECCD). Experimental results show that in spite of the presence of locked modes the use of feedback control resulted in good tracking of the commanded q0 and βN when both ECCD/ECH and NBI were available. Supported by the US DOE under DE-SC0010661 and DE-FC02-04ER54698.

Learning Chemistry from Good and (Why Not?) Problematic Results: Kinetics of the pH-Independent Hydrolysis of 4-Nitrophenyl Chloroformate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El Seoud, Omar A.; Galgano, Paula D.; Are^as, Elizabeth P. G.; Moraes, Jamille M.

2015-01-01

The determination of kinetic data is central to reaction mechanism; science courses usually include experiments on chemical kinetics. Thanks to PC-controlled data acquisition and availability of software, the students calculate rate constants, whether the experiment has been done properly or not. This contrasts with their experience in, e.g.,…

Chromatin Configuration Determines Cell Responses to Hormone Stimuli | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

Ever since selective gene expression was established as the central driver of cell behavior, researchers have been working to understand the forces that control gene transcription. Aberrant gene expression can cause or promote many diseases, including cancer, and alterations in gene expression are the goal of many therapeutic agents. Recent work has focused on the potential

Vegetation, topography and daily weather influenced burn severity in central Idaho and western Montana forests

Treesearch

Donovan S. Birch; Penelope Morgan; Crystal A. Kolden; John T. Abatzoglou; Gregory K. Dillon; Andrew T. Hudak; Alistair M. S. Smith

2015-01-01

Burn severity as inferred from satellite-derived differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) is useful for evaluating fire impacts on ecosystems but the environmental controls on burn severity across large forest fires are both poorly understood and likely to be different than those influencing fire extent. We related dNBR to environmental variables including vegetation,...

Hypopituitarism is associated with lower oxytocin concentrations and reduced empathic ability.

PubMed

Daughters, Katie; Manstead, Antony S R; Rees, D Aled

2017-07-01

Central diabetes insipidus is characterised by arginine vasopressin deficiency. Oxytocin is structurally related to vasopressin and is synthesised in the same hypothalamic nuclei, thus we hypothesised that patients with acquired central diabetes insipidus and anterior hypopituitarism would display an oxytocin deficiency. Moreover, psychological research has demonstrated that oxytocin influences social and emotional behaviours, particularly empathic behaviour. We therefore further hypothesised that central diabetes insipidus patients would perform worse on empathy-related tasks, compared to age-matched and gender-matched clinical control (clinical control-isolated anterior hypopituitarism) and healthy control groups. Fifty-six participants (age 46.54 ± 16.30 yrs; central diabetes insipidus: n = 20, 8 males; clinical control: n = 15, 6 males; healthy control: n = 20, 7 males) provided two saliva samples which were analysed for oxytocin and completed two empathy tasks. Hypopituitary patients (both central diabetes insipidus and clinical control groups) had significantly lower oxytocin concentrations compared to healthy control participants. Hypopituitary patients also performed significantly worse on both the reading the mind in the eyes task and the facial expression recognition task compared to healthy control participants. Regression analyses further revealed that central diabetes insipidus patients' oxytocin concentrations significantly predicted their performance on easy items of the reading the mind in the eyes task. Hypopituitarism may therefore be associated with reduced oxytocin concentrations and impaired empathic ability. While further studies are needed to replicate these findings, our data suggest that oxytocin replacement may offer a therapeutic approach to improve psychological well-being in patients with hypopituitarism.

Hydrodynamic Mediation of Killifish Predation on Infaunal Polychaetes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hentschel, B. T.; Hayman, N. T.; Anderson, T. W.

2016-02-01

To explore predator-prey interactions between California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis) and spionid polychaetes (Polydora cornuta and Streblospio benedicti) in tidal creeks, we conducted a laboratory flume experiment to quantify whether killifish prey-patch selectivity varies with flow speed. The flume included a 300-cm2 area of defaunated sediment within which we centrally positioned 24 P. cornuta, 24 S. benedicti, or no worms as a prey-free control. We videotaped groups of three killifish for 50 min at one of six unidirectional flow speeds (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, or 18 cm/s measured 1.5 cm above bottom) and recorded their bite rate anywhere in the sediment area vs. bites directed at the central prey patch (98 cm2). Each flow speed and prey treatment was replicated by four independent flume runs (i.e., 72 total flume runs). The percentage of bites directed at the central patch varied significantly with flow speed and worm presence. With defaunated sediment only, 33% of bites were directed at the central patch at all flow speeds, consistent with a null model of non-selective foraging. When either worm species inhabited the central patch, 65% of bites were directed at the central patch at 3 and 6 cm/s, and patch selectivity declined linearly as flow increased. Despite differences in morphology and behavior, the two prey species elicited similar foraging activity by killifish. We pooled the P. cornuta and S. benedicti treatments to determine the flow speed at which prey-patch selectivity by killifish became statistically indistinguishable from non-selective biting in the absence of prey. At flow speeds of 3, 6, and 9 cm/s, the percentage of bites located in the 98-cm2 patch was significantly greater when live worms were present compared to the prey-free controls. At 12, 15, and 18 cm/s, there was not a significant difference between the control patches and those containing live worms, indicating 12 cm/s is a flow threshold above which killifish cannot selectively forage on dense patches of infauna.

[Central hypomyelination, hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism and hypodontia: a new leukodystrophy].

PubMed

Vázquez-López, M; Ruiz-Martín, Y; de Castro-Castro, P; Garzo-Fernández, C; Martín-del Valle, F; Márquez-de la Plata, L

To report one patient with slowly progressive encephalopathy, ataxia, central hypomyelination, hypodontia and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, the 4H syndrome. This clinical picture has been described recently and there are only four patients reported previously. A girl with a previously normal early psychomotor development, presented a slowly progressive deterioration since 15 months of age. Now, she is 14 years old, and has a severe cerebellar ataxia, with tremor and dysmetria. She can't neither walk nor remain standing alone. She has lost the sphincter control and has an immature expressive language. She has no puberal development and definitive hypodontia of upper central incisors. The brain magnetic resonance imaging shows a diffuse hypomyelination, that is confirmed with diffusion and spectroscopy studies. The hypomyelinating leukoencephalopathies are disorders with abnormally low amount of myelin. The diagnosis is difficult in most of the patients. The hypomyelinating leukoencephalopathies include classic disorders and new leukoencephalopathies, described in the past few years.

Ubiquitin enzymes in the regulation of immune responses

PubMed Central

Ebner, Petra; Versteeg, Gijs A.; Ikeda, Fumiyo

2017-01-01

Abstract Ubiquitination plays a central role in the regulation of various biological functions including immune responses. Ubiquitination is induced by a cascade of enzymatic reactions by E1 ubiquitin activating enzyme, E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, and E3 ubiquitin ligase, and reversed by deubiquitinases. Depending on the enzymes, specific linkage types of ubiquitin chains are generated or hydrolyzed. Because different linkage types of ubiquitin chains control the fate of the substrate, understanding the regulatory mechanisms of ubiquitin enzymes is central. In this review, we highlight the most recent knowledge of ubiquitination in the immune signaling cascades including the T cell and B cell signaling cascades as well as the TNF signaling cascade regulated by various ubiquitin enzymes. Furthermore, we highlight the TRIM ubiquitin ligase family as one of the examples of critical E3 ubiquitin ligases in the regulation of immune responses. PMID:28524749

Auditory function at 14 years of age of very-low-birthweight.

PubMed

Davis, N M; Doyle, L W; Ford, G W; Keir, E; Michael, J; Rickards, A L; Kelly, E A; Callanan, C

2001-03-01

The aim of the study was to determine audiological function at 14 years of age of very-low-birthweight (VLBW < or = 1500 g) children compared with a cohort of normal birthweight (NBW > 2499 g) children. Participants were consecutive surviving preterm children of birthweight < 1000 g born between 1977 and 1982 (n=86) and of birthweight 1000 to 1500 g born between 1980 and 1982 (n=124) and randomly selected NBW children born between 1981 and 1982 (n=60). Audiometric tests included pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, stapedius muscle reflexes, and measures of central auditory processing. Psychometric tests included measures of IQ, academic achievement, and behaviour. There were no significant differences in rates of hearing impairment, abnormal tympanograms, figure-ground problems, or digit recall between VLBW children and NBW control children. VLBW children had higher rates of some central auditory processing problems, which in turn were associated with poorer intellectual, academic, and behavioural progress.

Interrelationships between the heart and central nervous system: localization of neuro-transmitters and imaging of their associated nuclei, including the raphe nuclei & the locus coeruleus, as well as the imaging of the heart and its representation areas in slices of the human central nervous system using the "Bi-Digital O-Ring Test" imaging method.

PubMed

Omura, Y

1987-01-01

Using microscopic slides of specific tissues from the human body or pure substances including neuro-transmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, etc., as reference control substances in the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test Molecular Identification Method, the author was able to localize and image normal and abnormal internal organs, and to localize and trace the distribution of neurotransmitters in the different parts of the central nervous system. Using microscopic slides of different parts of the heart, we were able to image the outline of the heart as well as the SA node, AV node, tricuspid valve, mitral valve, aortic valve, pulmonary valve, coronary arteries, and aorta and its branches, including the vertebral arteries, without using any bulky or expensive imaging instruments. Using serotonin as a reference control substance on the different parts of the central nervous system, it was possible to demonstrate the 6 well-known raphe nuclei and the locus coeruleus (which contains serotonin & norepinephrine), as well as the distribution of serotonin in the cerebrum and the cerebellum, all of which closely resembled previously published well-known neuroanatomical structures and distributions of neurotransmitters. As an extension of this work, possible representations of different internal organs on the central nervous system were examined using microscopic slides of different internal organs as reference control substances. The results indicated that the entire heart is represented primarily in the medulla oblongata, and that the SA node and the upper half of the left atrium are represented in the caudal end of the pons; the right side of the heart (i.e. R-atrium, AV node, tricuspid valve, R-ventricle) is represented on the right side of the medulla oblongata, and the left side of the heart (i.e. lower half of the L-atrium, mitral valve, L-ventricle) is represented on the left side of the medulla oblongata, and the upper half of the left atrium is represented in the caudal end of the left side of the pons. The bottoms of the ventricles are located near the spinal cord. Furthermore, the right and the left sides of the heart are represented in specific areas of each side of the right and left hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, and there are connecting pathways between the representation areas of identical parts of the heart, through the corpus callosum and other neuro-pathways.

Controlling ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors with light: principles and potential.

PubMed

Reiner, Andreas; Levitz, Joshua; Isacoff, Ehud Y

2015-02-01

Light offers unique advantages for studying and manipulating biomolecules and the cellular processes that they control. Optical control of ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors has garnered significant interest, since these receptors are central to signaling at neuronal synapses and only optical approaches provide the spatial and temporal resolution required to directly probe receptor function in cells and tissue. Following the classical method of glutamate photo-uncaging, recently developed methods have added other forms of remote control, including those with high molecular specificity and genetic targeting. These tools open the door to the direct optical control of synaptic transmission and plasticity, as well as the probing of native receptor function in intact neural circuits. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Overdentures may have little impact on nutrient status.

PubMed

Al-Ansari, Asim

2017-12-22

Data sourcesData sources Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL).Study selectionRandomised control trials (RCTs), cohort study or case control studies involving prosthetic treatment where the outcomes included change in intakes of macronutrients (ie proteins, fats and carbohydrates) and/or micronutrients (eg vitamins and calcium) and/or indicators for nutritional status were considered.Data extraction and synthesisTwo reviewers independently screened the studies, with one reviewer abstracting data for checking by a second reviewer. Risk of bias was assessed independently by two reviewers using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. A fixed effects model was used to estimate the weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% CI for change in body mass index (BMI), albumin and serum vitamin B12 between overdenture and conventional denture six months after treatment.ResultsEight studies (six RCTs and two prospective cohort studies) involving a total of 901 patients were included in a narrative synthesis. Three RCTs (322 patients) contributed to a meta-analysis suggesting no significant difference in change in BMI between an overdenture and conventional denture six months after treatment WMD= -0.18 kg/m2 (95%CI; -0.52 to 0.16), and no significant difference in change in albumin or vitamin B12 between the two treatments.ConclusionsThe modifying effect of overdenture treatment on nutritional status might be limited. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness and efficacy of denture treatments.

Structural Elements Regulating AAA+ Protein Quality Control Machines.

PubMed

Chang, Chiung-Wen; Lee, Sukyeong; Tsai, Francis T F

2017-01-01

Members of the ATPases Associated with various cellular Activities (AAA+) superfamily participate in essential and diverse cellular pathways in all kingdoms of life by harnessing the energy of ATP binding and hydrolysis to drive their biological functions. Although most AAA+ proteins share a ring-shaped architecture, AAA+ proteins have evolved distinct structural elements that are fine-tuned to their specific functions. A central question in the field is how ATP binding and hydrolysis are coupled to substrate translocation through the central channel of ring-forming AAA+ proteins. In this mini-review, we will discuss structural elements present in AAA+ proteins involved in protein quality control, drawing similarities to their known role in substrate interaction by AAA+ proteins involved in DNA translocation. Elements to be discussed include the pore loop-1, the Inter-Subunit Signaling (ISS) motif, and the Pre-Sensor I insert (PS-I) motif. Lastly, we will summarize our current understanding on the inter-relationship of those structural elements and propose a model how ATP binding and hydrolysis might be coupled to polypeptide translocation in protein quality control machines.

Bee venom acupuncture point injection for central post stroke pain: a preliminary single-blind randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Cho, Seung-Yeon; Park, Joo-Young; Jung, Woo-Sang; Moon, Sang-Kwan; Park, Jung-Mi; Ko, Chang-Nam; Park, Seong-Uk

2013-06-01

We investigated apipuncture, or acupuncture point injection with diluted bee venom, as a promising new treatment for central post stroke pain (CPSP). Bee venom, diluted to 0.005% in normal saline, was administered to the treatment group, and normal saline given to control group as twice-weekly injections for three weeks. The points were LI15, GB21, LI11, GB31, ST36 and GB39 of the affected side and the amount of injection was 0.05 ml at each point. Eight patients in each group were included in the analysis. After three weeks there were significant decreases in visual analogue pain scores compared with baseline in both groups and the treatment group improved more significantly than the control group (p = 0.009). Apipuncture significantly improved CPSP in this pilot trial. Further studies of its mechanisms and a larger and long-term follow-up trial will be needed to determine more definitely the efficacy of apipuncture and to elucidate duration of improvement. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solar thermal electricity generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasemagha, Khairy Ramadan

1993-01-01

This report presents the results of modeling the thermal performance and economic feasibility of large (utility scale) and small solar thermal power plants for electricity generation. A number of solar concepts for power systems applications have been investigated. Each concept has been analyzed over a range of plant power ratings from 1 MW(sub e) to 300 MW(sub e) and over a range of capacity factors from a no-storage case (capacity factor of about 0.25 to 0.30) up to intermediate load capacity factors in the range of 0.46 to 0.60. The solar plant's economic viability is investigated by examining the effect of various parameters on the plant costs (both capital and O & M) and the levelized energy costs (LEC). The cost components are reported in six categories: collectors, energy transport, energy storage, energy conversion, balance of plant, and indirect/contingency costs. Concentrator and receiver costs are included in the collector category. Thermal and electric energy transport costs are included in the energy transport category. Costs for the thermal or electric storage are included in the energy storage category; energy conversion costs are included in the energy conversion category. The balance of plant cost category comprises the structures, land, service facilities, power conditioning, instrumentation and controls, and spare part costs. The indirect/contingency category consists of the indirect construction and the contingency costs. The concepts included in the study are (1) molten salt cavity central receiver with salt storage (PFCR/R-C-Salt); (2) molten salt external central receiver with salt storage (PFCR/R-E-Salt); (3) sodium external central receiver with sodium storage (PFCR/RE-Na); (4) sodium external central receiver with salt storage (PFCR/R-E-Na/Salt); (5) water/steam external central receiver with oil/rock storage (PFCR/R-E-W/S); (6) parabolic dish with stirling engine conversion and lead acid battery storage (PFDR/SLAB); (7) parabolic dish with stirling engine conversion and redox advanced battery storage (PFDR/S-RAB); and (8) parabolic trough with oil/rock storage (LFDR/R-HT-45). Key annual efficiency and economic results of the study are highlighted in tabular format for plant sizes and capacity factor that resulted in the lowest LEC over the analysis range.

Care delivery and self-management strategies for children with epilepsy.

PubMed

Fleeman, Nigel; Bradley, Peter M

2018-03-01

In response to criticism that epilepsy care for children has little impact, healthcare professionals and administrators have developed various service models and strategies to address perceived inadequacies. To assess the effects of any specialised or dedicated intervention for epilepsy versus usual care in children with epilepsy and in their families. We searched the Cochrane Epilepsy Group Specialized Register (27 September 2016), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2016, Issue 9) in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (1946 to 27 September 2016), Embase (1974 to 27 September 2016), PsycINFO (1887 to 27 September 2016) and CINAHL Plus (1937 to 27 September 2016). In addition, we also searched clinical trials registries for ongoing or recently completed trials, contacted experts in the field to seek information on unpublished and ongoing studies, checked the websites of epilepsy organisations and checked the reference lists of included studies. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cohort studies or other prospective studies with a (matched or unmatched) control group (controlled before-and-after studies), or time series studies. We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Our review included six interventions reported through seven studies (of which five studies were designed as RCTs). They reported on different education and counselling programmes for children and parents; teenagers and parents; or children, adolescents and their parents. Each programme showed some benefits for the well-being of children with epilepsy, but all had methodological flaws (e.g. in one of the studies designed as an RCT, randomisation failed), no single programme was independently evaluated with different study samples and no interventions were sufficiently homogeneous enough to be included in a meta-analysis,. While each of the programmes in this review showed some benefit to children with epilepsy, their impacts were extremely variable. No programme showed benefits across the full range of outcomes, and all studies had major methodological problems. At present there is insufficient evidence in favour of any single programme.

Discordant Dry Eye Disease (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis)

PubMed Central

Shtein, Roni M.; Harper, Daniel E.; Pallazola, Vincent; Harte, Steven E.; Hussain, Munira; Sugar, Alan; Williams, David A.; Clauw, Daniel J.

2016-01-01

Purpose To improve understanding of dry eye disease and highlight a subgroup of patients who have a component of central sensitization and neuropathic pain contributing to their condition. Methods Prospective, cross-sectional, IRB-approved study comparing isolated dry eye disease (n=48) to fibromyalgia (positive control; n=23) and healthy (negative control; n=26) individuals with ocular surface examination, corneal confocal microscopy, quantitative sensory testing, and self-reported ocular symptoms and systemic associations. A subset of patients also underwent skin biopsy and/or brain neuroimaging. Dry eye patients were split into concordant (ie, those with dry eyes on examination) and discordant (ie, those with dry eye symptoms but normal examination) subgroups for further analysis. We hypothesized that on the systemic measures included, concordant patients would resemble healthy controls, whereas discordant patients would show evidence of centralized mechanisms similar to fibromyalgia. Results Schirmer test and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scores indicated significant decreases in tear production (Schirmer: healthy, 18.5±8.2 mm; dry, 11.2±5.4 mm; fibromyalgia, 14.4±7.5; P<.001) and increases in self-reported dry eye symptoms (OSDI: healthy, 1.9±3.0; dry, 20.3±17.7; fibromyalgia, 20.3±17.1; P<.001) in the dry eye and fibromyalgia patients, compared to controls. The discordant subgroup had decreased corneal nerve density and decreased visual quality-of-life scores, similar to patients with fibromyalgia. Concordant patients were more similar to healthy controls on these measures. Conclusions Individuals with discordant dry eye may have a central pathophysiologic mechanism leading to their eye pain symptoms, which could be an important factor to consider in treatment of chronic idiopathic dry eye. PMID:28050051

Comprehensive Endocrine-Metabolic Evaluation of Patients with Alström Syndrome Compared to BMI-Matched Controls.

PubMed

Han, Joan C; Reyes-Capo, Daniela P; Liu, Chia-Ying; Reynolds, James C; Turkbey, Evrim; Turkbey, Ismail Baris; Bryant, Joy; Marshall, Jan D; Naggert, Jürgen K; Gahl, William A; Yanovski, Jack A; Gunay-Aygun, Meral

2018-04-27

Alström syndrome (AS), a monogenic form of obesity, is caused by recessive mutations in the centrosome- and basal body-associated gene, ALMS1. AS is characterized by retinal dystrophy, sensory hearing loss, cardiomyopathy, childhood obesity, and metabolic derangements. We sought to characterize the endocrine and metabolic features of AS while accounting for obesity as a confounder by comparing patients with AS to BMI-matched controls. We evaluated 38 patients with AS (age 2-38y) who were matched with 76 controls (age 2-48y) by age, sex, race, and BMI. Fasting biochemistries, mixed meal test (MMT), indirect calorimetry, DEXA, and MRI/MRS were performed. Frequent abnormalities in AS included 76% obesity, 37% type 2 diabetes (T2DM), 29% hypothyroidism (1/3-central, 2/3-primary), 3% central adrenal insufficiency, 57% adult hypogonadism (1/3-central, 2/3-primary), and 25% female hyperandrogenism. AS and controls had similar BMI-Z, body fat, waist circumference, abdominal visceral fat, muscle fat, resting energy expenditure (adjusted for lean mass), free fatty acids, glucagon, prolactin, ACTH, and cortisol. Compared to controls, AS were shorter and had lower IGF1 concentrations (p's≤0.001). AS had significantly greater fasting and MMT insulin resistance indices, higher MMT glucose, insulin, and C-peptide values, higher hemoglobin A1c, and higher prevalence of T2DM (p's<0.001). AS had significantly higher triglycerides, lower HDL-cholesterol, and a 10-fold greater prevalence of metabolic syndrome (p's<0.001). AS demonstrated significantly greater liver triglyceride accumulation and higher transaminases (p's<0.001). Severe insulin resistance and T2DM are the hallmarks of AS. However, patients with AS may present with multiple other endocrinopathies affecting growth and development.

Discordant Dry Eye Disease (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis).

PubMed

Shtein, Roni M; Harper, Daniel E; Pallazola, Vincent; Harte, Steven E; Hussain, Munira; Sugar, Alan; Williams, David A; Clauw, Daniel J

2016-08-01

To improve understanding of dry eye disease and highlight a subgroup of patients who have a component of central sensitization and neuropathic pain contributing to their condition. Prospective, cross-sectional, IRB-approved study comparing isolated dry eye disease (n=48) to fibromyalgia (positive control; n=23) and healthy (negative control; n=26) individuals with ocular surface examination, corneal confocal microscopy, quantitative sensory testing, and self-reported ocular symptoms and systemic associations. A subset of patients also underwent skin biopsy and/or brain neuroimaging. Dry eye patients were split into concordant (ie, those with dry eyes on examination) and discordant (ie, those with dry eye symptoms but normal examination) subgroups for further analysis. We hypothesized that on the systemic measures included, concordant patients would resemble healthy controls, whereas discordant patients would show evidence of centralized mechanisms similar to fibromyalgia. Schirmer test and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scores indicated significant decreases in tear production (Schirmer: healthy, 18.5±8.2 mm; dry, 11.2±5.4 mm; fibromyalgia, 14.4±7.5; P <.001) and increases in self-reported dry eye symptoms (OSDI: healthy, 1.9±3.0; dry, 20.3±17.7; fibromyalgia, 20.3±17.1; P <.001) in the dry eye and fibromyalgia patients, compared to controls. The discordant subgroup had decreased corneal nerve density and decreased visual quality-of-life scores, similar to patients with fibromyalgia. Concordant patients were more similar to healthy controls on these measures. Individuals with discordant dry eye may have a central pathophysiologic mechanism leading to their eye pain symptoms, which could be an important factor to consider in treatment of chronic idiopathic dry eye.

Dynamic optimal control of homeostasis: an integrative system approach for modeling of the central nitrogen metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed

van Riel, N A; Giuseppin, M L; Verrips, C T

2000-01-01

The theory of dynamic optimal metabolic control (DOMC), as developed by Giuseppin and Van Riel (Metab. Eng., 2000), is applied to model the central nitrogen metabolism (CNM) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The CNM represents a typical system encountered in advanced metabolic engineering. The CNM is the source of the cellular amino acids and proteins, including flavors and potentially valuable biomolecules; therefore, it is also of industrial interest. In the DOMC approach the cell is regarded as an optimally controlled system. Given the metabolic genotype, the cell faces a control problem to maintain an optimal flux distribution in a changing environment. The regulation is based on strategies and balances feedback control of homeostasis and feedforward regulation for adaptation. The DOMC approach is an integrative, holistic approach, not based on mechanistic descriptions and (therefore) not biased by the variation present in biochemical and molecular biological data. It is an effective tool to structure the rapidly increasing amount of data on the function of genes and pathways. The DOMC model is used successfully to predict the responses of pulses of ammonia and glutamine to nitrogen-limited continuous cultures of a wild-type strain and a glutamine synthetase-negative mutant. The simulation results are validated with experimental data.

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor for macular oedema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion

PubMed Central

Braithwaite, Tasanee; Nanji, Afshan A; Lindsley, Kristina; Greenberg, Paul B

2014-01-01

Background Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is a relatively common retinal vascular disorder in which macular oedema may develop, with a consequent reduction in visual acuity. Until recently there has been no treatment of proven benefit, but growing evidence supports the use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents. Objectives To investigate the effectiveness and safety of anti-VEGF therapies for the treatment of macular oedema secondary to CRVO. Search methods We searched CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group Trials Register) (The Cochrane Library 2013, Issue 10), Ovid MEDLINE (January 1950 to October 2013), EMBASE (January 1980 to October 2013), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature Database (LILACS) (January 1982 to October 2013), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (January 1937 to October 2013), OpenGrey, OpenSIGLE (January 1950 to October 2013), the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) (www.controlled-trials.com), Clinical-Trials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov), the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/search/en) and Web of Science Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science (CPCI-S). There were no language or date restrictions in the electronic search for trials. The electronic databases and clinical trials registers were last searched on 29th October 2013. Selection criteria We considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared intravitreal anti-VEGF agents of any dose or duration to sham injection or no treatment. We focused on studies that included individuals of any age or gender and a minimum of six months follow-up. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with a gain in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from baseline of greater than or equal to 15 letters (3 lines) on the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of participants with a loss of 15 letters or more of BCVA, the mean change from baseline BCVA, the mean change in central retinal thickness (CRT), the number and type of complications or adverse outcomes, and the number of additional interventions administered. Where available, we also presented quality of life and economic data. Main results We found six RCTs that met the inclusion criteria after independent and duplicate review of the search results. These RCTs included 937 participants and compared outcomes at six months to sham injection for four anti-VEGF agents: aflibercept (VEGF Trap-Eye, Eylea), bevacizumab (Avastin), pegaptanib sodium (Macugen) and ranibizumab (Lucentis). Three trials were conducted in Norway, Sweden and the USA, and three trials were multicentre, one including centres in the USA, Canada, India, Israel, Argentina and Columbia, a second including centres in the USA, Australia, France, Germany, Israel, and Spain, and a third including centres in Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. We performed meta-analysis on three key visual outcomes, using data from up to six trials. High-quality evidence from six trials revealed that participants receiving intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment were 2.71 times more likely to gain at least 15 letters of visual acuity at six months compared to participants treated with sham injections (risk ratio (RR) 2.71; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.10 to 3.49). High-quality evidence from five trials suggested anti-VEGF treatment was associated with an 80% lower risk of losing at least 15 letters of visual acuity at six months compared to sham injection (RR 0.20; 95% CI 0.12 to 0.34). Moderate-quality evidence from three trials (481 participants) revealed that the mean reduction from baseline to six months in central retinal thickness was 267.4 μm (95% CI 211.4 μm to 323.4 μm) greater in participants treated with anti-VEGF than in participants treated with sham. The meta-analyses demonstrate that treatment with anti-VEGF is associated with a clinically meaningful gain in vision at six months. One trial demonstrated sustained benefit at 12 months compared to sham. No significant ocular or systemic safety concerns were identified in this time period. Authors’ conclusions Compared to no treatment, repeated intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents in eyes with CRVO macular oedema improved visual outcomes at six months. All agents were relatively well tolerated with a low incidence of adverse effects in the short term. Future trials should address the relative efficacy and safety of the anti-VEGF agents and other treatments, including intravitreal corticosteroids, for longer-term outcomes. PMID:24788977

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor for macular oedema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion.

PubMed

Braithwaite, Tasanee; Nanji, Afshan A; Lindsley, Kristina; Greenberg, Paul B

2014-05-01

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is a relatively common retinal vascular disorder in which macular oedema may develop, with a consequent reduction in visual acuity. Until recently there has been no treatment of proven benefit, but growing evidence supports the use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents. To investigate the effectiveness and safety of anti-VEGF therapies for the treatment of macular oedema secondary to CRVO. We searched CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group Trials Register) (The Cochrane Library 2013, Issue 10), Ovid MEDLINE (January 1950 to October 2013), EMBASE (January 1980 to October 2013), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature Database (LILACS) (January 1982 to October 2013), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (January 1937 to October 2013), OpenGrey, OpenSIGLE (January 1950 to October 2013), the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) (www.controlled-trials.com), ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov), the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/search/en) and Web of Science Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science (CPCI-S). There were no language or date restrictions in the electronic search for trials. The electronic databases and clinical trials registers were last searched on 29th October 2013. We considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared intravitreal anti-VEGF agents of any dose or duration to sham injection or no treatment. We focused on studies that included individuals of any age or gender and a minimum of six months follow-up. Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with a gain in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from baseline of greater than or equal to 15 letters (3 lines) on the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of participants with a loss of 15 letters or more of BCVA, the mean change from baseline BCVA, the mean change in central retinal thickness (CRT), the number and type of complications or adverse outcomes, and the number of additional interventions administered. Where available, we also presented quality of life and economic data. We found six RCTs that met the inclusion criteria after independent and duplicate review of the search results. These RCTs included 937 participants and compared outcomes at six months to sham injection for four anti-VEGF agents: aflibercept (VEGF Trap-Eye, Eylea), bevacizumab (Avastin), pegaptanib sodium (Macugen) and ranibizumab (Lucentis). Three trials were conducted in Norway, Sweden and the USA, and three trials were multicentre, one including centres in the USA, Canada, India, Israel, Argentina and Columbia, a second including centres in the USA, Australia, France, Germany, Israel, and Spain, and a third including centres in Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. We performed meta-analysis on three key visual outcomes, using data from up to six trials. High-quality evidence from six trials revealed that participants receiving intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment were 2.71 times more likely to gain at least 15 letters of visual acuity at six months compared to participants treated with sham injections (risk ratio (RR) 2.71; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.10 to 3.49). High-quality evidence from five trials suggested anti-VEGF treatment was associated with an 80% lower risk of losing at least 15 letters of visual acuity at six months compared to sham injection (RR 0.20; 95% CI 0.12 to 0.34). Moderate-quality evidence from three trials (481 participants) revealed that the mean reduction from baseline to six months in central retinal thickness was 267.4 µm (95% CI 211.4 µm to 323.4 µm) greater in participants treated with anti-VEGF than in participants treated with sham. The meta-analyses demonstrate that treatment with anti-VEGF is associated with a clinically meaningful gain in vision at six months. One trial demonstrated sustained benefit at 12 months compared to sham. No significant ocular or systemic safety concerns were identified in this time period. Compared to no treatment, repeated intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents in eyes with CRVO macular oedema improved visual outcomes at six months. All agents were relatively well tolerated with a low incidence of adverse effects in the short term. Future trials should address the relative efficacy and safety of the anti-VEGF agents and other treatments, including intravitreal corticosteroids, for longer-term outcomes.

12. DETAIL OF WEST END OF CENTRAL ATLAS CONTROL CONSOLE ...

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

12. DETAIL OF WEST END OF CENTRAL ATLAS CONTROL CONSOLE IN SLC-3W CONTROL ROOM SHOWING LAUNCH CONDUCTOR AND ASSISTANT LAUNCH CONDUCTOR PANELS - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

REVIEW: Widespread access to predictive models in the motor system: a short review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davidson, Paul R.; Wolpert, Daniel M.

2005-09-01

Recent behavioural and computational studies suggest that access to internal predictive models of arm and object dynamics is widespread in the sensorimotor system. Several systems, including those responsible for oculomotor and skeletomotor control, perceptual processing, postural control and mental imagery, are able to access predictions of the motion of the arm. A capacity to make and use predictions of object dynamics is similarly widespread. Here, we review recent studies looking at the predictive capacity of the central nervous system which reveal pervasive access to forward models of the environment.

1. VIEW OF A PORTION OF THE HYDRIDE PROCESSING LABORATORY. ...

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

1. VIEW OF A PORTION OF THE HYDRIDE PROCESSING LABORATORY. OPERATIONS IN THE GLOVE BOX IN THE BACKGROUND OF THE PHOTOGRAPH INCLUDED HYDRIDING OF PLUTONIUM AND HYDRIDE SEPARATION. IN THE FOREGROUND, THE VACUUM MONITOR CONTROL PANEL MEASURED TEMPERATURES WITHIN THE GLOVEBOX. THE CENTER CONTROL PANEL REGULATED THE FURNACE INSIDE THE GLOVE BOX USED IN THE HYDRIDING PROCESSES. THIS EQUIPMENT WAS ESSENTIAL TO THE HYDRIDING PROCESS, AS WELL AS OTHER GLOVE BOX OPERATIONS. - Rocky Flats Plant, Plutonium Laboratory, North-central section of industrial area at 79 Drive, Golden, Jefferson County, CO

Fiber optic control system integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poppel, G. L.; Glasheen, W. M.; Russell, J. C.

1987-01-01

A total fiber optic, integrated propulsion/flight control system concept for advanced fighter aircraft is presented. Fiber optic technology pertaining to this system is identified and evaluated for application readiness. A fiber optic sensor vendor survey was completed, and the results are reported. The advantages of centralized/direct architecture are reviewed, and the concept of the protocol branch is explained. Preliminary protocol branch selections are made based on the F-18/F404 application. Concepts for new optical tools are described. Development plans for the optical technology and the described system are included.

Amphibian tail regeneration in space: effect on the pigmentation of the blastema

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grinfeld, S.; Foulquier, F.; Mitashov, V.; Bruchlinskaia, N.; Duprat, A. M.

In Urodele amphibians, the tail regenerates after section. This regeneration, including tissues as different as bone (vertebrae), muscle, epidermis and central nervous system (spinal cord), was studied in adult Pleurodeles sent aboard the russian satellite Bion 10 and compared with tail regeneration in synchronous controls. Spinal cord, muscle and cartilage regeneration occurred in space animals as in synchronous controls. One of the most important differences between the two groups was the pigmentation of the blastemas: it was shown in laboratory, to be not due to a difference in light intensity.

"What Controls the Structure and Stability of the Ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation: Implications for Abrupt Climate Change?"

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

Fedorov, Alexey

2013-11-23

The central goal of this research project is to understand the properties of the ocean meridional overturning circulation (MOC) – a topic critical for understanding climate variability and stability on a variety of timescales (from decadal to centennial and longer). Specifically, we have explored various factors that control the MOC stability and decadal variability in the Atlantic and the ocean thermal structure in general, including the possibility abrupt climate change. We have also continued efforts on improving the performance of coupled ocean-atmosphere GCMs.

Experience in connecting the power generating units of thermal power plants to automatic secondary frequency regulation within the united power system of Russia

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

Zhukov, A. V.; Komarov, A. N.; Safronov, A. N.

The principles of central control of the power generating units of thermal power plants by automatic secondary frequency and active power overcurrent regulation systems, and the algorithms for interactions between automatic power control systems for the power production units in thermal power plants and centralized systems for automatic frequency and power regulation, are discussed. The order of switching the power generating units of thermal power plants over to control by a centralized system for automatic frequency and power regulation and by the Central Coordinating System for automatic frequency and power regulation is presented. The results of full-scale system tests ofmore » the control of power generating units of the Kirishskaya, Stavropol, and Perm GRES (State Regional Electric Power Plants) by the Central Coordinating System for automatic frequency and power regulation at the United Power System of Russia on September 23-25, 2008, are reported.« less

Compact mobile-reader system for two-way wireless communication, tracking and status monitoring for transport safety and security

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

Tsai, Han-Chung; Liu, Yung Y.; Lee, Hok L.

A system for monitoring a plurality radio frequency identification tags is described. The system uses at least one set of radio frequency identification tags. Each tag is attached to a container and includes several sensors for detecting physical conditions of said container. The system includes at least one autonomous intermediate reader in wireless communication with the frequency identification tags. The intermediate reader includes external wireless communication system, intermediate reader logic controller, and a self-contained rechargeable power supply. The system uses a central status reporting system in communication the intermediate reader.

Perioperative pain control: a strategy for management.

PubMed

Cohen, Mitchell Jay; Schecter, William P

2005-12-01

A thorough understanding of the anatomy and neurophysiology of the pain response is necessary for the effective treatment of perioperative pain. This article describes the mechanisms that produce pain,including those related to inflammation. Other topics include the pharmacologies of nonopioid and opioid analgesics. Nonopioid analgesics can be separated into two categories: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as salicylates, and acetaminophen. Opioids include morphine, fentanyl, and meperidine. The pharmacology of local anesthesia is discussed. The six major adverse reactions to local anesthetics are cardiac arrhythmias, hypertension, direct tissue toxicity, central nervous system toxicity, methemoglobinemia and allergic reactions. Methods for measuring pain are described.

Optimal and centralized reservoir management for drought and flood protection via Stochastic Dual Dynamic Programming on the Upper Seine-Aube River system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiavico, Mattia; Raso, Luciano; Dorchies, David; Malaterre, Pierre-Olivier

2015-04-01

Seine river region is an extremely important logistic and economic junction for France and Europe. The hydraulic protection of most part of the region relies on four controlled reservoirs, managed by EPTB Seine-Grands Lacs. Presently, reservoirs operation is not centrally coordinated, and release rules are based on empirical filling curves. In this study, we analyze how a centralized release policy can face flood and drought risks, optimizing water system efficiency. The optimal and centralized decisional problem is solved by Stochastic Dual Dynamic Programming (SDDP) method, minimizing an operational indicator for each planning objective. SDDP allows us to include into the system: 1) the hydrological discharge, specifically a stochastic semi-distributed auto-regressive model, 2) the hydraulic transfer model, represented by a linear lag and route model, and 3) reservoirs and diversions. The novelty of this study lies on the combination of reservoir and hydraulic models in SDDP for flood and drought protection problems. The study case covers the Seine basin until the confluence with Aube River: this system includes two reservoirs, the city of Troyes, and the Nuclear power plant of Nogent-Sur-Seine. The conflict between the interests of flood protection, drought protection, water use and ecology leads to analyze the environmental system in a Multi-Objective perspective.

The influence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy on local postural muscle and central sensory feedback balance control.

PubMed

Toosizadeh, Nima; Mohler, Jane; Armstrong, David G; Talal, Talal K; Najafi, Bijan

2015-01-01

Poor balance control and increased fall risk have been reported in people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Traditional body sway measures are unable to describe underlying postural control mechanism. In the current study, we used stabilogram diffusion analysis to examine the mechanism under which balance is altered in DPN patients under local-control (postural muscle control) and central-control (postural control using sensory cueing). DPN patients and healthy age-matched adults over 55 years performed two 15-second Romberg balance trials. Center of gravity sway was measured using a motion tracker system based on wearable inertial sensors, and used to derive body sway and local/central control balance parameters. Eighteen DPN patients (age = 65.4±7.6 years; BMI = 29.3±5.3 kg/m2) and 18 age-matched healthy controls (age = 69.8±2.9; BMI = 27.0±4.1 kg/m2) with no major mobility disorder were recruited. The rate of sway within local-control was significantly higher in the DPN group by 49% (healthy local-controlslope = 1.23±1.06×10-2 cm2/sec, P<0.01), which suggests a compromised local-control balance behavior in DPN patients. Unlike local-control, the rate of sway within central-control was 60% smaller in the DPN group (healthy central-controlslope-Log = 0.39±0.23, P<0.02), which suggests an adaptation mechanism to reduce the overall body sway in DPN patients. Interestingly, significant negative correlations were observed between central-control rate of sway with neuropathy severity (rPearson = 0.65-085, P<0.05) and the history of diabetes (rPearson = 0.58-071, P<0.05). Results suggest that in the lack of sensory feedback cueing, DPN participants were highly unstable compared to controls. However, as soon as they perceived the magnitude of sway using sensory feedback, they chose a high rigid postural control strategy, probably due to high concerns for fall, which may increase the energy cost during extended period of standing; the adaptation mechanism using sensory feedback depends on the level of neuropathy and the history of diabetes.

Comparisons of auditory brainstem response and sound level tolerance in tinnitus ears and non-tinnitus ears in unilateral tinnitus patients with normal audiograms.

PubMed

Shim, Hyun Joon; An, Yong-Hwi; Kim, Dong Hyun; Yoon, Ji Eun; Yoon, Ji Hyang

2017-01-01

Recently, "hidden hearing loss" with cochlear synaptopathy has been suggested as a potential pathophysiology of tinnitus in individuals with a normal hearing threshold. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects with tinnitus and normal audiograms show significantly reduced auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I amplitudes compared with control subjects, but normal wave V amplitudes, suggesting increased central auditory gain. We aimed to reconfirm the "hidden hearing loss" theory through a within-subject comparison of wave I and wave V amplitudes and uncomfortable loudness level (UCL), which might be decreased with increased central gain, in tinnitus ears (TEs) and non-tinnitus ears (NTEs). Human subjects included 43 unilateral tinnitus patients (19 males, 24 females) with normal and symmetric hearing thresholds and 18 control subjects with normal audiograms. The amplitudes of wave I and V from the peak to the following trough were measured twice at 90 dB nHL and we separately assessed UCLs at 500 Hz and 3000 Hz pure tones in each TE and NTE. The within-subject comparison between TEs and NTEs showed no significant differences in wave I and wave V amplitude, or wave V/I ratio in both the male and female groups. Individual data revealed increased V/I amplitude ratios > mean + 2 SD in 3 TEs, but not in any control ears. We found no significant differences in UCL at 500 Hz or 3000 Hz between the TEs and NTEs, but the UCLs of both TEs and NTEs were lower than those of the control ears. Our ABR data do not represent meaningful evidence supporting the hypothesis of cochlear synaptopathy with increased central gain in tinnitus subjects with normal audiograms. However, reduced sound level tolerance in both TEs and NTEs might reflect increased central gain consequent on hidden synaptopathy that was subsequently balanced between the ears by lateral olivocochlear efferents.

Prospective memory, everyday cognitive failure and central executive function in recreational users of Ecstasy.

PubMed

Heffernan, T. M.; Jarvis, H.; Rodgers, J.; Scholey, A. B.; Ling, J.

2001-12-01

Chronic use of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), or Ecstasy, is believed to lead to impaired psychological performance, including well-documented decrements in laboratory and field tests of retrospective memory. Less is known about the impact of Ecstasy on aspects of 'everyday' memory, despite obvious concerns about such effects. The three studies reported here focused on the impact of chronic Ecstasy use on prospective memory (PM), associated central executive function and other aspects of day-to-day cognition. In study 1 46 regular Ecstasy users were compared with 46 Ecstasy-free controls using the Prospective Memory Questionnaire (PMQ). Ecstasy users reported significantly more errors in PM (remembering to do something in the future); these findings persisted after controlling for other drug use and the number of strategies used to aid memory. No difference was found between representative subgroups on the Lies Scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. In study 2 a different group of 30 regular Ecstasy users and 37 Ecstasy-free controls was assessed on the PMQ and on a central executive task comprising verbal fluency measures. The results confirmed the significant impairments in long- and short-term PM and revealed corresponding impairments in verbal fluency. In study 3 15 Ecstasy users, 15 cannabis users and 15 non-drug users were assessed using the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, which requires participants to provide ratings of the frequency of various day-to-day cognitive slips. The results indicate that the Ecstasy users did not perceive their general cognitive performance to be worse than that of controls. Taken together, these results suggest that Ecstasy users have impaired PM that cannot be explained by an increased propensity to exaggerate cognitive failures. These may be attributable, in part, to central executive deficits that are due to frontal lobe damage associated with Ecstasy use. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparisons of auditory brainstem response and sound level tolerance in tinnitus ears and non-tinnitus ears in unilateral tinnitus patients with normal audiograms

PubMed Central

An, Yong-Hwi; Kim, Dong Hyun; Yoon, Ji Eun; Yoon, Ji Hyang

2017-01-01

Objective Recently, “hidden hearing loss” with cochlear synaptopathy has been suggested as a potential pathophysiology of tinnitus in individuals with a normal hearing threshold. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects with tinnitus and normal audiograms show significantly reduced auditory brainstem response (ABR) wave I amplitudes compared with control subjects, but normal wave V amplitudes, suggesting increased central auditory gain. We aimed to reconfirm the “hidden hearing loss” theory through a within-subject comparison of wave I and wave V amplitudes and uncomfortable loudness level (UCL), which might be decreased with increased central gain, in tinnitus ears (TEs) and non-tinnitus ears (NTEs). Subjects and methods Human subjects included 43 unilateral tinnitus patients (19 males, 24 females) with normal and symmetric hearing thresholds and 18 control subjects with normal audiograms. The amplitudes of wave I and V from the peak to the following trough were measured twice at 90 dB nHL and we separately assessed UCLs at 500 Hz and 3000 Hz pure tones in each TE and NTE. Results The within-subject comparison between TEs and NTEs showed no significant differences in wave I and wave V amplitude, or wave V/I ratio in both the male and female groups. Individual data revealed increased V/I amplitude ratios > mean + 2 SD in 3 TEs, but not in any control ears. We found no significant differences in UCL at 500 Hz or 3000 Hz between the TEs and NTEs, but the UCLs of both TEs and NTEs were lower than those of the control ears. Conclusions Our ABR data do not represent meaningful evidence supporting the hypothesis of cochlear synaptopathy with increased central gain in tinnitus subjects with normal audiograms. However, reduced sound level tolerance in both TEs and NTEs might reflect increased central gain consequent on hidden synaptopathy that was subsequently balanced between the ears by lateral olivocochlear efferents. PMID:29253030

Endoluminal dilatation for embedded hemodialysis catheters: A case-control study of factors associated with embedding and clinical outcomes

PubMed Central

Talreja, Hari; Ryan, Stephen Edward; Graham, Janet; Sood, Manish M.; Hadziomerovic, Adnan; Clark, Edward

2017-01-01

Background With the increasing frequency of tunneled hemodialysis catheter use there is a parallel increase in the need for removal and/or exchange. A small but significant minority of catheters become embedded or ‘stuck’ and cannot be removed by traditional means. Management of embedded catheters involves cutting the catheter, burying the retained fragment with a subsequent increased risk of infections and thrombosis. Endoluminal dilatation may provide a potential safe and effective technique for removing embedded catheters, however, to date, there is a paucity of data. Objectives 1) To determine factors associated with catheters becoming embedded and 2) to determine outcomes associated with endoluminal dilatation Methods All patients with endoluminal dilatation for embedded catheters at our institution since Jan. 2010 were included. Patients who had an embedded catheter were matched 1:3 with patients with uncomplicated catheter removal. Baseline patient and catheter characteristics were compared. Outcomes included procedural success and procedure-related infection. Logistic regression models were used to determine factors associated with embedded catheters. Results We matched 15 cases of embedded tunneled catheters with 45 controls. Among patients with embedded catheters, there were no complications with endoluminal dilatation. Factors independently associated with embedded catheters included catheter dwell time (> 2 years) and history of central venous stenosis. Conclusion Embedded catheters can be successfully managed by endoluminal dilatation with minimal complications and factors associated with embedding include dwell times > 2 years and/or with a history of central venous stenosis. PMID:28346468

The Orphan Nuclear Receptor TLX/NR2E1 in Neural Stem Cells and Diseases.

PubMed

Wang, Tao; Xiong, Jian-Qiong

2016-02-01

The human TLX gene encodes an orphan nuclear receptor predominantly expressed in the central nervous system. Tailess and Tlx, the TLX homologues in Drosophila and mouse, play essential roles in body-pattern formation and neurogenesis during early embryogenesis and perform crucial functions in maintaining stemness and controlling the differentiation of adult neural stem cells in the central nervous system, especially the visual system. Multiple target genes and signaling pathways are regulated by TLX and its homologues in specific tissues during various developmental stages. This review aims to summarize previous studies including many recent updates from different aspects concerning TLX and its homologues in Drosophila and mouse.

New Worlds Observer Formation Control Design Based on the Dynamics of Relative Motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luquette, Richard J.

2008-01-01

The New Worlds Observer (NWO) mission is designed for the direct detection and characterization of extrasolar planets. The NWO mission concept employs a two spacecraft leader-follower formation on a trajectory around the Earth/Moon-Sun L(sub 2) Libration Point. The leader spacecraft is baselined as a 4 meter optical telescope. The follower, Starshade spacecraft, is designed to suppress light from a central body star permitting direct detection of a surrounding exoplanetary system. The current design requires a nominal leader-follower separation range of 72 Megameters. NWO poses many challenges including formation control. NWO cycles between three principal control modes during the nominal mission timeline: science (fine pointing), realignment and transition. This paper examines formation control strategies in the context of dynamics of relative motion for two spacecraft operating in the vicinity of the Earth/Moon-Sun L(sub 2)libration point. The paper presents an overview of the equations of relative motion followed by a discussion of each of the control modes. Discussion and analysis characterize control strategies for each of the mission control modes, including requirements, implementation challenges and project fuel budgets.

Effect of bisphosphonates on periprosthetic bone loss after total knee arthroplasty: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Shi, Mingmin; Chen, Lei; Wu, Haobo; Wang, Yangxin; Wang, Wei; Zhang, Yujie; Yan, Shigui

2018-05-30

Aseptic loosening and osteolysis are the most common indications after TKA for revision surgery. This meta-analysis which included high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aimed to analyze the effect of bisphosphonates (BPs) on maintaining periprosthetic bone mineral density (BMD) after total knee arthroplasty. PubMed, AMED, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, ISI Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were systematically searched, five RCTs were included and the total number of participants was 188. The weighted mean differences with 95% confidence interval were calculated to evaluate the efficacy of BPs on total BMD of knee and the BMD of different periprosthetic regions. A descriptive review was performed for BP-related adverse effects. The BPs group presented significantly higher total BMD in proximal part of the tibia than the control group at 3 and 6 months (P < 0.05), but no significant difference at 12 months (P = 0.09). The BPs group presented significantly higher BMD in the distal aspect of the femur than that in the control group at 3, 6, 12 months. The BPs group presented significantly higher periprosthetic BMD than that in the control group at 3, 6 and 12 months in tibial medial and lateral metaphyseal region, and femoral anterior, central and posterior metaphyseal region (p < 0.05), but no significant difference for tibial diaphyseal region at 3, 6, and 12 months. None of the included studies described severe or fatal adverse effects related to BPs. BPs have a short-term effect on reducing periprosthetic bone loss after total knee arthroplasty. Compared with diaphyseal region, BPs are more effective on the preservation of BMD in medial lateral metaphyseal regions of proximal tibia and in anterior, central, and posterior metaphyseal region of distal femur.

Safety and efficacy of pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis following blunt head injury: a systematic review.

PubMed

Reeves, Fairleigh; Batty, Lachlan; Pitt, Veronica; Chau, Marisa; Pattuwage, Loyal; Gruen, Russell L

2013-10-01

Patients with blunt head injury are at high risk of venous thromboembolism. However, pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis (PTP) may cause progression of intracranial hemorrhage, and clinicians must often weigh up the risks and benefits. This review aimed to determine whether adding PTP to mechanical prophylaxis confers net benefit or harm and the optimal timing, dose, and agent for PTP in patients with blunt head injury. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and www.clinicaltrials.gov on April 24, 2013, to identify controlled studies and ongoing trials that assessed the efficacy or safety of thromboprophylaxis interventions in the early management of head-injured patients. Studies were classified based on types of interventions and comparisons, and the quality of included studies was assessed using Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. We intended to undertake a meta-analysis if studies were sufficiently similar. Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria, including four randomized controlled trials. At least two randomized controlled trials were at high risk of bias owing to inadequate randomization and concealment of allocation, and observational studies were potentially confounded by substantial differences between comparison groups. Heterogeneity of included studies precluded meta-analysis. Results were mixed, with some studies supporting and others refuting addition of PTP to mechanical interventions. Little evidence was available about dose or choice of agent. The safety and efficacy of early PTP in patients without early progression of hemorrhage is unclear. There is currently insufficient evidence to guide thromboprophylaxis in patients with blunt head injury. Standardized definitions and outcome measurements would facilitate comparison of outcomes across future studies. Studies in mixed populations should report head-injured specific subgroup data. Future randomized controlled trials should investigate the efficacy and safety of early pharmacologic prophylaxis in addition to mechanical intervention. Systematic review, level IV.

Interventions for improving patients' trust in doctors and groups of doctors.

PubMed

Rolfe, Alix; Cash-Gibson, Lucinda; Car, Josip; Sheikh, Aziz; McKinstry, Brian

2014-03-04

Trust is a fundamental component of the patient-doctor relationship and is associated with increased satisfaction, adherence to treatment, and continuity of care. Our 2006 review found little evidence that interventions improve patients' trust in their doctor; therefore an updated search was required to find out if there is further evidence of the effects of interventions that may improve trust in doctors or groups of doctors. To update our earlier review assessing the effects of interventions intended to improve patients' trust in doctors or a group of doctors. In 2003 we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE, EMBASE, Health Star, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LILACS, African Trials Register, African Health Anthology, Dissertation Abstracts International and the bibliographies of studies selected for inclusion. We also contacted researchers active in the field. We updated and re-ran the searches on available original databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library issue 2, 2013), MEDLINE (OvidSP), EMBASE (OvidSP), PsycINFO (OvidSP), CINAHL (Ebsco)) as well as Proquest Dissertations and Current Contents for the period 2003 to 18 March 2013. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-randomised controlled trials, controlled before and after studies, and interrupted time series of interventions (informative, educational, behavioural, organisational) directed at doctors or patients (or carers) where trust was assessed as a primary or secondary outcome. Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Where mentioned, we extracted data on adverse effects. We synthesised data narratively. We included 10 randomised controlled trials (including 7 new trials) involving 11,063 patients. These studies were all undertaken in North America, and all but two involved primary care.  As expected, there was considerable heterogeneity between the studies.  Interventions were of three main types; three employed additional physician training, four were education for patients and three provided additional information about doctors in terms of financial incentives or consulting style. Additionally, several different measures of trust were employed.The studies gave conflicting results. Trials showing a small but statistically-significant increase in trust included: a trial of physician disclosure of financial incentives; a trial of providing choice of physician based on concordance between patient and physician beliefs about care; a trial of group visits for new inductees into a Health Maintenance Organisation; a trial of training oncologists in communication skills; and a trial of group visits for diabetic patients. However, trust was not affected in a subsequent larger trial of group visits for uninsured people with diabetes, nor with a decision aid for helping choose statins, another trial of disclosure of financial incentives or specifically training doctors to increase trust or cultural competence. There was no evidence of harm from any of the studies. Overall, there remains insufficient evidence to conclude that any intervention may increase or decrease trust in doctors. This may be due in part to the sensitivity of trust instruments, and a ceiling effect, as trust in doctors is generally high. It may be that current measures of trust are insufficiently sensitive. Further trials are required to explore the impact of doctors' specific training or the use of a patient-centred or decision-sharing approach on patients' trust, especially in the areas of healthcare provider choice, and induction into healthcare organisation. International trials would be of particular benefit. The review was constrained by the lack of consistency between trust measurements, timeframes and populations.

Metropolitan transportation management center : a case study : Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Integrated Project control system : responding to incidents rapidly and effectively

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-10-01

The following case study provides a snapshot of the Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Integration Project Control System (IPCS) operations control center. It follows the outline provided in the companion document, Metropolitan Transportation Management Ce...

Formations of Tethered Spacecraft as Stable Platforms for Far IR and Sub-mm Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quadrelli, Marco B.; Hadaegh, Fred Y.; Shao, Michael; Lorenzini, Enrico C.

2004-01-01

In this paper we describe current research in tethered formations for interferometry, and a roadmap to demonstrating the required key technologies via on-ground and in-orbit testing. We propose an integrated kilometer-size tethered spacecraft formation flying concept which enables Far IR and Sub-mm astronomy observations from space. A rather general model is used to predict the dynamics, control, and estimation performance of formations of spacecraft connected by tethers in LEO and deep space. These models include the orbital and tethered formation dynamics, environmental models, and models of the formation estimator/controller/commander. Both centralized and decentralized control/sensing/estimation schemes are possible, and dynamic ranges of interest for sensing/control are described. Key component/subsystem technologies are described which need both ground-based and in-orbit demonstration prior to their utilization in precision space interferometry missions using tethered formations. Defining an orbiting formation as an ensemble of orbiting spacecraft performing a cooperative task, recent work has demonstrated the validity of the tethering the spacecraft to provide both the required formation rigidity and satisfy the formation reconfiguration needs such as interferometer baseline control. In our concept, several vehicles are connected and move along the tether, so that to reposition them the connecting tether links must vary in length. This feature enables variable and precise baseline control while the system spins around the boresight. The control architecture features an interferometer configuration composed of one central combiner spacecraft and two aligned collector spacecraft. The combiner spacecraft acts as the formation leader and is also where the centralized sensing and estimation functions reside. Some of the issues analyzed with the model are: dynamic modes of deformation of the distributed structure, architecture of the formation sensor, and sources of dynamical perturbation that need to be mitigated for precision operation in space. Examples from numerical simulation of an envisioned scenario in heliocentric orbit demonstrate the potential of the concept for space interferometry.

Medical Management of Oral Lichen Planus: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Chokshi, Krunal; Desai, Sachin; Malu, Rahul; Chokshi, Achala

2016-01-01

Introduction Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory, T-cell-mediated autoimmune oral mucosal disease with unclear aetiology. The clinical management of OLP poses considerable difficulties to the oral physician. Aim The aim was to assess the efficacy of any form of intervention used to medically manage OLP. Materials and Methods We searched and analysed the following databases (from January 1990 to December 2014):- Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE and EMBASE. All Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) for the medical management of OLP which compared active treatment with placebo or between active treatments were considered in this systematic review. Participants of any age, gender or race having symptomatic OLP (including mixed forms), unconnected to any identifiable cause (e.g. lichenoid drug reactions) and confirmed by histopathology have been included. Interventions of all types, including topical treatments or systemic drugs of variable dosage, duration & frequency of delivery have been considered. All the trials identified were appraised by five review authors and the data for all the trials were synthesised using specifically designed data extraction form. Binary data has been presented as risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and continuous data as mean differences (MD) with 95% CIs. Results A total of 35 RCTs were included in this systematic review on medical management of OLP. No strong evidence suggesting superiority of any specific intervention in reducing pain and clinical signs of OLP were shown by the RCTs included here. Conclusion Future RCTs on a larger scale, adopting standardized outcome assessing parameters should be considered. PMID:27042598

Health and environmental impact of mercury: Past and present experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, A. T. F.; Cortes-Maramba, N. P.; Akagi, H.

2003-05-01

Mercury exists in various forms including metallic mercury, inorganie and organic mercury compounds. Research studies show that contamination brought about by natural and man-made activities is clearly a growing problem today. In 1956, the first recognized poisoning outbreaks occurred. Minamata Disease is a disorder of the central nervous system caused by the consumption of fish and shellfish contaminated with methylmercury. Clinical manifestation differs from inorganic mercury poisoning in which the kidneys and the renal system are damaged. The toxidrome consists of sensory disorders in the distal portion of the four extremities, cerebral ataxia, bilateral concentric constriction of the visual field. central disorder of ocular movement, central hearing impairment and disequilibrium. Fetal type Minamata Disease bom of mothers being exposed to methylmercury during pregnancy resulted in conditions similar to those associated with “infantile cerebral palsy" were also documented. Measures to control environmental pollution were implemented such as the environmental restoration project, compensation and relief of victims as part of the health and environmental management undertaken by the government. At present, global research studies are focusing on long-term and low-dose inorganic and methyl mercury exposure; and developmental neurobehavioral toxicity including relevant environmental factors influencing mercury transformations, mass balances and partitioning in ecosystems.

Central nervous system regulation of hepatic lipid and lipoprotein metabolism.

PubMed

Taher, Jennifer; Farr, Sarah; Adeli, Khosrow

2017-02-01

Hepatic lipid and lipoprotein metabolism is an important determinant of fasting dyslipidemia and the development of fatty liver disease. Although endocrine factors like insulin have known effects on hepatic lipid homeostasis, emerging evidence also supports a regulatory role for the central nervous system (CNS) and neuronal networks. This review summarizes evidence implicating a bidirectional liver-brain axis in maintaining metabolic lipid homeostasis, and discusses clinical implications in insulin-resistant states. The liver utilizes sympathetic and parasympathetic afferent and efferent fibers to communicate with key regulatory centers in the brain including the hypothalamus. Hypothalamic anorexigenic and orexigenic peptides signal to the liver via neuronal networks to modulate lipid content and VLDL production. In addition, peripheral hormones such as insulin, leptin, and glucagon-like-peptide-1 exert control over hepatic lipid by acting directly within the CNS or via peripheral nerves. Central regulation of lipid metabolism in other organs including white and brown adipose tissue may also contribute to hepatic lipid content indirectly via free fatty acid release and changes in lipoprotein clearance. The CNS communicates with the liver in a bidirectional manner to regulate hepatic lipid metabolism and lipoprotein production. Impairments in these pathways may contribute to dyslipidemia and hepatic steatosis in insulin-resistant states.

Brain gray matter structural network in myotonic dystrophy type 1.

PubMed

Sugiyama, Atsuhiko; Sone, Daichi; Sato, Noriko; Kimura, Yukio; Ota, Miho; Maikusa, Norihide; Maekawa, Tomoko; Enokizono, Mikako; Mori-Yoshimura, Madoka; Ohya, Yasushi; Kuwabara, Satoshi; Matsuda, Hiroshi

2017-01-01

This study aimed to investigate abnormalities in structural covariance network constructed from gray matter volume in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) patients by using graph theoretical analysis for further clarification of the underlying mechanisms of central nervous system involvement. Twenty-eight DM1 patients (4 childhood onset, 10 juvenile onset, 14 adult onset), excluding three cases from 31 consecutive patients who underwent magnetic resonance imaging in a certain period, and 28 age- and sex- matched healthy control subjects were included in this study. The normalized gray matter images of both groups were subjected to voxel based morphometry (VBM) and Graph Analysis Toolbox for graph theoretical analysis. VBM revealed extensive gray matter atrophy in DM1 patients, including cortical and subcortical structures. On graph theoretical analysis, there were no significant differences between DM1 and control groups in terms of the global measures of connectivity. Betweenness centrality was increased in several regions including the left fusiform gyrus, whereas it was decreased in the right striatum. The absence of significant differences between the groups in global network measurements on graph theoretical analysis is consistent with the fact that the general cognitive function is preserved in DM1 patients. In DM1 patients, increased connectivity in the left fusiform gyrus and decreased connectivity in the right striatum might be associated with impairment in face perception and theory of mind, and schizotypal-paranoid personality traits, respectively.

Effectiveness of liposome bupivacaine for postoperative pain control in total knee arthroplasty

PubMed Central

Yu, Zhan-Xia; Yang, Zhao-Zhi; Yao, Lu-Lan

2018-01-01

Abstract Background: Adequate pain control after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) enables quicker recovery and reduces readmissions and treatment costs. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of liposomal bupivacaine (LB) for postoperative pain control in patients prepared for TKA. Methods: We searched for the reports that evaluating the effect of liposomal bupivacaine for postoperative pain control in patients prepared for TKA between March 1983 and May 2017 in the electronic database Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Ovid. The main outcomes were visual analog scale (VAS) at 24, 48, and 72 hours. The secondary outcomes were total morphine consumption, the length of hospital stay, range of motion, and the occurrence of nausea. Results: Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) enrolling 825 patients, with 413 in the LB group and 412 in the control group, were included in this meta-analysis. Our results suggested that administration LB was associated with a reduction of VAS by 4.22 points at 72 hours after TKA (WMD = −4.22, 95% CI −7.47, −0.97, P = .011) on a 100-point VAS. What's more, LB can decrease the occurrence of nausea when compared with traditional bupivacaine by 18.3% (risk ratio  = 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.55, 0.89, P = .003). LB was associated with an increase of the range of motion than traditional bupivacaine (P < .05). There was no significant difference between the VAS at 24, 48 hours, total morphine consumption and the length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Administration with LB was associated with pain-relieving effects and reduces the morphine-related complications (nausea). Due the limited number of the included RCTs, large number and high quality RCTs are still need to identify the effects of LB for pain control after TKA. PMID:29595645

Ambulatory pediatric oncology CLABSIs: epidemiology and risk factors.

PubMed

Rinke, Michael L; Milstone, Aaron M; Chen, Allen R; Mirski, Kara; Bundy, David G; Colantuoni, Elizabeth; Pehar, Miriana; Herpst, Cynthia; Miller, Marlene R

2013-11-01

To compare the burden of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in ambulatory versus inpatient pediatric oncology patients, and identify the epidemiology of and risk factors associated with ambulatory CLABSIs. We prospectively identified infections and retrospectively identified central line days and characteristics associated with CLABSIs from January 2009 to October 2010. A nested case-control design was used to identify characteristics associated with ambulatory CLABSIs. We identified 319 patients with central lines. There were 55 ambulatory CLABSIs during 84,705 ambulatory central line days (0.65 CLABSIs per 1,000 central line days (95% CI 0.49, 0.85)), and 19 inpatient CLABSIs during 8,682 inpatient central line days (2.2 CLABSIs per 1,000 central lines days (95% CI 1.3, 3.4)). In patients with ambulatory CLABSIs, 13% were admitted to an intensive care unit and 44% had their central lines removed due to the CLABSI. A secondary analysis with a sub-cohort, suggested children with tunneled, externalized catheters had a greater risk of ambulatory CLABSI than those with totally implantable devices (IRR 20.6, P < 0.001). Other characteristics independently associated with ambulatory CLABSIs included bone marrow transplantation within 100 days (OR 16, 95% CI 1.1, 264), previous bacteremia in any central line (OR 10, 95% CI 2.5, 43) and less than 1 month from central line insertion (OR 4.2, 95% CI 1.0, 17). In pediatric oncology patients, three times more CLABSIs occur in the ambulatory than inpatient setting. Ambulatory CLABSIs carry appreciable morbidity and have identifiable, associated factors that should be addressed in future ambulatory CLABSI prevention efforts. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

105. DAMAGE CONTROL CENTRAL STARBOARD LOOKING TO PORT SHOWING ...

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

105. DAMAGE CONTROL CENTRAL - STARBOARD LOOKING TO PORT SHOWING PLOTTING BOARD, FLOODING & FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS AND DRAGE GAUGE. - U.S.S. HORNET, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Sinclair Inlet, Bremerton, Kitsap County, WA

Comparison of the Effect of Aliskiren Versus Negative Controls on Aortic Stiffness in Patients With Marfan Syndrome Under Treatment With Atenolol.

PubMed

Hwang, Ji-Won; Kim, Eun Kyoung; Jang, Shin Yi; Chung, Tae-Young; Ki, Chang-Seok; Sung, Kiick; Kim, Sung Mok; Ahn, Joonghyun; Carriere, Keumhee; Choe, Yeon Hyeon; Chang, Sung-A; Kim, Duk-Kyung

2017-11-29

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of aliskiren on aortic stiffness in patients with Marfan syndrome (MS). Twenty-eight MS patients (mean age ± standard deviation: 32.6 ± 10.6 years) were recruited from November 2009 to October 2014. All patients were receiving atenolol as standard beta-blocker therapy. A prospective randomization process was performed to assign participants to either aliskiren treatment (150-300mg orally per day) or no aliskiren treatment (negative control) in an open-label design. Central aortic distensibility and central pulsed wave velocity (PWV) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), peripheral PWV, central aortic blood pressure and augmentation index by peripheral tonometry, and aortic dilatation by echocardiography were examined initially and after 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was central aortic distensibility by MRI. In analyses of differences between baseline and 24 weeks for the aliskiren treatment group vs the negative control group, central distensibility (overall; P = .26) and central PWV (0.2 ± 0.9 vs 0.03 ± 0.7 [m/s]; P = .79) by MRI were not significantly different. Central systolic aortic blood pressure tended to be lower by 14mmHg in patients in the aliskiren treatment group than in the control group (P = .09). A significant decrease in peripheral PWV (brachial-ankle PWV) in the aliskiren treatment group (-1.6 m/s) compared with the control group (+0.28 m/s) was noted (P = .005). Among patients with MS, the addition of aliskiren to beta-blocker treatment did not significantly improve central aortic stiffness during a 24-week period. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Efficacy of Acupuncture for Bell's Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

PubMed

Li, Pingping; Qiu, Tangmeng; Qin, Chao

2015-01-01

Acupuncture has emerged as an alternative therapy for Bell's palsy in both adults and children. However, the use of acupuncture is controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of acupuncture for Bell's palsy. We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, irrespective of any language restrictions. Randomized controlled trials comparing acupuncture with other therapies for Bell's palsy in adults or children were included. Fourteen randomized controlled trials involving 1541 individuals were included in this meta-analysis. Significant association was observed in acupuncture with a higher effective response rate for Bell's palsy (relative risk, 1.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.25; P = 0.005) but there was a heterogeneity among the studies (I2 = 87%). An assessment of the included studies revealed a high risk of bias in methodological quality. An evaluation of the incidence of complications was not available, owing to incomplete data. Acupuncture seems to be an effective therapy for Bell's palsy, but there was insufficient evidence to support the efficacy and safety of acupuncture. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously, because of the poor quality and heterogeneity of the included studies.

Parris Island Wastewater Treatment Plant SCADA Upgrades Final Report

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

Meador, Richard J.; Hatley, Darrel D.

2004-03-18

Marine Corp Recruit Depot (MCRD), Parris Island, SC, home of the Easter Recruiting Region Marine Corp Boot Camp, found itself in a situation common to Department of Defense (DOD) facilities. It had to deal with several different types of installed energy-related control systems that could not talk to each other. This situation was being exacerbated by the installation of a new and/or unique type of control system for every new building being constructed or older facility that was being upgraded. The Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) and lift station controls were badly in need of a thorough inspection and a newmore » Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system upgrade to meet environmental, safety, manpower, and maintenance concerns. A project was recently completed to implement such a wastewater treatment SCADA upgrade, which is compatible with other upgrades to the energy monitoring and control systems for Parris Island buildings and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Decision Support for Operations and Maintenance (DSOM) system installed at the Central Energy Plant (CEP). This project included design, specification, procurement, installation, and testing an upgraded SCADA alarm, process monitoring, and display system; and training WWTF operators in its operation. The ultimate goal of this and the other PNNL projects at Parris Island is to allow monitoring and control of energy and environmental components from a central location.« less

Cold tolerance of Trissolcus japonicus and T. cultratus, potential biological control agents of Halyomorpha halys, the brown marmorated stink bug

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is native to Asia and has invaded the USA, including the north central states. It is a pest of over 100 species of plants and is also a nuisance household invader. The ability of native arthropods to suppress populations of H. halys has been variab...

Maintaining Teachers' Face in the Context of Change: Results from a Study of Vietnamese College Lecturers' Perceptions of Face

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Thi Quynh Trang

2017-01-01

Gaining and saving face are very important in Vietnam as a mechanism of social control, including the professional behaviour of teachers. Interviews with 15 lecturers (aged 24-37) at a teacher training college in a Central Coast province of Vietnam illustrated the relationship between their concepts of face and their beliefs about good teaching.…

Resiliency in Future Cyber Combat

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-04

including the Internet , telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embed- ded processors and controllers.”6 One important point emerging from the...definition is that while the Internet is part of cyberspace, it is not all of cyberspace. Any computer processor capable of communicating with a...central proces- sor on a modern car are all part of cyberspace, although only some of them are routinely connected to the Internet . Most modern

Resisting temptation: a psychological analysis.

PubMed

Hodgson, R J

1989-03-01

It is proposed that self control involves several related processes including vivid awareness of future consequences, overcoming learned helplessness and tunnel vision, developing commitment and accepting anxiety/frustration. Facing up to temptation and resisting the compulsive urge is considered to be a crucial therapeutic experience. Evidence is presented to support the view that cue exposure should therefore be a central component of treatments for compulsions and addictions.

Care delivery and self management strategies for children with epilepsy.

PubMed

Fleeman, Nigel; Bradley, Peter M; Lindsay, Bruce

2015-12-23

Epilepsy care for children has been criticised for its lack of impact. Various service models and strategies have been developed in response to perceived inadequacies in care provision for children and their families. To compare the effectiveness of any specialised or dedicated intervention for the care of children with epilepsy and their families to the effectiveness of usual care. We searched the Cochrane Epilepsy Group Specialized Register (9 December 2013), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library, 2013,Issue 11), MEDLINE (1946 to June week 2, 2013), EMBASE (1988 to week 25, 2013), PsycINFO (1887 to 11 December 2013) and CINAHL Plus (1937 to 11 December 2013). In addition, we contacted experts in the field to seek information on unpublished and ongoing studies, checked the websites of epilepsy organisations and checked the reference lists of included studies. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled or matched trials, cohort studies or other prospective studies with a control group (controlled before-and-after studies), or time series studies. Each review author independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed the quality of included studies. We included five interventions reported in seven study reports (of which only four studies of three interventions were designed as RCTs) in this review. They reported on different education and counselling programmes for children, children and parents, teenagers and parents, or children, adolescents and their parents. Each programme showed some benefits for the well-being of children with epilepsy, but each study had methodological flaws (e.g. in one of the studies designed as an RCT, randomisation failed) and no single programme was independently evaluated by more than one study. While each of the programmes in this review showed some benefit to children with epilepsy, their impacts were extremely variable. No programme showed benefits across the full range of outcomes. No study appeared to have demonstrated any detrimental effects but the evidence in favour of any single programme was insufficient to make it possible to recommend one programme rather than another. More studies, carried out by independent research teams, are needed.

Cortico-Striatal-Thalamic Loop Circuits of the Salience Network: A Central Pathway in Psychiatric Disease and Treatment.

PubMed

Peters, Sarah K; Dunlop, Katharine; Downar, Jonathan

2016-01-01

The salience network (SN) plays a central role in cognitive control by integrating sensory input to guide attention, attend to motivationally salient stimuli and recruit appropriate functional brain-behavior networks to modulate behavior. Mounting evidence suggests that disturbances in SN function underlie abnormalities in cognitive control and may be a common etiology underlying many psychiatric disorders. Such functional and anatomical abnormalities have been recently apparent in studies and meta-analyses of psychiatric illness using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Of particular importance, abnormal structure and function in major cortical nodes of the SN, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (AI), have been observed as a common neurobiological substrate across a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders. In addition to cortical nodes of the SN, the network's associated subcortical structures, including the dorsal striatum, mediodorsal thalamus and dopaminergic brainstem nuclei, comprise a discrete regulatory loop circuit. The SN's cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical loop increasingly appears to be central to mechanisms of cognitive control, as well as to a broad spectrum of psychiatric illnesses and their available treatments. Functional imbalances within the SN loop appear to impair cognitive control, and specifically may impair self-regulation of cognition, behavior and emotion, thereby leading to symptoms of psychiatric illness. Furthermore, treating such psychiatric illnesses using invasive or non-invasive brain stimulation techniques appears to modulate SN cortical-subcortical loop integrity, and these effects may be central to the therapeutic mechanisms of brain stimulation treatments in many psychiatric illnesses. Here, we review clinical and experimental evidence for abnormalities in SN cortico-striatal-thalamic loop circuits in major depression, substance use disorders (SUD), anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and eating disorders (ED). We also review emergent therapeutic evidence that novel invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation treatments may exert therapeutic effects by normalizing abnormalities in the SN loop, thereby restoring the capacity for cognitive control. Finally, we consider a series of promising directions for future investigations on the role of SN cortico-striatal-thalamic loop circuits in the pathophysiology and treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Cortico-Striatal-Thalamic Loop Circuits of the Salience Network: A Central Pathway in Psychiatric Disease and Treatment

PubMed Central

Peters, Sarah K.; Dunlop, Katharine; Downar, Jonathan

2016-01-01

The salience network (SN) plays a central role in cognitive control by integrating sensory input to guide attention, attend to motivationally salient stimuli and recruit appropriate functional brain-behavior networks to modulate behavior. Mounting evidence suggests that disturbances in SN function underlie abnormalities in cognitive control and may be a common etiology underlying many psychiatric disorders. Such functional and anatomical abnormalities have been recently apparent in studies and meta-analyses of psychiatric illness using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Of particular importance, abnormal structure and function in major cortical nodes of the SN, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (AI), have been observed as a common neurobiological substrate across a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders. In addition to cortical nodes of the SN, the network’s associated subcortical structures, including the dorsal striatum, mediodorsal thalamus and dopaminergic brainstem nuclei, comprise a discrete regulatory loop circuit. The SN’s cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical loop increasingly appears to be central to mechanisms of cognitive control, as well as to a broad spectrum of psychiatric illnesses and their available treatments. Functional imbalances within the SN loop appear to impair cognitive control, and specifically may impair self-regulation of cognition, behavior and emotion, thereby leading to symptoms of psychiatric illness. Furthermore, treating such psychiatric illnesses using invasive or non-invasive brain stimulation techniques appears to modulate SN cortical-subcortical loop integrity, and these effects may be central to the therapeutic mechanisms of brain stimulation treatments in many psychiatric illnesses. Here, we review clinical and experimental evidence for abnormalities in SN cortico-striatal-thalamic loop circuits in major depression, substance use disorders (SUD), anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and eating disorders (ED). We also review emergent therapeutic evidence that novel invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation treatments may exert therapeutic effects by normalizing abnormalities in the SN loop, thereby restoring the capacity for cognitive control. Finally, we consider a series of promising directions for future investigations on the role of SN cortico-striatal-thalamic loop circuits in the pathophysiology and treatment of psychiatric disorders. PMID:28082874

Investigation of central pain processing in shoulder pain: converging results from two musculoskeletal pain models

PubMed Central

Valencia, Carolina; Kindler, Lindsay L.; Fillingim, Roger B.; George, Steven Z.

2011-01-01

Recent reports suggest deficits in conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and enhanced suprathreshold heat pain response (SHPR) potentially play a role in the development of chronic pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether central pain processing was altered in 2 musculoskeletal shoulder pain models. The goals of this study were to determine whether central pain processing: 1) differs between healthy subjects and patients with clinical shoulder pain, 2) changes with induction of exercise induced muscle pain (EIMP), and 3) changes 3 months after shoulder surgery. Fifty eight patients with clinical shoulder pain and 56 age and sex matched healthy subjects were included in these analyses. The healthy cohort was examined before inducing EIMP, and 48 and 96 hours later. The clinical cohort was examined before shoulder surgery and 3 months later. CPM did not differ between the cohorts, however; SHPR was elevated for patients with shoulder pain compared to healthy controls. Induction of acute shoulder pain with EIMP resulted in increased shoulder pain intensity but did not change CPM or SHPR. Three months following shoulder surgery clinical pain intensity decreased but CPM was unchanged from pre-operative assessment. In contrast SHPR was decreased and showed values comparable with healthy controls at 3 months. Therefore, the present study suggests that: 1) clinical shoulder pain is associated with measurable changes in central pain processing, 2) exercise-induced shoulder pain did not affect measures of central pain processing, and 3) elevated SHPR was normalized with shoulder surgery. Collectively our findings support neuroplastic changes in pain modulation were associated with decreases in clinical pain intensity only, and could be detected more readily with thermal stimuli. PMID:22208804

The Case of Norway - Spectacular Renegades from Central Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belding, Robert E.; Lane, Willard R.

1975-01-01

Education in Norway's far northlands is wonderfully diverse, even though local schools are governed by a national ministry of education. This article should shatter the myth that central control means bland homogenization. (Editor)

Increase of transcription factor EB (TFEB) and lysosomes in rat DRG neurons and their transportation to the central nerve terminal in dorsal horn after nerve injury.

PubMed

Jung, J; Uesugi, N; Jeong, N Y; Park, B S; Konishi, H; Kiyama, H

2016-01-28

In the spinal dorsal horn (DH), nerve injury activates microglia and induces neuropathic pain. Several studies clarified an involvement of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the microglial activation. However, the origin of ATP together with the release mechanism is unclear. Recent in vitro study revealed that an ATP marker, quinacrine, in lysosomes was released from neurite terminal of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons to extracellular space via lysosomal exocytosis. Here, we demonstrate a possibility that the lysosomal ingredient including ATP released from DRG neurons by lysosomal-exocytosis is an additional source of the glial activation in DH after nerve injury. After rat L5 spinal nerve ligation (SNL), mRNA for transcription factor EB (TFEB), a transcription factor controlling lysosomal activation and exocytosis, was induced in the DRG. Simultaneously both lysosomal protein, LAMP1- and vesicular nuclear transporter (VNUT)-positive vesicles were increased in L5 DRG neurons and ipsilateral DH. The quinacrine staining in DH was increased and co-localized with LAMP1 immunoreactivity after nerve injury. In DH, LAMP1-positive vesicles were also co-localized with a peripheral nerve marker, Isolectin B4 (IB4) lectin. Injection of the adenovirus encoding mCherry-LAMP1 into DRG showed that mCherry-positive lysosomes are transported to the central nerve terminal in DH. These findings suggest that activation of lysosome synthesis including ATP packaging in DRG, the central transportation of the lysosome, and subsequent its exocytosis from the central nerve terminal of DRG neurons in response to nerve injury could be a partial mechanism for activation of microglia in DH. This lysosome-mediated microglia activation mechanism may provide another clue to control nociception and pain. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Clinical Information on the Assessment of Endoscopic Activity: Characteristics of the Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index Of Severity [UCEIS].

PubMed

Travis, Simon P L; Schnell, Dan; Feagan, Brian G; Abreu, Maria T; Altman, Douglas G; Hanauer, Stephen B; Krzeski, Piotr; Lichtenstein, Gary R; Marteau, Philippe R; Mary, Jean-Yves; Reinisch, Walter; Sands, Bruce E; Schnell, Patrick; Yacyshyn, Bruce R; Colombel, Jean-Frédéric; Bernhardt, Christian A; Sandborn, William J

2015-08-01

To determine whether clinical information influences endoscopic scoring by central readers using the Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity [UCEIS; comprising 'vascular pattern', 'bleeding', 'erosions and ulcers']. Forty central readers performed 28 evaluations, including 2 repeats, from a library of 44 video sigmoidoscopies stratified by Mayo Clinic Score. Following training, readers were randomised to scoring with ['unblinded', n = 20, including 4 control videos with misleading information] or without ['blinded', n 20] clinical information. A total of 21 virtual Central Reader Groups [CRGs], of three blinded readers, were created. Agreement criteria were pre-specified. Kappa [κ] statistics quantified intra- and inter-reader variability. Mean UCEIS scores did not differ between blinded and unblinded readers for any of the 40 main videos. UCEIS standard deviations [SD] were similar [median blinded 0.94, unblinded 0.93; p = 0.97]. Correlation between UCEIS and visual analogue scale [VAS] assessment of overall severity was high [r blinded = 0.90, unblinded = 0.93; p = 0.02]. Scores for control videos were similar [UCEIS: p ≥ 0.55; VAS: p ≥ 0.07]. Intra- [κ 0.47-0.74] and inter-reader [κ 0.40-0.53] variability for items and full UCEIS was 'moderate'-to-'substantial', with no significant differences except for intra-reader variability for erosions and ulcers [κ blinded: 0.47 vs unblinded: 0.74; p 0.047]. The SD of CRGs was lower than for individual central readers [0.54 vs 0.95; p < 0.001]. Correlation between blinded UCEIS and patient-reported symptoms was high [stool frequency: 0.76; rectal bleeding: 0.82; both: 0.81]. The UCEIS is minimally affected by knowledge of clinical details, strongly correlates with patient-reported symptoms, and is a suitable instrument for trials. CRGs performed better than individuals. © European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation 2015.

Hedonic and incentive signals for body weight control.

PubMed

Egecioglu, Emil; Skibicka, Karolina P; Hansson, Caroline; Alvarez-Crespo, Mayte; Friberg, P Anders; Jerlhag, Elisabet; Engel, Jörgen A; Dickson, Suzanne L

2011-09-01

Here we review the emerging neurobiological understanding of the role of the brain's reward system in the regulation of body weight in health and in disease. Common obesity is characterized by the over-consumption of palatable/rewarding foods, reflecting an imbalance in the relative importance of hedonic versus homeostatic signals. The popular 'incentive salience theory' of food reward recognises not only a hedonic/pleasure component ('liking') but also an incentive motivation component ('wanting' or 'reward-seeking'). Central to the neurobiology of the reward mechanism is the mesoaccumbal dopamine system that confers incentive motivation not only for natural rewards such as food but also by artificial rewards (eg. addictive drugs). Indeed, this mesoaccumbal dopamine system receives and integrates information about the incentive (rewarding) value of foods with information about metabolic status. Problematic over-eating likely reflects a changing balance in the control exerted by hypothalamic versus reward circuits and/or it could reflect an allostatic shift in the hedonic set point for food reward. Certainly, for obesity to prevail, metabolic satiety signals such as leptin and insulin fail to regain control of appetitive brain networks, including those involved in food reward. On the other hand, metabolic control could reflect increased signalling by the stomach-derived orexigenic hormone, ghrelin. We have shown that ghrelin activates the mesoaccumbal dopamine system and that central ghrelin signalling is required for reward from both chemical drugs (eg alcohol) and also from palatable food. Future therapies for problematic over-eating and obesity may include drugs that interfere with incentive motivation, such as ghrelin antagonists.

Site characterization and construction of a controlled shallow test site in central Mexico for archaeological and engineering applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosado-Fuentes, A.; Arango-Galvan, C.; Arciniega-Ceballos, A.; Hernández-Quintero, J. E.; Mendo-Perez, G.

2017-12-01

A controlled shallow test site (CSTS) has been constructed at the UNAM Geomagnetic Observatory in Teoloyucan, central Mexico. The objective of the CSTS is to have a controlled place to test new developments and arrays that can be used for archaeological and engineering exploration, as well as to calibrate instruments, train students and for future research. The CSTS was built far enough not to influence the geomagnetic sensors and not be affected by noise sources. Special attention was given to the distribution and geometry of buried materials as well as the instruments used. Before the CSTS was built, a combination of near-surface, non-invasive geophysical techniques was performed to characterize the area of 20 by 32 meters. The methods include magnetometry, electromagnetic induction, ground penetrating radar (GPR), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and seismic refraction tomography (SRT). The GPR, SRT and ERT results show relatively flat interfaces. In general, the vertical gradient of the total magnetic field and the electric conductivity have very small variations, showing only one strong magnetic dipole associated to a shallow anomaly. These results indicate that the area is ideal for the construction of the test site. The CSTS consists on buried structures made with different materials and geometries (cubes, cylinders and tubes) commonly used as construction materials in Mexico since Pre-Hispanic times. These materials include concrete, reinforced concrete, wood, brick, adobe, basalt, tezontle and also empty space for controlling responses. The CSTS is versatile enough to be reshaped considering new geometries or materials and to conduct further investigations.

Slow Breathing and Hypoxic Challenge: Cardiorespiratory Consequences and Their Central Neural Substrates

PubMed Central

Critchley, Hugo D.; Nicotra, Alessia; Chiesa, Patrizia A.; Nagai, Yoko; Gray, Marcus A.; Minati, Ludovico; Bernardi, Luciano

2015-01-01

Controlled slow breathing (at 6/min, a rate frequently adopted during yoga practice) can benefit cardiovascular function, including responses to hypoxia. We tested the neural substrates of cardiorespiratory control in humans during volitional controlled breathing and hypoxic challenge using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty healthy volunteers were scanned during paced (slow and normal rate) breathing and during spontaneous breathing of normoxic and hypoxic (13% inspired O2) air. Cardiovascular and respiratory measures were acquired concurrently, including beat-to-beat blood pressure from a subset of participants (N = 7). Slow breathing was associated with increased tidal ventilatory volume. Induced hypoxia raised heart rate and suppressed heart rate variability. Within the brain, slow breathing activated dorsal pons, periaqueductal grey matter, cerebellum, hypothalamus, thalamus and lateral and anterior insular cortices. Blocks of hypoxia activated mid pons, bilateral amygdalae, anterior insular and occipitotemporal cortices. Interaction between slow breathing and hypoxia was expressed in ventral striatal and frontal polar activity. Across conditions, within brainstem, dorsal medullary and pontine activity correlated with tidal volume and inversely with heart rate. Activity in rostroventral medulla correlated with beat-to-beat blood pressure and heart rate variability. Widespread insula and striatal activity tracked decreases in heart rate, while subregions of insular cortex correlated with momentary increases in tidal volume. Our findings define slow breathing effects on central and cardiovascular responses to hypoxic challenge. They highlight the recruitment of discrete brainstem nuclei to cardiorespiratory control, and the engagement of corticostriatal circuitry in support of physiological responses that accompany breathing regulation during hypoxic challenge. PMID:25973923

Flexible structure control laboratory development and technology demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vivian, H. C.; Blaire, P. E.; Eldred, D. B.; Fleischer, G. E.; Ih, C.-H. C.; Nerheim, N. M.; Scheid, R. E.; Wen, J. T.

1987-01-01

An experimental structure is described which was constructed to demonstrate and validate recent emerging technologies in the active control and identification of large flexible space structures. The configuration consists of a large, 20 foot diameter antenna-like flexible structure in the horizontal plane with a gimballed central hub, a flexible feed-boom assembly hanging from the hub, and 12 flexible ribs radiating outward. Fourteen electrodynamic force actuators mounted to the hub and to the individual ribs provide the means to excite the structure and exert control forces. Thirty permanently mounted sensors, including optical encoders and analog induction devices provide measurements of structural response at widely distributed points. An experimental remote optical sensor provides sixteen additional sensing channels. A computer samples the sensors, computes the control updates and sends commands to the actuators in real time, while simultaneously displaying selected outputs on a graphics terminal and saving them in memory. Several control experiments were conducted thus far and are documented. These include implementation of distributed parameter system control, model reference adaptive control, and static shape control. These experiments have demonstrated the successful implementation of state-of-the-art control approaches using actual hardware.

Integrated Control of Predatory Hunting by the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala

PubMed Central

Han, Wenfei; Tellez, Luis A; Rangel, Miguel; Motta, Simone C; Zhang, Xiaobing; Perez, Isaac O; Canteras, Newton S; Shammah-Lagnado, Sarah J; van den Pol, Anthony N; de Araujo, Ivan E

2017-01-01

Superior predatory skills led to the evolutionary triumph of jawed vertebrates. However, the mechanisms by which the vertebrate brain controls predation remain largely unknown. Here we reveal a critical role for the central nucleus of the amygdala in predatory hunting. Both optogenetic and chemogenetic stimulation of central amygdala of mice elicited predatory-like attacks upon both insect and artificial prey. Coordinated control of cervical and mandibular musculatures, which is necessary for accurately positioning lethal bites on prey, was mediated by a central amygdala projection to the reticular formation in the brainstem. In contrast, prey pursuit was mediated by projections to the midbrain periaqueductal gray matter. Targeted lesions to these two pathways separately disrupted biting attacks upon prey versus the initiation of prey pursuit. Our findings delineate a neural network that integrates distinct behavioral modules, and suggest that central amygdala neurons instruct predatory hunting across jawed vertebrates. PMID:28086095

Centralized and distributed control architectures under Foundation Fieldbus network.

PubMed

Persechini, Maria Auxiliadora Muanis; Jota, Fábio Gonçalves

2013-01-01

This paper aims at discussing possible automation and control system architectures based on fieldbus networks in which the controllers can be implemented either in a centralized or in a distributed form. An experimental setup is used to demonstrate some of the addressed issues. The control and automation architecture is composed of a supervisory system, a programmable logic controller and various other devices connected to a Foundation Fieldbus H1 network. The procedures used in the network configuration, in the process modelling and in the design and implementation of controllers are described. The specificities of each one of the considered logical organizations are also discussed. Finally, experimental results are analysed using an algorithm for the assessment of control loops to compare the performances between the centralized and the distributed implementations. Copyright © 2012 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biological weapons preparedness: the role of physicians.

PubMed

Cherry, C L; Kainer, M A; Ruff, T A

2003-01-01

The real risk posed by biological weapons was demonstrated with the distribution of anthrax spores via the USA postal service in 2001. This review outlines the central roles of physicians in optimizing biopreparedness in Australia, including maintaining awareness of the risk, promptly recognizing an event, notifying appropriate authorities upon suspicion of an event, and instituting appropriate management. Management aspects covered include appropriate diagnostic tests, infection control procedures, and empirical therapy of agents considered possible biological weapons. The critical role of physicians as public health advocates working to prevent the use of biological weapons is also outlined.

Broadband network on-line data acquisition system with web based interface for control and basic analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polkowski, Marcin; Grad, Marek

2016-04-01

Passive seismic experiment "13BB Star" is operated since mid 2013 in northern Poland and consists of 13 broadband seismic stations. One of the elements of this experiment is dedicated on-line data acquisition system comprised of both client (station) side and server side modules with web based interface that allows monitoring of network status and provides tools for preliminary data analysis. Station side is controlled by ARM Linux board that is programmed to maintain 3G/EDGE internet connection, receive data from digitizer, send data do central server among with additional auxiliary parameters like temperatures, voltages and electric current measurements. Station side is controlled by set of easy to install PHP scripts. Data is transmitted securely over SSH protocol to central server. Central server is a dedicated Linux based machine. Its duty is receiving and processing all data from all stations including auxiliary parameters. Server side software is written in PHP and Python. Additionally, it allows remote station configuration and provides web based interface for user friendly interaction. All collected data can be displayed for each day and station. It also allows manual creation of event oriented plots with different filtering abilities and provides numerous status and statistic information. Our solution is very flexible and easy to modify. In this presentation we would like to share our solution and experience. National Science Centre Poland provided financial support for this work via NCN grant DEC-2011/02/A/ST10/00284.

The effect of footwear on running performance and running economy in distance runners.

PubMed

Fuller, Joel T; Bellenger, Clint R; Thewlis, Dominic; Tsiros, Margarita D; Buckley, Jonathan D

2015-03-01

The effect of footwear on running economy has been investigated in numerous studies. However, no systematic review and meta-analysis has synthesised the available literature and the effect of footwear on running performance is not known. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of footwear on running performance and running economy in distance runners, by reviewing controlled trials that compare different footwear conditions or compare footwear with barefoot. The Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), EMBASE, AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine), CINAHL and SPORTDiscus databases were searched from inception up until April 2014. Included articles reported on controlled trials that examined the effects of footwear or footwear characteristics (including shoe mass, cushioning, motion control, longitudinal bending stiffness, midsole viscoelasticity, drop height and comfort) on running performance or running economy and were published in a peer-reviewed journal. Of the 1,044 records retrieved, 19 studies were included in the systematic review and 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis. No studies were identified that reported effects on running performance. Individual studies reported significant, but trivial, beneficial effects on running economy for comfortable and stiff-soled shoes [standardised mean difference (SMD) <0.12; P < 0.05), a significant small beneficial effect on running economy for cushioned shoes (SMD = 0.37; P < 0.05) and a significant moderate beneficial effect on running economy for training in minimalist shoes (SMD = 0.79; P < 0.05). Meta-analysis found significant small beneficial effects on running economy for light shoes and barefoot compared with heavy shoes (SMD < 0.34; P < 0.01) and for minimalist shoes compared with conventional shoes (SMD = 0.29; P < 0.01). A significant positive association between shoe mass and metabolic cost of running was identified (P < 0.01). Footwear with a combined shoe mass less than 440 g per pair had no detrimental effect on running economy. Certain models of footwear and footwear characteristics can improve running economy. Future research in footwear performance should include measures of running performance.

A Central Mesencephalic Reticular Formation Projection to the Supraoculomotor Area in Macaque Monkeys

PubMed Central

Bohlen, Martin O.; Warren, Susan; May, Paul J.

2015-01-01

The central mesencephalic reticular formation is physiologically implicated in oculomotor function and anatomically interwoven with many parts of the oculomotor system’s premotor circuitry. This study in Macaca fascicularis monkeys investigates the pattern of central mesencephalic reticular formation projections to the area in and around the extraocular motor nuclei, with special emphasis on the supraoculomotor area. It also examines the location of the cells responsible for this projection. Injections of biotinylated dextran amine were stereotaxically placed within the central mesencephalic reticular formation to anterogradely label axons and terminals. These revealed bilateral terminal fields in the supraoculomotor area. In addition, dense terminations were found in both the preganglionic Edinger-Westphal nuclei. The dense terminations just dorsal to the oculomotor nucleus overlap with the location of the C-group medial rectus motoneurons projecting to multiply innervated muscle fibers suggesting they may be targeted. Minor terminal fields were observed bilaterally within the borders of the oculomotor and abducens nuclei. Injections including the supraoculomotor area and oculomotor nucleus retrogradely labeled a tight band of neurons crossing the central third of the central mesencephalic reticular formation at all rostrocaudal levels, indicating a subregion of the nucleus provides this projection. Thus, these experiments reveal that a subregion of the central mesencephalic reticular formation may directly project to motoneurons in the oculomotor and abducens nuclei, as well as to preganglionic neurons controlling the tone of intraocular muscles. This pattern of projections suggests an as yet undetermined role in regulating the near triad. PMID:25859632

A central mesencephalic reticular formation projection to the supraoculomotor area in macaque monkeys.

PubMed

Bohlen, Martin O; Warren, Susan; May, Paul J

2016-05-01

The central mesencephalic reticular formation is physiologically implicated in oculomotor function and anatomically interwoven with many parts of the oculomotor system's premotor circuitry. This study in Macaca fascicularis monkeys investigates the pattern of central mesencephalic reticular formation projections to the area in and around the extraocular motor nuclei, with special emphasis on the supraoculomotor area. It also examines the location of the cells responsible for this projection. Injections of biotinylated dextran amine were stereotaxically placed within the central mesencephalic reticular formation to anterogradely label axons and terminals. These revealed bilateral terminal fields in the supraoculomotor area. In addition, dense terminations were found in both the preganglionic Edinger-Westphal nuclei. The dense terminations just dorsal to the oculomotor nucleus overlap with the location of the C-group medial rectus motoneurons projecting to multiply innervated muscle fibers suggesting they may be targeted. Minor terminal fields were observed bilaterally within the borders of the oculomotor and abducens nuclei. Injections including the supraoculomotor area and oculomotor nucleus retrogradely labeled a tight band of neurons crossing the central third of the central mesencephalic reticular formation at all rostrocaudal levels, indicating a subregion of the nucleus provides this projection. Thus, these experiments reveal that a subregion of the central mesencephalic reticular formation may directly project to motoneurons in the oculomotor and abducens nuclei, as well as to preganglionic neurons controlling the tone of intraocular muscles. This pattern of projections suggests an as yet undetermined role in regulating the near triad.

Mission Control Center (MCC) System Specification for the Shuttle Orbital Flight Test (OFT) Timeframe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

System specifications to be used by the mission control center (MCC) for the shuttle orbital flight test (OFT) time frame were described. The three support systems discussed are the communication interface system (CIS), the data computation complex (DCC), and the display and control system (DCS), all of which may interfere with, and share processing facilities with other applications processing supporting current MCC programs. The MCC shall provide centralized control of the space shuttle OFT from launch through orbital flight, entry, and landing until the Orbiter comes to a stop on the runway. This control shall include the functions of vehicle management in the area of hardware configuration (verification), flight planning, communication and instrumentation configuration management, trajectory, software and consumables, payloads management, flight safety, and verification of test conditions/environment.

Acupuncture for treating sciatica: a systematic review protocol

PubMed Central

Qin, Zongshi; Liu, Xiaoxu; Yao, Qin; Zhai, Yanbing; Liu, Zhishun

2015-01-01

Introduction This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for treating sciatica. Methods The following nine databases will be searched from their inception to 30 October 2014: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), the Chinese Medical Current Content (CMCC), the Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), the Wan-Fang Database, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Citation Information by National Institute of Informatics (CiNii). Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for sciatica in English, Chinese or Japanese without restriction of publication status will be included. Two researchers will independently undertake study selection, extraction of data and assessment of study quality. Meta-analysis will be conducted after screening of studies. Data will be analysed using risk ratio for dichotomous data, and standardised mean difference or weighted mean difference for continuous data. Dissemination This systematic review will be disseminated electronically through a peer-reviewed publication or conference presentations. Trial registration number PROSPERO CRD42014015001. PMID:25922105

NASA Integrated Space Communications Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tai, Wallace; Wright, Nate; Prior, Mike; Bhasin, Kul

2012-01-01

The NASA Integrated Network for Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) has been in the definition phase since 2010. It is intended to integrate NASA s three existing network elements, i.e., the Space Network, Near Earth Network, and Deep Space Network, into a single network. In addition to the technical merits, the primary purpose of the Integrated Network is to achieve a level of operating cost efficiency significantly higher than it is today. Salient features of the Integrated Network include (a) a central system element that performs service management functions and user mission interfaces for service requests; (b) a set of common service execution equipment deployed at the all stations that provides return, forward, and radiometric data processing and delivery capabilities; (c) the network monitor and control operations for the entire integrated network are conducted remotely and centrally at a prime-shift site and rotating among three sites globally (a follow-the-sun approach); (d) the common network monitor and control software deployed at all three network elements that supports the follow-the-sun operations.

14. DETAIL OF EAST END OF CENTRAL CONTROL CONSOLE IN ...

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

14. DETAIL OF EAST END OF CENTRAL CONTROL CONSOLE IN SLC-3W CONTROL ROOM SHOWING BLANK PANEL AND COMPLEX SAFETY OFFICER PANEL. CONSOLES AND CHAIRS NEAR NORTH WALL IN BACKGROUND. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

52. VIEW OF CENTRAL CONTROL STATION, WITH MAIN LOCK IN ...

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

52. VIEW OF CENTRAL CONTROL STATION, WITH MAIN LOCK IN FOREGROUND, LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel, Lock & Dam No. 8, On Mississippi River near Houston County, MN, Genoa, Vernon County, WI

Comparison of anticipated and actual control group outcomes in randomised trials in paediatric oncology provides evidence that historically controlled studies are biased in favour of the novel treatment.

PubMed

Moroz, Veronica; Wilson, Jayne S; Kearns, Pamela; Wheatley, Keith

2014-12-10

Historically controlled studies are commonly undertaken in paediatric oncology, despite their potential biases. Our aim was to compare the outcome of the control group in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in paediatric oncology with those anticipated in the sample size calculations in the protocols. Our rationale was that, had these RCTs been performed as historical control studies instead, the available outcome data used to calculate the sample size in the RCT would have been used as the historical control outcome data. A systematic search was undertaken for published paediatric oncology RCTs using the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) database from its inception up to July 2013. Data on sample size assumptions and observed outcomes (timetoevent and proportions) were extracted to calculate differences between randomised and historical control outcomes, and a one-sample t-test was employed to assess whether the difference between anticipated and observed control groups differed from zero. Forty-eight randomised questions were included. The median year of publication was 2005, and the range was from 1976 to 2010. There were 31 superiority and 11 equivalence/noninferiority randomised questions with time-to-event outcomes. The median absolute difference between observed and anticipated control outcomes was 5.0% (range: -23 to +34), and the mean difference was 3.8% (95% CI: +0.57 to +7.0; P = 0.022). Because the observed control group (that is, standard treatment arm) in RCTs performed better than anticipated, we found that historically controlled studies that used similar assumptions for the standard treatment were likely to overestimate the benefit of new treatments, potentially leading to children with cancer being given ineffective therapy that may have additional toxicity.

Effect of visual field locus and oscillation frequencies on posture control in an ecological environment.

PubMed

Piponnier, Jean-Claude; Hanssens, Jean-Marie; Faubert, Jocelyn

2009-01-14

To examine the respective roles of central and peripheral vision in the control of posture, body sway amplitude (BSA) and postural perturbations (given by velocity root mean square or vRMS) were calculated in a group of 19 healthy young adults. The stimulus was a 3D tunnel, either static or moving sinusoidally in the anterior-posterior direction. There were nine visual field conditions: four central conditions (4, 7, 15, and 30 degrees); four peripheral conditions (central occlusions of 4, 7, 15, and 30 degrees); and a full visual field condition (FF). The virtual tunnel respected all the aspects of a real physical tunnel (i.e., stereoscopy and size increase with proximity). The results show that, under static conditions, central and peripheral visual fields appear to have equal importance for the control of stance. In the presence of an optic flow, peripheral vision plays a crucial role in the control of stance, since it is responsible for a compensatory sway, whereas central vision has an accessory role that seems to be related to spatial orientation.

PERCEIVED WEIGHT DISCRIMINATION AMPLIFIES THE LINK BETWEEN CENTRAL ADIPOSITY AND NONDIABETIC GLYCEMIC CONTROL (HBA1C)

PubMed Central

Tsenkova, Vera K.; Carr, Deborah; Schoeller, Dale A.; Ryff, Carol D.

2010-01-01

Background While the preclinical development of type 2 diabetes is partly explained by obesity and central adiposity, psychosocial research has shown that chronic stressors such as discrimination have health consequences as well. Purpose We investigated the extent to which the well-established effects of obesity and central adiposity on nondiabetic glycemic control (indexed by HbA1c) were moderated by a targeted psychosocial stressor linked to weight: perceived weight discrimination. Methods Data came from the nondiabetic subsample (n=938) of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS II) survey. Results Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, and waist circumference were linked to significantly higher HbA1c (p < .001). Multivariate-adjusted models showed that weight discrimination exacerbated the effects of waist-to-hip ratio on HbA1c ( p < .05), such that people who had higher WHR and reported weight discrimination had the highest HbA1c levels. Conclusions Understanding how biological and psychosocial factors interact at nondiabetic levels to increase vulnerability could have important implications for public health and education strategies. Effective strategies may include targeting sources of discrimination, rather than solely targeting health behaviors and practices of overweight and obese persons. PMID:21136227

A centralized storage system for the delivery of subcutaneous infusions.

PubMed

Stuart, Peter; Lee, Jane; Arnold, Gill; Davis, Melanie

Symptom control is an important part of maintaining a palliative patient's comfort and dignity, particularly in the end stages of their illness. Within the discipline of palliative care, the use of continuous subcutaneous syringe drivers is an important way of administering drugs at the end stages of a patient's illness to maintain symptom control. This study identified that ward staff had difficulty in obtaining the correct equipment, such as administration sets and Luer-lock syringes, leading to significant delays in patients being given drugs, affecting patient care and, when unable to obtain the correct equipment, the incorrect equipment was used. It was also identified that there was no consistent approach to the use or maintenance of syringe drivers, with a clear risk to patient safety. The study aim was to identify whether the introduction of a centralized storage system of set boxes containing all the relevant equipment would resolve these issues and improve patient care and safety. The audit showed that a centralized storage system enhanced practice by ensuring that there was a standardized approach to the initiation and care of syringe drivers, including equipment when used in the palliative care setting. The system also provided easy access to the correct equipment, reducing in the delay of commencing treatment, as well as the risk of any adverse events.

Network influences on dissemination of evidence-based guidelines in state tobacco control programs.

PubMed

Luke, Douglas A; Wald, Lana M; Carothers, Bobbi J; Bach, Laura E; Harris, Jenine K

2013-10-01

Little is known regarding the social network relationships that influence dissemination of evidence-based public health practices and policies. In public health, it is critical that evidence-based guidelines, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, are effectively and efficiently disseminated to intended stakeholders. To determine the organizational and network predictors of dissemination among state tobacco control programs, interviews with members of tobacco control networks across eight states were conducted between August 2009 and September 2010. Measures included partner attributes (e.g., agency type) and relationships among network members (frequency of contact, extent of collaboration, and dissemination of Best Practices). Exponential random graph modeling was used to examine attribute and structural predictors of collaboration and dissemination among partners in each network. Although density and centralization of dissemination ties varied across states, network analyses revealed a consistent prediction pattern across all eight states. State tobacco control dissemination networks were less dense but more centralized compared with organizational contact and collaboration networks. Tobacco control partners in each state were more likely to disseminate the Best Practices guidelines if they also had existing contact and collaboration relationships with one another. Evidence-based guidelines in public health need to be efficiently and broadly disseminated if we hope to translate science into practice. This study suggests that funders, advocacy groups, and public health agencies can take advantage of existing public health organizational relationships to support the communication and dissemination of evidence-based practices and policies.

Physiotherapy treatment approaches for the recovery of postural control and lower limb function following stroke.

PubMed

Pollock, A; Baer, G; Pomeroy, V; Langhorne, P

2007-01-24

There are a number of different approaches to physiotherapy treatment following stroke that, broadly speaking, are based on neurophysiological, motor learning and orthopaedic principles. Some physiotherapists base their treatment on a single approach, while others use a mixture of components from a number of different approaches. To determine if there is a difference in the recovery of postural control and lower limb function in patients with stroke if physiotherapy treatment is based on orthopaedic or neurophysiological or motor learning principles, or on a mixture of these treatment principles. We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (last searched May 2005), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2005), MEDLINE (1966 to May 2005), EMBASE (1980 to May 2005) and CINAHL (1982 to May 2005). We contacted experts and researchers with an interest in stroke rehabilitation. Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials of physiotherapy treatment approaches aimed at promoting the recovery of postural control and lower limb function in adult participants with a clinical diagnosis of stroke. Outcomes included measures of disability, motor impairment or participation. Two review authors independently categorised the identified trials according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, documented their methodological quality, and extracted the data. Twenty-one trials were included in the review, five of which were included in two comparisons. Eight trials compared a neurophysiological approach with another approach; eight compared a motor learning approach with another approach; and eight compared a mixed approach with another approach. A mixed approach was significantly more effective than no treatment or placebo control for improving functional independence (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.94, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.08 to 1.80). There was no significant evidence that any single approach had a better outcome than any other single approach or no treatment control. There is evidence that physiotherapy intervention, using a mix of components from different approaches, is significantly more effective than no treatment or placebo control in the recovery of functional independence following stroke. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that any one physiotherapy approach is more effective in promoting recovery of lower limb function or postural control following stroke than any other approach. We recommend that future research should concentrate on investigating the effectiveness of clearly described individual techniques and task-specific treatments, regardless of their historical or philsophical origin.

Standardized Fault-Tolerant Sensing Nodes for an Intelligent Turbine Engine Control System (Preprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

representation of a centralized control system on a turbine engine. All actuators and sensors are point-to-point cabled to the controller ( FADEC ) which...electronics themselves. Figure 1: Centralized Control System Each function resides within the FADEC and uses Unique Point-to-Point Analog...distributed control system on the same turbine engine. The actuators and sensors interface to Smart Nodes which, in turn communicate to the FADEC via

Meta-analysis: protein and energy supplementation in older people.

PubMed

Milne, Anne C; Avenell, Alison; Potter, Jan

2006-01-03

Protein and energy undernutrition is common in older people, and further deterioration may occur during illness. To assess whether oral protein and energy supplementation improves clinical and nutritional outcomes for older people in the hospital, in an institution, or in the community. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, HealthStar, CINAHL, BIOSIS, and CAB abstracts. The authors included English- and non-English-language studies and hand-searched journals, contacted manufacturers, and sought information from trialists. The date of the most recent search of CENTRAL and MEDLINE is June 2005. Randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials of oral protein and energy supplementation compared with placebo or control treatment in older people. Two reviewers independently assessed trials for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed trial quality. Differences were resolved by consensus. Fifty-five trials were included (n = 9187 randomly assigned participants). For patients in short-term care hospitals who were given oral supplements, evidence suggested fewer complications (Peto odds ratio, 0.72 [95% CI, 0.53 to 0.97]) and reduced mortality (Peto odds ratio, 0.66 [CI, 0.49 to 0.90]) for those undernourished at baseline. Few studies reported evidence that suggested any change in mortality, morbidity, or function for those given supplements at home. Ten trials reported gastrointestinal disturbances, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, with oral supplements. The quality of most studies, as reported, was poor, particularly for concealment of allocation and blinding of outcome assessors. Many studies were too small or the follow-up time was too short to detect a statistically significant change in clinical outcome. The clinical results are dominated by 1 very large recent trial in patients with stroke. Although this was a high-quality trial, few participants were undernourished at baseline. Oral nutritional supplements can improve nutritional status and seem to reduce mortality and complications for undernourished elderly patients in the hospital. Current evidence does not support routine supplementation for older people at home or for well-nourished older patients in any setting.

Systemic lupus erythematosus and thyroid disease - Experience in a single medical center in Taiwan.

PubMed

Liu, Yu-Chuan; Lin, Wen-Ya; Tsai, Ming-Chin; Fu, Lin-Shien

2017-06-28

To investigate the association of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with thyroid diseases in a medical center in central Taiwan. This is a retrospective cohort of 2796 SLE patients in a tertiary referral medical center from 2000 to 2013. We screened SLE by catastrophic illness registration from national insurance bureau; and thyroid diseases by ICD 9 codes, then confirmed by thyroid function test, auto-antibody, medical and/or surgical intervention. We compared the rate of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) in SLE patients and the 11,184 match controls. We calculated the rate of these thyroid diseases and positive antibodies to thyroglobulin (ATGAb), thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) in SLE patients grouped by the presence of overlap syndrome and anti-dsDNA antibody. We also compared the association of thyroid diseases to severe SLE conditions, including renal, central nervous system (CNS) involvement, and thrombocytopenia. Compared to the matched controls, the cumulative incidence of thyroid disease, including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and AITD, were all higher in SLE patients (p < 0.0001). The average age of SLE patients with thyroid diseases patients were older than those without thyroid diseases (p = 0.002). Those had euthyroid AITD were younger than other patients with thyroid diseases (p = 0.02). Up to 30.3% SLE patients had overlap syndrome and had higher relative risk of thyroid diseases than those without overlap syndrome, in terms of hypothyroidism and AITD, but not hyperthyroidism. SLE patients with thyroid diseases also carry higher risk for severe complications such as renal involvement (p = 0.024) central nervous system involvement (p < 0.0001). SLE patients had significantly higher rate of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and AITD than the matched control. Among lupus patients, the risks of thyroid diseases are even higher in the presence of overlap syndrome. SLE patients with thyroid diseases had higher risk of renal and CNS involvement. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

High-contrast imager for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HiCAT). 4. Status and wavefront control development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leboulleux, Lucie; N'Diaye, Mamadou; Riggs, A. J. E.; Egron, Sylvain; Mazoyer, Johan; Pueyo, Laurent; Choquet, Elodie; Perrin, Marshall D.; Kasdin, Jeremy; Sauvage, Jean-François; Fusco, Thierry; Soummer, Rémi

2016-07-01

Segmented telescopes are a possible approach to enable large-aperture space telescopes for the direct imaging and spectroscopy of habitable worlds. However, the increased complexity of their aperture geometry, due to their central obstruction, support structures and segment gaps, makes high-contrast imaging very challenging. The High-contrast imager for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HiCAT) was designed to study and develop solutions for such telescope pupils using wavefront control and starlight suppression. The testbed design has the flexibility to enable studies with increasing complexity for telescope aperture geometries starting with off-axis telescopes, then on-axis telescopes with central obstruction and support structures (e.g. the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope [WFIRST]), up to on-axis segmented telescopes e.g. including various concepts for a Large UV, Optical, IR telescope (LUVOIR), such as the High Definition Space Telescope (HDST). We completed optical alignment in the summer of 2014 and a first deformable mirror was successfully integrated in the testbed, with a total wavefront error of 13nm RMS over a 18mm diameter circular pupil in open loop. HiCAT will also be provided with a segmented mirror conjugated with a shaped pupil representing the HDST configuration, to directly study wavefront control in the presence of segment gaps, central obstruction and spider. We recently applied a focal plane wavefront control method combined with a classical Lyot coronagraph on HiCAT, and we found limitations on contrast performance due to vibration effect. In this communication, we analyze this instability and study its impact on the performance of wavefront control algorithms. We present our Speckle Nulling code to control and correct for wavefront errors both in simulation mode and on testbed mode. This routine is first tested in simulation mode without instability to validate our code. We then add simulated vibrations to study the degradation of contrast performance in the presence of these effects.

Inter-hemispheric functional connectivity disruption in children with prenatal alcohol exposure

PubMed Central

Wozniak, Jeffrey R.; Mueller, Bryon A.; Muetzel, Ryan L.; Bell, Christopher J.; Hoecker, Heather L.; Nelson, Miranda L.; Chang, Pi-Nian; Lim, Kelvin O.

2010-01-01

Background MRI studies, including recent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies, have shown corpus callosum abnormalities in children prenatally exposed to alcohol, especially in the posterior regions. These abnormalities appear across the range of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Several studies have demonstrated cognitive correlates of callosal abnormalities in FASD including deficits in visual-motor skill, verbal learning, and executive functioning. The goal of this study was to determine if inter-hemispheric structural connectivity abnormalities in FASD are associated with disrupted inter-hemispheric functional connectivity and disrupted cognition. Methods Twenty-one children with FASD and 23 matched controls underwent a six minute resting-state functional MRI scan as well as anatomical imaging and DTI. Using a semiautomated method, we parsed the corpus callosum and delineated seven inter-hemispheric white matter tracts with DTI tractography. Cortical regions of interest (ROIs) at the distal ends of these tracts were identified. Right-left correlations in resting fMRI signal were computed for these sets of ROIs and group comparisons were done. Correlations with facial dysmorphology, cognition, and DTI measures were computed. Results A significant group difference in inter-hemispheric functional connectivity was seen in a posterior set of ROIs, the para-central region. Children with FASD had functional connectivity that was 12% lower than controls in this region. Sub-group analyses were not possible due to small sample size, but the data suggest that there were effects across the FASD spectrum. No significant association with facial dysmorphology was found. Para-central functional connectivity was significantly correlated with DTI mean diffusivity, a measure of microstructural integrity, in posterior callosal tracts in controls but not in FASD. Significant correlations were seen between these structural and functional measures and Wechsler perceptual reasoning ability. Conclusions Inter-hemispheric functional connectivity disturbances were observed in children with FASD relative to controls. The disruption was measured in medial parietal regions (para-central) that are connected by posterior callosal fiber projections. We have previously shown microstructural abnormalities in these same posterior callosal regions and the current study suggests a possible relationship between the two. These measures have clinical relevance as they are associated with cognitive functioning. PMID:21303384

Physical constraints on biological integral control design for homeostasis and sensory adaptation.

PubMed

Ang, Jordan; McMillen, David R

2013-01-22

Synthetic biology includes an effort to use design-based approaches to create novel controllers, biological systems aimed at regulating the output of other biological processes. The design of such controllers can be guided by results from control theory, including the strategy of integral feedback control, which is central to regulation, sensory adaptation, and long-term robustness. Realization of integral control in a synthetic network is an attractive prospect, but the nature of biochemical networks can make the implementation of even basic control structures challenging. Here we present a study of the general challenges and important constraints that will arise in efforts to engineer biological integral feedback controllers or to analyze existing natural systems. Constraints arise from the need to identify target output values that the combined process-plus-controller system can reach, and to ensure that the controller implements a good approximation of integral feedback control. These constraints depend on mild assumptions about the shape of input-output relationships in the biological components, and thus will apply to a variety of biochemical systems. We summarize our results as a set of variable constraints intended to provide guidance for the design or analysis of a working biological integral feedback controller. Copyright © 2013 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Controller partitioning for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garg, Sanjay

1993-01-01

The notion of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized, hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control (IFPC) implementation is discussed. A systematic procedure is developed for determining partitioned airframe and engine subsystem controllers (subcontrollers), with the desired interconnection structure, that approximate the closed-loop performance and robustness characteristics of a given centralized controller. The procedure is demonstrated by application to IFPC design for a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft in the landing approach to hover transition flight phase.

Evolution in a centralized transfusion service.

PubMed

AuBuchon, James P; Linauts, Sandra; Vaughan, Mimi; Wagner, Jeffrey; Delaney, Meghan; Nester, Theresa

2011-12-01

The metropolitan Seattle area has utilized a centralized transfusion service model throughout the modern era of blood banking. This approach has used four laboratories to serve over 20 hospitals and clinics, providing greater capabilities for all at a lower consumption of resources than if each depended on its own laboratory and staff for these functions. In addition, this centralized model has facilitated wider use of the medical capabilities of the blood center's physicians, and a county-wide network of transfusion safety officers is now being developed to increase the impact of the blood center's transfusion expertise at the patient's bedside. Medical expectations and traffic have led the blood center to evolve the centralized model to include on-site laboratories at facilities with complex transfusion requirements (e.g., a children's hospital) and to implement in all the others a system of remote allocation. This new capability places a refrigerator stocked with uncrossmatched units in the hospital but retains control over the dispensing of these through the blood center's computer system; the correct unit can be electronically cross-matched and released on demand, obviating the need for transportation to the hospital and thus speeding transfusion. This centralized transfusion model has withstood the test of time and continues to evolve to meet new situations and ensure optimal patient care. © 2011 American Association of Blood Banks.

Central line-associated blood stream infections in pediatric ICUs: Longitudinal trends and compliance with bundle strategies

PubMed Central

Edwards, Jeffrey D; Herzig, Carolyn TA; Liu, Hangsheng; Pogorzelska-Maziarz, Monika; Zachariah, Philip; Dick, Andrew W; Saiman, Lisa; Stone, Patricia W; Furuya, E Yoko

2015-01-01

Background Knowing the temporal trend central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rates among U.S. pediatric intensive care units (PICU), the current extent of CL bundle compliance, and the impact of compliance on rates is necessary to understand what has been accomplished and can be improved in CLABSI prevention. Methods Longitudinal study of PICUs in National Healthcare Safety Network hospitals and a cross-sectional survey of directors/managers of infection prevention & control departments regarding PICU CLABSI prevention practices, including self-reported compliance with elements of central line bundles. Associations between 2011/12 PICU CLABSI rates and infection prevention practices were examined. Results Reported CLABSI rates decreased during the study period, from 5.8 per 1000 line days in 2006 to 1.4 in 2011/12 (P<0.001). While 73% of PICUs had policies for all central line prevention practices, only 35% of those with policies reported ≥95% compliance. PICUs with ≥95% compliance with central line infection prevention policies had lower reported CLABSI rates, but this association was statistically insignificant. Conclusions There was a non-significant trend in decreasing CLABSI rates as PICUs improved bundle policy compliance. Given that few PICUs reported full compliance with these policies, PICUs increasing their efforts to comply with these policies may help reduce CLABSI rates. PMID:25952048

Effects of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

PubMed Central

Yang, Xinyu; Li, Yanda; Ren, Xiaomeng; Xiong, Xingjiang; Wu, Lijun; Li, Jie; Wang, Jie; Gao, Yonghong; Shang, Hongcai; Xing, Yanwei

2017-01-01

In this study, we assessed the effect of rehabilitation exercise after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). We performed a meta-analysis to determine the effects of exercise in patients after PCI. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, the Embase database, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI), China Biology Medicine (CBM), and the Wanfang Database were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The key words used for the searches were PCI, exercise, walking, jogging, Tai Chi, and yoga. Six studies with 682 patients met our inclusion criteria; we chose the primary endpoint events of cardiac death, recurrence of myocardial infarction (MI), repeated PCI, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and restenosis, and the secondary endpoint measures included recurrent angina, treadmill exercise (total exercise time, ST-segment decline, angina, and maximum exercise tolerance). The results showed that exercise was not clearly associated with reductions in cardiac death, recurrence of MI, repeated PCI, CABG, or restenosis. However, the exercise group exhibited greater improvements in recurrent angina, total exercise time, ST-segment decline, angina, and maximum exercise tolerance than did the control group. Future studies need to expand the sample size and improve the quality of reporting of RCTs. PMID:28303967

[Central Pattern Generators: Mechanisms of the Activity and Their Role in the Control of "Automatic" Movements].

PubMed

Arshavsky, I; Deliagina, T G; Orlovsky, G N

2015-01-01

Central pattern generators (CPGs) are a set of interconnected neurons capable of generating a basic pattern of motor output underlying "automatic" movements (breathing, locomotion, chewing, swallowing, and so on) in the absence of afferent signals from the executive motor apparatus. They can be divided into the constitutive CPGs active throughout the entire lifetime (respiratory CPGs) and conditional CPGs controlling episodic movements (locomotion, chewing, swallowing, and others). Since a motor output of CPGs is determined by their internal organization, the activities of the conditional CPGs are initiated by simple commands coming from higher centers. We describe the structural and functional organization of the locomotor CPGs in the marine mollusk Clione limacina, lamprey, frog embryo, and laboratory mammals (cat, mouse, and rat), CPGs controlling the respiratory and swallowing movements in mammals, and CPGs controlling discharges of the electric organ in the gymnotiform fish. It is shown that in all these cases, the generation of rhythmic motor output is based both on the endogenous (pacemaker) activity of specific groups of interneurons and on interneural interactions. These two interrelated mechanisms complement each other, ensuring the high reliability of CPG functionality. We discuss how the experience obtained in studying CPGs can be used to understand mechanisms of more complex functions of the brain, including its cognitive functions.

Fluid power network for centralized electricity generation in offshore wind farms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarquin-Laguna, A.

2014-06-01

An innovative and completely different wind-energy conversion system is studied where a centralized electricity generation within a wind farm is proposed by means of a hydraulic network. This paper presents the dynamic interaction of two turbines when they are coupled to the same hydraulic network. Due to the stochastic nature of the wind and wake interaction effects between turbines, the operating parameters (i.e. pitch angle, rotor speed) of each turbine are different. Time domain simulations, including the main turbine dynamics and laminar transient flow in pipelines, are used to evaluate the efficiency and rotor speed stability of the hydraulic system. It is shown that a passive control of the rotor speed, as proposed in previous work for a single hydraulic turbine, has strong limitations in terms of performance for more than one turbine coupled to the same hydraulic network. It is concluded that in order to connect several turbines, a passive control strategy of the rotor speed is not sufficient and a hydraulic network with constant pressure is suggested. However, a constant pressure network requires the addition of active control at the hydraulic motors and spear valves, increasing the complexity of the initial concept. Further work needs to be done to incorporate an active control strategy and evaluate the feasibility of the constant pressure hydraulic network.

Innate immune responses in central nervous system inflammation.

PubMed

Finsen, Bente; Owens, Trevor

2011-12-01

In autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), innate glial cell responses play a key role in determining the outcome of leukocyte infiltration. Access of leukocytes is controlled via complex interactions with glial components of the blood-brain barrier that include angiotensin II receptors on astrocytes and immunoregulatory mediators such as Type I interferons which regulate cellular traffic. Myeloid cells at the blood-brain barrier present antigen to T cells and influence cytokine effector function. Myelin-specific T cells interact with microglia and promote differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in response to axonal injury. These innate responses offer potential targets for immunomodulatory therapy. Copyright © 2011 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On-line data analysis and monitoring for H1 drift chambers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Düllmann, Dirk

1992-05-01

The on-line monitoring, slow control and calibration of the H1 central jet chamber uses a VME multiprocessor system to perform the analysis and a connected Macintosh computer as graphical interface to the operator on shift. Task of this system are: - analysis of event data including on-line track search, - on-line calibration from normal events and testpulse events, - control of the high voltage and monitoring of settings and currents, - monitoring of temperature, pressure and mixture of the chambergas. A program package is described which controls the dataflow between data aquisition, differnt VME CPUs and Macintosh. It allows to run off-line style programs for the different tasks.

Chinese herbal medicine for diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

PubMed

Chen, Wei; Zhang, Yin; Liu, Jian Ping

2011-06-15

Chinese herbal medicine is frequently used for treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy in China. Many controlled trials have been undertaken to investigate its efficacy. To assess the beneficial effects and harms of Chinese herbal medicine for people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. We searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register (15 June 2010), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (Issue 2, 2010 in The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE (January 1966 to June 2010), EMBASE (January 1980 to June 2010), AMED (January 1985 to June 2010), Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) (1979 to June 2010), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI) (1979 to June 2010), and VIP Chinese Science and Technique Journals Database (1989 to June 2010). We searched for unpublished literature in the Chinese Conference Papers Database and Chinese Dissertation Database (from inception to March 2010). No language or publication restrictions were used. We included randomized controlled trials of Chinese herbal medicine (with a minimum of four weeks treatment duration) for people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy compared with placebo, no intervention, or conventional interventions. Trials of herbal medicine plus a conventional drug versus the drug alone were also included. Two authors independently extracted data and evaluated trial quality. We contacted study authors for additional information. The data analyses were carried out using Review Manager 5.1 (Cochrane software). Thirty-nine randomized trials involving 2890 participants were included. All trials were conducted and published in China. Thirty different herbal medicines were tested in these trials, including four single herbs (extracts from a single herb), eight traditional Chinese patent medicines, and 18 self-concocted Chinese herbal compound prescriptions. The trials reported on global symptom improvement (including improvement in numbness or pain) and changes in nerve conduction velocity. There was inadequate reporting on adverse events in the included trials. Most of the trials did not mention whether they monitored adverse effects at all. Only two trials reported adverse events: one occurred in the control group in one trial and in which group was unclear in the other trial . Conclusions cannot be drawn from this review about the safety of herbal medicines due to inadequate reporting. Most of the trials were of low methodological quality and therefore the interpretation of any positive findings for the efficacy of the included Chinese herbal medicines for treating diabetic peripheral neuropathy should be made with caution. Based on this systematic review, there is no evidence to support the objective effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicines for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. No well designed, randomized placebo controlled trial with objective outcome measures has been conducted.

Probiotic supplementation can positively affect anxiety and depressive symptoms: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Pirbaglou, Meysam; Katz, Joel; de Souza, Russell J; Stearns, Jennifer C; Motamed, Mehras; Ritvo, Paul

2016-09-01

Gastrointestinal microbiota, consisting of microbial communities in the gastrointestinal tract, play an important role in digestive, metabolic, and immune functioning. Preclinical studies on rodents have linked behavioral and neurochemical changes in the central nervous system with deficits or alterations in these bacterial communities. Moreover, probiotic supplementation in rodents has been shown to markedly change behavior, with correlated changes in central neurochemistry. While such studies have documented behavioral and mood-related supplementation effects, the significance of these effects in humans, especially in relation to anxiety and depression symptoms, are relatively unknown. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to systematically evaluate current literature on the impact of probiotic supplementation on anxiety and depression symptoms in humans. To this end, multiple databases, including Medline, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for randomized controlled trials published between January 1990 and January 2016. Search results led to a total of 10 randomized controlled trials (4 in clinically diagnosed and 6 in non-clinical samples) that provided limited support for the use of some probiotics in reducing human anxiety and depression. Despite methodological limitations of the included trials and the complex nature of gut-brain interactions, results suggest the detection of apparent psychological benefits from probiotic supplementation. Nevertheless a better understanding of developmental, modulatory, and metagenomic influences on the GI microbiota, specifically as they relate to mood and mental health, represent strong priorities for future research in this area. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early-life hygiene-related factors affect risk of central nervous system demyelination and asthma differentially

PubMed Central

Hughes, A-M; Lucas, R M; McMichael, A J; Dwyer, T; Pender, M P; Mei, I; Taylor, B V; Valery, P; Chapman, C; Coulthard, A; Dear, K; Kilpatrick, T J; Williams, D; Ponsonby, A-L

2013-01-01

The increasing prevalence of immune-related diseases, including multiple sclerosis, may be partly explained by reduced microbial burden during childhood. Within a multi-centre case–control study population, we examined: (i) the co-morbid immune diseases profile of adults with a first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination (FCD) and (ii) sibship structure in relation to an autoimmune (FCD) and an allergic (asthma) disease. FCD cases (n = 282) were aged 18–59 years; controls (n = 558) were matched on age, sex and region. Measures include: history of doctor-diagnosed asthma; sibling profile (number; dates of birth); and regular childcare attendance. FCD cases did not differ from controls with regard to personal or family history of allergy, but had a greater likelihood of chronic fatigue syndrome [odds ratio (OR) = 3·11; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·11, 8·71]. Having any younger siblings showed reduced odds of FCD (OR = 0·68; 95% CI: 0·49, 0·95) but not asthma (OR = 1·47; 95% CI: 0·91, 2·38). In contrast, an increasing number of older siblings was associated with reduced risk of asthma (P trend = 0·04) but not FCD (P trend = 0·66). Allergies were not over-represented among people presenting with FCD. Sibship characteristics influence both FCD and asthma risk but the underlying mechanisms differ, possibly due to the timing of the putative ‘sibling effect’. PMID:23600835

The effects of central adiposity on growth hormone (GH) response to GH-releasing hormone-arginine stimulation testing in men.

PubMed

Makimura, Hideo; Stanley, Takara; Mun, David; You, Sung Min; Grinspoon, Steven

2008-11-01

The relative contribution of central adiposity vs. weight on GH response to stimulation testing in obesity is not known. We aimed to assess the contribution of weight and specific measures of central and peripheral adiposity to GH response to GHRH-arginine testing in lean, overweight, and obese men. A total of 75 men [mean age, 44.3+/-1.1 yr; body mass index (BMI), 28.8+/-0.7 kg/m2] were investigated. Subjects were classified as lean (BMI<25 kg/m2; n=23), overweight (BMI>or=25 and <30 kg/m2; n=28), or obese (BMI>or=30 kg/m2; n=24). Subjects were also stratified by waist circumference (WC) (<102 cm, n=47; >or=102 cm, n=28). Body composition and regional adiposity were assessed by anthropometrics, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans. Peak stimulated GH was 36.4+/-5.4, 16.6+/-2.9, and 7.6+/-0.9 microg/liter among lean, overweight, and obese subjects, respectively (P<0.001 for all comparisons). Peak stimulated GH was 26.9+/-3.4 microg/liter among subjects with WC less than 102 cm compared to 7.9+/-0.9 microg/liter among subjects with WC of 102 cm or greater (P<0.0001). Separate multivariate models using anthropometric, DEXA, and CT-derived measures of central adiposity demonstrated strong associations between peak stimulated GH and measures of central adiposity including WC, trunk fat by DEXA, and visceral adiposity by CT, controlling for age, BMI, and more general measures of adiposity. WC was independently associated with peak GH response to GHRH-arginine in a model including age, BMI, and hip circumference. In this model, BMI was no longer significant, and peak GH was reduced 1.02 microg/liter for each 1 cm increase in WC (P=0.02). GH response to GHRH-arginine testing is reduced in both overweight and obese subjects and negatively associated with indices of central abdominal obesity including WC, trunk fat, and visceral adipose tissue. The use of waist circumference, as a surrogate for central adiposity, adds predictive information to the determination of GH response, independent of BMI.

Interventions targeted at women to encourage the uptake of cervical screening

PubMed Central

Everett, Thomas; Bryant, Andrew; Griffin, Michelle F; Martin-Hirsch, Pierre PL; Forbes, Carol A; Jepson, Ruth G

2014-01-01

Background World-wide, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women. Increasing the uptake of screening, alongside increasing informed choice is of great importance in controlling this disease through prevention and early detection. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of interventions aimed at women, to increase the uptake, including informed uptake, of cervical cancer screening. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Gynaecological Cancer Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Issue 1, 2009. MEDLINE, EMBASE and LILACS databases up to March 2009. We also searched registers of clinical trials, abstracts of scientific meetings, reference lists of included studies and contacted experts in the field. Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions to increase uptake/informed uptake of cervical cancer screening. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently abstracted data and assessed risk of bias. Where possible the data were synthesised in a meta-analysis. Main results Thirty-eight trials met our inclusion criteria. These trials assessed the effectiveness of invitational and educational interventions, counselling, risk factor assessment and procedural interventions. Heterogeneity between trials limited statistical pooling of data. Overall, however, invitations appear to be effective methods of increasing uptake. In addition, there is limited evidence to support the use of educational materials. Secondary outcomes including cost data were incompletely documented so evidence was limited. Most trials were at moderate risk of bias. Informed uptake of cervical screening was not reported in any trials. Authors’ conclusions There is evidence to support the use of invitation letters to increase the uptake of cervical screening. There is limited evidence to support educational interventions but it is unclear what format is most effective. The majority of the studies are from developed countries and so the relevance to developing countries is unclear. PMID:21563135

Centralized, decentralized, and independent control of a flexible manipulator on a flexible base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Feiyue; Bainum, Peter M.; Xu, Jianke

1991-01-01

The dynamics and control of a flexible manipulator arm with payload mass on a flexible base in space are considered. The controllers are provided by one torquer at the center of the base and one torquer at the connection joint of the robot and the base. The nonlinear dynamics of the system is modeled by applying the finite element method and Lagrangian formula. Three control strategies are considered and compared, i.e., centralized control, decentralized control, and independent control. All these control designs are based on the linear quadratic regulator theory. A mathematical decomposition is used in the decentralization process so that the coupling between the subsystems is weak, while a physical decomposition is used in the independent control design process. For both the decentralized and the independent controls, the stability of the overall linear system is checked before a numerical simulations is initiated. Two numerical examples show that the response of the independent control system are close to those of the centralized control system, while the responses of the decentralized control system are not.

Structural and Functional Coordination of DNA and Histone Methylation

PubMed Central

Cheng, Xiaodong

2014-01-01

One of the most fundamental questions in the control of gene expression in mammals is how epigenetic methylation patterns of DNA and histones are established, erased, and recognized. This central process in controlling gene expression includes coordinated covalent modifications of DNA and its associated histones. This article focuses on structural aspects of enzymatic activities of histone (arginine and lysine) methylation and demethylation and functional links between the methylation status of the DNA and histones. An interconnected network of methyltransferases, demethylases, and accessory proteins is responsible for changing or maintaining the modification status of specific regions of chromatin. PMID:25085914

Stand Structure and Composition 32 Years after Precommercial Thinning Treatments in a Mixed Northern Conifer Stand in Central Maine

Treesearch

Aaron R. Weiskittel; Laura S. Kenefic; Rongxia Li; John Brissette

2011-01-01

The effects of four precommercial thinning (PCT) treatments on an even-aged northern conifer stand in Maine were investigated by examining stand structure and composition 32 years after treatment. Replicated treatments applied in 1976 included: (1) control (no PCT), (2) row thinning (rowthin; 5-ft-wide row removal with 3-ft-wide residual strips), (3) row thinning with...

Command in Air War. Centralized Versus Decentralized Control of Combat Airpower

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources , gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing...facts in chronological order; instead, histori- ans are guided by an agenda formed by their particular exper- tise, affecting source selection and...convey their ideas, notes and logs they compiled at the time, and their official reports on lessons learned. Because these sources come from

Nonlinear Interactions for Broadband Energy Harvesting

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-22

harvesting ,” Journal of Sound and Vibration , V. 331, No. 4, pp. 922– 937. 12. Sah, S.M., Mann, B.P., 2012, “Potential well metamorphosis of a pivoting...Nonlinear non- conservative behavior and modeling of piezoelectric energy harvesters including proof mass effects,” Journal of Intelligent Material...Experimental investigation of a post-buckled piezoelectric beam with an attached central mass used to harvest energy,” Journal of Sys- tems and Control

Exercise and reproductive function in polycystic ovary syndrome: protocol of a systematic review.

PubMed

Dos Santos, Isis Kelly; de Lima Nunes, Romilson; Soares, Gustavo Mafaldo; de Oliveira Maranhão, Tecia Maria; Dantas, Paulo Moreira Silva

2017-12-22

Although many post-participation outcomes in different types of physical training (e.g., aerobic and strength) have been previously investigated for the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome, there is no recent systematic review of the relationship between various types of intervention and the reproductive function of women with PCOS. The current paper describes a systematic review protocol on the benefits of physical exercise and dietary or drug interventions on endocrinological outcomes in women with PCOS. PubMed/MEDLINE, Science Direct, Bireme, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Cochrane Library (Cochrane Systematic Reviews Database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Studies (CENTRAL) databases will be searched. Studies randomized controlled trials reporting on intervening changes in exercise interventions with or without interventions compared such as diet, medication and acupuncture on the menstrual cycle, and fertility in women with PCOS will be included. Results will be on the decrease of the characteristics of hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance, and obesity. Studies published since 2010 and in the English language will be included. This systematic review will identify improvement strategies and types of interventions that are geared toward improving endocrine and consequently metabolic parameters. Thus, the use of such strategies may increase the types of low-cost non-drug therapies that aid in the treatment of PCOS. PROSPERO CRD42017058869.

Central safety factor and β N control on NSTX-U via beam power and plasma boundary shape modification, using TRANSP for closed loop simulations

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

Boyer, M. D.; Andre, R.; Gates, D. A.

The high-performance operational goals of NSTX-U will require development of advanced feedback control algorithms, including control of ßN and the safety factor profile. In this work, a novel approach to simultaneously controlling ßN and the value of the safety factor on the magnetic axis, q0, through manipulation of the plasma boundary shape and total beam power, is proposed. Simulations of the proposed scheme show promising results and motivate future experimental implementation and eventual integration into a more complex current profile control scheme planned to include actuation of individual beam powers, density, and loop voltage. As part of this work, amore » flexible framework for closed loop simulations within the high-fidelity code TRANSP was developed. The framework, used here to identify control-design-oriented models and to tune and test the proposed controller, exploits many of the predictive capabilities of TRANSP and provides a means for performing control calculations based on user-supplied data (controller matrices, target waveforms, etc.). The flexible framework should enable high-fidelity testing of a variety of control algorithms, thereby reducing the amount of expensive experimental time needed to implement new control algorithms on NSTX-U and other devices.« less

Central safety factor and βN control on NSTX-U via beam power and plasma boundary shape modification, using TRANSP for closed loop simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyer, M. D.; Andre, R.; Gates, D. A.; Gerhardt, S.; Goumiri, I. R.; Menard, J.

2015-05-01

The high-performance operational goals of NSTX-U will require development of advanced feedback control algorithms, including control of βN and the safety factor profile. In this work, a novel approach to simultaneously controlling βN and the value of the safety factor on the magnetic axis, q0, through manipulation of the plasma boundary shape and total beam power, is proposed. Simulations of the proposed scheme show promising results and motivate future experimental implementation and eventual integration into a more complex current profile control scheme planned to include actuation of individual beam powers, density, and loop voltage. As part of this work, a flexible framework for closed loop simulations within the high-fidelity code TRANSP was developed. The framework, used here to identify control-design-oriented models and to tune and test the proposed controller, exploits many of the predictive capabilities of TRANSP and provides a means for performing control calculations based on user-supplied data (controller matrices, target waveforms, etc). The flexible framework should enable high-fidelity testing of a variety of control algorithms, thereby reducing the amount of expensive experimental time needed to implement new control algorithms on NSTX-U and other devices.

Central nervous system control of the laryngeal muscles in humans

PubMed Central

Ludlow, Christy L.

2005-01-01

Laryngeal muscle control may vary for different functions such as: voice for speech communication, emotional expression during laughter and cry, breathing, swallowing, and cough. This review discusses the control of the human laryngeal muscles for some of these different functions. Sensori-motor aspects of laryngeal control have been studied by eliciting various laryngeal reflexes. The role of audition in learning and monitoring ongoing voice production for speech is well known; while the role of somatosensory feedback is less well understood. Reflexive control systems involving central pattern generators may contribute to swallowing, breathing and cough with greater cortical control during volitional tasks such as voice production for speech. Volitional control is much less well understood for each of these functions and likely involves the integration of cortical and subcortical circuits. The new frontier is the study of the central control of the laryngeal musculature for voice, swallowing and breathing and how volitional and reflexive control systems may interact in humans. PMID:15927543

Does oral health promotion influence the oral hygiene and gingival health of patients undergoing fixed appliance orthodontic treatment? A systematic literature review.

PubMed

Gray, Darren; McIntyre, Grant

2008-12-01

To determine the effectiveness of orthodontic oral health promotion (OHP) upon gingival health. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials [CENTRAL (January 2005)], MEDLINE [OVID and PubMed platforms (1966 to May 2005)] and EMBASE (1966 to May 2005) were searched. A grey literature search was also conducted. Of the 218 studies identified, 37 were retrieved for detailed examination. Methodological quality was determined using a checklist and inter-rater reliability was calculated using the unweighted kappa statistic. Six randomised (RCT) and quasi-randomised controlled clinical trails (CCT) met the inclusion criteria. Categorical data about the effect of oral health promotion on dental plaque levels and/or gingival bleeding were independently collected from the four RCTs and two CCTs by two reviewers using a data extraction proforma. Positive effects on plaque and/or gingival health were produced in only four of the included trials. OHP resulted in no difference being detected in two of the included trials. None of the trials that were included produced a negative effect of orthodontic oral health promotion on oral hygiene and gingival health. Direct comparison between the trials was difficult due to the heterogeneity in the outcome measures between the included studies. An OHP programme for patients undergoing fixed appliance orthodontic treatment produces a short-term reduction (up to 5 months) in plaque and improvement in gingival health No particular OHP method produces a greater short term benefit to periodontal health during fixed appliance orthodontic treatment Further studies using appropriate methods and in particular longer follow up periods are required.

INTERIM ANALYSIS OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF HIGH-LEVEL EVIDENCE FOR DENGUE VECTOR CONTROL.

PubMed

Horstick, Olaf; Ranzinger, Silvia Runge

2015-01-01

This interim analysis reviews the available systematic literature for dengue vector control on three levels: 1) single and combined vector control methods, with existing work on peridomestic space spraying and on Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis; further work is available soon on the use of Temephos, Copepods and larvivorous fish; 2) or for a specific purpose, like outbreak control, and 3) on a strategic level, as for example decentralization vs centralization, with a systematic review on vector control organization. Clear best practice guidelines for methodology of entomological studies are needed. There is a need to include measuring dengue transmission data. The following recommendations emerge: Although vector control can be effective, implementation remains an issue; Single interventions are probably not useful; Combinations of interventions have mixed results; Careful implementation of vector control measures may be most important; Outbreak interventions are often applied with questionable effectiveness.

The performance of two automatic servo-ventilation devices in the treatment of central sleep apnea.

PubMed

Javaheri, Shahrokh; Goetting, Mark G; Khayat, Rami; Wylie, Paul E; Goodwin, James L; Parthasarathy, Sairam

2011-12-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic performance of a new auto Servo Ventilation device (Philips Respironics autoSV Advanced) for the treatment of complex central sleep apnea (CompSA). The features of autoSV Advanced include an automatic expiratory pressure (EPAP) adjustment, an advanced algorithm for distinguishing open versus obstructed airway apnea, a modified auto backup rate which is proportional to subject's baseline breathing rate, and a variable inspiratory support. Our primary aim was to compare the performance of the advanced servo-ventilator (BiPAP autoSV Advanced) with conventional servo-ventilator (BiPAP autoSV) in treating central sleep apnea (CSA). A prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial. Five sleep laboratories in the United States. Thirty-seven participants were included. All subjects had full night polysomnography (PSG) followed by a second night continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration. All had a central apnea index ≥ 5 per hour of sleep on CPAP. Subjects were randomly assigned to 2 full-night PSGs while treated with either the previously marketed autoSV, or the new autoSV Advanced device. The 2 randomized sleep studies were blindly scored centrally. Across the 4 nights (PSG, CPAP, autoSV, and autoSV Advanced), the mean ± 1 SD apnea hypopnea indices were 53 ± 23, 35 ± 20, 10 ± 10, and 6 ± 6, respectively; indices for CSA were 16 ± 19, 19 ± 18, 3 ± 4, and 0.6 ± 1. AutoSV Advanced was more effective than other modes in correcting sleep related breathing disorders. BiPAP autoSV Advanced was more effective than conventional BiPAP autoSV in the treatment of sleep disordered breathing in patients with CSA.

Reduction of central neuropathic pain with ketamine infusion in a patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a case report.

PubMed

Lo, Tony Chung Tung; Yeung, Stephen Tung; Lee, Sujin; Skavinski, Kira; Liao, Solomon

2016-01-01

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome frequently causes acute and chronic pain because of joint subluxations and dislocations secondary to hypermobility. Current treatments for pain related to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and central pain syndrome are inadequate. This case report discusses the therapeutic use of ketamine intravenous infusion as an alternative. A 27-year-old Caucasian female with a history of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and spinal cord ischemic myelopathy resulting in central pain syndrome, presented with severe generalized body pain refractory to multiple pharmacological interventions. After a 7-day course of ketamine intravenous infusion under controlled generalized sedation in the intensive care unit, the patient reported a dramatic reduction in pain levels from 7-8 out of 10 to 0-3 out of 10 on a numeric rating scale and had a significant functional improvement. The patient tolerated a reduction in her pain medication regimen, which originally included opioids, gabapentin, pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Ketamine infusion treatment has been used in various pain syndromes, including central neuropathic pain, ischemic pain, and regional pain syndrome. Reports have suggested that ketamine modulates pain by the regression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor to a resting state. As such, propagation of nociceptive signal to brain is interrupted allowing for the restoration of physiological balance between pain inhibition and facilitation. The present report shows that this treatment option can be used in patients with refractory central pain syndrome in the setting of spinal cord myelopathy secondary to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. In addition, as seen in this case, this protocol can potentially decrease the chronic use of pain medication, such as opioids.

SACFIR: SDN-Based Application-Aware Centralized Adaptive Flow Iterative Reconfiguring Routing Protocol for WSNs.

PubMed

Aslam, Muhammad; Hu, Xiaopeng; Wang, Fan

2017-12-13

Smart reconfiguration of a dynamic networking environment is offered by the central control of Software-Defined Networking (SDN). Centralized SDN-based management architectures are capable of retrieving global topology intelligence and decoupling the forwarding plane from the control plane. Routing protocols developed for conventional Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) utilize limited iterative reconfiguration methods to optimize environmental reporting. However, the challenging networking scenarios of WSNs involve a performance overhead due to constant periodic iterative reconfigurations. In this paper, we propose the SDN-based Application-aware Centralized adaptive Flow Iterative Reconfiguring (SACFIR) routing protocol with the centralized SDN iterative solver controller to maintain the load-balancing between flow reconfigurations and flow allocation cost. The proposed SACFIR's routing protocol offers a unique iterative path-selection algorithm, which initially computes suitable clustering based on residual resources at the control layer and then implements application-aware threshold-based multi-hop report transmissions on the forwarding plane. The operation of the SACFIR algorithm is centrally supervised by the SDN controller residing at the Base Station (BS). This paper extends SACFIR to SDN-based Application-aware Main-value Centralized adaptive Flow Iterative Reconfiguring (SAMCFIR) to establish both proactive and reactive reporting. The SAMCFIR transmission phase enables sensor nodes to trigger direct transmissions for main-value reports, while in the case of SACFIR, all reports follow computed routes. Our SDN-enabled proposed models adjust the reconfiguration period according to the traffic burden on sensor nodes, which results in heterogeneity awareness, load-balancing and application-specific reconfigurations of WSNs. Extensive experimental simulation-based results show that SACFIR and SAMCFIR yield the maximum scalability, network lifetime and stability period when compared to existing routing protocols.

SACFIR: SDN-Based Application-Aware Centralized Adaptive Flow Iterative Reconfiguring Routing Protocol for WSNs

PubMed Central

Hu, Xiaopeng; Wang, Fan

2017-01-01

Smart reconfiguration of a dynamic networking environment is offered by the central control of Software-Defined Networking (SDN). Centralized SDN-based management architectures are capable of retrieving global topology intelligence and decoupling the forwarding plane from the control plane. Routing protocols developed for conventional Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) utilize limited iterative reconfiguration methods to optimize environmental reporting. However, the challenging networking scenarios of WSNs involve a performance overhead due to constant periodic iterative reconfigurations. In this paper, we propose the SDN-based Application-aware Centralized adaptive Flow Iterative Reconfiguring (SACFIR) routing protocol with the centralized SDN iterative solver controller to maintain the load-balancing between flow reconfigurations and flow allocation cost. The proposed SACFIR’s routing protocol offers a unique iterative path-selection algorithm, which initially computes suitable clustering based on residual resources at the control layer and then implements application-aware threshold-based multi-hop report transmissions on the forwarding plane. The operation of the SACFIR algorithm is centrally supervised by the SDN controller residing at the Base Station (BS). This paper extends SACFIR to SDN-based Application-aware Main-value Centralized adaptive Flow Iterative Reconfiguring (SAMCFIR) to establish both proactive and reactive reporting. The SAMCFIR transmission phase enables sensor nodes to trigger direct transmissions for main-value reports, while in the case of SACFIR, all reports follow computed routes. Our SDN-enabled proposed models adjust the reconfiguration period according to the traffic burden on sensor nodes, which results in heterogeneity awareness, load-balancing and application-specific reconfigurations of WSNs. Extensive experimental simulation-based results show that SACFIR and SAMCFIR yield the maximum scalability, network lifetime and stability period when compared to existing routing protocols. PMID:29236031

Exercise training improves the defective centrally mediated erectile responses in rats with type I diabetes.

PubMed

Zheng, Hong; Mayhan, William G; Patel, Kaushik P

2011-11-01

Erectile dysfunction is a serious and common complication of diabetes mellitus. Apart from the peripheral actions, central mechanisms are also responsible for the penile erection. The goal of the present study was to determine the impact of exercise training (ExT) on the centrally mediated erectile dysfunction in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type I diabetic (T1D) rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with STZ to induce diabetes mellitus. Three weeks after STZ or vehicle injections, rats were assigned to either ExT (treadmill running for 3-4 weeks) or sedentary groups to produce four experimental groups: control + sedentary, T1D + sedentary, control + ExT, and T1D + ExT. After 3-4 weeks ExT, central N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) or sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-induced penile erectile responses were measured. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus was measured by using histochemistry, real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot approaches. In rats with T1D, ExT significantly improved the blunted erectile response, and the intracavernous pressure changes to NMDA (50 ng) microinjection within the PVN (T1D + ExT: 3.0 ± 0.6 penile erection/rat; T1D + sedentary: 0.5 ± 0.3 penile erection/rat within 20 minutes, P < 0.05). ExT improved erectile dysfunction induced by central administration of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) donor, SNP in T1D rats. Other behavior responses including yawning and stretching, induced by central NMDA and SNP microinjection were also significantly increased in T1D rats after ExT. Furthermore, we found that ExT restored the nNOS mRNA and protein expression in the PVN in T1D rats. These results suggest that ExT may have beneficial effects on the erectile dysfunction in diabetes through improvement of NO bioavailability within the PVN. Thus, ExT may be used as therapeutic modality to up-regulate nNOS within the PVN and improve the central component of the erectile dysfunction in diabetes mellitus. © 2011 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Forest soils bibliography for the North-Central Region (including subject matter index through 1972).

Treesearch

Willard H. Carmean

1973-01-01

Includes 793 publications dealing with forest soils in the North-Central States (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana); Ohio; and the Northern Plains States (Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas). Includes some publications from other regions considered applicable to conditions in the North-Central Region.

New drugs: evidence relating to their therapeutic value after introduction to the market.

PubMed

Ujeyl, Mariam; Schlegel, Claudia; Walter, Siegbert; Gundert-Remy, Ursula

2012-02-01

Drug approval is based on three criteria: quality, efficacy, and safety. We investigated the types of study design and statistical methods employed to demonstrate safety and efficacy of proprietary medicinal products (PMPs) that were approved for use in the European Union through the centralized procedure. We retrospectively analyzed the European Public Assessment Reports of PMPs that the European Medicinal Agency approved, either initially or for extended indications, in 2009 and 2010. Data were analyzed for 39 PMPs: 64% of these were new active substances, and 36% were approved for extended indications. 46% of the PMPs had been studied in an active-control trial. In only 28%, superiority of the new PMPs compared to active control had been tested. 46% of the approvals included testing of a patient-relevant primary endpoint. The median size of population used to demonstrate safety was 1700 persons. The centralized procedure does not require comparative information from active-control trials. Accordingly, as our descriptive analysis revealed, this information is often not available at the time of market introduction. Pivotal studies only rarely clearly demonstrate an added therapeutic value of a new PMP compared to existing alternatives.

Effect of self-acupressure for symptom management: a systematic review.

PubMed

Song, Hyun Jin; Seo, Hyun-Ju; Lee, Heeyoung; Son, Heejeong; Choi, Sun Mi; Lee, Sanghun

2015-02-01

To assess the efficacy and safety of self-administered acupressure to alleviate symptoms of various health problems, including allergic disease, cancer, respiratory disease, dysmenorrhea, perceived stress, insomnia, and sleep disturbances. We searched core, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese databases, including Ovid-MEDLINE, Ovid-EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), six representative electronic Korean medical databases, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Japan Science and Technology Information Aggregator (J-STAGE). We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs that examined disease-specific effects or symptom relief, adverse reactions, and quality-of-life (QOL) for self-administered acupressure. Data collection and assessment of the methodological quality of the included studies were conducted by two independent reviewers. Eight RCTs and two quasi-RCTs showed positive effects and safety of self-acupressure therapy in clinically diverse populations. Quality assessment revealed moderate quality for the RCTs, with 50% or more of the trials assessed as presenting a low risk of bias in seven domains. All of the selected 10 studies reported positive effects for primary outcomes of self-acupressure therapy for symptom management, including significant improvements in symptom scores in allergic disease, nausea and vomiting in cancer, symptom scores in respiratory disease, pain symptoms in dysmenorrhea, and stress/fatigue scores and sleep disturbances in healthy people. Our findings suggest that self-administered acupressure shows promise to alleviate the symptoms of various health problems. Therefore, further research with larger samples and methodologically well-designed RCTs is required to establish the efficacy of self-administered acupressure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship between sleep duration and childhood obesity: Systematic review including the potential underlying mechanisms.

PubMed

Felső, R; Lohner, S; Hollódy, K; Erhardt, É; Molnár, D

2017-09-01

The prevalence of obesity is continually increasing worldwide. Determining risk factors for obesity may facilitate effective preventive programs. The present review focuses on sleep duration as a potential risk factor for childhood obesity. The aim is to summarize the evidence on the association of sleep duration and obesity and to discuss the underlying potential physiological and/or pathophysiological mechanisms. The Ovid MEDLINE, Scopus and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases were searched for papers using text words with appropriate truncation and relevant indexing terms. All studies objectively measuring sleep duration and investigating the association between sleep duration and obesity or factors (lifestyle and hormonal) possibly associated with obesity were included, without making restrictions based on study design or language. Data from eligible studies were extracted in tabular form and summarized narratively. After removing duplicates, 3540 articles were obtained. Finally, 33 studies (including 3 randomized controlled trials and 30 observational studies) were included in the review. Sleep duration seems to influence weight gain in children, however, the underlying explanatory mechanisms are still uncertain. In our review only the link between short sleep duration and the development of insulin resistance, sedentarism and unhealthy dietary patterns could be verified, while the role of other mediators, such as physical activity, screen time, change in ghrelin and leptin levels, remained uncertain. There are numerous evidence gaps. To answer the remaining questions, there is a need for studies meeting high methodological standards and including a large number of children. Copyright © 2017 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A magnetic resonance imaging finding in children with cerebral palsy: Symmetrical central tegmental tract hyperintensity.

PubMed

Derinkuyu, Betul Emine; Ozmen, Evrim; Akmaz-Unlu, Havva; Altinbas, Namik Kemal; Gurkas, Esra; Boyunaga, Oznur

2017-03-01

Central tegmental tract is an extrapyramidal tract between red nucleus and inferior olivary nucleus which is located in the tegmentum pontis bilaterally and symmetrically. The etiology of the presence of central tegmental tract hyperintensity on MRI is unclear. In this study our aim is to evaluate the frequency of central tegmental tract lesions in patients with cerebral palsy and control group, as well as to determine whether there is an association between central tegmental tract lesions and cerebral palsy types. Clinical and MRI data of 200 patients with cerebral palsy in study group (87 female, 113 male; mean age, 5.81years; range, 0-16years) and 258 patients in control group (114 female, 144 male; mean age, 6.28years; range, 0-16years) were independently evaluated by two reader for presence of central tegmental tract hyperintensity and other associated abnormalities. Central tegmental tract hyperintensities on T2WI were detected in 19% of the study group (38/200) and 3.5% of the control group (9/258) (p<0.0001). Among the total of 38 central tegmental tract lesions in study group, the frequency of central tegmental tract hyperintensity was 16% (24/150) in spastic cerebral palsy and 35% (14/40) in dyskinetic cerebral palsy (p=0.0131). The prevalence of central tegmental tract hyperintensity is higher in patients with cerebral palsy particularly in dyskinetic type. We suggest that there is an increased association of the tegmental lesions with dyskinetic CP. Patients with cerebral palsy and ischemic changes were more likely to have central tegmental tract lesions. According to our results we advocate that an ischemic process may have a role in the etiopathogenesis. Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Acute and chronic suppression of the central ghrelin signaling system reveals a role in food anticipatory activity.

PubMed

Verhagen, Linda A W; Egecioglu, Emil; Luijendijk, Mieneke C M; Hillebrand, Jacquelien J G; Adan, Roger A H; Dickson, Suzanne L

2011-05-01

Using the rodent activity-based anorexia (ABA) model that mimics clinical features of anorexia nervosa that include food restriction-induced hyperlocomotion, we found that plasma ghrelin levels are highly associated with food anticipatory behaviour, measured by running wheel activity in rats. Furthermore, we showed that ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) knockout mice do not anticipate food when exposed to the ABA model, unlike their wild type littermate controls. Likewise, food anticipatory activity in the ABA model was suppressed by a GHS-R1A antagonist administered either by acute central (ICV) injection to rats or by chronic peripheral treatment to mice. Interestingly, the GHS-R1A antagonist did not alter food intake in any of these models. Therefore, we hypothesize that suppression of the central ghrelin signaling system via GHS-R1A provides an interesting therapeutic target to treat hyperactivity in patients suffering from anorexia nervosa. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Sleep-Wake Cycle and Daytime Sleepiness in the Myotonic Dystrophies

PubMed Central

Romigi, A.; Albanese, M.; Liguori, C.; Placidi, F.; Marciani, M. G.; Massa, R.

2013-01-01

Myotonic dystrophy is the most common type of muscular dystrophy in adults and is characterized by progressive myopathy, myotonia, and multiorgan involvement. Two genetically distinct entities have been identified, myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1 or Steinert's Disease) and myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2). Myotonic dystrophies are strongly associated with sleep dysfunction. Sleep disturbances in DM1 are common and include sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), periodic limb movements (PLMS), central hypersomnia, and REM sleep dysregulation (high REM density and narcoleptic-like phenotype). Interestingly, drowsiness in DM1 seems to be due to a central dysfunction of sleep-wake regulation more than SDB. To date, little is known regarding the occurrence of sleep disorders in DM2. SDB (obstructive and central apnoea), REM sleep without atonia, and restless legs syndrome have been described. Further polysomnographic, controlled studies are strongly needed, particularly in DM2, in order to clarify the role of sleep disorders in the myotonic dystrophies. PMID:26316996

A Successful Model for a Comprehensive Patient Flow Management Center at an Academic Health System.

PubMed

Lovett, Paris B; Illg, Megan L; Sweeney, Brian E

2016-05-01

This article reports on an innovative approach to managing patient flow at a multicampus academic health system, integrating multiple services into a single, centralized Patient Flow Management Center that manages supply and demand for inpatient services across the system. Control of bed management was centralized across 3 campuses and key services were integrated, including bed management, case management, environmental services, patient transport, ambulance and helicopter dispatch, and transfer center. A single technology platform was introduced, as was providing round-the-clock patient placement by critical care nurses, and adding medical directors. Daily bed meetings with nurse managers and charge nurses drive action plans. This article reports immediate improvements in the first year of operations in emergency department walkouts, emergency department boarding, ambulance diversion, growth in transfer volume, reduction in lost transfers, reduction in time to bed assignment, and bed turnover time. The authors believe theirs is the first institution to integrate services and centralize bed management so comprehensively. © The Author(s) 2014.

Outbreak of Tsukamurella species bloodstream infection among patients at an oncology clinic, West Virginia, 2011-2012.

PubMed

See, Isaac; Nguyen, Duc B; Chatterjee, Somu; Shwe, Thein; Scott, Melissa; Ibrahim, Sherif; Moulton-Meissner, Heather; McNulty, Steven; Noble-Wang, Judith; Price, Cindy; Schramm, Kim; Bixler, Danae; Guh, Alice Y

2014-03-01

To determine the source and identify control measures of an outbreak of Tsukamurella species bloodstream infections at an outpatient oncology facility. Epidemiologic investigation of the outbreak with a case-control study. A case was an infection in which Tsukamurella species was isolated from a blood or catheter tip culture during the period January 2011 through June 2012 from a patient of the oncology clinic. Laboratory records of area hospitals and patient charts were reviewed. A case-control study was conducted among clinic patients to identify risk factors for Tsukamurella species bloodstream infection. Clinic staff were interviewed, and infection control practices were assessed. Fifteen cases of Tsukamurella (Tsukamurella pulmonis or Tsukamurella tyrosinosolvens) bloodstream infection were identified, all in patients with underlying malignancy and indwelling central lines. The median age of case patients was 68 years; 47% were male. The only significant risk factor for infection was receipt of saline flush from the clinic during the period September-October 2011 (P = .03), when the clinic had been preparing saline flush from a common-source bag of saline. Other infection control deficiencies that were identified at the clinic included suboptimal procedures for central line access and preparation of chemotherapy. Although multiple infection control lapses were identified, the outbreak was likely caused by improper preparation of saline flush syringes by the clinic. The outbreak demonstrates that bloodstream infections among oncology patients can result from improper infection control practices and highlights the critical need for increased attention to and oversight of infection control in outpatient oncology settings.

Refurbishment and Automation of Thermal Vacuum Facilities at NASA/GSFC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, Jamie; Gomez, Carlos; Donohue, John; Johnson, Chris; Palmer, John; Sushon, Janet

1999-01-01

The thermal vacuum facilities located at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) have supported both manned and unmanned space flight since the 1960s. Of the eleven facilities, currently ten of the systems are scheduled for refurbishment or replacement as part of a five-year implementation. Expected return on investment includes the reduction in test schedules, improvements in safety of facility operations, and reduction in the personnel support required for a test. Additionally, GSFC will become a global resource renowned for expertise in thermal engineering, mechanical engineering, and for the automation of thermal vacuum facilities and tests. Automation of the thermal vacuum facilities includes the utilization of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), the use of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and the development of a centralized Test Data Management System. These components allow the computer control and automation of mechanical components such as valves and pumps. The project of refurbishment and automation began in 1996 and has resulted in complete computer control of one facility (Facility 281), and the integration of electronically controlled devices and PLCs in multiple others.

Refurbishment and Automation of Thermal Vacuum Facilities at NASA/GSFC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, Jamie; Gomez, Carlos; Donohue, John; Johnson, Chris; Palmer, John; Sushon, Janet

1998-01-01

The thermal vacuum facilities located at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) have supported both manned and unmanned space flight since the 1960s. Of the eleven facilities, currently ten of the systems are scheduled for refurbishment or replacement as part of a five-year implementation. Expected return on investment includes the reduction in test schedules, improvements in safety of facility operations, and reduction in the personnel support required for a test. Additionally, GSFC will become a global resource renowned for expertise in thermal engineering, mechanical engineering, and for the automation of thermal vacuum facilities and tests. Automation of the thermal vacuum facilities includes the utilization of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), the use of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and the development of a centralized Test Data Management System. These components allow the computer control and automation of mechanical components such as valves and pumps. The project of refurbishment and automation began in 1996 and has resulted in complete computer control of one facility (Facility 281), and the integration of electronically controlled devices and PLCs in multiple others.

A programmable heater control circuit for spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, D. D.; Owen, J. W.; Smith, D. A.; Lewter, W. J.

1994-01-01

Spacecraft thermal control is accomplished for many components through use of multilayer insulation systems, electrical heaters, and radiator systems. The heaters are commanded to maintain component temperatures within design specifications. The programmable heater control circuit (PHCC) was designed to obtain an effective and efficient means of spacecraft thermal control. The hybrid circuit provides use of control instrumentation as temperature data, available to the spacecraft central data system, reprogramming capability of the local microprocessor during the spacecraft's mission, and the elimination of significant spacecraft wiring. The hybrid integrated circuit has a temperature sensing and conditioning circuit, a microprocessor, and a heater power and control circuit. The device is miniature and housed in a volume which allows physical integration with the component to be controlled. Applications might include alternate battery-powered logic-circuit configurations. A prototype unit with appropriate physical and functional interfaces was procured for testing. The physical functionality and the feasibility of fabrication of the hybrid integrated circuit were successfully verified. The remaining work to develop a flight-qualified device includes fabrication and testing of a Mil-certified part. An option for completing the PHCC flight qualification testing is to enter into a joint venture with industry.

BADERI: an online database to coordinate handsearching activities of controlled clinical trials for their potential inclusion in systematic reviews.

PubMed

Pardo-Hernandez, Hector; Urrútia, Gerard; Barajas-Nava, Leticia A; Buitrago-Garcia, Diana; Garzón, Julieth Vanessa; Martínez-Zapata, María José; Bonfill, Xavier

2017-06-13

Systematic reviews provide the best evidence on the effect of health care interventions. They rely on comprehensive access to the available scientific literature. Electronic search strategies alone may not suffice, requiring the implementation of a handsearching approach. We have developed a database to provide an Internet-based platform from which handsearching activities can be coordinated, including a procedure to streamline the submission of these references into CENTRAL, the Cochrane Collaboration Central Register of Controlled Trials. We developed a database and a descriptive analysis. Through brainstorming and discussion among stakeholders involved in handsearching projects, we designed a database that met identified needs that had to be addressed in order to ensure the viability of handsearching activities. Three handsearching teams pilot tested the proposed database. Once the final version of the database was approved, we proceeded to train the staff involved in handsearching. The proposed database is called BADERI (Database of Iberoamerican Clinical Trials and Journals, by its initials in Spanish). BADERI was officially launched in October 2015, and it can be accessed at www.baderi.com/login.php free of cost. BADERI has an administration subsection, from which the roles of users are managed; a references subsection, where information associated to identified controlled clinical trials (CCTs) can be entered; a reports subsection, from which reports can be generated to track and analyse the results of handsearching activities; and a built-in free text search engine. BADERI allows all references to be exported in ProCite files that can be directly uploaded into CENTRAL. To date, 6284 references to CCTs have been uploaded to BADERI and sent to CENTRAL. The identified CCTs were published in a total of 420 journals related to 46 medical specialties. The year of publication ranged between 1957 and 2016. BADERI allows the efficient management of handsearching activities across different countries and institutions. References to all CCTs available in BADERI can be readily submitted to CENTRAL for their potential inclusion in systematic reviews.

75 FR 64971 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Central City, NE

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-21

...-0837; Airspace Docket No. 10-ACE-10] Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Central City, NE...: This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Central City, NE. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) at Central City Municipal--Larry...

Flexible helical-axis stellarator

DOEpatents

Harris, Jeffrey H.; Hender, Timothy C.; Carreras, Benjamin A.; Cantrell, Jack L.; Morris, Robert N.

1988-01-01

An 1=1 helical winding which spirals about a conventional planar, circular central conductor of a helical-axis stellarator adds a significant degree of flexibility by making it possible to control the rotational transform profile and shear of the magnetic fields confining the plasma in a helical-axis stellarator. The toroidal central conductor links a plurality of toroidal field coils which are separately disposed to follow a helical path around the central conductor in phase with the helical path of the 1=1 winding. This coil configuration produces bean-shaped magnetic flux surfaces which rotate around the central circular conductor in the same manner as the toroidal field generating coils. The additional 1=1 winding provides flexible control of the magnetic field generated by the central conductor to prevent the formation of low-order resonances in the rotational transform profile which can produce break-up of the equilibrium magnetic surfaces. Further, this additional winding can deepen the magnetic well which together with the flexible control provides increased stability.

Polyuria with the Concurrent manifestation of Central Diabetes Insipidus (CDI) & Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM)

PubMed Central

Shin, Hyun-Jong; Kim, Jae-Ha; Han, Sang-Woong; Kim, Ho-Jung

2012-01-01

We report a rare case of the concurrent manifestation of central diabetes insipidus (CDI) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). A 56 year-old man was diagnosed as a type 2 DM on the basis of hyperglycemia with polyuria and polydipsia at a local clinic two months ago and started an oral hypoglycemic medication, but resulted in no symptomatic improvement at all. Upon admission to the university hospital, the patient's initial fasting blood sugar level was 140 mg/dL, and he showed polydipsic and polyuric conditions more than 8 L urine/day. Despite the hyperglycemia controlled with metformin and diet, his symptoms persisted. Further investigations including water deprivation test confirmed the coexisting CDI of unknown origin, and the patient's symptoms including an intense thirst were markedly improved by desmopressin nasal spray (10 µg/day). The possibility of a common origin of CDI and type 2 DM is raised in a review of the few relevant adult cases in the literature. PMID:23508726

Polyuria with the Concurrent manifestation of Central Diabetes Insipidus (CDI) & Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM).

PubMed

Shin, Hyun-Jong; Kim, Jae-Ha; Yi, Joo-Hark; Han, Sang-Woong; Kim, Ho-Jung

2012-12-01

We report a rare case of the concurrent manifestation of central diabetes insipidus (CDI) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). A 56 year-old man was diagnosed as a type 2 DM on the basis of hyperglycemia with polyuria and polydipsia at a local clinic two months ago and started an oral hypoglycemic medication, but resulted in no symptomatic improvement at all. Upon admission to the university hospital, the patient's initial fasting blood sugar level was 140 mg/dL, and he showed polydipsic and polyuric conditions more than 8 L urine/day. Despite the hyperglycemia controlled with metformin and diet, his symptoms persisted. Further investigations including water deprivation test confirmed the coexisting CDI of unknown origin, and the patient's symptoms including an intense thirst were markedly improved by desmopressin nasal spray (10 µg/day). The possibility of a common origin of CDI and type 2 DM is raised in a review of the few relevant adult cases in the literature.

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS): Circadian temperature variation.

PubMed

Saiyed, Rehan; Rand, Casey M; Carroll, Michael S; Koliboski, Cynthia M; Stewart, Tracey M; Brogadir, Cindy D; Kenny, Anna S; Petersen, Emily K E; Carley, David W; Weese-Mayer, Debra E

2016-03-01

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is a rare neurocristopathy, which includes a control of breathing deficit and features of autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation. In recognition of the fundamental role of the ANS in temperature regulation and rhythm and the lack of any prior characterization of circadian temperature rhythms in CCHS, we sought to explore peripheral and core temperatures and circadian patterning. We hypothesized that CCHS patients would exhibit lower peripheral skin temperatures (PST), variability, and circadian rhythmicity (vs. controls), as well as a disrupted relationship between core body temperature (CBT) and PST. PST was sampled every 3 min over four 24-hr periods in CCHS cases and similarly aged controls. CBT was sampled in a subset of these recordings. PST was recorded from 25 CCHS cases (110,664 measures/230 days) and 39 controls (78,772 measures/164 days). Simultaneous CBT measurements were made from 23 CCHS patients. In CCHS, mean PST was lower overall (P = 0.03) and at night (P = 0.02), and PST variability (interquartile range) was higher at night (P = 0.05) (vs. controls). PST circadian rhythm remained intact but the phase relationship of PST to CBT rhythm was extremely variable in CCHS. PST alterations in CCHS likely reflect altered autonomic control of peripheral vascular tone. These alterations represent a previously unreported manifestation of CCHS and may provide an opportunity for therapeutic intervention. The relationship between temperature dysregulation and CCHS may also offer insight into basic mechanisms underlying thermoregulation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.