Phase Relations and Miscibility in Polymer Blends Containing Copolymers.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-04-15

MacKnight, W. J ., Pure Appl. Chem. 52, 409 (1980). 36. Vukovic , R., Kuresevic, V., Karasz, F. E., and MacKnight, W. J ., Thermochim. Acta 54, 349 (1982). 37... Vukovic , R., Karasz, F. E., and MacKnight, W. J ., Polymer 24, 529 (1983). 38. Vukovic , R., Karasz, F. E., and MacKnight, W. J ., J . Appl. Polymer Sci...28, 219 (1983). 39. Zacharius, S. L., ten Brinke, G., MacKnight, W. J ., and Karasz, F. E., Macromolecules 16, 381 (1983). 40. Vukovic , R., Kuresevic

Bio-Inspired Metallo-Supramolecular Polymers for Combined Mechanical Properties

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

3 4 5 6 0 50 100 150 200 Temp (°C) H ea t F lo w (m W ) Figure 8. DSC trace of polymer 7. 1H NMR analysis indicated complete reaction of the...static and dynamic mechanical analysis methods. 11 5. References 1. Guan, Z. Polymer International 2007, 56, 467. 2. Oberhauser, A. F ...Hansma, P. K.; Carrion-Vazques, M.; Fernandez, J. M. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2001, 98, 468. 3. Reif, M. Gautel, M.; Oesterhelt, F .; Fernandez, J

Two Photon Absorption in a Novel Nano-optical Material Based on the Nonconjugated Conductive Polymer, Poly(beta-pinene)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titus, Jitto; Thakur, Mrinal

2006-03-01

As recently reported, the electrical conductivity of the nonconjugated polymer, poly(beta-pinene) increases by more than ten orders of magnitude upon doping with iodine [1]. The FTIR, optical absorption and EPR measurements have shown that radical cations are formed upon doping and charge-transfer involving the isolated double-bond in poly(beta-pinene). In this report, exceptionally large two-photon absorption in iodine-doped poly(beta-pinene) will be discussed. The linear absorption spectrum of medium-doped poly(beta-pinene) have peaks at about 4 eV and 3.1 eV. The first peak is due to the radical cation and the second due to the charge-transfer between the double bond and the dopant. The two-photon absorption of the medium-doped polymer has been measured at 730-860 nm using open-aperture z-scan with 150 femtosecond pulses from a Ti:Sapphire laser. A two-photon peak at about 1.5 eV with a magnitude of more than 1 cm/MW has been observed. The large magnitude of the two-photon absorption coefficient which is proportional to the imaginary part of the third order susceptibility has been attributed to the special structure of the radical cation and the confinement within a sub-nanometer dimension. [1] Vippa, Rajagopalan and Thakur, J. Poly. Sci. Part B: Poly. Phys., 43, 3695 (2005).

An Examination of Models of Relaxation in Complex Systems. I. Continuous Time Random Walk (CTRW) Models.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-02-04

Laberge , Phys. Chem. Glasses 14, 122 (1973); F.S. Howell, R. Bose, P.B. Macedo and C.T. Moynihan, J. Phys. Chem. 78, 639 (1974). 30. K.L. Ngai, R.W...J.R. Stevens , J. Polym. Sci.: Polym. Phys. Ed. 17, 1547 (1979); 21, 605 (1983). 41. For Polyethyl acrylate (PEA) see G. Williams and D.C. Watts in

Applicability of mode-coupling theory to polyisobutylene: a molecular dynamics simulation study.

PubMed

Khairy, Y; Alvarez, F; Arbe, A; Colmenero, J

2013-10-01

The applicability of Mode Coupling Theory (MCT) to the glass-forming polymer polyisobutylene (PIB) has been explored by using fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. MCT predictions for the so-called asymptotic regime have been successfully tested on the dynamic structure factor and the self-correlation function of PIB main-chain carbons calculated from the simulated cell. The factorization theorem and the time-temperature superposition principle are satisfied. A consistent fitting procedure of the simulation data to the MCT asymptotic power-laws predicted for the α-relaxation regime has delivered the dynamic exponents of the theory-in particular, the exponent parameter λ-the critical non-ergodicity parameters, and the critical temperature T(c). The obtained values of λ and T(c) agree, within the uncertainties involved in both studies, with those deduced from depolarized light scattering experiments [A. Kisliuk et al., J. Polym. Sci. Part B: Polym. Phys. 38, 2785 (2000)]. Both, λ and T(c)/T(g) values found for PIB are unusually large with respect to those commonly obtained in low molecular weight systems. Moreover, the high T(c)/T(g) value is compatible with a certain correlation of this parameter with the fragility in Angell's classification. Conversely, the value of λ is close to that reported for real polymers, simulated "realistic" polymers and simple polymer models with intramolecular barriers. In the framework of the MCT, such finding should be the signature of two different mechanisms for the glass-transition in real polymers: intermolecular packing and intramolecular barriers combined with chain connectivity.

Structural Investigations of Fibers and Films of Poly(p-phenylene benzobisthiazole). Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-05-01

differential scanning calorimetry, is unrelated to the diffuse scattered intensity [45]. Cellulose acetate which is known to be noncrystalline exhibits a high...Weidinger [45] found the diffuse scattered intensity increased with decreasing density and therefore, increasing void fraction, in air swollen cellulose ... Cellulose , and Poly(y-Benzyl-L-Glutamate)." J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Phys. Ed., 18, 663-682 (1980). 39. C.H. Kao and J.M. Ottino, personal communication

Ultrastructure Processing of Macromolecular Materials.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-09-01

349-356 (1982) (with R. Vukovic , V. Kuresevic, and W. J . MacKnight) "The Investigation of the Compatibility and Phase Separation of Poly (2,6-Dimethyl...Sci. 28, 219-224 (1983) (with R. Vukovic , W. J . MacKnight) "Compatibility of Some Fluorosubstituted Styrene Polymers and Copolymers in Blends with Poly...Points in Blends of Polystyrene and Poly (o-chlorostyrene)". 15. Polymer 24, 529-533 (1983) (with R. Vukovic and W. J . MacKnight) "Compati--ity of Poly(p

Electrospinning of Poly (MMA-CO-Maa) Copolymers And Their Layered Silicate Nanocomposites For Improved Thermal Properties

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-12-01

7518. Ho, B.C., Lee, Y.D. and Chin, W.K., 1992: Thermal Degradation of Polymethacrylic Acid , J. Polym. Sci., Polymer Chemistry, 30, 2389-2397. Lee...AMSRD-ARL-WM-MD Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-5069 ABSTRACT Copolymers consisting of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA...from solution of poly (MMA-co-MAA) copolymer (50/50 weight ratio of MMA and methacrylic acid , MAA) in dimethylformamide (DMF) and the corresponding

Intrathecal injection of a therapeutic gene-containing polyplex to treat spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Hayakawa, Kentaro; Uchida, Satoshi; Ogata, Toru; Tanaka, Sakae; Kataoka, Kazunori; Itaka, Keiji

2015-01-10

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious clinical problem that suddenly deprives patients of neurologic function and drastically diminishes their quality of life. Gene introduction has the potential to be effective for various pathological states of SCI because various proteins can be produced just by modifying nucleic acid sequences. In addition, the sustainable protein expression allows to maintain its concentration at an effective level at the target site in the spinal cord. Here we propose an approach using a polyplex system composed of plasmid DNA (pDNA) and a cationic polymer, poly{N'-[N-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl]aspartamide} [PAsp(DET)], that has high capacity to promote endosome escape and the long-term safety by self-catalytically degrading within a few days. We applied brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-expressing pDNA for SCI treatment by intrathecal injection of PAsp(DET)/pDNA polyplex. A single administration of polyplex for experimental SCI provided sufficient therapeutic effects including prevention of neural cell death and enhancement of motor function recovery. This lasted for a few weeks after SCI, demonstrating the capability of this system to express BDNF in a safe and responsible manner for treatment of various pathological states in SCI. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultra-Flexible, Invisible Thin-Film Transistors Enabled by Amorphous Metal Oxide/Polymer Channel Layer Blends

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-25

all the In 2 O 3 : x %PVP blends, where the polymer chains disrupt oxide lattice forma - tion at the nanoscale grain level rather than at the atomic...oxidative stability. [ 51,52 ] This result can be qualitatively ascribed to the endothermic M–O–M lattice forma - tion acting as heat absorber and the ultra... Irie , M. Komiyama , H. Yui , Supramol. Sci. 1998 , 5 , 411 . [40] D. B. Buchholz , J. Liu , T. J. Marks , M. Zhang , R. P. Chang

Energetic Polyoxetane Thermoplastic Elastomers: Synthesis and Characterization

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-01

Stockmayer, L. D. Moore, M. Fixman, and B. N. Epstein, Copolymers in Dilute Solution. I. Preliminary Results for Styrene- Methyl Methacrylate , J. Polym. Sci... methyl groups of p-dicumyl chloride showed a singlet peak at about 2.0 ppm. The integration ratio of the peak at 2.0 ppm and 7.6 ppm is about 3 within...were prepared by Aerojet. 1H and 13C NMR spectra of polymer solutions in deuteriochloro- form (CDCl3), MSD Isotopes, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, were

Robust electromagnetic absorption by graphene/polymer heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lobet, Michaël; Reckinger, Nicolas; Henrard, Luc; Lambin, Philippe

2015-07-01

Polymer/graphene heterostructures present good shielding efficiency against GHz electromagnetic perturbations. Theory and experiments demonstrate that there is an optimum number of graphene planes, separated by thin polymer spacers, leading to maximum absorption for millimeter waves Batrakov et al (2014 Sci. Rep. 4 7191). Here, electrodynamics of ideal polymer/graphene multilayered material is first approached with a well-adapted continued-fraction formalism. In a second stage, rigorous coupled wave analysis is used to account for the presence of defects in graphene that are typical of samples produced by chemical vapor deposition, namely microscopic holes, microscopic dots (embryos of a second layer) and grain boundaries. It is shown that the optimum absorbance of graphene/polymer multilayers does not weaken to the first order in defect concentration. This finding testifies to the robustness of the shielding efficiency of the proposed absorption device.

Diblock copolymers of polystyrene- b-poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) exhibiting unique three-phase microdomain morphologies

DOE PAGES

Misichronis, Konstantinos; Chen, Jihua; Kahk, Jong K.; ...

2016-03-29

Here, the synthesis and molecular characterization of a series of conformationally asymmetric polystyrene-block-poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) (PS- b-PCHD) diblock copolymers (PCHD: ~90% 1,4 and ~10% 1,2), by sequential anionic copolymerization high vacuum techniques, is reported. A wide range of volume fractions (0.27 ≤ Φ PS ≤ 0.91) was studied by transmission electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering in order to explore in detail the microphase separation behavior of these flexible/semiflexible diblock copolymers. Unusual morphologies, consisting of PCHD core(PCHD-1,4)–shell(PCHD-1,2) cylinders in PS matrix and three-phase (PS, PCHD-1,4, PCHD-1,2) four-layer lamellae, were observed suggesting that the chain stiffness of the PCHD block and the strongmore » dependence of the interaction parameter χ on the PCHD microstructures are important factors for the formation of this unusual microphase separation behavior in PS- b-PCHD diblock copolymers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 1564–1572« less

Comparative color and surface parameters of current esthetic restorative CAD/CAM materials.

PubMed

Egilmez, Ferhan; Ergun, Gulfem; Cekic-Nagas, Isil; Vallittu, Pekka Kalevi; Lassila, Lippo Veli Juhana

2018-02-01

The purpose of this study was to derive and compare the inherent color (hue angle, chroma), translucency (TP SCI ), surface gloss (ΔE * SCE-SCI ), and surface roughness (R a ) amongst selected shades and brands of three hybrid CAD/CAM blocks [GC Cerasmart (CS); Lava Ultimate (LU); Vita Enamic (VE)]. The specimens (N = 225) were prepared into square-shaped (12 × 12 mm 2 ) with different thicknesses and shades. The measurements of color, translucency, and surface gloss were performed by a reflection spectrophotometer. The surface roughness and surface topography were assessed by white light interferometry. Results revealed that hue and chroma values were influenced by the material type, material shade, and material thickness ( P < .001). The order of hue angle amongst the materials was LU > CS > VE, whereas the order of chroma was VE > CS > LU. TP SCI results demonstrated a significant difference in terms of material types and material thicknesses ( P ≤ .001). TP SCI values of the tested materials were ordered as LU > CS > VE. ΔE * SCE-SCI and R a results were significantly varied amongst the materials ( P < .001) and amongst the shades ( P < .05). The order of ΔE * SCE-SCI amongst the materials were as follows LU > VE ≥ CS, whereas the order of R a was CS ≥ VE > LU. Nano-ceramic and polymer-infiltrated-feldspathic ceramic-network CAD/CAM materials exhibited different optical, inherent color and surface parameters.

Adhesion at Entangled Polymer Interfaces: A Unified Approach..

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wool, Richard

2006-03-01

A unified theory of fracture of polymer interfaces was developed which was based on the Rigidity Percolation model of fracture [R.P. Wool, J.Polym.Sci. Part A: Polym Phys., 43,168(2005)]. The polymer fractured critically when the normalized entanglement density p, approached the percolation threshold pc. The fracture energy was found to be G1c ˜ [p-pc]. When applied to interfaces of width X, containing an areal density σ of chains, each contributing L chain entanglements, the percolation term p ˜ σL/X and the percolation threshold was related to σc, Lc, or Xc. For welding of A/A symmetric interfaces, p = σL/X, and pc Lc/M 0, such that when σ/X ˜1/M for randomly distributed chain ends, p˜L ˜ (t/M)^1/2, G/G* = (t/τ*)^1/2, where the weld time τ* ˜ M. When the chain ends are segregated to the surface, σ is constant with time and G/G* = [t/τ*]^1/4. For sub-Tg welding, there exists a surface mobile layer (due to the critical Lindemann Atom fraction) of depth X ˜ 1/δT^ν such that G ˜ δT-2ν, where the critical exponent v = 0.8. For incompatible A/B interfaces of Helfand width d, normalized width w = d/Rge, and entanglement density Nent ˜ d/Le, p ˜ d such that, G1c ˜ [d-dc], G1c ˜ [w-1], and G ˜ [Nent-Nc]. For incompatible A/B interfaces reinforced by an areal density σ of compatibilizer chains, L and X are constant, p ˜ σ, pc ˜σc, such that G1c ˜ [σ-σc], which is in excellent agreement with experimental data.

Nanofiber Enabled, Multi - Target Passive Sampling Device for Determination of the Freely Dissolved Sediment Pore Water Concentrations of Organic Contaminants

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

foil. Nanofiber diameters were adjusted between ~100-200 nm by controlling the electrospinning solution (e.g., viscosity , dielectric constant...acetate)/ Clay Nanocomposite Fibers. J Polym Sci Pol Phys 2009, 47, (24), 2501-2508. 36. Piperno, S.; Lozzi, L.; Rastelli, R.; Passacantando, M.; Santucci

Substantial Differentiation of Human Neural Stem Cells Into Motor Neurons on a Biomimetic Polyureaa

PubMed Central

Yun, Donghwa; Lee, Young M.; Laughter, Melissa R.; Freed, Curt R.

2015-01-01

To find the first restorative treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI), researchers have focused on stem cell therapies. However, one obstacle is the lack of an implantable cell scaffold that can support efficient motor neuron (MN) differentiation and proliferation. We aimed to overcome this through the use of an RGD functionalized novel biomimetic polyurea, optimized to encourage efficient differentiation of MNs. Images taken after 14-days showed increased differentiation (~40%) of hNSCs into MNs as well as increased cell count on the biomimetic polymer compared to PDL-Laminin coating, indicating that the RGD-polyurea provides a favorable microenvironment for hNSC survival, having promising implications for future SCI therapies. PMID:26033933

An In Situ Gelling Drug Delivery System for Improved Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Liu, Dongfei; Jiang, Tao; Cai, Weihua; Chen, Jian; Zhang, Hongbo; Hietala, Sami; Santos, Hélder A; Yin, Guoyong; Fan, Jin

2016-06-01

Therapeutic strategies for the spinal cord injury (SCI) are limited by the current available drug delivery techniques. Here, an in situ gelling drug delivery system (DDS), composed of a Poloxamer-407, a 188 mixture-based thermoresponsive hydrogel matrix and, an incorporated therapeutic compound (monosialoganglioside, GM1), is developed for SCI therapy. A low-thoracic hemisection in rats is used as SCI model to evaluate therapeutic efficiency. The GM1-incorporating Poloxamer-407 and 188 polymer solution is converted to a hydrogel (GM1-hydrogel) upon instillation to the injured spinal cord, due to the increased temperature. At body temperature, the thermoresponsive hydrogel prolongs the release of GM1 for about 1 month, due to the superposition of dissolution and swelling (anomalous transport) of the hydrogel matrix. The sustained release of the GM1-hydrogel enables the prolonged residence time of GM1 at the injured spinal cord, decreases the frequency of administration and, consequently, may improve patient compliance. After SCI, the administration of GM1-hydrogel to the lesion site inhibits the apoptotic cell death and glial scar formation, enhances the neuron regeneration, provides neuroprotection to the injured spinal cord, and improves the locomotor recovery. Overall, this study opens future perspectives for the treatment of SCI with a prolonged drug release DDS. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Molecular Engineering of Azobenzene-Functionalized Polyimides to Enhance Both Photomechanical Work and Motion (POSTPRINT)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

8520−8524. (14) Jiang, Z.; Xu, M.; Li, F.; Yu, Y. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 16446−16453. (15) White, T. J.; Tabiryan, N. V .; Serak, S. V .; Hrozhyk, U...A.; Tondiglia, V . P.; Koerner, H.; Vaia, R. A.; Bunning, T. J. Soft Matter 2008, 4, 1796−1798. (16) Lee, K. M.; Wang, D. H.; Koerner, H.; Vaia, R. A...Bershtein, V . A.; Egorov, V . M.; Podolsky, A. F.; Stepanov, V . A. J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Lett. Ed. 1985, 23, 371−377. (34) Bershtein, V . A.; Rydjov

Life, Beginning and Growing. Study Guide. Unit E1. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hosking, Bunty

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This ZIM-SCI study guide is a three-part unit…

Atoms and Molecules. Study Guide. Unit 2. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project. Year 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mandizha, George

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the third year of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This ZIM-SCI study guide is a four-part unit…

Forces. 'O' Level Study Guide. Unit 1. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project. Year 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Udwin, Martin

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the third year of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This ZIM-SCI study guide is a five-part unit…

Particles in Action. Study Guide. Unit C2. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stocklmayer, Sue

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This ZIM-SCI study guide is a four-part unit…

E2F4 Promotes Neuronal Regeneration and Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury in Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Sasagawa, Shota; Nishimura, Yuhei; Hayakawa, Yuka; Murakami, Soichiro; Ashikawa, Yoshifumi; Yuge, Mizuki; Okabe, Shiko; Kawaguchi, Koki; Kawase, Reiko; Tanaka, Toshio

2016-01-01

Mammals exhibit poor recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI), whereas non-mammalian vertebrates exhibit significant spontaneous recovery after SCI. The mechanisms underlying this difference have not been fully elucidated; therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate these mechanisms. Using comparative transcriptome analysis, we demonstrated that genes related to cell cycle were significantly enriched in the genes specifically dysregulated in zebrafish SCI. Most of the cell cycle-related genes dysregulated in zebrafish SCI were down-regulated, possibly through activation of e2f4. Using a larval zebrafish model of SCI, we demonstrated that the recovery of locomotive function and neuronal regeneration after SCI were significantly inhibited in zebrafish treated with an E2F4 inhibitor. These results suggest that activation of e2f4 after SCI may be responsible, at least in part, for the significant recovery in zebrafish. This provides novel insight into the lack of recovery after SCI in mammals and informs potential therapeutic strategies. PMID:27242526

Chemical Analysis of a "Miller-Type" Complex Prebiotic Broth. Part I: Chemical Diversity, Oxygen and Nitrogen Based Polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wollrab, Eva; Scherer, Sabrina; Aubriet, Frédéric; Carré, Vincent; Carlomagno, Teresa; Codutti, Luca; Ott, Albrecht

2016-06-01

In a famous experiment Stanley Miller showed that a large number of organic substances can emerge from sparking a mixture of methane, ammonia and hydrogen in the presence of water (Miller, Science 117:528-529, 1953). Among these substances Miller identified different amino acids, and he concluded that prebiotic events may well have produced many of Life's molecular building blocks. There have been many variants of the original experiment since, including different gas mixtures (Miller, J Am Chem Soc 77:2351-2361, 1955; Oró Nature 197:862-867, 1963; Schlesinger and Miller, J Mol Evol 19:376-382, 1983; Miyakawa et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci 99:14,628-14,631, 2002). Recently some of Miller's remaining original samples were analyzed with modern equipment (Johnson et al. Science 322:404-404, 2008; Parker et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci 108:5526-5531, 2011) and a total of 23 racemic amino acids were identified. To give an overview of the chemical variety of a possible prebiotic broth, here we analyze a "Miller type" experiment using state of the art mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. We identify substances of a wide range of saturation, which can be hydrophilic, hydrophobic or amphiphilic in nature. Often the molecules contain heteroatoms, with amines and amides being prominent classes of molecule. In some samples we detect ethylene glycol based polymers. Their formation in water requires the presence of a catalyst. Contrary to expectations, we cannot identify any preferred reaction product. The capacity to spontaneously produce this extremely high degree of molecular variety in a very simple experiment is a remarkable feature of organic chemistry and possibly prerequisite for Life to emerge. It remains a future task to uncover how dedicated, organized chemical reaction pathways may have arisen from this degree of complexity.

Acyclic N-Halamine Polymeric Biocidal Films

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-01

surfaces were rechargeable upon chlorine loss. antimicrobial, bacteria, biocidal coatings, biofilms , N-halamine U U U UU 14 Joe Wander 850 283-6240...halamine, biofilms , antimicrobial. INTRODUCTION A variety of antimicrobial organic materials, including phosp ho- nium salts [1-4], quaternary ammonium...Cotton Cellulose , J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 81: 617-624. 21. Sun, Y. and Sun, G. (2002). Durable and Regenerable Antimicrobial Textile Materials Prepared

Conductive polymers for controlled release and treatment of central nervous system injury

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saigal, Rajiv

As one of the most devastating forms of neurotrauma, spinal cord injury remains a challenging clinical problem. The difficulties in treatment could potentially be resolved by better technologies for therapeutic delivery. In order to develop new approaches to treating central nervous system injury, this dissertation focused on using electrically-conductive polymers, controlled drug release, and stem cell transplantation. We first sought to enhance the therapeutic potential of neural stem cells by electrically increasing their production of neurotrophic factors (NTFs), important molecules for neuronal cell survival, differentiation, synaptic development, plasticity, and growth. We fabricated a new cell culture device for growing neural stem cells on a biocompatible, conductive polymer. Electrical stimulation via the polymer led to upregulation of NTF production by neural stem cells. This approach has the potential to enhance stem cell function while avoiding the pitfalls of genetic manipulation, possibly making stem cells more viable as a clinical therapy. Seeing the therapeutic potential of conductive polymers, we extended our studies to an in vivo model of spinal cord injury (SCI). Using a novel fabrication and extraction technique, a conductive polymer was fabricated to fit to the characteristic pathology that follows contusive SCI. Assessed via quantitative analysis of MR images, the conductive polymer significantly reduced compression of the injured spinal cord. Further characterizing astroglial and neuronal response of injured host tissue, we found significant neuronal sparing as a result of this treatment. The in vivo studies also demonstrated improved locomotor recovery mediated by a conductive polymer scaffold over a non-conductive control. We next sought to take advantage of conductive polymers for local, electronically-controlled release of drugs. Seeking to overcome reported limitations in drug delivery via polypyrrole, we first embedded drugs in poly[(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)-co-polyethylene glycol] (PLGA-PEG) nanoparticles and then demonstrated scalable incorporation and controlled release. In a functional application, electronically-controlled release of minocycline nanoparticles was used to rescue primary spinal cord neurons from an excitotoxic environment in vitro. This approach offers a wide range of therapeutic possibilities, especially for treating traumatic lesions of the central nervous system. Finally, we explored use of conductive polymers for directed differentiation of progenitor cells. Retinal progenitors were seeded on custom polypyrrole cell culture devices and subjected to a biomimetic pattern of electrical stimulation. Stimulated cells showed phenotypic changes, increased neurite outgrowth, increased immunocytochemical expression of cone rod homeobox (CRX) and protein kinase C (PK-C), and decreased expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Biomimetic stimulation thus led cells towards early photoreceptor and bipolar cell fates, and away from an astrocytic cell fate. Electrical stimulation via a conductive polymer offers a novel approach for directing differentiation of progenitor cells.

Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Pressure Ulcers scale and short form.

PubMed

Kisala, Pamela A; Tulsky, David S; Choi, Seung W; Kirshblum, Steven C

2015-05-01

To develop a self-reported measure of the subjective impact of pressure ulcers on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) as part of the SCI quality of life (SCI-QOL) measurement system. Grounded-theory based qualitative item development methods, large-scale item calibration testing, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and item response theory-based psychometric analysis. Five SCI Model System centers and one Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in the United States. Adults with traumatic SCI. SCI-QOL Pressure Ulcers scale. 189 individuals with traumatic SCI who experienced a pressure ulcer within the past 7 days completed 30 items related to pressure ulcers. CFA confirmed a unidimensional pool of items. IRT analyses were conducted. A constrained Graded Response Model with a constant slope parameter was used to estimate item thresholds for the 12 retained items. The 12-item SCI-QOL Pressure Ulcers scale is unique in that it is specifically targeted to individuals with spinal cord injury and at every stage of development has included input from individuals with SCI. Furthermore, use of CFA and IRT methods provide flexibility and precision of measurement. The scale may be administered in its entirety or as a 7-item "short form" and is available for both research and clinical practice.

Functional Electrical Stimulation and Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Ho, Chester H.; Triolo, Ronald J.; Elias, Anastasia L.; Kilgore, Kevin L.; DiMarco, Anthony F.; Bogie, Kath; Vette, Albert H.; Audu, Musa; Kobetic, Rudi; Chang, Sarah R.; Chan, K. Ming; Dukelow, Sean; Bourbeau, Dennis J.; Brose, Steven W.; Gustafson, Kenneth J.; Kiss, Zelma; Mushahwar, Vivian K.

2015-01-01

Synopsis Spinal cord injuries (SCI) can disrupt communications between the brain and the body, leading to a loss of control over otherwise intact neuromuscular systems. The use of electrical stimulation (ES) of the central and peripheral nervous system can take advantage of these intact neuromuscular systems to provide therapeutic exercise options, to allow functional restoration, and even to manage or prevent many medical complications following SCI. The use of ES for the restoration of upper extremity, lower extremity and truncal functions can make many activities of daily living a potential reality for individuals with SCI. Restoring bladder and respiratory functions and preventing pressure ulcers may significantly decrease the morbidity and mortality following SCI. Many of the ES devices are already commercially available and should be considered by all SCI clinicians routinely as part of the lifelong rehabilitation care plan for all eligible individuals with SCI. PMID:25064792

Micromolded PDMS planar electrode allows patch clamp electrical recordings from cells.

PubMed

Klemic, Kathryn G; Klemic, James F; Reed, Mark A; Sigworth, Fred J

2002-06-01

The patch clamp method measures membrane currents at very high resolution when a high-resistance 'gigaseal' is established between the glass microelectrode and the cell membrane (Pflugers Arch. 391 (1981) 85; Neuron 8 (1992) 605). Here we describe the first use of the silicone elastomer, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), for patch clamp electrodes. PDMS is an attractive material for patch clamp recordings. It has low dielectric loss and can be micromolded (Annu. Rev. Mat. Sci. 28 (1998) 153) into a shape that mimics the tip of the glass micropipette. Also, the surface chemistry of PDMS may be altered to mimic the hydrophilic nature of glass (J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 14 (1970) 2499; Annu. Rev. Mat. Sci. 28 (1998) 153), thereby allowing a high-resistance seal to a cell membrane. We present a planar electrode geometry consisting of a PDMS partition with a small aperture sealed between electrode and bath chambers. We demonstrate that a planar PDMS patch electrode, after oxidation of the elastomeric surface, permits patch clamp recording on Xenopus oocytes. Our results indicate the potential for high-throughput patch clamp recording with a planar array of PDMS electrodes.

Lipid Peroxidation and Its Role in the Expression of NLRP1a and NLRP3 Genes in Testicular Tissue of Male Rats: a Model of Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed

Bazrafkan, Mahshid; Nikmehr, Banafsheh; Shahverdi, Abdolhossein; Hosseini, Seyed Reza; Hassani, Fatemeh; Poorhassan, Mahnaz; Mokhtari, Tahmineh; Abolhassani, Farid; Choobineh, Hamid; Beyer, Cordian; Hassanzadeh, Gholamreza

2017-10-16

The majority of male patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) suffer from infertility. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors NOD-like receptors (NLRs) are a kind of receptors that corporate in the inflammasome complex. Recent studies have introduced the inflammasome as the responsible agent for secreting cytokines in semen. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) is one of the elements that trigger inflammasome activation. Genital infections in SCI can lead to ROS generation. We investigated the relation between lipid peroxidation and inflammasome complex activity in testicular tissue of SCI rats. Adult male rats (n=20), weighting 200-250 g, were included and divided into four groups: three experimental groups, including SCI1, SCI3, and SCI7, i.e. the rats were subjected to SCI procedure and sacrificed after one, three, and seven days, respectively and a control group. We performed a moderate, midline spinal contusion injury at thoracic level 10. The animals were anesthetized, and testes were collected for measurement of gene expression by real-time PCR. Caudal parts of epididymis were collected for malondialdehyde (MDA) measurement. No NLRP1a mRNA over expression was seen in the testes of control and SCI groups. After seven days from SCI surgery, NLRP3 mRNA expression was significantly increased in SCI7 animals (P≤0.05). There was a significant difference in MDA level in SCI7 versus control group, as well as SCI1 and SCI3 animals (P≤0.05). NLRP3 overexpression occurs due to the increased ROS production in testicular tissue of SCI rats.

Lipid Peroxidation and Its Role in the Expression of NLRP1a and NLRP3 Genes in Testicular Tissue of Male Rats: A Model of Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Bazrafkan, Mahshid; Nikmehr, Banafsheh; Shahverdi, Abdolhossein; Hosseini, Seyed Reza; Hassani, Fatemeh; Poorhassan, Mahnaz; Mokhtari, Tahmineh; Abolhassani, Farid; Choobineh, Hamid; Beyer, Cordian; Hassanzadeh, Gholamreza

2018-01-01

Background: The majority of male patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) suffer from infertility. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors NOD-like receptors (NLRs) are a kind of receptors that corporate in the inflammasome complex. Recent studies have introduced the inflammasome as the responsible agent for secreting cytokines in semen. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) is one of the elements that trigger inflammasome activation. Genital infections in SCI can lead to ROS generation. We investigated the relation between lipid peroxidation and inflammasome complex activity in testicular tissue of SCI rats. Methods: Adult male rats (n=20), weighting 200-250 g, were included and divided into four groups: three experimental groups, including SCI1, SCI3, and SCI7, i.e. the rats were subjected to SCI procedure and sacrificed after one, three, and seven days, respectively and a control group. We performed a moderate, midline spinal contusion injury at thoracic level 10. The animals were anesthetized, and testes were collected for measurement of gene expression by real-time PCR. Caudal parts of epididymis were collected for malondialdehyde (MDA) measurement. Results: No NLRP1a mRNA overexpression was seen in the testes of control and SCI groups. After seven days from SCI surgery, NLRP3 mRNA expression was significantly increased in SCI7 animals (p ≤ 0.05). There was a significant difference in MDA level in SCI7 versus control group, as well as SCI1 and SCI3 animals (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: NLRP3 overexpression occurs due to the increased ROS production in testis tissue of SCI rats

Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Pressure Ulcers scale and short form

PubMed Central

Kisala, Pamela A.; Tulsky, David S.; Choi, Seung W.; Kirshblum, Steven C.

2015-01-01

Objective To develop a self-reported measure of the subjective impact of pressure ulcers on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) as part of the SCI quality of life (SCI-QOL) measurement system. Design Grounded-theory based qualitative item development methods, large-scale item calibration testing, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and item response theory-based psychometric analysis. Setting Five SCI Model System centers and one Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in the United States. Participants Adults with traumatic SCI. Main Outcome Measures SCI-QOL Pressure Ulcers scale. Results 189 individuals with traumatic SCI who experienced a pressure ulcer within the past 7 days completed 30 items related to pressure ulcers. CFA confirmed a unidimensional pool of items. IRT analyses were conducted. A constrained Graded Response Model with a constant slope parameter was used to estimate item thresholds for the 12 retained items. Conclusions The 12-item SCI-QOL Pressure Ulcers scale is unique in that it is specifically targeted to individuals with spinal cord injury and at every stage of development has included input from individuals with SCI. Furthermore, use of CFA and IRT methods provide flexibility and precision of measurement. The scale may be administered in its entirety or as a 7-item “short form” and is available for both research and clinical practice. PMID:26010965

Diagnostic accuracy of evoked potentials for functional impairment after contusive spinal cord injury in adult rats.

PubMed

Thirumala, Parthasarathy; Zhou, James; Krishnan, Rohan; Manem, Nihita; Umredkar, Shreya; Hamilton, D K; Balzer, Jeffrey R; Oudega, Martin

2016-03-01

Iatrogenic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a cause of potentially debilitating post-operative neurologic complications. Currently, intra-operative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) via somatosensory evoked potentials and motor-evoked potentials is used to detect and prevent impending SCI. However, no empirically validated interventions exist to halt the progression of iatrogenic SCI once it is detected. This is in part due to the lack of a suitable translational model that mimics the circumstances surrounding iatrogenic SCI detected via IONM. Here, we evaluate a model of simulated contusive iatrogenic SCI detected via IONM in adult female Sprague-Dawley rats. We show that transient losses of somatosensory evoked potentials responses are 88.24% sensitive (95% confidence interval [CI] 63.53-98.20) and 80% specific (95% CI 51.91-95.43) for significant functional impairment following simulated iatrogenic SCI. Similarly, we show that transient losses in motor-evoked potentials responses are 70.83% sensitive (95% CI 48.91-87.33) and 100% specific (95% CI 62.91-100.00) for significant functional impairment following simulated iatrogenic SCI. These results indicate that our model is a suitable replica of the circumstances surrounding clinical iatrogenic SCI. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advancing Renewable Materials by Light and X-ray Scattering

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

Akpalu, Yvonne A

With the ultimate goal to design PHA polymer nanocomposites with tailored properties, we have completed systematic study of the influence of cooling rate [Xie et al, J. Appl. Poly. Sci., 2008] and nanofiller [Xie et al, Polymer 2009] characteristics on model bionanocomposites. Structure-property relationships for a model bionanocomposites system were investigated. These results yielded new fundamental knowledge that supports the discovery of cost-effective manufacturing technologies for a family of promising polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) polyesters, with the potential to replace polyethylene and polypropylene (see Noda letter). Our results show that simple two-phase composite models do not account for the data. Although improvementmore » of the mechanical properties (stiffness/modulus and toughness) must be due to alteration of the matrix by the nanoparticle filler, the observed improvement was not caused by the change of crystallinity or spherulitic morphology. Instead, improvement depends on the molecular weight of the polymer matrix and unknown filler-matrix interactions.« less

Damage healing ability of a shape-memory-polymer-based particulate composite with small thermoplastic contents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nji, Jones; Li, Guoqiang

2012-02-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of a shape-memory-polymer (SMP)-based particulate composite to heal structural-length scale damage with small thermoplastic additive contents through a close-then-heal (CTH) self-healing scheme that was introduced in a previous study (Li and Uppu 2010 Comput. Sci. Technol. 70 1419-27). The idea is to achieve reasonable healing efficiencies with minimal sacrifice in structural load capacity. By first closing cracks, the gap between two crack surfaces is narrowed and a lesser amount of thermoplastic particles is required to achieve healing. The particulate composite was fabricated by dispersing copolyester thermoplastic particles in a shape memory polymer matrix. It is found that, for small thermoplastic contents of less than 10%, the CTH scheme followed in this study heals structural-length scale damage in the SMP particulate composite to a meaningful extent and with less sacrifice of structural capacity.

Pain after spinal cord injury: a review of classification, treatment approaches, and treatment assessment.

PubMed

Cardenas, Diana D; Felix, Elizabeth R

2009-12-01

Pain is a prevalent consequence of spinal cord injury (SCI) that can persist for years after the injury and can have a significant impact on physical and emotional function and quality of life. There are a variety of types of pain that may develop after a SCI, including those of primarily nociceptive origin and those of primarily neuropathic origin. Recommendations for diagnostic and treatment strategies have been varied in part because of the lack of a universal classification system and in part because of the biopsychosocial nature of pain. The most recent taxonomy for pain after SCI is described herein. Pain-management strategies, including pharmacological, interventional, and psychological treatments, also are described. For neuropathic pain in SCI, anticonvulsant agents and tricyclic antidepressants often are tried, but these treatments have had limited success in many patients, and alternative interventions (eg, massage therapy, acupuncture, meditation) often are just as successful. Treatment of nociceptive pain after SCI often includes nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents and acetaminophen, but correction of underlying etiologies and behavior adjustments also should be implemented if possible. An overview of self-report pain questionnaires and scales is also presented to provide the clinician and researcher with a set of tools to evaluate the efficacy of pain interventions.

Polymer deformation in Brownian ratchets: theory and molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Kenward, Martin; Slater, Gary W

2008-11-01

We examine polymers in the presence of an applied asymmetric sawtooth (ratchet) potential which is periodically switched on and off, using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with an explicit Lennard-Jones solvent. We show that the distribution of the center of mass for a polymer in a ratchet is relatively wide for potential well depths U0 on the order of several kBT. The application of the ratchet potential also deforms the polymer chains. With increasing U0 the Flory exponent varies from that for a free three-dimensional (3D) chain, nu=35 (U0=0), to that corresponding to a 2D compressed (pancake-shaped) polymer with a value of nu=34 for moderate U0. This has the added effect of decreasing a polymer's diffusion coefficient from its 3D value D3D to that of a pancaked-shaped polymer moving parallel to its minor axis D2D. The result is that a polymer then has a time-dependent diffusion coefficient D(t) during the ratchet off time. We further show that this suggests a different method to operate a ratchet, where the off time of the ratchet, toff, is defined in terms of the relaxation time of the polymer, tauR. We also derive a modified version of the Bader ratchet model [Bader, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96, 13165 (1999)] which accounts for this deformation and we present a simple expression to describe the time dependent diffusion coefficient D(t). Using this model we then illustrate that polymer deformation can be used to modulate polymer migration in a ratchet potential.

Influence of macromolecular architecture on necking in polymer extrusion film casting process

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

Pol, Harshawardhan; Banik, Sourya; Azad, Lal Busher

2015-05-22

Extrusion film casting (EFC) is an important polymer processing technique that is used to produce several thousand tons of polymer films/coatings on an industrial scale. In this research, we are interested in understanding quantitatively how macromolecular chain architecture (for example long chain branching (LCB) or molecular weight distribution (MWD or PDI)) influences the necking and thickness distribution of extrusion cast films. We have used different polymer resins of linear and branched molecular architecture to produce extrusion cast films under controlled experimental conditions. The necking profiles of the films were imaged and the velocity profiles during EFC were monitored using particlemore » tracking velocimetry (PTV) technique. Additionally, the temperature profiles were captured using an IR thermography and thickness profiles were calculated. The experimental results are compared with predictions of one-dimensional flow model of Silagy et al{sup 1} wherein the polymer resin rheology is modeled using molecular constitutive equations such as the Rolie-Poly (RP) and extended Pom Pom (XPP). We demonstrate that the 1-D flow model containing the molecular constitutive equations provides new insights into the role of macromolecular chain architecture on film necking.{sup 1}D. Silagy, Y. Demay, and J-F. Agassant, Polym. Eng. Sci., 36, 2614 (1996)« less

Effects of lengthscales and attractions on the collapse of hydrophobic polymers in water

PubMed Central

Athawale, Manoj V.; Goel, Gaurav; Ghosh, Tuhin; Truskett, Thomas M.; Garde, Shekhar

2007-01-01

We present results from extensive molecular dynamics simulations of collapse transitions of hydrophobic polymers in explicit water focused on understanding effects of lengthscale of the hydrophobic surface and of attractive interactions on folding. Hydrophobic polymers display parabolic, protein-like, temperature-dependent free energy of unfolding. Folded states of small attractive polymers are marginally stable at 300 K and can be unfolded by heating or cooling. Increasing the lengthscale or decreasing the polymer–water attractions stabilizes folded states significantly, the former dominated by the hydration contribution. That hydration contribution can be described by the surface tension model, ΔG = γ(T)ΔA, where the surface tension, γ, is lengthscale-dependent and decreases monotonically with temperature. The resulting variation of the hydration entropy with polymer lengthscale is consistent with theoretical predictions of Huang and Chandler [Huang DM, Chandler D (2000) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:8324–8327] that explain the blurring of entropy convergence observed in protein folding thermodynamics. Analysis of water structure shows that the polymer–water hydrophobic interface is soft and weakly dewetted, and is characterized by enhanced interfacial density fluctuations. Formation of this interface, which induces polymer folding, is strongly opposed by enthalpy and favored by entropy, similar to the vapor–liquid interface. PMID:17215352

Developing a spinal cord injury research strategy using a structured process of evidence review and stakeholder dialogue. Part III: outcomes.

PubMed

Middleton, J W; Piccenna, L; Lindsay Gruen, R; Williams, S; Creasey, G; Dunlop, S; Brown, D; Batchelor, P E; Berlowitz, D J; Coates, S; Dunn, J A; Furness, J B; Galea, M P; Geraghty, T; Kwon, B K; Urquhart, S; Yates, D; Bragge, P

2015-10-01

Focus Group. To develop a unified, regional spinal cord injury (SCI) research strategy for Australia and New Zealand. Australia. A 1-day structured stakeholder dialogue was convened in 2013 in Melbourne, Australia, by the National Trauma Research Institute in collaboration with the SCI Network of Australia and New Zealand. Twenty-three experts participated, representing local and international research, clinical, consumer, advocacy, government policy and funding perspectives. Preparatory work synthesised evidence and articulated draft principles and options as a starting point for discussion. A regional SCI research strategy was proposed, whose objectives can be summarised under four themes. (1) Collaborative networks and strategic partnerships to increase efficiency, reduce duplication, build capacity and optimise research funding. (2) Research priority setting and coordination to manage competing studies. (3) Mechanisms for greater consumer engagement in research. (4) Resources and infrastructure to further develop SCI data registries, evaluate research translation and assess alignment of research strategy with stakeholder interests. These are consistent with contemporary international SCI research strategy development activities. This first step in a regional SCI research strategy has articulated objectives for further development by the wider SCI research community. The initiative has also reinforced the importance of coordinated, collective action in optimising outcomes following SCI.

Advanced Coatings from Natural-Based Polymers for Metals

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-07-01

Polyimide Interfaces," J. surfaces using a simple dipping-withdrawing coating Vac. Sci. Technol., 3,1390 (1985).converted into the solid layers by heat...Tang, C.H., "Interface Reaction During Metalliza- more, the Al metal in the substrate favorably interacted tion of Cured Polyimide : An XPS Study," 1...property together with its biocompatability was the reason why CS is widely used in biomedical applications, for example, a bacteriostatic agent, a

An analysis of sponge genomes.

PubMed

Costantini, Maria

2004-11-24

The genome of sponges has only been investigated so far by Bartmann-Lindholm et al. [Progr. Colloid. Polym. Sci. 107 (1997) 122-126] who reported a multimodal CsCl profile which could be resolved into five peaks for Geodia cydonium. This problem was reinvestigated here on both G. cydonium and Suberites domuncula. It was shown that DNAs from both sponges are characterized by unimodal CsCl profiles, additional peaks being due to contaminating prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms.

SciServer: An Online Collaborative Environment for Big Data in Research and Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raddick, Jordan; Souter, Barbara; Lemson, Gerard; Taghizadeh-Popp, Manuchehr

2017-01-01

For the past year, SciServer Compute (http://compute.sciserver.org) has offered access to big data resources running within server-side Docker containers. Compute has allowed thousands of researchers to bring advanced analysis to big datasets like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and others, while keeping the analysis close to the data for better performance and easier read/write access. SciServer Compute is just one part of the SciServer system being developed at Johns Hopkins University, which provides an easy-to-use collaborative research environment for astronomy and many other sciences.SciServer enables these collaborative research strategies using Jupyter notebooks, in which users can write their own Python and R scripts and execute them on the same server as the data. We have written special-purpose libraries for querying, reading, and writing data. Intermediate results can be stored in large scratch space (hundreds of TBs) and analyzed directly from within Python or R with state-of-the-art visualization and machine learning libraries. Users can store science-ready results in their permanent allocation on SciDrive, a Dropbox-like system for sharing and publishing files.SciServer Compute’s virtual research environment has grown with the addition of task management and access control functions, allowing collaborators to share both data and analysis scripts securely across the world. These features also open up new possibilities for education, allowing instructors to share datasets with students and students to write analysis scripts to share with their instructors. We are leveraging these features into a new system called “SciServer Courseware,” which will allow instructors to share assignments with their students, allowing students to engage with big data in new ways.SciServer has also expanded to include more datasets beyond the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. A part of that growth has been the addition of the SkyQuery component, which allows for simple, fast cross-matching between very large astronomical datasets.Demos, documentation, and more information about all these resources can be found at www.sciserver.org.

Exercise modulates chloride homeostasis after spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Côté, Marie-Pascale; Gandhi, Sapan; Zambrotta, Marina; Houlé, John D

2014-07-02

Activity-based therapies are routinely integrated in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation programs because they result in a reduction of hyperreflexia and spasticity. However, the mechanisms by which exercise regulates activity in spinal pathways to reduce spasticity and improve functional recovery are poorly understood. Persisting alterations in the action of GABA on postsynaptic targets is a signature of CNS injuries, including SCI. The action of GABA depends on the intracellular chloride concentration, which is determined largely by the expression of two cation-chloride cotransporters (CCCs), KCC2 and NKCC1, which serve as chloride exporters and importers, respectively. We hypothesized that the reduction in hyperreflexia with exercise after SCI relies on a return to chloride homeostasis. Sprague Dawley rats received a spinal cord transection at T12 and were assigned to SCI-7d, SCI-14d, SCI-14d+exercise, SCI-28d, SCI-28d+exercise, or SCI-56d groups. During a terminal experiment, H-reflexes were recorded from interosseus muscles after stimulation of the tibial nerve and the low-frequency-dependent depression (FDD) was assessed. We provide evidence that exercise returns spinal excitability and levels of KCC2 and NKCC1 toward normal levels in the lumbar spinal cord. Acutely altering chloride extrusion using the KCC2 blocker DIOA masked the effect of exercise on FDD, whereas blocking NKCC1 with bumetanide returned FDD toward intact levels after SCI. Our results indicate that exercise contributes to reflex recovery and restoration of endogenous inhibition through a return to chloride homeostasis after SCI. This lends support for CCCs as part of a pathway that could be manipulated to improve functional recovery when combined with rehabilitation programs. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/348976-12$15.00/0.

Nutritional Health Considerations for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Bigford, Gregory; Nash, Mark S

2017-01-01

Chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in morbidity and mortality due to all-cause cardiovascular disease (CVD) and comorbid endocrine disorders. Several component risk factors for CVD, described as the cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS), are prevalent in SCI, with the individual risks of obesity and insulin resistance known to advance the disease prognosis to a greater extent than other established risks. Notably, adiposity and insulin resistance are attributed in large part to a commonly observed maladaptive dietary/nutritional profile. Although there are no evidence-based nutritional guidelines to address the CMS risk in SCI, contemporary treatment strategies advocate more comprehensive lifestyle management that includes sustained nutritional guidance as a necessary component for overall health management. This monograph describes factors in SCI that contribute to CMS risks, the current nutritional profile and its contribution to CMS risks, and effective treatment strategies including the adaptability of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) to SCI. Establishing appropriate nutritional guidelines and recommendations will play an important role in addressing the CMS risks in SCI and preserving optimal long-term health.

Leisure repertoire among persons with a spinal cord injury: interests, performance, and well-being.

PubMed

Lundström, Ulrica; Lilja, Margareta; Petersson, Ingela; Lexell, Jan; Isaksson, Gunilla

2014-03-01

To explore and describe the leisure repertoire of persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and how the repertoire is related to interest, performance, and well-being. Cross-sectional study. A total of 97 persons with traumatic SCI were recruited from the non-profit national organization, RG Active Rehabilitation in Sweden. Data were collected through a two-part postal survey. The first comprised of questions investigating socio-demographic variables and injury characteristics; the second part included an interest checklist with 20 areas of leisure activities. The participants were mostly interested in, performed, and experienced well-being from social and culture activities and TV/DVD/movies. The areas of leisure activities in which they had most likely experienced changes after the SCI were outdoor activities, exercise, and gardening. Sex, age, and to some extent, time since injury were related to interest, performance, well-being, and changed performance. The results provided an explanation and limited description of a changed leisure repertoire among persons after a traumatic SCI. The study showed that sex, age, and time since injury were more closely related to the choice of leisure activities to include in the leisure repertoire than the level of injury. This knowledge can be of importance when professionals in the field of rehabilitation are planning and implementing interventions concerning leisure activities for persons with SCI.

Leisure repertoire among persons with a spinal cord injury: Interests, performance, and well-being

PubMed Central

Lundström, Ulrica; Lilja, Margareta; Petersson, Ingela; Lexell, Jan; Isaksson, Gunilla

2014-01-01

Objective To explore and describe the leisure repertoire of persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and how the repertoire is related to interest, performance, and well-being. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting A total of 97 persons with traumatic SCI were recruited from the non-profit national organization, RG Active Rehabilitation in Sweden. Outcome measure Data were collected through a two-part postal survey. The first comprised of questions investigating socio-demographic variables and injury characteristics; the second part included an interest checklist with 20 areas of leisure activities. Results The participants were mostly interested in, performed, and experienced well-being from social and culture activities and TV/DVD/movies. The areas of leisure activities in which they had most likely experienced changes after the SCI were outdoor activities, exercise, and gardening. Sex, age, and to some extent, time since injury were related to interest, performance, well-being, and changed performance. Conclusions The results provided an explanation and limited description of a changed leisure repertoire among persons after a traumatic SCI. The study showed that sex, age, and time since injury were more closely related to the choice of leisure activities to include in the leisure repertoire than the level of injury. This knowledge can be of importance when professionals in the field of rehabilitation are planning and implementing interventions concerning leisure activities for persons with SCI. PMID:24090284

Pathological activity in mediodorsal thalamus of rats with spinal cord injury pain.

PubMed

Whitt, Jessica L; Masri, Radi; Pulimood, Nisha S; Keller, Asaf

2013-02-27

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results not only in motor deficits, but produces, in many patients, excruciating chronic pain (SCI pain). We have previously shown, in a rodent model, that SCI causes suppression of activity in the GABAergic nucleus, the zona incerta (ZI), and concomitant increased activity in one of its main targets, the posterior nucleus of the thalamus (PO); the increased PO activity is correlated with the maintenance and expression of hyperalgesia after SCI. Here, we test the hypothesis that SCI causes a similar pathological increase in other thalamic nuclei regulated by the ZI, specifically the mediodorsal thalamus (MD), which is involved in the emotional-affective aspects of pain. We recorded single and multiunit activity from MD of either anesthetized or awake rats, and compared data from rats with SCI with data from sham-operated controls (anesthetized experiments) or with data from the same animals prelesion (awake experiments). Consistent with our hypothesis, MD neurons from rats with SCI show significant increases in spontaneous firing rates and in the magnitude and duration of responses to noxious stimuli. In a subset of anesthetized animals, similar changes in activity of MD neurons were produced by pharmacologically inactivating ZI in naive rats, suggesting that the changes in the MD after SCI are related to suppressed inhibition from the ZI. These data support our hypothesis that SCI pain results, at least in part, from a loss of inhibition to thalamic nuclei associated with both the sensory-discriminative and emotional-affective components of pain.

Regeneration and Remodeling of Composite Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-27

10.1002/adhm.201400084. [47] K. Jud, H.H. Kausch, J.G. Williams, Fracture mechanics studies of crack healing and welding of polymers, J. Mater. Sci...1.1. Archival publications resulting from the AFOSR Discovery grant 1. H. Jin , K.R. Hart, A.M. Coppola, R.C. Gergely, J.S. Moore, N.R. Sottos, S.R...Discovery grant 1. R.C.R. Gergely, J.S. Moore, N.R. Sottos, S.R. White, Regenerative Coatings, Society for Experimental Mechanics Annual Conference and

CitSci.org: A New Model for Managing, Documenting, and Sharing Citizen Science Data.

PubMed

Wang, Yiwei; Kaplan, Nicole; Newman, Greg; Scarpino, Russell

2015-10-01

Citizen science projects have the potential to advance science by increasing the volume and variety of data, as well as innovation. Yet this potential has not been fully realized, in part because citizen science data are typically not widely shared and reused. To address this and related challenges, we built CitSci.org (see www.citsci.org), a customizable platform that allows users to collect and generate diverse datasets. We hope that CitSci.org will ultimately increase discoverability and confidence in citizen science observations, encouraging scientists to use such data in their own scientific research.

Dynamic and temperature dependent response of physical vapor deposited Se in freely standing nanometric thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Heedong; McKenna, Gregory B.

2016-05-01

Here, we report results from an investigation of nano-scale size or confinement effects on the glass transition and viscoelastic properties of physical vapor deposited selenium films. The viscoelastic response of freely standing Se films was determined using a biaxial membrane inflation or bubble inflation method [P. A. O'Connell and G. B. McKenna, Science 307, 1760-1763 (2005)] on films having thicknesses from 60 to 267 nm and over temperatures ranging from Tg, macroscopic - 15 °C to Tg, macroscopic + 21 °C. Time-temperature superposition and time-thickness superposition were found to hold for the films in the segmental dispersion. The responses are compared with macroscopic creep and recoverable creep compliance data for selenium [K. M. Bernatz et al., J. Non-Cryst. Solids 307, 790-801 (2002)]. The time-temperature shift factors for the thin films show weaker temperature dependence than seen in the macroscopic behavior, being near to Arrhenius-like in their temperature dependence. Furthermore, the Se films exhibit a "rubbery-like" stiffening that increases as film thickness decreases similar to prior observations [P. A. O'Connell et al., Macromolecules 45(5), 2453-2459 (2012)] for organic polymers. In spite of the differences from the macroscopic behavior in the temperature dependence of the viscoelastic response, virtually no change in Tg as determined from the thickness dependence of the retardation time defining Tg was observed in the bubble inflation creep experiments to thicknesses as small as 60 nm. We also find that the observed rubbery stiffening is consistent with the postulate of K. L. Ngai et al. [J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 51(3), 214-224 (2013)] that it should correlate with the change of the macroscopic segmental relaxation.

Museum in a School (reaching the unreachable audience). Final report, February 2, 1993--December 14, 1995

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

Diaz, O.

SciTech, an interactive science and technology center located 45 miles west of Chicago, is dedicated to providing hands-on and minds-on experiences that explore the spectrum of science and mathematics. SciTech opened at its present location during the summer of 1990 in Aurora, a changing community with a large minority population. Since then, SciTech has received over 331,000 visitors from the entire Chicago metropolitan area. There are now more than 250 exhibits housed in the museum. SciTech has grown quickly in part due to the strong volunteer support from the research and development corridor population it serves, as well as throughmore » international ties. SciTech has become known as an innovative force in the science museum community for its original exhibits and unique youth and school programs. SciTech`s traveling outreach program, ``Museum in a School,`` has served over 391 public and private schools in 111 districts in the Chicago metropolitan area, and has reached over 3,099 teachers and 98,837 students throughout its history. This program serves a wide variety of students, including bilingual, economically depressed, and learning impaired. SciTech is concerned with every American`s need for increasing basic science literacy.« less

Fenbendazole improves pathological and functional recovery following traumatic spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Yu, C G; Singh, R; Crowdus, C; Raza, K; Kincer, J; Geddes, J W

2014-01-03

During a study of spinal cord injury (SCI), mice in our colony were treated with the anthelmintic fenbendazole to treat pinworms detected in other mice not involved in the study. As this was not part of the original experimental design, we subsequently compared pathological and functional outcomes of SCI in female C57BL/6 mice who received fenbendazole (150 ppm, 8 mg/kg body weight/day) for 4 weeks prior to moderate contusive SCI (50 kdyn force) as compared to mice on the same diet without added fenbendazole. The fenbendazole-treated mice exhibited improved locomotor function, determined using the Basso mouse scale, as well as improved tissue sparing following contusive SCI. Fenbendazole may exert protective effects through multiple possible mechanisms, one of which is inhibition of the proliferation of B lymphocytes, thereby reducing antibody responses. Autoantibodies produced following SCI contribute to the axon damage and locomotor deficits. Fenbendazole pretreatment reduced the injury-induced CD45R-positive B cell signal intensity and IgG immunoreactivity at the lesion epicenter 6 weeks after contusive SCI in mice, consistent with a possible effect on the immune response to the injury. Fenbendazole and related benzimadole antihelmintics are FDA approved, exhibit minimal toxicity, and represent a novel group of potential therapeutics targeting secondary mechanisms following SCI. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Fenbendazole improves pathological and functional recovery following traumatic spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Yu, Chen Guang; Singh, Ranjana; Crowdus, Carolyn; Raza, Kashif; Kincer, Jeanie; Geddes, James W.

2014-01-01

During a study of spinal cord injury (SCI), mice in our colony were treated with the anthelmintic fenbendazole to treat pinworms detected in other mice not involved in the study. As this was not part of the original experimental design, we subsequently compared pathological and functional outcomes of SCI in female C57BL/6 mice who received fenbendazole (150 ppm, 8 mg/kg body weight/day) for four weeks prior to moderate contusive SCI (50 kdyn force) as compared to mice on the same diet without added fenbendazole. The fenbendazole-treated mice exhibited improved locomotor function, determined using the Basso mouse scale, as well as improved tissue sparing following contusive SCI. Fenbendazole may exert protective effects through multiple possible mechanisms, one of which is inhibition of the proliferation of B lymphocytes, thereby reducing antibody responses. Autoantibodies produced following SCI contribute to the axon damage and locomotor deficits. Fenbendazole pretreatment reduced the injury-induced CD45R-positive B cell signal intensity and IgG immunoreactivity at the lesion epicenter six weeks after contusive SCI in mice, consistent with a possible effect on the immune response to the injury. Fenbendazole and related benzimadole antihelmintics are FDA approved, exhibit minimal toxicity, and represent a novel group of potential therapeutics targeting secondary mechanisms following SCI. PMID:24183965

Spinal cord injury affects the interplay between visual and sensorimotor representations of the body

PubMed Central

Ionta, Silvio; Villiger, Michael; Jutzeler, Catherine R; Freund, Patrick; Curt, Armin; Gassert, Roger

2016-01-01

The brain integrates multiple sensory inputs, including somatosensory and visual inputs, to produce a representation of the body. Spinal cord injury (SCI) interrupts the communication between brain and body and the effects of this deafferentation on body representation are poorly understood. We investigated whether the relative weight of somatosensory and visual frames of reference for body representation is altered in individuals with incomplete or complete SCI (affecting lower limbs’ somatosensation), with respect to controls. To study the influence of afferent somatosensory information on body representation, participants verbally judged the laterality of rotated images of feet, hands, and whole-bodies (mental rotation task) in two different postures (participants’ body parts were hidden from view). We found that (i) complete SCI disrupts the influence of postural changes on the representation of the deafferented body parts (feet, but not hands) and (ii) regardless of posture, whole-body representation progressively deteriorates proportionally to SCI completeness. These results demonstrate that the cortical representation of the body is dynamic, responsive, and adaptable to contingent conditions, in that the role of somatosensation is altered and partially compensated with a change in the relative weight of somatosensory versus visual bodily representations. PMID:26842303

Cardiac dysfunctions following spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Sandu, AM; Popescu, M; Iacobini, MA; Stoian, R; Neascu, C; Popa, F

2009-01-01

The aim of this article is to analyze cardiac dysfunctions occurring after spinal cord injury (SCI). Cardiac dysfunctions are common complications following SCI. Cardiovascular disturbances are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in both acute and chronic stages of SCI. We reviewed epidemiology of cardiac disturbances after SCI, and neuroanatomy and pathophysiology of autonomic nervous system, sympathetic and parasympathetic. SCI causes disruption of descendent pathways from central control centers to spinal sympathetic neurons, originating into intermediolateral nuclei of T1–L2 spinal cord segments. Loss of supraspinal control over sympathetic nervous system results in reduced overall sympathetic activity below the level of injury and unopposed parasympathetic outflow through intact vagal nerve. SCI associates significant cardiac dysfunction. Impairment of autonomic nervous control system, mostly in patients with cervical or high thoracic SCI, causes cardiac dysrrhythmias, especially bradycardia and, rarely, cardiac arrest, or tachyarrhytmias and hypotension. Specific complication dependent on the period of time after trauma like spinal shock and autonomic dysreflexia are also reviewed. Spinal shock occurs during the acute phase following SCI and is a transitory suspension of function and reflexes below the level of the injury. Neurogenic shock, part of spinal shock, consists of severe bradycardia and hypotension. Autonomic dysreflexia appears during the chronic phase, after spinal shock resolution, and it is a life–threatening syndrome of massive imbalanced reflex sympathetic discharge occurring in patients with SCI above the splanchnic sympathetic outflow (T5–T6). Besides all this, additional cardiac complications, such as cardiac deconditioning and coronary heart disease may also occur. Proper prophylaxis, including nonpharmacologic and pharmacological strategies and cardiac rehabilitation diminish occurrence of the cardiac dysfunction following SCI. Each type of cardiac disturbance requires specific treatment. PMID:20108532

Anabolic steroids reduce spinal cord injury-related bone loss in rats associated with increased Wnt signaling

PubMed Central

Sun, Li; Pan, Jiangping; Peng, Yuanzhen; Wu, Yong; Li, Jianghua; Liu, Xuan; Qin, Yiwen; Bauman, William A.; Cardozo, Christopher; Zaidi, Mone; Qin, Weiping

2013-01-01

Background Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes severe bone loss. At present, there is no practical treatment to delay or prevent bone loss in individuals with motor-complete SCI. Hypogonadism is common in men after SCI and may exacerbate bone loss. The anabolic steroid nandrolone reduces bone loss due to microgravity or nerve transection. Objective To determine whether nandrolone reduced bone loss after SCI and, if so, to explore the mechanisms of nandrolone action. Methods Male rats with complete transection of the spinal cord were administered nandrolone combined with a physiological replacement dose of testosterone, or vehicle, beginning on day 29 after SCI and continued for 28 days. Results SCI reduced distal femoral and proximal tibial bone mineral density (BMD) by 25 and 16%, respectively, at 56 days. This bone loss was attenuated by nandrolone. In ex vivo osteoclasts cultures, SCI increased mRNA levels for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and calcitonin receptor; nandrolone-normalized expression levels of these transcripts. In ex vivo osteoblast cultures, SCI increased receptor activator of NF-kB ligand (RANKL) mRNA levels but did not alter osteoprotegerin (OPG) mRNA expression; nandrolone-increased expression of OPG and OPG/RANKL ratio. SCI reduced mRNA levels of Wnt signaling-related genes Wnt3a, low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5), Fzd5, Tcf7, and ectodermal-neural cortex 1 (ENC1) in osteoblasts, whereas nandrolone increased expression of each of these genes. Conclusions The results demonstrate that nandrolone reduces bone loss after SCI. A potential mechanism is suggested by our findings wherein nandrolone modulates genes for differentiation and activity of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, at least in part, through the activation of Wnt signaling. PMID:24090150

Individual Placement and Support in Spinal Cord Injury: A Longitudinal Observational Study of Employment Outcomes.

PubMed

Ottomanelli, Lisa; Goetz, Lance L; Barnett, Scott D; Njoh, Eni; Dixon, Thomas M; Holmes, Sally Ann; LePage, James P; Ota, Doug; Sabharwal, Sunil; White, Kevin T

2017-08-01

To determine the effects of a 24-month program of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) supported employment (SE) on employment outcomes for veterans with spinal cord injury (SCI). Longitudinal, observational multisite study of a single-arm, nonrandomized cohort. SCI centers in the Veterans Health Administration (n=7). Veterans with SCI (N=213) enrolled during an episode of either inpatient hospital care (24.4%) or outpatient care (75.6%). More than half the sample (59.2%) had a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). IPS SE for 24 months. Competitive employment. Over the 24-month period, 92 of 213 IPS participants obtained competitive jobs for an overall employment rate of 43.2%. For the subsample of participants without TBI enrolled as outpatients (n=69), 36 obtained competitive jobs for an overall employment rate of 52.2%. Overall, employed participants averaged 38.2±29.7 weeks of employment, with an average time to first employment of 348.3±220.0 days. Nearly 25% of first jobs occurred within 4 to 6 months of beginning the program. Similar employment characteristics were observed in the subsample without TBI history enrolled as outpatients. Almost half of the veterans with SCI participating in the 24-month IPS program as part of their ongoing SCI care achieved competitive employment, consistent with their expressed preferences at the start of the study. Among a subsample of veterans without TBI history enrolled as outpatients, employment rates were >50%. Time to first employment was highly variable, but quite long in many instances. These findings support offering continued IPS services as part of ongoing SCI care to achieve positive employment outcomes. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric analysis of aliphatic biodegradable photoluminescent polymers using new ionic liquid matrices.

PubMed

Serrano, Carlos A; Zhang, Yi; Yang, Jian; Schug, Kevin A

2011-05-15

In this study, two novel ionic liquid matrices (ILMs), N,N-diisopropylethylammonium 3-oxocoumarate and N,N-diisopropylethylammonium dihydroxymonooxoacetophenoate, were tested for the structural elucidation of recently developed aliphatic biodegradable polymers by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). The polymers, formed by a condensation reaction of three components, citric acid, octane diol, and an amino acid, are fluorescent, but the exact mechanism behind their luminescent properties has not been fully elucidated. In the original studies, which introduced the polymer class (J. Yang et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2009, 106, 10086-10091), a hyper-conjugated cyclic structure was proposed as the source for the photoluminescent behavior. With the use of the two new ILMs, we present evidence that supports the presence of the proposed cyclization product. In addition, the new ILMs, when compared with a previously established ILM, N,N-diisopropylethylammonium α-cyano-3-hydroxycinnimate, provided similar signal intensities and maintained similar spectral profiles. This research also established that the new ILMs provided good spot-to-spot reproducibility and high ionization efficiency compared with corresponding crystalline matrix preparations. Many polymer features revealed through the use of the ILMs could not be observed with crystalline matrices. Ultimately, the new ILMs highlighted the composition of the synthetic polymers, as well as the loss of water that was expected for the formation of the proposed cyclic structure on the polymer backbone. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Developing a spinal cord injury research strategy using a structured process of evidence review and stakeholder dialogue. Part I: rapid review of SCI prioritisation literature.

PubMed

Bragge, P; Piccenna, L; Middleton, J W; Williams, S; Creasey, G; Dunlop, S; Brown, D; Gruen, R L

2015-10-01

This is a rapid evidence review. The objective of this study was to gain an overview of the volume, nature and findings of studies regarding priorities for spinal cord injury (SCI) research. A worldwide literature search was conducted. Six medical literature databases and Google Scholar were searched for reviews in which the primary aim was to identify SCI research priorities. Two systematic reviews were identified-one of quantitative and one of qualitative studies. The quality of the reviews was variable. Collectively, the reviews identified 31 primary studies; 24 quantitative studies totalling 5262 participants and 7 qualitative studies totalling 120 participants. Despite the difference in research paradigms, there was convergence in review findings in the areas of body impairments and relationships. The vast majority of literature within the reviews focused on the SCI patient perspective. The reviews inform specific research topics and highlight other important research considerations, most notably those pertaining to SCI patients' perspectives on quality of life, which may be of use in determining meaningful research outcome measures. The views of other SCI research stakeholders such as researchers, clinicians, policymakers, funders and carers would help shape a bigger picture of SCI research priorities, ultimately optimising research outputs and translation into clinical practice and health policy change. Review findings informed subsequent activities in developing a regional SCI research strategy, as described in two companion papers. This project was funded by the Victorian Transport Accident Commission and the Australian and New Zealand SCI Network.

International comparison of the organisation of rehabilitation services and systems of care for patients with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

New, P W; Townson, A; Scivoletto, G; Post, M W M; Eriks-Hoogland, I; Gupta, A; Smith, E; Reeves, R K; Gill, Z A

2013-01-01

Survey. Describe and compare the organisation and delivery of rehabilitation services and systems of care for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). International. Nine spinal rehabilitation units that manage traumatic SCI and non-traumatic SCI (NTSCI) patients. Survey based on clinical expertise and literature review. Completed between November 2010 and April 2011. All units reported public/government funding. Additional funding sources included compensation schemes, private insurance and self funding. Six units had formal attachment to an acute SCI unit. Five units (Italy, Ireland, India, Pakistan and Switzerland) provided a national service; two units (the Netherlands and USA) provided regional and two units (Australia and Canada) provided state/provincial services. The median number of SCI rehabilitation beds was 23 (interquartile range=16-30). All units admitted both traumatic SCI and NTSCI patients. The median proportion of patients admitted who had traumatic SCI was 45% (IQR 20-48%) and 40% (IQR 30-42%) had NTSCI. The rehabilitation team in all centres determined patient readiness for discharge. There was great variability between units in the availability of SCI speciality services, ancillary services and staff/patient ratios. There was a wide range of differences in the organisation, systems of care and services available for patients with SCI in rehabilitation units in different countries. Understanding these differences is important when comparing patient outcomes from different settings. A standardised collection of these system variables should be considered as part of future studies and could be included in the ISCoS data set project.

Transport and Reactivity of Decontaminants to Provide Hazard Mitigation of Chemical Warfare Agents from Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

Membranes .2. Neoprene, SBR, EPDM , NBR, and Natural- Rubber Versus Normal-Alkanes. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 1991, 42 (8), 2329–2336. 24. Harogoppad, S.B...highly absorptive (e.g., tire rubber ). Absorptive materials are often more challenging to decontaminate because of the reduced accessibility of the...then aged for 60 min. During the aging period, agent mass was absorbed by a flux-based process.7 The agent-contaminated area of the panel may affect

Size Dependent Mechanical Behavior of Free-Standing Glassy Polymer Thin Films

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-31

thickness is less than 20 ( ) 1 ( / ) bulk film E EE h hδ = + 14 nm using the liquid dewetting method. Additionally, earlier studies by McKenna’s group and...coated substrates: Rupture, dewetting , and drop formation. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 178(2), 383 (1996). 8. C.B. Roth and J.R. Dutcher: Glass transition...Phys. J. E. 20(2), 143 (2006). 31. J. Wang and G.B. McKenna: Viscoelastic and Glass Transition Properties of Ultrathin Polystyrene Films by Dewetting

Corrosion Control Through a Better Understanding of the Metallic Substrate/Organic Coating/Interface.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-01

and the cyclohexane over molecular sieves, -79- pm NO pAalB hION fl i4a and then measuring the ppm of water in the cyclohexane using the Karl Fischer ... potentiometric titration using a method outlined by Bell [J. Polymer Sci. 8, 417-36 (1970)]. The procedure for epoxy groups involves the re- action with...with time, earliest stages of coating delamination, and secondary processes that occur was obtained by time lapse photography. Electrical methods are

Propitious Therapeutic Modulators to Prevent Blood-Spinal Cord Barrier Disruption in Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Kumar, Hemant; Ropper, Alexander E; Lee, Soo-Hong; Han, Inbo

2017-07-01

The blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) is a specialized protective barrier that regulates the movement of molecules between blood vessels and the spinal cord parenchyma. Analogous to the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the BSCB plays a crucial role in maintaining the homeostasis and internal environmental stability of the central nervous system (CNS). After spinal cord injury (SCI), BSCB disruption leads to inflammatory cell invasion such as neutrophils and macrophages, contributing to permanent neurological disability. In this review, we focus on the major proteins mediating the BSCB disruption or BSCB repair after SCI. This review is composed of three parts. Section 1. SCI and the BSCB of the review describes critical events involved in the pathophysiology of SCI and their correlation with BSCB integrity/disruption. Section 2. Major proteins involved in BSCB disruption in SCI focuses on the actions of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), angiopoietins (Angs), bradykinin, nitric oxide (NO), and endothelins (ETs) in BSCB disruption and repair. Section 3. Therapeutic approaches discusses the major therapeutic compounds utilized to date for the prevention of BSCB disruption in animal model of SCI through modulation of several proteins.

Comparison of mental health between individuals with spinal cord injury and able-bodied controls in Neiva, Colombia.

PubMed

Harper, Leia A; Coleman, Jennifer A; Perrin, Paul B; Olivera, Silvia Leonor; Perdomo, Jose Libardo; Arango, Jose Anselmo; Arango-Lasprilla, Juan Carlos

2014-01-01

Although research has investigated the mental health of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), an overwhelming majority of this research has been conducted in the United States, Western Europe, and other developed countries. The purpose of this study was to compare the mental health of individuals with SCI with able-bodied controls in Neiva, Colombia, South America. Subjects included 40 Colombians with SCI and 42 age- and sex-matched controls (N = 82). The groups did not differ based on age, sex, years of education, or socioeconomic status. However, controls were twice as likely to be married. Four measures assessed mental health, including satisfaction with life (Satisfaction with Life Scale), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), and anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). In comparison with able-bodied controls, individuals with SCI reported significantly lower mental health on both depressive symptoms and satisfaction with life. These effect sizes were medium and large, respectively. The groups did not differ significantly on measures of self-esteem or anxiety. Mental health of individuals with SCI should be considered a central part of SCI rehabilitation interventions, particularly in Latin America.

Domain Wall Fermion Inverter on Pentium 4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pochinsky, Andrew

2005-03-01

A highly optimized domain wall fermion inverter has been developed as part of the SciDAC lattice initiative. By designing the code to minimize memory bus traffic, it achieves high cache reuse and performance in excess of 2 GFlops for out of L2 cache problem sizes on a GigE cluster with 2.66 GHz Xeon processors. The code uses the SciDAC QMP communication library.

Neuromodulation of the lumbar spinal locomotor circuit.

PubMed

AuYong, Nicholas; Lu, Daniel C

2014-01-01

The lumbar spinal cord contains the necessary circuitry to independently drive locomotor behaviors. This function is retained following spinal cord injury (SCI) and is amenable to rehabilitation. Although the effectiveness of task-specific training and pharmacologic modulation has been repeatedly demonstrated in animal studies, results from human studies are less striking. Recently, lumbar epidural stimulation (EDS) along with locomotor training was shown to restore weight-bearing function and lower-extremity voluntary control in a chronic, motor-complete human SCI subject. Related animal studies incorporating EDS as part of the therapeutic regiment are also encouraging. EDS is emerging as a promising neuromodulatory tool for SCI. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

CitSci.org: A New Model for Managing, Documenting, and Sharing Citizen Science Data

PubMed Central

Wang, Yiwei; Kaplan, Nicole; Newman, Greg; Scarpino, Russell

2015-01-01

Citizen science projects have the potential to advance science by increasing the volume and variety of data, as well as innovation. Yet this potential has not been fully realized, in part because citizen science data are typically not widely shared and reused. To address this and related challenges, we built CitSci.org (see www.citsci.org), a customizable platform that allows users to collect and generate diverse datasets. We hope that CitSci.org will ultimately increase discoverability and confidence in citizen science observations, encouraging scientists to use such data in their own scientific research. PMID:26492521

A pilot study to evaluate the role of the Spinal Cord Impairment Pressure Ulcer Monitoring Tool (SCI-PUMT) in clinical decisions for pressure ulcer treatment.

PubMed

Thomason, Susan S; Graves, Barbara Ann; Madaris, Linda

2014-12-01

The Spinal Cord Impairment Pressure Ulcer Monitoring Tool (SCI-PUMT) was designed to assess pressure ulcer (PrU) healing in the spinal cord impaired (SCI) population. The tool contains 7 variables: wound surface area, depth, edges, tunneling, undermining, exudate type, and necrotic tissue amount. A 2-phased, quantitative pilot study based on the Theory of Reasoned Action and Theory of Planned Behavior was conducted at a large SCI/Disorders Center in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In the first phase of the study, a convenience sample of 5 physicians, 3 advanced practice registered nurses, and 3 certified wound care nurses (CWCN) was surveyed using a 2-part questionnaire to assess use of the SCI-PUMT instrument, its anticipated improvement in PrU assessment, and intent to use the SCI-PUMT in clinical practice. Attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral controls, and barriers related to the intent to use the SCI-PUMT were evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale (range: 1= extremely likely, 5 = extremely unlikely). In the second phase of the study, the electronic health records (EHR) of 24 veterans (with 30 PrUs) who had at least 2 completed SCI-PUMT scores during a 4-week period were used to evaluate whether an association existed between magnitudes of change of total SCI-PUMT scores and ordered changes in PrU treatment. The overall mean score for intent to use SCI-PUMT was 1.80 (SD 0.75). The least favorable scores were for convenience and motivation to use the SCI-PUMT. Analysis of EHR data showed no significant difference in magnitudes of change in the SCI-PUMT score and changes in PrU treatment recommendations made by the CWCNs. The significance was not affected regardless of an increase or no change in the score (χ2 with 1 degree of freedom = 1.158, P = 0.282) or for a decrease in the score (χ2 with 1 degree of freedom = 0.5, P = 0.478). In this pilot study, the expressed intent to use the SCI-PUMT in making clinical decisions was generally positive but reservations remain. Additional research is being conducted to determine the barriers and facilitators to SCI-PUMT implementation. The SCI-PUMT was the first tool found to be valid, reliable, and sensitive to assess PrU healing in persons with SCI, and studies to examine the prospective validity of using this instrument on ulcer treatment decisions and outcomes are warranted.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 27: Knowledge diffusion and US government technology policy: Issues and opportunities for sci/tech librarians

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Hannah, Stan; Lawrence, Barbara; Kennedy, John M.

1992-01-01

Federal involvement in simulating economic growth through the development and application of technology policy is currently the subject of serious debate. A recession and the recognition that an internationally competitive economy is a prerequisite for the attainment of national goals have fostered a number of technology policy initiatives aimed at improving the economic competitiveness of American industry. This paper suggests that the successful implementation of U.S. technology policy will require the adoption of a knowledge diffusion model, the development of user oriented information products and services, and a more 'activist' approach on the part of sci/tech librarians in the provision of scientific and technical information (STI). These changes will have a dramatic impact on the sci/tech library of the future and the preparation of sci/tech librarians.

NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. XXVII - Knowledge diffusion and U.S. government technology policy: Issues and opportunities for sci/tech librarians

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Hannah, Stan; Lawrence, Barbara; Kennedy, John M.

1992-01-01

Federal involvement in stimulating economic growth through the development and application of technology policy is currently the subject of serious debate. A recession and the recognition that an internationally competitive economy is a prerequisite for the attainment of national goals have fostered a number of technology policy initiatives aimed at improving the economic competitiveness of American industry. This paper suggests that the successful implementation of U.S. technology policy will require the adoption of a knowledge diffusion model, the development of user oriented information products and services, and a more 'activist' approach on the part of sci/tech librarians in the provision of scientific and technical information (STI). These changes will have a dramatic impact on the sci/tech library of the future and the preparation of sci/tech librarians.

With a little help from my friends: social support and mental health in SCI caregivers from Neiva, Colombia.

PubMed

Morlett-Paredes, Alejandra; Perrin, Paul B; Olivera, Silvia Leonor; Rogers, Heather L; Perdomo, Jose Libardo; Arango, Jose Anselmo; Arango-Lasprilla, Juan Carlos

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of appraisal, belonging, and tangible social support on the mental health (depression, satisfaction with life, anxiety, and burden) of Colombian spinal cord injury (SCI) caregivers. Forty SCI caregivers from Neiva, Colombia completed questionnaires assessing their perceived social support and mental health. Four multiple regressions found that the three social support variables explained 42.8% of the variance in caregiver depression, 22.3% of the variance in satisfaction with life, 24.1% of the variance in anxiety, and 16.5% of the variance in burden, although the effect on burden was marginally significant. Within these regressions, higher belonging social support was uniquely associated with lower depression, and higher tangible social support was uniquely associated with higher caregiver satisfaction with life. Social support may have a particularly important influence on SCI caregiver mental health in Colombia, due in part to the high levels of collectivism and strong family values shown to exist in Latin America, and may therefore be an important target for SCI caregiver interventions in this region.

Challenges in comprehensive management of spinal cord injury in India and in the Asian Spinal Cord network region: findings of a survey of experts, patients and consumers.

PubMed

Chhabra, H S; Sharma, S; Arora, M

2018-01-01

Online survey. To understand the prevailing scenario of the comprehensive management of spinal cord injuries (SCI) in India and in the Asian Spinal Cord Network (ASCoN) region, especially with a view to document the challenges faced and its impact. Indian Spinal Injuries Centre. A questionnaire was designed which covered various aspects of SCI management. Patients, consumers (spinal injured patients discharged since at least 1 year) and experts in SCI management from different parts of India and the ASCoN region were approached to complete the survey. Sixty patients, 66 consumers and 34 experts completed the survey. Difference of opinion was noticed among the three groups. Disposable Nelaton catheters were used by 57% consumers and 47% patients. For reusable catheter, 31% experts recommended processing with soap and running water and 45% recommended clean cotton cloth bag for storage. Pre-hospital care and community inclusion pose the biggest challenges in management of SCI. More than 75% of SCI faced problems of access and mobility in the community. Awareness about SCI, illiteracy and inadequate patient education are the most important factors hindering pre- and in-hospital care. Inadequate physical as well as vocational rehabilitation and financial barriers are thought to be the major factors hindering integration of spinal injured into mainstream society. Strong family support helped in rehabilitation. Our study brought out that SCI in India and ASCoN region face numerous challenges that affect access to almost all aspects of comprehensive management of SCI.

Facilitators and barriers to social and community participation following spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Barclay, Linda; McDonald, Rachael; Lentin, Primrose; Bourke-Taylor, Helen

2016-02-01

One of the factors known to contribute to a 'good life' following an acquired disability is making connections with others, often achieved through participation in activities outside the home. The majority of outcomes research following SCI has focussed on impairments and activity limitations with less emphasis on participation. This paper reports part of a larger study that explored the experience and meaning of social and community participation following SCI. The research question guiding the part of the study reported in this paper was: What are the facilitators and barriers to social and community participation following acquired SCI? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 adults with traumatically acquired spinal cord injury living in the community. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Three main themes and 11 subthemes were identified. The main themes were: Resources and environmental accessibility impact social participation; other people influence community engagement; health issues affect social participation. Adequate financial resources and social support (from friends and family, and from peer mentors) were found to assist social participation, while the physical environment, unsupportive social attitudes and mental health issues were identified as barriers to community participation. This study contributes to the evidence base regarding outcomes following SCI. Enabling engagement in meaningful activities in the community must be at the forefront of occupational therapy intervention, both at an individual client level and through advocacy and policy involvement, to improve the quality of life of people with SCI living in the community. © 2015 Occupational Therapy Australia.

The association of sports and physical recreation with life satisfaction in a community sample of people with spinal cord injuries.

PubMed

Tasiemski, Tomasz; Kennedy, Paul; Gardner, Brian Patrick; Taylor, Nicola

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study is to assess satisfaction with life domains in people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) and investigate whether participation in sports and physical recreation is associated with life satisfaction in SCI. 1,748 randomly selected participants with SCI who fulfilled the criteria: SCI at level C5 or below, wheelchair dependent; aged 18-50 at the time of injury; at least 1 year post-injury, were approached to take part in this study. Completed replies were received from 985 individuals with SCI (198 women, 798 men). The measures used included the Sports Participation Questionnaire, the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The numbers of hours participating in sports decreased significantly after injury. There was a greater decrease in numbers participating in team sports in comparison to the decrease seen in numbers participating in individual sports. The highest level of satisfaction existed within social domains such as: family life and contacts with friends. The lowest level of satisfaction was found in regard to the participant's sexual life and vocational situation. Higher satisfaction with life in general was demonstrated in respondents with SCI involved in sports or physical recreation compared to those not participating in physical activities.

Vascular dysfunctions following spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Popa, F; Grigorean, VT; Onose, G; Sandu, AM; Popescu, M; Burnei, G; Strambu, V; Sinescu, C

2010-01-01

The aim of this article is to analyze the vascular dysfunctions occurring after spinal cord injury (SCI). Vascular dysfunctions are common complications of SCI. Cardiovascular disturbances are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in both acute and chronic stages of SCI. Neuroanatomy and physiology of autonomic nervous system, sympathetic and parasympathetic, is reviewed. SCI implies disruption of descendent pathways from central centers to spinal sympathetic neurons, originating in intermediolateral nuclei of T1–L2 cord segments. Loss of supraspinal control over sympathetic nervous system results in reduced overall sympathetic activity below the level of injury and unopposed parasympathetic outflow through intact vagal nerve. SCI associates significant vascular dysfunction. Spinal shock occurs during the acute phase following SCI and it is a transitory suspension of function and reflexes below the level of the injury. Neurogenic shock, part of spinal shock, consists of severe arterial hypotension and bradycardia. Autonomic dysreflexia appears during the chronic phase, after spinal shock resolution, and it is a life–threatening syndrome of massive imbalanced reflex sympathetic discharge occurring in patients with SCI above the splanchnic sympathetic outflow (T5–T6). Arterial hypotension with orthostatic hypotension occurs in both acute and chronic phases. The etiology is multifactorial. We described a few factors influencing the orthostatic hypotension occurrence in SCI: sympathetic nervous system dysfunction, low plasma catecholamine levels, rennin–angiotensin–aldosterone activity, peripheral alpha–adrenoceptor hyperresponsiveness, impaired function of baroreceptors, hyponatremia and low plasmatic volume, cardiovascular deconditioning, morphologic changes in sympathetic neurons, plasticity within spinal circuits, and motor deficit leading to loss of skeletal muscle pumping activity. Additional associated cardiovascular concerns in SCI, such as deep vein thrombosis and long–term risk for coronary heart disease and systemic atherosclerosis are also described. Proper prophylaxis, including non–pharmacologic and pharmacological strategies, diminishes the occurrence of the vascular dysfunction following SCI. Each vascular disturbance requires a specific treatment. PMID:20945818

Multi-Functional pi-Conjugated Macromolecules Based on Poly(Phenylene Vinylene)

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-14

methacrylate-co-4-vinylpyridine)" (in press). 43. J . Polym. Sci., (with R. Vukovic , G. Bogdanic, V. Kuresevic, M. Tomaskovic and W.J. MacKnight) "Phase...Sokolik I Dr. Zhou Yang Dr. Iwao Teraoka IV. JUNIOR RESEARCH PERSONNEL: J . Neill B. Ma. S.L I U i I I i 5 VI. ABSTRACT OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS This report is...chains. I I U I * 14 I VIII. PUBLICATIONS IN PERIOD WITH AFOSR SUPPORT 1. J . Chem. Phys. 98, 712-716 (1993) (with G. Mao, J.E. Fischer and M.J. Winokur

NMR Studies of Organic Thin Films

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-05-15

Fiins - 53 125. C.G. Chingas, J.B. Miller, and A.N. Garroway , J. Magn. Reson., 1986, 66, 530. 126. D.G. Cory, J.W.M. van Os, and W.S. Veeman, J. Magn...24, 5294. 130. N. Zumbulyadis and J.M. O’Reilly, J. Magn. Reson., 1989, 82, 613. 131. H.A. Resing, A.N. Garroway , D.C. Weber, J. Ferrais, and D...4, 182. 136. A. Natansohn, Polym. Eng. Sci., 1992, 32, 1711. 137. J.B. Miller and A.N. Garroway , J. Magn. Reson., 1989, 82, 529. 138. D.G. Cory, J.B

NMR Studies of Organic Thin Films

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-02-28

C.G. Chingas, J.B. Miller, and A.N. Garroway , J. Magn. Reson., 1986, 66, 530. 126. D.G. Cory, J.W.M. van Os, and W.S. Veeman, J. Magn. Reson., 1988, 76...Zumbulyadis and J.M. O’Reilly, J. Magn. Reson., 1989, 82, 613. 131. H.A. Resing, A.N. Garroway , D.C. Weber, J. Ferraris, and D. Slotfeldt-Ellingsen, Pure...Natansohn, Polym. Eng. Sci., 1992, 32, 1711. 137. J.B. Miller and A.N. Garroway , J. Magn. Reson., 1989, 82, 529. 138. D.G. Cory, J.B. Miller, R. Turner

Grieving my broken body: an autoethnographic account of spinal cord injury as an experience of grief.

PubMed

Clifton, Shane

2014-01-01

For good reason, the trajectory of contemporary research and therapy into rehabilitation following spinal cord injury (SCI) has moved away from focusing on the pathology of depression, to highlight the contribution of resiliency, optimism, and hope to long-term well-being. This article complements this literature, exploring the analogous links between the losses of SCI and the experiences of the grief that accompanies the death of a loved one. The article uses autoethnography, drawing on the authors' writing about his own experiences as a C5 (incomplete) quadriplegic, to identify a correlation between the stages/symptoms of grief and the journey of rehabilitating from an SCI. The article highlights the "wild" and ambiguous reality of adjusting to an SCI, and so challenges the dualist tendency to assume that people are either resilient or weak, successful or unsuccessful in their recovery. It recognises that adjusting to an SCI involves complex swings in emotion--sadness, anger, and melancholy, alongside hope and determination. Drawing on strategies of grief therapy, the article suggests that constructing and reconstructing the story of one's own life is essential to learning to accept and live with an SCI. Since the losses accompanying SCI are analogous to grief, grief therapy strategies that recognise the complex and ambiguous nature of recovery can be part of rehabilitation. Therapy should encourage people to construct and reconstruct narratives--life stories--that help them mourn their loss and make sense of their new lives. The loss of an SCI is especially potent following return to the community, so storied therapy should continue beyond the period of the in-house rehabilitation.

Risk factors for low back pain and sciatica in elderly men-the MrOS Sweden study.

PubMed

Kherad, Mehrsa; Rosengren, Björn E; Hasserius, Ralph; Nilsson, Jan-Åke; Redlund-Johnell, Inga; Ohlsson, Claes; Mellström, Dan; Lorentzon, Mattiaz; Ljunggren, Östen; Karlsson, Magnus K

2017-01-08

The aim of this study was to identify whether factors beyond anatomical abnormalities are associated with low back pain (LBP) and LBP with sciatica (SCI) in older men. Mister Osteoporosis Sweden includes 3,014 men aged 69–81 years. They answered questionnaires on lifestyle and whether they had experienced LBP and SCI during the preceding 12 months. About 3,007 men answered the back pain (BP) questions, 258 reported BP without specified region. We identified 1,388 with no BP, 1,361 with any LBP (regardless of SCI), 1,074 of those with LBP also indicated if they had experienced LBP (n = 615), LBP+SCI (n = 459). About 49% of those with LBP and 54% of those with LBP+SCI rated their health as poor/very poor (P < 0.001). Men with any LBP to a greater extent than those without BP had poor self-estimated health, depressive symptoms, dizziness, fall tendency, serious comorbidity (diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, pulmonary disease and/or cancer) (all P < 0.001), foreign background, were smokers (all P < 0.01), had low physical activity and used walking aids (all P < 0.05). Men with LBP+SCI to a greater extent than those with LBP had lower education, lower self-estimated health, comorbidity, dizziness and used walking aids (all P < 0.001). In older men with LBP and SCI, anatomical abnormalities such as vertebral fractures, metastases, central or lateral spinal stenosis or degenerative conditions may only in part explain prevalent symptoms and disability. Social and lifestyle factors must also be evaluated since they are associated not only with unspecific LBP but also with LBP with SCI.

The Band Structure of Polymers: Its Calculation and Interpretation. Part 3. Interpretation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duke, B. J.; O'Leary, Brian

1988-01-01

In this article, the third part of a series, the results of ab initio polymer calculations presented in part 2 are discussed. The electronic structure of polymers, symmetry properties of band structure, and generalizations are presented. (CW)

Synthesis and study of conjugated polymers containing Di- or Triphenylamine

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

Sukwattanasinitt, M.

1996-06-21

This thesis consists of two separate parts. The first part addresses the synthesis and study of conjugated polymers containing di- or triphenylamine. Two types of polymers: linear polymers and dendrimers, were synthesized. The polymers were characterized by NMR, IR, UV, GPC, TGA and DSC. Electronic and optical properties of the polymers were studied through the conductivity measurements and excitation- emission spectra. the second part of this thesis deals with a reaction of electron-rich acetylenes with TCNE. The discovery of the reaction from charge transfer complex studies and the investigation of this reaction on various electron-rich acetylenes are presented.

Thrombospondin-1 modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) promote neurite outgrowth and functional recovery in rats with spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Pu, Yujie; Meng, Ke; Gu, Chuanlong; Wang, Linlin; Zhang, Xiaoming

2017-01-01

Stem cell therapies are currently gaining momentum in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, unsatisfied intrinsic neurite growth capacity constitutes significant obstacles for injured spinal cord repair and ultimately results in neurological dysfunction. The present study assessed the efficacy of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), a neurite outgrowth-promoting molecule, modified bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on promoting neurite outgrowth in vitro and in vivo of Oxygen–Glucose Deprivation (OGD) treated motor neurons and SCI rat models. The present results demonstrated that the treatment of BMSCs+TSP-1 could promote the neurite length, neuronal survival, and functional recovery after SCI. Additionally, TSP-1 could activate transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) then induced the smad2 phosphorylation, and expedited the expression of GAP-43 to promote neurite outgrowth. The present study for the first time demonstrated that BMSCs+TSP-1 could promote neurite outgrowth and functional recovery after SCI partly through the TGF-β1/p-Samd2 pathway. The study provided a novel encouraging evidence for the potential treatment of BMSCs modification with TSP-1 in patients with SCI. PMID:29221205

Investigation of anti-oxidative stress in vitro and water apparent diffusion coefficient in MRI on rat after spinal cord injury in vivo with Tithonia diversifolia ethanolic extracts treatment.

PubMed

Juang, Chi-Long; Yang, Fei Shish; Hsieh, Ming Shuang; Tseng, Hu-Yi; Chen, Su-Chiu; Wen, Hsiao-Chuan

2014-11-18

Spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced secondary oxidative stress associates with a clinical complication and high mortality. Treatments to improve the neurological outcome of secondary injury are considered as important issues. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the anti-oxidative effect of Tithonia diversifolia ethanolic extracts (TDE) on cells and apply the pharmacological effect to SCI model using a MRI imaging algorism. The anti-oxidation properties were tested in a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. Rat liver cells (clone-9) were treated with various doses of TDE (0 ~ 50 μg/ml) before exposed to 250 μM H2O2 and cell survival was determined by MTT and LDH assays. We performed water apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map in MR techniques to investigate the efficacy of TDE treatment on SCI animal model. We performed T5 laminectomy and compression (50 g, 1 min) to induce SCI. PHILIP 3.0 T MRI was used to image 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 280-320 g. Rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham group, SCI group, SCI treated with TDE group. The MRI images were taken and ADC were acquired before and after of treatment of TDE (50 mg/kg B. W. orally, 5 days) in SCI model. TDE protected clone-9 cells against H2O2-induced toxicity through DPPH scavenging mechanism. In addition, SCI induced the increase in ADC after 6 hours. TDE treatment slightly decreased the ADC level after 1-week SCI compared with control animals. Our studies have proved that the cytoprotection effect of TDE, at least in part, is through scavenging ROS to eliminate intracellular oxidative stress and highlight a potential therapeutic consideration of TDE in alternative and complementary medicine.

A faster and more reliable data acquisition system for the full performance of the SciCRT

DOE PAGES

Sasai, Y.; Matsubara, Y.; Itow, Y.; ...

2017-01-03

The SciBar Cosmic Ray Telescope (SciCRT) is a massive scintillator tracker to observe cosmic rays at a very high-altitude environment in Mexico. The fully active tracker is based on the Scintillator Bar (SciBar) detector developed as a near detector for the KEK-to-Kamioka long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment (K2K) in Japan. Since the data acquisition (DAQ) system was developed for the accelerator experiment, we determined to develop a new robust DAQ system to optimize it to our cosmic-ray experiment needs at the top of Mt. Sierra Negra (4600 m). One of our special requirements is to achieve a 10 times faster readoutmore » rate. We started to develop a new fast readout back-end board (BEB) based on 100 Mbps SiTCP, a hardware network processor developed for DAQ systems for high energy physics experiments. Then we developed the new BEB which has a potential of 20 times faster than the current one in the case of observing neutrons. Lastly, we installed the new DAQ system including the new BEBs to a part of the SciCRT in July 2015. The system has been operating since then. In this article, we describe the development, the basic performance of the new BEB, the status after the installation in the SciCRT, and the future performance.« less

Combination Drug Therapy for Pain following Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Hama, Aldric; Sagen, Jacqueline

2012-01-01

A number of mechanisms have been elucidated that maintain neuropathic pain due to spinal cord injury (SCI). While target-based therapeutics are being developed based on elucidation of these mechanisms, treatment for neuropathic SCI pain has not been entirely satisfactory due in part to the significant convergence of neurological and inflammatory processes that maintain the neuropathic pain state. Thus, a combination drug treatment strategy, wherein several pain-related mechanism are simultaneously engaged, could be more efficacious than treatment against individual mechanisms alone. Also, by engaging several targets at once, it may be possible to reduce the doses of the individual drugs, thereby minimizing the potential for adverse side effects. Positive preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated improved efficacy of combination drug treatment over single drug treatment in neuropathic pain of peripheral origin, and perhaps such combinations could be utilized for neuropathic SCI pain. At the same time, there are mechanisms that distinguish SCI from peripheral neuropathic pain, so novel combination therapies will be needed. PMID:22550581

Polymer Principles in the Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Course. Part 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Chemical Education, 1985

1985-01-01

Part l (SE 538 305) covered application of classical thermodynamics, polymer crystallinity, and phase diagrams to teaching physical chemistry. This part covers statistical thermodynamics, conformation, molecular weights, rubber elasticity and viscoelasticity, and kinetics of polymerization. Eight polymer-oriented, multiple-choice test questions…

Lipid-absorbing Polymers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marsh, H. E., Jr.; Wallace, C. J.

1973-01-01

The removal of bile acids and cholesterol by polymeric absorption is discussed in terms of micelle-polymer interaction. The results obtained with a polymer composed of 75 parts PEO and 25 parts PB plus curing ingredients show an absorption of 305 to 309%, based on original polymer weight. Particle size effects on absorption rate are analyzed. It is concluded that crosslinked polyethylene oxide polymers will absorb water, crosslinked polybutadiene polymers will absorb lipids; neither polymer will absorb appreciable amounts of lipids from micellar solutions of lipids in water.

Helically assembled π-conjugated polymers with circularly polarized luminescence.

PubMed

Watanabe, Kazuyoshi; Akagi, Kazuo

2014-08-01

We review the recent progress in the field of helically assembled π -conjugated polymers, focusing on aromatic conjugated polymers with interchain helical π -stacking that exhibit circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). In Part 1, we discuss optically active polymers with white-colored CPL and the amplification of the circular polarization through liquid crystallinity. In Part 2, we focus on the stimuli-responsive CPL that results from changes in the conformation and aggregation state of π -conjugated molecules and polymers. In Part 3, we discuss the self-assembly of achiral cationic π -conjugated polymers into circularly polarized luminescent supramolecular nanostructures with the aid of other chiral molecules.

Design of polymer motifs for nucleic acid recognition and assembly stabilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zhun

This dissertation describes the synthesis and assembly of bio-functional polymers and the applications of these polymers to drug encapsulation, delivery, and multivalent biomimetic macromolecular recognition between synthetic polymer and nucleic acids. The main content is divided into three parts: (1) polyacidic domains as strongly stabilizing design elements for aqueous phase polyacrylate diblock assembly; (2) small molecule/polymer recognition triggered macromolecular assembly and drug encapsulation; (3) trizaine derivatized polymer as a novel class of "bifacial polymer nucleic acid" (bPoNA) and applications of bPoNA to nanoparticle loading of DNA/RNA, silencing delivery as well as control of aptamer function. Through the studies in part (1) and part (2), it was demonstrated that well-designed polymer motifs are not only able to enhance assemblies driven by non-specific hydrophobic effect, but are also able to direct assemblies based on specific recognitions. In part (3) of this dissertation, this concept was further extended by the design of polyacrylate polymers that are capable of discrete and robust hybridization with nucleic acids. This surprising finding demonstrated both fundamental and practical applications. Overall, these studies provided insights into the rational design elements for improving the bio-functions of synthetic polymers, and significantly expanded the scope of biological applications in which polymers synthesized via controlled radical polymerization may play a role.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Sustainability Plan with FY 2016 Performance Data

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

Nichols, Teresa A.; Lapsa, Melissa Voss

Campus sustainability is part of an ongoing process of modernization at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Initiated in 2002, it grew to include the Sustainable Campus Initiative (SCI) as of 2008. The SCI embodies a diversity of areas, reflecting the multifaceted nature of sustainability and the resulting need for a holistic approach, by tapping ORNL’s multiplatform science and technology expertise in a pathway critical in catalyzing change and shaping the Laboratory’s future. The past year has shown significant progress for the SCI as well as for sustainable development at large, with the 21st Session of the Conference of the Partiesmore » (COP21) in Paris setting a new pace and direction for worldwide mitigation of climate change in the coming decades.« less

Folic Acid Modulates Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 Expression, Alleviates Neuropathic Pain, and Improves Functional Recovery in Spinal Cord-Injured Rats

PubMed Central

Miranpuri, Gurwattan S.; Meethal, Sivan Vadakkadath; Sampene, Emmanuel; Chopra, Abhishek; Buttar, Seah; Nacht, Carrie; Moreno, Neydis; Patel, Kush; Liu, Lisa; Singh, Anupama; Singh, Chandra K.; Hariharan, Nithya; Iskandar, Bermans; Resnick, Daniel K.

2017-01-01

Background The molecular underpinnings of spinal cord injury (SCI) associated with neuropathic pain (NP) are unknown. Recent studies have demonstrated that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) such as MMP2 play a critical role in inducing NP following SCI. Promoter methylation of MMPs is known to suppress their transcription and reduce NP. In this context, it has been shown in rodents that folic acid (FA), an FDA approved dietary supplement and key methyl donor in the central nervous system (CNS), increases axonal regeneration and repair of injured CNS in part via methylation. Purpose Based on above observations, in this study, we test whether FA could decrease MMP2 expression and thereby decrease SCI-induced NP. Methods Sprague-Dawley male rats weighing 250–270 g received contusion spinal cord injuries (cSCIs) with a custom spinal cord impactor device that drops a 10 g weight from a height of 12.5 mm. The injured rats received either i.p. injections of FA (80 µg/kg) or water (control) 3 days prior and 17 days post-cSCI (mid phase) or for 3 days pre-cSCI and 14 days post-cSCI ending on the 42nd day of cSCI (late phase). The functional neurological deficits due to cSCI were then assessed by Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scores either on post-impaction days 0 through 18 post-cSCI (mid phase) or on days 0, 2, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 (late phase). Baseline measurements were taken the day before starting treatments. Thermal hyperalgesia (TH) testing for pain was performed on 4 days pre-cSCI (baseline data) and on days 18, 21, 28, 35, and 42 post-cSCI. Following TH testing, animals were euthanized and spinal cords harvested for MMP-2 expression analysis. Result The FA-treated groups showed higher BBB scores during mid phase (day 18) and in late phase (day 42) of injury compared to controls, suggesting enhanced functional recovery. There is a transient decline in TH in animals from the FA-treated group compared to controls when tested on days 18, 21, 28, and 35, indicative of a decrease in NP. However, when tested 25 days after stopping FA administration on day 42 of cSCI, no significant difference in TH was observed between FA-treated and control animals. Western blot analysis of the injured spinal cord from FA-treated animals showed significant decline in MMP2 expression compared to spinal cord samples from water-treated controls. Conclusion Together, these data suggest that FA could alleviate NP and improve functional recovery post-SCI, possibly by reducing the expression of MMP2. Further studies will open up a novel and easy natural therapy, ideal for clinical translation with minimal side effects, for managing SCI-induced NP. Such studies might also throw light on a possible epigenetic mechanism in FA-induced recovery after SCI. PMID:28588362

E12 sheet plastination: Techniques and applications.

PubMed

Ottone, Nicolas Ernesto; Baptista, Carlos A C; Latorre, Rafael; Bianchi, Homero Felipe; Del Sol, Mariano; Fuentes, Ramon

2017-10-30

Plastination is an anatomical technique that consists of replacing the liquids and fat of specimens by reactive polymers through forced impregnation in a vacuum. These are then polymerized to achieve the final result. E12 sheet plastination involves epoxy resin impregnation of thin (2-4 mm) and ultra-thin (<2 mm) tissue sheets, producing dry, transparent, odorless, non-toxic and long-lasting sheets. E12 sheet plastination techniques were reviewed using MEDLINE, EMBASE and SciELO databases, and manual searches. After searching, 616 records were found using the online and manual searches (MEDLINE, n: 207; EMBASE, n: 346; SciELO, n: 44; Manual search: 23). Finally, 96 records were included in this review (after duplicates and articles unrelated to the subject were excluded). The aim of this work was to review the E12 sheet plastination technique, searching for articles concerning views of it, identifying the different variants implemented by researchers since its creation by Gunther von Hagens, and to identify its applications from teaching and research in anatomy to morphological sciences. Clin. Anat., 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Common Data Elements for Spinal Cord Injury Clinical Research: A National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke Project

PubMed Central

Biering-Sørensen, Fin; Alai, Sherita; Anderson, Kim; Charlifue, Susan; Chen, Yuying; DeVivo, Michael; Flanders, Adam E.; Jones, Linda; Kleitman, Naomi; Lans, Aria; Noonan, Vanessa K.; Odenkirchen, Joanne; Steeves, John; Tansey, Keith; Widerström-Noga, Eva; Jakeman, Lyn B.

2015-01-01

Objective To develop a comprehensive set of common data elements (CDEs), data definitions, case report forms and guidelines for use in spinal cord injury (SCI) clinical research, as part of the CDE project at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the USA National Institutes of Health. Setting International Working Groups Methods Nine working groups composed of international experts reviewed existing CDEs and instruments, created new elements when needed, and provided recommendations for SCI clinical research. The project was carried out in collaboration with and cross-referenced to development of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) International SCI Data Sets. The recommendations were compiled, subjected to internal review, and posted online for external public comment. The final version was reviewed by all working groups and the NINDS CDE team prior to release. Results The NINDS SCI CDEs and supporting documents are publically available on the NINDS CDE website and the ISCoS website. The CDEs span the continuum of SCI care and the full range of domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Conclusions Widespread use of common data elements can facilitate SCI clinical research and trial design, data sharing, and retrospective analyses. Continued international collaboration will enable consistent data collection and reporting, and will help ensure that the data elements are updated, reviewed and broadcast as additional evidence is obtained. PMID:25665542

Solid-State Sensor and Actuator Workshop Held at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina on June 6-9, 1988

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

Stable Photoresist’, Polym. Figure 71 Eng. Sci. 26 1101(1986) 2) W.E. Feely, " Microplastic Structures, SPIE 631 48(1986) Figure 12 15 A Miniature...unhulbt k- beanils than i ntrini fl t iilins. polys5tilicin sea led cavities fo r re’.i t rain~d uc cr arrays," in Technical Die I IFF IFDN1 p 2;3. I...the The experience with thermal sealing indicates that glass. Sufficient charge transfer occurs to allow th, sea . of glass to metl form when tile metal

The NAMPT inhibitor FK866 reverts the damage in spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Emerging data implicate nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPT) in the pathogenesis of cancer and inflammation. NAMPT inhibitors have proven beneficial in inflammatory animal models of arthritis and endotoxic shock as well as in autoimmune encephalitis. Given the role of inflammatory responses in spinal cord injury (SCI), the effect of NAMPT inhibitors was examined in this setting. Methods We investigated the effects of the NAMPT inhibitor FK866 in an experimental compression model of SCI. Results Twenty-four hr following induction of SCI, a significant functional deficit accompanied widespread edema, demyelination, neuron loss and a substantial increase in TNF-α, IL-1β, PAR, NAMPT, Bax, MPO activity, NF-κB activation, astrogliosis and microglial activation was observed. Meanwhile, the expression of neurotrophins BDNF, GDNF, NT3 and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 decreased significantly. Treatment with FK866 (10 mg/kg), the best known and characterized NAMPT inhibitor, at 1 h and 6 h after SCI rescued motor function, preserved perilesional gray and white matter, restored anti-apoptotic and neurotrophic factors, prevented the activation of neutrophils, microglia and astrocytes and inhibited the elevation of NAMPT, PAR, TNF-α, IL-1β, Bax expression and NF-κB activity. We show for the first time that FK866, a specific inhibitor of NAMPT, administered after SCI, is capable of reducing the secondary inflammatory injury and partly reduce permanent damage. We also show that NAMPT protein levels are increased upon SCI in the perilesional area which can be corrected by administration of FK866. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the inflammatory component associated to SCI is the primary target of these inhibitors. PMID:22490786

SCI Hospital in Home Program: Bringing Hospital Care Home for Veterans With Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Madaris, Linda L; Onyebueke, Mirian; Liebman, Janet; Martin, Allyson

2016-01-01

The complex nature of spinal cord injury (SCI) and the level of care required for health maintenance frequently result in repeated hospital admissions for recurrent medical complications. Prolonged hospitalizations of persons with SCI have been linked to the increased risk of hospital-acquired infections and development or worsening pressure ulcers. An evidence-based alternative for providing hospital-level care to patients with specific diagnoses who are willing to receive that level of care in the comfort of their home is being implemented in a Department of Veterans Affairs SCI Home Care Program. The SCI Hospital in Home (HiH) model is similar to a patient-centered interdisciplinary care model that was first introduced in Europe and later tested as part of a National Demonstration and Evaluation Study through Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Public Health. This was funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The objectives of the program are to support veterans' choice and access to patient-centered care, reduce the reliance on inpatient medical care, allow for early discharge, and decrease medical costs. Veterans with SCI who are admitted to the HiH program receive daily oversight by a physician, daily visits by a registered nurse, access to laboratory services, oxygen, intravenous medications, and nursing care in the home setting. In this model, patients may typically access HiH services either as an "early discharge" from the hospital or as a direct admit to the program from the emergency department or SCI clinic. Similar programs providing acute hospital-equivalent care in the home have been previously implemented and are successfully demonstrating decreased length of stay, improved patient access, and increased patient satisfaction.

Serotonin receptor and dendritic plasticity in the spinal cord mediated by chronic serotonergic pharmacotherapy combined with exercise following complete SCI in the adult rat.

PubMed

Ganzer, Patrick D; Beringer, Carl R; Shumsky, Jed S; Nwaobasi, Chiemela; Moxon, Karen A

2018-06-01

Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) damages descending motor and serotonin (5-HT) fiber projections leading to paralysis and serotonin depletion. 5-HT receptors (5-HTRs) subsequently upregulate following 5-HT fiber degeneration, and dendritic density decreases indicative of atrophy. 5-HT pharmacotherapy or exercise can improve locomotor behavior after SCI. One might expect that 5-HT pharmacotherapy acts on upregulated spinal 5-HTRs to enhance function, and that exercise alone can influence dendritic atrophy. In the current study, we assessed locomotor recovery and spinal proteins influenced by SCI and therapy. 5-HT, 5-HT 2A R, 5-HT 1A R, and dendritic densities were quantified both early (1 week) and late (9 weeks) after SCI, and also following therapeutic interventions (5-HT pharmacotherapy, bike therapy, or a combination). Interestingly, chronic 5-HT pharmacotherapy largely normalized spinal 5-HTR upregulation following injury. Improvement in locomotor behavior was not correlated to 5-HTR density. These results support the hypothesis that chronic 5-HT pharmacotherapy can mediate recovery following SCI, despite acting on largely normal spinal 5-HTR levels. We next assessed spinal dendritic plasticity and its potential role in locomotor recovery. Single therapies did not normalize the loss of dendritic density after SCI. Groups displaying significantly atrophied dendritic processes were rarely able to achieve weight supported open-field locomotion. Only a combination of 5-HT pharmacotherapy and bike therapy enabled significant open-field weigh-supported stepping, mediated in part by restoring spinal dendritic density. These results support the use of combined therapies to synergistically impact multiple markers of spinal plasticity and improve motor recovery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparative color and surface parameters of current esthetic restorative CAD/CAM materials

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to derive and compare the inherent color (hue angle, chroma), translucency (TPSCI), surface gloss (ΔE*SCE-SCI), and surface roughness (Ra) amongst selected shades and brands of three hybrid CAD/CAM blocks [GC Cerasmart (CS); Lava Ultimate (LU); Vita Enamic (VE)]. MATERIALS AND METHODS The specimens (N = 225) were prepared into square-shaped (12 × 12 mm2) with different thicknesses and shades. The measurements of color, translucency, and surface gloss were performed by a reflection spectrophotometer. The surface roughness and surface topography were assessed by white light interferometry. RESULTS Results revealed that hue and chroma values were influenced by the material type, material shade, and material thickness (P < .001). The order of hue angle amongst the materials was LU > CS > VE, whereas the order of chroma was VE > CS > LU. TPSCI results demonstrated a significant difference in terms of material types and material thicknesses (P ≤ .001). TPSCI values of the tested materials were ordered as LU > CS > VE. ΔE*SCE-SCI and Ra results were significantly varied amongst the materials (P < .001) and amongst the shades (P < .05). The order of ΔE*SCE-SCI amongst the materials were as follows LU > VE ≥ CS, whereas the order of Ra was CS ≥ VE > LU. CONCLUSION Nano-ceramic and polymer-infiltrated-feldspathic ceramic-network CAD/CAM materials exhibited different optical, inherent color and surface parameters. PMID:29503712

A Life Course Perspective to Spinal Cord Injury and Employment Participation in Canada

PubMed Central

Dumont, Frédéric S.; Noreau, Luc; Leblond, Jean

2014-01-01

Background: Few studies have examined life course differences in the employment of Canadians with spinal cord injury (SCI). Objective: To compare employment participation of young/middle-aged and older adults with SCI and to examine the association between employment and demographic and health factors, SCI-related needs, and social role participation at the 2 life phases. Methods: A sample of young/middle-aged (18-54 years; n = 959) and older adults (55-64 years; n = 364) with SCI was recruited as part of a larger Canadian community survey. Pre- and postinjury employment were compared. Demographic and health factors, number of unmet SCI needs, and social role participation were collected and compared by life phase and employment status. Two multivariable logistic regression models were conducted and compared for young/middle-aged and older adults. Results: Close to one-third of participants with SCI were working post injury (32%), a decline from the 62% of respondents working prior to their injury. Participants were more likely to work in less physically demanding job sectors including business/administration or health/science/teaching. An examination of life phase differences showed that young/middle-aged adults were more likely to be employed post injury (36%) when compared to older respondents (12% employed) who were more likely to report being retired (43%). Multivariable analyses revealed that for young/middle-aged adults, being married, attaining a postsecondary education, and having fewer unmet SCI needs were related to employment. Among older adults, having a traumatic injury was related to involvement in paid work. For both young/middle-aged and older adults, participating in more social roles was related to working. Conclusion: A life course perspective is important to understanding similarities and differences between young/middle-aged and older adults with SCI in their employment participation. Tailored programs and policies should be designed to promote labor force involvement at different phases of the working life course. PMID:25477744

Electrospray painted article containing thermally exfoliated graphite oxide and method for their manufacture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prud'Homme, Robert K. (Inventor); Aksay, Ilhan A. (Inventor); Korkut, Sibel (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A painted polymer part containing a conductive polymer composition containing at least one polymer and a modified graphite oxide material, which is a thermally exfoliated graphite oxide with a surface area of from about 300 sq m/g to 2600 sq m/g, wherein the painted polymer part has been electrospray painted.

Recent progress in nanocomposites based on conducting polymer: application as electrochemical sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Rhazi, Mama; Majid, Sanaa; Elbasri, Miloud; Salih, Fatima Ezzahra; Oularbi, Larbi; Lafdi, Khalid

2018-06-01

Over the years, intensive research works have been devoted to conducting polymers due to their potential application in many fields such as fuel cell, sensors, and capacitors. To improve the properties of these compounds, several new approaches have been developed which consist in combining conducting polymers and nanoparticles. Then, this review intends to give a clear overview on nanocomposites based on conducting polymers, synthesis, characterization, and their application as electrochemical sensors. For this, the paper is divided into two parts: the first part will highlight the nanocomposites synthesized by combination of carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) and conducting polymers. The preparation of polymer/CNMs such as graphene and carbon nanotube modified electrode is presented coupled with relevant applications. The second part consists of a review of nanocomposites synthesized by combination of metal nanoparticles and conducting polymers.

Classroom Demonstrations of Polymer Principles Part II. Polymer Formation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, F.; And Others

1987-01-01

This is part two in a series on classroom demonstrations of polymer principles. Described is how large molecules can be assembled from subunits (the process of polymerization). Examples chosen include both linear and branched or cross-linked molecules. (RH)

Labor Market Integration of People with Disabilities: Results from the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study

PubMed Central

Post, Marcel W. M.; Fekete, Christine; Trezzini, Bruno; Brinkhof, Martin W. G.

2016-01-01

Objectives We aimed to describe labor market participation (LMP) of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Switzerland, to examine potential determinants of LMP, and to compare LMP between SCI and the general population. Methods We analyzed data from 1458 participants of employable age from the cross-sectional community survey of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study. Data on LMP of the Swiss general population were obtained from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Factors associated with employment status as well as the amount of work performed in terms of full-time equivalent (FTE) were examined with regression techniques. Results 53.4% of the participants were employed at the time of the study. Adjusted odds of being employed were increased for males (OR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.33–2.25) and participants with paraplegia (OR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.40–2.27). The likelihood of being employed showed a significant concave relationship with age, peaking at age 40. The relation of LMP with education was s-shaped, while LMP was linearly related to time since injury. On average, employment rates were 30% lower than in the general population. Males with tetraplegia aged between 40 and 54 showed the greatest difference. From the 771 employed persons, the majority (81.7%) worked part-time with a median of 50% FTE (IRQ: 40%-80%). Men, those with younger age, higher education, incomplete lesions, and non-traumatic etiology showed significantly increased odds of working more hours per week. Significantly more people worked part-time than in the general population with the greatest difference found for males with tetraplegia aged between 40 and 54. Conclusions LMP of persons with SCI is comparatively high in Switzerland. LMP after SCI is, however, considerably lower than in the general population. Future research needs to show whether the reduced LMP in SCI reflects individual capacity adjustment, contextual constraints on higher LMP or both. PMID:27875566

Labor Market Integration of People with Disabilities: Results from the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study.

PubMed

Reinhardt, Jan D; Post, Marcel W M; Fekete, Christine; Trezzini, Bruno; Brinkhof, Martin W G

2016-01-01

We aimed to describe labor market participation (LMP) of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Switzerland, to examine potential determinants of LMP, and to compare LMP between SCI and the general population. We analyzed data from 1458 participants of employable age from the cross-sectional community survey of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study. Data on LMP of the Swiss general population were obtained from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Factors associated with employment status as well as the amount of work performed in terms of full-time equivalent (FTE) were examined with regression techniques. 53.4% of the participants were employed at the time of the study. Adjusted odds of being employed were increased for males (OR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.33-2.25) and participants with paraplegia (OR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.40-2.27). The likelihood of being employed showed a significant concave relationship with age, peaking at age 40. The relation of LMP with education was s-shaped, while LMP was linearly related to time since injury. On average, employment rates were 30% lower than in the general population. Males with tetraplegia aged between 40 and 54 showed the greatest difference. From the 771 employed persons, the majority (81.7%) worked part-time with a median of 50% FTE (IRQ: 40%-80%). Men, those with younger age, higher education, incomplete lesions, and non-traumatic etiology showed significantly increased odds of working more hours per week. Significantly more people worked part-time than in the general population with the greatest difference found for males with tetraplegia aged between 40 and 54. LMP of persons with SCI is comparatively high in Switzerland. LMP after SCI is, however, considerably lower than in the general population. Future research needs to show whether the reduced LMP in SCI reflects individual capacity adjustment, contextual constraints on higher LMP or both.

Association Between Mobility Mode and C-Reactive Protein Levels in Men With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Morse, Leslie R.; Stolzmann, Kelly; Nguyen, Hiep P.; Jain, Nitin B.; Zayac, Cara; Gagnon, David R.; Tun, Carlos G.; Garshick, Eric

2008-01-01

Objective To assess clinical determinants of systemic inflammation in persons with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Veterans Affairs medical center. Participants As part of an epidemiologic study assessing SCI-related health conditions, 63 men with chronic SCI provided a blood sample and information regarding locomotive mode and personal habits. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure Plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP). Results The mean ± standard deviation age was 56±14y, and participants were assessed 21±13y after injury. Adjusting for heart disease, hypertension, and body mass index (BMI), the mean CRP in 12 motorized wheelchair users (5.11mg/L) was not significantly greater than 23 participants who used a manual wheelchair (2.19mg/L) (P=.085) but was significantly greater than the 17 who walked with an assistive device (1.41mg/L) (P=.005) and the 12 who walked independently (1.63mg/L) (P=.027). CRP was significantly greater in participants with obesity but was not related to age, smoking, or SCI level and severity. CRP was elevated in participants reporting a urinary tract infection (UTI) or pressure ulcer within a year, but adjustment for this did not account for the elevated CRP in motorized wheelchair users. Conclusions These results suggest that CRP in chronic SCI is independently related to locomotive mode, BMI, and a history of pressure ulcers and UTI. It is suggested that future studies in SCI investigate whether modifying these factors influence systemic inflammation and cardiovascular health. PMID:18374004

Scalable Earth-observation Analytics for Geoscientists: Spacetime Extensions to the Array Database SciDB

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Appel, Marius; Lahn, Florian; Pebesma, Edzer; Buytaert, Wouter; Moulds, Simon

2016-04-01

Today's amount of freely available data requires scientists to spend large parts of their work on data management. This is especially true in environmental sciences when working with large remote sensing datasets, such as obtained from earth-observation satellites like the Sentinel fleet. Many frameworks like SpatialHadoop or Apache Spark address the scalability but target programmers rather than data analysts, and are not dedicated to imagery or array data. In this work, we use the open-source data management and analytics system SciDB to bring large earth-observation datasets closer to analysts. Its underlying data representation as multidimensional arrays fits naturally to earth-observation datasets, distributes storage and computational load over multiple instances by multidimensional chunking, and also enables efficient time-series based analyses, which is usually difficult using file- or tile-based approaches. Existing interfaces to R and Python furthermore allow for scalable analytics with relatively little learning effort. However, interfacing SciDB and file-based earth-observation datasets that come as tiled temporal snapshots requires a lot of manual bookkeeping during ingestion, and SciDB natively only supports loading data from CSV-like and custom binary formatted files, which currently limits its practical use in earth-observation analytics. To make it easier to work with large multi-temporal datasets in SciDB, we developed software tools that enrich SciDB with earth observation metadata and allow working with commonly used file formats: (i) the SciDB extension library scidb4geo simplifies working with spatiotemporal arrays by adding relevant metadata to the database and (ii) the Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL) driver implementation scidb4gdal allows to ingest and export remote sensing imagery from and to a large number of file formats. Using added metadata on temporal resolution and coverage, the GDAL driver supports time-based ingestion of imagery to existing multi-temporal SciDB arrays. While our SciDB plugin works directly in the database, the GDAL driver has been specifically developed using a minimum amount of external dependencies (i.e. CURL). Source code for both tools is available from github [1]. We present these tools in a case-study that demonstrates the ingestion of multi-temporal tiled earth-observation data to SciDB, followed by a time-series analysis using R and SciDBR. Through the exclusive use of open-source software, our approach supports reproducibility in scalable large-scale earth-observation analytics. In the future, these tools can be used in an automated way to let scientists only work on ready-to-use SciDB arrays to significantly reduce the data management workload for domain scientists. [1] https://github.com/mappl/scidb4geo} and \\url{https://github.com/mappl/scidb4gdal

Quadratic Electro-optic Effect in a Novel Nonconjugated Conductive Polymer, iodine-doped Polynorbornene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayanan, Ananthakrishnan; Thakur, Mrinal

2009-03-01

Quadratic electro-optic effect in a novel nonconjugated conductive polymer, iodine-doped polynorbornene has been measured using field-induced birefringence at 633 nm. The electrical conductivity^1 of polynorbornene increases by twelve orders of magnitude to about 0.01 S/cm upon doping with iodine. The electro-optic measurement has been made in a film doped at the medium doping-level. The electro-optic modulation signal was recorded using a lock-in amplifier for various applied ac voltages (4 kHz) and the quadratic dependence of the modulation on the applied voltage was observed. A modulation of about 0.01% was observed for an applied electric field of 3 V/micron for a 100 nm thick film The Kerr coefficient as determined is about 1.77x10-11m/V^2. This exceptionally large quadratic electro-optic effect has been attributed to the confinement of this charge-transfer system within a sub-nanometer dimension. 1. A. Narayanan, A. Palthi and M. Thakur, J. Macromol. Sci. -- PAC, accepted.

Tuning of electrostatic vs. depletion interaction in deciding the phase behavior of nanoparticle-polymer system

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

Kumar, Sugam, E-mail: sugam@barc.gov.in; Aswal, V. K.; Kohlbrecher, J.

2015-06-24

Nanoparticle-polymer system interestingly show a re-entrant phase behavior where charge stabilized silica nanoparticles (phase I) undergo particle clustering (phase II) and then back to individual particles (phase I) as a function of polymer concentration. Such phase behavior arises as a result of dominance of various interactions (i) nanoparticle-nanoparticle electrostatic repulsion (ii) polymer induced attractive depletion between nanoparticles and (iii) polymer-polymer repulsion, at different concentration regimes. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been used to study the evolution of interaction during this re-entrant phase behavior of nanoparticles by contrast-marching the polymer. The SANS data have been modeled using a two-Yukawa potential accountingmore » for both attractive and repulsive parts of the interaction between nanoparticles. The degree of both of these parts has been separately tuned by varying the polymer concentration and ionic strength of the solution. Both of these parts are found to have long-range nature. At low polymer concentrations, the electrostatic repulsion dominates over the depletion attraction. The magnitude and the range of the depletion interaction increase with the polymer concentration leading to nanoparticle clustering. At higher polymer concentrations, the increased polymer-polymer repulsion reduces the strength of depletion leading to re-entrant phase behavior. The clusters formed under depletion attraction are found to have surface fractal morphology.« less

Negotiating identity and self-image: perceptions of falls in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury - a qualitative study.

PubMed

Jørgensen, Vivien; Roaldsen, Kirsti Skavberg

2017-04-01

Explore and describe experiences and perceptions of falls, risk of falling, and fall-related consequences in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) who are still walking. A qualitative interview study applying interpretive content analysis with an inductive approach. Specialized rehabilitation hospital. A purposeful sample of 15 individuals (10 men), 23 to 78 years old, 2-34 years post injury with chronic incomplete traumatic SCI, and walking ⩾75% of time for mobility needs. Individual, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were recorded, condensed, and coded to find themes and subthemes. One overarching theme was revealed: "Falling challenges identity and self-image as normal" which comprised two main themes "Walking with incomplete SCI involves minimizing fall risk and fall-related concerns without compromising identity as normal" and "Walking with incomplete SCI implies willingness to increase fall risk in order to maintain identity as normal". Informants were aware of their increased fall risk and took precautions, but willingly exposed themselves to risky situations when important to self-identity. All informants expressed some conditional fall-related concerns, and a few experienced concerns limiting activity and participation. Ambulatory individuals with incomplete SCI considered falls to be a part of life. However, falls interfered with the informants' identities and self-images as normal, healthy, and well-functioning. A few expressed dysfunctional concerns about falling, and interventions should target these.

Neuroplasticity of prehensile neural networks after quadriplegia.

PubMed

Di Rienzo, F; Guillot, A; Mateo, S; Daligault, S; Delpuech, C; Rode, G; Collet, C

2014-08-22

Targeting cortical neuroplasticity through rehabilitation-based practice is believed to enhance functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). While prehensile performance is severely disturbed after C6-C7 SCI, subjects with tetraplegia can learn a compensatory passive prehension using the tenodesis effect. During tenodesis, an active wrist extension triggers a passive flexion of the fingers allowing grasping. We investigated whether motor imagery training could promote activity-dependent neuroplasticity and improve prehensile tenodesis performance. SCI participants (n=6) and healthy participants (HP, n=6) took part in a repeated measurement design. After an extended baseline period of 3 weeks including repeated magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurements, MI training was embedded within the classical course of physiotherapy for 5 additional weeks (three sessions per week). An immediate MEG post-test and a follow-up at 2 months were performed. Before MI training, compensatory activations and recruitment of deafferented cortical regions characterized the cortical activity during actual and imagined prehension in SCI participants. After MI training, MEG data yielded reduced compensatory activations. Cortical recruitment became similar to that in HP. Behavioral analysis evidenced decreased movement variability suggesting motor learning of tenodesis. Data suggest that MI training participated to reverse compensatory neuroplasticity in SCI participants, and promoted the integration of new upper limb prehensile coordination in the neural networks functionally dedicated to the control of healthy prehension before injury. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing a spinal cord injury research strategy using a structured process of evidence review and stakeholder dialogue. Part II: Background to a research strategy.

PubMed

Bragge, P; Piccenna, L; Middleton, J; Williams, S; Creasey, G; Dunlop, S; Brown, D; Gruen, R

2015-10-01

Literature review/semi-structured interviews. To develop a spinal cord injury (SCI) research strategy for Australia and New Zealand. Australia. The National Trauma Research Institute Forum approach of structured evidence review and stakeholder consultation was employed. This involved gathering from published literature and stakeholder consultation the information necessary to properly consider the challenge, and synthesising this into a briefing document. A research strategy 'roadmap' was developed to define the major steps and key planning questions to consider; next, evidence from published SCI research strategy initiatives was synthesised with information from four one-on-one semi-structured interviews with key SCI research stakeholders to create a research strategy framework, articulating six key themes and associated activities for consideration. These resources, combined with a review of SCI prioritisation literature, were used to generate a list of draft principles for discussion in a structured stakeholder dialogue meeting. The research strategy roadmap and framework informed discussion at a structured stakeholder dialogue meeting of 23 participants representing key SCI research constituencies, results of which are published in a companion paper. These resources could also be of value in other research strategy or planning exercises. This project was funded by the Victorian Transport Accident Commission and the Australian and New Zealand Spinal Cord Injury Network.

Potential of thermally conductive polymers for the cooling of mechatronic parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinle, C.; Drummer, D.

Adding thermally conductive fillers to polymers the thermal conductivity can be raised significantly. Thermal conductive polymers (TC-plastics) open up a vast range of options to set up novel concepts of polymer technological system solutions in the area of mechatronics. Heating experiment of cooling ribs show the potential in thermal management of mechatronic parts with TC-polymers in comparison with widely used reference materials copper and aluminum. The results demonstrate that especially for certain thermal boundary conditions comparable performance between these two material grades can be measured.

Consolidation & Factors Influencing Sintering Process in Polymer Powder Based Additive Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sagar, M. B.; Elangovan, K.

2017-08-01

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is two decade old technology; where parts are build layer manufacturing method directly from a CAD template. Over the years, AM techniques changes the future way of part fabrication with enhanced intricacy and custom-made features are aimed. Commercially polymers, metals, ceramic and metal-polymer composites are in practice where polymers enhanced the expectations in AM and are considered as a kind of next industrial revolution. Growing trend in polymer application motivated to study their feasibility and properties. Laser sintering, Heat sintering and Inhibition sintering are the most successful AM techniques for polymers but having least application. The presentation gives up selective sintering of powder polymers and listed commercially available polymer materials. Important significant factors for effective processing and analytical approaches to access them are discussed.

Impact of locomotion training with a neurologic controlled hybrid assistive limb (HAL) exoskeleton on neuropathic pain and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in chronic SCI: a case study (.).

PubMed

Cruciger, Oliver; Schildhauer, Thomas A; Meindl, Renate C; Tegenthoff, Martin; Schwenkreis, Peter; Citak, Mustafa; Aach, Mirko

2016-08-01

Chronic neuropathic pain (CNP) is a common condition associated with spinal cord injury (SCI) and has been reported to be severe, disabling and often treatment-resistant and therefore remains a clinical challenge for the attending physicians. The treatment usually includes pharmacological and/or nonpharmacological approaches. Body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) and locomotion training with driven gait orthosis (DGO) have evolved over the last decades and are now considered to be an established part in the rehabilitation of SCI patients. Conventional locomotion training goes along with improvements of the patients' walking abilities in particular speed and gait pattern. The neurologic controlled hybrid assistive limb (HAL®, Cyberdyne Inc., Ibraki, Japan) exoskeleton, however, is a new tailored approach to support motor functions synchronously to the patient's voluntary drive. This report presents two cases of severe chronic and therapy resistant neuropathic pain due to chronic SCI and demonstrates the beneficial effects of neurologic controlled exoskeletal intervention on pain severity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Both of these patients were engaged in a 12 weeks period of daily HAL®-supported locomotion training. In addition to improvements in motor functions and walking abilities, both show significant reduction in pain severity and improvements in all HRQoL domains. Although various causal factors likely contribute to abatement of CNP, the reported results occurred due to a new approach in the rehabilitation of chronic spinal cord injury patients. These findings suggest not only the feasibility of this new approach but in conclusion, demonstrate the effectiveness of neurologic controlled locomotion training in the long-term management of refractory neuropathic pain. Implications for Rehabilitation CNP remains a challenge in the rehabilitation of chronic SCI patients. Locomotion training with the HAL exoskeleton seems to improve CNP in chronic SCI. HAL locomotion training is feasible and safe in the rehabilitation of chronic SCI patients.

Developing physical activity interventions for adults with spinal cord injury. Part 1: a comparison of social cognitions across actors, intenders, and nonintenders.

PubMed

Ginis, Kathleen A Martin; Tomasone, Jennifer R; Latimer-Cheung, Amy E; Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Kelly P; Bassett-Gunter, Rebecca L; Wolfe, Dalton L

2013-08-01

This article is the first in a three-part series focused on designing theory-based interventions to increase leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). The purpose of this first study was to compare social cognitions for LTPA between people classified as LTPA actors, intenders, and nonintenders, as per Schwarzer's Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) model. Participants were 238 men and women living with a SCI (M age = 44.14, SD = 12.74; 44.5% paraplegic) who were subsequently classified as LTPA actors (n = 105), intenders (n = 73), or nonintenders (n = 60). Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed the following HAPA constructs: LTPA outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, intentions, planning, and action control. A MANCOVA revealed significant between-groups differences for all variables (ps < .001). For all of the measures, actors scored significantly higher than intenders who, in turn, scored significantly higher than nonintenders. It is both theoretically and practically important to distinguish between LTPA nonintenders, intenders, and actors when developing LTPA-enhancing interventions for people with SCI. These distinctions inform the design and testing of the interventions reported in the two accompanying articles. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Motor exam of patients with spinal cord injury: a terminological imbroglio.

PubMed

Figueiredo, Nicandro

2017-07-01

The description of the motor deficit of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) varies significantly, leading to confusion within the neurological terminology. This paper proposes a concise and easy to use terminology to describe the motor deficit of patients with SCI. A broad review of the origin of the nomenclature used to describe the motor deficit of patients with SCI was performed and discussed. The prefix: "hemi" should be used to describe paralysis of one half of the body; "mono" for one limb; "para" for lower limbs, di" for two symmetrical segments and/or parts in both sides of the body; "tri" for three limbs, or two limbs and one side of the face; and "tetra" for four limbs. The suffix: "plegia" should be used for total paralysis of a limb or part of the body, and "paresis" for partial paralysis. The term "brachial" refers to the upper limbs; and "podal" to the lower limbs. According to the spinal cord origin of the main key muscles for the limbs, patients with complete injury affecting spinal cord segments C1-5 usually presents with "tetraplegia"; C6-T1 presents with "paraplegia and brachial diparesis"; T2-L2 with "paraplegia"; and L3-S1 with "paraparesis".

Biological and physicochemical properties of carbon-graphite fibre-reinforced polymers intended for implant suprastructures.

PubMed

Segerström, Susanna; Sandborgh-Englund, Gunilla; Ruyter, Eystein I

2011-06-01

The aim of this study was to determine water sorption, water solubility, dimensional change caused by water storage, residual monomers, and possible cytotoxic effects of heat-polymerized carbon-graphite fibre-reinforced composites with different fibre loadings based on methyl methacrylate/poly(methyl methacrylate) (MMA/PMMA) and the copolymer poly (vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate). Two different resin systems were used. Resin A contained ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,4-BDMA); the cross-linker in Resin B was diethylene glycol dimethacrylate (DEGDMA). The resin mixtures were reinforced with 24, 36 and 47 wt% surface-treated carbon-graphite fibres. In addition, polymer B was reinforced with 58 wt% fibres. Water sorption was equal to or below 3.34±1.18 wt%, except for the 58 wt% fibre loading of polymer B (5.27±1.22 wt%). Water solubility was below 0.36±0.015 wt%, except for polymer B with 47 and 58 wt% fibres. For all composites, the volumetric increase was below 0.01±0.005 vol%. Residual MMA monomer was equal to or below 0.68±0.05 wt% for the fibre composites. The filter diffusion test and the (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay demonstrated no cytotoxicity for the carbon-graphite fibre-reinforced composites, and residual cross-linking agents and vinyl chloride were not detectable by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. © 2011 Eur J Oral Sci.

Mechanical properties of a biodegradable bone regeneration scaffold

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, B. D.; Oldham, J. B.; He, S. L.; Zobitz, M. E.; Payne, R. G.; An, K. N.; Currier, B. L.; Mikos, A. G.; Yaszemski, M. J.

2000-01-01

Poly (Propylene Fumarate) (PPF), a novel, bulk erosion, biodegradable polymer, has been shown to have osteoconductive effects in vivo when used as a bone regeneration scaffold (Peter, S. J., Suggs, L. J., Yaszemski, M. J., Engel, P. S., and Mikos, A. J., 1999, J. Biomater. Sci. Polym. Ed., 10, pp. 363-373). The material properties of the polymer allow it to be injected into irregularly shaped voids in vivo and provide mechanical stability as well as function as a bone regeneration scaffold. We fabricated a series of biomaterial composites, comprised of varying quantities of PPF, NaCl and beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP), into the shape of right circular cylinders and tested the mechanical properties in four-point bending and compression. The mean modulus of elasticity in compression (Ec) was 1204.2 MPa (SD 32.2) and the mean modulus of elasticity in bending (Eb) was 1274.7 MPa (SD 125.7). All of the moduli were on the order of magnitude of trabecular bone. Changing the level of NaCl from 20 to 40 percent, by mass, did not decrease Ec and Eb significantly, but did decrease bending and compressive strength significantly. Increasing the beta-TCP from 0.25 g/g PPF to 0.5 g/g PPF increased all of the measured mechanical properties of PPF/NVP composites. These results indicate that this biodegradable polymer composite is an attractive candidate for use as a replacement scaffold for trabecular bone.

Suspect/Counterfeit Items Information Guide for Subcontractors/Suppliers

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

Tessmar, Nancy D.; Salazar, Michael J.

2012-09-18

Counterfeiting of industrial and commercial grade items is an international problem that places worker safety, program objectives, expensive equipment, and security at risk. In order to prevent the introduction of Suspect/Counterfeit Items (S/CI), this information sheet is being made available as a guide to assist in the implementation of S/CI awareness and controls, in conjunction with subcontractor's/supplier's quality assurance programs. When it comes to counterfeit goods, including industrial materials, items, and equipment, no market is immune. Some manufactures have been known to misrepresent their products and intentionally use inferior materials and processes to manufacture substandard items, whose properties can significantlymore » cart from established standards and specifications. These substandard items termed by the Department of Energy (DOE) as S/CI, pose immediate and potential threats to the safety of DOE and contractor workers, the public, and the environment. Failure of certain systems and processes caused by an S/CI could also have national security implications at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Nuclear Safety Rules (federal Laws), DOE Orders, and other regulations set forth requirements for DOE contractors to implement effective controls to assure that items and services meet specified requirements. This includes techniques to implement and thereby minimizing the potential threat of entry of S/CI to LANL. As a qualified supplier of goods or services to the LANL, your company will be required to establish and maintain effective controls to prevent the introduction of S/CI to LANL. This will require that your company warrant that all items (including their subassemblies, components, and parts) sold to LANL are genuine (i.e. not counterfeit), new, and unused, and conform to the requirements of the LANL purchase orders/contracts unless otherwise approved in writing to the Los Alamos National Security (LANS) contract administrator/procurements specialist.« less

HAL® exoskeleton training improves walking parameters and normalizes cortical excitability in primary somatosensory cortex in spinal cord injury patients.

PubMed

Sczesny-Kaiser, Matthias; Höffken, Oliver; Aach, Mirko; Cruciger, Oliver; Grasmücke, Dennis; Meindl, Renate; Schildhauer, Thomas A; Schwenkreis, Peter; Tegenthoff, Martin

2015-08-20

Reorganization in the sensorimotor cortex accompanied by increased excitability and enlarged body representations is a consequence of spinal cord injury (SCI). Robotic-assisted bodyweight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) was hypothesized to induce reorganization and improve walking function. To assess whether BWSTT with hybrid assistive limb® (HAL®) exoskeleton affects cortical excitability in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in SCI patients, as measured by paired-pulse somatosensory evoked potentials (ppSEP) stimulated above the level of injury. Eleven SCI patients took part in HAL® assisted BWSTT for 3 months. PpSEP were conducted before and after this training period, where the amplitude ratios (SEP amplitude following double pulses - SEP amplitude following single pulses) were assessed and compared to eleven healthy control subjects. To assess improvement in walking function, we used the 10-m walk test, timed-up-and-go test, the 6-min walk test, and the lower extremity motor score. PpSEPs were significantly increased in SCI patients as compared to controls at baseline. Following training, ppSEPs were increased from baseline and no longer significantly differed from controls. Walking parameters also showed significant improvements, yet there was no significant correlation between ppSEP measures and walking parameters. The findings suggest that robotic-assisted BWSTT with HAL® in SCI patients is capable of inducing cortical plasticity following highly repetitive, active locomotive use of paretic legs. While there was no significant correlation of excitability with walking parameters, brain areas other than S1 might reflect improvement of walking functions. EEG and neuroimaging studies may provide further information about supraspinal plastic processes and foci in SCI rehabilitation.

Cardiovascular Responses to Sexual Activity in Able-Bodied Individuals and Those Living with Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Davidson, Ross; Elliott, Stacy; Krassioukov, Andrei

2016-12-15

Sexuality is an integral part of the human experience and persists in health and disability. The cardiovascular system is crucial to sexual function and can be affected profoundly by spinal cord injury (SCI). The effects of sexual activity on the cardiovascular system in SCI have not been summarized and compared with sexual activity in able-bodied individuals. A keyword search of Embase, PubMed, and Medline was conducted. From 471 retrieved studies for able-bodied individuals, 11 were included that met the strict criteria of medically uncomplicated participants. In the SCI literature, 117 studies were screened, with 18 meeting criteria. In able-bodied persons, sexual activity resulted in modest increases in systolic blood pressure peaking at orgasm (males of 163 mm Hg and females of 142 mm Hg) and returning to baseline shortly afterward. In persons with SCI, results varied from minimal changes to significant elevations in systolic blood pressure because of episodes of autonomic dysreflexia, especially in those with high thoracic and cervical lesions. Peak systolic blood pressure in these individuals was measured to be as high as 325 mm Hg. In the SCI population, more intense stimuli (including penile vibrostimulation and electroejaculation) tended to result in a greater increase in systolic blood pressure compared with self-stimulation. Studies that used continuous versus intermittent monitoring were more likely to report greater changes in systolic blood pressure. In able-bodied persons, sexual activity results in modest increases in blood pressure. In those with SCI, intense stimulation and higher injury levels result in a higher likelihood of autonomic dysreflexia and elevated blood pressure. Because of rapid changes in blood pressure, continuous monitoring is more advantageous than intermittent measurement, because the latter may miss peak values.

Computer simulation of heterogeneous polymer photovoltaic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kodali, Hari K.; Ganapathysubramanian, Baskar

2012-04-01

Polymer-based photovoltaic devices have the potential for widespread usage due to their low cost per watt and mechanical flexibility. Efficiencies close to 9.0% have been achieved recently in conjugated polymer based organic solar cells (OSCs). These devices were fabricated using solvent-based processing of electron-donating and electron-accepting materials into the so-called bulk heterojunction (BHJ) architecture. Experimental evidence suggests that a key property determining the power-conversion efficiency of such devices is the final morphological distribution of the donor and acceptor constituents. In order to understand the role of morphology on device performance, we develop a scalable computational framework that efficiently interrogates OSCs to investigate relationships between the morphology at the nano-scale with the device performance. In this work, we extend the Buxton and Clarke model (2007 Modelling Simul. Mater. Sci. Eng. 15 13-26) to simulate realistic devices with complex active layer morphologies using a dimensionally independent, scalable, finite-element method. We incorporate all stages involved in current generation, namely (1) exciton generation and diffusion, (2) charge generation and (3) charge transport in a modular fashion. The numerical challenges encountered during interrogation of realistic microstructures are detailed. We compare each stage of the photovoltaic process for two microstructures: a BHJ morphology and an idealized sawtooth morphology. The results are presented for both two- and three-dimensional structures.

A biocompatibility study of new nanofibrous scaffolds for nervous system regeneration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raspa, A.; Marchini, A.; Pugliese, R.; Mauri, M.; Maleki, M.; Vasita, R.; Gelain, F.

2015-12-01

The development of therapeutic approaches for spinal cord injury (SCI) is still a challenging goal to achieve. The pathophysiological features of chronic SCI are glial scar and cavity formation: an effective therapy will require contribution of different disciplines such as materials science, cell biology, drug delivery and nanotechnology. One of the biggest challenges in SCI regeneration is to create an artificial scaffold that could mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) and support nervous system regeneration. Electrospun constructs and hydrogels based on self-assembling peptides (SAPs) have been recently preferred. In this work SAPs and polymers were assembled by using a coaxial electrospinning setup. We tested the biocompatibility of two types of coaxially electrospun microchannels: the first one made by a core of poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PCL-PLGA) and a shell of an emulsion of PCL-PLGA and a functionalized self-assembling peptide Ac-FAQ and the second one made by a core of Ac-FAQ and a shell of PCL-PLGA. Moreover, we tested an annealed scaffold by PCL-PLGA microchannel heat-treatment. The properties of coaxial scaffolds were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle measurements and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In vitro cytotoxicity was assessed via viability and differentiation assays with neural stem cells (NSCs); whereas in vivo inflammatory response was evaluated following scaffold implantation in rodent spinal cords. Emulsification of the outer shell turned out to be the best choice in terms of cell viability and tissue response: thus suggesting the potential of using functionalized SAPs in coaxial electrospinning for applications in regenerative medicine.The development of therapeutic approaches for spinal cord injury (SCI) is still a challenging goal to achieve. The pathophysiological features of chronic SCI are glial scar and cavity formation: an effective therapy will require contribution of different disciplines such as materials science, cell biology, drug delivery and nanotechnology. One of the biggest challenges in SCI regeneration is to create an artificial scaffold that could mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) and support nervous system regeneration. Electrospun constructs and hydrogels based on self-assembling peptides (SAPs) have been recently preferred. In this work SAPs and polymers were assembled by using a coaxial electrospinning setup. We tested the biocompatibility of two types of coaxially electrospun microchannels: the first one made by a core of poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PCL-PLGA) and a shell of an emulsion of PCL-PLGA and a functionalized self-assembling peptide Ac-FAQ and the second one made by a core of Ac-FAQ and a shell of PCL-PLGA. Moreover, we tested an annealed scaffold by PCL-PLGA microchannel heat-treatment. The properties of coaxial scaffolds were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle measurements and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In vitro cytotoxicity was assessed via viability and differentiation assays with neural stem cells (NSCs); whereas in vivo inflammatory response was evaluated following scaffold implantation in rodent spinal cords. Emulsification of the outer shell turned out to be the best choice in terms of cell viability and tissue response: thus suggesting the potential of using functionalized SAPs in coaxial electrospinning for applications in regenerative medicine. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: In vivo analysis to evaluate tissue reaction in the scaffold implant walls (Fig. S1) and to test axonal regeneration (Fig. S2). Waters LC-MS Alliance-3100 analysis to confirm the molecular weight and the integrity of peptides following the electrospray process (Fig. S3). Water contact angle of electrospun nanofibrous mats (Fig. S4). See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03698d

Negotiating identity and self-image: perceptions of falls in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury – a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Jørgensen, Vivien; Roaldsen, Kirsti Skavberg

2016-01-01

Objective: Explore and describe experiences and perceptions of falls, risk of falling, and fall-related consequences in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) who are still walking. Design: A qualitative interview study applying interpretive content analysis with an inductive approach. Setting: Specialized rehabilitation hospital. Subjects: A purposeful sample of 15 individuals (10 men), 23 to 78 years old, 2-34 years post injury with chronic incomplete traumatic SCI, and walking ⩾75% of time for mobility needs. Methods: Individual, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were recorded, condensed, and coded to find themes and subthemes. Results: One overarching theme was revealed: “Falling challenges identity and self-image as normal” which comprised two main themes “Walking with incomplete SCI involves minimizing fall risk and fall-related concerns without compromising identity as normal” and “Walking with incomplete SCI implies willingness to increase fall risk in order to maintain identity as normal”. Informants were aware of their increased fall risk and took precautions, but willingly exposed themselves to risky situations when important to self-identity. All informants expressed some conditional fall-related concerns, and a few experienced concerns limiting activity and participation. Conclusion: Ambulatory individuals with incomplete SCI considered falls to be a part of life. However, falls interfered with the informants’ identities and self-images as normal, healthy, and well-functioning. A few expressed dysfunctional concerns about falling, and interventions should target these. PMID:27170274

Event centrality as a unique predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms and perceived disability following spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Boals, A; Trost, Z; Berntsen, D; Nowlin, L; Wheelis, T; Monden, K R

2017-11-01

We conducted a cross-sectional study involving completion of self-report measures. Individuals who acquire a spinal cord injury (SCI) face numerous physical and psychological challenges, with the former receiving considerable less attention during the rehabilitation process. In this article, we examined event centrality as a unique predictor of psychological outcomes in a sample of individuals receiving rehabilitation for SCI. Event centrality refers to the extent to which individuals construe a stressful experience as a core part of their identity. In samples of individuals exposed to psychological traumas (for example, sexual assault or military combat), event centrality has emerged as a consistent and powerful predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs). This is the first study to examine event centrality in an SCI sample. Inpatient rehabilitation program in a large urban city in the Southwestern United States. A sample of 55 participants in rehabilitation for a recent SCI completed measures of event centrality, PTSS, depressed mood and perceived disability. Event centrality was significantly related to perceived disability (r=0.48) and PTSS (r=0.31) and accounted for unique variance in these two outcomes after controlling for demographics and depressed mood. Event centrality is common among individuals with SCI and may be a unique contributor to worse psychological and functional outcomes. We hope our findings will alert health-care professionals to the importance of event centrality. This study was supported by a grant from the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF89).

The application of implementation science for pressure ulcer prevention best practices in an inpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation program.

PubMed

Scovil, Carol Y; Flett, Heather M; McMillan, Lan T; Delparte, Jude J; Leber, Diane J; Brown, Jacquie; Burns, Anthony S

2014-09-01

To implement pressure ulcer (PU) prevention best practices in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation using implementation science frameworks. Quality improvement. SCI Rehabilitation Center. Inpatients admitted January 2012 to July 2013. Implementation of two PU best practices were targeted: (1) completing a comprehensive PU risk assessment and individualized interprofessional PU prevention plan (PUPP); and (2) providing patient education for PU prevention; as part of the pan-Canadian SCI Knowledge Mobilization Network. At our center, the SCI Pressure Ulcer Scale replaced the Braden risk assessment scale and an interprofessional PUPP form was implemented. Comprehensive educational programing existed, so efforts focused on improving documentation. Implementation science frameworks provided structure for a systematic approach to best practice implementation (BPI): (1) site implementation team, (2) implementation drivers, (3) stages of implementation, and (4) improvement cycles. Strategies were developed to address key implementation drivers (staff competency, organizational supports, and leadership) through the four stages of implementation: exploration, installation, initial implementation, and full implementation. Improvement cycles were used to address BPI challenges. Implementation processes (e.g. staff training) and BPI outcomes (completion rates). Following BPI, risk assessment completion rates improved from 29 to 82%. The PUPP completion rate was 89%. PU education was documented for 45% of patients (vs. 21% pre-implementation). Implementation science provided a framework and effective tools for successful pressure ulcer BPI in SCI rehabilitation. Ongoing improvement cycles will target timeliness of tool completion and documentation of patient education.

Nanocellular thermoplastic foam and process for making the same

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

Zhu, Lingbo; Costeux, Stephane; Patankar, Kshitish A.

Prepare a thermoplastic polymer foam having a porosity of 70% or more and at least one of: (i) an average cell size of 200 nanometers or less; and (ii) a nucleation density of at least 1.times.1015 effective nucleation sites per cubic centimeter of foamable polymer composition not including blowing agent using a foamable polymer composition containing a thermoplastic polymer selected from styrenic polymer and (meth)acrylic polymers, a blowing agent comprising at least 20 mole-percent carbon dioxide based on moles of blowing agent and an additive having a Total Hansen Solubility Parameter that differs from that of carbon dioxide by lessmore » than 2 and that is present at a concentration of 0.01 to 1.5 weight parts per hundred weight parts thermoplastic polymer.« less

Participation rates, response bias and response behaviours in the community survey of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study (SwiSCI).

PubMed

Fekete, Christine; Segerer, Wolfgang; Gemperli, Armin; Brinkhof, Martin W G

2015-10-08

Surveying persons with disabilities is challenging, as targeted subjects may experience specific barriers to survey participation. Here we report on participation rates and response behaviour in a community survey of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Switzerland. The cross-sectional survey was implemented as part of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study (SwiSCI) and represents the largest population-based SCI survey in Europe including nearly 2000 persons. Design features to enhance participation rates included the division of the questionnaire volume over three successive modules; recurrent and mixed-mode reminding of non-responders; and mixed-mode options for response. We describe participation rates of the SwiSCI community survey (absolute and cumulative cooperation, contact, response, and attrition rates) and report on response rates in relation to recruitment efforts. Potential non-response bias and the association between responders' characteristics and response behaviour (response speed: reminding until participation; response mode: paper-pencil vs. online completion) were assessed using regression modelling. Over the successive modules, absolute response rates were 61.1, 80.6 and 87.3% which resulted in cumulative response rates of 49.3 and 42.6% for the second and third modules. Written reminders effectively increased response rates, with the first reminder showing the largest impact. Telephone reminders, partly with direct telephone interviewing, enhanced response rate to the first module, but were essentially redundant in subsequent modules. Non-response to the main module was related to current age, membership of Swiss Paraplegic Association (SPA) and time since injury, but not to gender, lesion level and preferred language of response. Response speed increased with household income, but was not associated to other sociodemographic factors, lesion characteristics or health indicators. We found significant associations between online completion and male gender, younger age, higher education, higher income, SPA membership, tetraplegia, longer time since injury, higher quality of life, and more participation restrictions. In this sample with little non-response bias, recurrent and mixed-mode reminding and mixed-mode options for response were key features of optimizing survey design.

A primer on polymer nomenclature: Structure-based, sourced-based and trade names

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Polymer nomenclature is important because it is part of the language of polymer science and is needed for polymer identification, reference, and documentation. A primer on polymer nomenclature is provided herein for people new to the field or for instructional use. Both structure-based and source-...

Thermosetting Phthalocyanine Polymers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fohlen, G.; Parker, J.; Achar, B.

1985-01-01

Group of phthalocyanine polymers resist thermal degradation. Polymers expected semiconducting. Principal applications probably in molded or laminated parts that have to withstand high temperatures. Polymers made from either of two classes of monomer: Bisphthalonitriles with imide linkages or Bisphthalonitriles with ester-imide linkages.

Transporter protein and drug-conjugated gold nanoparticles capable of bypassing the blood-brain barrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yanhua; Walker, Janelle Buttry; Minic, Zeljka; Liu, Fangchao; Goshgarian, Harry; Mao, Guangzhao

2016-05-01

Drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) is challenging due to the inability of many drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Here, we show that wheat germ agglutinin horse radish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) chemically conjugated to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) can be transported to the spinal cord and brainstem following intramuscular injection into the diaphragm of rats. We synthesized and determined the size and chemical composition of a three-part nanoconjugate consisting of WGA-HRP, AuNPs, and drugs for the treatment of diaphragm paralysis associated with high cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). Upon injection into the diaphragm muscle of rats, we show that the nanoconjugate is capable of delivering the drug at a much lower dose than the unconjugated drug injected systemically to effectively induce respiratory recovery in rats following SCI. This study not only demonstrates a promising strategy to deliver drugs to the CNS bypassing the BBB but also contributes a potential nanotherapy for the treatment of respiratory muscle paralysis resulted from cervical SCI.

Increases in human motoneuron excitability after cervical spinal cord injury depend on the level of injury.

PubMed

Thomas, Christine K; Häger, Charlotte K; Klein, Cliff S

2017-02-01

After human spinal cord injury (SCI), motoneuron recruitment and firing rate during voluntary and involuntary contractions may be altered by changes in motoneuron excitability. Our aim was to compare F waves in single thenar motor units paralyzed by cervical SCI to those in uninjured controls because at the single-unit level F waves primarily reflect the intrinsic properties of the motoneuron and its initial segment. With intraneural motor axon stimulation, F waves were evident in all 4 participants with C 4 -level SCI, absent in 8 with C 5 or C 6 injury, and present in 6 of 12 Uninjured participants (P < 0.001). The percentage of units that generated F waves differed across groups (C 4 : 30%, C 5 or C 6 : 0%, Uninjured: 16%; P < 0.001). Mean (±SD) proximal axon conduction velocity was slower after C 4 SCI [64 ± 4 m/s (n = 6 units), Uninjured: 73 ± 8 m/s (n = 7 units); P = 0.037]. Mean distal axon conduction velocity differed by group [C 4 : 40 ± 8 m/s (n = 20 units), C 5 or C 6 : 49 ± 9 m/s (n = 28), Uninjured: 60 ± 7 m/s (n = 45); P < 0.001]. Motor unit properties (EMG amplitude, twitch force) only differed after SCI (P ≤ 0.004), not by injury level. Motor units with F waves had distal conduction velocities, M-wave amplitudes, and twitch forces that spanned the respective group range, indicating that units with heterogeneous properties produced F waves. Recording unitary F waves has shown that thenar motoneurons closer to the SCI (C 5 or C 6 ) have reduced excitability whereas those further away (C 4 ) have increased excitability, which may exacerbate muscle spasms. This difference in motoneuron excitability may be related to the extent of membrane depolarization following SCI. Unitary F waves were common in paralyzed thenar muscles of people who had a chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) at the C 4 level compared with uninjured people, but F waves did not occur in people that had SCI at the C 5 or C 6 level. These results highlight that intrinsic motoneuron excitability depends, in part, on how close the motoneurons are to the site of the spinal injury, which could alter the generation and strength of voluntary and involuntary muscle contractions. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Scientific support of SciTech museum exhibits and outreach programs

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

Peshkin, M.

SciTech (Science and Technology Interactive Center) is a small hands-on science museum located in Aurora, Illinois, not far from Argonne National Laboratory. Its constituency includes prosperous suburbs and economically disadvantaged minority communities in Aurora and Chicago. Its mission is to contribute to the country`s scientific literacy initiative by offering hands-on experiences on the museum floor and through outreach programs extended to school children, their teachers, and other groups. Argonne`s participation is focused mainly on the development of exhibits to carry the ideas of modern science and technology to the public. This is an area in which traditional museums are weak,more » but in which SciTech has become a nationally recognized leader with the assistance of Argonne, Fermilab, nearby technological companies, and many volunteer scientists and engineers. We also participate in development and improvement of the museum`s general exhibits and outreach programs. Argonne`s Director, Alan Schriesheim, serves as a member of the museum`s Board of Directors. Murray Peshkin serves part-time as the museum`s Senior Scientist. Dale Henderson serves part-time as an exhibit developer. That work is supported by the Laboratory Director`s discretionary funds. In addition, several members of the Physics Division voluntarily assist with exhibit development and the Division makes facilities available for that effort.« less

Provider-identified barriers and facilitators to implementing a supported employment program in spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Cotner, Bridget A; Ottomanelli, Lisa; O'Connor, Danielle R; Trainor, John K

2018-06-01

In a 5-year study, individual placement and support (IPS) significantly increased employment rate of United States Veterans with spinal cord injury (SCI), a historically underemployed population. In a follow-up study, data on barriers and facilitators to IPS implementation were identified. Over 24 months of implementation, 82 key medical and vocational staff underwent semi-structured interviews (n = 130). Interviews were digitally recorded and qualitatively analyzed (ATLAS.ti v0.7) using a constant comparative method to generate themes. Some barriers to implementation occurred throughout the study, such as Veterans' lack of motivation and providers' difficulty integrating vocational and medical rehabilitation. Other barriers emerged at specific stages, for example, early barriers included a large geographic service area and a large patient caseload, and late barriers included need for staff education. Facilitators were mostly constant throughout implementation and included leadership support and successful integration of vocational staff into the medical care team. Implementation strategies need to be adjusted as implementation progresses and matures. The strategies that succeeded in this setting, which were situated in a real-world context of providing IPS as a part of SCI medical care, may inform implementation of IPS for other populations with physical disabilities. Implications for Rehabilitation Key facilitators to IPS in SCI implementation are integrating vocational staff with expertise in IPS and SCI on clinical rehabilitation teams and providing leadership support. Ongoing barriers to IPS in SCI include patient specific and program administration factors such as caseload size and staffing patterns. Varying implementation strategies are needed to address barriers as they arise and facilitate successful implementation.

Self-management interventions for skin care in people with a spinal cord injury: part 2-a systematic review of use of theory and quality of intervention reporting.

PubMed

Baron, Justine S; Sullivan, Katrina J; Swaine, Jillian M; Aspinall, Arlene; Jaglal, Susan; Presseau, Justin; Wolfe, Dalton; Grimshaw, Jeremy M

2018-05-25

Systematic review. To examine use of theory and quality of reporting in skin care self-management interventions for people with SCI. International. The Theory Coding Scheme (TCS) and the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist were applied by two independent researchers to 17 interventions identified in a systematic review of self-management interventions for skin care in people with SCI. Six (35%) of the 17 interventions reviewed were reported to have a theoretical basis. Theories used included three of the most commonly featured in health behavior research (the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Transtheoretical Model). In these six interventions, theory was used to design content but not to select participants or tailor strategies. None of the interventions were used to test theories in the SCI population, or to propose theoretical refinements. Reporting quality was found to vary by TIDieR item, with 6-100% of interventions including recommended information. Information on two intervention fidelity items was missing in 53 and 82% of descriptions. Use of theory and reporting quality in SCI self-management research remains suboptimal, potentially slowing down advancements in this area of research. Rehabilitation researchers should direct their efforts toward improving these practices to help build a science of SCI self-management that is cumulative and reproducible by clinicians, scientists, and policy makers. This work was funded through a postdoctoral fellowship awarded to the first author by the Rick Hansen Institute.

The application of implementation science for pressure ulcer prevention best practices in an inpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation program

PubMed Central

Scovil, Carol Y.; Flett, Heather M.; McMillan, Lan T.; Delparte, Jude J.; Leber, Diane J.; Brown, Jacquie; Burns, Anthony S.

2014-01-01

Objectives To implement pressure ulcer (PU) prevention best practices in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation using implementation science frameworks. Design Quality improvement. Setting SCI Rehabilitation Center. Participants Inpatients admitted January 2012 to July 2013. Interventions Implementation of two PU best practices were targeted: (1) completing a comprehensive PU risk assessment and individualized interprofessional PU prevention plan (PUPP); and (2) providing patient education for PU prevention; as part of the pan-Canadian SCI Knowledge Mobilization Network. At our center, the SCI Pressure Ulcer Scale replaced the Braden risk assessment scale and an interprofessional PUPP form was implemented. Comprehensive educational programing existed, so efforts focused on improving documentation. Implementation science frameworks provided structure for a systematic approach to best practice implementation (BPI): (1) site implementation team, (2) implementation drivers, (3) stages of implementation, and (4) improvement cycles. Strategies were developed to address key implementation drivers (staff competency, organizational supports, and leadership) through the four stages of implementation: exploration, installation, initial implementation, and full implementation. Improvement cycles were used to address BPI challenges. Outcome Measures Implementation processes (e.g. staff training) and BPI outcomes (completion rates). Results Following BPI, risk assessment completion rates improved from 29 to 82%. The PUPP completion rate was 89%. PU education was documented for 45% of patients (vs. 21% pre-implementation). Conclusion Implementation science provided a framework and effective tools for successful pressure ulcer BPI in SCI rehabilitation. Ongoing improvement cycles will target timeliness of tool completion and documentation of patient education. PMID:25029674

Subcortical Control of Precision Grip after Human Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Bunday, Karen L.; Tazoe, Toshiki; Rothwell, John C.

2014-01-01

The motor cortex and the corticospinal system contribute to the control of a precision grip between the thumb and index finger. The involvement of subcortical pathways during human precision grip remains unclear. Using noninvasive cortical and cervicomedullary stimulation, we examined motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and the activity in intracortical and subcortical pathways targeting an intrinsic hand muscle when grasping a small (6 mm) cylinder between the thumb and index finger and during index finger abduction in uninjured humans and in patients with subcortical damage due to incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). We demonstrate that cortical and cervicomedullary MEP size was reduced during precision grip compared with index finger abduction in uninjured humans, but was unchanged in SCI patients. Regardless of whether cortical and cervicomedullary stimulation was used, suppression of the MEP was only evident 1–3 ms after its onset. Long-term (∼5 years) use of the GABAb receptor agonist baclofen by SCI patients reduced MEP size during precision grip to similar levels as uninjured humans. Index finger sensory function correlated with MEP size during precision grip in SCI patients. Intracortical inhibition decreased during precision grip and spinal motoneuron excitability remained unchanged in all groups. Our results demonstrate that the control of precision grip in humans involves premotoneuronal subcortical mechanisms, likely disynaptic or polysynaptic spinal pathways that are lacking after SCI and restored by long-term use of baclofen. We propose that spinal GABAb-ergic interneuronal circuits, which are sensitive to baclofen, are part of the subcortical premotoneuronal network shaping corticospinal output during human precision grip. PMID:24849366

Development of a clinical spasticity scale for evaluation of dogs with chronic thoracolumbar spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Lewis, Melissa J; Olby, Natasha J

2017-07-01

OBJECTIVE To develop a spasticity scale for dogs with chronic deficits following severe spinal cord injury (SCI) for use in clinical assessment and outcome measurement in clinical trials. ANIMALS 20 chronically paralyzed dogs with a persistent lack of hind limb pain perception caused by an acute SCI at least 3 months previously. PROCEDURES Spasticity was assessed in both hind limbs via tests of muscle tone, clonus, and flexor and extensor spasms adapted from human scales. Measurement of patellar clonus duration and flexor spasm duration and degree was feasible. These components were used to create a canine spasticity scale (CSS; overall score range, 0 to 18). Temporal variation for individual dogs and interrater reliability were evaluated. Gait was quantified with published gait scales, and CSS scores were compared with gait scores and clinical variables. Owners were questioned regarding spasticity observed at home. RESULTS 20 dogs were enrolled: 18 with no apparent hind limb pain perception and 2 with blunted responses; 5 were ambulatory. Testing was well tolerated, and scores were repeatable between raters. Median overall CSS score was 7 (range, 3 to 11), and flexor spasms were the most prominent finding. Overall CSS score was not associated with age, SCI duration, lesion location, or owner-reported spasticity. Overall CSS score and flexor spasm duration were associated with gait scores. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The CSS could be used to quantify hind limb spasticity in dogs with chronic thoracolumbar SCI and might be a useful outcome measure. Flexor spasms may represent an integral part of stepping in dogs with severe SCI.

Unusually large acrylamide induced effect on the droplet size in AOT/Brij30 water-in-oil microemulsions.

PubMed

Poulsen, Allan K; Arleth, Lise; Almdal, Kristoffer; Scharff-Poulsen, Anne Marie

2007-02-01

Droplet microemulsions are widely used as templates for controlled synthesis of nanometer sized polymer gel beads for use as, e.g., nanobiosensors. Here we examine water-in-oil microemulsions typically used for preparation of sensors. The cores of the microemulsion droplets are constituted by an aqueous component consisting of water, reagent monomer mixture, buffer salts, and the relevant dyes and/or enzymes. The cores are encapsulated by a mixture of the surfactants Brij30 and AOT and the resulting microemulsion droplets are suspended in a continuous hexane phase. The size of the final polymer particles may be of great importance for the applications of the sensors. Our initial working hypothesis was that the size of the droplet cores and therefore the size of the synthesized polymer gel beads could be controlled by the surfactant-to-water ratio of the template microemulsion. In the present work we have tested this hypothesis and investigated how the monomers and the ratio between the two surfactants affect the size of the microemulsion droplets and the microemulsion domain. We find that the monomers in water have a profound effect on the microemulsion domain as well as on the size of the microemulsion droplets. The relation between microemulsion composition and droplet size is in this case more complicated than assumed in standard descriptions of microemulsions [R. Strey, Colloid Polym. Sci. 272 (1994) 1005-1019; I. Danielsson, B. Lindman, Colloids Surf. 3 (1981) 391-392; Y. Chevalier, T. Zemb, Rep. Progr. Phys. 53 (1990) 279-371].

Effects of chemical alteration on fracture mechanical properties in hydrothermal systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callahan, O. A.; Eichhubl, P.; Olson, J. E.

2015-12-01

Fault and fracture networks often control the distribution of fluids and heat in hydrothermal and epithermal systems, and in related geothermal and mineral resources. Additional chemical influences on conduit evolution are well documented, with dissolution and precipitation of mineral species potentially changing the permeability of fault-facture networks. Less well understood are the impacts of chemical alteration on the mechanical properties governing fracture growth and fracture network geometry. We use double-torsion (DT) load relaxation tests under ambient air conditions to measure the mode-I fracture toughness (KIC) and subcritical fracture growth index (SCI) of variably altered rock samples obtained from outcrop in Dixie Valley, NV. Samples from southern Dixie Valley include 1) weakly altered granite, characterized by minor sericite in plagioclase, albitization and vacuolization of feldspars, and incomplete replacement of biotite with chlorite, and 2) granite from an area of locally intense propylitic alteration with chlorite-calcite-hematite-epidote assemblages. We also evaluated samples of completely silicified gabbro obtained from the Dixie Comstock epithermal gold deposit. In the weakly altered granite KIC and SCI are 1.3 ±0.2 MPam1/2 (n=8) and 59 ±25 (n=29), respectively. In the propylitic assemblage KIC is reduced to 0.6 ±0.1 MPam1/2 (n=11), and the SCI increased to 75 ±36 (n = 33). In both cases, the altered materials have lower fracture toughness and higher SCI than is reported for common geomechanical standards such as Westerly Granite (KIC ~1.7 MPam1/2; SCI ~48). Preliminary analysis of the silicified gabbro shows a significant increase in fracture toughness, 3.6 ±0.4 MPam1/2 (n=2), and SCI, 102 ±45 (n=19), compared to published values for gabbro (2.9 MPam1/2 and SCI = 32). These results suggest that mineralogical and textural changes associated with different alteration assemblages may result in spatially variable rates of fracture initiation and growth in different parts of hydrothermal systems. Contrasting fracture mechanical properties between alteration assemblages may constitute a new mechanism of chemical-mechanical feedback that contributes to the localization of conduits in hydrothermal systems.

Passive hind-limb cycling improves cardiac function and reduces cardiovascular disease risk in experimental spinal cord injury.

PubMed

West, Christopher R; Crawford, Mark A; Poormasjedi-Meibod, Malihe-Sadat; Currie, Katharine D; Fallavollita, Andre; Yuen, Violet; McNeill, John H; Krassioukov, Andrei V

2014-04-15

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes altered autonomic control and severe physical deconditioning that converge to drive maladaptive cardiac remodelling. We used a clinically relevant experimental model to investigate the cardio-metabolic responses to SCI and to establish whether passive hind-limb cycling elicits a cardio-protective effect. Initially, 21 male Wistar rats were evenly assigned to three groups: uninjured control (CON), T3 complete SCI (SCI) or T3 complete SCI plus passive hind-limb cycling (SCI-EX; 2 × 30 min day(-1), 5 days week(-1) for 4 weeks beginning 6 days post-SCI). On day 32, cardio-metabolic function was assessed using in vivo echocardiography, ex vivo working heart assessments, cardiac histology/molecular biology and blood lipid profiles. Twelve additional rats (n = 6 SCI and n = 6 SCI-EX) underwent in vivo echocardiography and basal haemodynamic assessments pre-SCI and at days 7, 14 and 32 post-SCI to track temporal cardiovascular changes. Compared with CON, SCI exhibited a rapid and sustained reduction in left ventricular dimensions and function that ultimately manifested as reduced contractility, increased myocardial collagen deposition and an up-regulation of transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFβ1) and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3 (Smad3) mRNA. For SCI-EX, the initial reduction in left ventricular dimensions and function at day 7 post-SCI was completely reversed by day 32 post-SCI, and there were no differences in myocardial contractility between SCI-EX and CON. Collagen deposition was similar between SCI-EX and CON. TGFβ1 and Smad3 were down-regulated in SCI-EX. Blood lipid profiles were improved in SCI-EX versus SCI. We provide compelling novel evidence that passive hind-limb cycling prevents cardiac dysfunction and reduces cardiovascular disease risk in experimental SCI.

Teaching Polymer Science in the Department of Polymers at the University of Concepcio´n, Chile: A Brief History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flores-Morales, Patricio; Campos-Requena, Víctor H.; Gatica, Nicolás; Muñoz, Carla; Pérez, Mónica A.; Rivas, Bernabe´ L.; Sánchez, Susana A.; Suwalsky, Mario; Tapiero, Yesid; Urbano, Bruno F.

2017-01-01

Polymers are part of our lives; scientists dedicated to polymer science design new materials thinking about more eco-friendly methodologies and satisfying people's needs. In most universities, polymer science is taught by academics associated with the traditional chemistry departments (organic, analytical, physical, and inorganic chemistry). In…

A Primer on Polymer Nomenclature: Structure-Based, Sourced- Based, and Trade Names

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, H. N.; Howell, Bob A.

2017-01-01

Polymer nomenclature is important because it is part of the language of polymer science and is needed for polymer identification, reference, and documentation. A primer on polymer nomenclature is provided herein for people new to the field or for instructional use. Both structurebased and source-based nomenclatures, together with trivial and trade…

Plasma iron levels appraised 15 days after spinal cord injury in a limb movement animal model.

PubMed

Reis, F M; Esteves, A M; Tufik, S; de Mello, M T

2011-03-01

Experimental, controlled trial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate plasma iron and transferrin levels in a limb movement animal model with spinal cord injury (SCI). Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Departamento de Psicobiologia. In all, 72 male Wistar rats aged 90 days were divided into four groups: (1) acute SCI (1 day, SCI1), (2) 3 days post-SCI (SCI3), (3) 7 days post-SCI (SCI7) and (4) 15 days post-SCI (SCI15). Each of these groups had corresponding control (CTRL) and SHAM groups. Plasma iron and transferrin levels of the different groups were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey's test. We found a significant reduction in iron plasma levels after SCI compared with the CTRL group: SCI1 (CTRL: 175±10.58 μg dl(-1); SCI: 108.28±11.7 μg dl(-1)), SCI3 (CTRL: 195.5±11.00 μg dl(-1); SCI: 127.88±12.63 μg dl(-1)), SCI7 (CTRL: 186±2.97 μg dl(-1); SCI: 89.2±15.39 μg dl(-1)) and SCI15 (CTRL: 163±5.48 μg dl(-1); SCI: 124.44±10.30 μg dl(-1)) (P<0.05; ANOVA). The SHAM1 group demonstrated a reduction in iron plasma after acute SCI (CTRL: 175±10.58 μg dl(-1); SHAM: 114.60±7.81 μg dl(-1)) (P<0.05; ANOVA). Reduced iron metabolism after SCI may be one of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of sleep-related movement disorders.

The SDF-1/CXCR4 axis promotes recovery after spinal cord injury by mediating bone marrow-derived from mesenchymal stem cells

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiao; Zhang, Yong-Le; Zhang, Ya-Dong; Xue, Feng

2017-01-01

This study aims to explore the role of the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis in mediating BMSCs and SCI recovery. BMSCs were collected and SCI rat models were established. Wistar rats were assigned into the blank control, sham, SCI, SCI + BMSCs, SCI + BMSCs + SDF-1, SCI + BMSCs + AMD3100 (an inhibitor of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis) and SCI + BMSCs + SDF-1 + AMD3100 groups. Hind limb motor function was measured 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after operation. qRT-PCR, western blotting and ELISA was performed to determine the expressions of SDF-1, CXCR4, NGF, BDNF, GFAP and GAP-43, TNF-α, IL-1β, L-6 and IFN-γ. Hind limb motor function scores 7 days after the operation were reduced in the SCI rats of the blank control and sham groups. Hind limb function was found to be better in the SCI + BMSCs and SCI + BMSCs + SDF-1 groups than in the SCI, SCI + BMSCs + AMD3100 and SCI + BMSCs + SDF-1 + AMD3100 groups 14, 21 and 28 days after operation. Furthermore, the SCI group had lower SDF-1, CXCR4, NGF, BDNF and GAP-43 expressions but higher GFAP, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IFN-γ than the blank control and sham groups 28 days after operation. While, the SCI + BMSCs, SCI + BMSCs + SDF-1 and SCI + BMSCs + SDF-1 + AMD3100 groups displayed opposite trends to the SCI and SCI + BMSCs + AMD3100 groups. In conclusion, SDF-1/CXCR4 axis promotes recovery after SCI by mediating BMSCs. PMID:28099928

The rate of growth in scientific publication and the decline in coverage provided by Science Citation Index.

PubMed

Larsen, Peder Olesen; von Ins, Markus

2010-09-01

The growth rate of scientific publication has been studied from 1907 to 2007 using available data from a number of literature databases, including Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Traditional scientific publishing, that is publication in peer-reviewed journals, is still increasing although there are big differences between fields. There are no indications that the growth rate has decreased in the last 50 years. At the same time publication using new channels, for example conference proceedings, open archives and home pages, is growing fast. The growth rate for SCI up to 2007 is smaller than for comparable databases. This means that SCI was covering a decreasing part of the traditional scientific literature. There are also clear indications that the coverage by SCI is especially low in some of the scientific areas with the highest growth rate, including computer science and engineering sciences. The role of conference proceedings, open access archives and publications published on the net is increasing, especially in scientific fields with high growth rates, but this has only partially been reflected in the databases. The new publication channels challenge the use of the big databases in measurements of scientific productivity or output and of the growth rate of science. Because of the declining coverage and this challenge it is problematic that SCI has been used and is used as the dominant source for science indicators based on publication and citation numbers. The limited data available for social sciences show that the growth rate in SSCI was remarkably low and indicate that the coverage by SSCI was declining over time. National Science Indicators from Thomson Reuters is based solely on SCI, SSCI and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI). Therefore the declining coverage of the citation databases problematizes the use of this source.

The rate of growth in scientific publication and the decline in coverage provided by Science Citation Index

PubMed Central

von Ins, Markus

2010-01-01

The growth rate of scientific publication has been studied from 1907 to 2007 using available data from a number of literature databases, including Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Traditional scientific publishing, that is publication in peer-reviewed journals, is still increasing although there are big differences between fields. There are no indications that the growth rate has decreased in the last 50 years. At the same time publication using new channels, for example conference proceedings, open archives and home pages, is growing fast. The growth rate for SCI up to 2007 is smaller than for comparable databases. This means that SCI was covering a decreasing part of the traditional scientific literature. There are also clear indications that the coverage by SCI is especially low in some of the scientific areas with the highest growth rate, including computer science and engineering sciences. The role of conference proceedings, open access archives and publications published on the net is increasing, especially in scientific fields with high growth rates, but this has only partially been reflected in the databases. The new publication channels challenge the use of the big databases in measurements of scientific productivity or output and of the growth rate of science. Because of the declining coverage and this challenge it is problematic that SCI has been used and is used as the dominant source for science indicators based on publication and citation numbers. The limited data available for social sciences show that the growth rate in SSCI was remarkably low and indicate that the coverage by SSCI was declining over time. National Science Indicators from Thomson Reuters is based solely on SCI, SSCI and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI). Therefore the declining coverage of the citation databases problematizes the use of this source. PMID:20700371

Passive hind-limb cycling improves cardiac function and reduces cardiovascular disease risk in experimental spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

West, Christopher R; Crawford, Mark A; Poormasjedi-Meibod, Malihe-Sadat; Currie, Katharine D; Fallavollita, Andre; Yuen, Violet; McNeill, John H; Krassioukov, Andrei V

2014-01-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes altered autonomic control and severe physical deconditioning that converge to drive maladaptive cardiac remodelling. We used a clinically relevant experimental model to investigate the cardio-metabolic responses to SCI and to establish whether passive hind-limb cycling elicits a cardio-protective effect. Initially, 21 male Wistar rats were evenly assigned to three groups: uninjured control (CON), T3 complete SCI (SCI) or T3 complete SCI plus passive hind-limb cycling (SCI-EX; 2 × 30 min day−1, 5 days week−1 for 4 weeks beginning 6 days post-SCI). On day 32, cardio-metabolic function was assessed using in vivo echocardiography, ex vivo working heart assessments, cardiac histology/molecular biology and blood lipid profiles. Twelve additional rats (n = 6 SCI and n = 6 SCI-EX) underwent in vivo echocardiography and basal haemodynamic assessments pre-SCI and at days 7, 14 and 32 post-SCI to track temporal cardiovascular changes. Compared with CON, SCI exhibited a rapid and sustained reduction in left ventricular dimensions and function that ultimately manifested as reduced contractility, increased myocardial collagen deposition and an up-regulation of transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFβ1) and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3 (Smad3) mRNA. For SCI-EX, the initial reduction in left ventricular dimensions and function at day 7 post-SCI was completely reversed by day 32 post-SCI, and there were no differences in myocardial contractility between SCI-EX and CON. Collagen deposition was similar between SCI-EX and CON. TGFβ1 and Smad3 were down-regulated in SCI-EX. Blood lipid profiles were improved in SCI-EX versus SCI. We provide compelling novel evidence that passive hind-limb cycling prevents cardiac dysfunction and reduces cardiovascular disease risk in experimental SCI. PMID:24535438

Classroom Demonstrations of Polymer Principles. Part III. Physical States and Transitions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, F.; And Others

1988-01-01

Presented is a classification of polymers according to physical condition. Considered are molecular structure and arrangements. Described are demonstrations using polarized light and the mechanical properties of polymers. (CW)

Making Ceramic/Polymer Parts By Extrusion Stereolithography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stuffle, Kevin; Mulligan, A.; Creegan, P.; Boulton, J. M.; Lombardi, J. L.; Calvert, P. D.

1996-01-01

Extrusion stereolithography developmental method of computer-controlled manufacturing of objects out of ceramic/polymer composite materials. Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software used to create image of desired part and translate image into motion commands for combination of mechanisms moving resin dispenser. Extrusion performed in coordination with motion of dispenser so buildup of extruded material takes on size and shape of desired part. Part thermally cured after deposition.

21 CFR 888.3510 - Knee joint femorotibial metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Knee joint femorotibial metal/polymer constrained... Knee joint femorotibial metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A knee joint femorotibial metal/polymer constrained cemented prosthesis is a device intended to be implanted to replace part...

21 CFR 888.3540 - Knee joint patellofemoral polymer/metal semi-constrained cemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Knee joint patellofemoral polymer/metal semi... § 888.3540 Knee joint patellofemoral polymer/metal semi-constrained cemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A knee joint patellofemoral polymer/metal semi-constrained cemented prosthesis is a two-part...

History of Polymer Education in the United States through the Efforts of the Committee on Polymer Education and the Intersociety Polymer Education Council

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carraher, Charles E., Jr.; Berda, Erik; Blum, Frank D.; Droske, John P.; Ford, Warren T.; Howell, Bob A.; Long, John M.; Morgan, Sarah E.

2017-01-01

The Committee on Polymer Education (PolyEd) had its initial planning meeting in 1974. The Intersociety Polymer Education Council (IPEC) has been active since 1990 as an outgrowth of PolyEd. Because of the activities of PolyEd and IPEC, basic polymer concepts have become a required part of undergraduate education and a more common topic in the…

Discrepancies between implicit and explicit self-concepts of intelligence: relations to modesty, narcissism, and achievement motivation

PubMed Central

Gerstenberg, Friederike X. R.; Imhoff, Roland; Banse, Rainer; Schmitt, Manfred

2014-01-01

Previous research has shown that different configurations of the implicit self-concept of intelligence (iSCI) and the explicit self-concept of intelligence (eSCI) are consistently related to individuals’ performance on different intelligence tests (Dislich etal., 2012). The results indicated that any discrepant configuration between the iSCI and the eSCI impairs performance. In the present study, how correspondence between the iSCI and the eSCI is related to intelligence test performance as well as personality traits of modesty (low eSCI, high iSCI), narcissism (high eSCI, low iSCI), and achievement motivation was investigated. Furthermore, a moderated mediation analysis showed that the relation between the iSCI–eSCI configurations and intelligence test performance was mediated by achievement motivation for modest individuals. PMID:24575063

Resilience and Happiness After Spinal Cord Injury: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Duggan, Colette; Wilson, Catherine; DiPonio, Lisa; Trumpower, Brad; Meade, Michelle A

2016-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with resilience among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: Qualitative analyses were conducted of the written comments that were completed as part of a cross-sectional survey of individuals with SCI living in the community. More than 1,800 mail surveys were distributed to individuals identified as having a traumatic SCI through the records and/or membership lists of 4 organizations. Four hundred and seventy-five individuals completed and returned the survey, with approximately half (48.6%; n = 231) of respondents answering the open-ended question "Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your resilience or ability to 'bounce back' when you face a challenge?" Results: Analyses of these responses identified both specific resources and cognitive perspectives that are associated with perceived happiness. Responses fell within 8 general categories: resilience, general outlook on life, social support and social relationships, religion or faith in a higher power, mood, physical health and functioning (including pain), social comparisons, and resources. Nuanced themes within these categories were identified and were generally concordant with self-reported level of happiness. Conclusion: A majority of respondents with SCI identified themselves as happy and explained their adjustment and resilience as related to personality, good social support, and a spiritual connection. In contrast, pain and physical challenges appeared to be associated with limited ability to bounce back.

Evaluation of a training program for persons with SCI paraplegia using the Parastep 1 ambulation system: part 4. Effect on physical self-concept and depression.

PubMed

Guest, R S; Klose, K J; Needham-Shropshire, B M; Jacobs, P L

1997-08-01

To determine whether persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) paraplegia who participated in an electrical stimulation walking program experienced changes in measures of physical self-concept and depression. Before-after trial. Human SCI applied research laboratory. Volunteer sample of 12 men and 3 women with SCI paraplegia, mean age 28.75 +/- 6.6yrs and mean duration of injury 3.8 +/- 3.2yrs. Thirty-two FNS ambulation training sessions using a commercially available system (Parastep 1). The hybrid system consists of a microprocessor-controlled stimulator and a modified walking frame with finger-operated switches that permit the user to control the stimulation parameters and activate the stepping. The Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered before and after training. Only the Physical Self subscale of the TSCS was analyzed. After training, individual interviews were performed to assess participants' subjective reactions to the training program. A repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that desired directional and statistically significant changes occurred on the Physical Self subscale of the TSCS (F(1,14) = 8.54, p < .011) and on the BDI (F(1,14) = 5.42, p < .035). Subsequent to the ambulation training program there were statistically significant increases in physical self-concept scores and decreases in depression scores.

Open and scalable analytics of large Earth observation datasets: From scenes to multidimensional arrays using SciDB and GDAL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Appel, Marius; Lahn, Florian; Buytaert, Wouter; Pebesma, Edzer

2018-04-01

Earth observation (EO) datasets are commonly provided as collection of scenes, where individual scenes represent a temporal snapshot and cover a particular region on the Earth's surface. Using these data in complex spatiotemporal modeling becomes difficult as soon as data volumes exceed a certain capacity or analyses include many scenes, which may spatially overlap and may have been recorded at different dates. In order to facilitate analytics on large EO datasets, we combine and extend the geospatial data abstraction library (GDAL) and the array-based data management and analytics system SciDB. We present an approach to automatically convert collections of scenes to multidimensional arrays and use SciDB to scale computationally intensive analytics. We evaluate the approach in three study cases on national scale land use change monitoring with Landsat imagery, global empirical orthogonal function analysis of daily precipitation, and combining historical climate model projections with satellite-based observations. Results indicate that the approach can be used to represent various EO datasets and that analyses in SciDB scale well with available computational resources. To simplify analyses of higher-dimensional datasets as from climate model output, however, a generalization of the GDAL data model might be needed. All parts of this work have been implemented as open-source software and we discuss how this may facilitate open and reproducible EO analyses.

Role of Social Support in Predicting Caregiver Burden

PubMed Central

Rodakowski, Juleen; Skidmore, Elizabeth R.; Rogers, Joan C.; Schulz, Richard

2012-01-01

Objective To examine the unique contribution of social support to burden in caregivers of adults aging with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Design Secondary analyses of cross-sectional data from a large cohort of adults aging with SCI and their primary caregivers. Setting Multiple community locations in Pittsburgh, PA, and Miami, FL. Participants Caregivers of community-dwelling adults aging with SCI (n=173) were interviewed as part of a multisite randomized clinical trial. The mean age of caregivers was 53 years (SD=15) and of care-recipients 55 years (SD=13). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures The primary outcome was caregiver burden measured with the Abridged Version of the Zarit Burden Interview. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis examined social supports (social integration, received social support, and negative social interactions) effect on burden in caregivers of adults aging while controlling for demographic characteristics and caregiving characteristics. Results After controlling for demographic characteristics and caregiving characteristics, social integration (β̂ =−.16, P<.05), received social support (β̂ =−.15, P<.05), and negative social interactions (β̂ =.21, P<.01) were significant independent predictors of caregiver burden. Conclusions Findings demonstrate that social support is an important factor associated with burden in caregivers of adults aging with SCI. Social support should be considered for assessments and interventions designed to identify and reduce caregiver burden. PMID:22824248

Interdiffusion of Polycarbonate in Fused Deposition Modeling Welds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seppala, Jonathan; Forster, Aaron; Satija, Sushil; Jones, Ronald; Migler, Kalman

2015-03-01

Fused deposition modeling (FDM), a now common and inexpensive additive manufacturing method, produces 3D objects by extruding molten polymer layer-by-layer. Compared to traditional polymer processing methods (injection, vacuum, and blow molding), FDM parts have inferior mechanical properties, surface finish, and dimensional stability. From a polymer processing point of view the polymer-polymer weld between each layer limits the mechanical strength of the final part. Unlike traditional processing methods, where the polymer is uniformly melted and entangled, FDM welds are typically weaker due to the short time available for polymer interdiffusion and entanglement. To emulate the FDM process thin film bilayers of polycarbonate/d-polycarbonate were annealed using scaled times and temperatures accessible in FDM. Shift factors from Time-Temperature Superposition, measured by small amplitude oscillatory shear, were used to calculate reasonable annealing times (min) at temperatures below the actual extrusion temperature. The extent of interdiffusion was then measured using neutron reflectivity. Analogous specimens were prepared to characterize the mechanical properties. FDM build parameters were then related to interdiffusion between welded layers and mechanical properties. Understating the relationship between build parameters, interdiffusion, and mechanical strength will allow FDM users to print stronger parts in an intelligent manner rather than using trial-and-error and build parameter lock-in.

Length of stay and medical stability for spinal cord-injured patients on admission to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital: a comparison between a model SCI trauma center and non-SCI trauma center.

PubMed

Ploumis, A; Kolli, S; Patrick, M; Owens, M; Beris, A; Marino, R J

2011-03-01

Retrospective database review. To compare lengths of stay (LOS), pressure ulcers and readmissions to the acute care hospital of patients admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) from a model spinal cord injury (SCI) trauma center or from a non-SCI acute hospital. Only sparse data exist comparing the status of patients admitted to IRF from a model SCI trauma center or from a non-SCI acute hospital. Acute care, IRF and total LOS were compared between patients transferred to IRF from the SCI center (n=78) and from non-SCI centers (n=131). The percentages of pressure ulcers on admission to IRF and transfer back to acute care were also compared. Patients admitted to IRF from the SCI trauma center (SCI TC) had significantly shorter (P=0.01) acute care LOS and total LOS compared with patients admitted from non-SCI TCs. By neurological category, acute-care LOS was less for all groups admitted from the SCI center, but statistically significant only for tetraplegia. There was no significant difference in the incidence of readmissions to acute care from IRF. More patients from non-SCI centers (34%) than SCI centers (12%) had pressure ulcers (P<0.001). Acute care in organized SCI TCs before transfer to IRF can significantly lower acute-care LOS or total LOS and incidence of pressure ulcers compared with non-SCI TCs. Patients admitted to IRF from SCI TCs are no more likely to be sent back to an acute hospital than those from non-SCI TCs.

Effects of functional electrical stimulation assisted rowing on aerobic fitness and shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Wilbanks, Susan R; Rogers, Rebecca; Pool, Sean; Bickel, C Scott

2016-11-01

Test the effectiveness of a 6-week functional electrical stimulation (FES)-assisted rowing intervention to increase aerobic fitness and decrease shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI) Methods: Ten adults with SCI (47 ± 12 years, 86 ± 19.7 kg, 175.5 ± 13.2 cm) 18 ± 14 years since injury, AIS classification A-C who had pain in one or both shoulders for >6 months took part in a pre-test, post-test experiment in our human performance laboratory. Participants took part in 30 minutes of FES-assisted rowing, 3 days/week × 6 weeks. Participants were evaluated for VO 2 peak (FES-row and arm bike), distance rowed, arm power output, Wheelchair User Shoulder Pain Index (WUSPI), upper extremity isokinetic strength, scapular stabilization, participation (LIFE-H), quality of life (QOL-SCI), qualitative exit interview. Participants increased distance rowed by 257 ± 266 m and increased arm power output by 6.7 ± 7.9 W. An 8% increase in VO 2 peak and 10.5 ± 4.4 point decrease in shoulder pain were observed (all P < 0.05). There were no changes in upper extremity strength, scapular stabilization, or survey-based measures of participation or quality of life. Qualitative interviewing indicated overall enjoyment of the intervention and improvement in perceived quality of life. FES-assisted rowing is effective to increase aerobic fitness and decrease shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users with SCI. Further research is necessary to determine if rowing without FES can provide similar benefits, and to determine mechanisms driving improvements in shoulder pain, as no changes in measures of upper extremity strength or scapular stabilization were observed.

Effects of serotonergic medications on locomotor performance in humans with incomplete spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Leech, Kristan A; Kinnaird, Catherine R; Hornby, T George

2014-08-01

Incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) often results in significant motor impairments that lead to decreased functional mobility. Loss of descending serotonergic (5HT) input to spinal circuits is thought to contribute to motor impairments, with enhanced motor function demonstrated through augmentation of 5HT signaling. However, the presence of spastic motor behaviors in SCI is attributed, in part, to changes in spinal 5HT receptors that augment their activity in the absence of 5HT, although data demonstrating motor effects of 5HT agents that deactivate these receptors are conflicting. The effects of enhancement or depression of 5HT signaling on locomotor function have not been thoroughly evaluated in human iSCI. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate acute effects of 5HT medications on locomotion in 10 subjects with chronic (>1 year) iSCI. Peak overground and treadmill locomotor performance, including measures of gait kinematics, electromyographic (EMG) activity, and oxygen consumption, were assessed before and after single-dose administration of either a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a 5HT antagonist using a double-blinded, randomized, cross-over design. Results indicate that neither medication led to improvements in locomotion, with a significant decrease in peak overground gait speed observed after 5HT antagonists (from 0.8±0.1 to 0.7±0.1 m/s; p=0.01). Additionally, 5-HT medications had differential effects on EMG activity, with 5HT antagonists decreasing extensor activity and SSRIs increasing flexor activity. Our data therefore suggest that acute manipulation of 5HT signaling, despite changes in muscle activity, does not improve locomotor performance after iSCI.

Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids improve the neurolipidome and restore the DHA status while promoting functional recovery after experimental spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Figueroa, Johnny D; Cordero, Kathia; Llán, Miguel S; De Leon, Marino

2013-05-15

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) confer multiple health benefits and decrease the risk of neurological disorders. Studies are needed, however, to identify promising cellular targets and to assess their prophylactic value against neurodegeneration. The present study (1) examined the efficacy of a preventive diet enriched with ω-3 PUFAs to reduce dysfunction in a well-established spinal cord injury (SCI) animal model and (2) used a novel metabolomics data analysis to identify potential neurolipidomic targets. Rats were fed with either control chow or chow enriched with ω-3 PUFAs (750 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks before being subjected to a sham or a contusion SCI operation. We report new evidence showing that rats subjected to SCI after being pre-treated with a diet enriched with ω-3 PUFAs exhibit significantly better functional outcomes. Pre-treated animals exhibited lower sensory deficits, autonomic bladder recovery, and early improvements in locomotion that persisted for at least 8 weeks after trauma. We found that SCI triggers a robust alteration in the cord PUFA neurolipidome, which was characterized by a marked docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) deficiency. This DHA deficiency was associated with dysfunction and corrected with the ω-3 PUFA-enriched diet. Multivariate data analyses revealed that the spinal cord of animals consuming the ω-3 PUFA-enriched diet had a fundamentally distinct neurolipidome, particularly increasing the levels of essential and long chain ω-3 fatty acids and lysolipids at the expense of ω-6 fatty acids and its metabolites. Altogether, dietary ω-3 PUFAs prophylaxis confers resiliency to SCI mediated, at least in part, by generating a neuroprotective and restorative neurolipidome.

Traumatic injury induces changes in the expression of the serotonin 1A receptor in the spinal cord of lampreys.

PubMed

Cornide-Petronio, María Eugenia; Fernández-López, Blanca; Barreiro-Iglesias, Antón; Rodicio, María Celina

2014-02-01

After spinal cord injury (SCI) in mammals, the loss of serotonin coming from the brainstem reduces the excitability of motor neurons and leads to a compensatory overexpression of serotonin receptors. Despite the key role of the serotonin receptor 1a in the control of locomotion, little attention has been put in the study of this receptor after SCI. In contrast to mammals, lampreys recover locomotion after a complete SCI, so, studies in this specie could help to understand events that lead to recovery of function. Here, we showed that in lampreys there is an acute increase in the expression of the serotonin 1A receptor transcript (5-ht1a) after SCI and a few weeks later expression levels go back to normal rostrally and caudally to the lesion. Overexpression of the 5-ht1a in rostral levels after SCI has not been reported in mammals, suggesting that this could be part of the plastic events that lead to the recovery of function in lampreys. The analysis of changes in 5-ht1a expression by zones (periventricular region and horizontally extended grey matter) showed that they followed the same pattern of changes detected in the spinal cord as a whole, with the exception of the caudal periventricular layer, where no significant differences were observed between control and experimental animals at any time post lesion. This suggests that different molecular signals act on the periventricular cells of the rostral and caudal regions to injury site and thus affecting their response to the injury in terms of expression of the 5-ht1a.

High molecular weight hyaluronic acid limits astrocyte activation and scar formation after spinal cord injury

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khaing, Zin Z.; Milman, Brian D.; Vanscoy, Jennifer E.; Seidlits, Stephanie K.; Grill, Raymond J.; Schmidt, Christine E.

2011-08-01

A major hurdle for regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) is the ability of axons to penetrate and grow through the scar tissue. After SCI, inflammatory cells, astrocytes and meningeal cells all play a role in developing the glial scar. In addition, degradation of native high molecular weight (MW) hyaluronic acid (HA), a component of the extracellular matrix, has been shown to induce activation and proliferation of astrocytes. However, it is not known if the degradation of native HA actually enhances glial scar formation. We hypothesize that the presence of high MW HA (HA with limited degradation) after SCI will decrease glial scarring. Here, we demonstrate that high MW HA decreases cell proliferation and reduces chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) production in cultured neonatal and adult astrocytes. In addition, stiffness-matched high MW HA hydrogels crosslinked to resist degradation were implanted in a rat model of spinal dorsal hemisection injury. The numbers of immune cells (macrophages and microglia) detected at the lesion site in animals with HA hydrogel implants were significantly reduced at acute time points (one, three and ten days post-injury). Lesioned animals with HA implants also exhibited significantly lower CSPG expression at ten days post-injury. At nine weeks post-injury, animals with HA hydrogel implants exhibited a significantly decreased astrocytic response, but did not have significantly altered CSPG expression. Combined, these data suggest that high MW HA, when stabilized against degradation, mitigates astrocyte activation in vitro and in vivo. The presence of HA implants was also associated with a significant decrease in CSPG deposition at ten days after SCI. Therefore, HA-based hydrogel systems hold great potential for minimizing undesired scarring as part of future repair strategies after SCI.

Dietary Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Improve the Neurolipidome and Restore the DHA Status while Promoting Functional Recovery after Experimental Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Figueroa, Johnny D.; Cordero, Kathia; llán, Miguel S.

2013-01-01

Abstract Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) confer multiple health benefits and decrease the risk of neurological disorders. Studies are needed, however, to identify promising cellular targets and to assess their prophylactic value against neurodegeneration. The present study (1) examined the efficacy of a preventive diet enriched with ω-3 PUFAs to reduce dysfunction in a well-established spinal cord injury (SCI) animal model and (2) used a novel metabolomics data analysis to identify potential neurolipidomic targets. Rats were fed with either control chow or chow enriched with ω-3 PUFAs (750 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks before being subjected to a sham or a contusion SCI operation. We report new evidence showing that rats subjected to SCI after being pre-treated with a diet enriched with ω-3 PUFAs exhibit significantly better functional outcomes. Pre-treated animals exhibited lower sensory deficits, autonomic bladder recovery, and early improvements in locomotion that persisted for at least 8 weeks after trauma. We found that SCI triggers a robust alteration in the cord PUFA neurolipidome, which was characterized by a marked docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) deficiency. This DHA deficiency was associated with dysfunction and corrected with the ω-3 PUFA-enriched diet. Multivariate data analyses revealed that the spinal cord of animals consuming the ω-3 PUFA-enriched diet had a fundamentally distinct neurolipidome, particularly increasing the levels of essential and long chain ω-3 fatty acids and lysolipids at the expense of ω-6 fatty acids and its metabolites. Altogether, dietary ω-3 PUFAs prophylaxis confers resiliency to SCI mediated, at least in part, by generating a neuroprotective and restorative neurolipidome. PMID:23294084

Neuroprotective effects of perflurocarbon (oxycyte) after contusive spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Yacoub, Adly; Hajec, Marygrace C; Stanger, Richard; Wan, Wen; Young, Harold; Mathern, Bruce E

2014-02-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in irreversible and permanent neurological deficits and long-term disability. Vasospasm, hemorrhage, and loss of microvessels create an ischemic environment at the site of contusive or compressive SCI and initiate the secondary injury cascades leading to progressive tissue damage and severely decreased functional outcome. Although the initial mechanical destructive events cannot be reversed, secondary injury damage occurs over several hours to weeks, a time frame during which therapeutic intervention could be achieved. One essential component of secondary injury cascade is the reduction in spinal cord blood flow with resultant decrease in oxygen delivery. Our group has recently shown that administration of fluorocarbon (Oxycyte) significantly increased parenchymal tissue oxygen levels during the usual postinjury hypoxic phase, and fluorocarbon has been shown to be effective in stroke and head injury. In the current study, we assessed the beneficial effects of Oxycyte after a moderate-to-severe contusion SCI was simulated in adult Long-Evans hooded rats. Histopathology and immunohistochemical analysis showed that the administration of 5 mL/kg of Oxycyte perfluorocarbon (60% emulsion) after SCI dramatically reduced destruction of spinal cord anatomy and resulted in a marked decrease of lesion area, less cell death, and greater white matter sparing at 7 and 42 days postinjury. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining showed a significant reduced number of apoptotic cells in Oxycyte-treated animals, compared to the saline group. Collectively, these results demonstrate the potential neuroprotective effect of Oxycyte treatment after SCI, and its beneficial effects may be, in part, a result of reducing apoptotic cell death and tissue sparing. Further studies to determine the most efficacious Oxycyte dose and its mechanisms of protection are warranted.

Student goal orientation in learning inquiry skills with modifiable software advisors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimoda, Todd A.; White, Barbara Y.; Frederiksen, John R.

2002-03-01

A computer support environment (SCI-WISE) for learning and doing science inquiry projects was designed. SCI-WISE incorporates software advisors that give general advice about a skill such as hypothesizing. By giving general advice (rather than step-by-step procedures), the system is intended to help students conduct experiments that are more epistemologically authentic. Also, students using SCI-WISE can select the type of advice the advisors give and when they give advice, as well as modify the advisors' knowledge bases. The system is based partly on a theoretical framework of levels of agency and goal orientation. This framework assumes that giving students higher levels of agency facilitates higher-level goal orientations (such as mastery or knowledge building as opposed to task completion) that in turn produce higher levels of competence. A study of sixth grade science students was conducted. Students took a pretest questionnaire that measured their goal orientations for science projects and their inquiry skills. The students worked in pairs on an open-ended inquiry project that requires complex reasoning about human memory. The students used one of two versions of SCI-WISE - one that was modifiable and one that was not. After finishing the project, the students took a posttest questionnaire similar to the pretest, and evaluated the version of the system they used. The main results showed that (a) there was no correlation of goal orientation with grade point average, (b) knowledge-oriented students using the modifiable version tended to rate SCI-WISE more helpful than task-oriented students, and (c) knowledge-oriented pairs using the nonmodifiable version tended to have higher posttest inquiry skills scores than other pair types.

A Comparison of Patient Outcomes and Quality of Life in Persons With Neurogenic Bowel: Standard Bowel Care Program Vs Colostomy

PubMed Central

Luther, Stephen L; Nelson, Audrey L; Harrow, Jeffrey J; Chen, Fangfei; Goetz, Lance L

2005-01-01

Background/Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare patient outcomes and quality of life for people with neurogenic bowel using either a standard bowel care program or colostomy. Methods: We analyzed survey data from a national sample, comparing outcomes between veterans with spinal cord injury (SCI) who perform bowel care programs vs individuals with colostomies. This study is part of a larger study to evaluate clinical practice guideline implementation in SCI. The sample included 1,503 veterans with SCI. The response rate was 58.4%. For comparison, we matched the respondents with colostomies to matched controls from the remainder of the survey cohort. A total of 74 veterans with SCI and colostomies were matched with 296 controls, using propensity scores. Seven items were designed to elicit information about the respondent's satisfaction with their bowel care program, whereas 7 other items were designed to measure bowel-related quality of life. Results: No statistically significant differences in satisfaction or quality of life were found between the responses from veterans with colostomies and those with traditional bowel care programs. Both respondents with colostomies and those without colostomies indicated that they had received training for their bowel care program, that they experienced relatively few complications, such as falls as a result of their bowel care program, and that their quality of life related to bowel care was generally good. However, large numbers of respondents with colostomies (n = 39; 55.7%) and without colostomies (n = 113; 41.7%) reported that they were very unsatisfied with their bowel care program. Conclusion: Satisfaction with bowel care is a major problem for veterans with SCI. PMID:16869085

High molecular weight hyaluronic acid limits astrocyte activation and scar formation after spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Khaing, Zin Z; Milman, Brian D; Vanscoy, Jennifer E; Seidlits, Stephanie K; Grill, Raymond J; Schmidt, Christine E

2011-08-01

A major hurdle for regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) is the ability of axons to penetrate and grow through the scar tissue. After SCI, inflammatory cells, astrocytes and meningeal cells all play a role in developing the glial scar. In addition, degradation of native high molecular weight (MW) hyaluronic acid (HA), a component of the extracellular matrix, has been shown to induce activation and proliferation of astrocytes. However, it is not known if the degradation of native HA actually enhances glial scar formation. We hypothesize that the presence of high MW HA (HA with limited degradation) after SCI will decrease glial scarring. Here, we demonstrate that high MW HA decreases cell proliferation and reduces chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) production in cultured neonatal and adult astrocytes. In addition, stiffness-matched high MW HA hydrogels crosslinked to resist degradation were implanted in a rat model of spinal dorsal hemisection injury. The numbers of immune cells (macrophages and microglia) detected at the lesion site in animals with HA hydrogel implants were significantly reduced at acute time points (one, three and ten days post-injury). Lesioned animals with HA implants also exhibited significantly lower CSPG expression at ten days post-injury. At nine weeks post-injury, animals with HA hydrogel implants exhibited a significantly decreased astrocytic response, but did not have significantly altered CSPG expression. Combined, these data suggest that high MW HA, when stabilized against degradation, mitigates astrocyte activation in vitro and in vivo. The presence of HA implants was also associated with a significant decrease in CSPG deposition at ten days after SCI. Therefore, HA-based hydrogel systems hold great potential for minimizing undesired scarring as part of future repair strategies after SCI.

Harnessing the power of emerging petascale platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mellor-Crummey, John

2007-07-01

As part of the US Department of Energy's Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC-2) program, science teams are tackling problems that require computational simulation and modeling at the petascale. A grand challenge for computer science is to develop software technology that makes it easier to harness the power of these systems to aid scientific discovery. As part of its activities, the SciDAC-2 Center for Scalable Application Development Software (CScADS) is building open source software tools to support efficient scientific computing on the emerging leadership-class platforms. In this paper, we describe two tools for performance analysis and tuning that are being developed as part of CScADS: a tool for analyzing scalability and performance, and a tool for optimizing loop nests for better node performance. We motivate these tools by showing how they apply to S3D, a turbulent combustion code under development at Sandia National Laboratory. For S3D, our node performance analysis tool helped uncover several performance bottlenecks. Using our loop nest optimization tool, we transformed S3D's most costly loop nest to reduce execution time by a factor of 2.94 for a processor working on a 503 domain.

Inhibition of Autophagy by Estradiol Promotes Locomotor Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury in Rats.

PubMed

Lin, Chao-Wei; Chen, Bi; Huang, Ke-Lun; Dai, Yu-Sen; Teng, Hong-Lin

2016-04-01

17β-estradiol (E2) has been shown to have neuroprotective effects in different central nervous system diseases. The mechanisms underlying estrogen neuroprotection in spinal cord injury (SCI) remain unclear. Previous studies have shown that autophagy plays a crucial role in the course of nerve injury. In this study, we showed that E2 treatment improved the restoration of locomotor function and decreased the loss of motor neurons in SCI rats. Real-time PCR and western blot analysis revealed that the protective function of E2 was related to the suppression of LC3II and beclin-1 expression. Immunohistochemical study further confirmed that the immunoreactivity of LC3 in the motor neurons was down-regulated when treated with E2. In vitro studies demonstrated similar results that E2 pretreatment decreased the autophagic activity induced by rapamycin (autophagy sensitizer) and increased viability in a PC12 cell model. These results indicated that the neuroprotective effects of E2 in SCI are partly related to the suppression of excessive autophagy.

Second virial coefficient of starch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wohlfarth, Ch.

This document is part of Subvolume D2 'Polymer Solutions - Physical Properties and their Relations I (Thermodynamic Properties: PVT -Data and miscellaneous Properties of polymer Solutions) of Volume 6 `Polymers' of Landolt-Börnstein - Group VIII `Advanced Materials and Technologies'.

Adaptation of a MR imaging protocol into a real-time clinical biometric ultrasound protocol for persons with spinal cord injury at risk for deep tissue injury: A reliability study.

PubMed

Swaine, Jillian M; Moe, Andrew; Breidahl, William; Bader, Daniel L; Oomens, Cees W J; Lester, Leanne; O'Loughlin, Edmond; Santamaria, Nick; Stacey, Michael C

2018-02-01

High strain in soft tissues that overly bony prominences are considered a risk factor for pressure ulcers (PUs) following spinal cord impairment (SCI) and have been computed using Finite Element methods (FEM). The aim of this study was to translate a MRI protocol into ultrasound (US) and determine between-operator reliability of expert sonographers measuring diameter of the inferior curvature of the ischial tuberosity (IT) and the thickness of the overlying soft tissue layers on able-bodied (AB) and SCI using real-time ultrasound. Part 1: Fourteen AB participants with a mean age of 36.7 ± 12.09 years with 7 males and 7 females had their 3 soft tissue layers in loaded and unloaded sitting measured independently by 2 sonographers: tendon/muscle, skin/fat and total soft tissue and the diameter of the IT in its short and long axis. Part 2: Nineteen participants with SCI were screened, three were excluded due to abnormal skin signs, and eight participants (42%) were excluded for abnormal US signs with normal skin. Eight SCI participants with a mean age of 31.6 ± 13.6 years and all male with 4 paraplegics and 4 tetraplegics were measured by the same sonographers for skin, fat, tendon, muscle and total. Skin/fat and tendon/muscle were computed. AB between-operator reliability was good (ICC = 0.81-0.90) for 3 soft tissues layers in unloaded and loaded sitting and poor for both IT short and long axis (ICC = -0.028 and -0.01). SCI between-operator reliability was good in unloaded and loaded for total, muscle, fat, skin/fat, tendon/muscle (ICC = 0.75-0.97) and poor for tendon (ICC = 0.26 unloaded and ICC = -0.71 loaded) and skin (ICC = 0.37 unloaded and ICC = 0.10). A MRI protocol was successfully adapted for a reliable 3 soft tissue layer model and could be used in a 2-D FEM model designed to estimate soft tissue strain as a novel risk factor for the development of a PU. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Regional sympathetic function in high spinal cord injury during mental stress and autonomic dysreflexia.

PubMed

Karlsson, A K; Friberg, P; Lönnroth, P; Sullivan, L; Elam, M

1998-09-01

Centrally mediated sympathetic stimulation of subjects who have suffered a spinal cord injury (SCI) does not activate the decentralized part of the body below the level of the lesion, whereas experimental data indicate an exaggerated response above the level of the lesion. SCI subjects may exhibit an autonomic dysreflexia reaction following afferent stimulation below the level of the lesion. In order to investigate the function of the sympathetic nervous system above and below the level of the lesion, regional noradrenaline spillover was measured by means of steady-state isotope dilution technique above (forearm) and below (leg) the level of the lesion at baseline, during mental stress and following bladder stimulation in nine SCI subjects (mean age 41 years; level of injury C7-T4; mean duration of injury 13.8 years). The results from the SCI subjects were also compared with those from 10 weight- and age-matched control subjects, both at rest and during mental stress. Body composition was determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning and arm/leg blood flow by occlusion plethysmography. At baseline, total and regional noradrenaline spillover did not differ between the groups. Mental stress increased mean arterial pressure in both groups. Heart rate (76 versus 64 beats/min; P < 0.05) and arm noradrenaline spillover (2.73 versus 1.71 pmol/min/100 g; P < 0.05) increased more in spinal cord injury subjects than in control subjects, whereas total body (2826 versus 3783 pmol/min; P < 0.01) and leg noradrenaline spillover (0.23 versus 0.41 pmol/min/100 g; P < 0.05) increased only in the control group. During bladder stimulation, SCI subjects reacted with a marked increase in mean arterial pressure and leg noradrenaline spillover (from 0.06 to 0.91 pmol/min/100 g; P < 0.05) and their leg blood flow decreased. Regional and total noradrenaline clearance were similar in the two groups. In conclusion, peripheral afferent stimulation below the level of the lesion in spinal cord injury subjects gives rise to a marked noradrenaline spillover from the decentralized part of the sympathetic nervous system suggesting a remaining, but qualitatively altered, neuronal function. Centrally mediated stimulation induced an exaggerated response above the level of the lesion.

Acoustic Scattering Classification of Zooplankton and Microstructure

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-09-30

As part of this investigation, we have been observing concentrations of siphonulae, a larval form of the gas-bearing zooplankton siphonophore . The...situ measurements of acoustic target strengths of siphonophores , a gas-bearing zooplankter,” ICES J. Mar. Sci. 58: 740-749. Warren, J.D., T.K

The Implementation Challenge and the Learning Health System for SCI Initiative.

PubMed

Stucki, Gerold; Bickenbach, Jerome

2017-02-01

The paper introduces the special issue by linking the International Spinal Cord Injury (InSCI) Community Survey study to the Learning Health System for SCI Initiative (LHS-SCI). The LHS-SCI was designed to respond to the implementation challenge of bringing about policy reform in light of the targeted policy recommendations of World Health Organization's International Perspectives on SCI report as well as the call for action of WHO's Global Disability Action Plan. The paper reviews the components of LHS-SCI relevant to internationally comparable information, a theory of change to guide for action, and the tools for evidence-informed policy. The interplay between persons, their health needs, and the societal response to those needs provides the foundation for the organization of the LHS-SCI Initiative. Moreover, as the other articles in this special issue describe in detail, the rationale, conceptualization, and study design of the InSCI study are also informed by the rationale, and mission, of the LHS for SCI Initiative. The LHS-SCI, and the implementation challenge that motivates it, is responsible for the design of the InSCI study and the overall mission of LHS-SCI to continuously improve the lived experience of people living with SCI around the world through an international evidence- and rights-informed research and policy reform effort.

Influence of Mold Surface Treatments on Flow of Polymer in Injection Moulding. Application to Weldlines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chailly, M.; Charmeau, J.-Y.; Bereaux, Y.; Monasse, B.

2007-04-01

Due to increasing expectations from the market, the aspect of molded parts has to be improved constantly. Some of the defects observed on these parts such as weldlines are related to the filling stage. To limit this, we investigated the influence on weldlines using various surface deposits on the mold surface, mainly PVD and PACVD deposits : Chromium nitride (CrN), Titanium nitride (TiN), Diamond like Carbon (DLC), Chromium and polished steel (PG) on an instrumented plate mold. Injection campaign was led on three polymers which differ in terms of nature (amorphous, semi-crystalline, copolymers). We studied the evolution of the dimensions of weldlines appearing on the plate using the same injection parameters for a given polymer, but with various deposits and thicknesses. Another aspect that had been investigated is the morphology of the weldline through the thickness of the part, depending on polymer nature. Adhesion of polymer at the flow front with the mold surface proved to change. The modification of the initial contact in the filling stage and thus the thermal resistance at the mold implied a change in the process, increasing or reducing the pressure loss in the flow and differential shrinkage in the final part. The induced impact on dimensions of the weldlines allowed to distinguish which surface treatments were able to reduce the defect. A complementary study was led on both polymers in molten state and deposits in terms of wetting using a sessile drop method to confirm the adhesion at the polymer/mold interface. This study proved the influence of the use of surface treatments has clearly an impact on the filling stage of the injection molding process, and it is necessary to get a better knowledge of the interactions between physical adhesion, tribology of polymer/mold contact, and thermal properties of the coatings and their impact on solidification of the polymer.

Design and construction of a VHGT-attached WDM-type triplex transceiver module using polymer PLC hybrid integration technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jerábek, Vitezslav; Hüttel, Ivan; Prajzler, Václav; Busek, K.; Seliger, P.

2008-11-01

We report about design and construction of the bidirectional transceiver TRx module for subscriber part of the passive optical network PON for a fiber to the home FTTH topology. The TRx module consists of a epoxy novolak resin polymer planar lightwave circuit (PLC) hybrid integration technology with volume holographic grating triplex filter VHGT, surface-illuminated photodetectors and spot-size converted Fabry-Pérot laser diode in SMD package. The hybrid PLC has composed from a two parts-polymer optical waveguide including VHGT filter section and a optoelectronic microwave section. The both parts are placed on the composite substrate.

21 CFR 173.5 - Acrylate-acrylamide resins.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... and acrylic acid, with the greater part of the polymer being composed of acrylamide units. (2) Sodium polyacrylate-acrylamide resin is produced by the polymerization and subsequent hydrolysis of acrylonitrile in a sodium silicate-sodium hydroxide aqueous solution, with the greater part of the polymer being composed of...

21 CFR 173.5 - Acrylate-acrylamide resins.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... and acrylic acid, with the greater part of the polymer being composed of acrylamide units. (2) Sodium polyacrylate-acrylamide resin is produced by the polymerization and subsequent hydrolysis of acrylonitrile in a sodium silicate-sodium hydroxide aqueous solution, with the greater part of the polymer being composed of...

Second virial coefficient of hydroxypropyl starch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wohlfarth, Ch.

This document is part of Subvolume D2 'Polymer Solutions - Physical Properties and their Relations I (Thermodynamic Properties: PVT -Data and miscellaneous Properties of polymer Solutions) of Volume 6 `Polymers' of Landolt-Börnstein - Group VIII `Advanced Materials and Technologies'.

Opening Remarks: SciDAC 2007

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strayer, Michael

2007-09-01

Good morning. Welcome to Boston, the home of the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins, baked beans, tea parties, Robert Parker, and SciDAC 2007. A year ago I stood before you to share the legacy of the first SciDAC program and identify the challenges that we must address on the road to petascale computing—a road E E Cummins described as `. . . never traveled, gladly beyond any experience.' Today, I want to explore the preparations for the rapidly approaching extreme scale (X-scale) generation. These preparations are the first step propelling us along the road of burgeoning scientific discovery enabled by the application of X- scale computing. We look to petascale computing and beyond to open up a world of discovery that cuts across scientific fields and leads us to a greater understanding of not only our world, but our universe. As part of the President's America Competitiveness Initiative, the ASCR Office has been preparing a ten year vision for computing. As part of this planning the LBNL together with ORNL and ANL hosted three town hall meetings on Simulation and Modeling at the Exascale for Energy, Ecological Sustainability and Global Security (E3). The proposed E3 initiative is organized around four programmatic themes: Engaging our top scientists, engineers, computer scientists and applied mathematicians; investing in pioneering large-scale science; developing scalable analysis algorithms, and storage architectures to accelerate discovery; and accelerating the build-out and future development of the DOE open computing facilities. It is clear that we have only just started down the path to extreme scale computing. Plan to attend Thursday's session on the out-briefing and discussion of these meetings. The road to the petascale has been at best rocky. In FY07, the continuing resolution provided 12% less money for Advanced Scientific Computing than either the President, the Senate, or the House. As a consequence, many of you had to absorb a no cost extension for your SciDAC work. I am pleased that the President's FY08 budget restores the funding for SciDAC. Quoting from Advanced Scientific Computing Research description in the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill for FY08, "Perhaps no other area of research at the Department is so critical to sustaining U.S. leadership in science and technology, revolutionizing the way science is done and improving research productivity." As a society we need to revolutionize our approaches to energy, environmental and global security challenges. As we go forward along the road to the X-scale generation, the use of computation will continue to be a critical tool along with theory and experiment in understanding the behavior of the fundamental components of nature as well as for fundamental discovery and exploration of the behavior of complex systems. The foundation to overcome these societal challenges will build from the experiences and knowledge gained as you, members of our SciDAC research teams, work together to attack problems at the tera- and peta- scale. If SciDAC is viewed as an experiment for revolutionizing scientific methodology, then a strategic goal of ASCR program must be to broaden the intellectual base prepared to address the challenges of the new X-scale generation of computing. We must focus our computational science experiences gained over the past five years on the opportunities introduced with extreme scale computing. Our facilities are on a path to provide the resources needed to undertake the first part of our journey. Using the newly upgraded 119 teraflop Cray XT system at the Leadership Computing Facility, SciDAC research teams have in three days performed a 100-year study of the time evolution of the atmospheric CO2 concentration originating from the land surface. The simulation of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation which was part of this study has been characterized as `the most impressive new result in ten years' gained new insight into the behavior of superheated ionic gas in the ITER reactor as a result of an AORSA run on 22,500 processors that achieved over 87 trillion calculations per second (87 teraflops) which is 74% of the system's theoretical peak. Tomorrow, Argonne and IBM will announce that the first IBM Blue Gene/P, a 100 teraflop system, will be shipped to the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility later this fiscal year. By the end of FY2007 ASCR high performance and leadership computing resources will include the 114 teraflop IBM Blue Gene/P; a 102 teraflop Cray XT4 at NERSC and a 119 teraflop Cray XT system at Oak Ridge. Before ringing in the New Year, Oak Ridge will upgrade to 250 teraflops with the replacement of the dual core processors with quad core processors and Argonne will upgrade to between 250-500 teraflops, and next year, a petascale Cray Baker system is scheduled for delivery at Oak Ridge. The multidisciplinary teams in our SciDAC Centers for Enabling Technologies and our SciDAC Institutes must continue to work with our Scientific Application teams to overcome the barriers that prevent effective use of these new systems. These challenges include: the need for new algorithms as well as operating system and runtime software and tools which scale to parallel systems composed of hundreds of thousands processors; program development environments and tools which scale effectively and provide ease of use for developers and scientific end users; and visualization and data management systems that support moving, storing, analyzing, manipulating and visualizing multi-petabytes of scientific data and objects. The SciDAC Centers, located primarily at our DOE national laboratories will take the lead in ensuring that critical computer science and applied mathematics issues are addressed in a timely and comprehensive fashion and to address issues associated with research software lifecycle. In contrast, the SciDAC Institutes, which are university-led centers of excellence, will have more flexibility to pursue new research topics through a range of research collaborations. The Institutes will also work to broaden the intellectual and researcher base—conducting short courses and summer schools to take advantage of new high performance computing capabilities. The SciDAC Outreach Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory complements the outreach efforts of the SciDAC Institutes. The Outreach Center is our clearinghouse for SciDAC activities and resources and will communicate with the high performance computing community in part to understand their needs for workshops, summer schools and institutes. SciDAC is not ASCR's only effort to broaden the computational science community needed to meet the challenges of the new X-scale generation. I hope that you were able to attend the Computational Science Graduate Fellowship poster session last night. ASCR developed the fellowship in 1991 to meet the nation's growing need for scientists and technology professionals with advanced computer skills. CSGF, now jointly funded between ASCR and NNSA, is more than a traditional academic fellowship. It has provided more than 200 of the best and brightest graduate students with guidance, support and community in preparing them as computational scientists. Today CSGF alumni are bringing their diverse top-level skills and knowledge to research teams at DOE laboratories and in industries such as Proctor and Gamble, Lockheed Martin and Intel. At universities they are working to train the next generation of computational scientists. To build on this success, we intend to develop a wholly new Early Career Principal Investigator's (ECPI) program. Our objective is to stimulate academic research in scientific areas within ASCR's purview especially among faculty in early stages of their academic careers. Last February, we lost Ken Kennedy, one of the leading lights of our community. As we move forward into the extreme computing generation, his vision and insight will be greatly missed. In memorial to Ken Kennedy, we shall designate the ECPI grants to beginning faculty in Computer Science as the Ken Kennedy Fellowship. Watch the ASCR website for more information about ECPI and other early career programs in the computational sciences. We look to you, our scientists, researchers, and visionaries to take X-scale computing and use it to explode scientific discovery in your fields. We at SciDAC will work to ensure that this tool is the sharpest and most precise and efficient instrument to carve away the unknown and reveal the most exciting secrets and stimulating scientific discoveries of our time. The partnership between research and computing is the marriage that will spur greater discovery, and as Spencer said to Susan in Robert Parker's novel, `Sudden Mischief', `We stick together long enough, and we may get as smart as hell'. Michael Strayer

21 CFR 888.3390 - Hip joint femoral (hemi-hip) metal/polymer cemented or uncemented prosthesis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Hip joint femoral (hemi-hip) metal/polymer... § 888.3390 Hip joint femoral (hemi-hip) metal/polymer cemented or uncemented prosthesis. (a) Identification. A hip joint femoral (hemi-hip) metal/polymer cemented or uncemented prosthesis is a two-part...

Report of the Polymer Core Course Committee: Polymer Principles in the Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Course, Part 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Chemical Education, 1985

1985-01-01

Demonstrates, with a set of definitive examples, how polymer principles can be introduced into the first undergraduate physical chemistry course in a very natural way. The intent is to encourage introduction of polymer-related material into conventional physical chemistry courses without sacrificing any rigor associated with such courses. (JN)

Multi-facetted Metadata - Describing datasets with different metadata schemas at the same time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulbricht, Damian; Klump, Jens; Bertelmann, Roland

2013-04-01

Inspired by the wish to re-use research data a lot of work is done to bring data systems of the earth sciences together. Discovery metadata is disseminated to data portals to allow building of customized indexes of catalogued dataset items. Data that were once acquired in the context of a scientific project are open for reappraisal and can now be used by scientists that were not part of the original research team. To make data re-use easier, measurement methods and measurement parameters must be documented in an application metadata schema and described in a written publication. Linking datasets to publications - as DataCite [1] does - requires again a specific metadata schema and every new use context of the measured data may require yet another metadata schema sharing only a subset of information with the meta information already present. To cope with the problem of metadata schema diversity in our common data repository at GFZ Potsdam we established a solution to store file-based research data and describe these with an arbitrary number of metadata schemas. Core component of the data repository is an eSciDoc infrastructure that provides versioned container objects, called eSciDoc [2] "items". The eSciDoc content model allows assigning files to "items" and adding any number of metadata records to these "items". The eSciDoc items can be submitted, revised, and finally published, which makes the data and metadata available through the internet worldwide. GFZ Potsdam uses eSciDoc to support its scientific publishing workflow, including mechanisms for data review in peer review processes by providing temporary web links for external reviewers that do not have credentials to access the data. Based on the eSciDoc API, panMetaDocs [3] provides a web portal for data management in research projects. PanMetaDocs, which is based on panMetaWorks [4], is a PHP based web application that allows to describe data with any XML-based schema. It uses the eSciDoc infrastructures REST-interface to store versioned dataset files and metadata in a XML-format. The software is able to administrate more than one eSciDoc metadata record per item and thus allows the description of a dataset according to its context. The metadata fields can be filled with static or dynamic content to reduce the number of fields that require manual entries to a minimum and, at the same time, make use of contextual information available in a project setting. Access rights can be adjusted to set visibility of datasets to the required degree of openness. Metadata from separate instances of panMetaDocs can be syndicated to portals through RSS and OAI-PMH interfaces. The application architecture presented here allows storing file-based datasets and describe these datasets with any number of metadata schemas, depending on the intended use case. Data and metadata are stored in the same entity (eSciDoc items) and are managed by a software tool through the eSciDoc REST interface - in this case the application is panMetaDocs. Other software may re-use the produced items and modify the appropriate metadata records by accessing the web API of the eSciDoc data infrastructure. For presentation of the datasets in a web browser we are not bound to panMetaDocs. This is done by stylesheet transformation of the eSciDoc-item. [1] http://www.datacite.org [2] http://www.escidoc.org , eSciDoc, FIZ Karlruhe, Germany [3] http://panmetadocs.sf.net , panMetaDocs, GFZ Potsdam, Germany [4] http://metaworks.pangaea.de , panMetaWorks, Dr. R. Huber, MARUM, Univ. Bremen, Germany

Comparative stability of the bioresorbable ferric crosslinked hyaluronic acid adhesion prevention solutions.

PubMed

Luu, Hoan-My Do; Chen, Angela; Isayeva, Irada S

2013-08-01

The Intergel® ferric crosslinked hyaluronate (FeHA) adhesion prevention solution (APS) (FDA) is associated with serious post-operative complications (Henley, http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/features/gynecare-intergel/intergel-timeline.html, 2007; FDA, 2003; Roman et al., Fertil Steril 2005, 83 Suppl 1:1113-1118; Tang et al., Ann Surg 2006;243(4):449-455; Wiseman, Fertil Steril 2006;86(3):771; Wiseman, Fertil Steril 2006;85(4):e7). This prompted us to examine the in situ stability of crosslinked HA materials to hyaluronidase lyase degradation. Variables such as ferric ionic crosslink density, HA concentration, gel geometry, and molecular weight (MW) of HA polymer were studied. Various formulations of the crosslinked "in house" [Isayeva et al., J Biomed Mater Res: Part B - Appl Biomater 2010, 95B (1):9-18] FeHA (0.5%, w/v; 30, 50, 90% crosslinked), the Intergel® FeHA (0.5%, w/v; 90%), and the non-crosslinked HA (0.05-0.5%, w/v) were degraded at a fixed activity of hyaluronidase lyase from Streptomyces hyalurolyticus (Hyase) at 37°C over time according to the method [Payan et al., J Chrom B: Biomed Sci Appl 1991;566(1):9-18]. Under our conditions, the data show that the crosslink density affects degradation the most, followed by HA concentration and then gel geometry. We found that MW has no effect. Our results are one possible explanation of the observations that the Intergel® FeHA APS (0.5%, w/v; 90%) material persisted an order of magnitude longer than expected [t1/2 = 500 hrs vs. t1/2 = 50 hrs (FDA; Johns et al., Fertil Steril 1997;68(1):37-42)]. These data also demonstrate the sensitivity of the in vitro hyaluronidase assay to predict the in situ stability of crosslinked HA medical products as previously reported [Sall et al., Polym Degrad Stabil 2007;92(5):915-919]. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Silicone Tubes - Simple and Effective Tools for Gas Extraction and Monitoring in the Course of Hydrate Dissociation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strauch, B.; Schicks, J. M.; Zimmer, M.

2015-12-01

The in situ dissociation of gas hydrate is prerequisite for the commercial recovery of natural gas from hydrate deposits. We examined different methods such as depressurization, thermal stimulation and distortion of the chemical equilibrium by carbon dioxide sequestration for methane gas production from hydrates within our Large Scale reservoir simulator LARS in a pilot plant scale. Within this setup, thin-walled (0.8 mm) silicon tubes are utilized for in situ gas capture. They function as membranes for the extraction of methane gas, leaving sediment and brine behind. The gas capture via silicone tube membranes is, due to their robust nature, reliably applicable in remote and rough areas. First tests show that, driven by the transmembrane pressure difference, the methane flux through these membranes is about 1 mL per minute per cm² membrane surface at a reservoir pressure of about 20 MPa. This is in good agreement with values reported in the literature [e.g. 2]. The operation of the membranes as a simple capture tool for the released methane from a hydrate deposit is therefore considered as feasible. Furthermore, silicone tube membranes are suitable for the quantification of free and dissolved gas volumes. For the monitoring of spatial and temporal gas distribution, LARS has been equipped with several silicone membranes at various locations. They have been utilized to monitor the progress of hydrate formation and decomposition and show that inhomogeneous gas distributions within the reservoir are detectable and terminable. The quantification of carbon dioxide/methane gas ratios during exchange experiments, however, is due to differences in water solubility and permeation rates of the gas species challenging. The study assesses the capability and limits of silicone tubes as membranes for gas extraction and as a tool to monitor gas distribution and composition in the course of hydrate dissociation experiments. [1] Merkel, T.C.; Bodnar, V.I.; Nagai, K.; Freeman, B.D.; Pinnau, I. J. Polym. Sci. Part B Polym. Phys. 2000, 38, 415-434.

76 FR 69662 - Methacrylic Polymer; Tolerance Exemption

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-09

... result of pesticide use in residential settings. If EPA is able to determine that a finite tolerance is... part of its composition the atomic elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. 3. The polymer does not contain as an integral part of its composition, except as impurities, any element other than those listed...

Gold-on-Polymer-Based Sensing Films for Detection of Organic and Inorganic Analytes in the Air

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manatt, Kenneth; Homer, Margie; Ryan, Margaret; Kisor, Adam; Shevade, Abhijit; Jewell, April; Zhou, Hanying

2008-01-01

A document discusses gold-on-polymer as one of the novel sensor types developed for part of the sensor development task. Standard polymer-carbon composite sensors used in the JPL Electronic Nose (ENose) have been modified by evaporating 15 nm of metallic gold on the surface. These sensors have been shown to respond to alcohols, aromatics, ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and elemental mercury in the parts-per-million and parts-per-billion concentration ranges in humidified air. The results have shown good sensitivity of these films operating under mild conditions (operating temperatures 23-28 C and regeneration temperature up to 40 C). This unique sensor combines the diversity of polymer sensors for chemical sensing with their response to a wide variety of analytes with the specificity of a gold sensor that shows strong reaction/binding with selected analyte types, such as mercury or sulfur.

Increasing specialty care access through use of an innovative home telehealth-based spinal cord injury disease management protocol (SCI DMP)

PubMed Central

Seton, Jacinta M.; Washington, Monique; Tomlinson, Suk C.; Phrasavath, Douangmala; Farrell, Karen R.; Goldstein, Barry

2016-01-01

Background A spinal cord injury disease management protocol (SCI DMP) was developed to address the unique medical, physical, functional, and psychosocial needs of those living with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D). The SCI DMP was piloted to evaluate DMP clinical content and to identify issues for broader implementation across the Veterans Affairs (VA) SCI System of Care. Methods Thirty-three patients with SCI/D from four VA SCI centers participated in a 6-month pilot. Patients received customized SCI DMP questions through a data messaging device (DMD). Nurse home telehealth care coordinators (HTCC) monitored responses and addressed clinical alerts daily. One site administered the Duke Severity of Illness (DUSOI) Checklist and Short Form-8 (SF-8™) to evaluate the changes in comorbidity severity and health-related quality of life while on the SCI DMP. Results Patients remained enrolled an average of 116 days, with a mean response rate of 56%. The average distance between patient's home and their VA SCI center was 59 miles. Feedback on SCI DMP content and the DMD included requests for additional clinical topics, changes in administration frequency, and adapting the DMD for functional impairments. Improvement in clinical outcomes was seen in a subset of patients enrolled on the SCI DMP. Conclusion SCI HTCCs and patients reported that the program was most beneficial for newly injured patients recently discharged from acute rehabilitation that live far from specialty SCI care facilities. SCI DMP content changes and broader implementation strategies are currently being evaluated based on lessons learned from the pilot. PMID:24617497

Increasing specialty care access through use of an innovative home telehealth-based spinal cord injury disease management protocol (SCI DMP).

PubMed

Woo, Christine; Seton, Jacinta M; Washington, Monique; Tomlinson, Suk C; Phrasavath, Douangmala; Farrell, Karen R; Goldstein, Barry

2016-01-01

A spinal cord injury disease management protocol (SCI DMP) was developed to address the unique medical, physical, functional, and psychosocial needs of those living with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D). The SCI DMP was piloted to evaluate DMP clinical content and to identify issues for broader implementation across the Veterans Affairs (VA) SCI System of Care. Thirty-three patients with SCI/D from four VA SCI centers participated in a 6-month pilot. Patients received customized SCI DMP questions through a data messaging device (DMD). Nurse home telehealth care coordinators (HTCC) monitored responses and addressed clinical alerts daily. One site administered the Duke Severity of Illness (DUSOI) Checklist and Short Form-8 (SF-8™) to evaluate the changes in comorbidity severity and health-related quality of life while on the SCI DMP. Patients remained enrolled an average of 116 days, with a mean response rate of 56%. The average distance between patient's home and their VA SCI center was 59 miles. Feedback on SCI DMP content and the DMD included requests for additional clinical topics, changes in administration frequency, and adapting the DMD for functional impairments. Improvement in clinical outcomes was seen in a subset of patients enrolled on the SCI DMP. SCI HTCCs and patients reported that the program was most beneficial for newly injured patients recently discharged from acute rehabilitation that live far from specialty SCI care facilities. SCI DMP content changes and broader implementation strategies are currently being evaluated based on lessons learned from the pilot.

Psychometric evaluation of the Spanish version of the MPI-SCI.

PubMed

Soler, M D; Cruz-Almeida, Y; Saurí, J; Widerström-Noga, E G

2013-07-01

Postal surveys. To confirm the factor structure of the Spanish version of the MPI-SCI (MPI-SCI-S, Multidimensional Pain Inventory in the SCI population) and to test its internal consistency and construct validity in a Spanish population. Guttmann Institute, Barcelona, Spain. The MPI-SCI-S along with Spanish measures of pain intensity (Numerical Rating Scale), pain interference (Brief Pain Inventory), functional independence (Functional Independence Measure), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), locus of control (Multidimensional health Locus of Control), support (Functional Social Support Questionnaire (Duke-UNC)), psychological well-being (Psychological Global Well-Being Index) and demographic/injury characteristics were assessed in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and chronic pain (n=126). Confirmatory factor analysis suggested an adequate factor structure for the MPI-SCI-S. The internal consistency of the MPI-SCI-S subscales ranged from acceptable (r=0.66, Life Control) to excellent (r=0.94, Life Interference). All MPI-SCI-S subscales showed adequate construct validity, with the exception of the Negative and Solicitous Responses subscales. The Spanish version of the MPI-SCI is adequate for evaluating chronic pain impact following SCI in a Spanish-speaking population. Future studies should include additional measures of pain-related support in the Spanish-speaking SCI population.

Infertility in Men with Spinal Cord Injury: Research and Treatment

PubMed Central

Brackett, Nancy L.

2012-01-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs most often to young men. Following SCI, most men are infertile due to a combination of erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction and semen abnormalities. Erectile dysfunction may be treated by the same therapies that are used in the general population. Similarly, the same treatments that are effective to assist conception in couples with non-SCI male factor patients are effective in assisting conception in SCI male-factor patients. The most apparent differences in male-factor symptoms between SCI and non-SCI patients are the high occurrences of anejaculation and atypical semen profiles in men with SCI. Methods available to assist ejaculation in men with SCI include penile vibratory stimulation and EEJ. Use of surgical sperm retrieval as the first line of treatment for anejaculation in men with SCI is controversial. Most men with SCI have a unique semen profile characterized by normal sperm concentration, but abnormally low sperm motility. Toxic substances in the semen contribute to this problem. Despite impaired sperm parameters, pregnancy outcomes using sperm from men with SCI are similar to pregnancy outcomes using sperm from non-SCI men. Future studies should focus on improving natural ejaculation and improving semen quality in these men. PMID:24278717

Prevalence and Etiology of Hypogonadism in Young Men With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: A Cross-Sectional Analysis From Two University-Based Rehabilitation Centers.

PubMed

Sullivan, Shannon D; Nash, Mark S; Tefera, Eshetu; Tinsley, Emily; Blackman, Marc R; Groah, Suzanne

2017-08-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers an "accelerated aging" process that may include development of hypogonadism, even among younger men with SCI; however, few studies have investigated the prevalence or etiology of hypogonadism in men with SCI. Young men with SCI also are at increased risk for developing metabolic dysfunction after injury, which may be exacerbated by concomitant testosterone (T) deficiency, thus identifying the prevalence and risk factors for T deficiency in men with SCI is important for their long-term health. To investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and etiology of T deficiency (hypogonadism) in otherwise-healthy men with chronic, motor complete SCI. Secondary cross-sectional analysis. Rehabilitation research centers in Washington, DC, and Miami, Florida. Men (n = 58) aged 18-45 years with chronic (≥1 year), motor complete SCI without comorbidities or use of testosterone therapy. Plasma concentrations of hormones were measured with standardized assays. Body composition was assessed with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan. Serum total T and calculated free T. T deficiency was more common in men after SCI than in a matched cohort of similarly-aged men without SCI (25%, SCI versus 6.7%, non-SCI, P < .001). The risk of hypogonadism appeared to be increased in men with more extensive injury and with higher percent body fat. The majority of men with SCI with low T had low serum LH levels, suggesting that central suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis may be the most common etiology of hypogonadism after SCI. Hypogonadism is more common in young men with SCI than in similarly aged men without SCI, suggesting that SCI should be identified as a risk factor for T deficiency and that routine screening for hypogonadism should be performed in the SCI population. II. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Polymer infiltration studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marchello, Joseph M.

1992-01-01

Progress was made in several areas on the preparation of carbon fiber composites using advanced polymer resins. Polymer infiltration studies dealt with ways of preparing composite materials from advanced polymer resins and carbon fibers. This effort is comprised of an integrated approach to the process of composite part fabrication. The goal is to produce advanced composite materials for automated part fabrication using textile and robotics technology in the manufacture of subsonic and supersonic aircraft. The object is achieved through investigations at the NASA Langley Research Center and by stimulating technology transfer between contract researchers and the aircraft industry. Covered here are literature reviews, a status report on individual projects, current and planned research, publications, and scheduled technical presentations.

Novel seed coat lignins in the Cactaceae: structure, distribution and implications for the evolution of lignin diversity.

PubMed

Chen, Fang; Tobimatsu, Yuki; Jackson, Lisa; Nakashima, Jin; Ralph, John; Dixon, Richard A

2013-01-01

We have recently described a hitherto unsuspected catechyl lignin polymer (C-lignin) in the seed coats of Vanilla orchid and in cacti of one genus, Melocactus (Chen et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2012, 109, 1772-1777.). We have now determined the lignin types in the seed coats of 130 different cactus species. Lignin in the vegetative tissues of cacti is of the normal guaiacyl/syringyl (G/S) type, but members of most genera within the subfamily Cactoidae possess seed coat lignin of the novel C-type only, which we show is a homopolymer formed by endwise β-O-4-coupling of caffeyl alcohol monomers onto the growing polymer resulting in benzodioxane units. However, the species examined within the genera Coryphantha, Cumarinia, Escobaria and Mammillaria (Cactoideae) mostly had normal G/S lignin in their seeds, as did all six species in the subfamily Opuntioidae that were examined. Seed coat lignin composition is still evolving in the Cactaceae, as seeds of one Mammillaria species (M. lasiacantha) possess only C-lignin, three Escobaria species (E. dasyacantha, E. lloydii and E. zilziana) contain an unusual lignin composed of 5-hydroxyguaiacyl units, the first report of such a polymer that occurs naturally in plants, and seeds of some species contain no lignin at all. We discuss the implications of these findings for the mechanisms that underlie the biosynthesis of these newly discovered lignin types. © 2012 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

From Reactor to Rheology in LDPE Modeling

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

Read, Daniel J.; Das, Chinmay; Auhl, Dietmar

2008-07-07

In recent years the association between molecular structure and linear rheology has been established and well-understood through the tube concept and its extensions for well-characterized materials (e.g. McLeish, Adv. Phys. 2002). However, for industrial branched polymeric material at processing conditions this piece of information is missing. A large number of phenomenological models have been developed to describe the nonlinear response of polymers. But none of these models takes into account the underlying molecular structure, leading to a fitting procedure with arbitrary fitting parameters. The goal of applied molecular rheology is a predictive scheme that runs in its entirety from themore » molecular structure from the reactor to the non-linear rheology of the resin. In our approach, we use a model for the industrial reactor to explicitly generate the molecular structure ensemble of LDPE's, (Tobita, J. Polym. Sci. B 2001), which are consistent with the analytical information. We calculate the linear rheology of the LDPE ensemble with the use of a tube model for branched polymers (Das et al., J. Rheol. 2006). We then, separate the contribution of the stress decay to a large number of pompom modes (McLeish et al., J. Rheol. 1998 and Inkson et al., J. Rheol. 1999) with the stretch time and the priority variables corresponding to the actual ensemble of molecules involved. This multimode pompom model allows us to predict the nonlinear properties without any fitting parameter. We present and analyze our results in comparison with experimental data on industrial materials.« less

Combined SCI and TBI: Recovery of forelimb function after unilateral cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is retarded by contralateral traumatic brain injury (TBI), and ipsilateral TBI balances the effects of SCI on paw placement

PubMed Central

Inoue, Tomoo; Lin, Amity; Ma, Xiaokui; McKenna, Stephen L.; Creasey, Graham H.; Manley, Geoffrey T.; Ferguson, Adam R.; Bresnahan, Jacqueline C.; Beattie, Michael S.

2015-01-01

A significant proportion (estimates range from 16–74%) of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) have concomitant traumatic brain injury (TBI), and the combination often produces difficulties in planning and implementing rehabilitation strategies and drug therapies. For example, many of the drugs used to treat SCI may interfere with cognitive rehabilitation, and conversely drugs that are used to control seizures in TBI patients may undermine locomotor recovery after SCI. The current paper presents an experimental animal model for combined SCI and TBI to help drive mechanistic studies of dual diagnosis. Rats received a unilateral SCI (75 kdyn) at C5 vertebral level, a unilateral TBI (2.0 mm depth, 4.0 m/s velocity impact on the forelimb sensori-motor cortex), or both SCI + TBI. TBI was placed either contralateral or ipsilateral to the SCI. Behavioral recovery was examined using paw placement in a cylinder, grooming, open field locomotion, and the IBB cereal eating test. Over 6 weeks, in the paw placement test, SCI + contralateral TBI produced a profound deficit that failed to recover, but SCI + ipsilateral TBI increased the relative use of the paw on the SCI side. In the grooming test, SCI + contralateral TBI produced worse recovery than either lesion alone even though contralateral TBI alone produced no observable deficit. In the IBB forelimb test, SCI + contralateral TBI revealed a severe deficit that recovered in 3 weeks. For open field locomotion, SCI alone or in combination with TBI resulted in an initial deficit that recovered in 2 weeks. Thus, TBI and SCI affected forelimb function differently depending upon the test, reflecting different neural substrates underlying, for example, exploratory paw placement and stereotyped grooming. Concurrent SCI and TBI had significantly different effects on outcomes and recovery, depending upon laterality of the two lesions. Recovery of function after cervical SCI was retarded by the addition of a moderate TBI in the contralateral hemisphere in all tests, but forepaw placements were relatively increased by an ipsilateral TBI relative to SCI alone, perhaps due to the dual competing injuries influencing the use of both forelimbs. These findings emphasize the complexity of recovery from combined CNS injuries, and the possible role of plasticity and laterality in rehabilitation, and provide a start towards a useful preclinical model for evaluating effective therapies for combine SCI and TBI. PMID:23770071

Combined SCI and TBI: recovery of forelimb function after unilateral cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is retarded by contralateral traumatic brain injury (TBI), and ipsilateral TBI balances the effects of SCI on paw placement.

PubMed

Inoue, Tomoo; Lin, Amity; Ma, Xiaokui; McKenna, Stephen L; Creasey, Graham H; Manley, Geoffrey T; Ferguson, Adam R; Bresnahan, Jacqueline C; Beattie, Michael S

2013-10-01

A significant proportion (estimates range from 16 to 74%) of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) have concomitant traumatic brain injury (TBI), and the combination often produces difficulties in planning and implementing rehabilitation strategies and drug therapies. For example, many of the drugs used to treat SCI may interfere with cognitive rehabilitation, and conversely drugs that are used to control seizures in TBI patients may undermine locomotor recovery after SCI. The current paper presents an experimental animal model for combined SCI and TBI to help drive mechanistic studies of dual diagnosis. Rats received a unilateral SCI (75 kdyn) at C5 vertebral level, a unilateral TBI (2.0 mm depth, 4.0 m/s velocity impact on the forelimb sensori-motor cortex), or both SCI+TBI. TBI was placed either contralateral or ipsilateral to the SCI. Behavioral recovery was examined using paw placement in a cylinder, grooming, open field locomotion, and the IBB cereal eating test. Over 6weeks, in the paw placement test, SCI+contralateral TBI produced a profound deficit that failed to recover, but SCI+ipsilateral TBI increased the relative use of the paw on the SCI side. In the grooming test, SCI+contralateral TBI produced worse recovery than either lesion alone even though contralateral TBI alone produced no observable deficit. In the IBB forelimb test, SCI+contralateral TBI revealed a severe deficit that recovered in 3 weeks. For open field locomotion, SCI alone or in combination with TBI resulted in an initial deficit that recovered in 2 weeks. Thus, TBI and SCI affected forelimb function differently depending upon the test, reflecting different neural substrates underlying, for example, exploratory paw placement and stereotyped grooming. Concurrent SCI and TBI had significantly different effects on outcomes and recovery, depending upon laterality of the two lesions. Recovery of function after cervical SCI was retarded by the addition of a moderate TBI in the contralateral hemisphere in all tests, but forepaw placements were relatively increased by an ipsilateral TBI relative to SCI alone, perhaps due to the dual competing injuries influencing the use of both forelimbs. These findings emphasize the complexity of recovery from combined CNS injuries, and the possible role of plasticity and laterality in rehabilitation, and provide a start towards a useful preclinical model for evaluating effective therapies for combine SCI and TBI. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Complex Fluids at Interfaces and Interfaces of Complex Fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nouri, Mariam

The present thesis deals with two independent projects and is consequently divided into two parts. The first part details a computational study of the fluid structure of ring-shaped molecules and their positional and orientational molecular organizations in different degrees of confinement, while the second part concerns an experimental study of phase behavior and interfacial phenomena in confined colloid-polymer systems. In the first part, ring-shaped molecules are studied using Monte Carlo simulation techniques in one, two and three dimensions. The model used to describe ring-shaped molecules is composed of hard-spheres linked together to form planar rigid rings. For rings of various sizes and for a wide range of densities, positional and orientational orderings are reported in forms of pair distribution functions of the ring centers and correlation functions of the ring normal orientations. Special emphasis is given to understand structural formation at interfaces, i.e., the structure and orderings of these molecules when they are confined to two dimensions. In a plane but the rings themselves are free to rotate around all axes, nematic ordering is observed at sufficiently high densities. In the second part, phase equilibria of confined aqueous colloid-polymer systems are studied experimentally using fluorescence microscopy. Aqueous mixtures of fluorescent polystyrene spheres and polyacrylamide are confined between a glass slide and a coverslip. The phase diagram is determined as a function of the colloidal and polymer concentrations. Liquid-liquid phase coexistence between a colloid-rich phase and a polymer-rich phase occurs at intermediate polymer concentrations, while liquid-solid phase coexistence between a polymer-rich liquid and a colloid-rich solid is observed at high polymer concentrations. Interfacial thickness and tension of the interface between these coexisting phases are measured using image analysis techniques. It is also observed that the colloid-rich solid and liquid domains coarsen mainly by Ostwald ripening.

High performance all polymer solar cells fabricated via non-halogenated solvents (Presentation Recording)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yan; Bao, Zhenan

2015-10-01

The performance of organic solar cells consisting of a donor/acceptor bulk heterojunction (BHJ) has rapidly improved over the past few years.1. Major efforts have been focused on developing a variety of donor materials to gain access to different regions of the solar spectrum as well as to improve carrier transport properties.2 On the other hand, the most utilized acceptors are still restricted to the fullerene family, which includes PC61BM, PC71BM and ICBA.2b, 3 All-polymer solar cells, consisting of polymers for both the donor and acceptor, gained significantly increased interests recently, because of their ease of solution processing, potentially low cost, versatility in molecular design, and their potential for good chemical and morphological stability due to entanglement of polymers. Unlike small molecular fullerene acceptors, polymer acceptors can benefit from the high mobility of intra-chain charge transport and exciton generation by both donor and acceptor. Despite extensive efforts on all-polymer solar cells in the past decade, the fundamental understanding of all-polymer solar cells is still in its inceptive stage regarding both the materials chemistry and structure physics.4 Thus, rational design rules must be utilized to enable fundamental materials understanding of the all polymer solar cells. We report high performance all-polymer solar cells employing polymeric donors based on isoindigo and acceptor based on perylenedicarboximide. The phase separation domain length scale correlates well with the JSC and is found to be highly sensitive to the aromatic co-monomer structures used in the crystalline donor polymers. With the PS polymer side chain engineering, the phase separation domain length scale decreased by more than 45%. The PCE and JSC of the devices increased accordingly by more than 20%. A JSC as high as 10.0 mA cm-2 is obtained with the donor-acceptor pair despite of a low LUMO-LUMO energy offset of less than 0.1 eV. All the factors such as crystallinity, surface roughness, charge carrier mobility, and absorptions of the polymers blends are found irrelevant to the performance of these all polymer solar cells. This work demonstrates that a better understanding of tuning polymer phase separation domain size provides an important path towards high performance, all-polymer solar cells. The use of polymer side-chain engineering provides an effective molecular engineering approach that may be combined with additional processing parameter control to further elevate the performance of all-polymer solar cells. We obtained a record PCE of 4.8% (avarage from 20 devices), with an average JSC of 9.8 mA cm-2. The highest PCE shoots to 5.1%, with JSC as high as 10.2 mA cm-2, and VOC of 1.02 V. It is the highest performance ever published for an all-polymer solar cell.4 1. Li, G.; Zhu, R.; Yang, Y., Nat. Photon. 2012, 6 , 153-161. 2. (a) Nelson, J., Mater. Today 2011, 14 , 462-470; (b) Lin, Y.; Li, Y.; Zhan, X., Chem. Soc. Rev. 2012, 41, 4245-4272; (c) Chen, J.; Cao, Y., Acc. Chem. Res. 2009, 42, 1709-1718. 3. Sonar, P.; Fong Lim, J. P.; Chan, K. L., Energy Environ. Sci. 2011, 4, 1558. 4. Facchetti, A., Mater. Today 2013, 16 , 123-132.

Residual stresses in injection molded shape memory polymer parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katmer, Sukran; Esen, Huseyin; Karatas, Cetin

2016-03-01

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are materials which have shape memory effect (SME). SME is a property which has the ability to change shape when induced by a stimulator such as temperature, moisture, pH, electric current, magnetic field, light, etc. A process, known as programming, is applied to SMP parts in order to alter them from their permanent shape to their temporary shape. In this study we investigated effects of injection molding and programming processes on residual stresses in molded thermoplastic polyurethane shape memory polymer, experimentally. The residual stresses were measured by layer removal method. The study shows that injection molding and programming process conditions have significantly influence on residual stresses in molded shape memory polyurethane parts.

High Strain Rate Deformation Modeling of a Polymer Matrix Composite. Part 1; Matrix Constitutive Equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldberg, Robert K.; Stouffer, Donald C.

1998-01-01

Recently applications have exposed polymer matrix composite materials to very high strain rate loading conditions, requiring an ability to understand and predict the material behavior under these extreme conditions. In this first paper of a two part report, background information is presented, along with the constitutive equations which will be used to model the rate dependent nonlinear deformation response of the polymer matrix. Strain rate dependent inelastic constitutive models which were originally developed to model the viscoplastic deformation of metals have been adapted to model the nonlinear viscoelastic deformation of polymers. The modified equations were correlated by analyzing the tensile/ compressive response of both 977-2 toughened epoxy matrix and PEEK thermoplastic matrix over a variety of strain rates. For the cases examined, the modified constitutive equations appear to do an adequate job of modeling the polymer deformation response. A second follow-up paper will describe the implementation of the polymer deformation model into a composite micromechanical model, to allow for the modeling of the nonlinear, rate dependent deformation response of polymer matrix composites.

Rotationally Molded Liquid Crystalline Polymers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Martin; Stevenson, Paige; Scribben, Eric; Baird, Donald; Hulcher, Bruce

2002-01-01

Rotational molding is a unique process for producing hollow plastic parts. Rotational molding offers advantages of low cost tooling and can produce very large parts with complicated shapes. Products made by rotational molding include water tanks with capacities up to 20,000 gallons, truck bed liners, playground equipment, air ducts, Nylon fuel tanks, pipes, toys, stretchers, kayaks, pallets, and many others. Thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers are an important class of engineering resins employed in a wide variety of applications. Thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers resins are composed of semi-rigid, nearly linear polymeric chains resulting in an ordered mesomorphic phase between the crystalline solid and the isotropic liquid. Ordering of the rigid rod-like polymers in the melt phase yields microfibrous, self-reinforcing polymer structures with outstanding mechanical and thermal properties. Rotational molding of liquid crystalline polymer resins results in high strength and high temperature hollow structures useful in a variety of applications. Various fillers and reinforcements can potentially be added to improve properties of the hollow structures. This paper focuses on the process and properties of rotationally molded liquid crystalline polymers.

Measuring grief and loss after spinal cord injury: Development, validation and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Grief and Loss item bank and short form

PubMed Central

Kalpakjian, Claire Z.; Tulsky, David S.; Kisala, Pamela A.; Bombardier, Charles H.

2015-01-01

Objective To develop an item response theory (IRT) calibrated Grief and Loss item bank as part of the Spinal Cord Injury – Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) measurement system. Design A literature review guided framework development of grief/loss. New items were created from focus groups. Items were revised based on expert review and patient feedback and were then field tested. Analyses included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), graded response IRT modeling and evaluation of differential item functioning (DIF). Setting We tested a 20-item pool at several rehabilitation centers across the United States, including the University of Michigan, Kessler Foundation, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, the University of Washington, Craig Hospital and the James J. Peters/Bronx Department of Veterans Affairs hospital. Participants A total of 717 individuals with SCI answered the grief and loss questions. Results The final calibrated item bank resulted in 17 retained items. A unidimensional model was observed (CFI = 0.976; RMSEA = 0.078) and measurement precision was good (theta range between −1.48 to 2.48). Ten items were flagged for DIF, however, after examination of effect sizes found this to be negligible with little practical impact on score estimates. Conclusions This study indicates that the SCI-QOL Grief and Loss item bank represents a psychometrically robust measurement tool. Short form items are also suggested and computer adaptive tests are available. PMID:26010969

Effects of resistance-guided high intensity interval functional electrical stimulation cycling on an individual with paraplegia: A case report.

PubMed

Dolbow, David R; Credeur, Daniel P

2018-03-01

Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) are more than twice as likely to develop and die from cardio-metabolic diseases as compared to able-bodied. This increased risk is thought to be in part due to accelerated muscle atrophy and reduced blood flow through sublesional arteries. Thus, strategies to recondition paralyzed skeletal muscles may help reduce cardio-metabolic disease risk. The purpose of this case report was to examine the impact of a novel, resistance-guided, high intensity interval training functional electrical stimulation (RG-HIIT-FES) cycling program on cardio-metabolic health in people with chronic SCI. One adult female with chronic T10 SCI. A novel RG-HIIT-FES cycling program three times per week for 10 weeks. Measures of body composition and cardio-metabolic health (vascular endothelial function of the brachial artery via flow-mediated dilation) and HbA1c blood values were performed at baseline and following completion of the RG-HIIT-FES program. Total body lean mass and legs lean mass increased 2.8% and 5.3% respectively while vastus lateralis thickness increased by 59.5%. Reactive hyperemia and flow mediated dilation change in brachial artery diameter increased by 11.1% and 147.7% following the program, respectively. HbA1c level changed minimally (5 to 4.9%). This case report suggests that RG-HIIT-FES cycling was an effective strategy to improve lean mass, and systemic vascular endothelial health in an individual with chronic SCI.

Resilience and Happiness After Spinal Cord Injury: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Duggan, Colette; Wilson, Catherine; DiPonio, Lisa; Trumpower, Brad

2016-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with resilience among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: Qualitative analyses were conducted of the written comments that were completed as part of a cross-sectional survey of individuals with SCI living in the community. More than 1,800 mail surveys were distributed to individuals identified as having a traumatic SCI through the records and/or membership lists of 4 organizations. Four hundred and seventy-five individuals completed and returned the survey, with approximately half (48.6%; n = 231) of respondents answering the open-ended question “Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your resilience or ability to ‘bounce back’ when you face a challenge?” Results: Analyses of these responses identified both specific resources and cognitive perspectives that are associated with perceived happiness. Responses fell within 8 general categories: resilience, general outlook on life, social support and social relationships, religion or faith in a higher power, mood, physical health and functioning (including pain), social comparisons, and resources. Nuanced themes within these categories were identified and were generally concordant with self-reported level of happiness. Conclusion: A majority of respondents with SCI identified themselves as happy and explained their adjustment and resilience as related to personality, good social support, and a spiritual connection. In contrast, pain and physical challenges appeared to be associated with limited ability to bounce back. PMID:29339852

Social abilities and gender roles in adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome - a pilot study.

PubMed

Zachurzok, Agnieszka; Gawlik, Aneta; Nowak, Aleksandra; Drosdzol-Cop, Agnieszka; Małecka-Tendera, Ewa

2014-01-01

Clinical and hormonal features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which may be present already in adolescence, can significantly influence the psychological development and wellbeing of a young woman.The aim of this pilot study was to determine social competence and gender roles in adolescent girls with PCOS compared to healthy peers, and to evaluate the relationship between psychological profile and clinical and hormonal components of PCOS. In 28 adolescent girls with PCOS, and 12 healthy regularly menstruating girls, clinical evaluation and hormonal profile were assessed and social competence inventory (SCI) and psychological gender inventory (PGI) tests were performed. There were no significant differences in all parts of SCI in absolute numbers or in sten scores between the study and the control group. Also in PGI, in both the feminine and masculine gender schemes, the differences between the groups were statistically insignificant. In the study group, DHEAS concentration correlated positively with self presentation score (r = 0.4, p = 0.03). There was also a significant negative correlation between testosterone level and SCI score (r = -0.5, p = 0.01) as well as assertiveness score (r = -0.5, p = 0.02). No significant correlations between SCI or PGI with BMI z-score or hirsutism score were found. Despite the existence of clinical and biochemical features that can influence sociopsychological condition, in adolescent girls with PCOS, social abilities and sex-typical behaviours do not seem to be disturbed.

Lumbar muscle inflammation alters spinally mediated locomotor recovery induced by training in a mouse model of complete spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Jeffrey-Gauthier, Renaud; Piché, Mathieu; Leblond, Hugues

2017-09-17

Locomotor networks after spinal cord injury (SCI) are shaped by training-activated proprioceptive and cutaneous inputs. Nociception from injured tissues may alter these changes but has largely been overlooked. The objective of the present study was to ascertain whether lumbar muscle inflammation hinders locomotion recovery in a mouse model of complete SCI. Lower limb kinematics during treadmill training was assessed before and after complete SCI at T8 (2, 7, 14, 21 and 28days post-injury). Locomotor recovery was compared in 4 groups of CD1 mice: control spinal mice; spinal mice with daily locomotor training; spinal mice with lumbar muscle inflammation (Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) injection); and spinal mice with locomotor training and CFA. On day 28, H-reflex excitability and its inhibition at high-frequency stimulation (frequency-dependent depression: FDD) were compared between groups, all of which showed locomotor recovery. Recovery was enhanced by training, whereas lumbar muscle inflammation hindered these effects (knee angular excursion and paw drag: p's<0.05). In addition, lumbar muscle inflammation impaired hind limb coupling during locomotion (p<0.05) throughout recovery. Also, H-reflex disinhibition was prevented by training, with or without CFA injection (p's<0.05). Altogether, these results indicate that back muscle inflammation modulates spinally mediated locomotor recovery in mice with complete SCI, in part, by reducing adaptive changes induced by training. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neuroprotective effects of lycopene in spinal cord injury in rats via antioxidative and anti-apoptotic pathway.

PubMed

Hu, Wei; Wang, Hongbo; Liu, Zhenfeng; Liu, Yanlu; Wang, Rong; Luo, Xiao; Huang, Yifei

2017-03-06

Oxidative damage induced-mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis has been widely studied in spinal cord injury (SCI). Lycopene, a polyunsaturated hydrocarbon, has the highest antioxidant capacity compared to the other carotenoids. However, the role of lycopene in SCI is unknown. In the present study, we evaluated the antioxidant effects of lycopene on mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis following T10 contusion SCI in rats. The rats were randomized into 5 groups: the sham group, the SCI group and the SCI pre-treated with lycopene (5, 10, or 20mg/kg) group. The SCI group showed increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content, decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) ability, which indicated that SCI could induce oxidative damage. What's more, the SCI group showed decreased mRNA expression of cytochrome b and mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam), and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔYm), which indicated that SCI could induce mitochondrial dysfunction. Besides, the SCI group showed decreased protein expression of bcl-2 and mitochondrial cytochrome C, increased protein expression of cytosolic cytochrome C, cleaved caspase-9, cleaved caspase-3 and bax, and increased TUNEL-positive cell numbers, which indicated that SCI could induce cell apoptosis. Fortunately, the lycopene treatment significantly ameliorated oxidative damage, mitochondrial dysfunction and cell apoptosis via the reversion of those parameters described above in the dose of lycopene of 10 and 20mg/kg. In addition, lycopene significantly ameliorated the hind limb motor disturbances in the SCI+lyco10 group and the SCI+lyco20 group compared with the SCI group. These results suggested that lycopene administration could improve total antioxidant status and might have neuroprotective effects on SCI. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[An analysis of Spanish biomedical journals by the impact factor].

PubMed

Baños, J E; Casanovas, L; Guardiola, E; Bosch, F

1992-06-13

One of the most frequently used parameters for evaluating scientific publications is that of impact factor (IF) published in the Science Citation Index-Journal Citation Reports (SCI-JCR) which evaluates the number of citations a journal receives on behalf of other journals. The present study analyzed the Spanish biomedical journals included in the SCI-JCR by the IF. The IF were obtained from the SCI-JCR (1980-89). The journals were evaluated by the IF and the weighted impact factor (WIF) calculated according to WIF = (IF/MIF) x 100 in which MIF = maximum IF of the considered area. Nine Spanish biomedical journals were included in the SCI-JCR, four being basic sciences (Histology and Histopathology, Inmunología, Methods and Findings in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Revista Española de Fisiología) and five clinical journals (Allergologia et Immunopathologia, Medicina Clínica, Nefrología, Revista Española de las Enfermedades del Aparato Digestivo, Revista Clínica Española). Their IF were much lower than the most important journals in each area with the mean (+/- standard deviation) being 0.21 +/- 0.22 (range 0.016-0.627). The mean WIF was 2.88 +/- 4.07 (0.16-12.82). The journals of basic sciences had higher IF and WIF than the clinical journals (p less than 0.05). Only the four journals of basic sciences were included in the SCI. Four journals, those of basic sciences, are preferentially or exclusively published in English and other five are published in Spanish. The differences in IF among these groups were not significant (p = 0.06) while those of WIF were significant (p less than 0.05). The number of Spanish biomedical journals in the SCI-JCR has risen from 1 in 1980 to 9 in 1989 with IF which have evolved variably. In mind of impact factor, the contribution of Spanish journals is low, with that of biomedical sciences being higher than that of clinical journals. Language and inclusion in the Science Citation Index may explain, at least in part, the low impact factors obtained.

76 FR 77709 - Butyl acrylate-methacrylic acid-styrene polymer; Tolerance Exemption

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-14

... result of pesticide use in residential settings. If EPA is able to determine that a finite tolerance is... integral part of its composition the atomic elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. 3. The polymer does not contain as an integral part of its composition, except as impurities, any element other than those listed...

Synthesis of polymers from liquefied biomass and their utilization in wood bonding

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As the sustainable manufacturing concept becomes a mandatory requirement, more and more researchers have devoted to converting biomass as components for polymer or as a substitution for part of petroleum based polymers for different applications. Agricultural and forestry lignocellulosic biomass mat...

Effects of Spinal Cord Injury in Heart Rate Variability After Acute and Chronic Exercise: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Buker, Daniel Bueno; Oyarce, Cristóbal Castillo; Plaza, Raúl Smith

2018-01-01

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) above T6 is followed by a loss of sympathetic supraspinal control of the heart, disturbing the autonomic balance and increasing cardiovascular risk. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a widely used tool for assessing the cardiac autonomic nervous system and positive adaptations after regular exercise in able-bodied subjects. However, adaptations in SCI subjects are not well known. Objectives: To compare HRV between able-bodied and SCI subjects and analyze the effects of chronic and acute exercise on HRV in the SCI group. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, SciELO, and Google Scholar databases to July 2016. We selected English and Spanish observational or experimental studies reporting HRV after training or acute exercise in SCI patients. We also included studies comparing HRV in SCI individuals with able-bodied subjects. Animal studies and nontraumatic SCI studies were excluded. We screened 279 articles by title and abstract; of these, we fully reviewed 29 articles. Eighteen articles fulfilled criteria for inclusion in this study. Results: SCI individuals showed lower HRV values in the low frequency band compared to able-bodied subjects. Regular exercise improved HRV in SCI subjects, however time and intensity data were lacking. HRV decreases after an acute bout of exercise on SCI subjects, but recovery kinetics are unknown. Conclusion: HRV is affected following SCI. Able-bodied subjects and SCI individuals have different values of HRV. Acute bouts of exercise change HRV temporarily, and chronic exercise might improve autonomic balance in SCI.

Overview of the Spinal Cord Injury--Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) measurement system.

PubMed

Tulsky, David S; Kisala, Pamela A; Victorson, David; Tate, Denise G; Heinemann, Allen W; Charlifue, Susan; Kirshblum, Steve C; Fyffe, Denise; Gershon, Richard; Spungen, Ann M; Bombardier, Charles H; Dyson-Hudson, Trevor A; Amtmann, Dagmar; Kalpakjian, Claire Z; Choi, Seung W; Jette, Alan M; Forchheimer, Martin; Cella, David

2015-05-01

The Spinal Cord Injury--Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) measurement system was developed to address the shortage of relevant and psychometrically sound patient reported outcome (PRO) measures available for clinical care and research in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation. Using a computer adaptive testing (CAT) approach, the SCI-QOL builds on the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) and the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders (Neuro-QOL) initiative. This initial manuscript introduces the background and development of the SCI-QOL measurement system. Greater detail is presented in the additional manuscripts of this special issue. Classical and contemporary test development methodologies were employed. Qualitative input was obtained from individuals with SCI and clinicians through interviews, focus groups, and cognitive debriefing. Item pools were field tested in a multi-site sample (n=877) and calibrated using item response theory methods. Initial reliability and validity testing was performed in a new sample of individuals with traumatic SCI (n=245). Five Model SCI System centers and one Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center across the United States. Adults with traumatic SCI. n/a n/a The SCI-QOL consists of 19 item banks, including the SCI-Functional Index banks, and 3 fixed-length scales measuring physical, emotional, and social aspects of health-related QOL (HRQOL). The SCI-QOL measurement system consists of psychometrically sound measures for individuals with SCI. The manuscripts in this special issue provide evidence of the reliability and initial validity of this measurement system. The SCI-QOL also links to other measures designed for a general medical population.

Bacterial susceptibility patterns in patients with spinal cord injury and disorder (SCI/D): an opportunity for customized stewardship tools.

PubMed

Suda, K J; Patel, U C; Sabzwari, R; Cao, L; Ramanathan, S; Hill, J N; Evans, C T

2016-11-01

Retrospective observational study of bacterial susceptibilities in Veterans with SCI/D as compared to a general patient population. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the prevalence and susceptibility of bacteria isolated from spinal cord injury and disorder (SCI/D) patients as compared with a general patient population and determine whether a SCI/D-specific antibiogram, a report of bacterial susceptibilities used to guide empiric antibiotic selection, would be a useful stewardship tool. Veterans Affairs Medical Center located in Cook county, IL, USA. Microbiology reports from 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2013 were compiled into a SCI/D-specific antibiogram and compared to a non-SCI/D antibiogram. Persons with positive cultures and SCI/D were younger and had a higher Charlson Index as compared to non-SCI/D patients (P<0.0001 for both). Five thousand one hundred and thirty-one unique isolate cultures were evaluated (SCI/D=23.0%). Frequencies of pathogens isolated in SCI/D and non-SCI/D differed. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus occurred more frequently in SCI/D (27.8% vs 55.4%; P<0.0001). Gram-negatives had generally lower susceptibilities in SCI/D and a higher frequency of organisms producing extended-spectrum Beta-lactamases (17.6% vs 5.0%; P<0.0001), carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (2.4% vs 0.5%; P<0.0001), carbapenem resistance (7.6% vs 2.4%; P<0.0001) and isolates resistant to ⩾3 antibiotic classes (60.7% vs 28.0%; P=0.0001). Different pathogens with poorer susceptibilities are isolated in SCI/D. Thus an SCI/D-specific antibiogram reflective of resistance patterns in these patients may increase the appropriateness of empiric antibiotic selection. The frequency of multi-drug resistant organisms in cultures obtained from patients with SCI/D is worrisome.

Tracking functional status across the spinal cord injury lifespan: linking pediatric and adult patient-reported outcome scores.

PubMed

Tian, Feng; Ni, Pengsheng; Mulcahey, M J; Hambleton, Ronald K; Tulsky, David; Haley, Stephen M; Jette, Alan M

2014-11-01

To use item response theory (IRT) methods to link scores from 2 recently developed contemporary functional outcome measures, the adult Spinal Cord Injury-Functional Index (SCI-FI) and the Pedi SCI (both the parent version and the child version). Secondary data analysis of the physical functioning items of the adult SCI-FI and the Pedi SCI instruments. We used a nonequivalent group design with items common to both instruments and the Stocking-Lord method for the linking. Linking was conducted so that the adult SCI-FI and Pedi SCI scaled scores could be compared. Community. This study included a total sample of 1558 participants. Pedi SCI items were administered to a sample of children (n=381) with SCI aged 8 to 21 years, and of parents/caregivers (n=322) of children with SCI aged 4 to 21 years. Adult SCI-FI items were administered to a sample of adults (n=855) with SCI aged 18 to 92 years. Not applicable. Five scales common to both instruments were included in the analysis: Wheelchair, Daily Routine/Self-care, Daily Routine/Fine Motor, Ambulation, and General Mobility functioning. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis results indicated that the 5 scales are unidimensional. A graded response model was used to calibrate the items. Misfitting items were identified and removed from the item banks. Items that function differently between the adult and child samples (ie, exhibit differential item functioning) were identified and removed from the common items used for linking. Domain scores from the Pedi SCI instruments were transformed onto the adult SCI-FI metric. This IRT linking allowed estimation of adult SCI-FI scale scores based on Pedi SCI scale scores and vice versa; therefore, it provides clinicians with a means of tracking long-term functional data for children with an SCI across their entire lifespan. Copyright © 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MISSE PEACE Polymers: An International Space Station Environmental Exposure Experiment Being Conducted

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

deGroh, Kim K.; Banks, Bruce A.; Hammerstrom, Anne; Youngstrom, Erica; Kaminski, Carolyn; Marx, Laura; Fine, Elizabeth; Gummow, Jonathan D.; Wright, Douglas

2002-01-01

As part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE), 41 different polymers are being exposed for approximately 1 1/2 years to the low-Earth-orbit (LEO) environment on the exterior of the International Space Station. MISSE is a materials flight experiment sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab/Materials Lab and NASA, and is the first external experiment on the space station. A similar set of 41 polymers will be flown as part of the Polymer Erosion and Contamination Experiment (PEACE) a shuttle flight experiment that is being developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center collaboratively with the Hathaway Brown School for girls. Therefore, these 41 polymers are collectively called the MISSE PEACE Polymers. The purpose of the MISSE PEACE Polymers experiment is to determine how durable polymers are in the LEO space environment where spacecraft, such as the space station, orbit. Polymers are commonly used as spacecraft materials because of their desirable properties such as good flexibility, low density, and certain electrical properties or optical properties (such as a low solar absorptance and high thermal emittance). Two examples of the use of polymers on the exterior of spacecraft exposed to the space environment include metalized Teflon FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene, DuPont) thermal control materials on the Hubble Space Telescope, and polyimide Kapton (DuPont) solar array blankets.

A non-additive repulsive contribution in an equation of state: The development for homonuclear square well chains equation of state validated against Monte Carlo simulation

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

Trinh, Thi-Kim-Hoang; Laboratoire de Science des Procédés et des Matériaux; Passarello, Jean-Philippe, E-mail: Jean-Philippe.Passarello@lspm.cnrs.fr

This work consists of the adaptation of a non-additive hard sphere theory inspired by Malakhov and Volkov [Polym. Sci., Ser. A 49(6), 745–756 (2007)] to a square-well chain. Using the thermodynamic perturbation theory, an additional term is proposed that describes the effect of perturbing the chain of square well spheres by a non-additive parameter. In order to validate this development, NPT Monte Carlo simulations of thermodynamic and structural properties of the non-additive square well for a pure chain and a binary mixture of chains are performed. Good agreements are observed between the compressibility factors originating from the theory and thosemore » from molecular simulations.« less

Extraction of Carbon Dioxide From Seawater by Ion Exchange Resin. Part 2. Using Strong Base Anion Exchange Resin

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-29

and nitrogen compounds that are produced from the combustion of petroleum derived fossil fuel. In addition the process is advantageous in that it is...REFERENCES 1. Mohanasundaram, S. Renewable Power Generation-Utilising Thermal Energy From Oceans. Enviro . Sci. & Eng. 2007, 4, 35. 18 2. Avery

Synthesis of nanostructured bio-related materials by hybridization of synthetic polymers with polysaccharides or saccharide residues.

PubMed

Kaneko, Yoshiro; Kadokawa, Jun-Ichi

2006-01-01

In the first part of this review, we describe the synthesis of nanostructured hybrid materials composed of polysaccharides and synthetic polymers. Amylose-synthetic polymer inclusion complexes were synthesized by amylose-forming polymerization using phosphorylase enzyme in the presence of synthetic polymers such as polyethers and polyesters. Alginate-polymethacrylate hybrid materials were prepared by free-radical polymerization of cationic methacrylate in the presence of sodium alginate. These methods allow the simultaneous control of the nanostructure with polymerization, giving well-defined hybrid materials. In the second part of this review, we describe the synthesis of novel glycopolymers with rigid structures. Polyaniline-based glycopolymers were synthesized by means of oxidative polymerization of N-glycosylaniline. Polysiloxane-based glycopolymers were prepared by means of introduction of sugar-lactone to the rodlike polysiloxane. These glycopolymers had regular higher-ordered structures due to their rigid polymer backbones, resulting in control of the three-dimensional array of sugar-residues.

Overview of the Spinal Cord Injury – Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) measurement system

PubMed Central

Tulsky, David S.; Kisala, Pamela A.; Victorson, David; Tate, Denise G.; Heinemann, Allen W.; Charlifue, Susan; Kirshblum, Steve C.; Fyffe, Denise; Gershon, Richard; Spungen, Ann M.; Bombardier, Charles H.; Dyson-Hudson, Trevor A.; Amtmann, Dagmar; Z. Kalpakjian, Claire; W. Choi, Seung; Jette, Alan M.; Forchheimer, Martin; Cella, David

2015-01-01

Context/Objective The Spinal Cord Injury – Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) measurement system was developed to address the shortage of relevant and psychometrically sound patient reported outcome (PRO) measures available for clinical care and research in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation. Using a computer adaptive testing (CAT) approach, the SCI-QOL builds on the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) and the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders (Neuro-QOL) initiative. This initial manuscript introduces the background and development of the SCI-QOL measurement system. Greater detail is presented in the additional manuscripts of this special issue. Design Classical and contemporary test development methodologies were employed. Qualitative input was obtained from individuals with SCI and clinicians through interviews, focus groups, and cognitive debriefing. Item pools were field tested in a multi-site sample (n = 877) and calibrated using item response theory methods. Initial reliability and validity testing was performed in a new sample of individuals with traumatic SCI (n = 245). Setting Five Model SCI System centers and one Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center across the United States. Participants Adults with traumatic SCI. Interventions n/a Outcome Measures n/a Results The SCI-QOL consists of 19 item banks, including the SCI-Functional Index banks, and 3 fixed-length scales measuring physical, emotional, and social aspects of health-related QOL (HRQOL). Conclusion The SCI-QOL measurement system consists of psychometrically sound measures for individuals with SCI. The manuscripts in this special issue provide evidence of the reliability and initial validity of this measurement system. The SCI-QOL also links to other measures designed for a general medical population. PMID:26010962

The kinematic recovery process of rhesus monkeys after spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Wei, Rui-Han; Zhao, Can; Rao, Jia-Sheng; Zhao, Wen; Zhou, Xia; Tian, Peng-Yu; Song, Wei; Ji, Run; Zhang, Ai-Feng; Yang, Zhao-Yang; Li, Xiao-Guang

2018-05-16

After incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), neural circuits may be plastically reconstructed to some degree, resulting in extensive functional locomotor recovery. The present study aimed to observe the post-SCI locomotor recovery of rhesus monkey hindlimbs and compare the recovery degrees of different hindlimb parts, thus revealing the recovery process of locomotor function. Four rhesus monkeys were chosen for thoracic hemisection injury. The hindlimb locomotor performance of these animals was recorded before surgery, as well as 6 and 12 weeks post-lesion. Via principal component analysis, the relevant parameters of the limb endpoint, pelvis, hindlimb segments, and joints were processed and analyzed. Twelve weeks after surgery, partial kinematic recovery was observed at the limb endpoint, shank, foot, and knee joints, and the locomotor performance of the ankle joint even recovered to the pre-lesion level; the elevation angle of the thigh and hip joints showed no obvious recovery. Generally, different parts of a monkey hindlimb had different spontaneous recovery processes; specifically, the closer the part was to the distal end, the more extensive was the locomotor function recovery. Therefore, we speculate that locomotor recovery may be attributed to plastic reconstruction of the motor circuits that are mainly composed of corticospinal tract. This would help to further understand the plasticity of motor circuits after spinal cord injury.

Circulating sclerostin is elevated in short-term and reduced in long-term SCI

PubMed Central

Battaglino, Ricardo A.; Sudhakar, Supreetha; Lazzari, Antonio; Garshick, Eric; Zafonte, Ross; Morse, Leslie R.

2012-01-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes profound bone loss due to muscle paralysis resulting in the inability to walk. Sclerostin, a Wnt signaling pathway antagonist produced by osteocytes, is a potent inhibitor of bone formation. Short-term studies in rodent models have demonstrated increased sclerostin in response to mechanical unloading that is reversed with reloading. Although sclerostin inhibition has been proposed as a potential therapy for bone loss, it is not known if sclerostin levels vary with duration of SCI in humans. We analyzed circulating sclerostin in 155 men with varying degrees of SCI who were 1 year or more post-injury. We report that sclerostin levels are greatest in subjects with short-term SCI (≤ 5 years post-injury) and decrease significantly over the first 5 years post-injury. There was no association between sclerostin and injury duration in subjects with long-term SCI (> 5 years post-injury). In subjects with long-term SCI, sclerostin levels were positively associated with lower extremity bone density and bone mineral content. These data suggest that sclerostin levels in SCI are initially increased after SCI in response to mechanical unloading. This response is time-limited and as bone loss progresses, circulating sclerostin is lowest in subjects with severe osteoporosis. These findings support a dual role for sclerostin after SCI: a therapeutic target in acute SCI, and a biomarker of osteoporosis severity in chronic SCI. PMID:22575440

Learning by Creating and Exchanging Objects: The SCY Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Jong, Ton; Van Joolingen, Wouter R.; Giemza, Adam; Girault, Isabelle; Hoppe, Ulrich; Kindermann, Jorg; Kluge, Anders; Lazonder, Ard W.; Vold, Vibeke; Weinberger, Armin; Weinbrenner, Stefan; Wichmann, Astrid; Anjewierden, Anjo; Bodin, Marjolaine; Bollen, Lars; D'Ham, Cedric; Dolonen, Jan; Engler, Jan; Geraedts, Caspar; Grosskreutz, Henrik; Hovardas, Tasos; Julien, Rachel; Lechner, Judith; Ludvigsen, Sten; Matteman, Yuri; Meistadt, Oyvind; Naess, Bjorge; Ney, Muriel; Pedaste, Margus; Perritano, Anthony; Rinket, Marieke; Von Schlanbusch, Henrik; Sarapuu, Tago; Schulz, Florian; Sikken, Jakob; Slotta, Jim; Toussaint, Jeremy; Verkade, Alex; Wajeman, Claire; Wasson, Barbara; Zacharia, Zacharias C.; Van Der Zanden, Martine

2010-01-01

Science Created by You (SCY) is a project on learning in science and technology domains. SCY uses a pedagogical approach that centres around products, called "emerging learning objects" (ELOs) that are created by students. Students work individually and collaboratively in SCY-Lab (the general SCY learning environment) on "missions" that are guided…

75 FR 24747 - SCI, LLC/Zener-Rectifier Operations Division A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of SCI, LLC/ON...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-05

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-70,235] SCI, LLC/Zener-Rectifier... Adjustment Assistance on October 19, 2009, applicable to workers of SCI LLC/Zener-Rectifier, Operations... Technical Resources were employed on-site at the Phoenix Arizona location of SCI LLC/Zener-Rectifier...

78 FR 7275 - 2-Pyrrolidone, 1-Ethenyl-, Polymer With Ethenol; Tolerance Exemption

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-01

... result of pesticide use in residential settings. If EPA is able to determine that a finite tolerance is... integral part of its composition the atomic elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. 3. The polymer does not contain as an integral part of its composition, except as impurities, any element other than those listed...

78 FR 4792 - Epoxy Polymer; Exemption From the Requirement of a Tolerance

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-23

... a finite tolerance is not necessary to ensure that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will... contain as an integral part of its composition the atomic elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. 3. The polymer does not contain as an integral part of its composition, except as impurities, any element other...

75 FR 52269 - Acetic Acid Ethenyl Ester, Polymer With Oxirane; Tolerance Exemption

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-25

... result of pesticide use in residential settings. If EPA is able to determine that a finite tolerance is... contain as an integral part of its composition the atomic elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. 3. The polymer does not contain as an integral part of its composition, except as impurities, any element other...

Grafted functional groups on expanded tetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) support for fuel cell and water transport membranes

DOEpatents

Fuller, Timothy J.; Jiang, Ruichun

2017-01-24

A method for forming a modified solid polymer includes a step of contacting a solid fluorinated polymer with a sodium sodium-naphthalenide solution to form a treated fluorinated solid polymer. The treated fluorinated solid polymer is contacted with carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, or sulfur trioxide to form a solid grafted fluorinated polymer. Characteristically, the grafted fluorinated polymer includes appended CO.sub.2H or SO.sub.2H or SO.sub.3H groups. The solid grafted fluorinated polymer is advantageously incorporated into a fuel cell as part of the ion-conducting membrane or a water transport membrane in a humidifier.

Polymer Day: Outreach Experiments for High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ting, Jeffrey M.; Ricarte, Ralm G.; Schneiderman, Deborah K.; Saba, Stacey A.; Jiang, Yaming; Hillmyer, Marc A.; Bates, Frank S.; Reineke, Theresa M.; Macosko, Christopher W.; Lodge, Timothy P.

2017-01-01

We present a collection of hands-on experiments that collectively teach precollege students fundamental concepts of polymer synthesis and characterization. These interactive experiments are performed annually as part of an all-day outreach event for high school students that can inform the development of ongoing polymer education efforts in a…

Grafting of Conductive Polymers onto the Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-23

2,5- benzimidazole )/carbon nanotube composite film” Journal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry 2010, 48, 1067. 3. Han, S.-W.; Oh, S.-J...34Synthesis and Characterization of poly(2,5- benzimidazole ) (ABPBI) Grafted CArbon Nanotubes." MRS. 2009 fall meeting, Prepr. Boston, MA, November 30

Sensitivity of the SCI-FI/AT in Individuals With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Keeney, Tamra; Slavin, Mary; Kisala, Pamela; Ni, Pengsheng; Heinemann, Allen W; Charlifue, Susan; Fyffe, Denise C; Marino, Ralph J; Morse, Leslie R; Worobey, Lynn A; Tate, Denise; Rosenblum, David; Zafonte, Ross; Tulsky, David; Jette, Alan M

2018-03-31

To examine the ability of the Spinal Cord Injury-Functional Index/Assistive Technology (SCI-FI/AT) measure to detect change in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Multisite longitudinal (12-mo follow-up) study. Nine SCI Model Systems programs. Adults (N=165) with SCI enrolled in the SCI Model Systems database. Not applicable. SCI-FI/AT computerized adaptive test (CAT) (Basic Mobility, Self-Care, Fine Motor Function, Wheelchair Mobility, and/or Ambulation domains) completed at discharge from rehabilitation and 12 months after SCI. For each domain, effect size estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for subgroups with paraplegia and tetraplegia. The demographic characteristics of the sample were as follows: 46% (n=76) individuals with paraplegia, 76% (n=125) male participants, 57% (n=94) used a manual wheelchair, 38% (n=63) used a power wheelchair, 30% (n=50) were ambulatory. For individuals with paraplegia, the Basic Mobility, Self-Care, and Ambulation domains of the SCI-FI/AT detected a significantly large amount of change; in contrast, the Fine Motor Function and Wheelchair Mobility domains detected only a small amount of change. For those with tetraplegia, the Basic Mobility, Fine Motor Function, and Self-Care domains detected a small amount of change whereas the Ambulation item domain detected a medium amount of change. The Wheelchair Mobility domain for people with tetraplegia was the only SCI-FI/AT domain that did not detect significant change. SCI-FI/AT CAT item banks detected an increase in function from discharge to 12 months after SCI. The effect size estimates for the SCI-FI/AT CAT vary by domain and level of lesion. Findings support the use of the SCI-FI/AT CAT in the population with SCI and highlight the importance of multidimensional functional measures. Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interactions Between Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillations and Synoptic-Scale Disturbances over the Western North Pacific, Part I: Energetics Diagnosis

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-23

typhoon. Part I: Satel- lite data analyses. J. Atmos. Sci., 63, 1377–1389. ——, ——, X. Ge, B. Wang, and M. Peng, 2003: Satellite data analysis and numerical...is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining...the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this

Acute and Chronic Deficits in the Urinary Bladder after Spinal Contusion Injury in the Adult Rat

PubMed Central

Herrera, Juan J.; Haywood-Watson, Ricky J.L.

2010-01-01

Abstract Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) permanently alters bladder function in humans. Hematuria and cystitis occur in both human SCI as well as in rodent models of SCI. Others have reported early SCI-dependent disruption to bladder uroepithelial integrity that results in increased permeability to urine and urine-borne substances. This can result in cystitis, or inflammation of the bladder, an ongoing pathological condition present throughout the chronic phase of SCI in humans. The goals of our study were twofold: (1) to begin to examine the inflammatory and molecular changes that occur within the bladder uroepithelium using a clinically-relevant spinal contusion model of injury, and (2) to assess whether these alterations continue into the chronic phase of SCI. Rats received either moderate SCI or sham surgery. Urine was collected from SCI and sham subjects over 7 days or at 7 months to assess levels of excreted proteins. Inflammation in the bladder wall was assessed via biochemical and immunohistochemical methods. Bladder tight junction proteins, mediators of uroepithelial integrity, were also measured in both the acute and chronic phases of SCI. Urine protein and hemoglobin levels rapidly increase following SCI. An SCI-dependent elevation in numbers of neutrophils within the bladder wall peaked at 48 h. Bladder tight junction proteins demonstrate a rapid but transient decrease as early as 2 h post-SCI. Surprisingly, elevated levels of urine proteins and significant deficits in bladder tight junction proteins could be detected in chronic SCI, suggesting that early pathological changes to the bladder may continue throughout the chronic phase of injury. PMID:19891526

Tuning the entropic spring to dictate order and functionality in polymer conjugated peptide biomaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keten, Sinan

Hybrid peptide-polymer conjugates have the potential to combine the advantages of natural proteins and synthetic polymers, resulting in biomaterials with improved stability, controlled assembly, and tailored functionalities. However, the effect of polymer conjugation on peptide structural organization and functionality, along with the behavior of polymers at the interface with biomolecules remain to be fully understood. This talk will summarize our recent efforts towards establishing a modeling framework to design entropic forces in helix-polymer conjugates and polymer-conjugated peptide nanotubes to achieve hierarchical self-assembling systems with predictable order. The first part of the talk will discuss how self-assembly principles found in biology, combined with polymer physics concepts can be used to create artificial membranes that mimic certain features of ion channels. Thermodynamics and kinetics aspects of self-assembly and how it governs the growth and stacking sequences of peptide nanotubes will be discussed, along with its implications for nanoscale transport. The second part of the talk will review advances related to modeling polymer conjugated coiled coils at relevant length and time scales. Atomistic simulations combined with sampling techniques will be presented to discuss the energy landscapes governing coiled-coil stability, revealing cascades of events governing disassembly. This will be followed by a discussion of mechanisms through which polymers can stabilize small proteins, such as shielding of solvents, and how specific peptide sequences can reciprocate by altering polymer conformations. Correlations between mechanical and thermal stability of peptides will be discussed. Finally, coarse-grained simulations will provide insight into how the location of polymer attachment changes entropic forces and higher-level organization in helix bundle assemblies. Our findings set the stage for a materials-by-design capability towards dictating complex topologies of polymer-peptide conjugate systems.

Shear Strength of Stabilized Kaolin Soil Using Liquid Polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azhar, A. T. S.; Fazlina, M. I. S.; Nizam, Z. M.; Fairus, Y. M.; Hakimi, M. N. A.; Riduan, Y.; Faizal, P.

2017-08-01

The purpose of this research is to investigate the suitability of polymer in soil stabilization by examining its strength to withstand compressive strength. Throughout this research study, manufactured polymer was used as a chemical liquid soil stabilizer. The liquid polymer was diluted using a proposed dilution factor of 1 : 3 (1 part polymer: 3 parts distilled water) to preserve the workability of the polymer in kaolin mixture. A mold with a diameter of 50 mm and a height of 100 mm was prepared. Kaolin soil was mixed with different percentages of polymer from 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% of the mass of the kaolin clay sample. Kaolin mixtures were tested after a curing period of 3 days, 7 days, 14 days and 28 days respectively. The physical properties were determined by conducting a moisture content test and Atterberg limit test which comprise of liquid limit, plastic limit and shrinkage limit. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties of the soil shear strength were identified through an unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test. Stabilized kaolin soil showed the highest compressive strength value when it was mixed with 35% of polymer compared to other percentages that marked an increment in strength which are 45.72% (3 days), 67.57% (7 days), 81.73% (14 days) and 77.84% (28 days). Hence, the most effective percentage of liquid polymer which should be used to increase the strength of kaolin soil is 35%.

Front-end Evaluation as Part of a Comprehensive Approach to Inform the Development of a New Climate Exhibit at NCAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ristvey, J. D., Jr.; Brinkworth, C.; Hatheway, B.; Williams, V.

2015-12-01

In an era of discord in public views of climate change, communicating atmospheric and related sciences to the public at a large research facility like the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) can be a daunting challenge yet one that is filled with many possibilities. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Center for Science Education (SciEd) is responsible for education and outreach activities at UCAR, including the exhibits program. Over 90,000 people visit the NCAR Mesa Lab each year to enjoy a number of exhibits that showcase our community's research. The current climate exhibit is twelve years old, and with advances in our understanding of climate science and exhibit design, SciEd staff are developing a new exhibit that is as cutting edge as the research conducted at NCAR. Based on listening sessions with NCAR scientists, the following big ideas for the exhibit emerged: How the climate system works The climate system is changing How scientists study our climate Regional impacts Solutions The goal of the new climate exhibit is to reach people using a variety of learning styles, including offerings for visitors who learn by doing, as well as providing informative text and images (Hatheway, 2014). Developers and evaluators are working together to conduct front-end, formative, and summative evaluations to understand of the needs of our visitors and collect ongoing data to inform development. The purpose of the front-end evaluation, conducted in the summer of 2014 was to develop informed data-driven strategies to move forward with exhibit design. The evaluation results to be shared in this session include: The demographics and behaviors of visitors Trends in visitors' experiences Visitor input on exhibit design (Williams and Tarsi, 2014). In this presentation, we will share the results, significance, and application of the front-end evaluation as part of a comprehensive approach to study both how we convey information about climate science and plan for the re-design of a new climate exhibit.

Targeting Translational Successes through CANSORT-SCI: Using Pet Dogs To Identify Effective Treatments for Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Moore, Sarah A; Granger, Nicolas; Olby, Natasha J; Spitzbarth, Ingo; Jeffery, Nick D; Tipold, Andrea; Nout-Lomas, Yvette S; da Costa, Ronaldo C; Stein, Veronika M; Noble-Haeusslein, Linda J; Blight, Andrew R; Grossman, Robert G; Basso, D Michele; Levine, Jonathan M

2017-06-15

Translation of therapeutic interventions for spinal cord injury (SCI) from laboratory to clinic has been historically challenging, highlighting the need for robust models of injury that more closely mirror the human condition. The high prevalence of acute, naturally occurring SCI in pet dogs provides a unique opportunity to evaluate expeditiously promising interventions in a population of animals that receive diagnoses and treatment clinically in a manner similar to persons with SCI, while adhering to National Institutes of Health guidelines for scientific rigor and transparent reporting. In addition, pet dogs with chronic paralysis are often maintained long-term by their owners, offering a similarly unique population for study of chronic SCI. Despite this, only a small number of studies have used the clinical dog model of SCI. The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI) was recently established by a group of veterinarians and basic science researchers to promote the value of the canine clinical model of SCI. The CANSORT-SCI group held an inaugural meeting November 20 and 21, 2015 to evaluate opportunities and challenges to the use of pet dogs in SCI research. Key challenges identified included lack of familiarity with the model among nonveterinary scientists and questions about how and where in the translational process the canine clinical model would be most valuable. In light of these, we review the natural history, outcome, and available assessment tools associated with canine clinical SCI with emphasis on their relevance to human SCI and the translational process.

High Prevalence of Stress and Low Prevalence of Alzheimer Disease CSF Biomarkers in a Clinical Sample with Subjective Cognitive Impairment.

PubMed

Eckerström, Marie; Berg, Anne Ingeborg; Nordlund, Arto; Rolstad, Sindre; Sacuiu, Simona; Wallin, Anders

2016-01-01

Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is a trigger for seeking health care in a possible preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD), although the characteristics of SCI need clarification. We investigated the prevalence of psychosocial stress, depressive symptoms and CSF AD biomarkers in SCI and MCI (mild cognitive impairment). Memory clinic patients (SCI: n = 90; age: 59.8 ± 7.6 years; MCI: n = 160; age: 63.7 ± 7.0 years) included in the Gothenburg MCI study were examined at baseline. Variables were analyzed using logistic regression with SCI as dependent variable. Stress was more prevalent in SCI (51.1%) than MCI (23.1%); p < 0.0005. SCI patients had more previous depressive symptoms (p = 0.006), but showed no difference compared to MCI patients considering current depressive symptoms. A positive CSF AD profile was present in 14.4% of SCI patients and 35.0% of MCI patients (p = 0.001). Stress (p = 0.002), previous stress/depressive symptoms (p = 0.006) and a negative CSF AD profile (p = 0.036) predicted allocation to the SCI group. Psychosocial stress is more prevalent in SCI than previously acknowledged. The high prevalence and long-term occurrence of stress/depressive symptoms in SCI in combination with a low prevalence of altered CSF AD biomarkers strengthens the notion that AD is not the most likely etiology of SCI. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Rotationally Molded Liquid Crystalline Polymers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Martin; Scribben, Eric; Baird, Donald; Hulcher, Bruce

2002-01-01

Rotational molding is a unique process for producing hollow plastic parts. Rotational molding offers low cost tooling and can produce very large parts with complicated shapes. Products made by rotational molding include water tanks with capacities up to 20,000 gallons, truck bed liners, playground equipment, air ducts, Nylon fuel tanks, pipes, toys, stretchers, kayaks, pallets, and many others. Thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers are an important class of engineering resins employed in a wide variety of applications. Thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers resins are composed of semirigid, nearly linear polymeric chains resulting in an ordered mesomorphic phase between the crystalline solid and the isotropic liquid. Ordering of the rigid rod-like polymers in the melt phase yields microfibrous, self-reinforcing polymer structures with outstanding mechanical and thermal properties. Rotational molding of liquid crystalline polymer resins results in high strength and high temperature hollow structures useful in a variety of applications. Various fillers and reinforcements can potentially be added to improve properties of the hollow structures. This paper focuses on the process and properties of rotationally molded liquid crystalline polymers. This paper will also highlight the interactions between academia and small businesses in developing new products and processes.

Use, knowledge, and perception of the scientific contribution of Sci-Hub in medical students: Study in six countries in Latin America.

PubMed

Mejia, Christian R; Valladares-Garrido, Mario J; Miñan-Tapia, Armando; Serrano, Felipe T; Tobler-Gómez, Liz E; Pereda-Castro, William; Mendoza-Flores, Cynthia R; Mundaca-Manay, Maria Y; Valladares-Garrido, Danai

2017-01-01

Sci-Hub is a useful web portal for people working in science as it provides access to millions of free scientific articles. Satisfaction and usage should be explored in the Latino student population. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use, knowledge, and perception of the scientific contribution of Sci-Hub in medical students from Latin America. A multicenter, observational, analytical study was conducted in 6632 medical students from 6 countries in Latin America. We surveyed from a previously validated instrument, delving into knowledge, monthly average usage, satisfaction level, and perception of the scientific contributions provided by Sci-Hub. Frequencies and percentages are described, and generalized linear models were used to establish statistical associations. Only 19.2% of study participants knew of Sci-Hub and its function, while the median use was twice a month. 29.9% of Sci-Hub-aware participants claimed they always find the desired scientific information in their Sci-Hub search; 62.5% of participants affirmed that Sci-Hub contributes to scientific investigation; only 2.2% reported that Sci-Hub does not contribute to science. The majority of Latino students are not aware of Sci-Hub.

76 FR 7703 - 1,4-Benzenedicarboxylic Acid, Dimethyl Ester, Polymer With 1,4-Butanediol, Adipic Acid, and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-11

... of pesticide use in residential settings. If EPA is able to determine that a finite tolerance is not... part of its composition the atomic elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. 3. The polymer does not contain as an integral part of its composition, except as impurities, any element other than those listed...

76 FR 41135 - 2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, phenylmethyl ester, polymer with 2-propenoic acid and sodium 2...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-13

... a finite tolerance is not necessary to ensure that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will... integral part of its composition the atomic elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. 3. The polymer does not contain as an integral part of its composition, except as impurities, any element other than those listed...

76 FR 32188 - Certain New Chemicals; Receipt and Status Information

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-03

...,11,14- additive. heptaphenyl. P-11-0096 12/08/10 03/07/11 AOC LLC (S) Polymer (S) 1,4- component for benzenedicarboxy laminating of lic acid, 1,4- fiberglass dimethyl ester, reinforced polymer with 1,4- plastic parts... products with ethylene glycol, polymers with 1,4- cyclohexanedimet hanol, diethylene glycol, ethylene...

Recent Developments in Gravity-Wave Effects in Climate Models and the Global Distribution of Gravity-Wave Momentum Flux from Observations and Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-01

by changes in wind and stability to a vertical wavelength lying outside the observable range. Gravity-wave parametrizations also represent intermit ...tropopause variability. J. Atmos. Sci. 65: 1817–1837. Salby ML. 1982. Sampling theory for asynoptic satellite observations. Part II: Fast Fourier synoptic

An Observational Study of a Prefrontal Convective Rainband Using Tamex Single-and Dual-Doppler Data

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

integration from the surface. Other Doppler studies, e.g., Chong and Testud (1983), Lin et al. 37 (1986), etc, also showed similiar results. 4.3 Variational...Atmos. Sci., 39, 258- 279. Chong, M., and J. Testud , 1983: Three-Dimensional Wind Field Analysis from Dual-Doppler Radar Data. Part III: The Boundary

Assessing the Impact Participation in Science Journalism Activities Has on Scientific Literacy among High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrar, Cathy

2012-01-01

As part of the National Science Foundation Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn) research and development initiative (http://www.scijourn.org; Polman, Saul, Newman, and Farrar, 2008) a quasi-experimental design was used to investigate what impact incorporating science journalism activities had on students' scientific literacy.…

Elementary Preservice Teachers' Science Vocabulary: Knowledge and Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrier, Sarah J.

2013-01-01

Science vocabulary knowledge plays a role in understanding science concepts, and science knowledge is measured in part by correct use of science vocabulary (Lee et al. in "J Res Sci Teach" 32(8):797-816, 1995). Elementary school students have growing vocabularies and many are learning English as a secondary language or depend on schools to learn…

A Study Showing Research Has Been Valued over Teaching in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Chi Yusn

2015-01-01

Research has been valued and given priority over teaching for a long time in academia. In recent decades, the Taiwanese Ministry of Education has pursued objective and quantitative research criteria and has encouraged higher education institutions to ask teachers to publish papers in SSCI or SCI journals as part of the criteria for promotion and…

Expanding the Conversation: Further Explorations into Indigenous Environmental Science Education Theory, Research, and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowan, Greg

2012-01-01

Indigenous environmental science education is a diverse, dynamic, and rapidly expanding field of research, theory, and practice. This article highlights, challenges, and expands upon key areas of discussion presented by Mack et al. (Cult Stud Sci Educ 7, "2012") as part of the forum on their article "Effective Practices for Creating…

75 FR 28194 - Safety Zone; San Clemente 3 NM Safety Zone, San Clemente Island, CA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-20

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 165 [Docket No. USCG-2009-0277] RIN 1625... inspection or copying at the Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of Transportation, West... 1934, Executive Order 6897 transferred full ownership of SCI from the Department of Commerce to the...

Spacecraft Charging - Present Situation and Some Problems

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

Individual Cosmic Dust Grains," Astrophys J., vol. 645, part 1,324-336, 2006."IS Abbas, M.M., D. Tankosic, P.D. Craven, J.F. Spann, A. LeClair and E.A...Garrett, H.B. and A.R. Hoffman , "Comparison of Spacecraft Charging Environments at the Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn,"IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., vol.28, no

Developing physical activity interventions for adults with spinal cord injury. Part 2: motivational counseling and peer-mediated interventions for people intending to be active.

PubMed

Latimer-Cheung, Amy E; Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Kelly P; Brawley, Lawrence R; Gray, Casey; Justine Wilson, A; Prapavessis, Harry; Tomasone, Jennifer R; Wolfe, Dalton L; Martin Ginis, Kathleen A

2013-08-01

The majority of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) do not engage in sufficient leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) to attain fitness benefits; however, many have good intentions to be active. This paper describes two pilot interventions targeting people with SCI who are insufficiently active but intend to be active (i.e., "intenders"). Study 1 examined the effects of a single, telephone-based counseling session on self-regulatory efficacy, intentions, and action plans for LTPA among seven men and women with paraplegia or tetraplegia. Study 2 examined the effects of a home-based strength-training session, delivered by a peer and a fitness trainer, on strength-training task self-efficacy, intentions, action plans, and behavior. Participants were 11 men and women with paraplegia. The counseling session (Study 1) yielded medium- to large-sized increases in participants' confidence to set LTPA goals and intentions to be active. The home visit (Study 2) produced medium- to large-sized increases in task self-efficacy, barrier self-efficacy, intentions, action planning, and strength-training behavior from baseline to 4 weeks after the visit. Study 1 findings provide preliminary evidence that a single counseling session can impact key determinants of LTPA among intenders with SCI. Study 2 findings demonstrate the potential utility of a peer-mediated, home-based strength training session for positively influencing social cognitions and strength-training behavior. Together, these studies provide evidence and resources for intervention strategies to promote LTPA among intenders with SCI, a population for whom LTPA interventions and resources are scarcely available.

Anorectal stimulation causes increased colonic motor activity in subjects with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Korsten, Mark A; Singal, Ashwani K; Monga, Amit; Chaparala, Geeta; Khan, Amir M; Palmon, Ron; Mendoza, John Reagan D; Lirio, Juan P; Rosman, Alan S; Spungen, Ann; Bauman, William A

2007-01-01

Difficulty with evacuation (DWE) is a major problem after spinal cord injury (SCI). Stimulation of the anal canal and lower rectum, accomplished using a gloved finger (so-called digital rectal stimulation or DRS) is often used as an adjunct to laxatives and enemas to facilitate bowel evacuation. However, the basis for the efficacy of DRS is not known. This study assessed the effect of DRS on colonic motility. Six subjects with SCI were studied several hours after a bowel care session. Colonic motility was assessed using a manometric catheter (affixed endoscopically to the splenic flexure) at baseline, during DRS, and after DRS. In addition, evacuation of barium oatmeal paste (with the consistency of stool and introduced into the rectum and descending colon) was assessed simultaneously using fluoroscopic techniques. The mean number (+/- SEM) of peristaltic waves per minute increased from 0 at baseline to 1.9 (+/- 0.5/min) during DRS and 1.5 (+/- 0.3/min) during the period immediately after cessation of DRS (P < 0.05). The mean amplitude (+/- SEM) of the peristaltic contractions was 43.4 (+/- 2.2) mmHg. The frequency of contractions, as well as amplitude of contractions, during or immediately after DRS was not significantly different. These manometric changes in response to DRS were accompanied by expulsion of barium oatmeal paste in every subject by the fifth DRS. DRS causes left-sided colonic activity in subjects with SCI. At least in part, an anorectal colonic reflex that results in enhanced contractions of the descending colon and rectum may contribute to bowel evacuation in individuals with SCI.

Leisure Time Physical Activity of People with Spinal Cord Injury: Mainly with Clubs of Spinal Cord Injury Patients in Busan-Kyeongnam, Korea

PubMed Central

Kim, In Taek; Mun, Jong Hyun; Jun, Po Sung; Kim, Ghi Chan; Sim, Young-Joo

2011-01-01

Objective To estimate hours of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) performed by people with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) and to identify the demographic and injury-related characteristics associated with LTPA of people with chronic SCI. Method Seventy nine persons with SCI living in Busan and Gyongsangnam-do were recruited. They completed a self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of items about personal characteristics, type of LTPA, hours of LTPA, LTPA intensity, and LTPA satisfaction. Results Most participants (92.4%) did not work. The respondents reported a daily mean of 3.13 hours (±1.47) of LTPA; however, 3.8% reported no LTPA whatsoever. Years post-injury, income sources, and type of medical payment emerged as a predictors of LTPA. Years post-injury were positively correlated with amount of leisure activity. In the case of self income, LTPA was longer than for groups with different income sources (e.g.partner, parents). For patients receiving workers' compensation insurance, LTPA was longer than for patients receiving non-WC insurance. Most LTPA was done at a moderate intensity. The three most frequently reported types of LTPA were wheeling (26%), sports (19%), and stretching exercise (15%). There was overall dissatisfaction with LTPA. Conclusion Daily LTPA hours were longer than previously reported, but wheeling accounted for a large part of the activity. Intensity of activity was generally moderate. The employment rate was very low. Clearly, participating in regular LTPA for health purposes is very important to people with chronic SCI, but it is also important for them to have jobs. PMID:22506183

Midodrine improves orgasm in spinal cord-injured men: the effects of autonomic stimulation.

PubMed

Soler, Jean Marc; Previnaire, Jean Gabriel; Plante, Pierre; Denys, Pierre; Chartier-Kastler, Emmanuel

2008-12-01

Orgasm is less frequent in men with spinal cord injury (SCI) than in able-bodied subjects, and is poorly understood. To assess the effect of autonomic stimulation on orgasm in SCI men using midodrine, an alpha1-adrenergic agonist agent. Penile vibratory stimulation (PVS) was performed in 158 SCI men on midodrine as part of a treatment for anejaculation, after they failed a baseline PVS. A maximum of four trials were performed, weekly, with increasing doses of midodrine. The presence and type of ejaculation, orgasm experiences, and cardiovascular data were collected. Ejaculation either antegrade or retrograde was obtained in 102 SCI men (65%). Orgasm without ejaculation was reported by 14 patients (9%) on baseline PVS. Ninety-three patients (59%) experienced orgasm during PVS on midodrine. Orgasm was significantly related to the presence of ejaculation in 86 patients (84%), and more strikingly to antegrade ejaculation (pure or mixed with retrograde), i.e., in 98% of 70 patients. Orgasm was significantly more frequent in patients with upper motor neuron and incomplete lesions who present somatic responses during PVS. There was no effect of the presence of psychogenic erection. There was a significant increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Sixteen patients, mainly tetraplegics, developed intense autonomic dysreflexia (AD) that required an oral nicardipine chlorhydrate. Orgasm is the brain's cognitive interpretation of genital sensations and somatic responses, AD, and ejaculation. Intact sacral and T10-L2 cord segments are mandatory, allowing coordination between internal and external sphincters. Autonomic stimulation with midodrine enhances orgasm rate, mainly by creating antegrade ejaculation.

Illusion of arm movement evoked by tendon vibration in patients with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Fusco, Gabriele; Tidoni, Emmanuele; Barone, Nicola; Pilati, Claudio; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria

2016-09-21

Studies in healthy people show that stimulation of muscle spindles through frequency-specific tendon vibration (TV) induces the illusory perception of movement. Following spinal cord injury (SCI), motor and sensory connections between the brain and parts of the body below-the-lesion level are partially or totally impaired. The present investigation is a descriptive study aimed to investigate whether people living with SCI may experience movement illusions comparable to a control group. Healthy and people with SCI were asked to report on three illusion-related features (Vividness, Duration, Illusory Extension) after receiving 70 Hz TV on the biceps brachii tendon of both arms. Two different forces of stimulation were applied: 2.4 N and 4.2 N. Both patients and controls were susceptible to the kinesthetic illusion. However patients presented lower sensitivity to TV than healthy subjects. Participants rated stronger illusions of movement after 4.2 N than 2.4 N stimulation in all the three illusion-related features. Further, patients reported atypical illusory experiences of movement (e.g. as if the arm wanted to extend, or a sensation of pushing against something) that may reflect different reorganization processes following spinal cord injury. The study provides a preliminary evidence of the possible use of the proprioceptive stimulation in the upper limbs of people living with SCI. Results are discussed in the light of recent advancements of brain-computer applications based on motor imagery for the control of neuroprosthetic and robotic devices in patients with severe sensorimotor deficits.

Recommendations for the National Institute for Neurologic Disorders and Stroke spinal cord injury common data elements for children and youth with SCI.

PubMed

Mulcahey, M J; Vogel, L C; Sheikh, M; Arango-Lasprilla, J C; Augutis, M; Garner, E; Hagen, E M; Jakeman, L B; Kelly, E; Martin, R; Odenkirchen, J; Scheel-Sailer, A; Schottler, J; Taylor, H; Thielen, C C; Zebracki, K

2017-04-01

In 2014, the adult spinal cord injury (SCI) common data element (CDE) recommendations were made available. This project was a review of the adult SCI CDE for relevance to children and youth with SCI. The objective of this study was to review the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) adult SCI CDEs for relevance to children and youth with SCI. International. The pediatric working group consisted of international members with varied fields of expertise related to pediatric SCI. The group convened biweekly meetings for 6 months in 2015. All of the adult SCI CDEs were reviewed, evaluated and modified/created for four age groups: 0-5 years, 6-12 years, 13-15 years and 16-18 years. Whenever possible, results of published research studies were used to guide recommendations. In the absence of empirical support, grey literature and international content expert consensus were garnered. Existing pediatric NINDS CDEs and new CDEs were developed in areas where adult recommendations were not appropriate. After internal working group review of domain recommendations, these pediatric CDEs were vetted during a public review from November through December 2015. Version 1.0 of the pediatric SCI CDEs was posted in February 2016. The pediatric SCI CDEs are incorporated directly into the NINDS SCI CDE sets and can be found at https://commondataelements.ninds.nih.gov.

Development of processes and techniques for molding thermally stable, fire-retardant, low-smoke-emitting polymeric materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silverman, B.

1979-01-01

All available newly developed nonmetallic thermally stable polymers were examined for the development of processes and techniques by compression molding, injection molding, or thermoforming cabin interior parts. Efforts were directed toward developing molding techniques of new polymers to economically produce usable nonmetallic molded parts. Data on the flame resistant characteristics of the materials were generated from pilot plant batches. Preliminary information on the molding characteristics of the various thermoplastic materials was obtained by producing actual parts.

Spinal cord injury below-level neuropathic pain relief with dorsal root entry zone microcoagulation performed caudal to level of complete spinal cord transection.

PubMed

Falci, Scott; Indeck, Charlotte; Barnkow, Dave

2018-06-01

OBJECTIVE Surgically created lesions of the spinal cord dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) to relieve central pain after spinal cord injury (SCI) have historically been performed at and cephalad to, but not below, the level of SCI. This study was initiated to investigate the validity of 3 proposed concepts regarding the DREZ in SCI central pain: 1) The spinal cord DREZ caudal to the level of SCI can be a primary generator of SCI below-level central pain. 2) Neuronal transmission from a DREZ that generates SCI below-level central pain to brain pain centers can be primarily through sympathetic nervous system (SNS) pathways. 3) Perceived SCI below-level central pain follows a unique somatotopic map of DREZ pain-generators. METHODS Three unique patients with both intractable SCI below-level central pain and complete spinal cord transection at the level of SCI were identified. All 3 patients had previously undergone surgical intervention to their spinal cords-only cephalad to the level of spinal cord transection-with either DREZ microcoagulation or cyst shunting, in failed attempts to relieve their SCI below-level central pain. Subsequent to these surgeries, DREZ lesioning of the spinal cord solely caudal to the level of complete spinal cord transection was performed using electrical intramedullary guidance. The follow-up period ranged from 1 1/2 to 11 years. RESULTS All 3 patients in this study had complete or near-complete relief of all below-level neuropathic pain. The analyzed electrical data confirmed and enhanced a previously proposed somatotopic map of SCI below-level DREZ pain generators. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study support the following hypotheses. 1) The spinal cord DREZ caudal to the level of SCI can be a primary generator of SCI below-level central pain. 2) Neuronal transmission from a DREZ that generates SCI below-level central pain to brain pain centers can be primarily through SNS pathways. 3) Perceived SCI below-level central pain follows a unique somatotopic map of DREZ pain generators.

The honey insertion cladding to improve the sensitivity of temperature polymer optical fiber sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arwani, M.; Kuswanto, H.

2018-04-01

The sensitivity of temperature polymer optical fiber (POF) sensor has been studied. Part of cladding (9 cm) was substituted with honey. Polymer cladding was stripped mechanically and the honey inserted into the tube. Plastic gel closed the two end sides of the tubes. The optical power output was detected by Optical Power Meter (OPM). Honey cladding and temperature changing effect to the internal reflection and optical fiber output intensity. Highest output intensity changing at 20°C was shown by optical fiber coated by longan honey as cladding. The range of 10-50° C, as the rise of surroundings temperature, the attenuation was getting smaller. Best sensitivity was fiber with sensing part coated by Longan honey. Best linearity was sensing fiber with sensing part coated by Pracimantoro honey.

Structure-Stability Relationships of Polymers Based on Thermogravimetric Analysis Data. Part 1. Polyaliphatics, Polyalicyclics, Spiro Polymers and Phenylene-R-Polymers

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-12-01

Polymerization 13 9. Polymers with Bridged Ring Systems 14 10. Spiro Polymers 14 11. Polyphenylene s 16 12. Phenol - Formaldehyde Resins 17 13. Polyphenylene... Formaldehyde Resins A wide variety of phenol- formaldehyde resins , cured with various curing agents, has been evaluated. The Tdec’s (N 2 ), which...415 0 570 415 540C 2- 410 0 -CHI - 0- c-Ci.f-CCH = 1-eC.- 390 540 0 (Phenol- Formaldehyde Resins ) -CVH- (aliph.) 390 / F_ 535 0 - CHL" (epoxy

Not just quantity: gluteus maximus muscle characteristics in able-bodied and SCI individuals--implications for tissue viability.

PubMed

Wu, Gary A; Bogie, Kath M

2013-08-01

Some individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) remain pressure ulcer (PU) free whilst others experience a recurring cycle of tissue breakdown. Detailed analysis of gluteal muscle characteristics may provide insights to local tissue viability variability. The study hypothesis was that SCI individuals have altered muscle composition compared to able-bodied (AB). Ten AB and ten SCI received a supine pelvic CT scan, with contrast. Cross-sectional area (CSA) and overall muscle volume were derived using image analysis. Gluteal muscle tissue type was classified at the S2/S3 sacral vertebrae midpoint, the superior greater trochanters margin (GT) and the inferior ischial tuberosities margin (IT) using the linear transformation Hounsfield Unit scale. SCI gluteal CSA was less than for AB throughout the muscle, with the greatest relative atrophy at the IT (48%). Average AB gluteal volume was nearly double SCI. Eight SCI had over 20% infiltrative adipose tissue, three with over 50%. SCI gluteal CSA and intramuscular fat infiltration were significantly negatively correlated (p < 0.05). SCI IT axial slices showed less lean muscle and higher intramuscular fat infiltration than more proximally (p < 0.05). SCI gluteal muscle characteristics were indicative of impaired tissue viability. SCI disuse muscle atrophy was anticipated; the analytic approach further indicated that intramuscular atrophy was not uniform. SCI muscle composition showed increased proportions of both low density muscle and adipose tissue. CT scan with contrast is effective for gluteal muscle characterization. This assessment technique may contribute to determination of personalized risk for PU development and other secondary complications. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Targeting Translational Successes through CANSORT-SCI: Using Pet Dogs To Identify Effective Treatments for Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Granger, Nicolas; Olby, Natasha J.; Spitzbarth, Ingo; Jeffery, Nick D.; Tipold, Andrea; Nout-Lomas, Yvette S.; da Costa, Ronaldo C.; Stein, Veronika M.; Noble-Haeusslein, Linda J.; Blight, Andrew R.; Grossman, Robert G.; Basso, D. Michele; Levine, Jonathan M.

2017-01-01

Abstract Translation of therapeutic interventions for spinal cord injury (SCI) from laboratory to clinic has been historically challenging, highlighting the need for robust models of injury that more closely mirror the human condition. The high prevalence of acute, naturally occurring SCI in pet dogs provides a unique opportunity to evaluate expeditiously promising interventions in a population of animals that receive diagnoses and treatment clinically in a manner similar to persons with SCI, while adhering to National Institutes of Health guidelines for scientific rigor and transparent reporting. In addition, pet dogs with chronic paralysis are often maintained long-term by their owners, offering a similarly unique population for study of chronic SCI. Despite this, only a small number of studies have used the clinical dog model of SCI. The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI) was recently established by a group of veterinarians and basic science researchers to promote the value of the canine clinical model of SCI. The CANSORT-SCI group held an inaugural meeting November 20 and 21, 2015 to evaluate opportunities and challenges to the use of pet dogs in SCI research. Key challenges identified included lack of familiarity with the model among nonveterinary scientists and questions about how and where in the translational process the canine clinical model would be most valuable. In light of these, we review the natural history, outcome, and available assessment tools associated with canine clinical SCI with emphasis on their relevance to human SCI and the translational process. PMID:28230415

Spinal-Cord-Injured Individual's Experiences of Having a Partner: A Phenomenological-Hermeneutic Study.

PubMed

Angel, Sanne

2015-06-01

Having a partner is a strong factor in adaptation to the new life situation with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Still, more knowledge in detail about the partner's influences according to the experiences of individuals with SCI could contribute to the understanding of the situation after an injury. The aim of this phenomenological-hermeneutic article is to achieve a deeper understanding of nine individuals' experiences the first 2 years after SCI. In rehabilitation after SCI, the partner supported the SCI individual's life spirit by not giving up and by still seeing possibilities in the future. The partner reinforced the SCI individual's commitment to life by sharing experiences; providing love, trust, and hope; and giving priority to the best things in life for the SCI individual. This implied cohabitation providing concrete help and an intimacy that helped to cope with problems and anxieties and allowed SCI individuals the ability to self-realize. This promoted feelings of profound gratitude but also dependency. Thus, the SCI individual benefitted from the partner's support mentally and physically, which enabled a life that would not otherwise be possible.

Global meaning in people with spinal cord injury: Content and changes

PubMed Central

Littooij, Elsbeth; Widdershoven, Guy A.M.; Stolwijk-Swüste, Janneke M.; Doodeman, Suzan; Leget, Carlo J.W.; Dekker, Joost

2016-01-01

Background After spinal cord injury (SCI), people are confronted with abrupt discontinuity in almost all areas of life, leading to questions on how to live a meaningful life again. Global meaning refers to basic ideas and goals that guide people in giving meaning to their lives, in specific situations. Little is known about global meaning relating to SCI and whether global meaning changes after SCI. Purpose The purpose of this study was twofold: (i) to explore the content of global meaning of people with SCI, and (ii) to explore whether or not global meaning changes after SCI. Methods In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 people with SCI. Interviews were analyzed according to the method of grounded theory. Results (i) Five aspects of global meaning were found: core values, relationships, worldview, identity and inner posture. (ii) Overall, little change in the content of global meaning was found after SCI; specific aspects of global meaning were foregrounded after SCI. Conclusion Five aspects of global meaning were found in people with SCI. Global meaning seems hardly subject to change. PMID:25615571

Evaluation and Management of SCI-Associated Pain.

PubMed

Saulino, Michael; Averna, Justin F

2016-09-01

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating neurological condition. Treatment of SCI-related pain is challenging for the treating physician, as normal neural pathways are disrupted. Patients with SCI consistently rate pain as one of the most difficult problems associated with their injury. SCI-related pain can be refractory and complete relief is often not possible. The multidimensional nature of SCI-related pain affects the neural system including autonomic nervous system deregulation and can alter metabolic and biochemical processes throughout the body. Co-morbid psychological illnesses such as depression and adjustment disorder are seen in a significant percentage of patients. Despite a better understanding of the underlying pain mechanisms and advances in procedural, pharmacologic, and non-pharmacologic therapies, treatment of pain after SCI remains elusive. This manuscript reviews the current evidence-based evaluation and management of the SCI patient with the overarching goal of providing appropriate and effective management of their pain. In particular, additional well-designed studies are needed to help elucidate effective treatments for SCI-related neuropathic pain in an effort to help provide these patients with better management of their pain and improve their quality of life.

Resting-state synchrony between the retrosplenial cortex and anterior medial cortical structures relates to memory complaints in subjective cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Yasuno, Fumihiko; Kazui, Hiroaki; Yamamoto, Akihide; Morita, Naomi; Kajimoto, Katsufumi; Ihara, Masafumi; Taguchi, Akihiko; Matsuoka, Kiwamu; Kosaka, Jun; Tanaka, Toshihisa; Kudo, Takashi; Takeda, Masatoshi; Nagatsuka, Kazuyuki; Iida, Hidehiro; Kishimoto, Toshifumi

2015-06-01

Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is a clinical state characterized by subjective cognitive deficits without cognitive impairment. To test the hypothesis that this state might involve dysfunction of self-referential processing mediated by cortical midline structures, we investigated abnormalities of functional connectivity in these structures in individuals with SCI using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We performed functional connectivity analysis for 23 individuals with SCI and 30 individuals without SCI. To reveal the pathophysiological basis of the functional connectivity change, we performed magnetic resonance-diffusion tensor imaging. Positron emission tomography-amyloid imaging was conducted in 13 SCI and 15 nonSCI subjects. Individuals with SCI showed reduced functional connectivity in cortical midline structures. Reduction in white matter connections was related to reduced functional connectivity, but we found no amyloid deposition in individuals with SCI. The results do not necessarily contradict the possibility that SCI indicates initial cognitive decrements, but imply that reduced functional connectivity in cortical midline structures contributes to overestimation of the experience of forgetfulness. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tissue engineering of fish skin: behavior of fish cells on poly(ethylene glycol terephthalate)/poly(butylene terephthalate) copolymers in relation to the composition of the polymer substrate as an initial step in constructing a robotic/living tissue hybrid.

PubMed

Pouliot, Roxane; Azhari, Rosa; Qanadilo, Hala F; Mahmood, Tahir A; Triantafyllou, Michael S; Langer, Robert

2004-01-01

This study presents the development of a biosynthetic fish skin to be used on aquatic robots that can emulate fish. Smoothness of the external surface is desired in improving high propulsive efficiency and maneuvering agility of autonomous underwater vehicles such as the RoboTuna (Triantafyllou, M., and Triantafyllou, G. Sci. Am. 272, 64, 1995). An initial step was to determine the seeding density and select a polymer for the scaffolds. The attachment and proliferation of chinook salmon embryo (CHSE-214) and brown bullhead (BB) cells were studied on different compositions of a poly(ethylene glycol terephthalate) (PEGT) and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) copolymer (Polyactive). Polymer films were used, cast of three different compositions of PEGT/PBT (weight ratios of 55/45, 60/40, and 70/30) and two different molecular masses of PEGT (300 and 1000 Da). When a 55 wt% and a 300-Da molecular mass form of PEGT was used, maximum attachment and proliferation of CHSE-214 and BB cells were achieved. Histological studies and immunostaining indicate the presence of collagen and cytokeratins in the extracellular matrix formed after 14 days of culture. Porous scaffolds of PEGT/PBT copolymers were also used for three-dimensional tissue engineering of fish skin, using BB cells. Overall, our results indicate that fish cells can attach, proliferate, and express fish skin components on dense and porous Polyactive scaffolds.

32 CFR 154.19 - Reinvestigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI). Each individual having current access to SCI shall be... certain SCI duties may require very special compartmentation and other special security measures. In such... for continued SCI access. (h) Foreign nationals employed by DoD organizations overseas. Foreign...

Measuring stigma after spinal cord injury: Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Stigma item bank and short form.

PubMed

Kisala, Pamela A; Tulsky, David S; Pace, Natalie; Victorson, David; Choi, Seung W; Heinemann, Allen W

2015-05-01

To develop a calibrated item bank and computer adaptive test (CAT) to assess the effects of stigma on health-related quality of life in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Grounded-theory based qualitative item development methods, large-scale item calibration field testing, confirmatory factor analysis, and item response theory (IRT)-based psychometric analyses. Five SCI Model System centers and one Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in the United States. Adults with traumatic SCI. SCI-QOL Stigma Item Bank A sample of 611 individuals with traumatic SCI completed 30 items assessing SCI-related stigma. After 7 items were iteratively removed, factor analyses confirmed a unidimensional pool of items. Graded Response Model IRT analyses were used to estimate slopes and thresholds for the final 23 items. The SCI-QOL Stigma item bank is unique not only in the assessment of SCI-related stigma but also in the inclusion of individuals with SCI in all phases of its development. Use of confirmatory factor analytic and IRT methods provide flexibility and precision of measurement. The item bank may be administered as a CAT or as a 10-item fixed-length short form and can be used for research and clinical applications.

Measuring stigma after spinal cord injury: Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Stigma item bank and short form

PubMed Central

Kisala, Pamela A.; Tulsky, David S.; Pace, Natalie; Victorson, David; Choi, Seung W.; Heinemann, Allen W.

2015-01-01

Objective To develop a calibrated item bank and computer adaptive test (CAT) to assess the effects of stigma on health-related quality of life in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design Grounded-theory based qualitative item development methods, large-scale item calibration field testing, confirmatory factor analysis, and item response theory (IRT)-based psychometric analyses. Setting Five SCI Model System centers and one Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in the United States. Participants Adults with traumatic SCI. Main Outcome Measures SCI-QOL Stigma Item Bank Results A sample of 611 individuals with traumatic SCI completed 30 items assessing SCI-related stigma. After 7 items were iteratively removed, factor analyses confirmed a unidimensional pool of items. Graded Response Model IRT analyses were used to estimate slopes and thresholds for the final 23 items. Conclusions The SCI-QOL Stigma item bank is unique not only in the assessment of SCI-related stigma but also in the inclusion of individuals with SCI in all phases of its development. Use of confirmatory factor analytic and IRT methods provide flexibility and precision of measurement. The item bank may be administered as a CAT or as a 10-item fixed-length short form and can be used for research and clinical applications. PMID:26010973

Use, knowledge, and perception of the scientific contribution of Sci-Hub in medical students: Study in six countries in Latin America

PubMed Central

Mejia, Christian R.; Valladares-Garrido, Mario J.; Miñan-Tapia, Armando; Serrano, Felipe T.; Tobler-Gómez, Liz E.; Pereda-Castro, William; Mendoza-Flores, Cynthia R.; Mundaca-Manay, Maria Y.; Valladares-Garrido, Danai

2017-01-01

Introduction Sci-Hub is a useful web portal for people working in science as it provides access to millions of free scientific articles. Satisfaction and usage should be explored in the Latino student population. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use, knowledge, and perception of the scientific contribution of Sci-Hub in medical students from Latin America. Methodology A multicenter, observational, analytical study was conducted in 6632 medical students from 6 countries in Latin America. We surveyed from a previously validated instrument, delving into knowledge, monthly average usage, satisfaction level, and perception of the scientific contributions provided by Sci-Hub. Frequencies and percentages are described, and generalized linear models were used to establish statistical associations. Results Only 19.2% of study participants knew of Sci-Hub and its function, while the median use was twice a month. 29.9% of Sci-Hub-aware participants claimed they always find the desired scientific information in their Sci-Hub search; 62.5% of participants affirmed that Sci-Hub contributes to scientific investigation; only 2.2% reported that Sci-Hub does not contribute to science. Conclusion The majority of Latino students are not aware of Sci-Hub. PMID:28982181

Sleep disordered breathing in chronic spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Sankari, Abdulghani; Bascom, Amy; Oomman, Sowmini; Badr, M Safwan

2014-01-15

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with 2-5 times greater prevalence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) than the general population. The contribution of SCI on sleep and breathing at different levels of injury using two scoring methods has not been assessed. The objectives of this study were to characterize the sleep disturbances in the SCI population and the associated physiological abnormalities using quantitative polysomnography and to determine the contribution of SCI level on the SDB mechanism. We studied 26 consecutive patients with SCI (8 females; age 42.5 ± 15.5 years; BMI 25.9 ± 4.9 kg/m2; 15 cervical and 11 thoracic levels) by spirometry, a battery of questionnaires and by attended polysomnography with flow and pharyngeal pressure measurements. Inclusion criteria for SCI: chronic SCI (> 6 months post injury), level T6 and above and not on mechanical ventilation. Ventilation, end-tidal CO2 (PETCO2), variability in minute ventilation (VI-CV) and upper airway resistance (RUA) were monitored during wakefulness and NREM sleep in all subjects. Each subject completed brief history and exam, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Berlin questionnaire (BQ) and fatigue severity scale (FSS). Sleep studies were scored twice, first using standard 2007 American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) criteria and second using new 2012 recommended AASM criteria. Mean PSQI was increased to 10.3 ± 3.7 in SCI patients and 92% had poor sleep quality. Mean ESS was increased 10.4 ± 4.4 in SCI patients and excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS ≥ 10) was present in 59% of the patients. Daytime fatigue (FSS > 20) was reported in 96% of SCI, while only 46% had high-risk score of SDB on BQ. Forced vital capacity (FVC) in SCI was reduced to 70.5% predicted in supine compared to 78.5% predicted in upright positions (p < 0.05). Likewise forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1) was 64.9% predicted in supine compared to 74.7% predicted in upright positions (p < 0.05). Mean AHI in SCI patients was 29.3 ± 25.0 vs. 20.0 ± 22.8 events/h using the new and conventional AASM scoring criteria, respectively (p < 0.001). SCI patients had SDB (AHI > 5 events/h) in 77% of the cases using the new AASM scoring criteria compared to 65% using standard conventional criteria (p < 0.05). In cervical SCI, VI decreased from 7.2 ± 1.6 to 5.5 ± 1.3 L/min, whereas PETCO2 and VI-CV, increased during sleep compared to thoracic SCI. The majority of SCI survivors have symptomatic SDB and poor sleep that may be missed if not carefully assessed. Decreased VI and increased PETCO2 during sleep in patients with cervical SCI relative to thoracic SCI suggests that sleep related hypoventilation may contribute to the pathogenesis SDB in patients with chronic cervical SCI.

Polyether-polyester graft copolymer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Vernon L. (Inventor)

1987-01-01

Described is a polyether graft polymer having improved solvent resistance and crystalline thermally reversible crosslinks. The copolymer is prepared by a novel process of anionic copolymerization. These polymers exhibit good solvent resistance and are well suited for aircraft parts. Previous aromatic polyethers, also known as polyphenylene oxides, have certain deficiencies which detract from their usefulness. These commercial polymers are often soluble in common solvents including the halocarbon and aromatic hydrocarbon types of paint thinners and removers. This limitation prevents the use of these polyethers in structural articles requiring frequent painting. In addition, the most popular commercially available polyether is a very high melting plastic. This makes it considerably more difficult to fabricate finished parts from this material. These problems are solved by providing an aromatic polyether graft copolymer with improved solvent resistance and crystalline thermally reversible crosslinks. The graft copolymer is formed by converting the carboxyl groups of a carboxylated polyphenylene oxide polymer to ionic carbonyl groups in a suitable solvent, reacting pivalolactone with the dissolved polymer, and adding acid to the solution to produce the graft copolymer.

Potential of personal health record portals in the care of individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders: Provider perspectives.

PubMed

Hill, Jennifer N; Smith, Bridget M; Weaver, Frances M; Nazi, Kim M; Thomas, Florian P; Goldstein, Barry; Hogan, Timothy P

2018-05-01

Although personal health record (PHR) portals are designed for patients, healthcare providers are a key influence in how patients use their features and realize benefits from them. A few studies have examined provider attitudes toward PHR portals, but none have focused on those who care for individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D). We characterize SCI/D provider perspectives of PHR portals, including perceived advantages and disadvantages of PHR portal use in SCI/D care. Cross-sectional; semi-structured interviews. Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Centers in the Veterans Health Administration. Twenty-six SCI/D healthcare providers. None. Perceived advantages and disadvantages of PHR portals. The complex situations of individuals with SCI/D shaped provider perspectives of PHR portals and their potential role in practice. Perceived advantages of PHR portal use in SCI/D care included the ability to coordinate information and care, monitor and respond to outpatient requests, support patient self-management activities, and provide reliable health information to patients. Perceived disadvantages of PHR portal use in SCI/D care included concerns about the quality of patient-generated health data, other potential liabilities for providers and workload burden, and the ability of individuals with SCI/D to understand clinical information accessed through a portal. Our study highlights advantages and disadvantages that should be considered when promoting engagement of SCI/D healthcare providers in use of PHR portals, and portal features that may have the most utility in SCI/D care.

Circulating sclerostin is elevated in short-term and reduced in long-term SCI.

PubMed

Battaglino, Ricardo A; Sudhakar, Supreetha; Lazzari, Antonio A; Garshick, Eric; Zafonte, Ross; Morse, Leslie R

2012-09-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes profound bone loss due to muscle paralysis resulting in the inability to walk. Sclerostin, a Wnt signaling pathway antagonist produced by osteocytes, is a potent inhibitor of bone formation. Short-term studies in rodent models have demonstrated increased sclerostin in response to mechanical unloading that is reversed with reloading. Although sclerostin inhibition has been proposed as a potential therapy for bone loss, it is not known if sclerostin levels vary with duration of SCI in humans. We analyzed circulating sclerostin in 155 men with varying degrees of SCI who were 1 year or more post-injury. We report that sclerostin levels are greatest in subjects with short-term SCI (≤5 years post-injury) and decrease significantly over the first 5 years post-injury. There was no association between sclerostin and injury duration in subjects with long-term SCI (>5 years post-injury). In subjects with long-term SCI, sclerostin levels were positively associated with lower extremity bone density and bone mineral content. These data suggest that sclerostin levels are initially increased after SCI in response to mechanical unloading. This response is time-limited and as bone loss progresses, circulating sclerostin is lowest in subjects with severe osteoporosis. These findings support a dual role for sclerostin after SCI: a therapeutic target in acute SCI, and a biomarker of osteoporosis severity in chronic SCI. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Curcumin Increase the Expression of Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells and Improves Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Bang, Woo-Seok; Kim, Kyoung-Tae; Seo, Ye Jin; Cho, Dae-Chul; Sung, Joo-Kyung; Kim, Chi Heon

2018-01-01

Objective To investigates the effect of curcumin on proliferation of spinal cord neural stem/progenitor cells (SC-NSPCs) and functional outcome in a rat spinal cord injury (SCI) model. Methods Sixty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly and blindly allocated into three groups (sham control group; curcumin treated group after SCI; vehicle treated group after SCI). Functional recovery was evaluated by the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scale during 6 weeks after SCI. The expression of SC-NSPC proliferation and astrogliosis were analyzed by nestin/Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) staining. The injured spinal cord was then examined histologically, including quantification of cavitation. Results The BBB score of the SCI-curcumin group was better than that of SCI-vehicle group up to 14 days (p<0.05). The co-immunoreactivity of nestin/BrdU in the SCI-curcumin group was much higher than that of the SCI-vehicle group 1 week after surgery (p<0.05). The GFAP immunoreactivity of the SCI-curcumin group was remarkably lower than that of the SCI-vehicle group 4 weeks after surgery (p<0.05). The lesion cavity was significantly reduced in the curcumin group as compared to the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion These results indicate that curcumin could increase the expression of SC-NSPCs, and reduce the activity of reactive astrogliosis and lesion cavity. Consequently curcumin could improve the functional recovery after SCI via SC-NSPC properties. PMID:29354231

An investigation of adhesive/adherend and fiber/matrix interactions. Part A: Surface characterization of titanium dioxide, titantium and titanium 6% Al to 4% V powders: Interaction with water, hydrogen chloride and polymers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siriwardane, R. V.; Wightman, J. P.

1982-01-01

The titanium dioxide surface is discussed. Polymer adhesive are also discussed. Titanium powders are considered. Characterization techniques are also considered. Interactions with polymers, water vapor, and HCl are reported. Adsorbents are characterized.

Polymer based tunneling sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Jing (Inventor); Zhao, Yongjun (Inventor); Cui, Tianhong (Inventor)

2006-01-01

A process for fabricating a polymer based circuit by the following steps. A mold of a design is formed through a lithography process. The design is transferred to a polymer substrate through a hot embossing process. A metal layer is then deposited over at least part of said design and at least one electrical lead is connected to said metal layer.

New Polymer Coatings for Chemically Selective Mass Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sims, S. C.; Wright, Cassandra; Cobb, J.; McCalla, T.; Revelle, R.; Morris, V. R.; Pollack, S. K.

1997-01-01

There is a current need to develop sensitive and chemically specific sensors for the detection of nitric acid for in-situ measurements in the atmosphere. Polymer coatings have been synthesized and tested for their sensitivity and selectivity to nitric acid. A primary requirement for these polymers is detectability down to the parts per trillion range. The results of studies using these polymers as coatings for quartz crystal microbalances (QCM) and surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices will be presented.

Spinal Cord Injury Impairs Cardiovascular Capacity in Elite Wheelchair Rugby Athletes.

PubMed

Gee, Cameron M; Currie, Katharine D; Phillips, Aaron A; Squair, Jordan W; Krassioukov, Andrei V

2017-12-19

To examine differences in heart rate (HR) responses during international wheelchair rugby competition between athletes with and without a cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) and across standardized sport classifications. Observational study. The 2015 Parapan American Games wheelchair rugby competition. Forty-three male athletes (31 ± 8 years) with a cervical SCI (n = 32) or tetraequivalent impairment (non-SCI, n = 11). Average and peak HR (HRavg and HRpeak, respectively). To characterize HR responses in accordance with an athletes' International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) classification, we separated athletes into 3 groups: group I (IWRF classification 0.5-1.5, n = 15); group II (IWRF classification 2.0, n = 15); and group III (IWRF classification 2.5-3.5, n = 13). Athletes with SCI had lower HRavg (111 ± 14 bpm vs 155 ± 13 bpm) and HRpeak (133 ± 12 bpm vs 178 ± 13 bpm) compared with non-SCI (both P < 0.001). Average HR was higher in group III than in I (136 ± 25 bpm vs 115 ± 20 bpm, P = 0.045); however, SCI athletes showed no difference in HRavg or HRpeak between groups. Within group III, SCI athletes had lower HRavg (115 ± 6 bpm vs 160 ± 8 bpm) and HRpeak (135 ± 11 bpm vs 183 ± 11 bpm) than non-SCI athletes (both P < 0.001). This study is the first to demonstrate attenuated HR responses during competition in SCI compared with non-SCI athletes, likely due to injury to spinal autonomic pathways. Among athletes with SCI, IWRF classification was not related to differences in HR. Specific assessment of autonomic function after SCI may be able to predict HR during competition and consideration of autonomic impairments may improve the classification process.

Understanding Quality of Life in Adults with Spinal Cord Injury Via SCI-Related Needs and Secondary Complications.

PubMed

Sweet, Shane N; Noreau, Luc; Leblond, Jean; Dumont, Frédéric S

2014-01-01

Understanding the factors that can predict greater quality of life (QoL) is important for adults with spinal cord injury (SCI), given that they report lower levels of QoL than the general population. To build a conceptual model linking SCI-related needs, secondary complications, and QoL in adults with SCI. Prior to testing the conceptual model, we aimed to develop and evaluate the factor structure for both SCI-related needs and secondary complications. Individuals with a traumatic SCI (N = 1,137) responded to an online survey measuring 13 SCI-related needs, 13 secondary complications, and the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire to assess QoL. The SCI-related needs and secondary complications were conceptualized into factors, tested with a confirmatory factor analysis, and subsequently evaluated in a structural equation model to predict QoL. The confirmatory factor analysis supported a 2-factor model for SCI related needs, χ(2)(61, N = 1,137) = 250.40, P <.001, comparative fit index (CFI) = .93, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .05, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = .04, and for 11 of the 13 secondary complications, χ(2)(44, N = 1,137) = 305.67, P < .001, CFI = .91, RMSEA = .060, SRMR = .033. The final 2 secondary complications were kept as observed constructs. In the structural model, both vital and personal development unmet SCI-related needs (β = -.22 and -.20, P < .05, respectively) and the neuro-physiological systems factor (β = -.45, P < .05) were negatively related with QoL. Identifying unmet SCI-related needs of individuals with SCI and preventing or managing secondary complications are essential to their QoL.

Methodology for the development and calibration of the SCI-QOL item banks

PubMed Central

Tulsky, David S.; Kisala, Pamela A.; Victorson, David; Choi, Seung W.; Gershon, Richard; Heinemann, Allen W.; Cella, David

2015-01-01

Objective To develop a comprehensive, psychometrically sound, and conceptually grounded patient reported outcomes (PRO) measurement system for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods Individual interviews (n = 44) and focus groups (n = 65 individuals with SCI and n = 42 SCI clinicians) were used to select key domains for inclusion and to develop PRO items. Verbatim items from other cutting-edge measurement systems (i.e. PROMIS, Neuro-QOL) were included to facilitate linkage and cross-population comparison. Items were field tested in a large sample of individuals with traumatic SCI (n = 877). Dimensionality was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis. Local item dependence and differential item functioning were assessed, and items were calibrated using the item response theory (IRT) graded response model. Finally, computer adaptive tests (CATs) and short forms were administered in a new sample (n = 245) to assess test-retest reliability and stability. Participants and Procedures A calibration sample of 877 individuals with traumatic SCI across five SCI Model Systems sites and one Department of Veterans Affairs medical center completed SCI-QOL items in interview format. Results We developed 14 unidimensional calibrated item banks and 3 calibrated scales across physical, emotional, and social health domains. When combined with the five Spinal Cord Injury – Functional Index physical function banks, the final SCI-QOL system consists of 22 IRT-calibrated item banks/scales. Item banks may be administered as CATs or short forms. Scales may be administered in a fixed-length format only. Conclusions The SCI-QOL measurement system provides SCI researchers and clinicians with a comprehensive, relevant and psychometrically robust system for measurement of physical-medical, physical-functional, emotional, and social outcomes. All SCI-QOL instruments are freely available on Assessment CenterSM. PMID:26010963

Methodology for the development and calibration of the SCI-QOL item banks.

PubMed

Tulsky, David S; Kisala, Pamela A; Victorson, David; Choi, Seung W; Gershon, Richard; Heinemann, Allen W; Cella, David

2015-05-01

To develop a comprehensive, psychometrically sound, and conceptually grounded patient reported outcomes (PRO) measurement system for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Individual interviews (n=44) and focus groups (n=65 individuals with SCI and n=42 SCI clinicians) were used to select key domains for inclusion and to develop PRO items. Verbatim items from other cutting-edge measurement systems (i.e. PROMIS, Neuro-QOL) were included to facilitate linkage and cross-population comparison. Items were field tested in a large sample of individuals with traumatic SCI (n=877). Dimensionality was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis. Local item dependence and differential item functioning were assessed, and items were calibrated using the item response theory (IRT) graded response model. Finally, computer adaptive tests (CATs) and short forms were administered in a new sample (n=245) to assess test-retest reliability and stability. A calibration sample of 877 individuals with traumatic SCI across five SCI Model Systems sites and one Department of Veterans Affairs medical center completed SCI-QOL items in interview format. We developed 14 unidimensional calibrated item banks and 3 calibrated scales across physical, emotional, and social health domains. When combined with the five Spinal Cord Injury--Functional Index physical function banks, the final SCI-QOL system consists of 22 IRT-calibrated item banks/scales. Item banks may be administered as CATs or short forms. Scales may be administered in a fixed-length format only. The SCI-QOL measurement system provides SCI researchers and clinicians with a comprehensive, relevant and psychometrically robust system for measurement of physical-medical, physical-functional, emotional, and social outcomes. All SCI-QOL instruments are freely available on Assessment CenterSM.

The role of capsaicin-sensitive C-fiber afferent pathways in the control of micturition in spinal-intact and spinal cord-injured mice.

PubMed

Kadekawa, Katsumi; Majima, Tsuyoshi; Shimizu, Takahiro; Wada, Naoki; de Groat, William C; Kanai, Anthony J; Goto, Momokazu; Yoshiyama, Mitsuharu; Sugaya, Kimio; Yoshimura, Naoki

2017-09-01

We examined bladder and urethral sphincter activity in mice with or without spinal cord injury (SCI) after C-fiber afferent desensitization induced by capsaicin pretreatment and changes in electrophysiological properties of mouse bladder afferent neurons 4 wk after SCI. Female C57BL/6N mice were divided into four groups: 1 ) spinal intact (SI)-control, 2 ) SI-capsaicin pretreatment (Cap), 3 ) SCI-control, and 4 ) SCI-Cap groups. Continuous cystometry and external urethral sphincter (EUS)-electromyogram (EMG) were conducted under an awake condition. In the Cap groups, capsaicin (25, 50, or 100 mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously 4 days before the experiments. In the SI-Cap group, 100 mg/kg capsaicin pretreatment significantly increased bladder capacity and decreased the silent period duration of EUS/EMG compared with the SI-control group. In the SCI-Cap group, 50 and 100 mg/kg capsaicin pretreatment decreased the number of nonvoiding contractions (NVCs) and the duration of reduced EUS activity during voiding, respectively, compared with the SCI-control group. In SCI mice, hexamethonium, a ganglionic blocker, almost completely blocked NVCs, suggesting that they are of neurogenic origin. Patch-clamp recordings in capsaicin-sensitive bladder afferent neurons from SCI mice showed hyperexcitability, which was evidenced by decreased spike thresholds and increased firing rate compared with SI mice. These results indicate that capsaicin-sensitive C-fiber afferent pathways, which become hyperexcitable after SCI, can modulate bladder and urethral sphincter activity in awake SI and SCI mice. Detrusor overactivity as shown by NVCs in SCI mice is significantly but partially dependent on capsaicin-sensitive C-fiber afferents, whereas the EUS relaxation during voiding is enhanced by capsaicin-sensitive C-fiber bladder afferents in SI and SCI mice. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Investigation of Microbiota Alterations and Intestinal Inflammation Post-Spinal Cord Injury in Rat Model.

PubMed

O'Connor, Gregory; Jeffrey, Elisabeth; Madorma, Derik; Marcillo, Alexander; Abreu, Maria T; Deo, Sapna K; Dietrich, W Dalton; Daunert, Sylvia

2018-06-07

Although there has been a significant amount of research focused on the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury (SCI), there is limited information on the consequences of SCI on remote organs. SCI can produce significant effects on a variety of organ systems, including the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with SCI often suffer from severe, debilitating bowel dysfunction in addition to their physical disabilities, which is of major concern for these individuals because of the adverse impact on their quality of life. Herein, we report on our investigation into the effects of SCI and subsequent antibiotic treatment on the intestinal tissue and microbiota. For that, we used a thoracic SCI rat model and investigated changes to the microbiota, proinflammatory cytokine levels, and bacterial communication molecule levels post-injury and gentamicin treatment for 7 days. We discovered significant changes, the most interesting being the differences in the gut microbiota beta diversity of 8-week SCI animals compared to control animals at the family, genus, and species level. Specifically, 35 operational taxonomic units were enriched in the SCI animal group and three were identified at species level; Lactobacillus intestinalis, Clostridium disporicum, and Bifidobacterium choerinum. In contrast, Clostridium saccharogumia was identified as depleted in the SCI animal group. Proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-12, macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), and tumor necrosis factor alpha were found to be significantly elevated in intestinal tissue homogenate 4 weeks post-SCI compared to 8-weeks post-injury. Further, levels of IL-1β, IL-12, and MIP-2 significantly correlated with changes in beta diversity 8-weeks post-SCI. Our data provide a greater understanding of the early effects of SCI on the microbiota and gastrointestinal tract, highlighting the need for further investigation to elucidate the mechanism underlying these effects.

The Role of Scientific Communication Skills in Trainees' Intention to Pursue Biomedical Research Careers: A Social Cognitive Analysis.

PubMed

Cameron, Carrie; Lee, Hwa Young; Anderson, Cheryl; Byars-Winston, Angela; Baldwin, Constance D; Chang, Shine

2015-01-01

Scientific communication (SciComm) skills are indispensable for success in biomedical research, but many trainees may not have fully considered the necessity of regular writing and speaking for research career progression. Our purpose was to investigate the relationship between SciComm skill acquisition and research trainees' intentions to remain in research careers. We used social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to test a model of the relationship of SciComm skills to SciComm-related cognitive variables in explaining career intentions. A sample of 510 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at major academic health science centers in the Texas Medical Center, Houston, Texas, were surveyed online. Results suggested that interest in performing SciComm tasks, SciComm outcome expectations (SCOEs), and SciComm productivity predicted intention to remain in a research career, while SciComm self-efficacy did not directly predict career intention. SCOEs also predicted interest in performing SciComm tasks. As in other SCCT studies, SciComm self-efficacy predicted SCOEs. We conclude that social cognitive factors of SciComm skill acquisition and SciComm productivity significantly predict biomedical trainees' intentions to pursue research careers whether within or outside academia. While further studies are needed, these findings may lead to evidence-based interventions to help trainees remain in their chosen career paths. © 2015 C. Cameron et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Assessment of relative flammability and thermochemical properties of some thermoplastic materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kourtides, D. A.; Parker, J. A.

1977-01-01

Thermomechanical properties, flammability, oxygen index, relative toxicity of pyrolysis effluents, and char yields were studied for 12 advanced polymers which are candidates for use in aircraft interiors as decorative films, compression- and injection-molded parts and thermoplastic parts. Polymers sampled included polyphenylene sulfide, 9,9 bis (4-hydroxyphenol) fluorene polycarbonate-poly (dimethylsiloxane), polyether sulfone, polyvinyl fluoride and polyvinylidene fluoride. Availability of these samples, whether in commercial form or in test quantities, is specified. An estimate of relative fire resistance for the materials was obtained; the five polymers listed above were found to be the most fire resistant of the 12 sampled.

Current practice of methylprednisolone administration for acute spinal cord injury in Germany: a national survey.

PubMed

Druschel, Claudia; Schaser, Klaus-Dieter; Schwab, Jan M

2013-05-15

Written mail-out survey. To determine current practice in high-dose methylprednisolone succinate (MPSS) administration for treatment of acute spinal cord injury (SCI) in Germany. Reanalysis of the National Acute Spinal Cord Injury Studies (NASCIS) resulted in criticism of the use of high-dose MPSS for treatment of acute SCI. Subsequently, SCI treatment guidelines were revised leading to a reduction in MPSS use across North America. The impact of these revisions on SCI treatment in Germany is not known. A questionnaire was sent to all trauma, orthopedic and neurosurgical departments of German university centers, affiliated teaching hospitals, and specialized SCI care centers. Survey included 6 questions about the administration of MPSS after acute SCI. Three hundred seventy-two respondents completed the survey (response rate: 51% overall, 76% university hospitals, 85% specialized SCI care centers). Overall, 55% of departments that treat SCI prescribe MPSS. Among them, 73% are "frequent" users administering MPSS to more than 50% of their patients. Ten percent prescribe according to NASCIS I, 43% NASCIS II, 33% NASCIS III, and 13% "generic protocols." As justification for MPSS treatment, "effectiveness" ranked before "common practice" and "medicolegal reasons." "Specialized" SCI care centers differ in that (1) MPSS is administered less frequently, (2) NASCIS I doses are not used, and (3) during the past several years, practice patterns are more likely to have shifted away from the treatment of SCI with MPSS. About one-half of the institutions continue to prescribe MPSS in the setting of acute SCI. A need for further education in almost one-fourth of German departments treating acute SCI is demonstrated through responses indicating use of the outdated NASCIS I protocol, a "legal need" or "unchanged MPSS application during the last years." "Specialized" SCI centers are more likely to change their practice in accordance with evolving literature. 3.

Persistent Polyuria in a Rat Spinal Contusion Model

PubMed Central

Ward, Patricia J.

2012-01-01

Abstract Polyuria contributes to bladder overdistention, which confounds both lower and upper urinary tract management in individuals having a spinal cord injury (SCI). Bladder overdistention post-SCI is one of the most common triggers for autonomic dysreflexia, a potentially life-threatening condition. Post-SCI polyuria is thought to result from loss of vascular tone in the lower extremities, leading to edema and subsequent excess fluid, resulting in polyuria. Mild SCIs that have near complete recovery would therefore be expected to have little to no polyuria, while severe injuries resulting in flaccid limbs and lower extremity edema would be expected to exhibit severe polyuria. Since interventions that may decrease lower extremity edema are recommended to lessen the severity of polyuria, step training (which promotes vascular circulation) was evaluated as a therapy to reduce post-SCI polyuria. In the present study, polyuria was evaluated in mild, moderate, and severe contusive SCI in adult male rats. The animals were housed in metabolic cages for 24-hour periods pre- and post-SCI (to 6 weeks). Urine, feces, food, water, and body weights were collected. Other assessments included residual expressed urine volumes, locomotor scoring, in-cage activity, and lesion histology. SCI produced an immediate increase in 24-hour urine collection, as early as 3 days post-SCI. Approximately 2.6-fold increases in urine collection occurred from weeks 1–6 post-SCI for all injury severities. Even with substantial gains in locomotor and bladder function following a mild SCI, polyuria remained severe. Step training (30 min/day, 6 days/week) did not alleviate polyuria in the moderate SCI contusion group. These results indicate that (1) mild injuries retaining weight-bearing locomotion that should have mild, if any, edema/loss of vascular tone still exhibit severe polyuria, and (2) step training was unable to reduce post-SCI polyuria. Taken together, these results indicate that the current mechanistic hypothesis of post-SCI polyuria may be incomplete. PMID:22708983

Persistent polyuria in a rat spinal contusion model.

PubMed

Ward, Patricia J; Hubscher, Charles H

2012-10-10

Polyuria contributes to bladder overdistention, which confounds both lower and upper urinary tract management in individuals having a spinal cord injury (SCI). Bladder overdistention post-SCI is one of the most common triggers for autonomic dysreflexia, a potentially life-threatening condition. Post-SCI polyuria is thought to result from loss of vascular tone in the lower extremities, leading to edema and subsequent excess fluid, resulting in polyuria. Mild SCIs that have near complete recovery would therefore be expected to have little to no polyuria, while severe injuries resulting in flaccid limbs and lower extremity edema would be expected to exhibit severe polyuria. Since interventions that may decrease lower extremity edema are recommended to lessen the severity of polyuria, step training (which promotes vascular circulation) was evaluated as a therapy to reduce post-SCI polyuria. In the present study, polyuria was evaluated in mild, moderate, and severe contusive SCI in adult male rats. The animals were housed in metabolic cages for 24-hour periods pre- and post-SCI (to 6 weeks). Urine, feces, food, water, and body weights were collected. Other assessments included residual expressed urine volumes, locomotor scoring, in-cage activity, and lesion histology. SCI produced an immediate increase in 24-hour urine collection, as early as 3 days post-SCI. Approximately 2.6-fold increases in urine collection occurred from weeks 1-6 post-SCI for all injury severities. Even with substantial gains in locomotor and bladder function following a mild SCI, polyuria remained severe. Step training (30 min/day, 6 days/week) did not alleviate polyuria in the moderate SCI contusion group. These results indicate that (1) mild injuries retaining weight-bearing locomotion that should have mild, if any, edema/loss of vascular tone still exhibit severe polyuria, and (2) step training was unable to reduce post-SCI polyuria. Taken together, these results indicate that the current mechanistic hypothesis of post-SCI polyuria may be incomplete.

High Strain Rate Deformation Modeling of a Polymer Matrix Composite. Part 2; Composite Micromechanical Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldberg, Robert K.; Stouffer, Donald C.

1998-01-01

Recently applications have exposed polymer matrix composite materials to very high strain rate loading conditions, requiring an ability to understand and predict the material behavior under these extreme conditions. In this second paper of a two part report, a three-dimensional composite micromechanical model is described which allows for the analysis of the rate dependent, nonlinear deformation response of a polymer matrix composite. Strain rate dependent inelastic constitutive equations utilized to model the deformation response of a polymer are implemented within the micromechanics method. The deformation response of two representative laminated carbon fiber reinforced composite materials with varying fiber orientation has been predicted using the described technique. The predicted results compare favorably to both experimental values and the response predicted by the Generalized Method of Cells, a well-established micromechanics analysis method.

Manufacturing Technology of Composite Materials-Principles of Modification of Polymer Composite Materials Technology Based on Polytetrafluoroethylene.

PubMed

Panda, Anton; Dyadyura, Kostiantyn; Valíček, Jan; Harničárová, Marta; Zajac, Jozef; Modrák, Vladimír; Pandová, Iveta; Vrábel, Peter; Nováková-Marcinčínová, Ema; Pavelek, Zdeněk

2017-03-31

The results of the investigations into the technological formation of new wear-resistant polymer composites based on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filled with disperse synthetic and natural compounds are presented. The efficiency of using PTFE composites reinforced with carbon fibers depends on many factors, which influence the significant improvement of physicomechanical characteristics. The results of this research allow stating that interfacial and surface phenomena of the polymer-solid interface and composition play a decisive role in PTFE composites properties. Fillers hinder the relative movement of the PTFE molecules past one another and, in this way, reduce creep or deformation of the parts, reducing the wear rate of parts used in dynamic applications as well as the coefficient of thermal expansion. The necessary structural parameters of such polymer composites are provided by regimes of process equipment.

Spinal cord injury rehabilitation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Time to rehabilitation admission, length of stay and functional independence

PubMed Central

Mahmoud, Husam; Qannam, Hazem; Mortenson, Ben

2017-01-01

Objectives 1) To describe functional status, length of stay (LOS), and time to rehabilitation admission trends. 2) To identify independent predictors of motor function following rehabilitation for traumatic and nontraumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Participants Adult patients with SCI discharged from inpatient rehabilitation between 2009–2014. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Spinal injury rehabilitation unit at the King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods From retrospective chart reviews of 312 traumatic and 106 nontraumatic SCI, we extracted information on time from injury to rehabilitation admission, rehabilitation LOS, and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score (admission and discharge). Additionally we collected information on SCI patients’ demographics and injury characteristics. Hierarchical regression was employed to investigate variables associated with FIM motor score at discharge for traumatic SCI and nontraumatic SCI. Outcome measures FIM motor score measured at discharge. Results Mean and median days from injury to rehabilitation admission were not significantly different for traumatic SCI (377±855, 150) and nontraumatic SCI (288±403, 176). Mean and median days for rehabilitation LOS were significantly longer for traumatic SCI (85±60, 70) compared to nontraumatic SCI (64±59, 49) (p=…..). FIM scores improved significantly from admission to discharge in both groups. For individuals with traumatic SCI, after accounting for admission FIM motor score, tetraplegia and time from injury to rehabilitation, admission had a significant but small negative association with discharge FIM motor score. For individuals with nontraumatic SCI, increasing age and AIS score of A or B had a significant negative association with discharge FIM motor score. LOS in rehabilitation was not a significant contributor for either model. Conclusions Decreasing the time from injury to rehabilitation admission may improve outcomes for those with traumatic SCI. Since time spent in rehabilitation was shorter than most other countries, a change in practice in this area may be warranted. Developing new strategies to improve outcomes for older patients with nontraumatic SCI would also be beneficial. PMID:28139661

Health Information Seeking and Technology Use Among Veterans With Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders.

PubMed

Hogan, Timothy P; Hill, Jennifer N; Locatelli, Sara M; Weaver, Frances M; Thomas, Florian P; Nazi, Kim M; Goldstein, Barry; Smith, Bridget M

2016-02-01

Access to health information is crucial to persons living with a spinal cord injury or disorder (SCI/D). Although previous research has provided insights on computer and Internet use among persons with SCI/D, as well as how and where persons with SCI/D gather health information, few studies have focused on U.S. veterans with SCI/D. To characterize health information seeking among veterans with SCI/D and to examine the association between technology use and the characteristics of veterans with SCI/D. Cross-sectional. Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Sample of 290 veterans with SCI/D who utilize services at 2 VHA SCI/D Centers. Postal mail survey. Extent of computer, Internet, and text messaging use, information source use, and e-Health literacy rates. The survey response rate was 38%. The majority of respondents were male (97.2%), younger than 65 years (71.0%), and white (71.7%). Of the respondents, 64.8% indicated that they use a computer, 62.9% reported use of the Internet, and 26.2% reported use of text messaging. The mean overall e-Health Literacy Scale score was 27.3 (standard deviation = 7.2). Similar to findings reported in studies focused outside the veteran population, the most frequent source that veterans turned to for information about SCI/D was a health professional (85.1%); this was also the most frequent source that veterans indicated they would turn to first to get information about SCI/D (75.9%). Other frequently reported sources of information included other persons with SCI/D (41.0%), Internet resources (31.0%), and family and friends (27.9%). Fairly high levels of computer and Internet use exist among veterans with SCI/D. Veterans with SCI/D also have a strong preference for people-particularly health professionals, and to a lesser extent peers and family and friends-as sources of information about SCI/D. These findings highlight the importance of combining technology and human interaction to meet the information needs of this population. Published by Elsevier Inc.

76 FR 10395 - BreconRidge Manufacturing Solutions, Now Known as Sanmina-SCI Corporation, Division...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-24

... Solutions, Now Known as Sanmina-SCI Corporation, Division Optoelectronic and Microelectronic Design and Manufacturing, a Subsidiary of Sanmina-SCI Corporation, Including On- Site Leased Workers From Kelly Services... Manufacturing Solutions, now known as Sanmina-SCI Corporation, Division Optoelectronic and Microelectronic...

Oligomerization reactions for precursors to secondary organic aerosol: Comparison between two formation mechanisms for the oligomeric hydroxyalkyl hydroperoxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qiangli; Wang, Weina; Liu, Fengyi; Lü, Jian; Wang, Wenliang

2017-10-01

To better understand the formation mechanism of oligomeric hydroxyalkyl hydroperoxides HOROO(SCI)nH composed of stabilized Criegee intermediate (SCI) as a chain unit, the reactions of SCI with hydroxyalkyl hydroperoxides (HOROOH) and hydroxyalkylperoxy radical (HORO2) as well as HO2 radical were investigated. For the reactions of HORO2 + SCI, two preferred pathways involving a SCI insertion in HOROOH hydroperoxide bond can be found, and the formation of HOROO(SCI)H is the dominant pathway in the reaction of HOCH2(CH3)2COOH + (CH3)2COO. The structures of the HORO2, HOROOH as well as the SCIs play a crucial role in determining the reactivity of the oligomerization. Both the reactions of HORO2 + SCI + HO2 and HOROOH + SCI could be the source of the processors to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). But from the point of free energy barriers, the formation of HOROO(SCI)H prefers to follow the mechanism involving initiation by the reaction of a HORO2 and a SCI, sequential addition of SCIs, and termination by reaction with the HO2 radical. The rate coefficients show negative temperature dependence and vary in different systems depending on the reactants. The reaction process and constituents of the products can be regulated by temperature and reactants.

Abdominal Manual Therapy Repairs Interstitial Cells of Cajal and Increases Colonic c-Kit Expression When Treating Bowel Dysfunction after Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Zhang, Wenyi; Zhu, Zhaojin; Xie, Bin; Yu, Jun

2017-01-01

Background This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of abdominal manual therapy (AMT) on bowel dysfunction after spinal cord injury (SCI), investigating interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) and related c-kit expression. Methods Model rats were divided as SCI and SCI with drug treatment (intragastric mosapride), low-intensity (SCI + LMT; 50 g, 50 times/min), and high-intensity AMT (SCI + HMT; 100 g, 150 times/min). After 14 days of treatment, weight, improved Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor score, and intestinal movement were evaluated. Morphological structure of spinal cord and colon tissues were examined. Immunostaining, RT-PCR, and western blot were used to assess c-kit expression. Results In SCI rats, AMT could not restore BBB, but it significantly increased weight, shortened time to defecation, increased feces amounts, and improved fecal pellet traits and colon histology. AMT improved the number, distribution, and ultrastructure of colonic ICCs, increasing colonic c-kit mRNA and protein levels. Compared with the SCI + Drug and SCI + LMT groups, the SCI + HMT group showed better therapeutic effect in improving intestinal transmission function and promoting c-kit expression. Conclusions AMT is an effective therapy for recovery of intestinal transmission function. It could repair ICCs and increase c-kit expression in colon tissues after SCI, in a frequency-dependent and pressure-dependent manner. PMID:29349063

Indoxacarb, Metaflumizone, and Other Sodium Channel Inhibitor Insecticides: Mechanism and Site of Action on Mammalian Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels

PubMed Central

von Stein, Richard T.; Silver, Kristopher S.; Soderlund, David M.

2013-01-01

Sodium channel inhibitor (SCI) insecticides were discovered almost four decades ago but have only recently yielded important commercial products (eg., indoxacarb and metaflumizone). SCI insecticides inhibit sodium channel function by binding selectively to slow-inactivated (non-conducting) sodium channel states. Characterization of the action of SCI insecticides on mammalian sodium channels using both biochemical and electrophysiological approaches demonstrates that they bind at or near a drug receptor site, the "local anesthetic (LA) receptor." This mechanism and site of action on sodium channels differentiates SCI insecticides from other insecticidal agents that act on sodium channels. However, SCI insecticides share a common mode of action with drugs currently under investigation as anticonvulsants and treatments for neuropathic pain. In this paper we summarize the development of the SCI insecticide class and the evidence that this structurally diverse group of compounds have a common mode of action on sodium channels. We then review research that has used site-directed mutagenesis and heterologous expression of cloned mammalian sodium channels in Xenopus laevis oocytes to further elucidate the site and mechanism of action of SCI insecticides. The results of these studies provide new insight into the mechanism of action of SCI insecticides on voltage-gated sodium channels, the location of the SCI insecticide receptor, and its relationship to the LA receptor that binds therapeutic SCI agents. PMID:24072940

National Centers for Environmental Prediction

Science.gov Websites

references for past and current documentation: Sort A-Z | Sort by Year Alpert, J.C., S-Y Hong and Y-J Kim -Scale Environment, Part I. J. Atmos. Sci., 31, 674-704. Asselin, R., 1972: Frequency filter for time observations and model computations. J. Clim. and Appl. Meteo., 25, 214-226. Campana, K. A., Y-T Hou, K. E

40 CFR Appendix G to Part 50 - Reference Method for the Determination of Lead in Suspended Particulate Matter Collected From...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Absorption Spectroscopy.” Published by Interscience Company, New York, NY (1968). 5. Kirkbright, G. F., and Sargent, M., “Atomic Absorption and Fluorescence Spectroscopy.” Published by Academic Press, New York, NY... County, IL, by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy.” Envir. Sci. and Tech., 3, 472-475 (1969). 7. “Proposed...

1973 Winter Simulation Conference. Sponsored by ACM/AIIE/SHARE/SCi/TIMS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoggatt, Austin Curwood, Ed.

A record of the current state of the art of simulation and the major part it now plays in policy formation in large organizations is provided by these conference proceedings. The 40 papers presented reveal an emphasis on the applications of simulation. In addition, the abstracts of 28 papers submitted to a more informal "paper fair" are also…

2015 Marine Corps Security Environment Forecast: Futures 2030-2045

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

The technologies that make the iPhone “smart” were publically funded—the Internet, wireless networks, the global positioning system, microelectronics...Energy Revolution (63 percent);  Internet of Things (ubiquitous sensors embedded in interconnected computing devices) (50 percent);  “Sci-Fi...Neuroscience & artificial intelligence - Sensors /control systems -Power & energy -Human-robot interaction Robots/autonomous systems will become part of the

A New Look at Genre and Authenticity: Making Sense of Reading and Writing Science News in High School Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohnen, Angela M.

2012-01-01

This qualitative study examined the importance of the genre and authenticity as teachers sought to bring science journalism to the high school science classroom. Undertaken as part of the National Science Foundation-funded grant "Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn)," this work was conducted as a series of smaller…

Spinal Cord Swelling and Alterations in Hydrostatic Pressure After Acute Injury

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

8217 started’ surgeries ’ as’ part’ of’ Aim’ 2’ to’ determine...and!to!guide!optimal!perfusion!support! based !on!that.!The! PRx! has! not! been! investigated! in! SCI,! but! given! that! the! cord! also! swells! and...2.!Animal!training!/! Surgery ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3.!Spinal!cord!monitoring!of!pressure,! oxygenation,!SCBF!and! microdiaysis

[Inventive activity of the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Enzymes, and Protein Structure and Function of the Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of NAS of Ukraine. Part III. Diagnostic test-systems for analysis of fibrinolysis blood system and novel approaches to thrombosis treatment].

PubMed

Danilova, V M; Vynogradova, R P; Chernysh, I Yu

2016-01-01

This article continues analysis of scientific achievements of the Institute of Biochemistry in the study of hemostasis system. Two previous articles were focused on the studies of blood coagulation proteins and development of the immune-enzyme test-systems for evaluation of the risk of thrombosis upon various pathologies. This article highlights the research on the blood fibrinolysis system and new approaches to thrombosis treatment, which were developed (and are under development) in the Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the NAS of Ukraine, in particular, in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Enzymes headed previously by Dr.Sci.(Biol.) S. O. Kudinov and now by Dr.Sci.(Biol.) T .V. Grinenko, and also in the Department of Protein Structure and Function headed by Dr.Biol.Sci. E. M. Makogonenko. The fundamental knowledge of protein molecule functions and mechanisms of regulation of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis opens up new opportunities to diagnose hemostasis disorders and control the effectiveness of the cardiovascular disease treatment and also contributes to development of new techniques for isolation of new proteins – promising therapeutic agents.

Analgesia or addiction?: implications for morphine use after spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Woller, Sarah A; Moreno, Georgina L; Hart, Nigel; Wellman, Paul J; Grau, James W; Hook, Michelle A

2012-05-20

Opioid analgesics are among the most effective agents for treatment of moderate to severe pain. However, the use of morphine after a spinal cord injury (SCI) can potentiate the development of paradoxical pain symptoms, and continuous administration can lead to dependence, tolerance, and addiction. Although some studies suggest that the addictive potential of morphine decreases when it is used to treat neuropathic pain, this has not been studied in a SCI model. Accordingly, the present studies investigated the addictive potential of morphine in a rodent model of SCI using conditioned place preference (CPP) and intravenous self-administration paradigms. A contusion injury significantly increased the expression of a CPP relative to sham and intact controls in the acute phase of injury. However, contused animals self-administered significantly less morphine than sham and intact controls, but this was dose-dependent; at a high concentration, injured rats exhibited an increase in drug-reinforced responses over time. Exposure to a high concentration of morphine impeded weight gain and locomotor recovery. We suggest that the increased preference observed in injured rats reflects a motivational effect linked in part to the drug's anti-nociceptive effect. Further, although injured rats exhibited a suppression of opiate self-administration, when given access to a high concentration, addictive-like behavior emerged and was associated with poor recovery.

Performance of the SciBar cosmic ray telescope (SciCRT) toward the detection of high-energy solar neutrons in solar cycle 24

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasai, Yoshinori; Nagai, Yuya; Itow, Yoshitaka; Matsubara, Yutaka; Sako, Takashi; Lopez, Diego; Itow, Tsukasa; Munakata, Kazuoki; Kato, Chihiro; Kozai, Masayoshi; Miyazaki, Takahiro; Shibata, Shoichi; Oshima, Akitoshi; Kojima, Hiroshi; Tsuchiya, Harufumi; Watanabe, Kyoko; Koi, Tatsumi; Valdés-Galicia, Jose Francisco; González, Luis Xavier; Ortiz, Ernesto; Musalem, Octavio; Hurtado, Alejandro; Garcia, Rocio; Anzorena, Marcos

2014-12-01

We plan to observe solar neutrons at Mt. Sierra Negra (4,600 m above sea level) in Mexico using the SciBar detector. This project is named the SciBar Cosmic Ray Telescope (SciCRT). The main aims of the SciCRT project are to observe solar neutrons to study the mechanism of ion acceleration on the surface of the sun and to monitor the anisotropy of galactic cosmic-ray muons. The SciBar detector, a fully active tracker, is composed of 14,848 scintillator bars, whose dimension is 300 cm × 2.5 cm × 1.3 cm. The structure of the detector enables us to obtain the particle trajectory and its total deposited energy. This information is useful for the energy reconstruction of primary neutrons and particle identification. The total volume of the detector is 3.0 m × 3.0 m × 1.7 m. Since this volume is much larger than the solar neutron telescope (SNT) in Mexico, the detection efficiency of the SciCRT for neutrons is highly enhanced. We performed the calibration of the SciCRT at Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica (INAOE) located at 2,150 m above sea level in Mexico in 2012. We installed the SciCRT at Mt. Sierra Negra in April 2013 and calibrated this detector in May and August 2013. We started continuous observation in March 2014. In this paper, we report the detector performance as a solar neutron telescope and the current status of the SciCRT.

Spinal Cord Injury Causes Chronic Liver Pathology in Rats

PubMed Central

Sauerbeck, Andrew D.; Laws, J. Lukas; Bandaru, Veera V.R.; Popovich, Phillip G.; Haughey, Norman J.

2015-01-01

Abstract Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) causes major disruption to peripheral organ innervation and regulation. Relatively little work has investigated these post-SCI systemic changes, however, despite considerable evidence that multiple organ system dysfunction contributes to chronic impairments in health. Because metabolic dysfunction is common after SCI and the liver is a pivotal site for metabolic homeostasis, we sought to determine if liver pathology occurs as a result of SCI in a rat spinal contusion model. Histologic evidence showed excess lipid accumulation in the liver for at least 21 days post-injury after cervical or midthoracic SCI. Lipidomic analysis revealed an acute increase in hepatic ceramides as well as chronically elevated lactosylceramide. Post-SCI hepatic changes also included increased proinflammatory gene expression, including interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, chemokine ligand-2, and tumor necrosis factor-α mRNA. These were coincident with increased CD68+ macrophages in the liver through 21 days post-injury. Serum alanine transaminase, used clinically to detect liver damage, was significantly increased at 21 days post-injury, suggesting that early metabolic and inflammatory damage preceded overt liver pathology. Surprisingly, liver inflammation was even detected after lumbar SCI. Collectively, these results suggest that SCI produces chronic liver injury with symptoms strikingly similar to those of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (fatty liver disease). These clinically significant hepatic changes after SCI are known to contribute to systemic inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome, all of which are more prevalent in persons with SCI. Targeting acute and prolonged hepatic pathology may improve recovery and reduce long-term complications after SCI. PMID:25036371

Valproic Acid Increases Expression of Neuronal Stem/Progenitor Cell in Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Bang, Woo-Seok; Cho, Dae-Chul; Kim, Hye-Jeong; Sung, Joo-Kyung

2013-01-01

Objective This study investigates the effect of valproic acid (VPA) on expression of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) in a rat spinal cord injury (SCI) model. Methods Adult male rats (n=24) were randomly and blindly allocated into three groups. Laminectomy at T9 was performed in all three groups. In group 1 (sham), only laminectomy was performed. In group 2 (SCI-VPA), the animals received a dose of 200 mg/kg of VPA. In group 3 (SCI-saline), animals received 1.0 mL of the saline vehicle solution. A modified aneurysm clip with a closing force of 30 grams was applied extradurally around the spinal cord at T9, and then rapidly released with cord compression persisting for 2 minutes. The rats were sacrificed and the spinal cord were collected one week after SCI. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blotting sample were obtained from 5 mm rostral region to the lesion and prepared. We analyzed the nestin immunoreactivity from the white matter of ventral cord and the ependyma of central canal. Nestin and SOX2 were used for markers for NSPCs and analyzed by IHC and western blotting, respectively. Results Nestin and SOX2 were expressed significantly in the SCI groups but not in the sham group. Comparing SCI groups, nestin and SOX2 expression were much stronger in SCI-VPA group than in SCI-saline group. Conclusion Nestin and SOX2 as markers for NSPCs showed increased expression in SCI-VPA group in comparison with SCI-saline group. This result suggests VPA increases expression of spinal NSPCs in SCI. PMID:24044073

Effect of lycopene on the blood-spinal cord barrier after spinal cord injury in mice.

PubMed

Zhang, Qian; Wang, Jianbo; Gu, Zhengsong; Zhang, Qing; Zheng, Hong

2016-09-05

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of lycopene on the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) after spinal cord injury (SCI) in a mouse model. Lycopene inhibited lipid peroxidation and oxidative DNA damage as a highly efficient antioxidant and free radical scavenger. Lycopene (4 mg/kg/d) was administrated immediately following SCI. The permeability of the BSCB and water content in the spinal cord tissue were evaluated. Additionally, levels of expression of tight junction proteins and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were determined with Western blotting. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis of spinal cord tissue homogenates was performed 48 h after SCI to evaluate the expression of inflammation-related cytokines. In addition, recovery of motor function was assessed 1 d, 2 d, 5 d, 10 d, and 15 d after SCI using the Basso Mouse Scale to score locomotion. Compared to the group with an untreated SCI, mice with an SCI treated with lycopene had significantly reduced spinal cord tissue water content and BSCB permeability. Furthermore, motor function of mice with an SCI was also greatly improved by lycopene administration. The expression of the proinflammatory factors TNF-α and NF-kB increased markedly 48 h after SCI, and their upregulation was significantly attenuated by lycopene treatment. The expression of molecules that protect tight junctions, zonula occluden-1 and claudin-5, was upregulated by lycopene treatment after SCI. Taken together, these results clearly indicate that lycopene attenuated SCI by promoting repair of the damaged BSCB, so lycopene is a novel and promising treatment for SCI in humans.

GeoSciML v3.0 - a significant upgrade of the CGI-IUGS geoscience data model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raymond, O.; Duclaux, G.; Boisvert, E.; Cipolloni, C.; Cox, S.; Laxton, J.; Letourneau, F.; Richard, S.; Ritchie, A.; Sen, M.; Serrano, J.-J.; Simons, B.; Vuollo, J.

2012-04-01

GeoSciML version 3.0 (http://www.geosciml.org), released in late 2011, is the latest version of the CGI-IUGS* Interoperability Working Group geoscience data interchange standard. The new version is a significant upgrade and refactoring of GeoSciML v2 which was released in 2008. GeoSciML v3 has already been adopted by several major international interoperability initiatives, including OneGeology, the EU INSPIRE program, and the US Geoscience Information Network, as their standard data exchange format for geoscience data. GeoSciML v3 makes use of recently upgraded versions of several Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and ISO data transfer standards, including GML v3.2, SWE Common v2.0, and Observations and Measurements v2 (ISO 19156). The GeoSciML v3 data model has been refactored from a single large application schema with many packages, into a number of smaller, but related, application schema modules with individual namespaces. This refactoring allows the use and future development of modules of GeoSciML (eg; GeologicUnit, GeologicStructure, GeologicAge, Borehole) in smaller, more manageable units. As a result of this refactoring and the integration with new OGC and ISO standards, GeoSciML v3 is not backwardly compatible with previous GeoSciML versions. The scope of GeoSciML has been extended in version 3.0 to include new models for geomorphological data (a Geomorphology application schema), and for geological specimens, geochronological interpretations, and metadata for geochemical and geochronological analyses (a LaboratoryAnalysis-Specimen application schema). In addition, there is better support for borehole data, and the PhysicalProperties model now supports a wider range of petrophysical measurements. The previously used CGI_Value data type has been superseded in favour of externally governed data types provided by OGC's SWE Common v2 and GML v3.2 data standards. The GeoSciML v3 release includes worked examples of best practice in delivering geochemical analytical data using the Observations and Measurements (ISO19156) and SWE Common v2 models. The GeoSciML v3 data model does not include vocabularies to support the data model. However, it does provide a standard pattern to reference controlled vocabulary concepts using HTTP-URIs. The international GeoSciML community has developed distributed RDF-based geoscience vocabularies that can be accessed by GeoSciML web services using the standard pattern recommended in GeoSciML v3. GeoSciML v3 is the first version of GeoSciML that will be accompanied by web service validation tools using Schematron rules. For example, these validation tools may check for compliance of a web service to a particular profile of GeoSciML, or for logical consistency of data content that cannot be enforced by the application schemas. This validation process will support accreditation of GeoSciML services and a higher degree of semantic interoperability. * International Union of Geological Sciences Commission for Management and Application of Geoscience Information (CGI-IUGS)

Boron-containing organosilane polymers and ceramic materials thereof

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riccitiello, Salvatore R. (Inventor); Hsu, Ming-Ta S. (Inventor); Chen, Timothy S. (Inventor)

1988-01-01

The present invention relates to organic silicon-boron polymers which upon pyrolysis produce high-temperature ceramic materials. More particularly, it relates to the polyorganoborosilanes containing -Si-B- bonds which generate high-temperature ceramic materials (e.g., SiC, SiB4, B4C) upon thermal degradation. The process for preparing these organic silicon-boron polymer precursors are also part of the invention.

Methods of Making and Using Shape Memory Polymer Composite Patches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hood, Patrick J.

2011-01-01

A method of repairing a composite component having a damaged area including: laying a composite patch over the damaged area: activating the shape memory polymer resin to easily and quickly mold said patch to said damaged area; deactivating said shape memory polymer so that said composite patch retains the molded shape; and bonding said composite patch to said damaged part.

Effects of Temperature on Polymer/Carbon Chemical Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manfireda, Allison; Lara, Liana; Homer, Margie; Yen, Shiao-Pin; Kisor, Adam; Ryan, Margaret; Zhou, Hanying; Shevade, Abhijit; James, Lim; Manatt, Kenneth

2009-01-01

Experiments were conducted on the effects of temperature, polymer molecular weight, and carbon loading on the electrical resistances of polymer/carbon-black composite films. The experiment were performed in a continuing effort to develop such films as part of the JPL Electronic Nose (ENose), that would be used to detect, identify, and quantify parts-per-million (ppm) concentration levels of airborne chemicals in the space shuttle/space station environments. The polymers used in this study were three formulations of poly(ethylene oxide) [PEO] that had molecular weights of 20 kilodaltons, 600 kilodaltons, and 1 megadalton, respectively. The results of one set of experiments showed a correlation between the polymer molecular weight and the percolation threshold. In a second set of experiments, differences among the temperature dependences of resistance were observed for different carbon loadings; these differences could be explained by a change in the conduction mechanism. In a third set of experiments, the responses of six different polymer/carbon composite sensors to three analytes (water vapor, methanol, methane) were measured as a function of temperature (28 to 36 C). For a given concentration of each analyte, the response of each sensor decreased with increasing temperature, in a manner different from those of the other sensors.

Health behavior in persons with spinal cord injury: development and initial validation of an outcome measure.

PubMed

Pruitt, S D; Wahlgren, D R; Epping-Jordan, J E; Rossi, A L

1998-10-01

To describe the development and initial psychometric properties of a new outcome measure for health behaviors that delay or prevent secondary impairments associated with spinal cord injury (SCI). Persons with SCI were surveyed during routine annual physical evaluations. Veterans Affairs Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Unit, which specializes in primary care for persons with SCI. Forty-nine persons with SCI, aged 19-73 years, 1-50 years post-SCI. The newly developed Spinal Cord Injury Lifestyle Scale (SCILS). Internal consistency is high (alpha = 0.81). Correlations between clinicians' ratings of participants' health behavior and the new SCILS provide preliminary support for construct validity. The SCILS is a brief, self-report measure of health-related behavior in persons with SCI. It is a promising new outcome measure to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical and educational efforts for health maintenance and prevention of secondary impairments associated with SCI.

Clinical interpretation of the Spinal Cord Injury Functional Index (SCI-FI).

PubMed

Fyffe, Denise; Kalpakjian, Claire Z; Slavin, Mary; Kisala, Pamela; Ni, Pengsheng; Kirshblum, Steven C; Tulsky, David S; Jette, Alan M

2016-09-01

To provide validation of functional ability levels for the Spinal Cord Injury - Functional Index (SCI-FI). Cross-sectional. Inpatient rehabilitation hospital and community settings. A sample of 855 individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury enrolled in 6 rehabilitation centers participating in the National Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Network. Not Applicable. Spinal Cord Injury-Functional Index (SCI-FI). Cluster analyses identified three distinct groups that represent low, mid-range and high SCI-FI functional ability levels. Comparison of clusters on personal and other injury characteristics suggested some significant differences between groups. These results strongly support the use of SCI-FI functional ability levels to document the perceived functional abilities of persons with SCI. Results of the cluster analysis suggest that the SCI-FI functional ability levels capture function by injury characteristics. Clinical implications regarding tracking functional activity trajectories during follow-up visits are discussed.

Measurement of Bone: Diagnosis of SCI-Induced Osteoporosis and Fracture Risk Prediction

PubMed Central

Morse, Leslie R.

2015-01-01

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with a rapid loss of bone mass, resulting in severe osteoporosis and a 5- to 23-fold increase in fracture risk. Despite the seriousness of fractures in SCI, there are multiple barriers to osteoporosis diagnosis and wide variations in treatment practices for SCI-induced osteoporosis. Methods: We review the biological and structural changes that are known to occur in bone after SCI in the context of promoting future research to prevent or reduce risk of fracture in this population. We also review the most commonly used methods for assessing bone after SCI and discuss the strengths, limitations, and clinical applications of each method. Conclusions: Although dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry assessments of bone mineral density may be used clinically to detect changes in bone after SCI, 3-dimensional methods such as quantitative CT analysis are recommended for research applications and are explained in detail. PMID:26689691

The CanPain SCI Clinical Practice Guidelines for Rehabilitation Management of Neuropathic Pain after Spinal Cord: screening and diagnosis recommendations.

PubMed

Mehta, S; Guy, S D; Bryce, T N; Craven, B C; Finnerup, N B; Hitzig, S L; Orenczuk, S; Siddall, P J; Widerström-Noga, E; Casalino, A; Côté, I; Harvey, D; Kras-Dupuis, A; Lau, B; Middleton, J W; Moulin, D E; O'Connell, C; Parrent, A G; Potter, P; Short, C; Teasell, R; Townson, A; Truchon, C; Wolfe, D; Bradbury, C L; Loh, E

2016-08-01

Clinical practice guidelines. To develop the first Canadian clinical practice guidelines for screening and diagnosis of neuropathic pain in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). The guidelines are relevant for inpatient and outpatient SCI rehabilitation settings in Canada. The CanPainSCI Working Group reviewed evidence to address clinical questions regarding screening and diagnosis of neuropathic pain after SCI. A consensus process was followed to achieve agreement on recommendations and clinical considerations. Twelve recommendations, based on expert consensus, were developed for the screening and diagnosis of neuropathic pain after SCI. The recommendations address methods for assessment, documentation tools, team member accountability, frequency of screening and considerations for diagnostic investigation. Important clinical considerations accompany each recommendation. The expert Working Group developed recommendations for the screening and diagnosis of neuropathic pain after SCI that should be used to inform practice.

Measurement of Bone: Diagnosis of SCI-Induced Osteoporosis and Fracture Risk Prediction.

PubMed

Troy, Karen L; Morse, Leslie R

2015-01-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with a rapid loss of bone mass, resulting in severe osteoporosis and a 5- to 23-fold increase in fracture risk. Despite the seriousness of fractures in SCI, there are multiple barriers to osteoporosis diagnosis and wide variations in treatment practices for SCI-induced osteoporosis. We review the biological and structural changes that are known to occur in bone after SCI in the context of promoting future research to prevent or reduce risk of fracture in this population. We also review the most commonly used methods for assessing bone after SCI and discuss the strengths, limitations, and clinical applications of each method. Although dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry assessments of bone mineral density may be used clinically to detect changes in bone after SCI, 3-dimensional methods such as quantitative CT analysis are recommended for research applications and are explained in detail.

Massive open online courses for educating physiotherapists about spinal cord injuries: a descriptive study.

PubMed

Harvey, Lisa A; Glinsky, Joanne V; Muldoon, Stephen; Chhabra, Harvinder S

2017-01-01

This was a descriptive study with the primary objective of describing two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) about the physiotherapy management of spinal cord injuries. We sought to determine the number of participants who registered and then completed the MOOCs, and changes in participants' knowledge. The secondary objective was to determine whether the MOOCs increased usage of www.elearnSCI.org. The setting for this study was global and online. Two 5-week MOOCs were run in 2014 and 2016 about physiotherapy management of spinal cord injuries. The MOOCs were based on the physiotherapy module of www.elearnSCI.org. The data were collected on the number of participants who completed the MOOCs. Participants' knowledge was assessed prior to the commencement of the MOOC and upon completion of the MOOC. In addition, Google analytics were used to determine whether the MOOCs increased usage of www.elearnSCI.org over the two 5-week periods in which the MOOCs were run. In total, 3500 and 10 000 physiotherapists and physiotherapy students registered for the MOOC in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Participants' knowledge increased by a median (interquartile) of 15% (5 to 25% for 2014; 0 to 25% for 2016). Lessons from www.elearnSCI.org that formed part of the MOOC were accessed a median (interquartile range) of 8626 (6150 to 10 773) and 17 631 (15 262 to 22 929) times per day during the 2014 and 2016 MOOCs, respectively. MOOCs provide a relatively inexpensive way of providing education about the physiotherapy management of spinal cord injuries, but it is yet to be determined whether they improve clinical skills.

Massive open online courses for educating physiotherapists about spinal cord injuries: a descriptive study

PubMed Central

Harvey, Lisa A; Glinsky, Joanne V; Muldoon, Stephen; Chhabra, Harvinder S

2017-01-01

Introduction: This was a descriptive study with the primary objective of describing two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) about the physiotherapy management of spinal cord injuries. We sought to determine the number of participants who registered and then completed the MOOCs, and changes in participants’ knowledge. The secondary objective was to determine whether the MOOCs increased usage of www.elearnSCI.org. The setting for this study was global and online. Case presentation: Two 5-week MOOCs were run in 2014 and 2016 about physiotherapy management of spinal cord injuries. The MOOCs were based on the physiotherapy module of www.elearnSCI.org. The data were collected on the number of participants who completed the MOOCs. Participants’ knowledge was assessed prior to the commencement of the MOOC and upon completion of the MOOC. In addition, Google analytics were used to determine whether the MOOCs increased usage of www.elearnSCI.org over the two 5-week periods in which the MOOCs were run. Discussion: In total, 3500 and 10 000 physiotherapists and physiotherapy students registered for the MOOC in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Participants’ knowledge increased by a median (interquartile) of 15% (5 to 25% for 2014; 0 to 25% for 2016). Lessons from www.elearnSCI.org that formed part of the MOOC were accessed a median (interquartile range) of 8626 (6150 to 10 773) and 17 631 (15 262 to 22 929) times per day during the 2014 and 2016 MOOCs, respectively. MOOCs provide a relatively inexpensive way of providing education about the physiotherapy management of spinal cord injuries, but it is yet to be determined whether they improve clinical skills. PMID:28382217

Anorectal Stimulation Causes Increased Colonic Motor Activity in Subjects With Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Korsten, Mark A; Singal, Ashwani K; Monga, Amit; Chaparala, Geeta; Khan, Amir M; Palmon, Ron; Mendoza, John Reagan D; Lirio, Juan P; Rosman, Alan S; Spungen, Ann; Bauman, William A

2007-01-01

Background: Difficulty with evacuation (DWE) is a major problem after spinal cord injury (SCI). Stimulation of the anal canal and lower rectum, accomplished using a gloved finger (so-called digital rectal stimulation or DRS) is often used as an adjunct to laxatives and enemas to facilitate bowel evacuation. However, the basis for the efficacy of DRS is not known. This study assessed the effect of DRS on colonic motility. Methods: Six subjects with SCI were studied several hours after a bowel care session. Colonic motility was assessed using a manometric catheter (affixed endoscopically to the splenic flexure) at baseline, during DRS, and after DRS. In addition, evacuation of barium oatmeal paste (with the consistency of stool and introduced into the rectum and descending colon) was assessed simultaneously using fluoroscopic techniques. Results: The mean number (± SEM) of peristaltic waves per minute increased from 0 at baseline to 1.9 (±0.5/min) during DRS and 1.5 (±0.3/min) during the period immediately after cessation of DRS (P < 0.05). The mean amplitude (±SEM) of the peristaltic contractions was 43.4 (±2.2) mmHg. The frequency of contractions, as well as amplitude of contractions, during or immediately after DRS was not significantly different. These manometric changes in response to DRS were accompanied by expulsion of barium oatmeal paste in every subject by the fifth DRS. Conclusions: DRS causes left-sided colonic activity in subjects with SCI. At least in part, an anorectal colonic reflex that results in enhanced contractions of the descending colon and rectum may contribute to bowel evacuation in individuals with SCI. PMID:17385267

The effects of the Nintendo™ Wii Fit on gait, balance, and quality of life in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Feinn, Richard; Chui, Kevin; Cheng, M. Samuel

2015-01-01

Purpose To assess the effects of virtual reality using the NintendoTM Wii Fit on balance, gait, and quality of life in ambulatory individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). Relevance There is a need for continued research to support effective treatment techniques in individuals with iSCI to maximize each individual's potential functional performance. Subjects Five males with a mean age of 58.6 years who had an iSCI and were greater than one-year post injury. Methods An interrupted time series design with three pre-tests over three weeks, a post-test within one week of the intervention, and a four-week follow up. Outcome measures: gait speed, timed up and go (TUG), forward functional reach test (FFRT) and lateral functional reach test (LFRT), RAND SF-36. Intervention consisted of one-hour sessions with varied games using the Nintendo Wii Fit twice per week for seven weeks. Survey data was also collected at post-test. Results There were statistically significant changes found in gait speed and functional reach. The changes were also maintained at the four-week follow up post-test. Survey reports suggested improvements in balance, endurance, and mobility with daily tasks at home. Conclusion All subjects who participated in training with the NintendoTM Wii Fit demonstrated statistically significant improvements in gait speed and functional reach after seven weeks of training. Given the potential positive impact that the NintendoTM Wii Fit has on functional reach and gait speed in patients with iSCI, physical therapists may want to incorporate these activities as part of a rehabilitation program. PMID:25613853

Bank Terminals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

In the photo, employees of the UAB Bank, Knoxville, Tennessee, are using Teller Transaction Terminals manufactured by SCI Systems, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, an electronics firm which has worked on a number of space projects under contract with NASA. The terminals are part of an advanced, computerized financial transaction system that offers high efficiency in bank operations. The key to the system's efficiency is a "multiplexing" technique developed for NASA's Space Shuttle. Multiplexing is simultaneous transmission of large amounts of data over a single transmission link at very high rates of speed. In the banking application, a small multiplex "data bus" interconnects all the terminals and a central computer which stores information on clients' accounts. The data bus replaces the maze-of wiring that would be needed to connect each terminal separately and it affords greater speed in recording transactions. The SCI system offers banks real-time data management through constant updating of the central computer. For example, a check is immediately cancelled at the teller's terminal and the computer is simultaneously advised of the transaction; under other methods, the check would be cancelled and the transaction recorded at the close of business. Teller checkout at the end of the day, conventionally a time-consuming matter of processing paper, can be accomplished in minutes by calling up a summary of the day's transactions. SCI manufactures other types of terminals for use in the system, such as an administrative terminal that provides an immediate printout of a client's account, and another for printing and recording savings account deposits and withdrawals. SCI systems have been installed in several banks in Tennessee, Arizona, and Oregon and additional installations are scheduled this year.

SciLinks

Science.gov Websites

SciLinks Forgot your login? Sign up for FREE access Log In I'm a ... Teacher Student User Name questions and satisfy their curiosity Learn More Sign up for Free Access Sites in the SciLinks program . SciLinks-Targeted, Grade-Specific Web Content for your Books Free web content to extend and expand student

DoD-Wide Intelligence Career Development Program. General Intelligence Personnel

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-07-01

Science ASTRONMY /SPACE SCI Ballistics BALLISTCS Cartography CARTOGRY Cartographic Technician CARTOGR TECH Chemistry/Biochemistry CHEMSTRY/BIOCHEMSTRY...ARCHVST ....................... 4-63 E&E ............................ 4-60 ASTRONMY /SPACE SCI ........... 4-69 ECONMCS ....................... 4-75 AUTO...SPACE SCI-see ASTRONMY / OB-NAV ......................... 4-54 SPACE SCI OCEANOGY ..................... 4-70 SPACE SYS-ENGR ................ 4-48 OFC

The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Internet Gaming Disorder: Development and Validation for Diagnosing IGD in Adolescents

PubMed Central

Koo, Hoon Jung; Han, Doug Hyun; Park, Sung-Yong

2017-01-01

Objective This study aimed to develop and validate a Structured Clinical Interview for Internet Gaming Disorder (SCI-IGD) in adolescents. Methods First, we generated preliminary items of the SCI-IGD based on the information from the DSM-5 literature reviews and expert consultations. Next, a total of 236 adolescents, from both community and clinical settings, were recruited to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SCI-IGD. Results First, the SCI-IGD was found to be consistent over the time period of about one month. Second, diagnostic concordances between the SCI-IGD and clinician's diagnostic impression were good to excellent. The Likelihood Ratio Positive and the Likelihood Ratio Negative estimates for the diagnosis of SCI-IGD were 10.93 and 0.35, respectively, indicating that SCI-IGD was ‘very useful test’ for identifying the presence of IGD and ‘useful test’ for identifying the absence of IGD. Third, SCI-IGD could identify disordered gamers from non-disordered gamers. Conclusion The implications and limitations of the study are also discussed. PMID:28096871

Physical Activity Inventory for Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Butler, Jolene A.; Miller, Terrya; O’Connell, Susan; Jelinek, Christine; Collins, Eileen G.

2010-01-01

Objectives To test the reliability and validity of a physical activity instrument adapted for individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI), the Physical Activity Instrument-SCI (PAI-SCI). Methods Eligible participants completed the adapted PAI-SCI questionnaire at baseline and 1 week later. At baseline, they were also given an Actical accelerometer to wear on their wrist for 1 week. Results Forty-three male subjects completed the study. There was a moderate relationship between total score on the PAI-SCI and total activity count determined by accelerometry (r = 0.42, P = 0.036). The PAI-SCI was able to differentiate between people with upper and lower level injuries (P = 0.05). Test-retest reliability was supported for the exercise and the general activity/self care subscales and not supported for the light household or the outdoor/gardening subscales. Conclusion The PAI-SCI was able to distinguish between physical activity amongst those with upper level and lower level injuries. More research is needed before the PAI-SCI can be recommended for use in clinical trials. PMID:25190905

The Correlation of Gene Expression of Inflammasome Indicators and Impaired Fertility in Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury: A Time Course Study.

PubMed

Nikmehr, Banafsheh; Bazrafkan, Mahshid; Hassanzadeh, Gholamreza; Shahverdi, Abdolhossein; Sadighi Gilani, Mohammad Ali; Kiani, Sahar; Mokhtari, Tahmineh; Abolhassani, Farid

2017-11-04

Expression assessment of the inflammasome genes in the acute and the chronic phases of Spinal cord injury (SCI) on adult rat testis and examination of associations between inflammasome complex expression and sperm parameters. In this study, 25 adult male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. SCI surgery was performed at T10-T11 level of rats' spinal cord in four groups (SCI1, SCI3, SCI7, and SCI56). They were sacrificed after 1day, 3days, 7days and 56 days post SCI, respectively. One group remained intact as control (Co).CASA analysis of sperm parameters and qRT-PCR (ASC and Caspase-1) were made in all cases. Our data showed a severe reduction in sperm count and motility, especially on day 3 and 7. ASC gene expression had a non-significant increase on day 1 and 56 after surgery compared to control group. Caspase-1 expression increased significantly on day 3 post injury versus the control group (P = .009). Moreover, Caspase-1 overexpression, had significant correlations with sperm count (r = -0.555, P = .01) and sperm progressive motility (r = -0.524, P = .02). Inflammasome complex expression increase following SCI induction. This overexpression correlates to low sperm parameters in SCI rats.

Development and initial evaluation of the SCI-FI/AT

PubMed Central

Jette, Alan M.; Slavin, Mary D.; Ni, Pengsheng; Kisala, Pamela A.; Tulsky, David S.; Heinemann, Allen W.; Charlifue, Susie; Tate, Denise G.; Fyffe, Denise; Morse, Leslie; Marino, Ralph; Smith, Ian; Williams, Steve

2015-01-01

Objectives To describe the domain structure and calibration of the Spinal Cord Injury Functional Index for samples using Assistive Technology (SCI-FI/AT) and report the initial psychometric properties of each domain. Design Cross sectional survey followed by computerized adaptive test (CAT) simulations. Setting Inpatient and community settings. Participants A sample of 460 adults with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) stratified by level of injury, completeness of injury, and time since injury. Interventions None Main outcome measure SCI-FI/AT Results Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Item response theory (IRT) analyses identified 4 unidimensional SCI-FI/AT domains: Basic Mobility (41 items) Self-care (71 items), Fine Motor Function (35 items), and Ambulation (29 items). High correlations of full item banks with 10-item simulated CATs indicated high accuracy of each CAT in estimating a person's function, and there was high measurement reliability for the simulated CAT scales compared with the full item bank. SCI-FI/AT item difficulties in the domains of Self-care, Fine Motor Function, and Ambulation were less difficult than the same items in the original SCI-FI item banks. Conclusion With the development of the SCI-FI/AT, clinicians and investigators have available multidimensional assessment scales that evaluate function for users of AT to complement the scales available in the original SCI-FI. PMID:26010975

Walking in water and on land after an incomplete spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Tamburella, Federica; Scivoletto, Giorgio; Cosentino, Elena; Molinari, Marco

2013-10-01

Although no data are available on the effects of water environment on the gait of subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI), hydrotherapy is used in the rehabilitation protocols of SCI patients. The aim of this study was to characterize gait features of subjects with incomplete SCI walking in water and on land in comparison with healthy controls (CTRLs) to identify the specificity of water environment on influencing gait in SCI subjects. This is a matched case-control study. Kinematic gait parameters and range of motion of joint angles of 15 SCI subjects and 15 CTRLs were analyzed. Compared with gait on land, gait in water of the SCI patients was characterized by speed and stance phase reduction, gait cycle time increment, and invariance of stride length and range of motion values. Comparison with CTRL data remarked that walking in water reduces gait differences between the groups. Furthermore, in water, the SCI subjects presented a reduction in variability of the hip and knee joint angles, whereas in the CTRLs, a larger variability was observed. Gait in water of the SCI subjects is associated with kinematic parameters more similar to those of the CTRLs, particularly regarding speed, stride length, and stance phase, supporting the idea that walking in a water environment may be of rehabilitative significance for SCI subjects.

SCY-635, a Novel Nonimmunosuppressive Analog of Cyclosporine That Exhibits Potent Inhibition of Hepatitis C Virus RNA Replication In Vitro ▿ †

PubMed Central

Hopkins, Sam; Scorneaux, Bernard; Huang, Zhuhui; Murray, Michael G.; Wring, Stephen; Smitley, Craig; Harris, Richard; Erdmann, Frank; Fischer, Gunter; Ribeill, Yves

2010-01-01

SCY-635 is a novel nonimmunosuppressive cyclosporine-based analog that exhibits potent suppression of hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication in vitro. SCY-635 inhibited the peptidyl prolyl isomerase activity of cyclophilin A at nanomolar concentrations but showed no detectable inhibition of calcineurin phosphatase activity at concentrations up to 2 μM. Metabolic studies indicated that SCY-635 did not induce the major cytochrome P450 enzymes 1A2, 2B6, and 3A4. SCY-635 was a weak inhibitor and a poor substrate for P-glycoprotein. Functional assays with stimulated Jurkat cells and stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells indicated that SCY-635 is a weaker inhibitor of interleukin-2 secretion than cyclosporine. A series of two-drug combination studies was performed in vitro. SCY-635 exhibited synergistic antiviral activity with alpha interferon 2b and additive antiviral activity with ribavirin. SCY-635 was shown to be orally bioavailable in multiple animal species and produced blood and liver concentrations of parent drug that exceeded the 50% effective dose determined in the bicistronic con1b-derived replicon assay. These results suggest that SCY-635 warrants further investigation as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of individuals who are chronically infected with HCV. PMID:19933795

Development and initial evaluation of the SCI-FI/AT.

PubMed

Jette, Alan M; Slavin, Mary D; Ni, Pengsheng; Kisala, Pamela A; Tulsky, David S; Heinemann, Allen W; Charlifue, Susie; Tate, Denise G; Fyffe, Denise; Morse, Leslie; Marino, Ralph; Smith, Ian; Williams, Steve

2015-05-01

To describe the domain structure and calibration of the Spinal Cord Injury Functional Index for samples using Assistive Technology (SCI-FI/AT) and report the initial psychometric properties of each domain. Cross sectional survey followed by computerized adaptive test (CAT) simulations. Inpatient and community settings. A sample of 460 adults with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) stratified by level of injury, completeness of injury, and time since injury. None SCI-FI/AT RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Item response theory (IRT) analyses identified 4 unidimensional SCI-FI/AT domains: Basic Mobility (41 items) Self-care (71 items), Fine Motor Function (35 items), and Ambulation (29 items). High correlations of full item banks with 10-item simulated CATs indicated high accuracy of each CAT in estimating a person's function, and there was high measurement reliability for the simulated CAT scales compared with the full item bank. SCI-FI/AT item difficulties in the domains of Self-care, Fine Motor Function, and Ambulation were less difficult than the same items in the original SCI-FI item banks. With the development of the SCI-FI/AT, clinicians and investigators have available multidimensional assessment scales that evaluate function for users of AT to complement the scales available in the original SCI-FI.

The Cross-Cultural Societal Response to SCI: Health and Related Systems.

PubMed

Pacheco, Diana; Gross-Hemmi, Mirja H

2017-02-01

The Learning Health System for Spinal Cord Injury (LHS-SCI) is an initiative aligned with the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Disability Action Plan. Based on the outcomes of this initiative, countries will be able to shape their health systems to better respond to the needs of persons with SCI. This paper describes and compares the macroeconomic situation and societal response to SCI across 27 countries from all 6 WHO regions that will participate in the LHS-SCI initiative. A concurrent mixed-methods study was conducted to identify key indicators that describe the situation of persons with SCI, the general societal response, the health and rehabilitation system, and the experience for a SCI person after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. A strong correlation was found between the efficiency of a healthcare system and the amount a country invests in health. Higher availability of resources does not necessarily imply that unrestricted access to the healthcare system is warranted. Variations in the health systems were found for various domains of the health and rehabilitation systems. The evaluation and comparative analysis of the societal response to SCI raise the awareness of the need of more standardized data to identify current needs and gaps in the quality and access to SCI-specific health system.

Effect of oxidative stress induced by intracranial iron overload on central pain after spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Meng, Fan Xing; Hou, Jing Ming; Sun, Tian Sheng

2017-02-08

Central pain (CP) is a common clinical problem in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Recent studies found the pathogenesis of CP was related to the remodeling of the brain. We investigate the roles of iron overload and subsequent oxidative stress in the remodeling of the brain after SCI. We established a rat model of central pain after SCI. Rats were divided randomly into four groups: SCI, sham operation, SCI plus deferoxamine (DFX) intervention, and SCI plus nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor treatment. Pain behavior was observed and thermal pain threshold was measured regularly, and brain levels of iron, transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1), ferritin (Fn), and lactoferrin (Lf), were detected in the different groups 12 weeks after establishment of the model. Rats demonstrated self-biting behavior after SCI. Furthermore, the latent period of thermal pain was reduced and iron levels in the hind limb sensory area, hippocampus, and thalamus increased after SCI. Iron-regulatory protein (IRP) 1 levels increased in the hind limb sensory area, while Fn levels decreased. TfR1 mRNA levels were also increased and oxidative stress was activated. Oxidative stress could be inhibited by ferric iron chelators and NOS inhibitors. SCI may cause intracranial iron overload through the NOS-iron-responsive element/IRP pathway, resulting in central pain mediated by the oxidative stress response. Iron chelators and oxidative stress inhibitors can effectively relieve SCI-associated central pain.

Spinal Cord Injury and Migraine Headache: A Population-Based Study

PubMed Central

Warner, Freda M.; Cragg, Jacquelyn J.; Weisskopf, Marc G.; Kramer, John K.

2015-01-01

Migraine headaches are a common neurological condition, negatively impacting health and quality of life. Among potential risk factors for migraine headache, risk of migraine headaches was elevated in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The association between migraines and SCI is intriguing to consider from the perspective that migraine headaches may be acquired in response to damage in the spinal cord. The primary objective of this study was to further examine the association between SCI and migraine headache, controlling for potential confounding variables. A secondary objective was to determine the impact of migraine headaches on self-perceived health. Data from a sample of 61,047 participants were obtained from the cross-sectional Canadian Community Health Survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore the association between SCI and migraine headache using probability weights and adjusting for confounders. The multivariable age- and sex-adjusted model revealed a strong association between SCI and migraine headache, with an adjusted odds ratio for migraine of 4.82 (95% confidence interval [3.02, 7.67]) among those with SCI compared to those without SCI. Further, individuals who experienced both SCI and migraine tended to report poorer perceived general health compared with the other groups (i.e., SCI and no migraine). In conclusion, this study established a strong association between SCI and migraine headache. Further research is needed to explore the possible mechanisms underlying this relationship. Improvements in clinical practice to minimize this issue could result in significant improvements in quality of life. PMID:26308549

Comparison of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes in male factor infertility patients with and without spinal cord injuries.

PubMed

Kathiresan, Anupama S Q; Ibrahim, Emad; Aballa, Teodoro C; Attia, George R; Ory, Steven J; Hoffman, David I; Maxson, Wayne S; Barrionuevo, Marcelo J; Lynne, Charles M; Brackett, Nancy L

2011-09-01

To determine if outcomes after in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) using sperm from men with spinal cord injury (SCI group) differ from those of other etiologies of male factor infertility (non-SCI group). In men with SCI, to determine if IVF/ICSI outcomes differ with sperm obtained by penile vibratory stimulation (PVS group) versus electroejaculation (EEJ group). Retrospective analysis. University medical center and major infertility center. Couples with male factor infertility due to SCI versus other etiologies. PVS, EEJ, surgical sperm retrieval, and IVF/ICSI. Rates of fertilization, pregnancy, and live birth. A total of 31 couples in the SCI group underwent 48 cycles of IVF/ICSI, and a total of 297 couples in the non-SCI group underwent 443 cycles of IVF/ICSI. The SCI group had lower fertilization rates but similar pregnancy and live birth rates compared with the non-SCI group. These rates, however, did not differ significantly when the PVS group was compared with the EEJ group. IVF/ICSI of sperm from men with SCI yield lower fertilization rates but similar pregnancy and live birth outcomes as IVF/ICSI of sperm from men with other etiologies of male factor infertility. Sperm collected by PVS versus EEJ in men with SCI appear to result in similar IVF/ICSI success rates. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cognitive performance of people with traumatic spinal cord injury: a cross-sectional study comparing people with subacute and chronic injuries.

PubMed

Molina, B; Segura, A; Serrano, J P; Alonso, F J; Molina, L; Pérez-Borrego, Y A; Ugarte, M I; Oliviero, A

2018-02-22

Cross-sectional study. To assess the impact of spinal cord injury (SCI) on cognitive function in individuals with subacute and chronic SCI. National Hospital for SCI patients (Spain). The present investigation was designed to determine the nature, pattern, and extent of cognitive deficits in a group of participants with subacute (n = 32) and chronic (n = 34) SCI, using a comprehensive battery of reliable and validated neuropsychological assessments to study a broad range of cognitive functions. Twenty-seven able-bodied subjects matched to the groups with SCI for age and educational level formed the control group. The neuropsychological assessment showed alterations in the domain of attention, processing speed, memory and learning, executive functions, and in recognition in participants with SCI. The prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in the chronic stage was also confirmed at the individual level. The comparison of the neuropsychological assessment between the groups with subacute and chronic SCI showed a worsening of cognitive functions in those with chronic SCI compared to the group with subacute SCI. In participants with SCI, cognitive dysfunctions are present in the subacute stage and worsen over time. From a clinical point of view, we confirmed the presence of cognitive dysfunction that may interfere with the first stage of rehabilitation which is the most intense and important. Moreover, cognitive dysfunction may be important beyond the end of the first stage of rehabilitation as it can affect an individual's quality of life and possible integration to society.

Packaging stiff polymers in small containers: A molecular dynamics study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rapaport, D. C.

2016-09-01

The question of how stiff polymers are able to pack into small containers is particularly relevant to the study of DNA packaging in viruses. A reduced version of the problem based on coarse-grained representations of the main components of the system—the DNA polymer and the spherical viral capsid—has been studied by molecular dynamics simulation. The results, involving longer polymers than in earlier work, show that as polymers become more rigid there is an increasing tendency to self-organize as spools that wrap from the inside out, rather than the inverse direction seen previously. In the final state, a substantial part of the polymer is packed into one or more coaxial spools, concentrically layered with different orientations, a form of packaging achievable without twisting the polymer.

Electromagnetic Nondestructive Evaluation of Wire Insulation and Models of Insulation Material Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowler, Nicola; Kessler, Michael R.; Li, Li; Hondred, Peter R.; Chen, Tianming

2012-01-01

Polymers have been widely used as wiring electrical insulation materials in space/air-craft. The dielectric properties of insulation polymers can change over time, however, due to various aging processes such as exposure to heat, humidity and mechanical stress. Therefore, the study of polymers used in electrical insulation of wiring is important to the aerospace industry due to potential loss of life and aircraft in the event of an electrical fire caused by breakdown of wiring insulation. Part of this research is focused on studying the mechanisms of various environmental aging process of the polymers used in electrical wiring insulation and the ways in which their dielectric properties change as the material is subject to the aging processes. The other part of the project is to determine the feasibility of a new capacitive nondestructive testing method to indicate degradation in the wiring insulation, by measuring its permittivity.

Secretory expression and surface display of a new and biologically active single-chain insulin (SCI-59) analog by lactic acid bacteria.

PubMed

Mao, Ruifeng; Wu, Dongli; Hu, Shimeng; Zhou, Kangping; Wang, Man; Wang, Yefu

2017-04-01

Insulin plays an important role in drug therapies for diabetes mellitus and as the main route of insulin delivery, subcutaneous injection may cause local discomfort, hypoglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and patient non-compliance. Therefore, oral delivery of insulin is more preferred. However, there is a low bioavailability due to insulin degradation by proteolytic enzymes and severe pH conditions along the gastrointestinal tract. In order to use the food-grade bacteria lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as oral delivery vehicles, a new and bioactive single-chain insulin (SCI-59) analog, containing the insulin B- and A-chains connected by an eight-residue linker (RSRGLPFR), was secretory expressed in Lactococcus lactis NZ3900 without using an antibiotic resistance gene and displayed onto the surface of various non-viable bacteria (NVBs) without genetic modification. Both the free SCI-59 and SCI-59 displayed on the surface of NVBs are biologically active as assayed by their ability to stimulate Akt signaling in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Modification of the pH of the medium by NaOH addition at early time during induction can enhance the bioactivity of SCI-59. The C-terminal fused anchoring domain, three LysM repeats, does not affect the formation of disulfide bonds and/or the folding of SCI-59, and SCI-59 could be exposed properly and fully when SCI-59-3LysM bound to the surface of NVBs. Compared to the free form SCI-59, SCI-59 displayed on the surface of NVBs is more stable in simulate gastric juice. It may open new prospects for possible oral treatments of diabetes using live LAB secreting or NVBs carrying bioactive SCI analogs.

Natural Killer (NK) Cell Functionality after human Spinal Cord Injury (SCI): protocol of a prospective, longitudinal study.

PubMed

Laginha, Inês; Kopp, Marcel A; Druschel, Claudia; Schaser, Klaus-Dieter; Brommer, Benedikt; Hellmann, Rick C; Watzlawick, Ralf; Ossami-Saidi, Ramin-Raul; Prüss, Harald; Failli, Vieri; Meisel, Christian; Liebscher, Thomas; Prilipp, Erik; Niedeggen, Andreas; Ekkernkamp, Axel; Grittner, Ulrike; Piper, Sophie K; Dirnagl, Ulrich; Killig, Monica; Romagnani, Chiara; Schwab, Jan M

2016-09-13

Natural killer (NK) cells comprise the main components of lymphocyte-mediated nonspecific immunity. Through their effector function they play a crucial role combating bacterial and viral challenges. They are also thought to be key contributors to the systemic spinal cord injury-induced immune-deficiency syndrome (SCI-IDS). SCI-IDS increases susceptibility to infection and extends to the post-acute and chronic phases after SCI. The prospective study of NK cell function after traumatic SCI was carried out in two centers in Berlin, Germany. SCI patients and control patients with neurologically silent vertebral fracture also undergoing surgical stabilization were enrolled. Furthermore healthy controls were included to provide reference data. The NK cell function was assessed at 7 (5-9) days, 14 days (11-28) days, and 10 (8-12) weeks post-trauma. Clinical documentation included the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale (AIS), neurological level of injury, infection status, concomitant injury, and medications. The primary endpoint of the study is CD107a expression by NK cells (cytotoxicity marker) 8-12 weeks following SCI. Secondary endpoints are the NK cell's TNF-α and IFN-γ production by the NK cells 8-12 weeks following SCI. The protocol of this study was developed to investigate the hypotheses whether i) SCI impairs NK cell function throughout the post-acute and sub-acute phases after SCI and ii) the degree of impairment relates to lesion height and severity. A deeper understanding of the SCI-IDS is crucial to enable strategies for prevention of infections, which are associated with poor neurological outcome and elevated mortality. DRKS00009855 .

Measuring depression after spinal cord injury: Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Depression item bank and linkage with PHQ-9.

PubMed

Tulsky, David S; Kisala, Pamela A; Kalpakjian, Claire Z; Bombardier, Charles H; Pohlig, Ryan T; Heinemann, Allen W; Carle, Adam; Choi, Seung W

2015-05-01

To develop a calibrated spinal cord injury-quality of life (SCI-QOL) item bank, computer adaptive test (CAT), and short form to assess depressive symptoms experienced by individuals with SCI, transform scores to the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) metric, and create a crosswalk to the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9. We used grounded-theory based qualitative item development methods, large-scale item calibration field testing, confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory (IRT) analyses, and statistical linking techniques to transform scores to a PROMIS metric and to provide a crosswalk with the PHQ-9. Five SCI Model System centers and one Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in the United States. Adults with traumatic SCI. Spinal Cord Injury--Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) Depression Item Bank Individuals with SCI were involved in all phases of SCI-QOL development. A sample of 716 individuals with traumatic SCI completed 35 items assessing depression, 18 of which were PROMIS items. After removing 7 non-PROMIS items, factor analyses confirmed a unidimensional pool of items. We used a graded response IRT model to estimate slopes and thresholds for the 28 retained items. The SCI-QOL Depression measure correlated 0.76 with the PHQ-9. The SCI-QOL Depression item bank provides a reliable and sensitive measure of depressive symptoms with scores reported in terms of general population norms. We provide a crosswalk to the PHQ-9 to facilitate comparisons between measures. The item bank may be administered as a CAT or as a short form and is suitable for research and clinical applications.

B-Cell Maturation Antigen, A Proliferation-Inducing Ligand, and B-Cell Activating Factor Are Candidate Mediators of Spinal Cord Injury-Induced Autoimmunity

PubMed Central

Saltzman, Jonah W.; Battaglino, Ricardo A.; Salles, Loise; Jha, Prateek; Sudhakar, Supreetha; Garshick, Eric; Stott, Helen L.; Zafonte, Ross

2013-01-01

Abstract Autoimmunity is thought to contribute to poor neurological outcomes after spinal cord injury (SCI). There are few mechanism-based therapies, however, designed to reduce tissue damage and neurotoxicity after SCI because the molecular and cellular bases for SCI-induced autoimmunity are not completely understood. Recent groundbreaking studies in rodents indicate that B cells are responsible for SCI-induced autoimmunity. This novel paradigm, if confirmed in humans, could aid in the design of neuroprotective immunotherapies. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular signaling pathways and mechanisms by which autoimmunity is induced after SCI, with the goal of identifying potential targets in therapies designed to reduce tissue damage and inflammation in the chronic phase of SCI. To that end, we performed an exploratory microarray analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to identify differentially expressed genes in chronic SCI. We identified a gene network associated with lymphoid tissue structure and development that was composed of 29 distinct molecules and five protein complexes, including two cytokines, a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) and B-cell–activating factor (BAFF), and one receptor, B-cell maturation antigen (BMCA) involved in B cell development, proliferation, activation, and survival. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis from ribonucleic acid samples confirmed upregulation of these three genes in SCI. To our knowledge, this is the first report that peripheral blood mononuclear cells produce increased levels of BAFF and APRIL in chronic SCI. This finding provides evidence of systemic regulation of SCI-autoimmunity via APRIL and BAFF mediated activation of B cells through BMCA and points toward these molecules as potential targets of therapies designed to reduce neuroinflammation after SCI. PMID:23088438

Characterization of the Antibody Response after Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Ulndreaj, Antigona; Tzekou, Apostolia; Mothe, Andrea J.; Siddiqui, Ahad M.; Dragas, Rachel; Tator, Charles H.; Torlakovic, Emina E.

2017-01-01

Abstract The immune system plays a critical and complex role in the pathobiology of spinal cord injury (SCI), exerting both beneficial and detrimental effects. Increasing evidence suggests that there are injury level–dependent differences in the immune response to SCI. Patients with traumatic SCI have elevated levels of circulating autoantibodies against components of the central nervous system, but the role of these antibodies in SCI outcomes remains unknown. In rodent models of mid-thoracic SCI, antibody-mediated autoimmunity appears to be detrimental to recovery. However, whether autoantibodies against the spinal cord are generated following cervical SCI (cSCI), the most common level of injury in humans, remains undetermined. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the antibody responses following cSCI in a rat model of injury. We found increased immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM antibodies in the spinal cord in the subacute phase of injury (2 weeks), but not in more chronic phases (10 and 20 weeks). At 2 weeks post-cSCI, antibodies were detected at the injury epicenter and co-localized with the astroglial scar and neurons of the ventral horn. These increased levels of antibodies corresponded with enhanced activation of immune responses in the spleen. Higher counts of antibody-secreting cells were observed in the spleen of injured rats. Further, increased levels of secreted IgG antibodies and enhanced proliferation of T-cells in splenocyte cultures from injured rats were found. These findings suggest the potential development of autoantibody responses following cSCI in the rat. The impact of the post-traumatic antibody responses on functional outcomes of cSCI is a critical topic that requires further investigation. PMID:27775474

(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) modulates neurological function when intravenously infused in acute and, chronically injured spinal cord of adult rats.

PubMed

Renno, Waleed M; Al-Khaledi, Ghanim; Mousa, Alyaa; Karam, Shaima M; Abul, Habib; Asfar, Sami

2014-02-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes severe and long lasting motor and sensory deficits, chronic pain, and autonomic dysreflexia. (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has shown to produce neuroprotective effect in a broad range of neurodegenerative disease animal models. This study designed to test the efficacy of intravenous infusion of EGCG for 36 h, in acutely injured rats' spinal cord: within first 4 h post-injury and, in chronically SC injured rats: after one year of injury. Functional outcomes measured using standard BBB scale, The Louisville Swim Scale (LSS) and, pain behavior assessment tests. 72 Female adult rats subjected to moderate thoracic SCI using MASCIS Impactor, blindly randomized as the following: (I) Acute SCI + EGCG (II) Acute SCI + saline. (III) Chronic SCI + EGCG. (IV) Chronic SCI + saline and, sham SCI animals. EGCG i.v. treatment of acute and, chronic SCI animals resulted in significantly better recovery of motor and sensory functions, BBB and LSS (P < 0.005) and (P < 0.05) respectively. Tactile allodynia, mechanical nociception (P < 0.05) significantly improved. Paw withdrawal and, tail flick latencies increase significantly (P < 0.05). Moreover, in the EGCG treated acute SCI animals the percentage of lesion size area significantly reduced (P < 0.0001) and, the number of neurons in the spinal cord increased (P < 0.001). Percent areas of GAP-43 and GFAP immunohistochemistry showed significant (P < 0.05) increase. We conclude that the therapeutic window of opportunity for EGCG to depict neurological recovery in SCI animals, is viable up to one year post SCI when intravenously infused for 36 h. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health Care Costs for Patients With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury in the Veterans Health Administration

PubMed Central

French, Dustin D; Campbell, Robert R; Sabharwal, Sunil; Nelson, Audrey L; Palacios, Polly A; Gavin-Dreschnack, Deborah

2007-01-01

Background/Objective: Recurring annual costs of caring for patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a large economic burden on health care systems, but information on costs of SCI care beyond the acute and initial postacute phase is sparse. The objective of this study was to establish a frame of reference and estimate of the annual direct medical costs associated with health care for a sample of patients with chronic SCI (ie, >2 years after injury). Methods: Patients were recruited from 3 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) SCI facilities; baseline patient information was cross-referenced to the Decision Support System (DSS) National Data Extracts (NDE) to obtain patient-specific health care costs in VHA. Descriptive statistical analysis of annual DSS-NDE cost of patients with SCI (N = 675) for fiscal year (FY) 2005 by level and completeness of injury was conducted. Results: Total (inpatient and outpatient) annual (FY 2005) direct medical costs for 675 patients with SCI exceeded $14.47 million or $21,450 per patient. Average annual total costs varied from $28,334 for cervical complete SCI to $16,792 for thoracic incomplete SCI. Two hundred thirty-three of the 675 patients with SCI who were hospitalized over the study period accounted for a total of 378 hospital discharges, costing in excess of $7.19 million. This approximated a cost of outpatient care received of $7.28 million for our entire sample. Conclusions: The comprehensive nature of health care delivery and related cost capture for people with chronic SCI in the VHA provided us the opportunity to accurately determine health care costs for this population. Future SCI postacute care cost analyses should consider case-mix adjusting patients at high risk for rehospitalization. PMID:18092564

Prognostic Factors Associated with Recovery of Ambulation and Urinary Continence in Dogs with Acute Lumbosacral Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Shaw, T A; De Risio, L; Laws, E J; Rose, J H; Harcourt-Brown, T R; Granger, N

2017-05-01

Limited information is available about prognostic factors for recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) to the L4-S3 segments. Previous research suggests that L4-S3 SCI does not have a worse prognosis than T3-L3 SCI. To elucidate prognostic factors for regaining urinary continence and ambulation in dogs with L4-S3 SCI and compare prognosis to T3-L3 SCI. A retrospective study on 61 nonambulatory dogs with L4-S3 SCI, matched to dogs with T3-L3 SCI, compared 3 weeks after onset. Prognostic factors explored using logistic regression and used for matching: nonchondrodystrophic dogs >15 kg versus dogs that were chondrodystrophic or <15 kg; compressive versus noncompressive lesions; presence versus absence of conscious pain perception (CPP); and lower vs upper motor neuron (LMN/UMN) incontinence. Fewer L4-S3 dogs regained continence compared to T3-L3 dogs (64 vs 85%, P = .0033), but no difference existed for regaining ambulation (66 vs 75%, P = .1306). In L4-S3 SCI dogs, fewer dogs regained continence with loss of CPP (P < .001), LMN incontinence (P = .004), and noncompressive lesions (P = .006). Negative prognostic factors for regaining ambulation included absent CPP (P < .001) and large nonchondrodystrophic breed (P = .022). Dogs with L4-S3 SCI have a poorer short-term prognosis than do dogs with T3-L3 SCI. Dogs with L4-S3 SCI had a poor prognosis with loss of CPP, or noncompressive lesions combined with LMN incontinence. Small-breed or chondrodystrophic dogs with retained CPP, compressive lesions, and UMN incontinence had an excellent prognosis. These findings may help guide decision-making in L4-S3 SCI. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Aquaporins in Spinal Cord Injury: The Janus Face of AQP4

PubMed Central

Nesic, Olivera; Guest, James D.; Zivadinovic, Dragoslava; Narayana, Ponnada A.; Herrera, Juan J.; Grill, Raymond J.; Mokkapati, Venkata U.L.; Gelman, Benjamin B.; Lee, Julieann

2010-01-01

Although malfunction of spinal cord water channels (aquaporins, AQP) likely contributes to severe disturbances in ion/water homeostasis after spinal cord injury (SCI), their roles are still poorly understood. Here we report and discuss the potential significance of changes in the AQP4 expression in human SCI that generates GFAP-labeled astrocytes devoid of AQP4, and GFAP-labeled astroglia that overexpress AQP4. We used a rat model of contusion SCI to study observed changes in human SCI. AQP4-negative astrocytes are likely generated during the process of SCI-induced replacement of lost astrocytes, but their origin and role in SCI remains to be investigated. We found that AQP4-overexpression is likely triggered by hypoxia. Our transcriptional profiling of injured rat cords suggests that elevated AQP4-mediated water influx accompanies increased uptake of chloride and potassium ions which represents a protective astrocytic reaction to hypoxia. However, unbalanced water intake also results in astrocytic swelling that can contribute to motor impairment, but likely only in milder injuries. In severe rat SCI, a low abundance of AQP4-overexpressing astrocytes was found during the motor recovery phase. Our results suggest that severe rat contusion SCI is a better model to analyze AQP4 functions after SCI. We found that AQP4 increases in the chronic post-injury phase are associated with the development of pain-like behavior in SCI rats, while possible mechanisms underlying pain development may involve astrocytic swelling-induced glutamate release. In contrast, the formation and size of fluid-filled cavities occurring later after SCI does not appear to be affected by the extent of increased AQP4 levels. Therefore, the effect of therapeutic interventions targeting AQP4 will depend not only on the time interval after SCI or animal models, but also on the balance between protective role of increased AQP4 in hypoxia and deleterious effects of ongoing astrocytic swelling. PMID:20109536

Modelling and scale-up of chemical flooding

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

Pope, G.A.; Lake, L.W.; Sepehrnoori, K.

1990-03-01

The objective of this research is to develop, validate, and apply a comprehensive chemical flooding simulator for chemical recovery processes involving surfactants, polymers, and alkaline chemicals in various combinations. This integrated program includes components of laboratory experiments, physical property modelling, scale-up theory, and numerical analysis as necessary and integral components of the simulation activity. We have continued to develop, test, and apply our chemical flooding simulator (UTCHEM) to a wide variety of laboratory and reservoir problems involving tracers, polymers, polymer gels, surfactants, and alkaline agents. Part I is an update on the Application of Higher-Order Methods in Chemical Flooding Simulation.more » This update focuses on the comparison of grid orientation effects for four different numerical methods implemented in UTCHEM. Part II is on Simulation Design Studies and is a continuation of Saad's Big Muddy surfactant pilot simulation study reported last year. Part III reports on the Simulation of Gravity Effects under conditions similar to those of some of the oil reservoirs in the North Sea. Part IV is on Determining Oil Saturation from Interwell Tracers UTCHEM is used for large-scale interwell tracer tests. A systematic procedure for estimating oil saturation from interwell tracer data is developed and a specific example based on the actual field data provided by Sun E P Co. is given. Part V reports on the Application of Vectorization and Microtasking for Reservoir Simulation. Part VI reports on Alkaline Simulation. The alkaline/surfactant/polymer flood compositional simulator (UTCHEM) reported last year is further extended to include reactions involving chemical species containing magnesium, aluminium and silicon as constituent elements. Part VII reports on permeability and trapping of microemulsion.« less

Low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy promotes vascular endothelial growth factor expression and improves locomotor recovery after spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Yamaya, Seiji; Ozawa, Hiroshi; Kanno, Haruo; Kishimoto, Koshi N; Sekiguchi, Akira; Tateda, Satoshi; Yahata, Kenichiro; Ito, Kenta; Shimokawa, Hiroaki; Itoi, Eiji

2014-12-01

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is widely used for the clinical treatment of various human diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated that low-energy ESWT upregulates the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and promotes angiogenesis and functional recovery in myocardial infarction and peripheral artery disease. Many previous reports suggested that VEGF produces a neuroprotective effect to reduce secondary neural tissue damage after spinal cord injury (SCI). The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether low-energy ESWT promotes VEGF expression and neuroprotection and improves locomotor recovery after SCI. Sixty adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham group (laminectomy only), sham-SW group (low-energy ESWT applied after laminectomy), SCI group (SCI only), and SCI-SW group (low-energy ESWT applied after SCI). Thoracic spinal cord contusion injury was inflicted using an impactor. Low-energy ESWT was applied to the injured spinal cord 3 times a week for 3 weeks. Locomotor function was evaluated using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) Scale (open field locomotor score) at different time points over 42 days after SCI. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to assess neural tissue damage in the spinal cord. Neuronal loss was investigated by immunostaining for NeuN. The mRNA expressions of VEGF and its receptor, Flt-1, in the spinal cord were assessed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Immunostaining for VEGF was performed to evaluate VEGF protein expression in the spinal cord. In both the sham and sham-SW groups, no animals showed locomotor impairment on BBB scoring. Histological analysis of H & E and NeuN stainings in the sham-SW group confirmed that no neural tissue damage was induced by the low-energy ESWT. Importantly, animals in the SCI-SW group demonstrated significantly better locomotor improvement than those in the SCI group at 7, 35, and 42 days after injury (p < 0.05). The number of NeuN-positive cells in the SCI-SW group was significantly higher than that in the SCI group at 42 days after injury (p < 0.05). In addition, mRNA expressions of VEGF and Flt-1 were significantly increased in the SCI-SW group compared with the SCI group at 7 days after injury (p < 0.05). The expression of VEGF protein in the SCI-SW group was significantly higher than that in the SCI group at 7 days (p < 0.01). The present study showed that low-energy ESWT significantly increased expressions of VEGF and Flt-1 in the spinal cord without any detrimental effect. Furthermore, it significantly reduced neuronal loss in damaged neural tissue and improved locomotor function after SCI. These results suggested that low-energy ESWT enhances the neuroprotective effect of VEGF in reducing secondary injury and leads to better locomotor recovery following SCI. This study provides the first evidence that low-energy ESWT can be a safe and promising therapeutic strategy for SCI.

Rapid energy-efficient manufacturing of polymers and composites via frontal polymerization.

PubMed

Robertson, Ian D; Yourdkhani, Mostafa; Centellas, Polette J; Aw, Jia En; Ivanoff, Douglas G; Goli, Elyas; Lloyd, Evan M; Dean, Leon M; Sottos, Nancy R; Geubelle, Philippe H; Moore, Jeffrey S; White, Scott R

2018-05-01

Thermoset polymers and composite materials are integral to today's aerospace, automotive, marine and energy industries and will be vital to the next generation of lightweight, energy-efficient structures in these enterprises, owing to their excellent specific stiffness and strength, thermal stability and chemical resistance 1-5 . The manufacture of high-performance thermoset components requires the monomer to be cured at high temperatures (around 180 °C) for several hours, under a combined external pressure and internal vacuum 6 . Curing is generally accomplished using large autoclaves or ovens that scale in size with the component. Hence this traditional curing approach is slow, requires a large amount of energy and involves substantial capital investment 6,7 . Frontal polymerization is a promising alternative curing strategy, in which a self-propagating exothermic reaction wave transforms liquid monomers to fully cured polymers. We report here the frontal polymerization of a high-performance thermoset polymer that allows the rapid fabrication of parts with microscale features, three-dimensional printed structures and carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer composites. Precise control of the polymerization kinetics at both ambient and elevated temperatures allows stable monomer solutions to transform into fully cured polymers within seconds, reducing energy requirements and cure times by several orders of magnitude compared with conventional oven or autoclave curing approaches. The resulting polymer and composite parts possess similar mechanical properties to those cured conventionally. This curing strategy greatly improves the efficiency of manufacturing of high-performance polymers and composites, and is widely applicable to many industries.

Gibbs Ensemble Simulations of the Solvent Swelling of Polymer Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gartner, Thomas; Epps, Thomas, III; Jayaraman, Arthi

Solvent vapor annealing (SVA) is a useful technique to tune the morphology of block polymer, polymer blend, and polymer nanocomposite films. Despite SVA's utility, standardized SVA protocols have not been established, partly due to a lack of fundamental knowledge regarding the interplay between the polymer(s), solvent, substrate, and free-surface during solvent annealing and evaporation. An understanding of how to tune polymer film properties in a controllable manner through SVA processes is needed. Herein, the thermodynamic implications of the presence of solvent in the swollen polymer film is explored through two alternative Gibbs ensemble simulation methods that we have developed and extended: Gibbs ensemble molecular dynamics (GEMD) and hybrid Monte Carlo (MC)/molecular dynamics (MD). In this poster, we will describe these simulation methods and demonstrate their application to polystyrene films swollen by toluene and n-hexane. Polymer film swelling experiments, Gibbs ensemble molecular simulations, and polymer reference interaction site model (PRISM) theory are combined to calculate an effective Flory-Huggins χ (χeff) for polymer-solvent mixtures. The effects of solvent chemistry, solvent content, polymer molecular weight, and polymer architecture on χeff are examined, providing a platform to control and understand the thermodynamics of polymer film swelling.

78 FR 20029 - Castor Oil, Polymer With Adipic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Oleic Acid and Ricinoleic Acid; Tolerance...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-03

... of pesticide use in residential settings. If EPA is able to determine that a finite tolerance is not... environment. 2. The polymer does contain as an integral part of its composition the atomic elements carbon... impurities, any element other than those listed in 40 CFR 723.250(d)(2)(ii). 4. The polymer is neither...

MadSciNet: The 24-hour exploding laboratory.

Science.gov Websites

Page New! Help Improve The Madsci Network Help Support MadSci MAD Head MAD egg Welcome to the laboratory that never sleeps! MadSci Network represents a collective cranium of scientists providing answers Sunday May 27, 2018. Lynn MadSci Network is a non-profit organization operating in partnership with Third

32 CFR 171.6 - Reutilization and transfer procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., it shall send a written notice of dispute to the owning Military Service and ADUSD(L&MR/SCI) within thirty (30) days of its notice from the Military Service. ADUSD(L&MR/SCI) shall then resolve the dispute... and ADUSD(L&MR/SCI) within thirty (30) days of its notice from the Military Service. ADUSD(L&MR/SCI...

32 CFR 171.6 - Reutilization and transfer procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., it shall send a written notice of dispute to the owning Military Service and ADUSD(L&MR/SCI) within thirty (30) days of its notice from the Military Service. ADUSD(L&MR/SCI) shall then resolve the dispute... and ADUSD(L&MR/SCI) within thirty (30) days of its notice from the Military Service. ADUSD(L&MR/SCI...

Poly(ether ester) Ionomers as Water-Soluble Polymers for Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing Processes.

PubMed

Pekkanen, Allison M; Zawaski, Callie; Stevenson, André T; Dickerman, Ross; Whittington, Abby R; Williams, Christopher B; Long, Timothy E

2017-04-12

Water-soluble polymers as sacrificial supports for additive manufacturing (AM) facilitate complex features in printed objects. Few water-soluble polymers beyond poly(vinyl alcohol) enable material extrusion AM. In this work, charged poly(ether ester)s with tailored rheological and mechanical properties serve as novel materials for extrusion-based AM at low temperatures. Melt transesterification of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, 8k) and dimethyl 5-sulfoisophthalate afforded poly(ether ester)s of sufficient molecular weight to impart mechanical integrity. Quantitative ion exchange provided a library of poly(ether ester)s with varying counterions, including both monovalent and divalent cations. Dynamic mechanical and tensile analysis revealed an insignificant difference in mechanical properties for these polymers below the melting temperature, suggesting an insignificant change in final part properties. Rheological analysis, however, revealed the advantageous effect of divalent countercations (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and Zn 2+ ) in the melt state and exhibited an increase in viscosity of two orders of magnitude. Furthermore, time-temperature superposition identified an elevation in modulus, melt viscosity, and flow activation energy, suggesting intramolecular interactions between polymer chains and a higher apparent molecular weight. In particular, extrusion of poly(PEG 8k -co-CaSIP) revealed vast opportunities for extrusion AM of well-defined parts. The unique melt rheological properties highlighted these poly(ether ester) ionomers as ideal candidates for low-temperature material extrusion additive manufacturing of water-soluble parts.

3D Printing Polymers with Supramolecular Functionality for Biological Applications.

PubMed

Pekkanen, Allison M; Mondschein, Ryan J; Williams, Christopher B; Long, Timothy E

2017-09-11

Supramolecular chemistry continues to experience widespread growth, as fine-tuned chemical structures lead to well-defined bulk materials. Previous literature described the roles of hydrogen bonding, ionic aggregation, guest/host interactions, and π-π stacking to tune mechanical, viscoelastic, and processing performance. The versatility of reversible interactions enables the more facile manufacturing of molded parts with tailored hierarchical structures such as tissue engineered scaffolds for biological applications. Recently, supramolecular polymers and additive manufacturing processes merged to provide parts with control of the molecular, macromolecular, and feature length scales. Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, generates customizable constructs desirable for many applications, and the introduction of supramolecular interactions will potentially increase production speed, offer a tunable surface structure for controlling cell/scaffold interactions, and impart desired mechanical properties through reinforcing interlayer adhesion and introducing gradients or self-assembled structures. This review details the synthesis and characterization of supramolecular polymers suitable for additive manufacture and biomedical applications as well as the use of supramolecular polymers in additive manufacturing for drug delivery and complex tissue scaffold formation. The effect of supramolecular assembly and its dynamic behavior offers potential for controlling the anisotropy of the printed objects with exquisite geometrical control. The potential for supramolecular polymers to generate well-defined parts, hierarchical structures, and scaffolds with gradient properties/tuned surfaces provides an avenue for developing next-generation biomedical devices and tissue scaffolds.

Polymer Disentanglement during 3D Printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McIlroy, Claire; Olmsted, Peter D.

Although 3D printing has the potential to transform manufacturing processes, improving the strength of printed parts to rival that of traditionally-manufactured parts remains an underlying issue. The most common method, fused filament fabrication (FFF), involves melting a thermoplastic, followed by layer-by-layer filament extrusion to fabricate a 3D object. The key to ensuring strength at the weld between layers is successful inter-diffusion and re-entanglement of the melt across the interface. Under typical printing conditions the melt experiences high strain rates within the nozzle, which can significantly stretch and orient the polymers. Consequently, inter-diffusion does not occur from an equilibrium state. The printed layer also cools towards the glass transition, which limits inter-diffusion time. We employ a continuum polymer model (Rolie-Poly) that incorporates flow-induced changes in the entanglement density to predict how an amorphous polymer melt is deformed during FFF. The deformation is dominated by the deposition process, which involves a 90 degree turn and transformation from circular to elliptical geometry. Polymers become highly stretched and aligned with the flow direction, which significantly disentangles the melt via convective constraint release.

Polymers for Drug Delivery Systems

PubMed Central

Liechty, William B.; Kryscio, David R.; Slaughter, Brandon V.; Peppas, Nicholas A.

2012-01-01

Polymers have played an integral role in the advancement of drug delivery technology by providing controlled release of therapeutic agents in constant doses over long periods, cyclic dosage, and tunable release of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. From early beginnings using off-the-shelf materials, the field has grown tremendously, driven in part by the innovations of chemical engineers. Modern advances in drug delivery are now predicated upon the rational design of polymers tailored for specific cargo and engineered to exert distinct biological functions. In this review, we highlight the fundamental drug delivery systems and their mathematical foundations and discuss the physiological barriers to drug delivery. We review the origins and applications of stimuli-responsive polymer systems and polymer therapeutics such as polymer-protein and polymer-drug conjugates. The latest developments in polymers capable of molecular recognition or directing intracellular delivery are surveyed to illustrate areas of research advancing the frontiers of drug delivery. PMID:22432577

Research Trends of Soft Actuators based on Electroactive Polymers and Conducting Polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneto, K.

2016-04-01

Artificial muscles (or soft actuators) based on electroactive polymers (EAPs) are attractive power sources to drive human-like robots in place of electrical motor, because they are quiet, powerful, light weight and compact. Among EAPs for soft actuators, conducting polymers are superior in strain, stress, deformation form and driving voltage compared with the other EAPs. In this paper, the research trends of EAPs and conducting polymers are reviewed by retrieval of the papers and patents. The research activity of EAP actuators showed the maximum around 2010 and somehow declining now days. The reasons for the reducing activity are found to be partly due to problems of conducting polymer actuators for the practical application. The unique characteristics of conducting polymer actuators are mentioned in terms of the basic mechanisms of actuation, creeping, training effect and shape retention under high tensile loads. The issues and limitation of conducting polymer soft actuators are discussed.

Retrofit of existing reinforced concrete bridges with fiber reinforced polymer composites

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-12-01

A two-part research was focused on examining various issues related to the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites for strengthening of existing reinforced concrete bridges. A summary of each phase is presented separately.

A Kind of Transformation of Information Service--Science and Technology Novelty Search in Chinese University Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aiguo, Li

2007-01-01

Science and Technology Novelty Search (S&TNS) is a special information consultation service developed as part of the Chinese Sci-Tech system. The author introduces the concept of S&TNS, and explains its role, and the role of the university library in the process. A quality control model to improve the quality of service of the S&TNS at…

NFLUX PRE: Validation of New Specific Humidity, Surface Air Temperature, and Wind Speed Algorithms for Ascending/Descending Directions and Clear or Cloudy Conditions

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-18

providing all three surface state variables: TA, QA, and U10. It flies as part of the “A-Train” afternoon constellation (see http://atrain.nasa.gov...Chao (2006). Rainfall Estimation of Mesoscale Convective Systems using AMSU-A data during the Mei-Yu Season . Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Sci., 17, 91-109

The Secret Life of Quarks, Final Report for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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

Fowler, Robert J.

This final report summarizes activities and results at the University of North Carolina as part of the the SciDAC-2 Project The Secret Life of Quarks: National Computational Infrastructure for Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics. The overall objective of the project is to construct the software needed to study quantum chromo- dynamics (QCD), the theory of the strong interactions of subatomic physics, and similar strongly coupled gauge theories anticipated to be of importance in the LHC era. It built upon the successful efforts of the SciDAC-1 project National Computational Infrastructure for Lattice Gauge Theory, in which a QCD Applications Programming Interface (QCD API)more » was developed that enables lat- tice gauge theorists to make effective use of a wide variety of massively parallel computers. In the SciDAC-2 project, optimized versions of the QCD API were being created for the IBM Blue- Gene/L (BG/L) and BlueGene/P (BG/P), the Cray XT3/XT4 and its successors, and clusters based on multi-core processors and Infiniband communications networks. The QCD API is being used to enhance the performance of the major QCD community codes and to create new applications. Software libraries of physics tools have been expanded to contain sharable building blocks for inclusion in application codes, performance analysis and visualization tools, and software for au- tomation of physics work flow. New software tools were designed for managing the large data sets generated in lattice QCD simulations, and for sharing them through the International Lattice Data Grid consortium. As part of the overall project, researchers at UNC were funded through ASCR to work in three general areas. The main thrust has been performance instrumentation and analysis in support of the SciDAC QCD code base as it evolved and as it moved to new computation platforms. In support of the performance activities, performance data was to be collected in a database for the purpose of broader analysis. Third, the UNC work was done at RENCI (Renaissance Computing Institute), which has extensive expertise and facilities for scientific data visualization, so we acted in an ongoing consulting and support role in that area.« less

Spinal Cord Injury Clinical Registries: Improving Care across the SCI Care Continuum by Identifying Knowledge Gaps.

PubMed

Dvorak, Marcel F; Cheng, Christiana L; Fallah, Nader; Santos, Argelio; Atkins, Derek; Humphreys, Suzanne; Rivers, Carly S; White, Barry A B; Ho, Chester; Ahn, Henry; Kwon, Brian K; Christie, Sean; Noonan, Vanessa K

2017-10-15

Timely access and ongoing delivery of care and therapeutic interventions is needed to maximize recovery and function after traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI). To ensure these decisions are evidence-based, access to consistent, reliable, and valid sources of clinical data is required. The Access to Care and Timing Model used data from the Rick Hansen SCI Registry (RHSCIR) to generate a simulation of healthcare delivery for persons after tSCI and to test scenarios aimed at improving outcomes and reducing the economic burden of SCI. Through model development, we identified knowledge gaps and challenges in the literature and current health outcomes data collection throughout the continuum of SCI care. The objectives of this article were to describe these gaps and to provide recommendations for bridging them. Accurate information on injury severity after tSCI was hindered by difficulties in conducting neurological assessments and classifications of SCI (e.g., timing), variations in reporting, and the lack of a validated SCI-specific measure of associated injuries. There was also limited availability of reliable data on patient factors such as multi-morbidity and patient-reported measures. Knowledge gaps related to structures (e.g., protocols) and processes (e.g., costs) at each phase of care have prevented comprehensive evaluation of system performance. Addressing these knowledge gaps will enhance comparative and cost-effectiveness evaluations to inform decision-making and standards of care. Recommendations to do so were: standardize data element collection and facilitate database linkages, validate and adopt more outcome measures for SCI, and increase opportunities for collaborations with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.

Measuring pain phenomena after spinal cord injury: Development and psychometric properties of the SCI-QOL Pain Interference and Pain Behavior assessment tools.

PubMed

Cohen, Matthew L; Kisala, Pamela A; Dyson-Hudson, Trevor A; Tulsky, David S

2018-05-01

To develop modern patient-reported outcome measures that assess pain interference and pain behavior after spinal cord injury (SCI). Grounded-theory based qualitative item development; large-scale item calibration field-testing; confirmatory factor analyses; graded response model item response theory analyses; statistical linking techniques to transform scores to the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) metric. Five SCI Model Systems centers and one Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in the United States. Adults with traumatic SCI. N/A. Spinal Cord Injury - Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) Pain Interference item bank, SCI-QOL Pain Interference short form, and SCI-QOL Pain Behavior scale. Seven hundred fifty-seven individuals with traumatic SCI completed 58 items addressing various aspects of pain. Items were then separated by whether they assessed pain interference or pain behavior, and poorly functioning items were removed. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed that each set of items was unidimensional, and item response theory analyses were used to estimate slopes and thresholds for the items. Ultimately, 7 items (4 from PROMIS) comprised the Pain Behavior scale and 25 items (18 from PROMIS) comprised the Pain Interference item bank. Ten of these 25 items were selected to form the Pain Interference short form. The SCI-QOL Pain Interference item bank and the SCI-QOL Pain Behavior scale demonstrated robust psychometric properties. The Pain Interference item bank is available as a computer adaptive test or short form for research and clinical applications, and scores are transformed to the PROMIS metric.

Measuring anxiety after spinal cord injury: Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Anxiety item bank and linkage with GAD-7.

PubMed

Kisala, Pamela A; Tulsky, David S; Kalpakjian, Claire Z; Heinemann, Allen W; Pohlig, Ryan T; Carle, Adam; Choi, Seung W

2015-05-01

To develop a calibrated item bank and computer adaptive test to assess anxiety symptoms in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), transform scores to the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) metric, and create a statistical linkage with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7, a widely used anxiety measure. Grounded-theory based qualitative item development methods; large-scale item calibration field testing; confirmatory factor analysis; graded response model item response theory analyses; statistical linking techniques to transform scores to a PROMIS metric; and linkage with the GAD-7. Setting Five SCI Model System centers and one Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in the United States. Participants Adults with traumatic SCI. Spinal Cord Injury-Quality of Life (SCI-QOL) Anxiety Item Bank Seven hundred sixteen individuals with traumatic SCI completed 38 items assessing anxiety, 17 of which were PROMIS items. After 13 items (including 2 PROMIS items) were removed, factor analyses confirmed unidimensionality. Item response theory analyses were used to estimate slopes and thresholds for the final 25 items (15 from PROMIS). The observed Pearson correlation between the SCI-QOL Anxiety and GAD-7 scores was 0.67. The SCI-QOL Anxiety item bank demonstrates excellent psychometric properties and is available as a computer adaptive test or short form for research and clinical applications. SCI-QOL Anxiety scores have been transformed to the PROMIS metric and we provide a method to link SCI-QOL Anxiety scores with those of the GAD-7.

Differences in the use of everyday technology among persons with MCI, SCI and older adults without known cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Malinowsky, Camilla; Kottorp, Anders; Wallin, Anders; Nordlund, Arto; Björklund, Eva; Melin, Ilse; Pernevik, Anette; Rosenberg, Lena; Nygård, Louise

2017-07-01

To use valid subjective reports sensible to cognitive decline is vital to identify very early signs of dementia development. Use of everyday technology (ET) has been shown to be sensitive to differentiate adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from controls, but the group with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) has not yet been examined. This study aims to investigate and compare self-perceived ability in ET use and number of ETs reported as actually used in a sample of older adults with SCI, MCI, and older adults with no known cognitive impairment, i.e. Older adults with MCI (n = 29), SCI ( n = 26), and controls (n = 30) were interviewed with the short version of the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (S-ETUQ) to capture self-perceived ability in ET use and number of ETs used. To generate individual measures of ability to use ET, Rasch analysis was used. The measures were then compared group-wise using ANCOVA. The numbers of ETs used were compared group-wise with ANOVA. Controls versus SCI and MCI differed significantly regarding ETs reported as used, but not SCI versus MCI. Similarly, in ability to use ET, controls versus SCI and MCI differed significantly but not SCI versus MCI. The significantly lower numbers of ETs reported as actually used and the lower ability in SCI and MCI groups compared to controls suggest that ET use is affected already in very minor cognitive decline. This indicates that self-reported ET use based on the S-ETUQ is sensitive to detect changes already in SCI.

Incidence of acute spinal cord injury in the Czech Republic: a prospective epidemiological study 2006-2015.

PubMed

Kriz, J; Kulakovska, M; Davidova, H; Silova, M; Kobesova, A

2017-09-01

A prospective study. Analysis of epidemiological data about acute spinal cord injury (SCI) in the Czech Republic over a period of 10 years (2006-2015). A data collection system was implemented in the rehabilitation centres which provides care to patients with acute SCI in the Czech Republic. The recorded variables are as follows: age at time of SCI; gender; cause of injury; neurological level of injury (NLI); and its severity (ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS)). Data from 2006 to 2015 were analysed and trends were determined. The overall number of acute SCI ranges between 250 and 300 cases annually. Two-third of the affected population are males. The average age at time of SCI is 49.1 years. The average incidence of traumatic SCI is 15.5 cases per year and is gradually decreasing. The leading cause of SCI are falls (44.5%), followed by traffic accidents (28.2%) and sports injuries including diving into water (19.7%). The incidence of non-traumatic SCI is 8.6 cases per year on average and has an upward trend. Inflammatory lesions account for 26.7% of cases, tumours account for 20.9%, and vascular related injuries make up 17.7%. The NLI occurs most often in the cervical segments (45.3%). The most frequently occurring lesions are motor incomplete: AIS D (33.3%). This study shows a stable occurrence of SCI in the Czech Republic, with cervical and motor incomplete cases being the leading ones. Epidemiological data are needed to improve the care of SCI patients and to promote an active life following it.

Spinal Cord Injury Clinical Registries: Improving Care across the SCI Care Continuum by Identifying Knowledge Gaps

PubMed Central

Cheng, Christiana L.; Fallah, Nader; Santos, Argelio; Atkins, Derek; Humphreys, Suzanne; Rivers, Carly S.; White, Barry A.B.; Ho, Chester; Ahn, Henry; Kwon, Brian K.; Christie, Sean; Noonan, Vanessa K.

2017-01-01

Abstract Timely access and ongoing delivery of care and therapeutic interventions is needed to maximize recovery and function after traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI). To ensure these decisions are evidence-based, access to consistent, reliable, and valid sources of clinical data is required. The Access to Care and Timing Model used data from the Rick Hansen SCI Registry (RHSCIR) to generate a simulation of healthcare delivery for persons after tSCI and to test scenarios aimed at improving outcomes and reducing the economic burden of SCI. Through model development, we identified knowledge gaps and challenges in the literature and current health outcomes data collection throughout the continuum of SCI care. The objectives of this article were to describe these gaps and to provide recommendations for bridging them. Accurate information on injury severity after tSCI was hindered by difficulties in conducting neurological assessments and classifications of SCI (e.g., timing), variations in reporting, and the lack of a validated SCI-specific measure of associated injuries. There was also limited availability of reliable data on patient factors such as multi-morbidity and patient-reported measures. Knowledge gaps related to structures (e.g., protocols) and processes (e.g., costs) at each phase of care have prevented comprehensive evaluation of system performance. Addressing these knowledge gaps will enhance comparative and cost-effectiveness evaluations to inform decision-making and standards of care. Recommendations to do so were: standardize data element collection and facilitate database linkages, validate and adopt more outcome measures for SCI, and increase opportunities for collaborations with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds. PMID:28745934

Return to work following spinal cord injury: a review.

PubMed

Lidal, Ingeborg Beate; Huynh, Tuan Khai; Biering-Sørensen, Fin

2007-09-15

To review literature on return to work (RTW) and employment in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), and present employment rates, factors influencing employment, and interventions aimed at helping people with SCI to obtain and sustain productive work. A systematic review for 2000 - 2006 was carried out in PubMed/Medline, AMED, (ISI) Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycInfo and Sociological abstracts database. The keywords 'spinal cord injuries', 'spinal cord disorder', 'spinal cord lesion' or 'spinal cord disease' were cross-indexed with 'employment', 'return to work', 'occupation' or 'vocational'. Out of approximately 270 hits, 110 references were used, plus 13 more found elsewhere. Among individuals with SCI working at the time of injury 21 - 67% returned to work after injury. RTW was higher in persons injured at a younger age, had less severe injuries and higher functional independence. Employment rate improved with time after SCI. Persons with SCI employed ranged from 11.5% to 74%. Individuals who sustained SCI during childhood or adolescence had higher adult employment rates. Most common reported barriers to employment were problems with transportation, health and physical limitations, lack of work experience, education or training, physical or architectural barriers, discrimination by employers, and loss of benefits. Individuals with SCI discontinue working at younger age. This review confirmed low employment rates after SCI. Future research should explore interventions aimed at helping people with SCI to obtain and sustain productive work.

32 CFR 154.77 - Reporting requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Secret, Secret, and Confidential clearances revoked; (4) Number of SCI access determinations issued; (5) Number of SCI access determinations denied; (6) Number of SCI access determinations revoked; and (7...

Effects of melatonin on spinal cord injury-induced oxidative damage in mice testis.

PubMed

Yuan, X-C; Wang, P; Li, H-W; Wu, Q-B; Zhang, X-Y; Li, B-W; Xiu, R-J

2017-09-01

This study evaluated the effects of melatonin on spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced oxidative damage in testes. Adult male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into sham-, SCI- or melatonin (10 mg/kg, i.p.)-treated SCI groups. To induce SCI, a standard weight-drop method that induced a contusion injury at T10 was used. After 1 week, testicular blood flow velocity was measured using the Laser Doppler Line Scanner. Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), oxidised glutathione (GSSG) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were measured in testis homogenates. Microvascular permeability of the testes to Evan's Blue was examined by spectrophotometric and fluorescence microscopic quantitation. The tight junction protein zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin in testes were assessed by immunoblot analysis. Melatonin increased the reduced blood flow and decreased SCI-induced permeability of capillaries. MDA levels and MPO activity were elevated in the SCI group compared with shams, which was reversed by melatonin. In contrast, SCI-induced reductions in GSH/GSSG ratio were restored by melatonin. Decreased expression of ZO-1 and occludin was observed, which was attenuated by melatonin. Overall, melatonin treatment protects the testes against oxidative stress damage caused by SCI. © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Geraniol promotes functional recovery and attenuates neuropathic pain in rats with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Lv, Yan; Zhang, Liang; Li, Na; Mai, Naiken; Zhang, Yu; Pan, Shuyi

2017-12-01

Geraniol, a plant-derived monoterpene, has been extensively studied and showed a wide variety of beneficial effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of geraniol on functional recovery and neuropathic pain in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). Rats received a clip-compression SCI and were treated with geraniol 6 h following SCI. Treatment of SCI rats with geraniol markedly improved locomotor function, and reduced sensitivity to the mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. Treatment of SCI rats with geraniol increased NeuN-positive cells, suppressed expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein, and reduced activity of caspase-3 in the injured region. Treatment of SCI rats with geraniol reduced levels of malondialdehyde and 3-nitrotyrosine, upregulated protein expression of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 and heme oxygenase 1, and suppressed expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in the injured region. In addition, treatment of SCI rats with geraniol downregulated protein expression of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor 1 and reduced the number of CD68-positive cells and protein levels of TNF-α in the injured region. In conclusion, geraniol significantly promoted the recovery of neuronal function and attenuated neuropathic pain after SCI.

Modeling Complex Biological Flows in Multi-Scale Systems using the APDEC Framework

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

Trebotich, D

We have developed advanced numerical algorithms to model biological fluids in multiscale flow environments using the software framework developed under the SciDAC APDEC ISIC. The foundation of our computational effort is an approach for modeling DNA-laden fluids as ''bead-rod'' polymers whose dynamics are fully coupled to an incompressible viscous solvent. The method is capable of modeling short range forces and interactions between particles using soft potentials and rigid constraints. Our methods are based on higher-order finite difference methods in complex geometry with adaptivity, leveraging algorithms and solvers in the APDEC Framework. Our Cartesian grid embedded boundary approach to incompressible viscousmore » flow in irregular geometries has also been interfaced to a fast and accurate level-sets method within the APDEC Framework for extracting surfaces from volume renderings of medical image data and used to simulate cardio-vascular and pulmonary flows in critical anatomies.« less

A new method for the preparation of polymeric porous layer open tubular columns for GC application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shen, T. C.; Wang, M. L.

1995-01-01

A new method to prepare polymeric PLOT columns by using in situ polymerization technology is described. The method involves a straightforward in situ polymerization of the monomer. The polymer produced is directly coated on the metal tubing. This eliminates many of the steps needed in conventional polymeric PLOT column preparation. Our method is easy to operate and produces very reproducible columns, as shown previously (T. C. Shen. J. Chromatogr. Sci. 30, 239, 1992). The effects of solvents, tubing pretreatments, initiators and reaction temperatures in the preparation of PLOT columns are studied. Several columns have been developed to separate (1) highly polar compounds, such as water and ammonia or water and HCN, and (2) hydrocarbons and inert gases. A recent improvement has allowed us to produce bonded polymeric PLOT columns. These were studied, and the results are included also.

Modeling complex biological flows in multi-scale systems using the APDEC framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trebotich, David

2006-09-01

We have developed advanced numerical algorithms to model biological fluids in multiscale flow environments using the software framework developed under the SciDAC APDEC ISIC. The foundation of our computational effort is an approach for modeling DNA laden fluids as ''bead-rod'' polymers whose dynamics are fully coupled to an incompressible viscous solvent. The method is capable of modeling short range forces and interactions between particles using soft potentials and rigid constraints. Our methods are based on higher-order finite difference methods in complex geometry with adaptivity, leveraging algorithms and solvers in the APDEC Framework. Our Cartesian grid embedded boundary approach to incompressible viscous flow in irregular geometries has also been interfaced to a fast and accurate level-sets method within the APDEC Framework for extracting surfaces from volume renderings of medical image data and used to simulate cardio-vascular and pulmonary flows in critical anatomies.

Clinical interpretation of the Spinal Cord Injury Functional Index (SCI-FI)

PubMed Central

Fyffe, Denise; Kalpakjian, Claire Z.; Slavin, Mary; Kisala, Pamela; Ni, Pengsheng; Kirshblum, Steven C.; Tulsky, David S.; Jette, Alan M.

2016-01-01

Objective: To provide validation of functional ability levels for the Spinal Cord Injury – Functional Index (SCI-FI). Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation hospital and community settings. Participants: A sample of 855 individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury enrolled in 6 rehabilitation centers participating in the National Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems Network. Interventions: Not Applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Spinal Cord Injury-Functional Index (SCI-FI). Results: Cluster analyses identified three distinct groups that represent low, mid-range and high SCI-FI functional ability levels. Comparison of clusters on personal and other injury characteristics suggested some significant differences between groups. Conclusions: These results strongly support the use of SCI-FI functional ability levels to document the perceived functional abilities of persons with SCI. Results of the cluster analysis suggest that the SCI-FI functional ability levels capture function by injury characteristics. Clinical implications regarding tracking functional activity trajectories during follow-up visits are discussed. PMID:26781769

Spinal cord injury-induced immunodeficiency is mediated by a sympathetic-neuroendocrine adrenal reflex.

PubMed

Prüss, Harald; Tedeschi, Andrea; Thiriot, Aude; Lynch, Lydia; Loughhead, Scott M; Stutte, Susanne; Mazo, Irina B; Kopp, Marcel A; Brommer, Benedikt; Blex, Christian; Geurtz, Laura-Christin; Liebscher, Thomas; Niedeggen, Andreas; Dirnagl, Ulrich; Bradke, Frank; Volz, Magdalena S; DeVivo, Michael J; Chen, Yuying; von Andrian, Ulrich H; Schwab, Jan M

2017-11-01

Acute spinal cord injury (SCI) causes systemic immunosuppression and life-threatening infections, thought to result from noradrenergic overactivation and excess glucocorticoid release via hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis stimulation. Instead of consecutive hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activation, we report that acute SCI in mice induced suppression of serum norepinephrine and concomitant increase in cortisol, despite suppressed adrenocorticotropic hormone, indicating primary (adrenal) hypercortisolism. This neurogenic effect was more pronounced after high-thoracic level (Th1) SCI disconnecting adrenal gland innervation, compared with low-thoracic level (Th9) SCI. Prophylactic adrenalectomy completely prevented SCI-induced glucocorticoid excess and lymphocyte depletion but did not prevent pneumonia. When adrenalectomized mice were transplanted with denervated adrenal glands to restore physiologic glucocorticoid levels, the animals were completely protected from pneumonia. These findings identify a maladaptive sympathetic-neuroendocrine adrenal reflex mediating immunosuppression after SCI, implying that therapeutic normalization of the glucocorticoid and catecholamine imbalance in SCI patients could be a strategy to prevent detrimental infections.

Online support for individuals with spinal cord injuries: An ethnographic investigation

PubMed Central

O'Riley, Alisa A.; Rose, Jon; Dalal, Brinda

2014-01-01

Background Although social support is an important protective factor for individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCIs), individuals often encounter significant barriers to obtaining support after experiencing a SCI. It has been suggested that the Internet may serve to help individuals with disabilities overcome common barriers in obtaining support, yet research examining the efficacy of Internet-based support for individuals with SCI has been mixed. Objective To develop a more nuanced understanding of how individuals with SCI can or might use the Internet for support. Design Using an ethnographic approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with nine individuals with SCI to explore perceived needs and barriers to information-seeking and online support. Setting Participants were recruited from Veterans Administration medical center outpatient and inpatient units providing specialty care to individuals with SCIs and from a community SCI Center of Excellence. Results Individuals with SCI gain emotional, problem-focused, and reciprocal support from online sources. Conclusions Online resources can provide important opportunities for social support for individuals with SCI. PMID:24090378

Development of polymer-biomolecule core-shell particles for biomedical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suthiwangcharoen, Nisaraporn

Developing efficient strategies to introduce biomolecules around polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) is critical for targeted delivery of therapeutic or diagnostic agents. Although polymeric NPs have been well established, problems such as toxicity, stability, and immunoresistance remain potential concerns. The first part of this dissertation focuses on the development of nanosized targeted drug delivery vehicle in cancer chemotherapy. The vehicle was created by the self-assembly of folate-grafted filamentous bacteriophage M13 with poly(caprolactone- b-2-vinylpyridine) while doxorubicin, the antitumor drugs, was successfully loaded in the interior of the vehicles. These particles offer unique properties of being able to selectively target tumor cells while appearing to be safe and non-toxic to normal cells. Although they have shown great prospects in many biomedical applications, less is known about the interactions between biomolecules and polymers. The next part of the dissertation focuses on the self-assembly of proteins and polymers to create polymer-protein core-shell nanoparticles (PPCS-NPs). Several proteins with different isoelectric points and molecular weights were employed to demonstrate a versatility of our assembly method while a series of esterified derivatives of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) were synthesized to evaluate the interaction between proteins and polymers. Our data indicated that the polymers containing pyridine residues can successfully assemble with proteins, and the mechanism is mainly governed by hydrogen bonding and the hydrophobic/hydrophilic interactions. This in turn helps retaining proteins' folding conformation and functionality, which are also demonstrated in the in vitro/in vivo cellular uptake of the PPCS-NPs in endothelial cells. The last part of the dissertation focuses on the self-assembly of the bienzyme-polymer NPs. Glucose oxidase (GOX) together with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were employed to construct bienzyme-NPs. GOX was initially used as a model enzyme to assemble with pyridine-modified pHEMA, and its enzymatic activity was shown to increase after self-assembly. When both GOX and HRP were assembled with the polymers, the activity was shown to be even greater than that of the single enzyme-polymer NPs or a free enzyme. The results indicated that NPs enhance enzymatic activity, likely due to an increase in enzyme localization, and the assembly between GOX and polymers might prevent conformational transitions of these enzymes.

Against the odds: what to expect in rehabilitation of chronic spinal cord injury with a neurologically controlled Hybrid Assistive Limb exoskeleton. A subgroup analysis of 55 patients according to age and lesion level.

PubMed

Grasmücke, Dennis; Zieriacks, Amrei; Jansen, Oliver; Fisahn, Christian; Sczesny-Kaiser, Matthias; Wessling, Martin; Meindl, Renate C; Schildhauer, Thomas A; Aach, Mirko

2017-05-01

Objective Age and lesion level are believed to represent outcome predictors in rehabilitation of patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). The Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) exoskeleton enables patients to perform a voluntary controlled gait pattern via an electromyography-triggered neuromuscular feedback system, and has been introduced as a temporary gait training tool in patients with SCI. The aim of this prospective pre- and postintervention study was to examine functional outcomes as a function of age and lesion level in patients with chronic incomplete SCI (iSCI) or chronic complete SCI (cSCI) with zones of partial preservation (ZPP) by using the HAL as a temporary training tool. Methods Fifty-five participants with chronic iSCI or cSCI (mean time since injury 6.85 ± 5.12 years) were classified according to the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) and divided by age (< 50 or ≥ 50 years), independent of lesion level, and also into 4 homogeneous groups according to lesion level. The subgroups were as follows: Subgroup 1, tetraplegic iSCI (n = 13) (C2-8, AIS C [n = 8] and AIS D [n = 5]); Subgroup 2, paraplegic iSCI with spastic motor behavior (n = 15) (T2-12, AIS C [n = 8] and AIS D [n = 7]); Subgroup 3, paraplegic cSCI with complete motor paraplegia and absence of spastic motor behavior (n = 18) (T11-L4 [AIS A], and ZPP from L-3 to S-1); and Subgroup 4, paraplegic iSCI with absence of spastic motor behavior (n = 9) (T12-L3, AIS C [n = 8] and AIS D [n = 1]). The training paradigm consisted of 12 weeks of HAL-assisted treadmill training (5 times/week). Baseline status was documented prior to intervention by using the AIS grade, Walking Index for SCI II (WISCI II) score, the 10-meter walk test (10MWT), and the 6-minute walk test (6MinWT). Training effects were assessed after 6 and 12 weeks of therapy, without HAL assistance. Results Overall, a time reduction of 47% in the 10MWT, self-selected speed (10MWTsss) (< 50 years = 56% vs ≥ 50 years = 37%) and an increase of 50% in the 6MinWT were documented. The WISCI II scores showed a mean gain of 1.69 levels. At the end of the study, 24 of 55 patients (43.6%) were less dependent on walking aids. Age had a nonsignificant negative influence on the 10MWTsss. Despite a few nonsignificant subgroup differences, participants improved across all tests. Namely, patients with iSCI who had spastic motor behavior improved to a nonsignificant, lesser extent in the 6MinWT. Conclusions The HAL-assisted treadmill training leads to functional improvements in chronic iSCI or cSCI, both in and out of the exoskeleton. An improvement of approximately 50% in the 10MWTsss and in gait endurance (6MinWT) can be expected from such training. The influences of SCI lesion level and age on functional outcome were nonsignificant in the present study. Older age (≥ 50 years) may be associated with smaller improvements in the 10MWTsss. An iSCI in paraplegic patients with spastic motor behavior may be a nonsignificant negative predictor in gait endurance improvements. Clinical trial registration no.: DRKS00010250 ( https://drks-neu.uniklinik-freiburg.de/drks_web/setLocale_DE.do ).

Machine learning strategy for accelerated design of polymer dielectrics

DOE PAGES

Mannodi-Kanakkithodi, Arun; Pilania, Ghanshyam; Huan, Tran Doan; ...

2016-02-15

The ability to efficiently design new and advanced dielectric polymers is hampered by the lack of sufficient, reliable data on wide polymer chemical spaces, and the difficulty of generating such data given time and computational/experimental constraints. Here, we address the issue of accelerating polymer dielectrics design by extracting learning models from data generated by accurate state-of-the-art first principles computations for polymers occupying an important part of the chemical subspace. The polymers are ‘fingerprinted’ as simple, easily attainable numerical representations, which are mapped to the properties of interest using a machine learning algorithm to develop an on-demand property prediction model. Further,more » a genetic algorithm is utilised to optimise polymer constituent blocks in an evolutionary manner, thus directly leading to the design of polymers with given target properties. Furthermore, while this philosophy of learning to make instant predictions and design is demonstrated here for the example of polymer dielectrics, it is equally applicable to other classes of materials as well.« less

Low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy for promotion of vascular endothelial growth factor expression and angiogenesis and improvement of locomotor and sensory functions after spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Yahata, Kenichiro; Kanno, Haruo; Ozawa, Hiroshi; Yamaya, Seiji; Tateda, Satoshi; Ito, Kenta; Shimokawa, Hiroaki; Itoi, Eiji

2016-12-01

OBJECTIVE Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is widely used to treat various human diseases. Low-energy ESWT increases expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cultured endothelial cells. The VEGF stimulates not only endothelial cells to promote angiogenesis but also neural cells to induce neuroprotective effects. A previous study by these authors demonstrated that low-energy ESWT promoted expression of VEGF in damaged neural tissue and improved locomotor function after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the neuroprotective mechanisms in the injured spinal cord produced by low-energy ESWT are still unknown. In the present study, the authors investigated the cell specificity of VEGF expression in injured spinal cords and angiogenesis induced by low-energy ESWT. They also examined the neuroprotective effects of low-energy ESWT on cell death, axonal damage, and white matter sparing as well as the therapeutic effect for improvement of sensory function following SCI. METHODS Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the SCI group (SCI only) and SCI-SW group (low-energy ESWT applied after SCI). Thoracic SCI was produced using a New York University Impactor. Low-energy ESWT was applied to the injured spinal cord 3 times a week for 3 weeks after SCI. Locomotor function was evaluated using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan open-field locomotor score for 42 days after SCI. Mechanical and thermal allodynia in the hindpaw were evaluated for 42 days. Double staining for VEGF and various cell-type markers (NeuN, GFAP, and Olig2) was performed at Day 7; TUNEL staining was also performed at Day 7. Immunohistochemical staining for CD31, α-SMA, and 5-HT was performed on spinal cord sections taken 42 days after SCI. Luxol fast blue staining was performed at Day 42. RESULTS Low-energy ESWT significantly improved not only locomotion but also mechanical and thermal allodynia following SCI. In the double staining, expression of VEGF was observed in NeuN-, GFAP-, and Olig2-labeled cells. Low-energy ESWT significantly promoted CD31 and α-SMA expressions in the injured spinal cords. In addition, low-energy ESWT significantly reduced the TUNEL-positive cells in the injured spinal cords. Furthermore, the immunodensity of 5-HT-positive axons was significantly higher in the animals treated by low-energy ESWT. The areas of spared white matter were obviously larger in the SCI-SW group than in the SCI group, as indicated by Luxol fast blue staining. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggested that low-energy ESWT promotes VEGF expression in various neural cells and enhances angiogenesis in damaged neural tissue after SCI. Furthermore, the neuroprotective effect of VEGF induced by low-energy ESWT can suppress cell death and axonal damage and consequently improve locomotor and sensory functions after SCI. Thus, low-energy ESWT can be a novel therapeutic strategy for treatment of SCI.

Batch fabrication of polymer microfluidic cartridges for QCM sensor packaging by direct bonding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandström, Niklas; Zandi Shafagh, Reza; Gylfason, Kristinn B.; Haraldsson, Tommy; van der Wijngaart, Wouter

2017-12-01

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensing is an established technique commonly used in laboratory based life-science applications. However, the relatively complex, multi-part design and multi-step fabrication and assembly of state-of-the-art QCM cartridges make them unsuited for disposable applications such as point-of-care (PoC) diagnostics. In this work, we present the uncomplicated manufacturing of QCMs in polymer microfluidic cartridges. Our novel approach comprises two key innovations: the batch reaction injection molding of microfluidic parts; and the integration of the cartridge components by direct, unassisted bonding. We demonstrate molding of batches of 12 off-stoichiometry thiol-ene epoxy polymer (OSTE+) polymer parts in a single molding cycle using an adapted reaction injection molding process; and the direct bonding of the OSTE+  parts to other OSTE+  substrates, to printed circuit boards, and to QCMs. The microfluidic QCM OSTE+  cartridges were successfully evaluated in terms of liquid sealing as well as electrical properties, and the sensor performance characteristics are on par with those of a commercially available QCM biosensor cartridge. The simplified manufacturing of QCM sensors with maintained performance potentializes novel application areas, e.g. as disposable devices in a point of care setting. Moreover, our results can be extended to simplifying the fabrication of other microfluidic devices with multiple heterogeneously integrated components.

ScienceDirect through SciVerse: a new way to approach Elsevier.

PubMed

Bengtson, Jason

2011-01-01

SciVerse is the new combined portal from Elsevier that services their ScienceDirect collection, SciTopics, and their Scopus database. Using SciVerse to access ScienceDirect is the specific focus of this review. Along with advanced keyword searching and citation searching options, SciVerse also incorporates a very useful image search feature. The aim seems to be not only to create an interface that provides broad functionality on par with other database search tools that many searchers use regularly but also to create an open platform that could be changed to respond effectively to the needs of customers.

Structure and Properties of Polyurethanes. Part 1,

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-03-23

solutions or from the investigations of the sorption of vapors by polymers, or from data in mechanical and relaxation properties. PROPERTIES OF DILUTE...well explained independent of a number of short rigid units in molecules by the theories, developed for linear networks. SORPTION PROPERTIES OP...of tue sorption of vapors of solvents by polymers and determination according to the law of Raoult of the effective (seeming) molar fraction of polymer

Evaluating implementation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) prevention guidelines in spinal cord injury centers using the PARIHS framework: a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Balbale, Salva N; Hill, Jennifer N; Guihan, Marylou; Hogan, Timothy P; Cameron, Kenzie A; Goldstein, Barry; Evans, Charlesnika T

2015-09-09

To prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder (SCI/D) Centers, the "Guidelines for Implementation of MRSA Prevention Initiative in the Spinal Cord Injury Centers" were released in July 2008 in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System. The purpose of this study was to use the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Systems (PARiHS) framework to evaluate the experiences of implementation of SCI/D MRSA prevention guidelines in VA SCI/D Centers approximately 2-3 years after the guidelines were released. Mixed methods were used across two phases in this study. The first phase included an anonymous, web-based cross-sectional survey administered to providers at all 24 VA SCI/D Centers. The second phase included semi-structured telephone interviews with providers at 9 SCI/D Centers. The PARiHS framework was used as the foundation of both the survey questions and semi-structured interview guide. The survey was completed by 295 SCI/D providers (43.8 % response rate) from 22 of the 24 SCI/D Centers (91.7 % participation rate). Respondents included nurses (57.3 %), therapists (24.4 %), physicians (11.1 %), physician assistants (3.4 %), and other health care professionals (3.8 %). Approximately 36 % of the SCI/D providers surveyed had not seen, did not remember seeing, or had never heard of the MRSA SCI/D guidelines, whereas 42.3 % of providers reported that the MRSA SCI/D guidelines were fully implemented in their SCI/D Center. Data revealed numerous barriers and facilitators to guideline implementation. Facilitators included enhanced leadership support and provider education, focused guideline dissemination to reach SCI/D providers, and strong perceived evidence supporting the guidelines. Barriers included lack of awareness of the guidelines among physical therapists and physician assistants and challenges in cohorting/isolating MRSA-positive patients and following contact precautions. Successful implementation of MRSA infection prevention guidelines in SCI/D settings requires (1) guideline dissemination that reaches the full range of SCI/D providers working in inpatient, outpatient, and other care settings, (2) provider education that is frequent and systematic, (3) strong leadership support, and (4) that barriers unique to the recommendations are addressed. These findings may be used to inform selection of implementation strategies and optimize infection prevention beyond MRSA as well as in other specialty care populations.

Costs and Length of Stay for the Acute Care of Patients with Motor-Complete Spinal Cord Injury Following Cervical Trauma: The Impact of Early Transfer to Specialized Acute SCI Center.

PubMed

Richard-Denis, Andréane; Ehrmann Feldman, Debbie; Thompson, Cynthia; Bourassa-Moreau, Étienne; Mac-Thiong, Jean-Marc

2017-07-01

Acute spinal cord injury (SCI) centers aim to optimize outcome following SCI. However, there is no timeframe to transfer patients from regional to SCI centers in order to promote cost-efficiency of acute care. Our objective was to compare costs and length of stay (LOS) following early and late transfer to the SCI center. A retrospective cohort study involving 116 individuals was conducted. Group 1 (n = 87) was managed in an SCI center promptly after the trauma, whereas group 2 (n = 29) was transferred to the SCI center only after surgery. Direct comparison and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between costs, LOS, and timing to transfer to the SCI center. Length of stay was significantly longer for group 2 (median, 93.0 days) as compared with group 1 (median, 40.0 days; P < 10), and average costs were also higher (median, Canadian $17,920.0 vs. $10,521.6; P = 0.004) for group 2, despite similar characteristics. Late transfer to the SCI center was the main predictive factor of longer LOS and increased costs. Early admission to the SCI center was associated with shorter LOS and lower costs for patients sustaining tetraplegia. Early referral to an SCI center before surgery could lower the financial burden for the health care system. Complete the self-assessment activity and evaluation online at http://www.physiatry.org/JournalCME CME OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this article, the reader should be able to: (1) Determine the optimal timing for transfer of individuals with cervical traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in order to decrease acute care resource utilization; (2) Determine benefits of a complete perioperative management in a specialized SCI center; and (3) Identify factors that may influence resource utilization for acute care following motor-complete tetraplegia. Advanced ACCREDITATION: The Association of Academic Physiatrists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.The Association of Academic Physiatrists designates this activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Assessment of Neuroprotective Properties of Melissa officinalis in Combination With Human Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells After Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Hosseini, Seyed Ruhollah; Joghataei, Mohammad Taghi; Hooshmandi, Mehdi; Sadraie, Seyed Homayoon; Yaghoobi, Kayvan; Mohammadi, Alireza

2016-01-01

Introduction The pathophysiology of spinal cord injury (SCI) has a classically bad prognosis. It has been demonstrated that human umbilical cord blood stem cells (hUCBSCs) and Melissa officinalis (MO) are useful for the prevention of neurological disease. Methods Thirty-six adult male rats were randomly divided into intact, sham, control (SCI), MO, hUCBSC, and MO-hUCBSC groups. Intraperitoneal injection of MO (150 mg/kg) was commenced 24 hr post-SCI and continued once a day for 14 days. Intraspinal grafting of hUCBSCs was commenced immediately in the next day. The motor and sensory functions of all animals were evaluated once a week after the commencement of SCI. Electromyography (EMG) was performed in the last day in order to measure the recruitment index. Immunohistochemistry, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and transmission electron microscopy evaluations were performed to determine the level of astrogliosis and myelination. Results The results revealed that motor function (MO-hUCBSC: 15 ± 0.3, SCI: 8.2 ± 0.37, p < .001), sensory function (MO-hUCBSC: 3.57 ± 0.19, SCI: 6.38 ± 0.23, p < .001), and EMG recruitment index (MO-hUCBSC: 3.71 ± 0.18, SCI: 1.6 ± 0.1, p < .001) were significantly improved in the MO-hUCBSC group compared with SCI group. Mean cavity area (MO-hUCBSC: 0.03 ± 0.03, SCI: 0.07 ± 0.004, p < .001) was reduced and loss of lower motor neurons (MO-hUCBSC: 7.6 ± 0.43, SCI: 3 ± 0.12, p < .001) and astrogliosis density (MO-hUCBSC: 3.1 ± 0.15, SCI: 6.25 ± 1.42, p < 0.001) in the ventral horn of spinal cord were prevented in MO-hUCBSC group compared with SCI group. Conclusion The results revealed that the combination of MO and hUCBSCs in comparison with the control group has neuroprotective effects in SCI. PMID:27815336

Lack of Impact by SCY-078, a First-in-Class Oral Fungicidal Glucan Synthase Inhibitor, on the Pharmacokinetics of Rosiglitazone, a Substrate for CYP450 2C8, Supports the Low Risk for Clinically Relevant Metabolic Drug-Drug Interactions.

PubMed

Wring, Stephen; Murphy, Gail; Atiee, George; Corr, Christy; Hyman, Michele; Willett, Michael; Angulo, David

2018-05-10

SCY-078, the first in a new class of β 1,3-glucan synthesis inhibitors, is being developed as an oral and intravenous antifungal treatment for Candida and Aspergillus species fungal infections. In vitro, studies indicated SCY-078 is an inhibitor of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C8 with markedly lower effect over other CYP isozymes. To examine clinically relevant effects of the potential interaction with SCY-078, this phase 1, open-label, 2-period crossover study evaluated the pharmacokinetic parameters of rosiglitazone, a sensitive substrate of CYP2C8 metabolism, in the absence and presence of SCY-078 dosed to therapeutically relevant SCY-078 concentration exposure after repeat dosing. Healthy adult subjects were randomized to 2 treatment sequences: a single oral 4-mg rosiglitazone dose alone on day 1 or a 1250-mg SCY-078 loading dose on day 1 followed by a once-daily 750-mg SCY-078 dose for an additional 7 days (reflecting the clinical regimen evaluated during phase 2 studies for infections by Candida species) and concurrent administration of a single oral 4-mg rosiglitazone dose on day 3, before alternating following a ≥10-day washout. The exposure to SCY-078 observed in this study was in line with the intended exposure for treatment of invasive fungal infections. The 90% confidence intervals for rosiglitazone exposure geometric mean ratios were within the prespecified no effect interval of 0.70-1.43. Additionally, maximum concentration values for rosiglitazone and its metabolite, N-desmethylrosiglitazone, were not significantly affected by co-administration with SCY-078. Overall, rosiglitazone exposure was not impacted to a clinically meaningful extent with co-administration of therapeutically relevant SCY-078 concentration exposure after repeat dosing. The results are indicative of low risk for interaction of SCY-078 with drugs metabolized via the CYP family of enzymes. © 2018, The Authors. The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American College of Clinical Pharmacology.

Mechanical ventilation weaning and extubation after spinal cord injury: a Western Trauma Association multicenter study.

PubMed

Kornblith, Lucy Z; Kutcher, Matthew E; Callcut, Rachael A; Redick, Brittney J; Hu, Charles K; Cogbill, Thomas H; Baker, Christopher C; Shapiro, Mark L; Burlew, Clay C; Kaups, Krista L; DeMoya, Marc A; Haan, James M; Koontz, Christopher H; Zolin, Samuel J; Gordy, Stephanie D; Shatz, David V; Paul, Doug B; Cohen, Mitchell J

2013-12-01

Respiratory failure after acute spinal cord injury (SCI) is well recognized, but data defining which patients need long-term ventilator support and criteria for weaning and extubation are lacking. We hypothesized that many patients with SCI, even those with cervical SCI, can be successfully managed without long-term mechanical ventilation and its associated morbidity. Under the auspices of the Western Trauma Association Multi-Center Trials Group, a retrospective study of patients with SCI at 14 major trauma centers was conducted. Comprehensive injury, demographic, and outcome data on patients with acute SCI were compiled. The primary outcome variable was the need for mechanical ventilation at discharge. Secondary outcomes included the use of tracheostomy and development of acute lung injury and ventilator-associated pneumonia. A total of 360 patients had SCI requiring mechanical ventilation. Sixteen patients were excluded for death within the first 2 days of hospitalization. Of the 344 patients included, 222 (64.5%) had cervical SCI. Notably, 62.6% of the patients with cervical SCI were ventilator free by discharge. One hundred forty-nine patients (43.3%) underwent tracheostomy, and 53.7% of them were successfully weaned from the ventilator, compared with an 85.6% success rate among those with no tracheostomy (p < 0.05). Patients who underwent tracheostomy had significantly higher rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia (61.1% vs. 20.5%, p < 0.05) and acute lung injury (12.8% vs. 3.6%, p < 0.05) and fewer ventilator-free days (1 vs. 24 p < 0.05). When controlled for injury severity, thoracic injury, and respiratory comorbidities, tracheostomy after cervical SCI was an independent predictor of ventilator dependence with an associated 14-fold higher likelihood of prolonged mechanical ventilation (odds ratio, 14.1; 95% confidence interval, 2.78-71.67; p < 0.05). While many patients with SCI require short-term mechanical ventilation, the majority can be successfully weaned before discharge. In patients with SCI, tracheostomy is associated with major morbidity, and its use, especially among patients with cervical SCI, deserves further study. Prognostic study, level III.

SciServer Compute brings Analysis to Big Data in the Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raddick, Jordan; Medvedev, Dmitry; Lemson, Gerard; Souter, Barbara

2016-06-01

SciServer Compute uses Jupyter Notebooks running within server-side Docker containers attached to big data collections to bring advanced analysis to big data "in the cloud." SciServer Compute is a component in the SciServer Big-Data ecosystem under development at JHU, which will provide a stable, reproducible, sharable virtual research environment.SciServer builds on the popular CasJobs and SkyServer systems that made the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) archive one of the most-used astronomical instruments. SciServer extends those systems with server-side computational capabilities and very large scratch storage space, and further extends their functions to a range of other scientific disciplines.Although big datasets like SDSS have revolutionized astronomy research, for further analysis, users are still restricted to downloading the selected data sets locally - but increasing data sizes make this local approach impractical. Instead, researchers need online tools that are co-located with data in a virtual research environment, enabling them to bring their analysis to the data.SciServer supports this using the popular Jupyter notebooks, which allow users to write their own Python and R scripts and execute them on the server with the data (extensions to Matlab and other languages are planned). We have written special-purpose libraries that enable querying the databases and other persistent datasets. Intermediate results can be stored in large scratch space (hundreds of TBs) and analyzed directly from within Python or R with state-of-the-art visualization and machine learning libraries. Users can store science-ready results in their permanent allocation on SciDrive, a Dropbox-like system for sharing and publishing files. Communication between the various components of the SciServer system is managed through SciServer‘s new Single Sign-on Portal.We have created a number of demos to illustrate the capabilities of SciServer Compute, including Python and R scripts accessing a range of datasets and showing the data flow between storage and compute components.Demos, documentation, and more information can be found at www.sciserver.org.SciServer is funded by the National Science Foundation Award ACI-1261715.

Impact of Blood Pressure Dysregulation on Health-Related Quality of Life in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury: Development of a Conceptual Model

PubMed Central

Carlozzi, Noelle E.; Fyffe, Denise; Morin, Kel G.; Byrne, Rachel; Tulsky, David S.; Victorson, David; Lai, Jin-Shei; Wecht, Jill M.

2015-01-01

Objectives To identify medically relevant aspects of blood pressure dysregulation (BPD) related to quality of life in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), and to propose an integrated conceptual framework based on input from both individuals with SCI and their clinical providers. This framework will serve as a guide for the development of a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure specifically related to BPD. Design Three focus groups with individuals with SCI and 3 groups with SCI providers were analyzed using grounded-theory based qualitative analysis to ascertain how blood pressure impacts health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in individuals with SCI. Setting Focus groups were conducted at 2 Veterans Affairs medical centers and a research center. Participants Individuals with SCI (n=27) in 3 focus groups and clinical providers (n=25) in 3 focus groups. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Not applicable. Results Qualitative analysis indicated that all focus groups spent the highest percentage of time discussing symptoms of BPD (39%), followed by precipitators/causes of BPD (16%), preventative actions (15%), corrective actions (12%), and the impact that BPD has on social or emotional functioning (8%). While patient/consumer focus groups and provider focus groups raised similar issues, providers spent more time discussing precipitators/causes of BPD and preventative actions (38%) than patient/consumer groups (24%). Conclusions These results suggest that BPD uniquely and adversely impacts HRQOL in persons with SCI. While both individuals with SCI and their providers highlighted the relevant symptoms of BPD, the SCI providers offered additional detailed information regarding the precipitators/causes and what can be done to prevent/treat BPD. Further, the results suggest that persons with SCI are aware of how BPD impacts their HRQOL and are able to distinguish between subtle signs and symptoms. These findings exemplify the need for a validated and sensitive clinical measurement tool that can assess the extent to which BPD impacts HRQOL in patients with SCI. PMID:23499779

Epidemiology of pediatric spinal cord injury in the United States: years 1997 and 2000.

PubMed

Vitale, Michael G; Goss, Jordan M; Matsumoto, Hiroko; Roye, David P

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study is to report the current incidence rates of pediatric spinal cord injury (SCI) in the United States and identify specific high-risk populations as a knowledge basis for improving the prevention and treatment of this traumatic injury. The Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) and the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) were used to investigate the etiology of pediatric SCI. Significant differences in the annual incidence rate of pediatric SCI were found to exist between patient populations stratified by race and sex. African Americans (1.53 cases/100,000 children) exhibit a significantly higher rate of pediatric SCI than native Americans (1.00), Hispanics (0.87), and Asians (0.36), whereas Asians show a significantly lower incidence than all other races. Also, boys (2.79) are more than twice as likely to experience SCI as girls (1.15). The overall incidence of pediatric SCI in the United States is 1.99 cases per 100,000 children. From these data, it is estimated that 1455 children are admitted to US hospitals each year for treatment of SCI. The etiology of pediatric SCI was also investigated, and the major causative factors were identified: motor vehicle accident (56%), accidental fall (14%), firearm injury (9%), and sports injury (7%). Of those children injured in a motor vehicle accident, 67.7% (n = 107) were reported as not wearing a seatbelt. The role of alcohol and drugs was also investigated and found to be involved in 30% (n = 82) of all pediatric SCI cases. Using discharge records from a public database, it is possible to identify high-risk demographic groups and activities that predispose a child to SCI. With a more thorough understanding of the etiology of pediatric SCI, clinicians and parents are better equipped to devise measures for prevention and treatment of this injury.

Simulating the Atmospheric Impact of Criegee Intermediates: Implementation of new understanding in atmospheric chemical mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloss, William; Newland, Mike; Rickard, Andrew; Vereecken, Luc; Evans, Mathew; Munoz, Amalia; Rodenas, Mila

2016-04-01

Unsaturated hydrocarbons - alkenes - account for about 90% of global VOC. Stabilized Criegee Intermediates (SCI) are thought to be formed in the atmosphere mainly from reactions of unsaturated hydrocarbons with ozone. SCI have been shown in laboratory and chamber experiments to rapidly oxidise SO2 and NO2, providing a potentially important gas phase oxidation route for these species in the atmosphere. They have also been implicated in the formation of aerosol and organic acids. However, the importance of SCI reactions with traces gases is critically dependent on the relative ratio of the rate constants for the reactions of the SCI with these and other trace gases, with H2O, and for unimolecular decomposition, which vary between SCIs, and between geometric isomers. The selection of reactions and rate constants is critically important in determining the calculated impact of SCI processes upon atmospheric composition and chemistry. Since the recent resurgence in interest in this chemistry, a number of model studies have been performed, with SCI mechanisms of varying comprehensiveness and accuracy, as the understanding of the community has evolved from new laboratory, theoretical and chamber studies, and field observations. Here we present an assessment of the dependence of modelled SCI abundance, behaviour and impacts upon the Criegee mechanism adopted, in the context of (a) the accepted status quo prior to the laboratory and field studies of Welz et al. and Mauldin et al., (b) changes to the SCI mechanism reflecting new kinetics for key bimolecular reactions, e.g. with SO2 and NO2; (c) emerging understanding of the interactions of SCI with water vapour and their unimolecular decomposition and (d) reactions with other atmospheric trace gases. The modelled SCI behaviour is compared with the results from recent chamber studies, and the resulting calculated SCI abundance and impacts evaluated for urban and forested atmospheric boundary layer scenarios.

Rheological properties of polymer melts with high elasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feranc, Jozef; Matvejová, Martina; Alexy, Pavol; Pret'o, Jozef; Hronkovič, Ján

2017-05-01

In the recent years efforts to complex description of the rheological characteristic increase even in the case of polymeric blends with high part of elastic deformation. However, unlike the most thermoplastic these blends have a certain specific features. Besides the already mentioned the higher part of elastic deformation it is especially higher viscosity, which are shown mainly for the measurement in the range of high shear rates. For this reason, the presented work is focused on the description of measurement methodology for blends with high part of elastic deformation using capillary rheometer. The measurements were carried out on a commercial polymer blend with trade name A517 based on rubbery polymer. Capillary rheometer Gottfert RG 75 was used, with diameter of chamber 15 mm. Measurements were performed using capillaries with different ratio of length/diameter at temperature 100°C. Because of existence elastic part of deformation, it is not possible to achieve a steady state pressure using measurements at constant volumetric flow at high shear rates. Therefore we decided to measure the flow characteristic using isobaric mode.

Overview of the MISSE 7 Polymers and Zenith Polymers Experiments After 1.5 Years of Space Exposure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yi, Grace T.; de Groh, Kim K.; Banks, Bruce A.; Haloua, Athena; Imka, Emily C.; Mitchell, Gianna G.

2013-01-01

As part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 7 (MISSE 7), two experiments called the Polymers Experiment and the Zenith Polymers Experiment were flown on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) and exposed to the low Earth orbit (LEO) space environment for 1.5 years. The Polymers Experiment contained 47 samples, which were flown in a ram or wake flight orientation. The objectives of the Polymers Experiment were to determine the LEO atomic oxygen erosion yield (Ey, volume loss per incident oxygen atoms, given in cu cm/atom) of the polymers, and to determine if atomic oxygen erosion of high and low ash containing polymers is dependent on fluence. The Zenith Polymers Experiment was flown in a zenith flight orientation. The primary objective of the Zenith Polymers Experiment was to determine the effect of solar exposure on the erosion of fluoropolymers. Kapton H (DuPont, Wilmington, DE) was flown in each experiment for atomic oxygen fluence determination. This paper provides an introduction to both the MISSE 7 Polymers Experiment and the MISSE 7 Zenith Polymers Experiment, and provides initial erosion yield results.

Downregulation of miR-199b promotes the acute spinal cord injury through IKKβ-NF-κB signaling pathway activating microglial cells

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

Zhou, Heng-Jun; Wang, Li-Qing; Xu, Qing-Sheng

Inflammatory response played an important role in the progression of spinal cord injury (SCI). Several miRNAs were associated with the pathology of SCI. However, the molecular mechanism of miRNA involving in inflammatory response in acute SCI (ASCI) was poorly understood. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into 2 groups: control group (n=6) and acute SCI (ASCI) group (n=6). The expression of miR-199b and IκB kinase β-nuclear factor-kappa B (IKKβ-NF-κB) signaling pathway were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) in rats with ASCI and in primary microglia activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We found that downregulation of miR-199b and activation of IKKβ/NF-κB weremore » observed in rats after ASCI and in activated microglia. miR-199b negatively regulated IKKβ by targeting its 3′- untranslated regions (UTR) through using luciferase reporter assay. Overexpression of miR-199b reversed the up-regulation of IKKβ, p-p65, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in LPS-treated BV2 cells assessed by western blotting analysis. In addition, BMS-345541 reversed the up-regulation effects of miR-199b inhibitor on the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β. In the SCI rats, overexpression of miR-199b attenuated ASCI and decreased the expression of IKKβ-NF-κB signaling pathway and TNF-α and IL-1β. These results indicated that miR-199b attenuated ASCI at least partly through IKKβ-NF-κB signaling pathway and affecting the function of microglia. Our findings suggest that miR-199b may be employed as therapeutic for spinal cord injury. - Highlights: • Downregulation of miR-199b and activation of IKKβ/NF-κB were observed in rat after SCI. • miR-199b negatively regulated IKKβ by targeting its 3′-UTR. • miR-199b overexpression reversed the increasing IKKβ, p-p65, TNF-α and IL-1β in LPS-treated BV2. • BMS-345541 reversed the up-regulation of TNF-α and IL-1β induced by miR-199b inhibitor. • Overexpression of miR-199b attenuated ASCI and decreased the expression of IKKβ-NF-κB in rats.« less

The role of cation-dependent chloride transporters in neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Cramer, Samuel W; Baggott, Christopher; Cain, John; Tilghman, Jessica; Allcock, Bradley; Miranpuri, Gurwattan; Rajpal, Sharad; Sun, Dandan; Resnick, Daniel

2008-01-01

Background Altered Cl- homeostasis and GABAergic function are associated with nociceptive input hypersensitivity. This study investigated the role of two major intracellular Cl- regulatory proteins, Na+-K+-Cl- cotransporter 1 (NKCC1) and K+-Cl- cotransporter 2 (KCC2), in neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury (SCI). Results Sprague-Dawley rats underwent a contusive SCI at T9 using the MASCIS impactor. The rats developed hyperalgesia between days 21 and 42 post-SCI. Thermal hyperalgesia (TH) was determined by a decrease in hindpaw thermal withdrawal latency time (WLT) between days 21 and 42 post-SCI. Rats with TH were then treated with either vehicle (saline containing 0.25% NaOH) or NKCC1 inhibitor bumetanide (BU, 30 mg/kg, i.p.) in vehicle. TH was then re-measured at 1 h post-injection. Administration of BU significantly increased the mean WLT in rats (p < 0.05). The group administered with the vehicle alone showed no anti-hyperalgesic effects. Moreover, an increase in NKCC1 protein expression occurred in the lesion epicenter of the spinal cord during day 2–14 post-SCI and peaked on day 14 post-SCI (p < 0.05). Concurrently, a down-regulation of KCC2 protein was detected during day 2–14 post-SCI. The rats with TH exhibited a sustained loss of KCC2 protein during post-SCI days 21–42. No significant changes of these proteins were detected in the rostral region of the spinal cord. Conclusion Taken together, expression of NKCC1 and KCC2 proteins was differentially altered following SCI. The anti-hyperalgesic effect of NKCC1 inhibition suggests that normal or elevated NKCC1 function and loss of KCC2 function play a role in the development and maintenance of SCI-induced neuropathic pain. PMID:18799000

Can FES-rowing mediate bone mineral density in SCI: a pilot study.

PubMed

Gibbons, R S; McCarthy, I D; Gall, A; Stock, C G; Shippen, J; Andrews, B J

2014-11-01

A single case study. To compare proximal tibia trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) of a participant with complete spinal cord injury (SCI), long-termed functional electrical stimulation-rowing (FES-R) trained, with previously reported SCI and non-SCI group norms. To estimate lower limb joint contact forces (JCFs) in the FES-R trained participant. UK University and orthopaedic hospital research centre. Bilateral proximal tibial trabecular BMD of the FES-R trained participant was measured using peripheral quantitative computerised tomography, and the data were compared with SCI and non-SCI groups. An instrumented four-channel FES-R system was used to measure the lower limb JCFs in the FES-R trained participant. Structurally, proximal tibial trabecular BMD was higher in the FES-R trained participant compared with the SCI group, but was less than the non-SCI group. Furthermore, left (184.7 mg cm(-3)) and right (160.7 mg cm(-3)) BMD were well above the threshold associated with non-traumatic fracture. The knee JCFs were above the threshold known to mediate BMD in SCI, but below threshold at the hip and ankle. As pathological fractures predominate in the distal femur and proximal tibia in chronic SCI patients, the fact that the FES-R trained participant's knee JCFs were above those known to partially prevent bone loss, suggests that FES-R training may provide therapeutic benefit. Although the elevated bilateral proximal tibial BMD of the FES-R participant provides circumstantial evidence of osteogenesis, this single case precludes any statement on the clinical significance. Further investigations are required involving larger numbers and additional channels of FES to increase loading at the hip and ankle.

A randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of the SCI Get Fit Toolkit on leisure-time physical activity behaviour and social-cognitive processes in adults with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Kelly P; Sweet, Shane N; Lamontagne, Marie-Eve; Ginis, Kathleen A Martin; Jeske, Samantha; Routhier, François; Latimer-Cheung, Amy E

2017-01-01

Single blind, two-group randomized controlled trial. To evaluate the efficacy of the SCI Get Fit Toolkit delivered online on theoretical constructs and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among adults with SCI. Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Inactive, English- and French-speaking Canadian adults with traumatic SCI with Internet access, and no self-reported cognitive or memory impairments. Participants ( N =90 M age =48.12±11.29 years; 79% male) were randomized to view the SCI Get Fit Toolkit or the Physical Activity Guidelines for adults with SCI (PAG-SCI) online. Primary (intentions) and secondary (outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, planning and MVPA behaviour) outcomes were assessed over a 1-month period. Of the 90 participants randomized, 77 were included in the analyses. Participants viewed the experimental stimuli only briefly, reading the 4-page toolkit for approximately 2.5 min longer than the 1-page guideline document. No condition effects were found for intentions, outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, and planning (ΔR 2 ⩽0.03). Individuals in the toolkit condition were more likely to participate in at least one bout of 20 min of MVPA behaviour at 1-week post-intervention compared to individuals in the guidelines condition (OR=3.54, 95% CI=0.95, 13.17). However, no differences were found when examining change in weekly minutes of MVPA or comparing whether participants met the PAG-SCI. No firm conclusions can be made regarding the impact of the SCI Get Fit Toolkit in comparison to the PAG-SCI on social cognitions and MVPA behaviour. The limited online access to this resource may partially explain these null findings.

Activation of KCNQ Channels Suppresses Spontaneous Activity in Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons and Reduces Chronic Pain after Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Wu, Zizhen; Li, Lin; Xie, Fuhua; Du, Junhui; Zuo, Yan; Frost, Jeffrey A.; Carlton, Susan M.; Walters, Edgar T.

2017-01-01

Abstract A majority of people who have sustained spinal cord injury (SCI) experience chronic pain after injury, and this pain is highly resistant to available treatments. Contusive SCI in rats at T10 results in hyperexcitability of primary sensory neurons, which contributes to chronic pain. KCNQ channels are widely expressed in nociceptive dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, are important for controlling their excitability, and their activation has proven effective in reducing pain in peripheral nerve injury and inflammation models. The possibility that activators of KCNQ channels could be useful for treating SCI-induced chronic pain is strongly supported by the following findings. First, SCI, unlike peripheral nerve injury, failed to decrease the functional or biochemical expression of KCNQ channels in DRG as revealed by electrophysiology, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot; therefore, these channels remain available for pharmacological targeting of SCI pain. Second, treatment with retigabine, a specific KCNQ channel opener, profoundly decreased spontaneous activity in primary sensory neurons of SCI animals both in vitro and in vivo without changing the peripheral mechanical threshold. Third, retigabine reversed SCI-induced reflex hypersensitivity, adding to our previous demonstration that retigabine supports the conditioning of place preference after SCI (an operant measure of spontaneous pain). In contrast to SCI animals, naïve animals showed no effects of retigabine on reflex sensitivity or conditioned place preference by pairing with retigabine, indicating that a dose that blocks chronic pain-related behavior has no effect on normal pain sensitivity or motivational state. These results encourage the further exploration of U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved KCNQ activators for treating SCI pain, as well as efforts to develop a new generation of KCNQ activators that lack central side effects. PMID:28073317

Activation of KCNQ Channels Suppresses Spontaneous Activity in Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons and Reduces Chronic Pain after Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Wu, Zizhen; Li, Lin; Xie, Fuhua; Du, Junhui; Zuo, Yan; Frost, Jeffrey A; Carlton, Susan M; Walters, Edgar T; Yang, Qing

2017-03-15

A majority of people who have sustained spinal cord injury (SCI) experience chronic pain after injury, and this pain is highly resistant to available treatments. Contusive SCI in rats at T10 results in hyperexcitability of primary sensory neurons, which contributes to chronic pain. KCNQ channels are widely expressed in nociceptive dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, are important for controlling their excitability, and their activation has proven effective in reducing pain in peripheral nerve injury and inflammation models. The possibility that activators of KCNQ channels could be useful for treating SCI-induced chronic pain is strongly supported by the following findings. First, SCI, unlike peripheral nerve injury, failed to decrease the functional or biochemical expression of KCNQ channels in DRG as revealed by electrophysiology, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot; therefore, these channels remain available for pharmacological targeting of SCI pain. Second, treatment with retigabine, a specific KCNQ channel opener, profoundly decreased spontaneous activity in primary sensory neurons of SCI animals both in vitro and in vivo without changing the peripheral mechanical threshold. Third, retigabine reversed SCI-induced reflex hypersensitivity, adding to our previous demonstration that retigabine supports the conditioning of place preference after SCI (an operant measure of spontaneous pain). In contrast to SCI animals, naïve animals showed no effects of retigabine on reflex sensitivity or conditioned place preference by pairing with retigabine, indicating that a dose that blocks chronic pain-related behavior has no effect on normal pain sensitivity or motivational state. These results encourage the further exploration of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved KCNQ activators for treating SCI pain, as well as efforts to develop a new generation of KCNQ activators that lack central side effects.

Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries Favor Administration of Methylprednisolone

PubMed Central

Bowers, Christian A.; Kundu, Bornali; Rosenbluth, Jeffrey; Hawryluk, Gregory W. J.

2016-01-01

Methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS) for treatment of acute spinal cord injury (SCI) has been associated with both benefits and adverse events. MPSS administration was the standard of care for acute SCI until recently when its use has become controversial. Patients with SCI have had little input in the debate, thus we sought to learn their opinions regarding administration of MPSS. A summary of the published literature to date on MPSS use for acute SCI was created and adjudicated by 28 SCI experts. This summary was then emailed to 384 chronic SCI patients along with a survey that interrogated the patients’ neurological deficits, communication with physicians and their views on MPSS administration. 77 out of 384 patients completed the survey. 28 respondents indicated being able to speak early after injury and of these 24 reported arriving at the hospital within 8 hours of injury. One recalled a physician speaking to them about MPSS and one patient reported choosing whether or not to receive MPSS. 59.4% felt that the small neurological benefits associated with MPSS were ‘very important’ to them (p<0.0001). Patients had ‘little concern’ for potential side-effects of MPSS (p = 0.001). Only 1.4% felt that MPSS should not be given to SCI patients regardless of degree of injury (p<0.0001). This is the first study to report SCI patients’ preferences regarding MPSS treatment for acute SCI. Patients favor the administration of MPSS for acute SCI, however few had input into whether or not it was administered. Conscious patients should be given greater opportunity to decide their treatment. These results also provide some guidance regarding MPSS administration in patients unable to communicate. PMID:26789007

The Economic Burden of Urinary Tract Infection and Pressure Ulceration in Acute Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Admissions: Evidence for Comparative Economics and Decision Analytics from a Matched Case-Control Study.

PubMed

White, Barry A B; Dea, Nicolas; Street, John T; Cheng, Christiana L; Rivers, Carly S; Attabib, Najmedden; Kwon, Brian K; Fisher, Charles G; Dvorak, Marcel F

2017-10-15

Secondary complications of spinal cord injury (SCI) are a burden to affected individuals and the rest of society. There is limited evidence of the economic burden or cost of complications in SCI populations in Canada, however, which is necessary for comparative economic analyses and decision analytic modeling of possible solutions to these common health problems. Comparative economic analyses can inform resource allocation decisions, but the outputs are only as good as the inputs. In this article, new evidence of the excess or incremental costs of urinary tract infection (UTI) and pressure ulceration (PU) in acute traumatic SCI from an exploratory case series analysis of admissions to a Level I specialized Canadian spine facility (2008-2013) is presented. Participants in a national SCI registry were case-control matched (1:1) on the predicted probability of experiencing UTI or PU during initial acute SCI admission. The excess costs of UTI and PU are estimated as the mean of the differences in total direct acute SCI admission costs (length of stay, accommodation, nursing, pharmacy) from the perspective of the admitting facility between participants matched or paired on demographic and SCI characteristics. Even relatively minor UTI and PU, respectively, added an average of $7,790 (standard deviation [SD] $6,267) and $18,758 (SD $27,574) to the direct cost of acute SCI admission in 2013 Canadian dollars (CAD). This case series analysis established evidence of the excess costs of UTI and PU in acute SCI admissions, which will support decision-informing analyses in SCI.

Semen quality in ejaculates produced by masturbation in men with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Kathiresan, A S Q; Ibrahim, E; Modh, R; Aballa, T C; Lynne, C M; Brackett, N L

2012-12-01

Retrospective study. Most men with spinal cord injury are anejaculatory. Much has been reported about their semen quality collected by penile vibratory stimulation and electroejaculation (EEJ). What is not well-described is the nature of semen quality in SCI patients who can ejaculate by masturbation. This study was performed to understand the degree to which their semen quality differed from that of anejaculatory SCI patients versus that of healthy non-SCI control subjects. University of Miami. Retrospective chart review of Male Fertility Research Program participants from 1991 to 2011. Of 528 SCI subjects, 444 met inclusion criteria of completing an algorithm in which ejaculation occurred by masturbation (n=43), PVS (n=243), or EEJ (n=158). Sperm motility was higher in the SCI-masturbation group (36.9%) than the PVS group (25.9%, P<0.001) or EEJ group (15.0%, P<0.001), but lower compared with a control group of 61 non-SCI healthy men who collected their semen by masturbation (58.0%, P<0.001). The SCI-masturbation group had similar antegrade sperm concentration (83.3×10(6) cc(-1)) as the PVS group (77.4×10(6) cc(-1)) and control group (82.0×10(6) cc(-1)), but higher than the EEJ group (49.8×10(6) cc(-1), P<0.001). The SCI-masturbation group had significantly more men with incomplete injuries (84%) than the PVS group (54%, P<0.01) or EEJ group (41%, P<0.001). This is the first report focusing on semen quality obtained by masturbation in men with SCI. Sperm motility was higher in men with SCI who could, versus could not, ejaculate by masturbation. Completeness of injury may contribute to this difference.

The effects of using the Internet on the health-related quality of life in people with spinal cord injury: a controlled study.

PubMed

Celik, B; Ones, K; Celik, E C; Bugdayci, D S; Paker, N; Avci, C; Ince, N

2014-05-01

Prospective cohort study. To compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) who use the Internet versus those who don't and with a control group of able-bodied individuals. To investigate the frequency of Internet usage before and after injury. To evaluate the differences in terms of demographic features of both groups, analyze the variation in the Internet usage pattern of people with SCI before and after the injury. Istanbul, Turkey. A total of 60 people with SCI (38 Internet users, 22 nonusers) were included in the study. The control group consisted of 33 healthy persons of similar age and sex. The HRQoL was evaluated with the SF-36 Health Survey. The scores of all the subscales of the SF-36, except vitality, were significantly lower in people with SCI than those of the controls'. The bodily pain subscale and physical component scores were found to be significantly higher in people with SCI using the Internet than the nonuser group with SCI (P<0.05). The Internet usage frequency increased significantly in people with SCI after injury (P<0.05). A significant correlation was found between time since injury and Internet use (r=0.365, P=0.007). Although HRQoL scores were lower in people with an SCI, the physical status component score was better in the Internet user SCI group. As there is a significant increase in the time spent online after injury, the Internet could be an effective modality to contact and educate people with an SCI.

RNA-Seq Analysis of Microglia Reveals Time-Dependent Activation of Specific Genetic Programs following Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Noristani, Harun N.; Gerber, Yannick N.; Sabourin, Jean-Charles; Le Corre, Marine; Lonjon, Nicolas; Mestre-Frances, Nadine; Hirbec, Hélène E.; Perrin, Florence E.

2017-01-01

Neurons have inherent competence to regrow following injury, although not spontaneously. Spinal cord injury (SCI) induces a pronounced neuroinflammation driven by resident microglia and infiltrating peripheral macrophages. Microglia are the first reactive glial population after SCI and participate in recruitment of monocyte-derived macrophages to the lesion site. Both positive and negative influence of microglia and macrophages on axonal regeneration had been reported after SCI, raising the issue whether their response depends on time post-lesion or different lesion severity. We analyzed molecular alterations in microglia at several time-points after different SCI severities using RNA-sequencing. We demonstrate that activation of microglia is time-dependent post-injury but is independent of lesion severity. Early transcriptomic response of microglia after SCI involves proliferation and neuroprotection, which is then switched to neuroinflammation at later stages. Moreover, SCI induces an autologous microglial expression of astrocytic markers with over 6% of microglia expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin from as early as 72 h post-lesion and up to 6 weeks after injury. We also identified the potential involvement of DNA damage and in particular tumor suppressor gene breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (Brca1) in microglia after SCI. Finally, we established that BRCA1 protein is specifically expressed in non-human primate spinal microglia and is upregulated after SCI. Our data provide the first transcriptomic analysis of microglia at multiple stages after different SCI severities. Injury-induced microglia expression of astrocytic markers at RNA and protein levels demonstrates novel insights into microglia plasticity. Finally, increased microglia expression of BRCA1 in rodents and non-human primate model of SCI, suggests the involvement of oncogenic proteins after CNS lesion. PMID:28420963

Delayed Influence of Spinal Cord Injury on the Amino Acids of NO• Metabolism in Rat Cerebral Cortex Is Attenuated by Thiamine

PubMed Central

Boyko, Alexandra; Ksenofontov, Alexander; Ryabov, Sergey; Baratova, Lyudmila; Graf, Anastasia; Bunik, Victoria

2018-01-01

Severe spinal cord injuries (SCIs) result in chronic neuroinflammation in the brain, associated with the development of cognitive and behavioral impairments. Nitric oxide (NO•) is a gaseous messenger involved in neuronal signaling and inflammation, contributing to nitrosative stress under dysregulated production of reactive nitrogen species. In this work, biochemical changes induced in the cerebral cortex of rats 8 weeks after SCI are assessed by quantification of the levels of amino acids participating in the NO• and glutathione metabolism. The contribution of the injury-induced neurodegeneration is revealed by comparison of the SCI- and laminectomy (LE)-subjected animals. Effects of the operative interventions are assessed by comparison of the operated (LE/SCI) and non-operated animals. Lower ratios of citrulline (Cit) to arginine (Arg) or Cit to ornithine and a more profound decrease in the ratio of lysine to glycine distinguish SCI animals from those after LE. The data suggest decreased NO• production from both Arg and homoarginine in the cortex 8 weeks after SCI. Both LE and SCI groups show a strong decrease in the level of cortex glutathione. The neurotropic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant actions of thiamine (vitamin B1) prompted us to study the thiamine effects on the SCI-induced changes in the NO• and glutathione metabolism. A thiamine injection (400 mg/kg intraperitoneally) within 24 h after SCI abrogates the changes in the cerebral cortex amino acids related to NO•. Thiamine-induced normalization of the brain glutathione levels after LE and SCI may involve increased supply of glutamate for glutathione biosynthesis. Thus, thiamine protects from sequelae of SCI on NO•-related amino acids and glutathione in cerebral cortex. PMID:29379782

Neuro magnetic resonance spectroscopy using wavelet decomposition and statistical testing identifies biochemical changes in people with spinal cord injury and pain.

PubMed

Stanwell, Peter; Siddall, Philip; Keshava, Nirmal; Cocuzzo, Daniel; Ramadan, Saadallah; Lin, Alexander; Herbert, David; Craig, Ashley; Tran, Yvonne; Middleton, James; Gautam, Shiva; Cousins, Michael; Mountford, Carolyn

2010-11-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can be accompanied by chronic pain, the mechanisms for which are poorly understood. Here we report that magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements from the brain, collected at 3T, and processed using wavelet-based feature extraction and classification algorithms, can identify biochemical changes that distinguish control subjects from subjects with SCI as well as subdividing the SCI group into those with and without chronic pain. The results from control subjects (n=10) were compared to those with SCI (n=10). The SCI cohort was made up of subjects with chronic neuropathic pain (n=5) and those without chronic pain (n=5). The wavelet-based decomposition of frequency domain MRS signals employs statistical significance testing to identify features best suited to discriminate different classes. Moreover, the features benefit from careful attention to the post-processing of the spectroscopy data prior to the comparison of the three cohorts. The spectroscopy data, from the thalamus, best distinguished control subjects without SCI from those with SCI with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.9 (Percentage of Correct Classification). The spectroscopy data obtained from the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex both distinguished between SCI subjects with chronic neuropathic pain and those without pain with a sensitivity and specificity of 1.0. In this study, where two underlying mechanisms co-exist (i.e. SCI and pain), the thalamic changes appear to be linked more strongly to SCI, while the anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex changes appear to be specifically linked to the presence of pain. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mental health and life satisfaction of individuals with spinal cord injury and their partners 5 years after discharge from first inpatient rehabilitation.

PubMed

Scholten, Eline W M; Tromp, Maria E H; Hillebregt, Chantal F; de Groot, Sonja; Ketelaar, Marjolijn; Visser-Meily, Johanna M A; Post, Marcel W M

2018-06-01

Cross-sectional study. To describe and compare mental health and life satisfaction between individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their partners 5 years after discharge from first inpatient rehabilitation; and to examine if injury severity moderates the association between individuals' with SCI and their partners' mental health and life satisfaction. Dutch community. Sixty-five individuals with SCI and their partners completed a self-report questionnaire. Main outcome measures were the mental health subscale of the Short-Form Health Survey and the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire. Levels of mental health and life satisfaction of individuals with SCI and partners were similar, with median scores of 76 and 4.8 versus 76 and 4.6, respectively. Moderate to strong correlations between individuals with SCI and their partners were found for the mental health (r S  = 0.35) and life satisfaction scores (r S  = 0.51). These associations were generally stronger in the subgroup of individuals with less severe SCI. Associations between scores on separate life domains ranged from negligible (0.05) to moderate (0.53). Individuals with SCI and their partners were least satisfied with their 'sexual life'. Compared with their partners, individuals with SCI were significantly more satisfied in the domains 'leisure situation', 'partnership relation' and 'family life', and less satisfied in 'self-care ability'. This study showed similarities but also differences in mental health and life satisfaction between individuals with SCI and their partners. In clinical practice, attention on mental health and life satisfaction should, therefore, focus on different domains for individuals with SCI and partners.

Instrumentation and analysis of frost heave mitigation on WY-70, Encampment, WY.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

This project investigated a novel procedure to reduce or prevent subgrade freezing non-destructively by injecting a two-part polymer foam at : the top of the subgrade. Controlled injection of Uretek Star, expanding structural polymer foam, created a ...

Polymer Exemption Guidance Manual for premanufacture notices for new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A technical manual to accompany, but not supersede the Premanufacture Notification Exemptions; Revisions of Exemptions for Polymers; Final Rule found at 40 CFR Part 723, (60) FR 16316-16336, published Wednesday, March 29, 1995.

How Do Iranian People with Spinal Cord Injury Understand Marriage?

PubMed Central

Merghati-Khoei, Effat; Maasoumi, Raziyeh; Zarei, Fatemeh; Laleh, Leila; Pasha, Yousofreza Yousofnia; Korte, Jeffrey E.

2017-01-01

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-altering experience. There is little information about the perspectives of people with SCI toward marriage. Purpose: To explore the understandings of Iranian adults with SCI about marriage. Methods: In this qualitative inquiry, using a semi-structured interview guide, we collected data from 53 single adults with SCI (41 men and 12 women) who were referred to the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. Barun and Clarke's thematic analysis approach was applied for data analysis. Results: “Marriage” was thematized in outer and inner scenarios. The outer scenario was explored in terms of physical disability identified as a seminal determinant in successful marriage. “Attractiveness,” “able body for breadwinning,” “sexually active,” and “reproduction” were dominant concepts extracted from the participants' narratives. The participants' inner scenarios revealed that marriage would be welcomed if a potential partner accepted them as a “whole person” regardless of their SCI condition. Conclusion: The findings suggest that adults with SCI do not ignore or reject marriage, however it was not their life priority due to major concerns that they had internalized. Considering the quality of care, people with SCI must be reassured about their potential to get married. SCI-based sexuality education and premarital counseling support the patients in their postmarital lives. Our findings will provide decision makers and health providers with significant insight for utilizing culturally appropriate services for people with SCI. PMID:29339879

Effects of melatonin on severe crush spinal cord injury-induced reactive astrocyte and scar formation.

PubMed

Krityakiarana, Warin; Sompup, Kamonrapat; Jongkamonwiwat, Nopporn; Mukda, Sujira; Pinilla, Fernando Gomez; Govitrapong, Piyarat; Phansuwan-Pujito, Pansiri

2016-12-01

The present work aimed at analyzing the effects of melatonin on scar formation after spinal cord injury (SCI). Upregulation of reactive astrocyte under SCI pathological conditions has been presented in several studies. It has been proved that the crucial factor in triggering this upregulation is proinflammatory cytokines. Moreover, scar formation is an important barrier to axonal regeneration through the lesion area. Melatonin plays an important role in reducing inflammation, but its effects on scar formation in the injured spinal cord remain unknown. Hence, we used the model of severe crush injury in mice to investigate the effects of melatonin on scar formation. Mice were randomly separated into four groups; SCI, SCI+Melatonin 1 (single dose), SCI+Melatonin 14 (14 daily doses), and control. Melatonin was administered by intraperitoneal injection (10 mg/kg) after injury. Immunohistochemical analysis, Western blot, and behavioral evaluation were used to explore the effects of melatonin after SCI for 14 days. The melatonin-treated mice presented higher expression of neuronal markers (P < 0.001). Remarkably, the inflammatory response appeared to be greatly reduced in the SCI+Melatonin 14 group (P < 0.001), which also displayed less scar formation (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that melatonin inhibits scar formation by acting on inflammatory cytokines after SCI. Overall, our results suggest that melatonin is a promising treatment strategy after SCI that deserves further investigation. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Earnings among people with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Ramakrishnan, K; Loh, S Y; Omar, Z

2011-09-01

Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data. To identify differences in earnings among participants with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their relation to demographic, injury, educational and employment-related factors. People living with SCI in the community who were members of a disability support organization. A total of 76 members who have had traumatic SCI for at least 2 years, between 15 and 64 years of age at time of study and were working before SCI were interviewed over the phone. The earnings were categorized as more, same or less than before SCI or no income for those unemployed. Of the 76 participants (who averaged about 15.1 years post SCI), only 13 participants (17.1%) were earning more than before injury, whereas majority were in the category of having no income, being unemployed at time of study, n=36 (47.4%). Factors positively related to earnings were having more years in education, both at time of injury and at time of survey. As anticipated, those currently in full time and paid employments were earning more while receipt of financial compensation was negatively related to earnings. Despite a lengthy period of time post SCI, only a minority were earning more, reflecting poorly on the quality of post SCI employment experience. The rehabilitation team should therefore focus on improving both educational and vocational opportunities for persons with SCI and aim for full time, paid employments. The current workers' compensation scheme renders the recipient at a static income and may need to be revised.

Process for crosslinking methylene-containing aromatic polymers with ionizing radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Vernon L. (Inventor); Havens, Stephen J. (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A process for crosslinking aromatic polymers containing radiation-sensitive methylene groups (-CH2-) by exposing the polymers to ionizing radiation thereby causing crosslinking of the polymers through the methylene groups is described. Crosslinked polymers are resistant to most organic solvents such as acetone, alcohols, hydrocarbons, methylene, chloride, chloroform, and other halogenated hydrocarbons, to common fuels and to hydraulic fluids in contrast to readily soluble uncrosslinked polymers. In addition, the degree of crosslinking of the polymers depends upon the percentage of the connecting groups which are methylene which ranges from 5 to 50 pct and preferably from 25 to 50 pct of the connecting groups, and is also controlled by the level of irradiation which ranges from 25 to 1000 Mrads and preferably from 25 to 250 Mrads. The temperature of the reaction conditions ranges from 25 to 200 C and preferably at or slightly above the glass transition temperature of the polymer. The crosslinked polymers are generally more resistant to degradation at elevated temperatures such as greater than 150 C, have a reduced tendency to creep under load, and show no significant embrittlement of parts fabricated from the polymers.

Cell adhesion pattern created by OSTE polymers.

PubMed

Liu, Wenjia; Li, Yiyang; Ding, Xianting

2017-04-24

Engineering surfaces with functional polymers is a crucial issue in the field of micro/nanofabrication and cell-material interface studies. For many applications of surface patterning, it does not need cells to attach on the whole surface. Herein, we introduce a novel polymer fabrication protocol of off-stoichiometry thiol-ene (OSTE) polymers to create heterogeneity on the surface by utilizing 3D printing and soft-lithography. By choosing two OSTE polymers with different functional groups, we create a pattern where only parts of the surface can facilitate cell adhesion. We also study the hydrophilic property of OSTE polymers by mixing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) directly with pre-polymers and plasma treatments afterwards. Moreover, we investigate the effect of functional groups' excess ratio and hydrophilic property on the cell adhesion ability of OSTE polymers. The results show that the cell adhesion ability of OSTE materials can be tuned within a wide range by the coupling effect of functional groups' excess ratio and hydrophilic property. Meanwhile, by mixing PEG with pre-polymers and undergoing oxygen plasma treatment afterward can significantly improve the hydrophilic property of OSTE polymers.

Body Image in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury During Inpatient Rehabilitation.

PubMed

van Diemen, Tijn; van Leeuwen, Christel; van Nes, Ilse; Geertzen, Jan; Post, Marcel

2017-06-01

(1) To investigate the course of body image in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) during their first inpatient rehabilitation stay; and (2) to explore the association between demographic and injury-related variables and body image and the association between body image and psychological distress. Longitudinal inception cohort study. Rehabilitation center. Of the 210 people admitted for their first inpatient SCI rehabilitation program (between March 2011 and April 2015), 188 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, N=150 (80%) agreed to participate. Not applicable. The Body Experience Questionnaire was used to measure 2 dimensions of body image: alienation and harmony. Mean scores on the Body Experience Questionnaire alienation subscale decreased significantly during the rehabilitation program. Mean scores on the Body Experience Questionnaire harmony subscale did not increase significantly but showed a trend in the hypothesized direction. The 2 subscales showed weak correlations with demographic and injury-related variables. The 2 subscales together explained 16% and 14% of the variance of depression and anxiety, respectively, after correction for demographic and injury-related variables. During participants' first inpatient rehabilitation stay after SCI, body image progressed toward a healthier state. Body image explains part of the variance in depression and anxiety, and the entire rehabilitation team should be targeting interventions to improve body image. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Performance optimization of Qbox and WEST on Intel Knights Landing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Huihuo; Knight, Christopher; Galli, Giulia; Govoni, Marco; Gygi, Francois

We present the optimization of electronic structure codes Qbox and WEST targeting the Intel®Xeon Phi™processor, codenamed Knights Landing (KNL). Qbox is an ab-initio molecular dynamics code based on plane wave density functional theory (DFT) and WEST is a post-DFT code for excited state calculations within many-body perturbation theory. Both Qbox and WEST employ highly scalable algorithms which enable accurate large-scale electronic structure calculations on leadership class supercomputer platforms beyond 100,000 cores, such as Mira and Theta at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility. In this work, features of the KNL architecture (e.g. hierarchical memory) are explored to achieve higher performance in key algorithms of the Qbox and WEST codes and to develop a road-map for further development targeting next-generation computing architectures. In particular, the optimizations of the Qbox and WEST codes on the KNL platform will target efficient large-scale electronic structure calculations of nanostructured materials exhibiting complex structures and prediction of their electronic and thermal properties for use in solar and thermal energy conversion device. This work was supported by MICCoM, as part of Comp. Mats. Sci. Program funded by the U.S. DOE, Office of Sci., BES, MSE Division. This research used resources of the ALCF, which is a DOE Office of Sci. User Facility under Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357.

Optimization and Control of Burning Plasmas Through High Performance Computing

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

Pankin, Alexei

This project has revived the FACETS code, that has been developed under SciDAC fund- ing in 2008-2012. The code has been dormant for a number of years after the SciDAC funding stopped. FACETS depends on external packages. The external packages and libraries such as PETSc, FFTW, HDF5 and NETCDF that are included in FACETS have evolved during these years. Some packages in FACETS are also parts of other codes such as PlasmaState, NUBEAM, GACODES, and UEDGE. These packages have been also evolved together with their host codes which include TRANSP, TGYRO and XPTOR. Finally, there is also a set ofmore » packages in FACETS that are being developed and maintained by Tech-X. These packages include BILDER, SciMake, and FcioWrappers. Many of these packages evolved significantly during the last several years and FACETS had to be updated to synchronize with the re- cent progress in the external packages. The PI has introduced new changes to the BILDER package to support the updated interfaces to the external modules. During the last year of the project, the FACETS version of the UEDGE code has been extracted from FACETS as a standalone package. The PI collaborates with the scientists from LLNL on the updated UEDGE model in FACETS. Drs. T. Rognlien, M. Umansky and A. Dimits from LLNL are contributing to this task.« less

Demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with disparity in wheelchair customizability among people with traumatic spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Hunt, Peter Cody; Boninger, Michael L; Cooper, Rory A; Zafonte, Ross D; Fitzgerald, Shirley G; Schmeler, Mark R

2004-11-01

To determine if a standard of care for wheelchair provision exists within the participating centers and if there is disparity in wheelchair customizability among the study sample. Convenience sample survey. Thirteen Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems that provide comprehensive rehabilitation for people with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and that are part of the national database funded through the US Department of Education. A total of 412 people with SCI who use wheelchairs over 40 hours a week. Survey information was obtained from subjects via telephone and in-person interviews and from the national database. Collected information included age, race, education, level of injury, and wheelchair funding source. Number and type (manual or power) of wheelchairs. Wheelchair customizability as defined by design features (eg, adjustable axle position, programmable controls). Ninety-seven percent of manual wheelchair users and 54% of power wheelchair users had customizable wheelchairs. No power wheelchair user received a wheelchair without programmable controls. Minorities with low socioeconomic backgrounds (low income, Medicaid/Medicare recipients, less educated) were more likely to have standard manual and standard programmable power wheelchairs. Older subjects were also more likely to have standard programmable power wheelchairs. The standard of care for manual wheelchair users with SCI is a lightweight and customizable wheelchair. The standard of care for power wheelchairs users has programmable controls. Unfortunately, socioeconomically disadvantaged people were less likely to receive customizable wheelchairs.

The association between health-related quality of life/dietary satisfaction and perceived food environment among Japanese individuals with spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Hata, K; Inayama, T; Yoshiike, N

2017-08-01

Cross-sectional. To examine the association between health-related quality of life (HRQOL)/dietary satisfaction and perceived food environment in community-dwelling individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Members of the Spinal Injuries Japan organization. Subjects were 2007 Japanese individuals with SCI. A questionnaire conducted in 2015 included items addressing sociodemographic characteristics, HRQOL, dietary satisfaction and eight perceived food environment items. Responses from 506 individuals were analyzed (valid response rate=25%). Dependent variables were the physical and mental summary scores of the HRQOL and dietary satisfaction. The independent variable was the perceived food environment. We used a univariate analysis (in Model 1) and a multivariate analysis (in Models 2 and 3) as part of a binominal logistic regression analysis. In Model 3, we divided and analyzed the perceived food environment variable into 'access to food' and 'access to information'. Both physical and mental summary scores were related to 'dietary information acquisition in the community'. Dietary satisfaction was related to 'balanced meals in the household', 'food and health information available from family' and 'right health and dietary information acquisition from the media'. HRQOL and dietary satisfaction were differentially associated with perceived food environment factors in community-dwelling individuals with SCI. HRQOL was positively related to dietary information of perceived food environment in the community. Dietary satisfaction was positively related to perceived food environment in the household.

Porous polymers: enabling solutions for energy applications.

PubMed

Thomas, Arne; Kuhn, Pierre; Weber, Jens; Titirici, Maria-Magdalena; Antonietti, Markus

2009-02-18

A new generation of porous polymers was made for various energy-related applications, e.g., as fuel cell membranes, as electrode materials for batteries, for gas storage, partly from renewable resources. This review intends to catch this emerging field by reporting on a variety of different approaches to make high performing polymers porous. This includes template techniques, polymers with inherent microporosity, polymer frameworks by ionothermal polymerization, and the polymerization of carbon from appropriate precursors and by hydrothermal polymerization. In this process, we try to not only identify the current status of the field, but also point to open question and tasks to identify the potentially relevant progress. Copyright © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Physical activity is related to lower levels of pain, fatigue and depression in individuals with spinal-cord injury: a correlational study.

PubMed

Tawashy, A E; Eng, J J; Lin, K H; Tang, P F; Hung, C

2009-04-01

This was a prospective cross-sectional study for people with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). To (1) evaluate the intensity level and nature of physical activity in community-dwelling individuals living with SCI, and (2) explore the relation between descriptive individual variables (for example, lesion level), secondary complications and participation in physical activity. Urban community setting. A total of 49 subjects with SCI who used a manual wheelchair for primary mode of mobility (mean years since injury, 11.8; mean age, 43.7 years; 67% paraplegia) completed the physical activity recall assessment for people with SCI (PARA-SCI). Approximately 50% of reported physical activity among individuals with SCI is due to activities of daily living. The amount of physical activity was not related to lesion level, age, body mass index or waistline size. Greater heavy-intensity activity was related to lower levels of pain and fatigue and higher levels of self-efficacy, whereas higher amounts of mild-intensity activity and total activity were related to less depressive symptoms. Activities of daily living are a large component for physical activity among individuals with SCI. It appears that greater physical activity is associated with less secondary complications (pain, fatigue and depression) in individuals with SCI.

[Subjective cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: a two year follow up of 51 subjects during two years].

PubMed

Sambuchi, Nathalie; Muraccioli, Isabelle; Alescio-Lautier, Béatrice; Paban, Véronique; Sambuc, Roland; Jouve, Élisabeth; Geda, Yonas Endale; Petersen, Ronald Karl; Michel, Bernard François

2015-12-01

Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is defined by a state of subjective complaint, without objective cognitive deterioration. Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (A-MCI), which characterizes a syndrome between normal cognitive aging and early Alzheimer's disease (E-AD), is preceded by A-MCI from many years. SCI expresses a metacognitive impairment. A cohort of 51 subjects [7 normal controls (NC), 28 SCI, 12 A-MCI and 5 E-AD] was followed up during 24 months, with a neuropsychological evaluation each 6 months during 1 year (V1, V2, V3), then 1 year later (V4). Among the 28 SCI, 6 converted to A-MCI at V4 (21.42%), 1 to A-MCI-A at V3, then to E-AD at V4. These results suggest a continuum from SCI to A-MCI, and E-AD. Progressive SCI differed from non-progressive SCI on verbal episodic memory and executive functions tests at the initial examination. MRI showed anterior cingular atrophy in all SCI patients but hippocampal atrophy was only observed in 20 patients. Our results suggest that metacognition impairment is the expression of a dysfunction in the anterior pre-frontal cortex, in correlation with a syndrome of hyper-attention.

From basics to clinical: a comprehensive review on spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Silva, Nuno A; Sousa, Nuno; Reis, Rui L; Salgado, António J

2014-03-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating neurological disorder that affects thousands of individuals each year. Over the past decades an enormous progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular and cellular events generated by SCI, providing insights into crucial mechanisms that contribute to tissue damage and regenerative failure of injured neurons. Current treatment options for SCI include the use of high dose methylprednisolone, surgical interventions to stabilize and decompress the spinal cord, and rehabilitative care. Nonetheless, SCI is still a harmful condition for which there is yet no cure. Cellular, molecular, rehabilitative training and combinatorial therapies have shown promising results in animal models. Nevertheless, work remains to be done to ascertain whether any of these therapies can safely improve patient's condition after human SCI. This review provides an extensive overview of SCI research, as well as its clinical component. It starts covering areas from physiology and anatomy of the spinal cord, neuropathology of the SCI, current clinical options, neuronal plasticity after SCI, animal models and techniques to assess recovery, focusing the subsequent discussion on a variety of promising neuroprotective, cell-based and combinatorial therapeutic approaches that have recently moved, or are close, to clinical testing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ComSciCon: The Communicating Science Workshop for Graduate Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Nathan; Drout, Maria; Kohler, Susanna; Cook, Ben; ComSciCon Leadership Team

2018-01-01

ComSciCon (comscicon.com) is a national workshop series organized by graduate students, for graduate students, focused on leadership and training in science communication. Our goal is to empower young scientists to become leaders in their field, propagating appreciation and understanding of research results to broad and diverse audiences. ComSciCon attendees meet and interact with professional communicators, build lasting networks with graduate students in all fields of science and engineering from around the country, and write and publish original works. ComSciCon consists of both a flagship national conference series run annually for future leaders in science communication, and a series of regional and specialized workshops organized by ComSciCon alumni nationwide. We routinely receive over 1000 applications for 50 spots in our national workshop. Since its founding in 2012, over 300 STEM graduate students have participated in the national workshop, and 23 local spin-off workshops have been organized in 10 different locations throughout the country. This year, ComSciCon is working to grow as a self-sustaining organization by launching as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit. In this poster we will discuss the ComSciCon program and methods, our results to date, potential future collaborations between ComSciCon and AAS, and how you can become involved.

Melatonin Inhibits Neural Cell Apoptosis and Promotes Locomotor Recovery via Activation of the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway After Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Shen, Zhaoliang; Zhou, Zipeng; Gao, Shuang; Guo, Yue; Gao, Kai; Wang, Haoyu; Dang, Xiaoqian

2017-08-01

The spinal cord is highly sensitive to spinal cord injury (SCI) by external mechanical damage, resulting in irreversible neurological damage. Activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway can effectively reduce apoptosis and protect against SCI. Melatonin, an indoleamine originally isolated from bovine pineal tissue, exerts neuroprotective effects after SCI through activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In this study, we demonstrated that melatonin exhibited neuroprotective effects on neuronal apoptosis and supported functional recovery in a rat SCI model by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. We found that melatonin administration after SCI significantly upregulated the expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein 6 phosphorylation (p-LRP-6), lymphoid enhancer factor-1 (LEF-1) and β-catenin protein in the spinal cord. Melatonin enhanced motor neuronal survival in the spinal cord ventral horn and improved the locomotor functions of rats after SCI. Melatonin administration after SCI also reduced the expression levels of Bax and cleaved caspase-3 in the spinal cord and the proportion of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL) positive cells, but increased the expression level of Bcl-2. These results suggest that melatonin attenuated SCI by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

[Analysis of the citation of the articles published in National Journal of Andrology by SCI periodicals from 2002 to 2008].

PubMed

Huang, Hai

2009-03-01

Science Citation Index (SCI) is one of the world's most important and influential information retrieval systems. Today Web of Science covers over 9000 international and regional journals and book series in every field of natural sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities. More and more Chinese periodicals have been cited by SCI. This paper briefly introduces the SCI database and its selection process and analyzes the citation of the articles published in National Journal of Andrology (NJA) by SCI journals from 2002 to 2008, aiming to provide some information for the internationalization of NJA.

Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Cheol; Connell, John W.; Smith, Joseph G., Jr.

2003-01-01

A novel class of polymer/clay nanocomposites has been invented in an attempt to develop transparent, lightweight, durable materials for a variety of aerospace applications. As their name suggests, polymer/ clay nanocomposites comprise organic/ inorganic hybrid polymer matrices containing platelet-shaped clay particles that have sizes of the order of a few nanometers thick and several hundred nanometers long. Partly because of their high aspect ratios and high surface areas, the clay particles, if properly dispersed in the polymer matrix at a loading level of 1 to 5 weight percent, impart unique combinations of physical and chemical properties that make these nanocomposites attractive for making films and coatings for a variety of industrial applications. Relative to the unmodified polymer, the polymer/ clay nanocomposites may exhibit improvements in strength, modulus, and toughness; tear, radiation, and fire resistance; and lower thermal expansion and permeability to gases while retaining a high degree of optical transparency.

The Development for Polymer Actuator Active Catheter System

PubMed Central

Sewa, S.; Onishi, K.; Oguro, K.; Asaka, K.; Taki, W.; Toma, N.

2001-01-01

Summary Electric stimuli polymer-metal composite actuator material has been developed for active catheter system and other widely new applications. The polymer actuator is made of ion exchange polymer and gold as electrode, and a pulse voltage of 3 volts on the actuator gave a quick bend 90 degree angle. This composite material is possible to make small size, light and soft actuator. So now we can actually develop an active catheter for the interventional radiology surgery. The prototype polymer actuator active catheter has been developed by using polymer actuator technology and Micro Electronics Mechanical System (MEMS) technologies. The active catheter is controllable from the outside of the body by electric signal. The tip part of the catheter is made of the polymer actuator tube and bends 90 degree angles. The animal tests (dog) showed good actuator performance to control right direction and bending angle at bifurcation of blood vessel and aneurysms. PMID:20663388

A general relativistic rotating evolutionary universe—Part II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berman, Marcelo Samuel

2008-06-01

As a sequel to Berman (Astrophys. Space Sci., 2008b), we show that the rotation of the Universe can be dealt by generalised Gaussian metrics, defined in this paper. Robertson-Walker’s metric has been employed with proper-time, in its standard applications; the generalised Gaussian metric implies in the use of a non-constant temporal metric coefficient modifying Robertson-Walker’s standard form. Experimental predictions are made.

Neural and Biological Soldier Enhancement: From SciFi to Deployment

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

and force, extra- and ultra-sensory perception , side-effect free 72-hours unbowed alertness, or brain-based Report Documentation Page Form...Deployment 33 - 2 RTO-MP-HFM-181 augmented reality perception , become conceivable and increasingly within reach. A lot of these extraordinary...visionary or exotic, might severely impact NATO forces´ future performance. In addition, a shift in society´s perception of the parting rule between human

Research progress on synthesis and characteristic about dendrimers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Zitao

2017-12-01

Dendrimers are hyper-branched polymers which have perfectly defined structures. Different from the common polymers, dendrimers are synthesized by a step-by-step iterative style, which starts from a central core and forms branching parts outward. The dendrimers also have different physical and chemical characteristics from common polymers. In this paper, contributions to dendrimer synthesis from different researchers with different scientific background, synthesis of different dendrimers, and applications of them will be reviewed.

Institutional profile: the national Swedish academic drug discovery & development platform at SciLifeLab

PubMed Central

Arvidsson, Per I; Sandberg, Kristian; Sakariassen, Kjell S

2017-01-01

The Science for Life Laboratory Drug Discovery and Development Platform (SciLifeLab DDD) was established in Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden, in 2014. It is one of ten platforms of the Swedish national SciLifeLab which support projects run by Swedish academic researchers with large-scale technologies for molecular biosciences with a focus on health and environment. SciLifeLab was created by the coordinated effort of four universities in Stockholm and Uppsala: Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Uppsala University, and has recently expanded to other Swedish university locations. The primary goal of the SciLifeLab DDD is to support selected academic discovery and development research projects with tools and resources to discover novel lead therapeutics, either molecules or human antibodies. Intellectual property developed with the help of SciLifeLab DDD is wholly owned by the academic research group. The bulk of SciLifeLab DDD's research and service activities are funded from the Swedish state, with only consumables paid by the academic research group through individual grants. PMID:28670468

Chronic Spinal Injury Repair by Olfactory Bulb Ensheathing Glia and Feasibility for Autologous Therapy

PubMed Central

Muñoz-Quiles, Cintia; Santos-Benito, Fernando F.; Llamusí, M. Beatriz; Ramón-Cueto, Almudena

2009-01-01

Olfactory bulb ensheathing glia (OB-OEG) promote repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats after transplantation at acute or subacute (up to 45 days) stages. The most relevant clinical scenario in humans, however, is chronic SCI, in which no more major cellular or molecular changes occur at the injury site; this occurs after the third month in rodents. Whether adult OB-OEG grafts promote repair of severe chronic SCI has not been previously addressed. Rats with complete SCI that were transplanted with OB-OEG 4 months after injury exhibited progressive improvement in motor function and axonal regeneration from different brainstem nuclei across and beyond the SCI site. A positive correlation between motor outcome and axonal regeneration suggested a role for brainstem neurons in the recovery. Functional and histological outcomes did not differ at subacute or chronic stages. Thus, autologous transplantation is a feasible approach as there is time for patient stabilization and OEG preparation in human chronic SCI; the healing effects of OB-OEG on established injuries may offer new therapeutic opportunities for chronic SCI patients. PMID:19915486

Subjective cognitive impairment: functional MRI during a divided attention task.

PubMed

Rodda, J; Dannhauser, T; Cutinha, D J; Shergill, S S; Walker, Z

2011-10-01

Individuals with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) have persistent memory complaints but normal neurocognitive performance. For some, this may represent a pre-mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Given that attentional deficits and associated brain activation changes are present early in the course of AD, we aimed to determine whether SCI is associated with brain activation changes during attentional processing. Eleven SCI subjects and 10 controls completed a divided attention task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. SCI and control groups did not differ in sociodemographic, neurocognitive or behavioural measures. When group activation during the divided attention task was compared, the SCI group demonstrated increased activation in left medial temporal lobe, bilateral thalamus, posterior cingulate and caudate. This pattern of increased activation is similar to the pattern of decreased activation reported during divided attention in AD and may indicate compensatory changes. These findings suggest the presence of early functional changes in SCI; longitudinal studies will help to further elucidate the relationship between SCI and AD. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Institutional profile: the national Swedish academic drug discovery & development platform at SciLifeLab.

PubMed

Arvidsson, Per I; Sandberg, Kristian; Sakariassen, Kjell S

2017-06-01

The Science for Life Laboratory Drug Discovery and Development Platform (SciLifeLab DDD) was established in Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden, in 2014. It is one of ten platforms of the Swedish national SciLifeLab which support projects run by Swedish academic researchers with large-scale technologies for molecular biosciences with a focus on health and environment. SciLifeLab was created by the coordinated effort of four universities in Stockholm and Uppsala: Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Uppsala University, and has recently expanded to other Swedish university locations. The primary goal of the SciLifeLab DDD is to support selected academic discovery and development research projects with tools and resources to discover novel lead therapeutics, either molecules or human antibodies. Intellectual property developed with the help of SciLifeLab DDD is wholly owned by the academic research group. The bulk of SciLifeLab DDD's research and service activities are funded from the Swedish state, with only consumables paid by the academic research group through individual grants.

Effect of Ram and Zenith Exposure on the Optical Properties of Polymers in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Yuachun; de Groh, Kim K.; Banks, Bruce A.; Leneghan, Halle; Asmar, Olivia

2017-01-01

The temperature of spacecraft is influenced by the solar absorptance and thermal emittance of the external spacecraft materials. Optical and thermal properties can degrade over time in the harsh low Earth orbital (LEO) space environment where spacecraft external materials are exposed to various forms of radiation, thermal cycling, and atomic oxygen. Therefore, it is important to test the durability of spacecraft materials in the space environment. One objective of the Polymers and Zenith Polymers Experiments was to determine the effect of LEO space exposure on the optical properties of various spacecraft polymers. These experiments were flown as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 7 (MISSE 7) mission on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) for 1.5 years. Samples were flown in ram, wake or zenith directions, receiving varying amounts of atomic oxygen and solar radiation exposure. Total and diffuse reflectance and transmittance of flight and corresponding control samples were obtained post-flight using a Cary 5000 UV-Vis-NIR Spectrophotometer. Integrated air mass zero solar absorptance (s) of the flight and control samples were computed from the total transmittance and reflectance, and compared. The optical data are compared with similar polymers exposed to space for four years as part of MISSE 2, and with atomic oxygen erosion data, to help understand the degradation of these polymers in the space environment. Results show that prolonged space exposure increases the solar absorptance of some materials. Knowing which polymers remain stable will benefit future spacecraft design.

A NEW RENEWABLE POLYMER FROM BIO-OIL - PHASE I

EPA Science Inventory

The vast majority of today’s polymers, plastics, foams, synthetic fibers, adhesives, and coatings are made from oil, which is non-renewable, non-biodegradable, depends in large part on foreign sources, is highly sensitive to regional conflicts, and has a large carbon foo...

Fate of patients with spinal cord ischemia complicating thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

PubMed

DeSart, Kenneth; Scali, Salvatore T; Feezor, Robert J; Hong, Michael; Hess, Philip J; Beaver, Thomas M; Huber, Thomas S; Beck, Adam W

2013-09-01

Spinal cord ischemia (SCI) is a potentially devastating complication of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) that can result in varying degrees of short-term and permanent disability. This study was undertaken to describe the clinical outcomes, long-term functional impact, and influence on survival of SCI after TEVAR. A retrospective review of all TEVAR patients at the University of Florida from 2000 to 2011 was performed to identify individuals experiencing SCI, defined by any new lower extremity neurologic deficit not attributable to another cause. SCI was dichotomized into immediate or delayed onset, with immediate onset defined as SCI noted upon awakening from anesthesia, and delayed characterized as a period of normal function, followed by development of neurologic injury. Ambulatory status was determined using database query, record review, and phone interviews with patients and/or family. Mortality was estimated using life-table analysis. A total of 607 TEVARs were performed for various indications, with 57 patients (9.4%) noted to have postoperative SCI (4.3% permanent). SCI patients were more likely to be older (63.9 ± 15.6 vs 70.5 ± 11.2 years; P = .002) and have a number of comorbidities, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cerebrovascular disease (P < .0001). At some point in their care, a cerebrospinal fluid drain was placed in 54 patients (95%), with 54% placed postoperatively. In-hospital mortality was 8.8% for the entire cohort (SCI vs no SCI; P = .45). SCI developed immediately in 12 patients, delayed onset in 40, and indeterminate in five patients due to indiscriminate timing from postoperative sedation. Three patients (25%) with immediate SCI had measurable functional improvement (FI), whereas 28 (70%) of the delayed-onset patients experienced some degree of neurologic recovery (P = .04). Of the 34 patients with complete data available, 26 (76%) reported quantifiable FI, but only 13 (38%) experienced return to their preoperative baseline. Estimated mean (± standard error) survival for patients with and without SCI was 37.2 ± 4.5 and 71.6 ± 3.9 months (P < .0006), respectively. Patients with FI had a mean survival of 53.9 ± 5.9 months compared with 9.6 ± 3.6 months for those without improvement (P < .0001). Survival and return of neurologic function were not significantly different when patients with preoperative and postoperative cerebrospinal fluid drains were compared. The minority of patients experience complete return to baseline function after SCI with TEVAR, and outcomes in patients without early functional recovery are particularly dismal. Patients experiencing delayed SCI are more likely to have FI and may anticipate similar life-expectancy with neurologic recovery compared with patients without SCI. Timing of drain placement does not appear to have an impact on postdischarge FI or long-term mortality. Copyright © 2013 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Polymer photovoltaics with alternating copolymer/fullerene blends and novel device architectures.

PubMed

Inganäs, Olle; Zhang, Fengling; Tvingstedt, Kristofer; Andersson, Lars Mattias; Hellström, Stefan; Andersson, Mats R

2010-05-25

The synthesis of novel conjugated polymers, designed for the purpose of photovoltaic energy conversion, and their properties in polymer/fullerene materials and photovoltaic devices are reviewed. Two families of main-chain polymer donors, based on fluorene or phenylene and donor-acceptor-donor comonomers in alternating copolymers, are used to absorb the high-energy parts of the solar spectrum and to give high photovoltages in combinations with fullerene acceptors in devices. These materials are used in alternative photovoltaic device geometries with enhanced light incoupling to collect larger photocurrents or to enable tandem devices and enhance photovoltage.

Atomic Oxygen Erosion Yield Predictive Tool for Spacecraft Polymers in Low Earth Orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bank, Bruce A.; de Groh, Kim K.; Backus, Jane A.

2008-01-01

A predictive tool was developed to estimate the low Earth orbit (LEO) atomic oxygen erosion yield of polymers based on the results of the Polymer Erosion and Contamination Experiment (PEACE) Polymers experiment flown as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 2 (MISSE 2). The MISSE 2 PEACE experiment accurately measured the erosion yield of a wide variety of polymers and pyrolytic graphite. The 40 different materials tested were selected specifically to represent a variety of polymers used in space as well as a wide variety of polymer chemical structures. The resulting erosion yield data was used to develop a predictive tool which utilizes chemical structure and physical properties of polymers that can be measured in ground laboratory testing to predict the in-space atomic oxygen erosion yield of a polymer. The properties include chemical structure, bonding information, density and ash content. The resulting predictive tool has a correlation coefficient of 0.914 when compared with actual MISSE 2 space data for 38 polymers and pyrolytic graphite. The intent of the predictive tool is to be able to make estimates of atomic oxygen erosion yields for new polymers without requiring expensive and time consumptive in-space testing.

Pressure Relief Behaviors and Weight-Shifting Activities to Prevent Pressure Ulcers in Persons with SCI

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-01

Prevent Pressure Ulcers in Persons with SCI PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Stephen Sprigle, PhD CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: Georgia Tech Research...Pressure Ulcers in Persons with SCI 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-13-1-0387 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER...SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Pressure ulcers (PU) are the most costly secondary complication following an SCI. In addition to the medical costs

a Study on the Document Information Service of the National Agricultural Library for Agricultural Sci-Tech Innovation in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Qian; Meng, Xianxue

This paper presents the significant function of the Chinese National Agricultural Library (CNAL) in the agricultural sci-tech innovation system in China, analyses the development of collection and service in the CNAL, explores the challenge towards sustain and develop information services for the agricultural sci-tech research and innovation, at last proposes the strategy for sci-tech document information service development.

Experience of sleep in individuals with spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Fogelberg, Donald J.; Leland, Natalie E.; Blanchard, Jeanine; Rich, Timothy J.; Clark, Florence A.

2017-01-01

Background Poor sleep contributes to adverse health outcomes making it important to understand sleep in medically vulnerable populations, including those with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, little attention has been paid to circumstances specific to SCI that may negatively impact sleep, or to consequences of poor sleep in this population. Objectives To examine the experience of sleep among individuals with SCI. Methodology Secondary analysis using thematic coding of qualitative data from an ethnographic study of community-dwelling adults with SCI. Results Sleep-related data were found in transcripts for 90% of the sample. Participants described diminished sleep duration and irregular sleep patterns. Several factors contributing to poor sleep were identified, including SCI-related circumstances and sleep environment. Participants also discussed how poor sleep affected occupational engagement. Conclusion This study highlights the extent of sleep disturbance experienced after SCI, the subsequent impact on occupational performance, and provides direction for clinical practice. PMID:28196449

“Don’t Think Paralysis Takes Away Your Womanhood”: Sexual Intimacy After Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Dillaway, Heather; Lysack, Cathy L.

2015-01-01

Sexuality and intimacy are important components of health and well-being. Issues surrounding sexuality and intimacy are equally important for men and women living with physical disabilities, including spinal cord injury (SCI). Yet, women’s sexuality after SCI remains largely unexamined. This article presents the findings from an in-depth qualitative investigation of the sexual and reproductive health experiences of 20 women with SCI in or around Detroit, MI. Findings echo existing literature documenting the sexual consequences of life after SCI and suggest new areas of inquiry important for better addressing sexual concerns across the lifespan. Specifically, findings suggest a need to consider the variable effects of SCI on sexual intimacy in relation to a person’s developmental trajectory, the appropriate timing of sexual education, the need to expand conceptualizations of sexual intimacy, and the ways SCI may affect sexuality in later life. PMID:26122683

Polymer-Based Surfaces Designed to Reduce Biofilm Formation: From Antimicrobial Polymers to Strategies for Long-Term Applications.

PubMed

Riga, Esther K; Vöhringer, Maria; Widyaya, Vania Tanda; Lienkamp, Karen

2017-10-01

Contact-active antimicrobial polymer surfaces bear cationic charges and kill or deactivate bacteria by interaction with the negatively charged parts of their cell envelope (lipopolysaccharides, peptidoglycan, and membrane lipids). The exact mechanism of this interaction is still under debate. While cationic antimicrobial polymer surfaces can be very useful for short-term applications, they lose their activity once they are contaminated by a sufficiently thick layer of adhering biomolecules or bacterial cell debris. This layer shields incoming bacteria from the antimicrobially active cationic surface moieties. Besides discussing antimicrobial surfaces, this feature article focuses on recent strategies that were developed to overcome the contamination problem. This includes bifunctional materials with simultaneously presented antimicrobial and protein-repellent moieties; polymer surfaces that can be switched from an antimicrobial, cell-attractive to a cell-repellent state; polymer surfaces that can be regenerated by enzyme action; degradable antimicrobial polymers; and antimicrobial polymer surfaces with removable top layers. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Functionalization of polymer powders for SLS-processes using an atmospheric plasma jet in a fluidized bed reactor

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

Sachs, Marius; Schmitt, Adeliene; Schmidt, Jochen

2015-05-22

Recently additive manufacturing processes such as selective laser sintering (SLS) of polymers have gained more importance for industrial applications [1]. Tailor-made modification of polymers is essential in order to make these processes more efficient and to cover the industrial demands. The so far used polymer materials show weak performance regarding the mechanical stability of processed parts. To overcome this limitation, a new route to functionalize the surface of commercially available polymer particles (PA12; PE-HD; PP) using an atmospheric plasma jet in combination with a fluidized bed reactor has been investigated. Consequently, an improvement of adhesion and wettability [2] of themore » polymer surface without restraining the bulk properties of the powder is achieved. The atmospheric plasma jet process can provide reactive species at moderate temperatures which are suitable for polymer material. The functionalization of the polymer powders improves the quality of the devices build in a SLS-process.« less

On the factors affecting porosity dissolution in selective laser sintering process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ly, H.-B.; Monteiro, E.; Dal, M.; Regnier, G.

2018-05-01

Selective Laser Sintering process is one of the additive manufacturing techniques in which parts are manufactured layer by layer. During such process, gas bubbles are formed in the melted polymer due to faster polymer grains coalescence at surface than deeper in the powder bed. Although gas diffusion is possible through the polymer melt, it's usual that some porosities remain in the final part if their initial sizes are too big and solidification time too short. In this contribution, a bubble dissolution model involving fluid dynamics and mass transport has been developed to study factors affecting porosity resorption kinetic. In this model, gas diffusion follows Fick's laws and the melted polymer is supposed Newtonian. At the polymer/gas interface, surface tension is considered and Henry's law is used to relate the partial pressure of gas with its concentration in the fluid. This problem is solved numerically by means of the finite element method in 1D. After validation of the numerical tool, the influence on dissolution time of several parameters (e.g. the initial size and form of gas porosities, the viscosity, the diffusion coefficient, the surface tension constant or the ambient pressure) has been examined.

Raman Spectroscopy of 3-D Printed Polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espinoza, Vanessa; Wood, Erin; Hight Walker, Angela; Seppala, Jonathan; Kotula, Anthony

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, such as 3-D printing are becoming an innovative and efficient way to produce highly customized parts for applications ranging from automotive to biomedical. Polymer-based AM parts can be produced from a myriad of materials and processing conditions to enable application-specific products. However, bringing 3-D printing from prototype to production relies on understanding the effect of processing conditions on the final product. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful and non-destructive characterization technique that can assist in determining the chemical homogeneity and physical alignment of polymer chains in 3-D printed materials. Two polymers commonly used in 3-D printing, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC), were investigated using 1- and 2-D hyperspectral Raman imaging. In the case of ABS, a complex thermoplastic, the homogeneity of the material through the weld zone was investigated by comparing Raman peaks from each of the three components. In order to investigate the effect of processing conditions on polymer chain alignment, polarized Raman spectroscopy was used. In particular, the print speed or shear rate and effect of strain on PC filaments was investigated with perpendicular and parallel polarizations. National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD ; Society of Physics Students.

A Multi-Objective Optimization Technique to Model the Pareto Front of Organic Dielectric Polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gubernatis, J. E.; Mannodi-Kanakkithodi, A.; Ramprasad, R.; Pilania, G.; Lookman, T.

Multi-objective optimization is an area of decision making that is concerned with mathematical optimization problems involving more than one objective simultaneously. Here we describe two new Monte Carlo methods for this type of optimization in the context of their application to the problem of designing polymers with more desirable dielectric and optical properties. We present results of applying these Monte Carlo methods to a two-objective problem (maximizing the total static band dielectric constant and energy gap) and a three objective problem (maximizing the ionic and electronic contributions to the static band dielectric constant and energy gap) of a 6-block organic polymer. Our objective functions were constructed from high throughput DFT calculations of 4-block polymers, following the method of Sharma et al., Nature Communications 5, 4845 (2014) and Mannodi-Kanakkithodi et al., Scientific Reports, submitted. Our high throughput and Monte Carlo methods of analysis extend to general N-block organic polymers. This work was supported in part by the LDRD DR program of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and in part by a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) Grant from the Office of Naval Research.

Modelling Polymer Deformation and Welding Behaviour during 3D Printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McIlroy, Claire; Olmsted, Peter

2016-11-01

3D printing has the potential to transform manufacturing processes, yet improving the strength of printed parts, to equal that of traditionally-manufactured parts, remains an underlying issue. The most common method, fused deposition modelling, involves melting a thermoplastic, followed by layer-by-layer extrusion of the material to fabricate a three-dimensional object. The key to the ensuring strength at the weld between these layers is successful inter-diffusion. However, as the printed layer cools towards the glass transition temperature, the time available for diffusion is limited. In addition, the extrusion process significantly deforms the polymer micro-structure prior to welding and consequently affects how the polymers "re-entangle" across the weld. We have developed a simple model of the non-isothermal printing process to explore the effects that typical printing conditions and amorphous polymer rheology have on the ultimate weld structure. In particular, we incorporate both the stretch and orientation of the polymer using the Rolie-Poly constitutive equation to examine how the melt flows through the nozzle and is deposited onto the build plate. We then address how this deformation relaxes and contributes to the thickness and structure of the weld. National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and Georgetown University.

Modelling Polymer Deformation during 3D Printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McIlroy, Claire; Olmsted, Peter

Three-dimensional printing has the potential to transform manufacturing processes, yet improving the strength of printed parts, to equal that of traditionally-manufactured parts, remains an underlying issue. The fused deposition modelling technique involves melting a thermoplastic, followed by layer-by-layer extrusion to fabricate an object. The key to ensuring strength at the weld between layers is successful inter-diffusion. However, prior to welding, both the extrusion process and the cooling temperature profile can significantly deform the polymer micro-structure and, consequently, how well the polymers are able to ``re-entangle'' across the weld. In particular, polymer alignment in the flow can cause de-bonding of the layers and create defects. We have developed a simple model of the non-isothermal extrusion process to explore the effects that typical printing conditions and material rheology have on the conformation of a polymer melt. In particular, we incorporate both stretch and orientation using the Rolie-Poly constitutive equation to examine the melt structure as it flows through the nozzle, the subsequent alignment with the build plate and the resulting deformation due to the fixed nozzle height, which is typically less than the nozzle radius.

Polymer stabilized liquid crystals: Topology-mediated electro-optical behavior and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Libo

There has been a wide range of liquid crystal polymer composites that vary in polymer concentration from as little as 3 wt.% (polymer stabilized liquid crystal) to as high as 60 wt.% (polymer dispersed liquid crystals). In this dissertation, an approach of surface polymerization based on a low reactive monomer concentration about 1 wt.% is studied in various liquid crystal operation modes. The first part of dissertation describes the development of a vertical alignment (VA) mode with surface polymer stabilization, and the effects of structure-performance relationship of reactive monomers (RMs) and polymerization conditions on the electro-optical behaviors of the liquid crystal device has been explored. The polymer topography plays an important role in modifying and enhancing the electro-optical performance of stabilized liquid crystal alignment. The enabling surface-pinned polymer stabilized vertical alignment (PSVA) approach has led to the development of high-performance and fast-switching displays with controllable pretilt angle, increase in surface anchoring energy, high optical contrast and fast response time. The second part of the dissertation explores a PSVA mode with in-plane switching (IPS) and its application for high-efficiency and fast-switching phase gratings. The diffraction patterns and the electro-optical behaviors including diffraction efficiency and response time are characterized. The diffraction grating mechanism and performance have been validated by computer simulation. Finally, the advantages of surface polymerization approach such as good optical contrast and fast response time have been applied to the fringe-field switching (FFS) system. The concentration of reactive monomer on the electro-optical behavior of the FFS cells is optimized. The outstanding electro-optical results and mechanism of increase in surface anchoring strength are corroborated by the director field simulation. The density and topology of nanoscale polymer protrusions are analyzed and confirmed by morphological study. The developed high-performance polymer-stabilized fringe-field-switching (PS-FFS) could open new types of device applications.

OPENING REMARKS: Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strayer, Michael

2006-01-01

Good morning. Welcome to SciDAC 2006 and Denver. I share greetings from the new Undersecretary for Energy, Ray Orbach. Five years ago SciDAC was launched as an experiment in computational science. The goal was to form partnerships among science applications, computer scientists, and applied mathematicians to take advantage of the potential of emerging terascale computers. This experiment has been a resounding success. SciDAC has emerged as a powerful concept for addressing some of the biggest challenges facing our world. As significant as these successes were, I believe there is also significance in the teams that achieved them. In addition to their scientific aims these teams have advanced the overall field of computational science and set the stage for even larger accomplishments as we look ahead to SciDAC-2. I am sure that many of you are expecting to hear about the results of our current solicitation for SciDAC-2. I’m afraid we are not quite ready to make that announcement. Decisions are still being made and we will announce the results later this summer. Nearly 250 unique proposals were received and evaluated, involving literally thousands of researchers, postdocs, and students. These collectively requested more than five times our expected budget. This response is a testament to the success of SciDAC in the community. In SciDAC-2 our budget has been increased to about 70 million for FY 2007 and our partnerships have expanded to include the Environment and National Security missions of the Department. The National Science Foundation has also joined as a partner. These new partnerships are expected to expand the application space of SciDAC, and broaden the impact and visibility of the program. We have, with our recent solicitation, expanded to turbulence, computational biology, and groundwater reactive modeling and simulation. We are currently talking with the Department’s applied energy programs about risk assessment, optimization of complex systems - such as the national and regional electricity grid, carbon sequestration, virtual engineering, and the nuclear fuel cycle. The successes of the first five years of SciDAC have demonstrated the power of using advanced computing to enable scientific discovery. One measure of this success could be found in the President’s State of the Union address in which President Bush identified ‘supercomputing’ as a major focus area of the American Competitiveness Initiative. Funds were provided in the FY 2007 President’s Budget request to increase the size of the NERSC-5 procurement to between 100-150 teraflops, to upgrade the LCF Cray XT3 at Oak Ridge to 250 teraflops and acquire a 100 teraflop IBM BlueGene/P to establish the Leadership computing facility at Argonne. We believe that we are on a path to establish a petascale computing resource for open science by 2009. We must develop software tools, packages, and libraries as well as the scientific application software that will scale to hundreds of thousands of processors. Computer scientists from universities and the DOE’s national laboratories will be asked to collaborate on the development of the critical system software components such as compilers, light-weight operating systems and file systems. Standing up these large machines will not be business as usual for ASCR. We intend to develop a series of interconnected projects that identify cost, schedule, risks, and scope for the upgrades at the LCF at Oak Ridge, the establishment of the LCF at Argonne, and the development of the software to support these high-end computers. The critical first step in defining the scope of the project is to identify a set of early application codes for each leadership class computing facility. These codes will have access to the resources during the commissioning phase of the facility projects and will be part of the acceptance tests for the machines. Applications will be selected, in part, by breakthrough science, scalability, and ability to exercise key hardware and software components. Possible early applications might include climate models; studies of the magnetic properties of nanoparticles as they relate to ultra-high density storage media; the rational design of chemical catalysts, the modeling of combustion processes that will lead to cleaner burning coal, and fusion and astrophysics research. I have presented just a few of the challenges that we look forward to on the road to petascale computing. Our road to petascale science might be paraphrased by the quote from e e cummings, ‘somewhere I have never traveled, gladly beyond any experience . . .’

Comparison of two psycho-educational family group interventions for improving psycho-social outcomes in persons with spinal cord injury and their caregivers: a randomized-controlled trial of multi-family group intervention versus an active education control condition.

PubMed

Dyck, Dennis G; Weeks, Douglas L; Gross, Sarah; Lederhos Smith, Crystal; Lott, Hilary A; Wallace, Aimee J; Wood, Sonya M

2016-07-26

Over 12,000 individuals suffer a spinal cord injury (SCI) annually in the United States, necessitating long-term, complex adjustments and responsibilities for patients and their caregivers. Despite growing evidence that family education and support improves the management of chronic conditions for care recipients as well as caregiver outcomes, few systematic efforts have been made to involve caregivers in psycho-educational interventions for SCI. As a result, a serious gap exists in accumulated knowledge regarding effective, family-based treatment strategies for improving outcomes for individuals with SCI and their caregivers. The proposed research aims to fill this gap by evaluating the efficacy of a structured adaptation of an evidence-based psychosocial group treatment called Multi-Family Group (MFG) intervention. The objective of this study is to test, in a randomized-controlled design, an MFG intervention for the treatment of individuals with SCI and their primary caregivers. Our central hypothesis is that by providing support in an MFG format, we will improve coping skills of persons with SCI and their caregivers as well as supportive strategies employed by caregivers. We will recruit 32 individuals with SCI who have been discharged from inpatient rehabilitation within the previous 3 years and their primary caregivers. Patient/caregiver pairs will be randomized to the MFG intervention or an active SCI education control (SCIEC) condition in a two-armed randomized trial design. Participants will be assessed pre- and post-program and 6 months post-program. Intent to treat analyses will test two a priori hypotheses: (1) MFG-SCI will be superior to SCIEC for SCI patient activation, health status, and emotion regulation, caregiver burden and health status, and relationship functioning, and (2) MFG will be more effective for individuals with SCI and their caregivers when the person with SCI is within 18 months of discharge from inpatient rehabilitation compared to when the person is between 19 and 36 months post discharge. Support for our hypotheses will indicate that MFG-SCI is superior to specific education for assisting patients and their caregivers in the management of difficult, long-term, life adjustments in the months and years after SCI, with increased efficacy closer in time to the injury. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02161913 . Registered 10 June 2014.

Development of an International Canine Spinal Cord Injury observational registry: a collaborative data-sharing network to optimize translational studies of SCI.

PubMed

Moore, Sarah A; Zidan, Natalia; Spitzbarth, Ingo; Nout-Lomas, Yvette S; Granger, Nicolas; da Costa, Ronaldo C; Levine, Jonathan M; Jeffery, Nick D; Stein, Veronika M; Tipold, Andrea; Olby, Natasha J

2018-05-23

Prospective cross-sectional cohort study. The canine spontaneous model of spinal cord injury (SCI) is as an important pre-clinical platform as it recapitulates key facets of human injury in a naturally occurring context. The establishment of an observational canine SCI registry constitutes a key step in performing epidemiologic studies and assessing the impact of therapeutic strategies to enhance translational research. Further, accumulating information on dogs with SCI may contribute to current "big data" approaches to enhance understanding of the disease using heterogeneous multi-institutional, multi-species datasets from both pre-clinical and human studies. Multiple veterinary academic institutions across the United States and Europe. Common data elements recommended for experimental and human SCI studies were reviewed and adapted for use in a web-based registry, to which all dogs presenting to member veterinary tertiary care facilities were prospectively entered over ~1 year. Analysis of data accumulated during the first year of the registry suggests that 16% of dogs with SCI present with severe, sensorimotor-complete injury and that 15% of cases are seen by a tertiary care facility within 8 h of injury. Similar to the human SCI population, 34% were either overweight or obese. Severity of injury and timing of presentation suggests that neuroprotective studies using the canine clinical model could be conducted efficiently using a multi-institutional approach. Additionally, pet dogs with SCI experience similar comorbidities to people with SCI, in particular obesity, and could serve as an important model to evaluate the effects of this condition.

Role of Caspase-8 and Fas in Cell Death After Spinal Cord Injury

PubMed Central

Sobrido-Cameán, Daniel; Barreiro-Iglesias, Antón

2018-01-01

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes the death of neurons and glial cells due to the initial mechanical forces (i.e., primary injury) and through a cascade of secondary molecular events (e.g., inflammation or excitotoxicity) that exacerbate cell death. The loss of neurons and glial cells that are not replaced after the injury is one of the main causes of disability after SCI. Evidence accumulated in last decades has shown that the activation of apoptotic mechanisms is one of the factors causing the death of intrinsic spinal cord (SC) cells following SCI. Although this is not as clear for brain descending neurons, some studies have also shown that apoptosis can be activated in the brain following SCI. There are two main apoptotic pathways, the extrinsic and the intrinsic pathways. Activation of caspase-8 is an important step in the initiation of the extrinsic pathway. Studies in rodents have shown that caspase-8 is activated in SC glial cells and neurons and that the Fas receptor plays a key role in its activation following a traumatic SCI. Recent work in the lamprey model of SCI has also shown the retrograde activation of caspase-8 in brain descending neurons following SCI. Here, we review our current knowledge on the role of caspase-8 and the Fas pathway in cell death following SCI. We also provide a perspective for future work on this process, like the importance of studying the possible contribution of Fas/caspase-8 signaling in the degeneration of brain neurons after SCI in mammals. PMID:29666570

Psychometric properties of the Sleep Condition Indicator and Insomnia Severity Index in the evaluation of insomnia disorder.

PubMed

Wong, Mark Lawrence; Lau, Kristy Nga Ting; Espie, Colin A; Luik, Annemarie I; Kyle, Simon D; Lau, Esther Yuet Ying

2017-05-01

The Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) are commonly used instruments to assess insomnia. We evaluated their psychometric properties, particularly their discriminant validity against structured clinical interview (according to DSM-5 and ICSD-3), and their concurrent validity with measures of sleep and daytime functioning. A total of 158 young adults, 16% of whom were diagnosed with DSM-5 insomnia disorder and 13% with ICSD-3 Chronic Insomnia by structured interview, completed the ISI and SCI twice in 7-14 days, in addition to measures of sleep and daytime function. The Chinese version of the SCI was validated with good psychometric properties (ICC = 0.882). A cutoff of ≥8 on the ISI, ≤5 on the SCI short form, and ≤21 on the SCI achieved high discriminant validity (AUC > 0.85) in identifying individuals with insomnia based on both DSM-5 and ICSD-3 criteria. The SCI and ISI had comparable associations with subjective (0.18 < r < 0.51) and actigraphic sleep (0.31 < r < 0.43) and daytime functioning (0.34 < r < 0.53). The SCI, SCI short form, and ISI were found to correctly identify individuals with DSM-5- and ICSD-3-defined insomnia disorder. Moreover, they showed good concordance with measures of daytime dysfunction, as well as subjective and objective sleep. The SCI and ISI are recommended for use in clinical and research settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Isolated spinal cord contusion in rats induces chronic brain neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and cognitive impairment. Involvement of cell cycle activation.

PubMed

Wu, Junfang; Stoica, Bogdan A; Luo, Tao; Sabirzhanov, Boris; Zhao, Zaorui; Guanciale, Kelsey; Nayar, Suresh K; Foss, Catherine A; Pomper, Martin G; Faden, Alan I

2014-01-01

Cognitive dysfunction has been reported in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), but it has been questioned whether such changes may reflect concurrent head injury, and the issue has not been addressed mechanistically or in a well-controlled experimental model. Our recent rodent studies examining SCI-induced hyperesthesia revealed neuroinflammatory changes not only in supratentorial pain-regulatory sites, but also in other brain regions, suggesting that additional brain functions may be impacted following SCI. Here we examined effects of isolated thoracic SCI in rats on cognition, brain inflammation, and neurodegeneration. We show for the first time that SCI causes widespread microglial activation in the brain, with increased expression of markers for activated microglia/macrophages, including translocator protein and chemokine ligand 21 (C-C motif). Stereological analysis demonstrated significant neuronal loss in the cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus. SCI caused chronic impairment in spatial, retention, contextual, and fear-related emotional memory-evidenced by poor performance in the Morris water maze, novel objective recognition, and passive avoidance tests. Based on our prior work implicating cell cycle activation (CCA) in chronic neuroinflammation after SCI or traumatic brain injury, we evaluated whether CCA contributed to the observed changes. Increased expression of cell cycle-related genes and proteins was found in hippocampus and cortex after SCI. Posttraumatic brain inflammation, neuronal loss, and cognitive changes were attenuated by systemic post-injury administration of a selective cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. These studies demonstrate that chronic brain neurodegeneration occurs after isolated SCI, likely related to sustained microglial activation mediated by cell cycle activation.

An international age- and gender-controlled model for the Spinal Cord Injury Ability Realization Measurement Index (SCI-ARMI).

PubMed

Scivoletto, Giorgio; Glass, Clive; Anderson, Kim D; Galili, Tal; Benjamin, Yoav; Front, Lilach; Aidinoff, Elena; Bluvshtein, Vadim; Itzkovich, Malka; Aito, Sergio; Baroncini, Ilaria; Benito-Penalva, Jesùs; Castellano, Simona; Osman, Aheed; Silva, Pedro; Catz, Amiram

2015-01-01

Background. A quadratic formula of the Spinal Cord Injury Ability Realization Measurement Index (SCI-ARMI) has previously been published. This formula was based on a model of Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM95), the 95th percentile of the SCIM III values, which correspond with the American Spinal Injury Association Motor Scores (AMS) of SCI patients. Objective. To further develop the original formula. Setting. Spinal cord injury centers from 6 countries and the Statistical Laboratory, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. Methods. SCIM95 of 661 SCI patients was modeled, using a quantile regression with or without adjustment for age and gender, to calculate SCI-ARMI values. SCI-ARMI gain during rehabilitation and its correlations were examined. Results. A new quadratic SCIM95 model was created. This resembled the previously published model, which yielded similar SCIM95 values in all the countries, after adjustment for age and gender. Without this adjustment, however, only 86% of the non-Israeli SCIM III observations were lower than those SCIM95 values (P < .0001). Adding the variables age and gender to the new model affected the SCIM95 value significantly (P < .04). Adding country information did not add a significant effect (P > .1). SCI-ARMI gain was positive (38.8 ± 22 points, P < .0001) and correlated weakly with admission age and AMS. Conclusions. The original quadratic SCI-ARMI formula is valid for an international population after adjustment for age and gender. The new formula considers more factors that affect functional ability following SCI. © The Author(s) 2014.

Spinal Cord Injury Disrupts Resting-State Networks in the Human Brain.

PubMed

Hawasli, Ammar H; Rutlin, Jerrel; Roland, Jarod L; Murphy, Rory K J; Song, Sheng-Kwei; Leuthardt, Eric C; Shimony, Joshua S; Ray, Wilson Z

2018-03-15

Despite 253,000 spinal cord injury (SCI) patients in the United States, little is known about how SCI affects brain networks. Spinal MRI provides only structural information with no insight into functional connectivity. Resting-state functional MRI (RS-fMRI) quantifies network connectivity through the identification of resting-state networks (RSNs) and allows detection of functionally relevant changes during disease. Given the robust network of spinal cord afferents to the brain, we hypothesized that SCI produces meaningful changes in brain RSNs. RS-fMRIs and functional assessments were performed on 10 SCI subjects. Blood oxygen-dependent RS-fMRI sequences were acquired. Seed-based correlation mapping was performed using five RSNs: default-mode (DMN), dorsal-attention (DAN), salience (SAL), control (CON), and somatomotor (SMN). RSNs were compared with normal control subjects using false-discovery rate-corrected two way t tests. SCI reduced brain network connectivity within the SAL, SMN, and DMN and disrupted anti-correlated connectivity between CON and SMN. When divided into separate cohorts, complete but not incomplete SCI disrupted connectivity within SAL, DAN, SMN and DMN and between CON and SMN. Finally, connectivity changed over time after SCI: the primary motor cortex decreased connectivity with the primary somatosensory cortex, the visual cortex decreased connectivity with the primary motor cortex, and the visual cortex decreased connectivity with the sensory parietal cortex. These unique findings demonstrate the functional network plasticity that occurs in the brain as a result of injury to the spinal cord. Connectivity changes after SCI may serve as biomarkers to predict functional recovery following an SCI and guide future therapy.

Isolated spinal cord contusion in rats induces chronic brain neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and cognitive impairment

PubMed Central

Wu, Junfang; Stoica, Bogdan A; Luo, Tao; Sabirzhanov, Boris; Zhao, Zaorui; Guanciale, Kelsey; Nayar, Suresh K; Foss, Catherine A; Pomper, Martin G; Faden, Alan I

2014-01-01

Cognitive dysfunction has been reported in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), but it has been questioned whether such changes may reflect concurrent head injury, and the issue has not been addressed mechanistically or in a well-controlled experimental model. Our recent rodent studies examining SCI-induced hyperesthesia revealed neuroinflammatory changes not only in supratentorial pain-regulatory sites, but also in other brain regions, suggesting that additional brain functions may be impacted following SCI. Here we examined effects of isolated thoracic SCI in rats on cognition, brain inflammation, and neurodegeneration. We show for the first time that SCI causes widespread microglial activation in the brain, with increased expression of markers for activated microglia/macrophages, including translocator protein and chemokine ligand 21 (C–C motif). Stereological analysis demonstrated significant neuronal loss in the cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus. SCI caused chronic impairment in spatial, retention, contextual, and fear-related emotional memory—evidenced by poor performance in the Morris water maze, novel objective recognition, and passive avoidance tests. Based on our prior work implicating cell cycle activation (CCA) in chronic neuroinflammation after SCI or traumatic brain injury, we evaluated whether CCA contributed to the observed changes. Increased expression of cell cycle-related genes and proteins was found in hippocampus and cortex after SCI. Posttraumatic brain inflammation, neuronal loss, and cognitive changes were attenuated by systemic post-injury administration of a selective cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. These studies demonstrate that chronic brain neurodegeneration occurs after isolated SCI, likely related to sustained microglial activation mediated by cell cycle activation. PMID:25483194

The swimming test is effective for evaluating spasticity after contusive spinal cord injury

PubMed Central

Ryu, Youngjae; Ogata, Toru; Nagao, Motoshi; Kitamura, Taku; Morioka, Kazuhito; Ichihara, Yoshinori; Doi, Toru; Sawada, Yasuhiro; Akai, Masami; Nishimura, Ryohei; Fujita, Naoki

2017-01-01

Spasticity is a frequent chronic complication in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the severity of spasticity varies in patients with SCI. Therefore, an evaluation method is needed to determine the severity of spasticity. We used a contusive SCI model that is suitable for clinical translation. In this study, we examined the feasibility of the swimming test and an EMG for evaluating spasticity in a contusive SCI rat model. Sprague-Dawley rats received an injury at the 8th thoracic vertebra. Swimming tests were performed 3 to 6 weeks after SCI induction. We placed the SCI rats into spasticity-strong or spasticity-weak groups based on the frequency of spastic behavior during the swimming test. Subsequently, we recorded the Hoffman reflex (H-reflex) and examined the immunoreactivity of serotonin (5-HT) and its receptor (5-HT2A) in the spinal tissues of the SCI rats. The spasticity-strong group had significantly decreased rate-dependent depression of the H-reflex compared to the spasticity-weak group. The area of 5-HT2A receptor immunoreactivity was significantly increased in the spasticity-strong group. Thus, both electrophysiological and histological evaluations indicate that the spasticity-strong group presented with a more severe upper motor neuron syndrome. We also observed the groups in their cages for 20 hours. Our results suggest that the swimming test provides an accurate evaluation of spasticity in this contusive SCI model. We believe that the swimming test is an effective method for evaluating spastic behaviors and developing treatments targeting spasticity after SCI. PMID:28182676

SCI peer health coach influence on self-management with peers: a qualitative analysis.

PubMed

Skeels, S E; Pernigotti, D; Houlihan, B V; Belliveau, T; Brody, M; Zazula, J; Hasiotis, S; Seetharama, S; Rosenblum, D; Jette, A

2017-11-01

A process evaluation of a clinical trial. To describe the roles fulfilled by peer health coaches (PHCs) with spinal cord injury (SCI) during a randomized controlled trial research study called 'My Care My Call', a novel telephone-based, peer-led self-management intervention for adults with chronic SCI 1+ years after injury. Connecticut and Greater Boston Area, MA, USA. Directed content analysis was used to qualitatively examine information from 504 tele-coaching calls, conducted with 42 participants with SCI, by two trained SCI PHCs. Self-management was the focus of each 6-month PHC-peer relationship. PHCs documented how and when they used the communication tools (CTs) and information delivery strategies (IDSs) they developed for the intervention. Interaction data were coded and analyzed to determine PHC roles in relation to CT and IDS utilization and application. PHCs performed three principal roles: Role Model, Supporter, and Advisor. Role Model interactions included CTs and IDSs that allowed PHCs to share personal experiences of managing and living with an SCI, including sharing their opinions and advice when appropriate. As Supporters, PHCs used CTs and IDSs to build credible relationships based on dependability and reassuring encouragement. PHCs fulfilled the unique role of Advisor using CTs and IDSs to teach and strategize with peers about SCI self-management. The SCI PHC performs a powerful, flexible role in promoting SCI self-management among peers. Analysis of PHC roles can inform the design of peer-led interventions and highlights the importance for the provision of peer mentor training.

Forecasting Financial Resources for Future Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Care Using Simulation Modeling.

PubMed

Ahn, Henry; Lewis, Rachel; Santos, Argelio; Cheng, Christiana L; Noonan, Vanessa K; Dvorak, Marcel F; Singh, Anoushka; Linassi, A Gary; Christie, Sean; Goytan, Michael; Atkins, Derek

2017-10-15

Survivors of traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) have intense healthcare needs during acute and rehabilitation care and often through the rest of life. To prepare for a growing and aging population, simulation modeling was used to forecast the change in healthcare financial resources and long-term patient outcomes between 2012 and 2032. The model was developed with data from acute and rehabilitation care facilities across Canada participating in the Access to Care and Timing project. Future population and tSCI incidence for 2012 and 2032 were predicted with data from Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information. The projected tSCI incidence for 2012 was validated with actual data from the Rick Hansen SCI Registry of the participating facilities. Using a medium growth scenario, in 2032, the projected median age of persons with tSCI is 57 and persons 61 and older will account for 46% of injuries. Admissions to acute and rehabilitation facilities in 2032 were projected to increase by 31% and 25%, respectively. Because of the demographic shift to an older population, an increase in total population life expectancy with tSCI of 13% was observed despite a 22% increase in total life years lost to tSCI between 2012 and 2032. Care cost increased 54%, and rest of life cost increased 37% in 2032, translating to an additional CAD $16.4 million. With the demographics and management of tSCI changing with an aging population, accurate projections for the increased demand on resources will be critical for decision makers when planning the delivery of healthcare after tSCI.

The swimming test is effective for evaluating spasticity after contusive spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Ryu, Youngjae; Ogata, Toru; Nagao, Motoshi; Kitamura, Taku; Morioka, Kazuhito; Ichihara, Yoshinori; Doi, Toru; Sawada, Yasuhiro; Akai, Masami; Nishimura, Ryohei; Fujita, Naoki

2017-01-01

Spasticity is a frequent chronic complication in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the severity of spasticity varies in patients with SCI. Therefore, an evaluation method is needed to determine the severity of spasticity. We used a contusive SCI model that is suitable for clinical translation. In this study, we examined the feasibility of the swimming test and an EMG for evaluating spasticity in a contusive SCI rat model. Sprague-Dawley rats received an injury at the 8th thoracic vertebra. Swimming tests were performed 3 to 6 weeks after SCI induction. We placed the SCI rats into spasticity-strong or spasticity-weak groups based on the frequency of spastic behavior during the swimming test. Subsequently, we recorded the Hoffman reflex (H-reflex) and examined the immunoreactivity of serotonin (5-HT) and its receptor (5-HT2A) in the spinal tissues of the SCI rats. The spasticity-strong group had significantly decreased rate-dependent depression of the H-reflex compared to the spasticity-weak group. The area of 5-HT2A receptor immunoreactivity was significantly increased in the spasticity-strong group. Thus, both electrophysiological and histological evaluations indicate that the spasticity-strong group presented with a more severe upper motor neuron syndrome. We also observed the groups in their cages for 20 hours. Our results suggest that the swimming test provides an accurate evaluation of spasticity in this contusive SCI model. We believe that the swimming test is an effective method for evaluating spastic behaviors and developing treatments targeting spasticity after SCI.