Investigating the role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC in the assessment of brands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Paulo eSantos

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC is believed to be important in everyday preference judgments, processing emotions during decision-making. However, there is still controversy in the literature regarding the participation of the vmPFC. To further elucidate the contribution of the vmPFC in brand preference, we designed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study where 18 subjects assessed positive, indifferent and fictitious brands. Also, both the period during and after the decision process were analyzed, hoping to unravel temporally the role of the vmPFC, using modeled and model-free fMRI analysis. Considering together the period before and after decision-making, there was activation of the vmPFC when comparing positive with indifferent or fictitious brands. However, when the decision-making period was separated from the moment after the response, and especially for positive brands, the vmPFC was more active after the choice than during the decision process itself, challenging some of the existing literature. The results of the present study support the notion that the vmPFC may be unimportant in the decision stage of brand preference, questioning theories that postulate that the vmPFC is in the origin of such a choice. Further studies are needed to investigate in detail why the vmPFC seems to be involved in brand preference only after the decision process.

cernatschool.org's use of CVMFS and the CernVM

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2018-01-01

cernatschool.org is a very small Virtual Organisation made up of secondary school and university students, and participating organisations in the Institute for Research in Schools. We use CVMFS to delpoy dependencies and Python 3 itself for custom software used for analysing radiation data from Medipix detectors. This software is designed for running on GridPP worker nodes, part of the UK based distributed computing grid. The cernatschool.org VO also uses the CernVM, for job submission and interacting with the grid. The current use for both CVMFS and the CernVM is for facilitating analysis of 3 years worth of data from the LUCID payload on TechDemoSat-1. The CernVM looks like it could be particularly useful in the future for a standard system for students to use to program and analyse data themselves with, allowing easy access to any software they might need (not necessarily using GridPP compute resources at all).

Exosomes from dental pulp stem cells rescue human dopaminergic neurons from 6-hydroxy-dopamine-induced apoptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jarmalavičiūtė, Akvilė; Tunaitis, Virginijus; Pivoraitė, Ugnė; Venalis, Algirdas; Pivoriūnas, Augustas

2015-07-01

Stem cells derived from the dental pulp of human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) have unique neurogenic properties that could be potentially exploited for therapeutic use. The importance of paracrine SHED signaling for neuro-regeneration has been recognized, but the exact mechanisms behind these effects are presently unknown. In the present study, we investigated the neuro-protective potential of exosomes and micro-vesicles derived from SHEDs on human dopaminergic neurons during oxidative stress-induced by 6-hydroxy-dopamine (6-OHDA). ReNcell VM human neural stem cells were differentiated into dopaminergic neurons and treated with 100 μmol/L of 6-OHDA alone or in combination with exosomes or micro-vesicles purified by ultracentrifugation from SHEDs cultivated in serum-free medium under two conditions: in standard two-dimensional culture flasks or on laminin-coated micro-carriers in a bioreactor. Real-time monitoring of apoptosis was performed with the use of time-lapse confocal microscopy and the CellEvent Caspase-3/7 green detection reagent. Exosomes but not micro-vesicles derived from SHEDs grown on the laminin-coated three-dimensional alginate micro-carriers suppressed 6-OHDA-induced apoptosis in dopaminergic neurons by approximately 80% throughout the culture period. Strikingly, no such effects were observed for the exosomes derived from SHEDs grown under standard culture conditions. Our results suggest that exosomes derived from SHEDs are considered as new potential therapeutic tool in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Copyright © 2015 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A VM-shared desktop virtualization system based on OpenStack

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xi; Zhu, Mingfa; Xiao, Limin; Jiang, Yuanjie

2018-04-01

With the increasing popularity of cloud computing, desktop virtualization is rising in recent years as a branch of virtualization technology. However, existing desktop virtualization systems are mostly designed as a one-to-one mode, which one VM can only be accessed by one user. Meanwhile, previous desktop virtualization systems perform weakly in terms of response time and cost saving. This paper proposes a novel VM-Shared desktop virtualization system based on OpenStack platform. The paper modified the connecting process and the display data transmission process of the remote display protocol SPICE to support VM-Shared function. On the other hand, we propose a server-push display mode to improve user interactive experience. The experimental results show that our system performs well in response time and achieves a low CPU consumption.

Security model for VM in cloud

Science.gov (United States)

Kanaparti, Venkataramana; Naveen K., R.; Rajani, S.; Padmvathamma, M.; Anitha, C.

2013-03-01

Cloud computing is a new approach emerged to meet ever-increasing demand for computing resources and to reduce operational costs and Capital Expenditure for IT services. As this new way of computation allows data and applications to be stored away from own corporate server, it brings more issues in security such as virtualization security, distributed computing, application security, identity management, access control and authentication. Even though Virtualization forms the basis for cloud computing it poses many threats in securing cloud. As most of Security threats lies at Virtualization layer in cloud we proposed this new Security Model for Virtual Machine in Cloud (SMVC) in which every process is authenticated by Trusted-Agent (TA) in Hypervisor as well as in VM. Our proposed model is designed to with-stand attacks by unauthorized process that pose threat to applications related to Data Mining, OLAP systems, Image processing which requires huge resources in cloud deployed on one or more VM's.

A gas ionisation Direct-STIM detector for MeV ion microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norarat, Rattanaporn; Guibert, Edouard; Jeanneret, Patrick; Dellea, Mario; Jenni, Josef; Roux, Adrien; Stoppini, Luc; Whitlow, Harry J.

2015-01-01

Direct-Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (Direct-STIM) is a powerful technique that yields structural information in sub-cellular whole cell imaging. Usually, a Si p-i-n diode is used in Direct-STIM measurements as a detector. In order to overcome the detrimental effects of radiation damage which appears as a broadening in the energy resolution, we have developed a gas ionisation detector for use with a focused ion beam. The design is based on the ETH Frisch grid-less off-axis Geiger–Müller geometry. It is developed for use in a MeV ion microscope with a standard Oxford Microbeams triplet lens and scanning system. The design has a large available solid angle for other detectors (e.g. proton induced fluorescence). Here we report the performance for imaging ReNcells VM with μm resolution where energy resolutions of <24 keV fwhm could be achieved for 1 MeV protons using isobutane gas

3D-e-Chem-VM: Structural Cheminformatics Research Infrastructure in a Freely Available Virtual Machine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McGuire, R.; Verhoeven, S.; Vass, M.; Vriend, G.; Esch, I.J. de; Lusher, S.J.; Leurs, R.; Ridder, L.; Kooistra, A.J.; Ritschel, T.; Graaf, C. de

2017-01-01

3D-e-Chem-VM is an open source, freely available Virtual Machine ( http://3d-e-chem.github.io/3D-e-Chem-VM/ ) that integrates cheminformatics and bioinformatics tools for the analysis of protein-ligand interaction data. 3D-e-Chem-VM consists of software libraries, and database and workflow tools

3D-e-Chem-VM : Structural Cheminformatics Research Infrastructure in a Freely Available Virtual Machine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McGuire, Ross; Verhoeven, Stefan; Vass, Márton; Vriend, Gerrit; De Esch, Iwan J P; Lusher, Scott J.; Leurs, Rob; Ridder, Lars; Kooistra, Albert J.; Ritschel, Tina; de Graaf, C.

2017-01-01

3D-e-Chem-VM is an open source, freely available Virtual Machine ( http://3d-e-chem.github.io/3D-e-Chem-VM/ ) that integrates cheminformatics and bioinformatics tools for the analysis of protein-ligand interaction data. 3D-e-Chem-VM consists of software libraries, and database and workflow tools

Properties and Microstructure of Laser Welded VM12-SHC Steel Pipes Joints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skrzypczyk A.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Paper presents results of microstructure and tests of welded joints of new generation VM12-SHC martensitic steel using high power CO2 laser (LBW method with bifocal welding head. VM12-SHC is dedicated to energetic installation material, designed to replace currently used. High content of chromium and others alloying elements improve its resistance and strength characteristic. Use of VM12-SHC steel for production of the superheaters, heating chambers and walls in steam boilers resulted in various weldability researches. In article are presented results of destructive and non-destructive tests. For destructive: static bending and Vickers hardness tests, and for non-destructive: VT, RT, UT, micro and macroscopic tests were performed.

Noncoding RNA in the Transcriptional Landscape of Human Neural Progenitor Cell Differentiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick eHecht

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Increasing evidence suggests that noncoding RNAs play key roles in cellular processes, particularly in the brain. The present study used RNA sequencing to identify the transcriptional landscape of two human neural progenitor cell lines, SK-N-SH and ReNcell CX, as they differentiate into human cortical projection neurons. Protein coding genes were found to account for 54.8% and 57.0% of expressed genes, respectively, and alignment of RNA sequencing reads revealed that only 25.5-28.1% mapped to exonic regions of the genome. Differential expression analysis in the two cell lines identified altered gene expression in both protein coding and noncoding RNAs as they undergo neural differentiation with 222 differentially expressed genes observed in SK-N-SH cells and 19 differentially expressed genes in ReNcell CX. Interestingly, genes showing differential expression in SK-N-SH cells are enriched in genes implicated in autism spectrum disorder, but not in gene sets related to cancer or Alzheimer’s disease. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA was used to detect modules of co-expressed protein coding and noncoding RNAs in SK-N-SH cells and found four modules to be associated with neural differentiation. These modules contain varying levels of noncoding RNAs ranging from 10.7% to 49.7% with gene ontology suggesting roles in numerous cellular processes important for differentiation. These results indicate that noncoding RNAs are highly expressed in human neural progenitor cells and likely hold key regulatory roles in gene networks underlying neural differentiation and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Cocaine craving during protracted withdrawal requires PKCε priming within vmPFC.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Bailey W; Wroten, Melissa G; Sacramento, Arianne D; Silva, Hannah E; Shin, Christina B; Vieira, Philip A; Ben-Shahar, Osnat; Kippin, Tod E; Szumlinski, Karen K

2017-05-01

In individuals with a history of drug taking, the capacity of drug-associated cues to elicit indices of drug craving intensifies or incubates with the passage of time during drug abstinence. This incubation of cocaine craving, as well as difficulties with learning to suppress drug-seeking behavior during protracted withdrawal, are associated with a time-dependent deregulation of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) function. As the molecular bases for cocaine-related vmPFC deregulation remain elusive, the present study assayed the consequences of extended access to intravenous cocaine (6 hours/day; 0.25 mg/infusion for 10 day) on the activational state of protein kinase C epsilon (PKCε), an enzyme highly implicated in drug-induced neuroplasticity. The opportunity to engage in cocaine seeking during cocaine abstinence time-dependently altered PKCε phosphorylation within vmPFC, with reduced and increased p-PKCε expression observed in early (3 days) and protracted (30 days) withdrawal, respectively. This effect was more robust within the ventromedial versus dorsomedial PFC, was not observed in comparable cocaine-experienced rats not tested for drug-seeking behavior and was distinct from the rise in phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase observed in cocaine-seeking rats. Further, the impact of inhibiting PKCε translocation within the vmPFC using TAT infusion proteins upon cue-elicited responding was determined and inhibition coinciding with the period of testing attenuated cocaine-seeking behavior, with an effect also apparent the next day. In contrast, inhibitor pretreatment prior to testing during early withdrawal was without effect. Thus, a history of excessive cocaine taking influences the cue reactivity of important intracellular signaling molecules within the vmPFC, with PKCε playing a critical role in the manifestation of cue-elicited cocaine seeking during protracted drug withdrawal. © 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction.

SIMPLE HEURISTIC ALGORITHM FOR DYNAMIC VM REALLOCATION IN IAAS CLOUDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikita A. Balashov

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The rapid development of cloud technologies and its high prevalence in both commercial and academic areas have stimulated active research in the domain of optimal cloud resource management. One of the most active research directions is dynamic virtual machine (VM placement optimization in clouds build on Infrastructure-as-a-Service model. This kind of research may pursue different goals with energy-aware optimization being the most common goal as it aims at a urgent problem of green cloud computing - reducing energy consumption by data centers. In this paper we present a new heuristic algorithm of dynamic reallocation of VMs based on an approach presented in one of our previous works. In the algorithm we apply a 2-rank strategy to classify VMs and servers corresponding to the highly and lowly active VMs and solve four tasks: VM classification, host classification, forming a VM migration map and VMs migration. Dividing all of the VMs and servers into two classes we attempt to implement the possibility of risk reduction in case of hardware overloads under overcommitment conditions and to reduce the influence of the occurring overloads on the performance of the cloud VMs. Presented algorithm was developed based on the workload profile of the JINR cloud (a scientific private cloud with the goal of maximizing its usage, but it can also be applied in both public and private commercial clouds to organize the simultaneous use of different SLA and QoS levels in the same cloud environment by giving each VM rank its own level of overcommitment.

Biological effects of 60Co γ-irradiation on Laiwu ginger VM1 growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Ming; Huang Jinli; Wei Yuxia; Guan Qiuzhu; Zhang Zhenxian

2008-01-01

Rhizome of Laiwu ginger were treated with γ-irradiation at the doses of 0, 20, 40 and 60 Gy. The results showed that 60 Co γ-irradiation inhibited the rhizome burgeoning, and decreased the survival rate of the seedlings, rate of leaf- expansion and the growth of plants (VM 1 ). The inhibition effects became stronger with the increase of the irradiation dose. Different bands were found through the analysis of POD, EST isozymes and RAPD of VM 1 plants, which showed that variation on molecular level occurred in VM 1 plants. LD 30-40 was appropriate for the irradiation of rhizomes of Laiwu ginger and the optimal irradiation dose was about 20- 30 Gy. (authors)

Overhead-Aware-Best-Fit (OABF) Resource Allocation Algorithm for Minimizing VM Launching Overhead

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Hao [IIT; Garzoglio, Gabriele [Fermilab; Ren, Shangping [IIT, Chicago; Timm, Steven [Fermilab; Noh, Seo Young [KISTI, Daejeon

2014-11-11

FermiCloud is a private cloud developed in Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory to provide elastic and on-demand resources for different scientific research experiments. The design goal of the FermiCloud is to automatically allocate resources for different scientific applications so that the QoS required by these applications is met and the operational cost of the FermiCloud is minimized. Our earlier research shows that VM launching overhead has large variations. If such variations are not taken into consideration when making resource allocation decisions, it may lead to poor performance and resource waste. In this paper, we show how we may use an VM launching overhead reference model to minimize VM launching overhead. In particular, we first present a training algorithm that automatically tunes a given refer- ence model to accurately reflect FermiCloud environment. Based on the tuned reference model for virtual machine launching overhead, we develop an overhead-aware-best-fit resource allocation algorithm that decides where and when to allocate resources so that the average virtual machine launching overhead is minimized. The experimental results indicate that the developed overhead-aware-best-fit resource allocation algorithm can significantly improved the VM launching time when large number of VMs are simultaneously launched.

On Use of the Variable Zagreb vM2 Index in QSPR: Boiling Points of Benzenoid Hydrocarbons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albin Jurić

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The variable Zagreb vM2 index is introduced and applied to the structure-boiling point modeling of benzenoid hydrocarbons. The linear model obtained (thestandard error of estimate for the fit model Sfit=6.8 oC is much better than thecorresponding model based on the original Zagreb M2 index (Sfit=16.4 oC. Surprisingly,the model based on the variable vertex-connectivity index (Sfit=6.8 oC is comparable tothe model based on vM2 index. A comparative study with models based on the vertex-connectivity index, edge-connectivity index and several distance indices favours modelsbased on the variable Zagreb vM2 index and variable vertex-connectivity index.However, the multivariate regression with two-, three- and four-descriptors givesimproved models, the best being the model with four-descriptors (but vM2 index is notamong them with Sfit=5 oC, though the four-descriptor model contaning vM2 index isonly slightly inferior (Sfit=5.3 oC.

HotpathVM: An Effective JIT for Resource-constrained Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gal, Andreas; Franz, Michael; Probst, Christian

2006-01-01

We present a just-in-time compiler for a Java VM that is small enough to fit on resource-constrained devices, yet surprisingly effective. Our system dynamically identifies traces of frequently executed bytecode instructions (which may span several basic blocks across several methods) and compiles...

Generation of erythroid cells from polyploid giant cancer cells: re-thinking about tumor blood supply.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Zhigang; Yao, Hong; Fei, Fei; Li, Yuwei; Qu, Jie; Li, Chunyuan; Zhang, Shiwu

2018-04-01

During development and tumor progression, cells need a sufficient blood supply to maintain development and rapid growth. It is reported that there are three patterns of blood supply for tumor growth: endothelium-dependent vessels, mosaic vessels, and vasculogenic mimicry (VM). VM was first reported in highly aggressive uveal melanomas, with tumor cells mimicking the presence and function of endothelial cells forming the walls of VM vessels. The walls of mosaic vessels are randomly lined with both endothelial cells and tumor cells. We previously proposed a three-stage process, beginning with VM, progressing to mosaic vessels, and eventually leading to endothelium-dependent vessels. However, many phenomena unique to VM channel formation remain to be elucidated, such as the origin of erythrocytes before VM vessels connect with endothelium-dependent vessels. In adults, erythroid cells are generally believed to be generated from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. In contrast, embryonic tissue obtains oxygen through formation of blood islands, which are largely composed of embryonic hemoglobin with a higher affinity with oxygen, in the absence of mature erythrocytes. Recent data from our laboratory suggest that embryonic blood-forming mechanisms also exist in cancer tissue, particularly when these tissues are under environmental stress such as hypoxia. We review the evidence from induced pluripotent stem cells in vitro and in vivo to support this previously underappreciated cell functionality in normal and cancer cells, including the ability to generate erythroid cells. We will also summarize the current understanding of tumor angiogenesis, VM, and our recent work on polyploid giant cancer cells, with emphasis on their ability to generate erythroid cells and their association with tumor growth under hypoxia. An alternative embryonic pathway to obtain oxygen in cancer cells exists, particularly when they are under hypoxic conditions.

3D-e-Chem-VM: Structural Cheminformatics Research Infrastructure in a Freely Available Virtual Machine.

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, Ross; Verhoeven, Stefan; Vass, Márton; Vriend, Gerrit; de Esch, Iwan J P; Lusher, Scott J; Leurs, Rob; Ridder, Lars; Kooistra, Albert J; Ritschel, Tina; de Graaf, Chris

2017-02-27

3D-e-Chem-VM is an open source, freely available Virtual Machine ( http://3d-e-chem.github.io/3D-e-Chem-VM/ ) that integrates cheminformatics and bioinformatics tools for the analysis of protein-ligand interaction data. 3D-e-Chem-VM consists of software libraries, and database and workflow tools that can analyze and combine small molecule and protein structural information in a graphical programming environment. New chemical and biological data analytics tools and workflows have been developed for the efficient exploitation of structural and pharmacological protein-ligand interaction data from proteomewide databases (e.g., ChEMBLdb and PDB), as well as customized information systems focused on, e.g., G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRdb) and protein kinases (KLIFS). The integrated structural cheminformatics research infrastructure compiled in the 3D-e-Chem-VM enables the design of new approaches in virtual ligand screening (Chemdb4VS), ligand-based metabolism prediction (SyGMa), and structure-based protein binding site comparison and bioisosteric replacement for ligand design (KRIPOdb).

Studying VM-1 molybdenum alloy workability at high current density. II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tatarinova, O M; Amirkhanova, N A; Zaripov, R A

1976-01-01

Under galvanostatic conditions, voltampere characteristics have been taken off for VM-1 alloy; determined are also the selective effect of electrolytes and the influence of hydrodynamical conditions on the rate of anodic dissolution in the electrolytes containing 15% NaNO/sub 3/; 15% NaNO/sub 3/ + 5% NaOH, and 15 % NaOH. In a composite electrolyte, the quality of the surface is improved, and higher current densities have been attained as compared with those for pure 15% NaNO/sub 3/. The process of dissolution in the above electrolytes is effected with diffuse limitations. For the electrochemical treatment of the VM-1 alloy under production conditions, a composite electrolyte containing 15% NaNO/sub 3/ and 5% NaOH has been suggested and tested.

Two separate defects affecting true naive or virtual memory T cell precursors combine to reduce naive T cell responses with aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Renkema, Kristin R; Li, Gang; Wu, Angela; Smithey, Megan J; Nikolich-Žugich, Janko

2014-01-01

Naive T cell responses are eroded with aging. We and others have recently shown that unimmunized old mice lose ≥ 70% of Ag-specific CD8 T cell precursors and that many of the remaining precursors acquire a virtual (central) memory (VM; CD44(hi)CD62L(hi)) phenotype. In this study, we demonstrate that unimmunized TCR transgenic (TCRTg) mice also undergo massive VM conversion with age, exhibiting rapid effector function upon both TCR and cytokine triggering. Age-related VM conversion in TCRTg mice directly depended on replacement of the original TCRTg specificity by endogenous TCRα rearrangements, indicating that TCR signals must be critical in VM conversion. Importantly, we found that VM conversion had adverse functional effects in both old wild-type and old TCRTg mice; that is, old VM, but not old true naive, T cells exhibited blunted TCR-mediated, but not IL-15-mediated, proliferation. This selective proliferative senescence correlated with increased apoptosis in old VM cells in response to peptide, but decreased apoptosis in response to homeostatic cytokines IL-7 and IL-15. Our results identify TCR as the key factor in differential maintenance and function of Ag-specific precursors in unimmunized mice with aging, and they demonstrate that two separate age-related defects--drastic reduction in true naive T cell precursors and impaired proliferative capacity of their VM cousins--combine to reduce naive T cell responses with aging.

The Effects of Low-Dose Bisphenol A and Bisphenol F on Neural Differentiation of a Fetal Brain-Derived Neural Progenitor Cell Line.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujiwara, Yuki; Miyazaki, Wataru; Koibuchi, Noriyuki; Katoh, Takahiko

2018-01-01

Environmental chemicals are known to disrupt the endocrine system in humans and to have adverse effects on several organs including the developing brain. Recent studies indicate that exposure to environmental chemicals during gestation can interfere with neuronal differentiation, subsequently affecting normal brain development in newborns. Xenoestrogen, bisphenol A (BPA), which is widely used in plastic products, is one such chemical. Adverse effects of exposure to BPA during pre- and postnatal periods include the disruption of brain function. However, the effect of BPA on neural differentiation remains unclear. In this study, we explored the effects of BPA or bisphenol F (BPF), an alternative compound for BPA, on neural differentiation using ReNcell, a human fetus-derived neural progenitor cell line. Maintenance in growth factor-free medium initiated the differentiation of ReNcell to neuronal cells including neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. We exposed the cells to BPA or BPF for 3 days from the period of initiation and performed real-time PCR for neural markers such as β III-tubulin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and Olig2. The β III-tubulin mRNA level decreased in response to BPA, but not BPF, exposure. We also observed that the number of β III-tubulin-positive cells in the BPA-exposed group was less than that of the control group. On the other hand, there were no changes in the MAP2 mRNA level. These results indicate that BPA disrupts neural differentiation in human-derived neural progenitor cells, potentially disrupting brain development.

The Effects of Low-Dose Bisphenol A and Bisphenol F on Neural Differentiation of a Fetal Brain-Derived Neural Progenitor Cell Line

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuki Fujiwara

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Environmental chemicals are known to disrupt the endocrine system in humans and to have adverse effects on several organs including the developing brain. Recent studies indicate that exposure to environmental chemicals during gestation can interfere with neuronal differentiation, subsequently affecting normal brain development in newborns. Xenoestrogen, bisphenol A (BPA, which is widely used in plastic products, is one such chemical. Adverse effects of exposure to BPA during pre- and postnatal periods include the disruption of brain function. However, the effect of BPA on neural differentiation remains unclear. In this study, we explored the effects of BPA or bisphenol F (BPF, an alternative compound for BPA, on neural differentiation using ReNcell, a human fetus-derived neural progenitor cell line. Maintenance in growth factor-free medium initiated the differentiation of ReNcell to neuronal cells including neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. We exposed the cells to BPA or BPF for 3 days from the period of initiation and performed real-time PCR for neural markers such as β III-tubulin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP, and Olig2. The β III-tubulin mRNA level decreased in response to BPA, but not BPF, exposure. We also observed that the number of β III-tubulin-positive cells in the BPA-exposed group was less than that of the control group. On the other hand, there were no changes in the MAP2 mRNA level. These results indicate that BPA disrupts neural differentiation in human-derived neural progenitor cells, potentially disrupting brain development.

Investigation into electrochemical behavior of molybdenum VM-1 alloy at high current density

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tatarinova, O M; Amirkhanova, N A; Akhmadiev, A G

1975-01-01

The effect of the composition and concentration of electrolyte on the workability of the molybdenum VM-1 alloy has been studied and a number of anions has been determined relative to their activation capacity. The best workability of the alloy is achieved in a 15% NaOH solution and a composite electrolyte 15% NaNO/sub 3/+5%NaOH. It is shown that in polarization of the VM-1 alloy both in alkali- and salt solutions a film of oxides of different valence molybdenum is formed: Mo/sub 2/O/sub 3/, Mo/sub 4/O/sub 11/, Mo/sub 9/O/sub 26/, MoO/sub 3/, but molybdenum gets dissolved only in a hexavalent form, its content in a solution being in conformity with the polarizing current densities. Using a temperature-kinetic technique it has been found that the concentrational polarization is the limiting stage in the reaction of molybdenum and VM-1 alloy anodic dissolution in 15% NaNO/sub 3/ solution and in the composite electrolyte 15%NaNO/sub 3/+5%NaOH.

Autosomal dominant inheritance of brain cardiolipin fatty acid abnormality in VM/DK mice: association with hypoxic-induced cognitive insensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ta, Nathan L; Jia, Xibei; Kiebish, Michael; Seyfried, Thomas N

2014-01-01

Cardiolipin is a complex polyglycerol phospholipid found almost exclusively in the inner mitochondrial membrane and regulates numerous enzyme activities especially those related to oxidative phosphorylation and coupled respiration. Abnormalities in cardiolipin can impair mitochondrial function and bioenergetics. We recently demonstrated that the ratio of shorter chain saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (C16:0; C18:0; C18:1) to longer chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (C18:2; C20:4; C22:6) was significantly greater in the brains of adult VM/DK (VM) inbred mice than in the brains of C57BL/6 J (B6) mice. The cardiolipin fatty acid abnormalities in VM mice are also associated with alterations in the activity of mitochondrial respiratory complexes. In this study we found that the abnormal brain fatty acid ratio in the VM strain was inherited as an autosomal dominant trait in reciprocal B6 × VM F1 hybrids. To evaluate the potential influence of brain cardiolipin fatty acid composition on cognitive sensitivity, we placed the parental B6 and VM mice and their reciprocal male and female B6VMF1 hybrid mice (3-month-old) in a hypoxic chamber (5 % O2). Cognitive awareness (conscientiousness) under hypoxia was significantly lower in the VM parental mice and F1 hybrid mice (11.4 ± 0.4  and 11.0 ± 0.4 min, respectively) than in the parental B6 mice (15.3 ± 1.4 min), indicating an autosomal dominant inheritance like that of the brain cardiolipin abnormalities. These findings suggest that impaired cognitive awareness under hypoxia is associated with abnormalities in neural lipid composition.

Feasibility and Perceptions of Cell Phone-Based, Health-Related Communication With Adolescents in an Economically Depressed Area.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawni, Anju; Cederna-Meko, Crystal; LaChance, Jenny L; Buttigieg, Angie; Le, Quoc; Nunuk, Irene; Ang, Joyce; Burrell, Katherine M

2017-02-01

We examined the feasibility and perception of cell-based (texting, voicemail [VM], and email/social media), health-related communication with adolescents in Genesee County, MI, where 22% reside below the poverty level. Results of an anonymous survey found that 86% of respondents owned a cell phone, 87% had data, 96% texted, 90.5% emailed/used social media, and 68% had VM. Most adolescents were interested in cell-based communication via texting (52%), VM (37%), and email/social media (31%). Interest in types of health communication included appointment reminders (99% texting; 94% VM; 95% email/social media), shot reminders (84.5% texting; 74.5% VM; 81% email/social media), call for test results (71.5% texting; 75% VM; 65% email/social media), medication reminders (63% texting; 54% VM; 58% e-mail/social media), and health tips (36% texting; 18.5% VM; 73% email/social media). Cell-based health-related communication with adolescents is feasible even within low socioeconomic status populations, primarily via texting. Health providers should embrace cell-based patient communication.

Barbröstade grabbar, med färgat hår och litervis med öl : En analys av Aftonbladets skildring av herr- och damfotboll i Herr-VM 2006 och Dam-VM 2007

OpenAIRE

Mårtensson, Henning

2012-01-01

I den här uppsatsen har jag undersökt hur män och kvinnor framställs i bild och text i Aftonbladets rapportering från herrarnas fotbolls-VM i Tyskland 2006 och damernas fotbolls-VM i Kina 2007. Mitt syfte var att titta på hur konstrueringen av en nationell diskurs skiljer sig åt i texterna om dam- och herrfotboll, om det finns någon tydlig manlig och kvinnlig diskurs på bilderna, samt hur väl min undersökning stämmer in på beprövade genusteorier. För att kunna besvara mitt syfte använde jag m...

Research and Implementation of Software Used for the Remote Control for VM700T Video Measuring Instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Song Wenjie

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the measurement software which can be used to realize remote control of the VM700T video measuring instrument is introduced. The authors can operate VM700T by a virtual panel on the client computer, select the results that the measuring equipment displayed to transmit it, and then display the image on the VM700T virtual panel in real time. The system does have some practical values and play an important role in distance learning. The functions that the system realized mainly includes four aspects: the real-time transmission of message based on the socket technology, the serial connection between server PC and VM700T measuring equipment, the image acquisition based on VFW technology and JPEG compression and decompression, and the network transmission of image files. The actual network transmission test is shown that the data acquisition method of this thesis is flexible and convenient, and the system is of extraordinary stability. It can display the measurement results in real time and basically realize the requirements of remote control. In the content, this paper includes a summary of principle, the detailed introduction of the system realization process and some related technology.

Effect of Genistein on vasculogenic mimicry formation by human uveal melanoma cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gu Haijuan

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Vasculogenic mimicry (VM was increasingly recognized as a form of aggressive melanoma acquiring blood supply. Genistein had attracted much attention as a potential anticancer agent. Therefore, we examined the effect of Genistein on VM in human uveal melanoma cells. Methods VM structure was detected by periodic acid-Schiff (PAS staining for uveal melanoma C918 cells cultured on the three-dimensional type I collagen gels after exposed to Genistein. We used reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR and Western Blot analysis to examine the effect of Genistein on vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin mRNA and protein expression. The nude mice models of human uveal melanoma C918 cells were established to assess the number of VM using immunohistochemical and PAS double-staining. Results Genistein inhibited the survival of C918 cells in vitro. The ectopic model study showed that VM in tumor tissue sections were significantly reduced by Genistein in vivo. In vitro, the VM structure was found in control, 25 and 50 μM Genistein-treatment groups but not in 100 and 200 μM. RT-PCR and Western Blot showed that 100 and 200 μM concentration of Genistein could significantly decrease VE-cadherin mRNA and protein expression of C918 cells compared with control (P 0.05. Conclusion Genistein inhibits VM formation of uveal melanoma cells in vivo and in vitro. One possible underlying molecular mechanism by which Genistein could inhibit VM formation of uveal melanoma is related to down-regulation of VE-cadherin.

Multiple organ gigantism caused by mutation in VmPPD gene in blackgram (Vigna mungo).

Science.gov (United States)

Naito, Ken; Takahashi, Yu; Chaitieng, Bubpa; Hirano, Kumi; Kaga, Akito; Takagi, Kyoko; Ogiso-Tanaka, Eri; Thavarasook, Charaspon; Ishimoto, Masao; Tomooka, Norihiko

2017-03-01

Seed size is one of the most important traits in leguminous crops. We obtained a recessive mutant of blackgram that had greatly enlarged leaves, stems and seeds. The mutant produced 100% bigger leaves, 50% more biomass and 70% larger seeds though it produced 40% less number of seeds. We designated the mutant as multiple-organ-gigantism ( mog ) and found the mog phenotype was due to increase in cell numbers but not in cell size. We also found the mog mutant showed a rippled leaf ( rl ) phenotype, which was probably caused by a pleiotropic effect of the mutation. We performed a map-based cloning and successfully identified an 8 bp deletion in the coding sequence of VmPPD gene, an orthologue of Arabidopsis PEAPOD ( PPD ) that regulates arrest of cell divisions in meristematic cells . We found no other mutations in the neighboring genes between the mutant and the wild type. We also knocked down GmPPD genes and reproduced both the mog and rl phenotypes in soybean. Controlling PPD genes to produce the mog phenotype is highly valuable for breeding since larger seed size could directly increase the commercial values of grain legumes.

vlPFC-vmPFC-Amygdala Interactions Underlie Age-Related Differences in Cognitive Regulation of Emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Silvers, Jennifer A; Insel, Catherine; Powers, Alisa; Franz, Peter; Helion, Chelsea; Martin, Rebecca E; Weber, Jochen; Mischel, Walter; Casey, B J; Ochsner, Kevin N

2017-07-01

Emotion regulation is a critical life skill that develops throughout childhood and adolescence. Despite this development in emotional processes, little is known about how the underlying brain systems develop with age. This study examined emotion regulation in 112 individuals (aged 6-23 years) as they viewed aversive and neutral images using a reappraisal task. On "reappraisal" trials, participants were instructed to view the images as distant, a strategy that has been previously shown to reduce negative affect. On "reactivity" trials, participants were instructed to view the images without regulating emotions to assess baseline emotional responding. During reappraisal, age predicted less negative affect, reduced amygdala responses and inverse coupling between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and amygdala. Moreover, left ventrolateral prefrontal (vlPFC) recruitment mediated the relationship between increasing age and diminishing amygdala responses. This negative vlPFC-amygdala association was stronger for individuals with inverse coupling between the amygdala and vmPFC. These data provide evidence that vmPFC-amygdala connectivity facilitates vlPFC-related amygdala modulation across development. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Radiation-induced conduction under high electric field (1 x 106 to 1 x 108 V/m) in polyethylene-terephthalate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeda, H.; Kurashige, M.; Ito, D.; Nakakita, T.

1978-01-01

Radiation-induced conduction in polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) has been measured under high electric field (1.0 x 10 6 to 1.6 x 10 8 V/m). In a 6-μm-thick PET film, saturation of the radiation-induced current occurs at field strengths above 1.2 x 10 8 V/m. This has been demonstrated by the thickness and dose rate dependence of the induced current. Radiation-induced conductivity increases monotonically with field strength, then shows a saturation tendency. This may be explained by geminate recombination. Above 1 x 10 8 V/m, slowly increasing radiation-induced current appears. This may be caused by electron injection from the cathode, enhanced by the accumulation of the hetero space charges near it

Managing the Virtual Machine Lifecycle of the CernVM Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charalampidis, I; Blomer, J; Buncic, P; Harutyunyan, A; Larsen, D

2012-01-01

CernVM is a virtual software appliance designed to support the development cycle and provide a runtime environment for LHC applications. It consists of a minimal Linux distribution, a specially tuned file system designed to deliver application software on demand, and contextualization tools. The maintenance of these components involves a variety of different procedures and tools that cannot always connect with each other. Additionally, most of these procedures need to be performed frequently. Currently, in the CernVM project, every time we build a new virtual machine image, we have to perform the whole process manually, because of the heterogeneity of the tools involved. The overall process is error-prone and time-consuming. Therefore, to simplify and aid this continuous maintenance process, we are developing a framework that combines these virtually unrelated tools with a single, coherent interface. To do so, we identified all the involved procedures and their tools, tracked their dependencies and organized them into logical groups (e.g. build, test, instantiate). These groups define the procedures that are performed throughout the lifetime of a virtual machine. In this paper we describe the Virtual Machine Lifecycle and the framework we developed (iAgent) in order to simplify the maintenance process.

Fast-Solving Quasi-Optimal LS-S3VM Based on an Extended Candidate Set.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yuefeng; Liang, Xun; Kwok, James T; Li, Jianping; Zhou, Xiaoping; Zhang, Haiyan

2018-04-01

The semisupervised least squares support vector machine (LS-S 3 VM) is an important enhancement of least squares support vector machines in semisupervised learning. Given that most data collected from the real world are without labels, semisupervised approaches are more applicable than standard supervised approaches. Although a few training methods for LS-S 3 VM exist, the problem of deriving the optimal decision hyperplane efficiently and effectually has not been solved. In this paper, a fully weighted model of LS-S 3 VM is proposed, and a simple integer programming (IP) model is introduced through an equivalent transformation to solve the model. Based on the distances between the unlabeled data and the decision hyperplane, a new indicator is designed to represent the possibility that the label of an unlabeled datum should be reversed in each iteration during training. Using the indicator, we construct an extended candidate set consisting of the indices of unlabeled data with high possibilities, which integrates more information from unlabeled data. Our algorithm is degenerated into a special scenario of the previous algorithm when the extended candidate set is reduced into a set with only one element. Two strategies are utilized to determine the descent directions based on the extended candidate set. Furthermore, we developed a novel method for locating a good starting point based on the properties of the equivalent IP model. Combined with the extended candidate set and the carefully computed starting point, a fast algorithm to solve LS-S 3 VM quasi-optimally is proposed. The choice of quasi-optimal solutions results in low computational cost and avoidance of overfitting. Experiments show that our algorithm equipped with the two designed strategies is more effective than other algorithms in at least one of the following three aspects: 1) computational complexity; 2) generalization ability; and 3) flexibility. However, our algorithm and other algorithms have

Wnt5a-treated midbrain neural stem cells improve dopamine cell replacement therapy in parkinsonian mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parish, Clare L; Castelo-Branco, Gonçalo; Rawal, Nina

2008-01-01

have prevented their clinical application. We present here a method for generating large numbers of DA neurons based on expanding and differentiating ventral midbrain (VM) neural stem cells/progenitors in the presence of key signals necessary for VM DA neuron development. Mouse VM neurospheres (VMNs......Dopamine (DA) cell replacement therapy in Parkinson disease (PD) can be achieved using human fetal mesencephalic tissue; however, limited tissue availability has hindered further developments. Embryonic stem cells provide a promising alternative, but poor survival and risk of teratoma formation......) expanded with FGF2, differentiated with sonic hedgehog and FGF8, and transfected with Wnt5a (VMN-Wnt5a) generated 10-fold more DA neurons than did conventional FGF2-treated VMNs. VMN-Wnt5a cells exhibited the transcriptional and biochemical profiles and intrinsic electrophysiological properties of midbrain...

Antitumor activity of the two epipodophyllotoxin derivatives VP-16 and VM-26 in preclinical systems: a comparison of in vitro and in vivo drug evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, P B; Roed, H; Skovsgaard, T

1990-01-01

doses on an optimal schedule in vivo and it has not been clarified as to whether a therapeutic difference exists between them. A prolonged schedule is optimal for both drugs; accordingly we determined the toxicity in mice using a 5-day schedule. The dose killing 10% of the mice (LD10) was 9.4 mg...... the increase in life span and the number of cures. The drugs were also compared in nude mice inoculated with human small-cell lung cancer lines OC-TOL and CPH-SCCL-123; however, they were more toxic to the nude mice and only a limited therapeutic effect was observed. In conclusion, the complete cross......-resistance between the two drugs suggests that they have an identical antineoplastic spectrum. VM-26 was more potent than VP-16 in vitro; however, this was not correlated to a therapeutic advantage for VM-26 over VP-16 in vivo....

Universal Voltage Conveyor and its Novel Dual-Output Fully-Cascadable VM APF Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norbert Herencsar

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This letter presents a novel realization of a voltage-mode (VM first-order all-pass filter (APF with attractive features. The proposed circuit employs a single readily available six-terminal active device called as universal voltage conveyor (UVC and only grounded passive components, which predict its easy monolithic integration with desired circuit simplicity. The auxiliary voltage input (W and output (ZP, ZN terminals of the device fully ensure easy cascadability of VM APF, since the input and output terminal impedances are theoretically infinitely high and zero, respectively. Moreover, thanks to mutually inverse outputs of the UVC, the proposed filter simultaneously provides both inverting and non-inverting outputs from the same configuration. All of these features make the UVC a unique active device currently available in the literature. The behavior of the filter was experimentally measured using the readily available UVC-N1C 0520 chip, which was produced in cooperation with ON Semiconductor Czech Republic, Ltd.

CernVM Co-Pilot: an Extensible Framework for Building Scalable Cloud Computing Infrastructures

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

CernVM Co-Pilot is a framework for instantiating an ad-hoc computing infrastructure on top of distributed computing resources. Such resources include commercial computing clouds (e.g. Amazon EC2), scientific computing clouds (e.g. CERN lxcloud), as well as the machines of users participating in volunteer computing projects (e.g. BOINC). The framework consists of components that communicate using the Extensible Messaging and Presence protocol (XMPP), allowing for new components to be developed in virtually any programming language and interfaced to existing Grid and batch computing infrastructures exploited by the High Energy Physics community. Co-Pilot has been used to execute jobs for both the ALICE and ATLAS experiments at CERN. CernVM Co-Pilot is also one of the enabling technologies behind the LHC@home 2.0 volunteer computing project, which is the first such project that exploits virtual machine technology. The use of virtual machines eliminates the necessity of modifying existing applications and adapt...

NMDA antagonist, but not nNOS inhibitor, requires AMPA receptors in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) to induce antidepressant-like effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pereira, V. S.; Wegener, Gregers; Joca, S. R.

2013-01-01

of the glutamatergic and nitrergic systems of the vmPFC on the behavioral consequences induced by forced swimming (FS), an animal model of depression. Male Wistar rats (230-260g) with guide cannulas aimed at the prelimbic (PL) region of vmPFC were submitted to a 15min session of FS and, 24h later, they were submitted...

Physical metallurgy: Scientific school of the Academician V.M. Schastlivtsev

Science.gov (United States)

Tabatchikova, T. I.

2016-04-01

This paper is to honor Academician Vadim Mikhailovich Schastlivtsev, a prominent scientist in the field of metal physics and materials science. The article comprises an analysis of the topical issues of the physical metallurgy of the early 21st century and of the contribution of V.M. Schastlivtsev and of his school to the science of phase and structural transformations in steels. In 2015, Vadim Mikhailovich celebrates his 80th birthday, and this paper is timed to this honorable date. The list of his main publications is given in it.

The effect of future time perspective on delay discounting is mediated by the gray matter volume of vmPFC.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yiqun; Chen, Zhiyi; Feng, Tingyong

2017-07-28

Although several previous studies have shown that individuals' attitude towards time could affect their intertemporal preference, little is known about the neural basis of the relation between time perspective (TP) and delay discounting. In the present study, we quantified the gray matter (GM) cortical volume using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) methods to investigate the effect of TP on delay discounting (DD) across two independent samples. For group 1 (102 healthy college students; 46 male; 20.40 ± 1.87 years), behavioral results showed that only Future TP was a significant predictor of DD, and higher scores on Future TP were related to lower discounting rates. Whole-brain analysis revealed that steeper discounting correlated with greater GM volume in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and ventral part of posterior cingulate cortex (vPCC). Also, GM volume of a cluster in the vmPFC was correlated with Future TP. Interestingly, there was an overlapping region in vmPFC that was correlated with both DD and Future TP. Region-of-interest analysis further indicated that the overlapping region of vmPFC played a partially mediating role in the relation between Future TP and DD in the other independent dataset (Group 2, 36 healthy college students; 14 male; 20.18±1.80 years). Taken together, our results provide a new perspective from neural basis for explaining the relation between DD and future TP. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Function of AURKA protein kinase in the formation of vasculogenic mimicry in triple-negative breast cancer stem cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Y

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Ying Liu,1,2,* Baocun Sun,1–3,* Tieju Liu,1,2,* Xiulan Zhao,1,2 Xudong Wang,3 Yanlei Li,1,2 Jie Meng,2 Qiang Gu,1,2 Fang Liu,1,2 Xueyi Dong,1,2 Peimei Liu,2 Ran Sun,2 Nan Zhao1 1Department of Pathology, General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, 2Department of Pathology, Tianjin Medical University, 3Department of Pathology, Cancer Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Tumor cell vasculogenic mimicry (VM, a newly defined pattern of tumor blood supply, signifies the functional plasticity of aggressive cancer cells forming vascular networks. VM and cancer stem cells (CSCs have been shown to be associated with tumor growth, local invasion, and distant metastasis. In our previous study, CSCs in triple-negative breast cancer were potential to participate in VM formation. In this study, breast CSCs were isolated from the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 by using mammosphere culture. Western blotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction showed that mammosphere cells displayed an increased expression of AURKA protein kinase and stem cell marker c-myc and sox2. The VM formation by mammosphere cells was inhibited by AURKA knockdown or the addition of AURKA inhibitor MLN8237. In the meantime, MLN8237 induced the increased E-cadherin and decreased c-myc, sox2, and β-catenin expressions. The function of AURKA in VM formation was further confirmed using a xenograft-murine model. The results suggested that AURKA protein kinase is involved in VM formation of CSCs and may become a new treatment target in suppressing VM and metastasis of breast cancer. Keywords: AURKA, cancer stem cells, vasculogenic mimicry, breast cancer

vmPFC activation during a stressor predicts positive emotions during stress recovery

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xi; Garcia, Katelyn M; Jung, Youngkyoo; Whitlow, Christopher T; McRae, Kateri; Waugh, Christian E

2018-01-01

Abstract Despite accruing evidence showing that positive emotions facilitate stress recovery, the neural basis for this effect remains unclear. To identify the underlying mechanism, we compared stress recovery for people reflecting on a stressor while in a positive emotional context with that for people in a neutral context. While blood–oxygen-level dependent data were being collected, participants (N = 43) performed a stressful anagram task, which was followed by a recovery period during which they reflected on the stressor while watching a positive or neutral video. Participants also reported positive and negative emotions throughout the task as well as retrospective thoughts about the task. Although there was no effect of experimental context on emotional recovery, we found that ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) activation during the stressor predicted more positive emotions during recovery, which in turn predicted less negative emotions during recovery. In addition, the relationship between vmPFC activation and positive emotions during recovery was mediated by decentering—the meta-cognitive detachment of oneself from one’s feelings. In sum, successful recovery from a stressor seems to be due to activation of positive emotion-related regions during the stressor itself as well as to their downstream effects on certain cognitive forms of emotion regulation. PMID:29462404

Using XRootD to provide caches for CernVM-FS

CERN Document Server

Domenighini, Matteo

2017-01-01

CernVM-FS recently added the possibility of using plugin for cache management. In order to investigate the capabilities and limits of such possibility, an XRootD plugin was written and benchmarked; as a byproduct, a POSIX plugin was also generated. The tests revealed that the plugin interface introduces no signicant performance over- head; moreover, the XRootD plugin performance was discovered to be worse than the ones of the built-in cache manager and the POSIX plugin. Further test of the XRootD component revealed that its per- formance is dependent on the server disk speed.

[Effect of electromagnetic pulse irradiation on structure and function of Leydig cells in mice].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shui-Ming; Wang, De-Wen; Peng, Rui-Yun; Gao, Ya-Bing; Yang, Yi; Hu, Wen-Hua; Chen, Hao-Yu; Zhang, You-Ren; Gao, Yan

2003-08-01

To explore the effect of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) irradiation on structure and function of Leydig cells in mice. One hundred and fourteen male Kunming mice were randomly divided into irradiated and control group, the former radiated generally by 8 x 10(3) V/m, 2 x 10(4) V/m and 6 x 10(4) V/m EMP respectively five times within two minutes. Pathological changes of Leydig cells were observed by light and electron microscope. Serum testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E2) were measured dynamically by radioimmunoassay at 6 h, 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, 14 d and 28 d after irradiation. Main pathological changes were edema and vacuolation, swelling of cytoplasmic mitochondria, reduce of lipid droplets, pale staining of most of lipid droplets, and partial or complete cavitation of lipid droplets in Leydig cells within 28 days after EMP radiation. Compared with normal controls, serum T decreased in all in different degrees within 28 days, and dropped significantly at 6 h-14 d, 6 h-7 d and 1 d-28 d after 8 x 10(3) V/m, 2 x 10(4) V/m and 6 x 10(4) V/m EMP irradiation(P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). EMP irradiation caused no significant changes in serum LH and E2. Leydig cells are among those that are the most susceptible to EMP irradiation. EMP irradiation may cause significant injury in structure and function of Leydig cells in mice, whose earlier and continuous effect is bound to affect sexual function and sperm production.

Dynamic virtual AliEn Grid sites on Nimbus with CernVM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harutyunyan, A; Buncic, P; Freeman, T; Keahey, K

2010-01-01

We describe the work on enabling one click deployment of Grid sites of AliEn Grid framework on the Nimbus 'science cloud' at the University of Chicago. The integration of computing resources of the cloud with the resource pool of AliEn Grid is achieved by leveraging two mechanisms: the Nimbus Context Broker developed at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago, and CernVM - a baseline virtual software appliance for LHC experiments developed at CERN. Two approaches of dynamic virtual AliEn Grid site deployment are presented.

Development of a Temperature Controller for a Vuilleumier (VM) Cycle Power Cylinder

Science.gov (United States)

1975-10-01

the system in the event of a shorted sensor; both of these actions turn the power section of the controller "off," and it cannot be repowered until...400-Hz power to a low-level DC with the attendant necessity of using a 400-Hz power transformer . Thus use of DC will allow a less compli- cated...N AFFDL.TR-75-99 7? ^0 00 o o o CQ DEVELOPMENT OF A TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER FOR A VUILLEUMIER (VM) CYCLE POWER CYLINDER i ■ L RTHUR D

VMCast: A VM-Assisted Stability Enhancing Solution for Tree-Based Overlay Multicast.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weidong Gu

Full Text Available Tree-based overlay multicast is an effective group communication method for media streaming applications. However, a group member's departure causes all of its descendants to be disconnected from the multicast tree for some time, which results in poor performance. The above problem is difficult to be addressed because overlay multicast tree is intrinsically instable. In this paper, we proposed a novel stability enhancing solution, VMCast, for tree-based overlay multicast. This solution uses two types of on-demand cloud virtual machines (VMs, i.e., multicast VMs (MVMs and compensation VMs (CVMs. MVMs are used to disseminate the multicast data, whereas CVMs are used to offer streaming compensation. The used VMs in the same cloud datacenter constitute a VM cluster. Each VM cluster is responsible for a service domain (VMSD, and each group member belongs to a specific VMSD. The data source delivers the multicast data to MVMs through a reliable path, and MVMs further disseminate the data to group members along domain overlay multicast trees. The above approach structurally improves the stability of the overlay multicast tree. We further utilized CVM-based streaming compensation to enhance the stability of the data distribution in the VMSDs. VMCast can be used as an extension to existing tree-based overlay multicast solutions, to provide better services for media streaming applications. We applied VMCast to two application instances (i.e., HMTP and HCcast. The results show that it can obviously enhance the stability of the data distribution.

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex pyramidal cells have a temporal dynamic role in recall and extinction of cocaine-associated memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Van den Oever, Michel C; Rotaru, Diana C; Heinsbroek, Jasper A; Gouwenberg, Yvonne; Deisseroth, Karl; Stuber, Garret D; Mansvelder, Huibert D; Smit, August B

2013-11-13

In addicts, associative memories related to the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse can evoke powerful craving and drug seeking urges, but effective treatment to suppress these memories is not available. Detailed insight into the neural circuitry that mediates expression of drug-associated memory is therefore of crucial importance. Substantial evidence from rodent models of addictive behavior points to the involvement of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in conditioned drug seeking, but specific knowledge of the temporal role of vmPFC pyramidal cells is lacking. To this end, we used an optogenetics approach to probe the involvement of vmPFC pyramidal cells in expression of a recent and remote conditioned cocaine memory. In mice, we expressed Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) or Halorhodopsin (eNpHR3.0) in pyramidal cells of the vmPFC and studied the effect of activation or inhibition of these cells during expression of a cocaine-contextual memory on days 1-2 (recent) and ∼3 weeks (remote) after conditioning. Whereas optical activation of pyramidal cells facilitated extinction of remote memory, without affecting recent memory, inhibition of pyramidal cells acutely impaired recall of recent cocaine memory, without affecting recall of remote memory. In addition, we found that silencing pyramidal cells blocked extinction learning at the remote memory time-point. We provide causal evidence of a critical time-dependent switch in the contribution of vmPFC pyramidal cells to recall and extinction of cocaine-associated memory, indicating that the circuitry that controls expression of cocaine memories reorganizes over time.

Constraining models of postglacial rebound using space geodesy: a detailed assessment of model ICE-5G (VM2) and its relatives

Science.gov (United States)

Argus, Donald F.; Peltier, W. Richard

2010-05-01

Using global positioning system, very long baseline interferometry, satellite laser ranging and Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite observations, including the Canadian Base Network and Fennoscandian BIFROST array, we constrain, in models of postglacial rebound, the thickness of the ice sheets as a function of position and time and the viscosity of the mantle as a function of depth. We test model ICE-5G VM2 T90 Rot, which well fits many hundred Holocene relative sea level histories in North America, Europe and worldwide. ICE-5G is the deglaciation history having more ice in western Canada than ICE-4G; VM2 is the mantle viscosity profile having a mean upper mantle viscosity of 0.5 × 1021Pas and a mean uppermost-lower mantle viscosity of 1.6 × 1021Pas T90 is an elastic lithosphere thickness of 90 km; and Rot designates that the model includes (rotational feedback) Earth's response to the wander of the North Pole of Earth's spin axis towards Canada at a speed of ~1° Myr-1. The vertical observations in North America show that, relative to ICE-5G, the Laurentide ice sheet at last glacial maximum (LGM) at ~26 ka was (1) much thinner in southern Manitoba, (2) thinner near Yellowknife (Northwest Territories), (3) thicker in eastern and southern Quebec and (4) thicker along the northern British Columbia-Alberta border, or that ice was unloaded from these areas later (thicker) or earlier (thinner) than in ICE-5G. The data indicate that the western Laurentide ice sheet was intermediate in mass between ICE-5G and ICE-4G. The vertical observations and GRACE gravity data together suggest that the western Laurentide ice sheet was nearly as massive as that in ICE-5G but distributed more broadly across northwestern Canada. VM2 poorly fits the horizontal observations in North America, predicting places along the margins of the Laurentide ice sheet to be moving laterally away from the ice centre at 2 mm yr-1 in ICE-4G and 3 mm yr-1 in ICE-5G, in

Ascorbic acid alters cell fate commitment of human neural progenitors in a WNT/β-catenin/ROS signaling dependent manner.

Science.gov (United States)

Rharass, Tareck; Lantow, Margareta; Gbankoto, Adam; Weiss, Dieter G; Panáková, Daniela; Lucas, Stéphanie

2017-10-16

Improving the neuronal yield from in vitro cultivated neural progenitor cells (NPCs) is an essential challenge in transplantation therapy in neurological disorders. In this regard, Ascorbic acid (AA) is widely used to expand neurogenesis from NPCs in cultures although the mechanisms of its action remain unclear. Neurogenesis from NPCs is regulated by the redox-sensitive WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway. We therefore aimed to investigate how AA interacts with this pathway and potentiates neurogenesis. Effects of 200 μM AA were compared with the pro-neurogenic reagent and WNT/β-catenin signaling agonist lithium chloride (LiCl), and molecules with antioxidant activities i.e. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and ruthenium red (RuR), in differentiating neural progenitor ReNcell VM cells. Cells were supplemented with reagents for two periods of treatment: a full period encompassing the whole differentiation process versus an early short period that is restricted to the cell fate commitment stage. Intracellular redox balance and reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism were examined by flow cytometry using redox and ROS sensors. Confocal microscopy was performed to assess cell viability, neuronal yield, and levels of two proteins: Nucleoredoxin (NXN) and the WNT/β-catenin signaling component Dishevelled 2 (DVL2). TUBB3 and MYC gene responses were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. DVL2-NXN complex dissociation was measured by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). In contrast to NAC which predictably exhibited an antioxidant effect, AA treatment enhanced ROS metabolism with no cytotoxic induction. Both drugs altered ROS levels only at the early stage of the differentiation as no changes were held beyond the neuronal fate commitment stage. FRET studies showed that AA treatment accelerated the redox-dependent release of the initial pool of DVL2 from its sequestration by NXN, while RuR treatment hampered the dissociation of the two proteins. Accordingly, AA

Experience on QA in the CernVM File System

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; MEUSEL, Rene

2015-01-01

The CernVM-File System (CVMFS) delivers experiment software installations to thousands of globally distributed nodes in the WLCG and beyond. In recent years it became a mission-critical component for offline data processing of the LHC experiments and many other collaborations. From a software engineering perspective, CVMFS is a medium-sized C++ system-level project. Following the growth of the project, we introduced a number of measures to improve the code quality, testability, and maintainability. In particular, we found very useful code reviews through github pull requests and automated unit- and integration testing. We are also transitioning to a test-driven development for new features and bug fixes. These processes are supported by a number of tools, such as Google Test, Jenkins, Docker, and others. We would like to share our experience on problems we encountered and on which processes and tools worked well for us.

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, suppresses vasculogenic mimicry and proliferation of highly aggressive pancreatic cancer PaTu8988 cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Xing-dong; Yang, Lan; Zheng, Li-yun; Pan, Yan-yan; Cao, Zhi-fei; Zhang, Zhi-qing; Zhou, Quan-sheng; Yang, Bo; Cao, Cong

2014-01-01

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive human malignancies with a extremely low 5-year survival rate. Hence, the search for more effective anti-pancreatic cancer agents is urgent. PaTu8988 pancreatic cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), cell survival, proliferation, migration and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) were analyzed. Associated signaling changes were also analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blots. Here, we reported that SAHA, a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), exerted significant inhibitory efficiency against pancreatic cancer cell survival, proliferation, migration and VM. SAHA dose-dependently inhibited PaTu8988 pancreatic cancer cell growth with the IC-50 of 3.4 ± 0. 7 μM. Meanwhile, SAHA suppressed PaTu8988 cell cycle progression through inducing G2/M arrest, which was associated with cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK-1)/cyclin-B1 degradation and p21/p27 upregulation. Further, SAHA induced both apoptotic and non-apoptotic death of PaTu8988 cells. Significantly, SAHA suppressed PaTu8988 cell in vitro migration and cell-dominant tube formation or VM, which was accompanied by semaphorin-4D (Sema-4D) and integrin-β5 down-regulation. Our evidences showed that Akt activation might be important for Sema-4D expression in PaTu8988 cells, and SAHA-induced Sema-4D down-regulation might be associated with Akt inhibition. This study is among the first to report the VM formation in cultured human pancreatic cancer cells. And we provided strong evidence to suggest that SAHA executes significant anti-VM efficiency in the progressive pancreatic cancer cells. Thus, SAHA could be further investigated as a promising anti-pancreatic cancer agent

Generation of Regionally Specified Neural Progenitors and Functional Neurons from Human Embryonic Stem Cells under Defined Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnete Kirkeby

2012-06-01

Full Text Available To model human neural-cell-fate specification and to provide cells for regenerative therapies, we have developed a method to generate human neural progenitors and neurons from human embryonic stem cells, which recapitulates human fetal brain development. Through the addition of a small molecule that activates canonical WNT signaling, we induced rapid and efficient dose-dependent specification of regionally defined neural progenitors ranging from telencephalic forebrain to posterior hindbrain fates. Ten days after initiation of differentiation, the progenitors could be transplanted to the adult rat striatum, where they formed neuron-rich and tumor-free grafts with maintained regional specification. Cells patterned toward a ventral midbrain (VM identity generated a high proportion of authentic dopaminergic neurons after transplantation. The dopamine neurons showed morphology, projection pattern, and protein expression identical to that of human fetal VM cells grafted in parallel. VM-patterned but not forebrain-patterned neurons released dopamine and reversed motor deficits in an animal model of Parkinson's disease.

2-Aminopurine overrides multiple cell cycle checkpoints in BHK cells.

OpenAIRE

Andreassen, P R; Margolis, R L

1992-01-01

BHK cells blocked at any of several points in the cell cycle override their drug-induced arrest and proceed in the cycle when exposed concurrently to the protein kinase inhibitor 2-aminopurine (2-AP). For cells arrested at various points in interphase, 2-AP-induced cell cycle progression is made evident by arrival of the drug-treated cell population in mitosis. Cells that have escaped from mimosine G1 arrest, from hydroxyurea or aphidicolin S-phase arrest, or from VM-26-induced G2 arrest subs...

Ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) as a target of the dorsolateral prefrontal modulation by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in drug addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura-Palacios, Ester Miyuki; Lopes, Isabela Bittencourt Coutinho; Souza, Rodolpho Albuquerque; Klauss, Jaisa; Batista, Edson Kruger; Conti, Catarine Lima; Moscon, Janine Andrade; de Souza, Rodrigo Stênio Moll

2016-10-01

Here, we report some electrophysiologic and imaging effects of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) in drug addiction, notably in alcohol and crack-cocaine dependence. The low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) analysis obtained through event-related potentials (ERPs) under drug-related cues, more specifically in its P3 segment (300-500 ms) in both, alcoholics and crack-cocaine users, showed that the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was the brain area with the largest change towards increasing activation under drug-related cues in those subjects that kept abstinence during and after the treatment with bilateral tDCS (2 mA, 35 cm(2), cathodal left and anodal right) over dlPFC, applied repetitively (five daily sessions). In an additional study in crack-cocaine, which showed craving decreases after repetitive bilateral tDCS, we examined data originating from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and we found increased DTI parameters in the left connection between vmPFC and nucleus accumbens (NAcc), such as the number of voxels, fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), in tDCS-treated crack-cocaine users when compared to the sham-tDCS group. This increasing of DTI parameters was significantly correlated with craving decreasing after the repetitive tDCS. The vmPFC relates to the control of drug seeking, possibly by extinguishing this behavior. In our studies, the bilateral dlPFC tDCS reduced relapses and craving to the drug use, and increased the vmPFC activation under drug cues, which may be of a great importance in the control of drug use in drug addiction.

Modification of radiosensitivity of mammalian cells by means of hyperthermia and chemical agent. Coordinated programme on improvement of cancer therapy by the combination of treatment by conventional radiation and physical or chemical means

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djordjevic, O.

1984-11-01

The effect of the treatment of the cultured mammalian cells with a relatively new anti-cancer drug teniposide (VM26), radiation (4 Gy), hyperthermia (42 deg. C and 45 deg. C) and caffeine, in various combinations, has been studied. The following conclusions can be drawn from the data obtained: The cultured mammalian cells respond to the anti-cancer drug VM26 treatment in a dose and time dependent manner. Significant potentiation of cell killing was demonstrated when they are exposed simultaneously to VM26 and hyperthermia. Post-treatment incubation of the cells in non-toxic concentration of caffeine (2 mM) has produced a marked potentiation of the lethal effect, indicating that caffeine interferes with the repair processes in these cells. Combination of VM26, hyperthermia and caffeine produced a maximum killing effect compared to VM26 treatment only. When the cells are exposed to initial (90 min. at 42 deg. C or 40 min. at 45 deg. C) and subsequent hyperthermia (60 min. at 42 deg. C or 60 min. at 45 deg. C) the thermotolerance will develop depending on the degree of initial and subsequent temperature. The combination of hyperthermia with irradiation results in a potentiation of the effect of treatment compared to the treatment with only irradiation or hyperthermia. Maximum killing of the cells will be obtained when irradiation is applied immediately after hyperthermia. The results obtained should be regarded as useful in case of clinical application of the tested agents

Lipid-mediated glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor gene transfer to cultured porcine ventral mesencephalic tissue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauer, Matthias; Meyer, Morten; Brevig, Thomas

2002-01-01

Transplantation of dopaminergic ventral mesencephalic (VM) tissue into the basal ganglia of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) shows at best moderate symptomatic relief in some of the treated cases. Experimental animal studies and clinical trials with allogenic and xenogenic pig-derived VM...... tissue grafts to PD patients indicate that one reason for the poor outcome of neural transplantation is the low survival and differentiation of grafted dopaminergic neurons. To improve dopaminergic cell survival through a gene-therapeutic approach we have established and report here results of lipid-mediated...... numbers of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in the cultured VM tissue. We conclude that lipid-mediated gene transfer employed on embryonic pig VM explant cultures is a safe and effective method to improve survival of dopaminergic neurons and may become a valuable tool to improve allo...

Neuroanatomy of the vmPFC and dlPFC predicts individual differences in cognitive regulation during dietary self-control across regulation strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Liane; Tusche, Anita; Manoharan, Nicolas; Hutcherson, Cendri; Hare, Todd; Plassmann, Hilke

2018-06-04

Making healthy food choices is challenging for many people. Individuals differ greatly in their ability to follow health goals in the face of temptation, but it is unclear what underlies such differences. Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), we investigated in healthy humans (i.e., men and women) links between structural variation in gray matter volume and individuals' level of success in shifting toward healthier food choices. We combined MRI and choice data into a joint dataset by pooling across three independent studies that employed a task prompting participants to explicitly focus on the healthiness of food items before making their food choices. Within this dataset, we found that individual differences in gray matter volume in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) predicted regulatory success. We extended and confirmed these initial findings by predicting regulatory success out of sample and across tasks in a second dataset requiring participants to apply a different regulation strategy that entailed distancing from cravings for unhealthy, appetitive foods. Our findings suggest that neuroanatomical markers in the vmPFC and dlPFC generalized to different forms of dietary regulation strategies across participant groups. They provide novel evidence that structural differences in neuroanatomy of two key regions for valuation and its control, the vmPFC and dlPFC, predict an individual's ability to exert control in dietary choices. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Dieting involves regulating food choices in order to eat healthier foods and fewer unhealthy foods. People differ dramatically in their ability to achieve or maintain this regulation, but it is unclear why. Here, we show that individuals with more gray matter volume in the dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex are better at exercising dietary self-control. This relationship was observed across four different studies examining two different forms of dietary

Moving to a total VM environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnston, T.Y.

1981-01-01

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is a single purpose laboratory operated by Stanford University for the Department of Energy. Its mission is to do research in High Energy (particle) physics. This research involves the use of large and complex electronic detectors. Each of these detectors is a multi-million dollar device. A part of each detector is a computer for process control and data logging. Most detectors at SLAC now use VAX 11/780s for this purpose. Most detectors record digital data via this process control computer. Consequently, physics today is not bounded by the cost of analog to digital conversion as it was in the past, and the physicist is able to run larger experiments than were feasible a decade ago. Today a medium sized experiment will produce several hundred full reels of 6250 BPI tape whereas a large experiment is a couple of thousand reels. The raw data must first be transformed into physics events using data transformation programs. The physicists then use subsets of the data to understand what went on. The subset may be anywhere from a few megabytes to 5 or 6 gigabytes of data (30 or 40 full reels of tape). This searching would be best solved interactively (if computers and I/0 devices were fast enough). Instead what we find are very dynamic batch programs that are generally changed every run. The result is that on any day there are probably around 50 to 100 physicists interacting with a half dozen different experiments who are causing us to mount around 750 to 1000 tapes a day. This has been the style of computing for the last decade. Our going to VM is part of our effort to change this style of computing and to make physics computing more effective

Examination of drivers' cell phone use behavior at intersections by using naturalistic driving data.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Huimin; Bao, Shan; Sayer, James; Kato, Kazuma

2015-09-01

Many driving simulator studies have shown that cell phone use while driving greatly degraded driving performance. In terms of safety analysis, many factors including drivers, vehicles, and driving situations need to be considered. Controlled or simulated studies cannot always account for the full effects of these factors, especially situational factors such as road condition, traffic density, and weather and lighting conditions. Naturalistic driving by its nature provides a natural and realistic way to examine drivers' behaviors and associated factors for cell phone use while driving. In this study, driving speed while using a cell phone (conversation or visual/manual tasks) was compared to two baselines (baseline 1: normal driving condition, which only excludes driving while using a cell phone, baseline 2: driving-only condition, which excludes all types of secondary tasks) when traversing an intersection. The outcomes showed that drivers drove slower when using a cell for both conversation and visual/manual (VM) tasks compared to baseline conditions. With regard to cell phone conversations, drivers were more likely to drive faster during the day time compared to night time driving and drive slower under moderate traffic compared to under sparse traffic situations. With regard to VM tasks, there was a significant interaction between traffic and cell phone use conditions. The maximum speed with VM tasks was significantly lower than that with baseline conditions under sparse traffic conditions. In contrast, the maximum speed with VM tasks was slightly higher than that with baseline driving under dense traffic situations. This suggests that drivers might self-regulate their behavior based on the driving situations and demand for secondary tasks, which could provide insights on driver distraction guidelines. With the rapid development of in-vehicle technology, the findings in this research could lead the improvement of human-machine interface (HMI) design as well

The effect of PI3K inhibitor LY294002 and gemcitabine hydrochloride combined with ionizing radiation on the formation of vasculogenic mimicry of Panc-1 cells in vitro and in vivo.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, R; Ding, T; Zhao, J; Liu, S; Zhang, L; Lan, X; Yu, Y; Yin, L

2016-01-01

This research's purpose was to explore the existence of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in both 3-D matrices of Panc-1 cells in vitro and orthotopic Panc-1 xenografts in vivo and to test the hypothesis that PI3K inhibitor LY294002 and gemcitabine hydrochloride would offer clear treatment benefit when integrated into ionizing radiation (IR) therapeutic regimens for treatment of pancreatic cancer. We explored the existence of VM in both 3-D matrices of Panc-1 cells and orthotopic Panc-1 xenografts. We subsequently investigated the activation of the PI3K/MMPs/Ln-5γ2 signaling pathway in response to IR. LY294002 and gemcitabine hydrochloride were then evaluated for their radiosensitizing effect solely and in combination. We found that VM existed in both 3-D matrices of Panc-1 cells in vitro and orthotopic Panc-1 xenografts in vivo. The expressions of p-Akt and MMP- 2 were found to increase in response to IR. LY294002 and gemcitabine hydrochloride combined with IR better inhibited cell migration, VM formation and MMP-2 mRNA expression of Panc-1 cells in vitro, and we also proved that the novel therapeutic regimen better inhibited tumor growth, tumor metastasis and VM formation of orthotopic Panc-1 xenografts by suppressing the PI3K/MMPs/Ln-5γ2 signaling pathway in vivo. Our present study is among the first to prove the VM formation in orthotopic Panc-1 xenografts. Furthermore, our current study is also among the first to provide preliminary evidence for the use of the novel therapeutic regimen LY294002 and gemcitabine hydrochloride combined with IR for treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Security in the CernVM File System and the Frontier Distributed Database Caching System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dykstra, D; Blomer, J

2014-01-01

Both the CernVM File System (CVMFS) and the Frontier Distributed Database Caching System (Frontier) distribute centrally updated data worldwide for LHC experiments using http proxy caches. Neither system provides privacy or access control on reading the data, but both control access to updates of the data and can guarantee the authenticity and integrity of the data transferred to clients over the internet. CVMFS has since its early days required digital signatures and secure hashes on all distributed data, and recently Frontier has added X.509-based authenticity and integrity checking. In this paper we detail and compare the security models of CVMFS and Frontier.

Security in the CernVM File System and the Frontier Distributed Database Caching System

Science.gov (United States)

Dykstra, D.; Blomer, J.

2014-06-01

Both the CernVM File System (CVMFS) and the Frontier Distributed Database Caching System (Frontier) distribute centrally updated data worldwide for LHC experiments using http proxy caches. Neither system provides privacy or access control on reading the data, but both control access to updates of the data and can guarantee the authenticity and integrity of the data transferred to clients over the internet. CVMFS has since its early days required digital signatures and secure hashes on all distributed data, and recently Frontier has added X.509-based authenticity and integrity checking. In this paper we detail and compare the security models of CVMFS and Frontier.

Incarvine C suppresses proliferation and vasculogenic mimicry of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via targeting ROCK inhibition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Ji-Gang; Zhang, Dan-Dan; Wu, Xin; Wang, Yu-Zhu; Gu, Sheng-Ying; Zhu, Guan-Hua; Li, Xiao-Yu; Li, Qin; Liu, Gao-Lin

2015-01-01

Studies have described vasculogenic mimicry (VM) as an alternative circulatory system to blood vessels in multiple malignant tumor types, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the current study, we aimed to seek novel and more efficient treatment strategies by targeting VM and explore the underlying mechanisms in HCC cells. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and colony survival assay were performed to explore the inhibitory effect of incarvine C (IVC) on human cancer cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze the cell cycle distribution after DNA staining and cell apoptosis by the Annexin V-PE and 7-AAD assay. The effect of IVC on Rho-associated, coiled-coil-containing protein kinase (ROCK) was determined by western blotting and stress fiber formation assay. The inhibitory role of IVC on MHCC97H cell VM formation was determined by formation of tubular network structures on Matrigel in vitro, real time-qPCR, confocal microscopy and western blotting techniques. We explored an anti-metastatic HCC agent, IVC, derived from traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, and found that IVC dose-dependently inhibited the growth of MHCC97H cells. IVC induced MHCC97H cell cycle arrest at G1 transition, which was associated with cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK-2)/cyclin-E1 degradation and p21/p53 up-regulation. In addition, IVC induced apoptotic death of MHCC97H cells. Furthermore, IVC strongly suppressed the phosphorylation of the ROCK substrate myosin phosphatase target subunit-1 (MYPT-1) and ROCK-mediated actin fiber formation. Finally, IVC inhibited cell-dominant tube formation in vitro, which was accompanied with the down-regulation of VM-key factors as detected by real time-qPCR and immunofluorescence. Taken together, the effective inhibitory effect of IVC on MHCC97H cell proliferation and neovascularization was associated with ROCK inhibition, suggesting that IVC may be a new potential drug candidate for the treatment of HCC

Optimizing VM allocation and data placement for data-intensive applications in cloud using ACO metaheuristic algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T.P. Shabeera

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Nowadays data-intensive applications for processing big data are being hosted in the cloud. Since the cloud environment provides virtualized resources for computation, and data-intensive applications require communication between the computing nodes, the placement of Virtual Machines (VMs and location of data affect the overall computation time. Majority of the research work reported in the current literature consider the selection of physical nodes for placing data and VMs as independent problems. This paper proposes an approach which considers VM placement and data placement hand in hand. The primary objective is to reduce cross network traffic and bandwidth usage, by placing required number of VMs and data in Physical Machines (PMs which are physically closer. The VM and data placement problem (referred as MinDistVMDataPlacement problem is defined in this paper and has been proved to be NP- Hard. This paper presents and evaluates a metaheuristic algorithm based on Ant Colony Optimization (ACO, which selects a set of adjacent PMs for placing data and VMs. Data is distributed in the physical storage devices of the selected PMs. According to the processing capacity of each PM, a set of VMs are placed on these PMs to process data stored in them. We use simulation to evaluate our algorithm. The results show that the proposed algorithm selects PMs in close proximity and the jobs executed in the VMs allocated by the proposed scheme outperforms other allocation schemes.

Simultaneous Transplantation of Fetal Ventral Mesencephalic Tissue and Encapsulated Genetically Modified Cells Releasing GDNF in a Hemi-Parkinsonian Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Perez-Bouza, Alberto; Di Santo, Stefano; Seiler, Stefanie

2017-01-01

Transplantation of fetal ventral mesencephalic (VM) neurons for Parkinson's disease (PD) is limited by poor survival and suboptimal integration of grafted tissue into the host brain. In a 6-OHDA rat model of PD we investigated the feasibility of simultaneous transplantation of rat fetal VM tissue...... between groups were observed for the number of surviving TH-ir neurons or graft volume. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that simultaneous transplantation of fetal VM tissue and encapsulated GDNF-releasing cells is feasible and support the graft survival and function. Pre-treatment of donor tissue...

State-dependent compound inhibition of Nav1.2 sodium channels using the FLIPR Vm dye: on-target and off-target effects of diverse pharmacological agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Benjamin, Elfrida R; Pruthi, Farhana; Olanrewaju, Shakira; Ilyin, Victor I; Crumley, Gregg; Kutlina, Elena; Valenzano, Kenneth J; Woodward, Richard M

2006-02-01

Voltage-gated sodium channels (NaChs) are relevant targets for pain, epilepsy, and a variety of neurological and cardiac disorders. Traditionally, it has been difficult to develop structure-activity relationships for NaCh inhibitors due to rapid channel kinetics and state-dependent compound interactions. Membrane potential (Vm) dyes in conjunction with a high-throughput fluorescence imaging plate reader (FLIPR) offer a satisfactory 1st-tier solution. Thus, the authors have developed a FLIPR Vm assay of rat Nav1.2 NaCh. Channels were opened by addition of veratridine, and Vm dye responses were measured. The IC50 values from various structural classes of compounds were compared to the resting state binding constant (Kr)and inactivated state binding constant (Ki)obtained using patch-clamp electrophysiology (EP). The FLIPR values correlated with Ki but not Kr. FLIPRIC50 values fell within 0.1-to 1.5-fold of EP Ki values, indicating that the assay generally reports use-dependent inhibition rather than resting state block. The Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC, Sigma) was screened. Confirmed hits arose from diverse classes such as dopamine receptor antagonists, serotonin transport inhibitors, and kinase inhibitors. These data suggest that NaCh inhibition is inherent in a diverse set of biologically active molecules and may warrant counterscreening NaChs to avoid unwanted secondary pharmacology.

Paris polyphylla Suppresses Proliferation and Vasculogenic Mimicry of Human Osteosarcoma Cells and Inhibits Tumor Growth In Vivo.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Nan; Ren, Ke; Wang, Yimin; Jin, Qiaomei; Lu, Xiao; Lu, Yan; Jiang, Cuihua; Zhang, Dongjian; Lu, Jun; Wang, Chen; Huo, Jiege; Chen, Yong; Zhang, Jian

2017-01-01

Paris polyphylla, a traditional antipyretic-detoxicate chinese medicinal herb, has been applied extensively in cancer treatments for nearly 2000 years. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the potential anti-osteosarcoma effects of Paris polyphylla ethanol extract (PPEE) and to investigate its underlying mechanisms. The antiproliferation activity of PPEE was tested on 143B, MG-63, U-2 OS and hFOB1.19 cells using MTT assay. The pro-apoptotic and cell cycle arrest effects of PPEE were confirmed by Hoechst 33342 staining and flow cytometry. The antimigratory, anti-invasive and antivasculogenic mimicry (VM) effects of PPEE were investigated by wound healing, Transwell and 3D culture assays. Mouse xenograft model was used to examine its anti-osteosarcoma efficacy in vivo. Hematologic profiles and hepatorenal functions were evaluated to assess the toxicity of PPEE. PPEE evidently suppressed cell proliferation of 143B, MG-63 and U-2 OS with IC50 values of 10-60[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/mL, but showed little cytotoxicity against normal osteoblastic cell. PPEE promoted apoptosis in 143B cell via caspase activation, increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and PARP cleavage. It also induced G2/M phase arrest associated with elevated phosphorylation of CDK1, Cdc25C, Chk2 and down-regulation of cyclin B1, CDK1, Cdc25C expression. Additionally, PPEE inhibited 143B cell migration, invasion and VM formation at noncytotoxic concentrations through decreasing the expression of FAK, Mig-7, MMP2 and MMP9. Finally, daily oral administration of PPEE for four weeks exhibits potent antitumor and anti-VM activity in 143B xenograft model with low toxicity. Taken together, these findings demonstrated PPEE possesses anti-osteosarcoma and anti-VM activity in vitro and in vivo, and therefore is a potential candidate for osteosarcoma treatment.

Postglacial Rebound and Current Ice Loss Estimates from Space Geodesy: The New ICE-6G (VM5a) Global Model

Science.gov (United States)

Peltier, W. R.; Argus, D.; Drummond, R.; Moore, A. W.

2012-12-01

We compare, on a global basis, estimates of site velocity against predictions of the newly constructed postglacial rebound model ICE-6G (VM5a). This model is fit to observations of North American postglacial rebound thereby demonstrating that the ice sheet at last glacial maximum must have been, relative to ICE-5G,thinner in southern Manitoba, thinner near Yellowknife (northwest Territories), thicker in eastern and southern Quebec, and thicker along the British Columbia-Alberta border. The GPS based estimates of site velocity that we employ are more accurate than were previously available because they are based on GPS estimates of position as a function of time determined by incorporating satellite phase center variations [Desai et al. 2011]. These GPS estimates are constraining postglacial rebound in North America and Europe more tightly than ever before. In particular, given the high density of GPS sites in North America, and the fact that the velocity of the mass center (CM) of Earth is also more tightly constrained, the new model much more strongly constrains both the lateral extent of the proglacial forebulge and the rate at which this peripheral bulge (that was emplaced peripheral to the late Pleistocence Laurentia ice sheet) is presently collapsing. This fact proves to be important to the more accurate inference of the current rate of ice loss from both Greenland and Alaska based upon the time dependent gravity observations being provided by the GRACE satellite system. In West Antarctica we have also been able to significantly revise the previously prevalent ICE-5G deglaciation history so as to enable its predictions to be optimally consistent with GPS site velocities determined by connecting campaign WAGN measurements to those provided by observations from the permanent ANET sites. Ellsworth Land (south of the Antarctic peninsula), is observed to be rising at 6 ±3 mm/yr according to our latest analyses; the Ellsworth mountains themselves are observed to be

The Antarctica component of postglacial rebound model ICE-6G_C (VM5a) based on GPS positioning, exposure age dating of ice thicknesses, and relative sea level histories

Science.gov (United States)

Argus, Donald F.; Peltier, W. R.; Drummond, R.; Moore, Angelyn W.

2014-07-01

A new model of the deglaciation history of Antarctica over the past 25 kyr has been developed, which we refer to herein as ICE-6G_C (VM5a). This revision of its predecessor ICE-5G (VM2) has been constrained to fit all available geological and geodetic observations, consisting of: (1) the present day uplift rates at 42 sites estimated from GPS measurements, (2) ice thickness change at 62 locations estimated from exposure-age dating, (3) Holocene relative sea level histories from 12 locations estimated on the basis of radiocarbon dating and (4) age of the onset of marine sedimentation at nine locations along the Antarctic shelf also estimated on the basis of 14C dating. Our new model fits the totality of these data well. An additional nine GPS-determined site velocities are also estimated for locations known to be influenced by modern ice loss from the Pine Island Bay and Northern Antarctic Peninsula regions. At the 42 locations not influenced by modern ice loss, the quality of the fit of postglacial rebound model ICE-6G_C (VM5A) is characterized by a weighted root mean square residual of 0.9 mm yr-1. The Southern Antarctic Peninsula is inferred to be rising at 2 mm yr-1, requiring there to be less Holocene ice loss there than in the prior model ICE-5G (VM2). The East Antarctica coast is rising at approximately 1 mm yr-1, requiring ice loss from this region to have been small since Last Glacial Maximum. The Ellsworth Mountains, at the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, are inferred to be rising at 5-8 mm yr-1, indicating large ice loss from this area during deglaciation that is poorly sampled by geological data. Horizontal deformation of the Antarctic Plate is minor with two exceptions. First, O'Higgins, at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, is moving southeast at a significant 2 mm yr-1 relative to the Antarctic Plate. Secondly, the margins of the Ronne and Ross Ice Shelves are moving horizontally away from the shelf centres at an approximate rate of 0.8 mm yr-1, in

sRNAtoolboxVM: Small RNA Analysis in a Virtual Machine.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Martín, Cristina; Lebrón, Ricardo; Rueda, Antonio; Oliver, José L; Hackenberg, Michael

2017-01-01

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) data for small RNAs (noncoding RNA molecules that are 20-250 nucleotides in length) can now be routinely generated by minimally equipped wet laboratories; however, the bottleneck in HTS-based research has shifted now to the analysis of such huge amount of data. One of the reasons is that many analysis types require a Linux environment but computers, system administrators, and bioinformaticians suppose additional costs that often cannot be afforded by small to mid-sized groups or laboratories. Web servers are an alternative that can be used if the data is not subjected to privacy issues (what very often is an important issue with medical data). However, in any case they are less flexible than stand-alone programs limiting the number of workflows and analysis types that can be carried out.We show in this protocol how virtual machines can be used to overcome those problems and limitations. sRNAtoolboxVM is a virtual machine that can be executed on all common operating systems through virtualization programs like VirtualBox or VMware, providing the user with a high number of preinstalled programs like sRNAbench for small RNA analysis without the need to maintain additional servers and/or operating systems.

Position-dependent patterning of spontaneous action potentials in immature cochlear inner hair cells

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Stuart L.; Eckrich, Tobias; Kuhn, Stephanie; Zampini, Valeria; Franz, Christoph; Ranatunga, Kishani M.; Roberts, Terri P.; Masetto, Sergio; Knipper, Marlies; Kros, Corné J.; Marcotti, Walter

2011-01-01

Spontaneous action potential activity is crucial for mammalian sensory system development. In the auditory system, patterned firing activity has been observed in immature spiral ganglion cells and brain-stem neurons and is likely to depend on cochlear inner hair cell (IHC) action potentials. It remains uncertain whether spiking activity is intrinsic to developing IHCs and whether it shows patterning. We found that action potentials are intrinsically generated by immature IHCs of altricial rodents and that apical IHCs exhibit bursting activity as opposed to more sustained firing in basal cells. We show that the efferent neurotransmitter ACh, by fine-tuning the IHC’s resting membrane potential (Vm), is crucial for the bursting pattern in apical cells. Endogenous extracellular ATP also contributes to the Vm of apical and basal IHCs by activating SK2 channels. We hypothesize that the difference in firing pattern along the cochlea instructs the tonotopic differentiation of IHCs and auditory pathway. PMID:21572434

Acceptance of the 2014 V.M. Goldschmidt Award of the Gochemical Society by Timothy L. Grove

Science.gov (United States)

Grove, Timothy L.

2015-06-01

I am deeply honored to be the recipient of the 2014 V.M. Goldschmidt Award. Many of the past recipients of this award have been scientific heroes to me, and it is hard to express how it feels to be included in this distinguished group. My feelings run the full spectrum; from exhilaration and deep personal satisfaction for the recognition of the work that I have done, to humility and anxiety that maybe I am really not good enough to deserve this award. This is called impostor syndrome. You younger scientists should know that many of us, even those who appear very successful, still experience it - don't let it hold you back.

Leukemia inhibitory factor favours neurogenic differentiation of long-term propagated human midbrain precursor cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Rikke K; Widmer, Hans R; Zimmer, Jens

2009-01-01

There is a lot of excitement about the potential use of multipotent neural stem cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the strategy is compromised by the general loss of multipotency and ability to generate neurons after long-term in vitro propagation. In the present study......, human embryonic (5 weeks post-conception) ventral mesencephalic (VM) precursor cells were propagated as neural tissue-spheres (NTS) in epidermal growth factor (EGF; 20 ng/ml) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2; 20 ng/ml). After more than 325 days, the NTS were transferred to media containing either...... EGF+FGF2, EGF+FGF2+heparin or leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF; 10 ng/ml)+FGF2+heparin. Cultures were subsequently propagated for more than 180 days with NTS analyzed at various time-points. Our data show for the first time that human VM neural precursor cells can be long-term propagated as NTS...

Position-dependent patterning of spontaneous action potentials in immature cochlear inner hair cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Stuart L; Eckrich, Tobias; Kuhn, Stephanie; Zampini, Valeria; Franz, Christoph; Ranatunga, Kishani M; Roberts, Terri P; Masetto, Sergio; Knipper, Marlies; Kros, Corné J; Marcotti, Walter

2011-06-01

Spontaneous action potential activity is crucial for mammalian sensory system development. In the auditory system, patterned firing activity has been observed in immature spiral ganglion and brain-stem neurons and is likely to depend on cochlear inner hair cell (IHC) action potentials. It remains uncertain whether spiking activity is intrinsic to developing IHCs and whether it shows patterning. We found that action potentials were intrinsically generated by immature IHCs of altricial rodents and that apical IHCs showed bursting activity as opposed to more sustained firing in basal cells. We show that the efferent neurotransmitter acetylcholine fine-tunes the IHC's resting membrane potential (V(m)), and as such is crucial for the bursting pattern in apical cells. Endogenous extracellular ATP also contributes to the V(m) of apical and basal IHCs by triggering small-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (SK2) channels. We propose that the difference in firing pattern along the cochlea instructs the tonotopic differentiation of IHCs and auditory pathway.

Comparison of GSM Modulated and CW Radiofrequency Radiation on Cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pavicic, I.; Marjanovic, A.M.; Trosic, I.

2011-01-01

The aim of our study was to evaluate and compare effect of global system of mobile (GSM) modulation and continuous wave (CW) radiofrequency radiation (RF) on proliferation ability and viability of V79 Chinese hamster lung cells. Previously prepared samples of cells in culture were exposed for 1, 2 and 3 hours both to 915 MHz GSM modulated and to 935 MHz CW RF field in gigahertz transversal electromagnetic mode cell (GTEM-cell). Electric field strength for cells exposed to GSM modulation was set at 10 V/m and for CW exposed cells was 8.2 V/m. Average specific absorption rate (SAR) was calculated to be for GSM 0.23 W/kg and for CW 0.12 W/kg. V79 samples were plated in concentration of 1x10 4 cells/mL. Cell proliferation was determined by cell counts for each hour of exposure during five post-exposure days. Trypan blue exclusion test was used to determine cell viability. In comparison to control cell samples, proliferation of GSM irradiated cells showed significant decrease after 3 hours of exposure on the second and third post-exposure day. CW exposed cell samples showed significant decrease after 3 hours of exposure on the third post-exposure day. Viability of GSM and CW exposed cells did not significantly differ from matched control cell samples. Both applied RF fields have shown similar effect on cell culture growth, and cell viability of V79 cell line. In addition, applied GSM modulated RF radiation demonstrate bigger influence on proliferation of cells. (author)

CernVM Co-Pilot: an Extensible Framework for Building Scalable Computing Infrastructures on the Cloud

Science.gov (United States)

Harutyunyan, A.; Blomer, J.; Buncic, P.; Charalampidis, I.; Grey, F.; Karneyeu, A.; Larsen, D.; Lombraña González, D.; Lisec, J.; Segal, B.; Skands, P.

2012-12-01

CernVM Co-Pilot is a framework for instantiating an ad-hoc computing infrastructure on top of managed or unmanaged computing resources. Co-Pilot can either be used to create a stand-alone computing infrastructure, or to integrate new computing resources into existing infrastructures (such as Grid or batch). Unlike traditional middleware systems, Co-Pilot components communicate using the Extensible Messaging and Presence protocol (XMPP). This allows the system to be easily scaled in case of a high load, and it also simplifies the development of new components. In this contribution we present the latest developments and the current status of the framework, discuss how it can be extended to suit the needs of a particular community, as well as describe the operational experience of using the framework in the LHC@home 2.0 volunteer computing project.

CernVM Co-Pilot: an Extensible Framework for Building Scalable Computing Infrastructures on the Cloud

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harutyunyan, A; Blomer, J; Buncic, P; Charalampidis, I; Grey, F; Karneyeu, A; Larsen, D; Lombraña González, D; Lisec, J; Segal, B; Skands, P

2012-01-01

CernVM Co-Pilot is a framework for instantiating an ad-hoc computing infrastructure on top of managed or unmanaged computing resources. Co-Pilot can either be used to create a stand-alone computing infrastructure, or to integrate new computing resources into existing infrastructures (such as Grid or batch). Unlike traditional middleware systems, Co-Pilot components communicate using the Extensible Messaging and Presence protocol (XMPP). This allows the system to be easily scaled in case of a high load, and it also simplifies the development of new components. In this contribution we present the latest developments and the current status of the framework, discuss how it can be extended to suit the needs of a particular community, as well as describe the operational experience of using the framework in the LHC at home 2.0 volunteer computing project.

Effect of leukemia inhibitory factor on long-term propagation of precursor cells derived from rat forebrain subventricular zone and ventral mesencephalon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Rikke K; Zimmer, Jens; Wahlberg, Lars U

2008-01-01

Tissue blocks containing neural precursor cells were isolated from the rat forebrain subventricular zone (SVZ) and ventral mesencephalon (VM) and propagated as neural tissue-spheres (NTS). In the presence of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) and epidermal growth factor (EGF), SVZ-derived NTS were...... propagated and maintained for more than 6 months with a cell population doubling time of 21.5 days. The replacement of EGF by leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) resulted in a cell population doubling time of 19.8 days, corresponding to a 10-fold increase in estimated cell numbers over a period of 70 days......, at which point these NTS ceased to grow. In the presence of FGF2 and LIF, VM-derived NTS displayed a cell population doubling time of 24.6 days, which was maintained over a period of more than 200 days. However, when LIF was replaced by EGF, the cell numbers only increased 1.2 fold over 50 days. Using...

Th17 Cells Induce Dopaminergic Neuronal Death via LFA-1/ICAM-1 Interaction in a Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhan; Huang, Yan; Cao, Bei-Bei; Qiu, Yi-Hua; Peng, Yu-Ping

2017-12-01

T helper (Th)17 cells, a subset of CD4 + T lymphocytes, have strong pro-inflammatory property and appear to be essential in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases. However, the involvement of Th17 cells in Parkinson's disease (PD) that is characterized by a progressive degeneration of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons in the nigrostriatal system is unclear. Here, we aimed to demonstrate that Th17 cells infiltrate into the brain parenchyma and induce neuroinflammation and DAergic neuronal death in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)- or 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP + )-induced PD models. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption in the substantia nigra (SN) was assessed by the signal of FITC-labeled albumin that was injected into blood circulation via the ascending aorta. Live cell imaging system was used to observe a direct contact of Th17 cells with neurons by staining these cells using the two adhesion molecules, leukocyte function-associated antigen (LFA)-1 and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, respectively. Th17 cells invaded into the SN where BBB was disrupted in MPTP-induced PD mice. Th17 cells exacerbated DAergic neuronal loss and pro-inflammatory/neurotrophic factor disorders in MPP + -treated ventral mesencephalic (VM) cell cultures. A direct contact of LFA-1-stained Th17 cells with ICAM-1-stained VM neurons was dynamically captured. Either blocking LFA-1 in Th17 cells or blocking ICAM-1 in VM neurons with neutralizing antibodies abolished Th17-induced DAergic neuronal death. These results establish that Th17 cells infiltrate into the brain parenchyma of PD mice through lesioned BBB and exert neurotoxic property by promoting glial activation and importantly by a direct damage to neurons depending on LFA-1/ICAM-1 interaction.

Norcantharidin inhibits tumor growth and vasculogenic mimicry of human gallbladder carcinomas by suppression of the PI3-K/MMPs/Ln-5γ2 signaling pathway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Jing-Tao; Sun, Wei; Zhang, Wen-Zhong; Ge, Chun-Yan; Liu, Zhong-Yan; Zhao, Ze-Ming; Lu, Xing-Sui; Fan, Yue-Zu

2014-01-01

Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is a novel tumor blood supply in some highly aggressive malignant tumors. Recently, we reported VM existed in gallbladder carcinomas (GBCs) and the formation of the special passage through the activation of the PI3K/MMPs/Ln-5γ2 signaling pathway. GBC is a highly aggressive malignant tumor with disappointing treatments and a poor prognosis. Norcantharidin (NCTD) has shown to have multiple antitumor activities against GBCs, etc; however the exact mechanism is not thoroughly elucidated. In this study, we firstly investigated the anti-VM activity of NCTD as a VM inhibitor for GBCs and its underlying mechanisms. In vitro and in vivo experiments to determine the effects of NCTD on proliferation, invasion, migration, VM formation, hemodynamic and tumor growth of GBC-SD cells and xenografts were respectively done by proliferation, invasion, migration assays, H&E staining and CD31-PAS double stainings, optic/electron microscopy, tumor assay, and dynamic micro-MRA. Further, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, Western blotting and RT-PCR were respectively used to examine expression of VM signaling-related markers PI3-K, MMP-2, MT1-MMP and Ln-5γ2 in GBC-SD cells and xenografts in vitro and in vivo. After treatment with NCTD, proliferation, invasion, migration of GBC-SD cells were inhibited; GBC-SD cells and xenografts were unable to form VM-like structures; tumor center-VM region of the xenografts exhibited a decreased signal in intensity; then cell or xenograft growth was inhibited. Whereas all of untreated GBC-SD cells and xenografts formed VM-like structures with the same conditions; the xenograft center-VM region exhibited a gradually increased signal; and facilitated cell or xenograft growth. Furthermore, expression of MMP-2 and MT1-MMP products from sections/supernates of 3-D matrices and the xenografts, and expression of PI3-K, MMP-2, MM1-MMP and Ln-5γ2 proteins/mRNAs of the xenografts were all decreased in NCTD or TIMP-2 group; (all P

Genetics Home Reference: T-cell immunodeficiency, congenital alopecia, and nail dystrophy

Science.gov (United States)

... affect health and development? More about Mutations and Health Inheritance Pattern This condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive ... N, Cserhalmi-Friedman PB, Aita VM, Uyttendaele H, Gordon D, Ott J, Brissette JL, Christiano ... associated with severe functional T-cell immunodeficiency in two sibs. Am J ...

A Transient Cell-shielding Method for Viable MSC Delivery Within Hydrophobic Scaffolds Polymerized in situ

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-27

Transport phenomena. New York: Wiley; 1960. [52] Caplan AI, Dennis JE. Mesenchymal stem cells as trophic mediators. J Cell Biochem 2006;98:1076e84. [53... Caplan AI. Why are MSCs therapeutic? New data: new insight. J Pathol 2009;217:318e24. [54] Dennis JE, Cohen N, Goldberg VM, Caplan AI. Targeted delivery

CernVM Co-Pilot: a Framework for Orchestrating Virtual Machines Running Applications of LHC Experiments on the Cloud

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harutyunyan, A; Sánchez, C Aguado; Blomer, J; Buncic, P

2011-01-01

CernVM Co-Pilot is a framework for the delivery and execution of the workload on remote computing resources. It consists of components which are developed to ease the integration of geographically distributed resources (such as commercial or academic computing clouds, or the machines of users participating in volunteer computing projects) into existing computing grid infrastructures. The Co-Pilot framework can also be used to build an ad-hoc computing infrastructure on top of distributed resources. In this paper we present the architecture of the Co-Pilot framework, describe how it is used to execute the jobs of the ALICE and ATLAS experiments, as well as to run the Monte-Carlo simulation application of CERN Theoretical Physics Group.

Antigen-Specificity of T Cell Infiltrates in Biopsies With T Cell-Mediated Rejection and BK Polyomavirus Viremia: Analysis by Next Generation Sequencing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, G; Huang, Y; Huang, Y; Lyu, Z; Lesniak, D; Randhawa, P

2016-11-01

This study interrogates the antigen-specificity of inflammatory infiltrates in renal biopsies with BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) viremia (BKPyVM) with or without allograft nephropathy (BKPyVN). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from five healthy HLA-A0101 subjects were stimulated by peptides derived from the BKPYV proteome or polymorphic regions of HLA. Next generation sequencing of the T cell-receptor complementary DNA was performed on peptide-stimulated PBMC and 23 biopsies with T cell-mediated rejection (TCMR) or BKPyVN. Biopsies from patients with BKPyVM or BKVPyVN contained 7.7732 times more alloreactive than virus-reactive clones. Biopsies with TCMR also contained BKPyV-specific clones, presumably a manifestation of heterologous immunity. The mean cumulative T cell clonal frequency was 0.1378 for alloreactive clones and 0.0375 for BKPyV-reactive clones. Samples with BKPyVN and TCMR clustered separately in dendrograms of V-family and J-gene utilization patterns. Dendrograms also revealed that V-gene, J-gene, and D-gene usage patterns were a function of HLA type. In conclusion, biopsies with BKPyVN contain abundant allospecific clones that exceed the number of virus-reactive clones. The T cell component of tissue injury in viral nephropathy appears to be mediated primarily by an "innocent bystander" mechanism in which the principal element is secondary T cell influx triggered by both antiviral and anti-HLA immunity. © Copyright 2016 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Comment on "An Assessment of the ICE-6G_C (VM5a) Glacial Isostatic Adjustment Model" by Purcell et al.

Science.gov (United States)

Richard Peltier, W.; Argus, Donald F.; Drummond, Rosemarie

2018-02-01

The most recently published model of the glacial isostatic adjustment process in the ICE-NG (VMX) sequence from the University of Toronto, denoted ICE-6G_C (VM5a), was originally developed to degree and order 256 in spherical harmonics and has been shown to provide accurate fits to a voluminous database of GPS observations from North America, Eurasia, and Antarctica, to time dependent gravity data being provided by the GRACE satellites, and to radiocarbon-dated relative sea level histories through the Holocene epoch. The authors of the Purcell et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JB012742) paper have suggested this model to be flawed. We have produced a further version of our model, denoted ICE-6G_D (VM5a), by employing the same BEDMAP2 bathymetry for the Southern Ocean as employed in their analysis which has somewhat reduced the differences between our results. However, significant physically important differences remain, including the magnitude of present-day vertical crustal motion in the embayments and in the spectrum of Stokes coefficients for present-day geoid height time dependence which continues to "flatten" at high spherical harmonic degree. We explore the reasons for these differences and trace them to the use by Purcell et al. of a loading history for the embayments that differs significantly from that tabulated for both the original and modified versions of our model.

Generation and properties of a new human ventral mesencephalic neural stem cell line

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Villa, Ana; Liste, Isabel; Courtois, Elise T.; Seiz, Emma G.; Ramos, Milagros [Center of Molecular Biology ' Severo Ochoa' , Autonomous University of Madrid-C.S.I.C., Campus Cantoblanco 28049-Madrid (Spain); Meyer, Morten [Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Institute of Medical Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Winslowparken 21,st, DK-500, Odense C (Denmark); Juliusson, Bengt; Kusk, Philip [NsGene A/S, Ballerup (Denmark); Martinez-Serrano, Alberto, E-mail: amserrano@cbm.uam.es [Center of Molecular Biology ' Severo Ochoa' , Autonomous University of Madrid-C.S.I.C., Campus Cantoblanco 28049-Madrid (Spain)

2009-07-01

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are powerful research tools for the design and discovery of new approaches to cell therapy in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease. Several epigenetic and genetic strategies have been tested for long-term maintenance and expansion of these cells in vitro. Here we report the generation of a new stable cell line of human neural stem cells derived from ventral mesencephalon (hVM1) based on v-myc immortalization. The cells expressed neural stem cell and radial glia markers like nestin, vimentin and 3CB2 under proliferation conditions. After withdrawal of growth factors, proliferation and expression of v-myc were dramatically reduced and the cells differentiated into astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and neurons. hVM1 cells yield a large number of dopaminergic neurons (about 12% of total cells are TH{sup +}) after differentiation, which also produce dopamine. In addition to proneural genes (NGN2, MASH1), differentiated cells show expression of several genuine mesencephalic dopaminergic markers such as: LMX1A, LMX1B, GIRK2, ADH2, NURR1, PITX3, VMAT2 and DAT, indicating that they retain their regional identity. Our data indicate that this cell line and its clonal derivatives may constitute good candidates for the study of development and physiology of human dopaminergic neurons in vitro, and to develop tools for Parkinson's disease cell replacement preclinical research and drug testing.

Nicotinamide inhibits vasculogenic mimicry, an alternative vascularization pathway observed in highly aggressive melanoma.

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Orit Itzhaki

Full Text Available Vasculogenic mimicry (VM describes functional vascular channels composed only of tumor cells and its presence predicts poor prognosis in melanoma patients. Inhibition of this alternative vascularization pathway might be of clinical importance, especially as several anti-angiogenic therapies targeting endothelial cells are largely ineffective in melanoma. We show the presence of VM structures histologically in a series of human melanoma lesions and demonstrate that cell cultures derived from these lesions form tubes in 3D cultures ex vivo. We tested the ability of nicotinamide, the amide form of vitamin B3 (niacin, which acts as an epigenetic gene regulator through unique cellular pathways, to modify VM. Nicotinamide effectively inhibited the formation of VM structures and destroyed already formed ones, in a dose-dependent manner. Remarkably, VM formation capacity remained suppressed even one month after the complete withdrawal of Nicotimamid. The inhibitory effect of nicotinamide on VM formation could be at least partially explained by a nicotinamide-driven downregulation of vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-Cadherin, which is known to have a central role in VM. Further major changes in the expression profile of hundreds of genes, most of them clustered in biologically-relevant clusters, were observed. In addition, nicotinamide significantly inhibited melanoma cell proliferation, but had an opposite effect on their invasion capacity. Cell cycle analysis indicated moderate changes in apoptotic indices. Therefore, nicotinamide could be further used to unravel new biological mechanisms that drive VM and tumor progression. Targeting VM, especially in combination with anti-angiogenic strategies, is expected to be synergistic and might yield substantial anti neoplastic effects in a variety of malignancies.

Improved cell therapy protocols for Parkinson's disease based on differentiation efficiency and safety of hESC-, hiPSC-, and non-human primate iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sundberg, Maria; Bogetofte, Helle; Lawson, Tristan

2013-01-01

of safety and efficacy of stem cell-derived DA neurons. The aim of this study was to improve the safety of human- and non-human primate iPSC (PiPSC)-derived DA neurons. According to our results, NCAM(+) /CD29(low) sorting enriched VM DA neurons from pluripotent stem cell-derived neural cell populations......The main motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease are due to the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the ventral midbrain (VM). For the future treatment of Parkinson's disease with cell transplantation it is important to develop efficient differentiation methods for production of human iPSCs and h......ESCs-derived midbrain-type DA neurons. Here we describe an efficient differentiation and sorting strategy for DA neurons from both human ES/iPS cells and non-human primate iPSCs. The use of non-human primate iPSCs for neuronal differentiation and autologous transplantation is important for preclinical evaluation...

Wnt3a Promotes the Vasculogenic Mimicry Formation of Colon Cancer via Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Lisha; Song, Wangzhao; Liu, Zhiyong; Zhao, Xiulan; Cao, Wenfeng; Sun, Baocun

2015-08-10

Our previous study provided evidence that non-canonical Wnt signaling is involved in regulating vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation. However, the functions of canonical Wnt signaling in VM formation have not yet been explored. In this study, we found the presence of VM was related to colon cancer histological differentiation (p colon cancer samples showed increased Wnt3a expression (p colon cancer cells promoted the capacity to form tube-like structures in the three-dimensional (3-D) culture together with increased expression of endothelial phenotype-associated proteins such as VEGFR2 and VE-cadherin. The mouse xenograft model showed that Wnt3a-overexpressing cells grew into larger tumor masses and formed more VM than the control cells. In addition, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling antagonist Dickkopf-1(Dkk1) can reverse the capacity to form tube-like structures and can decrease the expressions of VEGFR2 and VE-cadherin in Wnt3a-overexpressing cells. Taken together, our results suggest that Wnt/β-catenin signaling is involved in VM formation in colon cancer and might contribute to the development of more accurate treatment modalities aimed at VM.

MIPAS temperature from the stratosphere to the lower thermosphere: Comparison of vM21 with ACE-FTS, MLS, OSIRIS, SABER, SOFIE and lidar measurements

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M. García-Comas

2014-11-01

Full Text Available We present vM21 MIPAS temperatures from the lower stratosphere to the lower thermosphere, which cover all optimized resolution measurements performed by MIPAS in the middle-atmosphere, upper-atmosphere and noctilucent-cloud modes during its lifetime, i.e., from January 2005 to April 2012. The main upgrades with respect to the previous version of MIPAS temperatures (vM11 are the update of the spectroscopic database, the use of a different climatology of atomic oxygen and carbon dioxide, and the improvement in important technical aspects of the retrieval setup (temperature gradient along the line of sight and offset regularizations, apodization accuracy. Additionally, an updated version of ESA-calibrated L1b spectra (5.02/5.06 is used. The vM21 temperatures correct the main systematic errors of the previous version because they provide on average a 1–2 K warmer stratopause and middle mesosphere, and a 6–10 K colder mesopause (except in high-latitude summers and lower thermosphere. These lead to a remarkable improvement in MIPAS comparisons with ACE-FTS, MLS, OSIRIS, SABER, SOFIE and the two Rayleigh lidars at Mauna Loa and Table Mountain, which, with a few specific exceptions, typically exhibit differences smaller than 1 K below 50 km and than 2 K at 50–80 km in spring, autumn and winter at all latitudes, and summer at low to midlatitudes. Differences in the high-latitude summers are typically smaller than 1 K below 50 km, smaller than 2 K at 50–65 km and 5 K at 65–80 km. Differences between MIPAS and the other instruments in the mid-mesosphere are generally negative. MIPAS mesopause is within 4 K of the other instruments measurements, except in the high-latitude summers, when it is within 5–10 K, being warmer there than SABER, MLS and OSIRIS and colder than ACE-FTS and SOFIE. The agreement in the lower thermosphere is typically better than 5 K, except for high latitudes during spring and summer, when MIPAS usually exhibits larger

Isolation of proflavine as a blocker of G protein-gated inward rectifier potassium channels by a cell growth-based screening system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawada, Hitoshi; Inanobe, Atsushi; Kurachi, Yoshihisa

2016-10-01

The overexpression of Kir3.2, a subunit of the G protein-gated inwardly rectifying K(+) channel, is implicated in some of the neurological phenotypes of Down syndrome (DS). Chemical compounds that block Kir3.2 are expected to improve the symptoms of DS. The purpose of this study is to develop a cell-based screening system to identify Kir3.2 blockers and then investigate the mode of action of the blocker. Chemical screening was carried out using a K(+) transporter-deficient yeast strain that expressed a constitutively active Kir3.2 mutant. The mode of action of an effective blocker was electrophysiologically analyzed using Kir channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Proflavine was identified to inhibit the growth of Kir3.2-transformant cells and Kir3.2 activity in a concentration-dependent manner. The current inhibition was strong when membrane potentials (Vm) was above equilibrium potential of K(+) (EK). When Vm was below EK, the blockage apparently depended on the difference between Vm and [K(+)]. Furthermore, the inhibition became stronger by lowering extracellular [K(+)]. These results indicated that the yeast strain serves as a screening system to isolate Kir3.2 blockers and proflavine is a prototype of a pore blocker of Kir3.2. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of multifunctional targeting epirubicin liposomes in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer

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Song X

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Xiao-li Song,1 Rui-jun Ju,2 Yao Xiao,1 Xin Wang,1 Shuang Liu,1 Min Fu,1 Jing-jing Liu,1 Li-yan Gu,1 Xue-tao Li,1 Lan Cheng1 1School of Pharmacy, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dalian, 2Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, China Abstract: Chemotherapy for aggressive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC usually results in a poor prognosis due to tumor metastasis, vasculogenic mimicry (VM channels, limited killing of tumor cells, and severe systemic toxicity. Herein, we developed a kind of multifunctional targeting epirubicin liposomes to enhance antitumor efficacy for NSCLC. In the liposomes, octreotide was modified on liposomal surface for obtaining a receptor-mediated targeting effect, and honokiol was incorporated into the lipid bilayer for inhibiting tumor metastasis and eliminating VM channels. In vitro cellular assays showed that multifunctional targeting epirubicin liposomes not only exhibited the strongest cytotoxic effect on Lewis lung tumor cells but also showed the most efficient inhibition on VM channels. Action mechanism studies showed that multifunctional targeting epirubicin liposomes could downregulate PI3K, MMP-2, MMP-9, VE-Cadherin, and FAK and activate apoptotic enzyme caspase 3. In vivo results exhibited that multifunctional targeting epirubicin liposomes could accumulate selectively in tumor site and display an obvious antitumor efficacy. In addition, no significant toxicity of blood system and major organs was observed at a test dose. Therefore, multifunctional targeting epirubicin liposomes may provide a safe and efficient therapy strategy for NSCLC. Keywords: octreotide, honokiol, chemotherapy, vasculogenic mimicry, tumor metastasis, targeting drug delivery

Inhibition of tumor vasculogenic mimicry and prolongation of host survival in highly aggressive gallbladder cancers by norcantharidin via blocking the ephrin type a receptor 2/focal adhesion kinase/paxillin signaling pathway.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Wang

Full Text Available Vasculogenic mimicry (VM is a newly-defined tumor microcirculation pattern in highly aggressive malignant tumors. We recently reported tumor growth and VM formation of gallbladder cancers through the contribution of the ephrin type a receptor 2 (EphA2/focal adhesion kinase (FAK/Paxillin signaling pathways. In this study, we further investigated the anti-VM activity of norcantharidin (NCTD as a VM inhibitor for gallbladder cancers and the underlying mechanisms. In vivo and in vitro experiments to determine the effects of NCTD on tumor growth, host survival, VM formation of GBC-SD nude mouse xenografts, and vasculogenic-like networks, malignant phenotypes i.e., proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration of GBC-SD cells. Expression of VM signaling-related markers EphA2, FAK and Paxillin in vivo and in vitro were examined by immunofluorescence, western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR, respectively. The results showed that after treatment with NCTD, GBC-SD cells were unable to form VM structures when injecting into nude mouse, growth of the xenograft was inhibited and these observations were confirmed by facts that VM formation by three-dimensional (3-D matrix, proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, migration of GBC-SD cells were affected; and survival time of the xenograft mice was prolonged. Furthermore, expression of EphA2, FAK and Paxillin proteins/mRNAs of the xenografts was downregulated. Thus, we concluded that NCTD has potential anti-VM activity against human gallbladder cancers; one of the underlying mechanisms may be via blocking the EphA2/FAK/Paxillin signaling pathway.

[Effect of low-intensity electromagnetic fields of industrial frequency on the ultrastructure and proliferative activity of rat's thymus cells].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhitkevich, T I; Bokut', T B; Netukova, N I

2001-01-01

Effects of two types of low-intensity electromagnetic fields (EMF) of industrial frequency (50 Hz) on the fine structure and proliferative activity of thymic cells in white rats were studied. It was found that a weak EMF with a prevailing electrical component (380-480 V/m, 120-140 nT1) did not affect the DNA synthesis intensity. An EMF with a stronger magnetic induction (10-15 V/m, 800-1500 nT1) diminished the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity and proliferative processes in cultured stimulated lymphocytes. Electron microscopic investigation of the thymus after both types of exposure revealed an accumulation of lymphocytes with pyknotic nuclei and electron-dense cytoplasm, as well as hypoplasia of the vascular endothelium. At the same time, EMF with a prevailing magnetic component produced a more marked negative effect on the ultrastructure of thymic cells, which indicated a lowered secretory activity of epitheliocytes.

Effects of topography on the functional development of human neural progenitor cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Ze-Zhi; Kisaalita, William S; Wang, Lina; Zachman, Angela L; Zhao, Yiping; Hasneen, Kowser; Machacek, Dave; Stice, Steven L

2010-07-01

We have fabricated a topographical substrate with a packed polystyrene bead array for the development of cell-based assay systems targeting voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs). Human neural progenitor cells (H945RB.3) cultured on both flat and topographical substrates were analyzed in terms of morphological spreading, neuronal commitment, resting membrane potential (V(m)) establishment and VGCC function development. We found, by SEM imaging, that arrayed substrates, formed with both sub-micrometer (of 0.51 microm in mean diameter) and micrometer (of 1.98 microm in mean diameter) beads, were capable of promoting the spreading of the progenitor cells as compared with the flat polystyrene surfaces. With the micrometer beads, it was found that arrayed substrates facilitated the neural progenitor cells' maintenance of less negative V(m) values upon differentiation with bFGF starvation, which favored predominant neuronal commitment. Almost all the progenitor cells were responsive to 50 mM K(+) depolarization with an increase in [Ca(2+)](i) either before or upon differentiation, suggesting the expression of functional VGCCs. Compared to the flat polystyrene surfaces, microbead arrayed substrates facilitated the development of higher VGCC responsiveness by the progenitor cells upon differentiation. The enhancement of both VGCC responsiveness and cell spreading by arrays of micrometer beads was most significant on day 14 into differentiation, which was the latest time point of measurement in this study. This study thus rationalized the possibility for future substrate topography engineering to manipulate ion channel function and to meet the challenge of low VGCC responsiveness found in early drug discovery.

Inhibition of xyloglucanase from an alkalothermophilic Thermomonospora sp. by a peptidic aspartic protease inhibitor from Penicillium sp. VM24.

Science.gov (United States)

Menon, Vishnu; Rao, Mala

2012-11-01

A bifunctional inhibitor from Penicillium sp VM24 causing inactivation of xyloglucanase from Thermomonospora sp and an aspartic protease from Aspergillus saitoi was identified. Steady state kinetics studies of xyloglucanase and the inhibitor revealed an irreversible, non-competitive, two-step inhibition mechanism with IC(50) and K(i) values of 780 and 500nM respectively. The interaction of o-phthalaldehyde (OPTA)-labeled xyloglucanase with the inhibitor revealed that the inhibitor binds to the active site of the enzyme. Far- and near-UV spectrophotometric analysis suggests that the conformational changes induced in xyloglucanase by the inhibitor may be due to irreversible denaturation of enzyme. The bifunctional inhibitor may have potential as a biocontrol agent for the protection of plants against phytopathogenic fungi. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PROOF as a Service on the Cloud: a Virtual Analysis Facility based on the CernVM ecosystem

CERN Document Server

Berzano, Dario; Buncic, Predrag; Charalampidis, Ioannis; Ganis, Gerardo; Lestaris, Georgios; Meusel, René

2014-01-01

PROOF, the Parallel ROOT Facility, is a ROOT-based framework which enables interactive parallelism for event-based tasks on a cluster of computing nodes. Although PROOF can be used simply from within a ROOT session with no additional requirements, deploying and configuring a PROOF cluster used to be not as straightforward. Recently great efforts have been spent to make the provisioning of generic PROOF analysis facilities with zero configuration, with the added advantages of positively affecting both stability and scalability, making the deployment operations feasible even for the end user. Since a growing amount of large-scale computing resources are nowadays made available by Cloud providers in a virtualized form, we have developed the Virtual PROOF-based Analysis Facility: a cluster appliance combining the solid CernVM ecosystem and PoD (PROOF on Demand), ready to be deployed on the Cloud and leveraging some peculiar Cloud features such as elasticity. We will show how this approach is effective both for sy...

Spindle disturbances in human-hamster hybrid (AL) cells induced by mobile communication frequency range signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Schrader, Thorsten; Münter, Klaus; Kleine-Ostmann, Thomas; Schmid, Ernst

2008-12-01

The production of spindle disturbances in FC2 cells, a human-hamster hybrid (A(L)) cell line, by non-ionizing radiation was studied using an electromagnetic field with a field strength of 90 V/m at a frequency of 835 MHz. Due to the given experimental conditions slide flask cultures were exposed at room temperature in a microTEM (transversal electromagnetic field) cell, which allows optimal experimental conditions for small samples of biological material. Numerical calculations suggest that specific absorption rates of up to 60 mW/kg are reached for maximum field exposure. All exposure field parameters--either measured or calculable--are precisely defined and, for the first time, traceable to the standards of the SI system of physical units. Compared with co-incident negative controls, the results of two independently performed experiments suggest that exposure periods of time from 0.5 to 2 h with an electric field strength of 90 V/m are spindle acting agents as predominately indicated by the appearance of spindle disturbances at the ana- and telophase stages (especially lagging and non-disjunction of single chromosomes) of cell divisions. The spindle disturbances do not change the fraction of mitotic cells with increasing exposure time up to 2 h. Due to the applied experimental conditions an influence of temperature as a confounder parameter for spindle disturbances can be excluded.

A New Resources Provisioning Method Based on QoS Differentiation and VM Resizing in IaaS

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Rongdong Hu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In order to improve the host energy efficiency in IaaS, we proposed an adaptive host resource provisioning method, CoST, which is based on QoS differentiation and VM resizing. The control model can adaptively adjust control parameters according to real time application performance, in order to cope with changes in load. CoST takes advantage of the fact that different types of applications have different sensitivity degrees to performance and cost. It places two different types of VMs on the same host and dynamically adjusts their sizes based on the load forecasting and QoS feedback. It not only guarantees the performance defined in SLA, but also keeps the host running in energy-efficient state. Real Google cluster trace and host power data are used to evaluate the proposed method. Experimental results show that CoST can provide performance-sensitive application with a steady QoS and simultaneously speed up the overall processing of performance-tolerant application by 20~66%. The host energy efficiency is significantly improved by 7~23%.

Advanced neuroblastoma: improved response rate using a multiagent regimen (OPEC) including sequential cisplatin and VM-26.

Science.gov (United States)

Shafford, E A; Rogers, D W; Pritchard, J

1984-07-01

Forty-two children, all over one year of age, were given vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and sequentially timed cisplatin and VM-26 (OPEC) or OPEC and doxorubicin (OPEC-D) as initial treatment for newly diagnosed stage III or IV neuroblastoma. Good partial response was achieved in 31 patients (74%) overall and in 28 (78%) of 36 patients whose treatment adhered to the chemotherapy protocol, compared with a 65% response rate achieved in a previous series of children treated with pulsed cyclophosphamide and vincristine with or without doxorubicin. Only six patients, including two of the six children whose treatment did not adhere to protocol, failed to respond, but there were five early deaths from treatment-related complications. Tumor response to OPEC, which was the less toxic of the two regimens, was at least as good as tumor response to OPEC-D. Cisplatin-induced morbidity was clinically significant in only one patient and was avoided in others by careful monitoring of glomerular filtration rate and hearing. Other centers should test the efficacy of OPEC or equivalent regimens in the treatment of advanced neuroblastoma.

Generation and properties of a new human ventral mesencephalic neural stem cell line

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villa, Ana; Liste, Isabel; Courtois, Elise T

2009-01-01

. Here we report the generation of a new stable cell line of human neural stem cells derived from ventral mesencephalon (hVM1) based on v-myc immortalization. The cells expressed neural stem cell and radial glia markers like nestin, vimentin and 3CB2 under proliferation conditions. After withdrawal......Neural stem cells (NSCs) are powerful research tools for the design and discovery of new approaches to cell therapy in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease. Several epigenetic and genetic strategies have been tested for long-term maintenance and expansion of these cells in vitro...... derivatives may constitute good candidates for the study of development and physiology of human dopaminergic neurons in vitro, and to develop tools for Parkinson's disease cell replacement preclinical research and drug testing....

Activity in dlPFC and its effective connectivity to vmPFC are associated with temporal discounting

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Todd A Hare

2014-03-01

Full Text Available There is widespread interest in identifying computational and neurobiological mechanisms that influence the ability to choose long-term benefits over more proximal and readily available rewards in domains such as dietary and economic choice. We present the results of a human fMRI study that examines how neural activity relates to observed individual differences in the discounting of future rewards during an intertemporal monetary choice task. We found that a region of left dlPFC BA-46 was more active in trials where subjects chose delayed rewards, after controlling for the subjective value of those rewards. We also found that the connectivity from dlPFC BA-46 to a region of vmPFC widely associated with the computational of stimulus values, increased at the time of choice, and especially during trials in which subjects chose delayed rewards. Finally, we found that estimates of effective connectivity between these two regions played a critical role in predicting out-of-sample, between-subject differences in discount rates. Together with previous findings in dietary choice, these results suggest that a common set of computational and neurobiological mechanisms facilitate choices in favor of long- term reward in both settings.

The Small GTPase Rac1 Contributes to Extinction of Aversive Memories of Drug Withdrawal by Facilitating GABAA Receptor Endocytosis in the vmPFC.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Weisheng; Ju, Yun-Yue; Zhou, Qi-Xin; Tang, Jian-Xin; Li, Meng; Zhang, Lei; Kang, Shuo; Chen, Zhong-Guo; Wang, Yu-Jun; Ji, Hui; Ding, Yu-Qiang; Xu, Lin; Liu, Jing-Gen

2017-07-26

Extinction of aversive memories has been a major concern in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders and drug addiction. However, the mechanisms underlying extinction of aversive memories are not fully understood. Here, we report that extinction of conditioned place aversion (CPA) to naloxone-precipitated opiate withdrawal in male rats activates Rho GTPase Rac1 in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in a BDNF-dependent manner, which determines GABA A receptor (GABA A R) endocytosis via triggering synaptic translocation of activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) through facilitating actin polymerization. Active Rac1 is essential and sufficient for GABA A R endocytosis and CPA extinction. Knockdown of Rac1 expression within the vmPFC of rats using Rac1-shRNA suppressed GABA A R endocytosis and CPA extinction, whereas expression of a constitutively active form of Rac1 accelerated GABA A R endocytosis and CPA extinction. The crucial role of GABA A R endocytosis in the LTP induction and CPA extinction is evinced by the findings that blockade of GABA A R endocytosis by a dynamin function-blocking peptide (Myr-P4) abolishes LTP induction and CPA extinction. Thus, the present study provides first evidence that Rac1-dependent GABA A R endocytosis plays a crucial role in extinction of aversive memories and reveals the sequence of molecular events that contribute to learning experience modulation of synaptic GABA A R endocytosis. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study reveals that Rac1-dependent GABA A R endocytosis plays a crucial role in extinction of aversive memories associated with drug withdrawal and identifies Arc as a downstream effector of Rac1 regulations of synaptic plasticity as well as learning and memory, thereby suggesting therapeutic targets to promote extinction of the unwanted memories. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/377096-15$15.00/0.

An alternative model to distribute VO software to WLCG sites based on CernVM-FS: a prototype at PIC Tier1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanciotti, E; Merino, G; Blomer, J; Bria, A

2011-01-01

In a distributed computing model as WLCG the software of experiment specific application software has to be efficiently distributed to any site of the Grid. Application software is currently installed in a shared area of the site visible for all Worker Nodes (WNs) of the site through some protocol (NFS, AFS or other). The software is installed at the site by jobs which run on a privileged node of the computing farm where the shared area is mounted in write mode. This model presents several drawbacks which cause a non-negligible rate of job failure. An alternative model for software distribution based on the CERN Virtual Machine File System (CernVM-FS) has been tried at PIC, the Spanish Tierl site of WLCG. The test bed used and the results are presented in this paper.

Germinación, microinjertación y cultivo de callos in vitro de Vasconcellea stipulata V.M. Badillo y Vasconcellea pubescens A.DC

OpenAIRE

Espinosa Soto, Isabel

2016-01-01

En varias poblaciones rurales de regiones andinas y centroamericanas se utilizan con fines etnomédicos las hojas, el látex y el fruto de las plantas de la familia Caricaceae cuyo miembro más representativo es la papaya (Carica papaya L.), la cual produce la fuente comercial más importante de la enzima proteolítica papaína. El presente trabajo estudia las especies Vasconcellea stipulata V.M. Badillo y Vasconcellea pubescens A.DC que pertenecen al género Vasconcellea, miembros de la familia Car...

The ICE-6G_C (VM5a) Global Model of the GIA Process: Antarctica at High Spatial Resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Peltier, W. R.; Drummond, R.; Argus, D. F.

2016-12-01

The ICE-6G_C (VM5a) global model of the glacial isostatic adjustment process (Argus et al., 2014 GJI 198, 537-563; Peltier et al. , 2015, JGR 119, doi:10.1002/2014JB011176) is the latest model in the ICE-nG (VMx) sequence. The model continues to be unique in that it is the only model whose properties are made freely available at each iterative step in its development. This latest version, which embodies detailed descriptions of the Laurentide , Fennoscandian/Barents Sea, Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets through the most recent glacial cycle, is a refinement based primarily upon the incorporation of the constraints being provided by GPS measurements of the vertical and horizontal motion of the crust as well as GRACE observations of the time dependent gravity field. The model has been shown to provide exceptionally accurate predictions of these space geodetic observations of the response to the most recent Late Quaternary glacial cycle. Particular attention has been paid to the Antarctic component as it is well known on the basis of analyses of the sedimentary stratigraphy off-shore and geomorphological characteristics of the continental shelf, that the Last Glacial Maximum state of the southern continent was one in which grounded ice extended out to the shelf break in most locations, including significant fractions of the Ross Sea and Weddell Sea embayments. In the latter regions especially, it is expected that grounded ice would have existed below sea level. In ICE-6G_C (VM5a) a grounding line tracking algorithm was employed (Stuhne and Peltier, 2015 JGR 120, 1841-1865) in order to describe the unloading of the solid surface by ice that was initially grounded below sea level, an apparently unique characteristic of this model. In the initially published version, in which the Sea Level Equation (SLE) was inverted on a basis of spherical harmonics truncated at degree and order 256, this led to "ringing" in the embayments when the Stokes coefficients of the model

Development of a dual luciferase activity and fluorescamine protein assay adapted to a 384 micro-well plate format: Reducing variability in human luciferase transactivation cell lines aimed at endocrine active substances

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Brennan, Jennifer; Tillitt, Donald E.

2018-01-01

There is a need to adapt cell bioassays to 384-well and 1536-well formats instead of the traditional 96-well format as high-throughput screening (HTS) demands increase. However, the sensitivity and performance of the bioassay must be re-verified in these higher micro-well plates, and verification of cell health must also be HT (high-throughput). We have adapted two commonly used human breast luciferase transactivation cell bioassays, the recently re-named estrogen agonist/antagonist screening VM7Luc4E2 cell bioassay (previously designated BG1Luc4E2) and the androgen/glucocorticoid screening MDA-kb2 cell bioassay, to 384-well formats for HTS of endocrine-active substances (EASs). This cost-saving adaptation includes a fast, accurate, and easy measurement of protein amount in each well via the fluorescamine assay with which to normalize luciferase activity of cell lysates without requiring any transfer of the cell lysates. Here we demonstrate that by accounting for protein amount in the cell lysates, antagonistic agents can easily be distinguished from cytotoxic agents in the MDA-kb2 and VM7Luc4E2 cell bioassays. Additionally, we demonstrate via the fluorescamine assay improved interpretation of luciferase activity in wells along the edge of the plate (the so-called “edge effect”), thereby increasing usable wells to the entire plate, not just interior wells.

The effect of electromagnetic radiation emitted by display screens on cell oxygen metabolism - in vitro studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewicka, Małgorzata; Henrykowska, Gabriela A; Pacholski, Krzysztof; Śmigielski, Janusz; Rutkowski, Maciej; Dziedziczak-Buczyńska, Maria; Buczyński, Andrzej

2015-12-10

Research studies carried out for decades have not solved the problem of the effect of electromagnetic radiation of various frequency and strength on the human organism. Due to this fact, we decided to investigate the changes taking place in human blood platelets under the effect of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted by LCD monitors. The changes of selected parameters of oxygen metabolism were measured, i.e. reactive oxygen species concentration, enzymatic activity of antioxidant defence proteins - superoxide dismutase (SOD-1) and catalase (CAT) - and malondialdehyde concentration (MDA). A suspension of human blood platelets was exposed to electromagnetic radiation of 1 kHz frequency and 150 V/m and 220 V/m intensity for 30 and 60 min. The level of changes of the selected parameters of oxidative stress was determined after the exposure and compared to the control samples (not exposed). The measurements revealed an increase of the concentration of reactive oxygen species. The largest increase of ROS concentration vs. the control sample was observed after exposure to EMF of 220 V/m intensity for 60 min (from x = 54.64 to x = 72.92). The measurement of MDA concentration demonstrated a statistically significant increase after 30-min exposure to an EMF of 220 V/m intensity in relation to the initial values (from x = 3.18 to x = 4.41). The enzymatic activity of SOD-1 decreased after exposure (the most prominent change was observed after 60-min and 220 V/m intensity from x = 3556.41 to x = 1084.83). The most significant change in activity of catalase was observed after 60 min and 220 v/m exposure (from x = 6.28 to x = 4.15). The findings indicate that exposure to electromagnetic radiation of 1 kHz frequency and 150 V/m and 220 V/m intensity may cause adverse effects within blood platelets' oxygen metabolism and thus may lead to physiological dysfunction of the organism.

Rejection of large HPV-16 expressing tumors in aged mice by a single immunization of VacciMax® encapsulated CTL/T helper peptides

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MacDonald Lisa

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract The incidence of cancer increases significantly in later life, yet few pre-clinical studies of cancer immunotherapy use mice of advanced age. A novel vaccine delivery platform (VacciMax®,VM is described that encapsulates antigens and adjuvants in multilamellar liposomes in a water-in-oil emulsion. The therapeutic potential of VM-based vaccines administered as a single dose was tested in HLA-A2 transgenic mice of advanced age (48–58 weeks old bearing large palpable TC1/A2 tumors. The VM-based vaccines contained one or more peptides having human CTL epitopes derived from HPV 16 E6 and E7. VM formulations contained a single peptide, a mixture of four peptides or the same four peptides linked together in a single long peptide. All VM formulations contained PADRE and CpG as adjuvants and ISA51 as the hydrophobic component of the water-in-oil emulsion. VM-formulated vaccines containing the four peptides as a mixture or linked together in one long peptide eradicated 19-day old established tumors within 21 days of immunization. Peptide-specific cytotoxic cellular responses were confirmed by ELISPOT and intracellular staining for IFN-γ producing CD8+ T cells. Mice rendered tumor-free by vaccination were re-challenged in the opposite flank with 10 million HLF-16 tumor cells, another HLA-A2/E6/E7 expressing tumor cell line. None of these mice developed tumors following the re-challenge. In summary, this report describes a VM-formulated therapeutic vaccine with the following unprecedented outcome: a eradication of large tumors (> 700 mm3 b in mice of advanced age c in less than three weeks post-immunization d following a single vaccination.

The effect of electromagnetic radiation emitted by display screens on cell oxygen metabolism – in vitro studies

Science.gov (United States)

Henrykowska, Gabriela A.; Pacholski, Krzysztof; Śmigielski, Janusz; Rutkowski, Maciej; Dziedziczak-Buczyńska, Maria; Buczyński, Andrzej

2015-01-01

Introduction Research studies carried out for decades have not solved the problem of the effect of electromagnetic radiation of various frequency and strength on the human organism. Due to this fact, we decided to investigate the changes taking place in human blood platelets under the effect of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted by LCD monitors. Material and methods The changes of selected parameters of oxygen metabolism were measured, i.e. reactive oxygen species concentration, enzymatic activity of antioxidant defence proteins – superoxide dismutase (SOD-1) and catalase (CAT) – and malondialdehyde concentration (MDA). A suspension of human blood platelets was exposed to electromagnetic radiation of 1 kHz frequency and 150 V/m and 220 V/m intensity for 30 and 60 min. The level of changes of the selected parameters of oxidative stress was determined after the exposure and compared to the control samples (not exposed). Results The measurements revealed an increase of the concentration of reactive oxygen species. The largest increase of ROS concentration vs. the control sample was observed after exposure to EMF of 220 V/m intensity for 60 min (from x = 54.64 to x = 72.92). The measurement of MDA concentration demonstrated a statistically significant increase after 30-min exposure to an EMF of 220 V/m intensity in relation to the initial values (from x = 3.18 to x = 4.41). The enzymatic activity of SOD-1 decreased after exposure (the most prominent change was observed after 60-min and 220 V/m intensity from x = 3556.41 to x = 1084.83). The most significant change in activity of catalase was observed after 60 min and 220 v/m exposure (from x = 6.28 to x = 4.15). Conclusions The findings indicate that exposure to electromagnetic radiation of 1 kHz frequency and 150 V/m and 220 V/m intensity may cause adverse effects within blood platelets’ oxygen metabolism and thus may lead to physiological dysfunction of the organism. PMID:26788099

Cell type-specific gene expression of midbrain dopaminergic neurons reveals molecules involved in their vulnerability and protection.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Chee Yeun; Seo, Hyemyung; Sonntag, Kai Christian; Brooks, Andrew; Lin, Ling; Isacson, Ole

2005-07-01

Molecular differences between dopamine (DA) neurons may explain why the mesostriatal DA neurons in the A9 region preferentially degenerate in Parkinson's disease (PD) and toxic models, whereas the adjacent A10 region mesolimbic and mesocortical DA neurons are relatively spared. To characterize innate physiological differences between A9 and A10 DA neurons, we determined gene expression profiles in these neurons in the adult mouse by laser capture microdissection, microarray analysis and real-time PCR. We found 42 genes relatively elevated in A9 DA neurons, whereas 61 genes were elevated in A10 DA neurons [> 2-fold; false discovery rate (FDR) neurotoxic or protective biochemical pathways. Three A9-elevated molecules [G-protein coupled inwardly rectifying K channel 2 (GIRK2), adenine nucleotide translocator 2 (ANT-2) and the growth factor IGF-1] and three A10-elevated peptides (GRP, CGRP and PACAP) were further examined in both alpha-synuclein overexpressing PC12 (PC12-alphaSyn) cells and rat primary ventral mesencephalic (VM) cultures exposed to MPP+ neurotoxicity. GIRK2-positive DA neurons were more vulnerable to MPP+ toxicity and overexpression of GIRK2 increased the vulnerability of PC12-alphaSyn cells to the toxin. Blocking of ANT decreased vulnerability to MPP+ in both cell culture systems. Exposing cells to IGF-1, GRP and PACAP decreased vulnerability of both cell types to MPP+, whereas CGRP protected PC12-alphaSyn cells but not primary VM DA neurons. These results indicate that certain differentially expressed molecules in A9 and A10 DA neurons may play key roles in their relative vulnerability to toxins and PD.

Osteopontin activates the diabetes-associated potassium channel TALK-1 in pancreatic β-cells.

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Matthew T Dickerson

Full Text Available Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS relies on β-cell Ca2+ influx, which is modulated by the two-pore-domain K+ (K2P channel, TALK-1. A gain-of-function polymorphism in KCNK16, the gene encoding TALK-1, increases risk for developing type-2 diabetes. While TALK-1 serves an important role in modulating GSIS, the regulatory mechanism(s that control β-cell TALK-1 channels are unknown. Therefore, we employed a membrane-specific yeast two-hybrid (MYTH assay to identify TALK-1-interacting proteins in human islets, which will assist in determining signaling modalities that modulate TALK-1 function. Twenty-one proteins from a human islet cDNA library interacted with TALK-1. Some of these interactions increased TALK-1 activity, including intracellular osteopontin (iOPN. Intracellular OPN is highly expressed in β-cells and is upregulated under pre-diabetic conditions to help maintain normal β-cell function; however, the functional role of iOPN in β-cells is poorly understood. We found that iOPN colocalized with TALK-1 in pancreatic sections and coimmunoprecipitated with human islet TALK-1 channels. As human β-cells express two K+ channel-forming variants of TALK-1, regulation of these TALK-1 variants by iOPN was assessed. At physiological voltages iOPN activated TALK-1 transcript variant 3 channels but not TALK-1 transcript variant 2 channels. Activation of TALK-1 channels by iOPN also hyperpolarized resting membrane potential (Vm in HEK293 cells and in primary mouse β-cells. Intracellular OPN was also knocked down in β-cells to test its effect on β-cell TALK-1 channel activity. Reducing β-cell iOPN significantly decreased TALK-1 K+ currents and increased glucose-stimulated Ca2+ influx. Importantly, iOPN did not affect the function of other K2P channels or alter Ca2+ influx into TALK-1 deficient β-cells. These results reveal the first protein interactions with the TALK-1 channel and found that an interaction with iOPN increased β-cell

Targeting the Immune System’s Natural Response to Cell Death to Improve Therapeutic Response in Breast Cancers

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-01

pharmacological MerTK inhibition, measuring intra-tumoral leukocytes and tumor epithelial cell signaling in the post-therapeutic setting using flow...7Department of Pediatrics, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado, USA. 8Departments of Pharmacology and Medicine and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive...tail vein injection into lethally irradiated 6-week-old female MMTV-PyVmT recipients. (B) Average tumor volume ± SEM measured in live mice by MRI at

Expression of the Components of the Renin-Angiotensin System in Venous Malformation

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Sam eSiljee

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background Venous malformation (VM is the most common form of vascular malformation, consisting of a network of thin-walled ectatic venous channels with deficient or absent media. This study investigated the expression of the components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS, namely (prorenin receptor (PRR, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE, angiotensin II receptor 1 (ATIIR1 and angiotensin II receptor 2 (AIITR2 in subcutaneous (SC and intramuscular (IM VM. Materials and Methods SC (n=7 and IM (n=7 VM were analyzed for the expression of PRR, ACE, ATIIR1, and ATIIR2 using 3,3-diaminobenzidine (DAB and immunofluorescent (IF immunohistochemical (IHC staining and NanoString gene expression analysis. Results IHC staining showed expression of PRR, ACE, ATIIR1 and faint expression of ATIIR2 in the endothelium of SC and IM VM. Furthermore, ATIIR2 was expressed by cells away from the endothelium in both SC and IM VM lesions examined. NanoString analysis demonstrated the presence of PRR, ACE and ATIIR1 but not ATIIR2.Conclusions The presence of PRR, ACE, ATIIR1 and potentially ATIIR2, in both SC and IM VM suggests a role for the RAS in the biology of VM. This novel finding may lead to a mechanism-based therapy for VM.

A novel pre-clinical in vivo mouse model for malignant brain tumor growth and invasion.

Science.gov (United States)

Shelton, Laura M; Mukherjee, Purna; Huysentruyt, Leanne C; Urits, Ivan; Rosenberg, Joshua A; Seyfried, Thomas N

2010-09-01

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a rapidly progressive disease of morbidity and mortality and is the most common form of primary brain cancer in adults. Lack of appropriate in vivo models has been a major roadblock to developing effective therapies for GBM. A new highly invasive in vivo GBM model is described that was derived from a spontaneous brain tumor (VM-M3) in the VM mouse strain. Highly invasive tumor cells could be identified histologically on the hemisphere contralateral to the hemisphere implanted with tumor cells or tissue. Tumor cells were highly expressive for the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and the proliferation marker Ki-67 and could be identified invading through the pia mater, the vascular system, the ventricular system, around neurons, and over white matter tracts including the corpus callosum. In addition, the brain tumor cells were labeled with the firefly luciferase gene, allowing for non-invasive detection and quantitation through bioluminescent imaging. The VM-M3 tumor has a short incubation time with mortality occurring in 100% of the animals within approximately 15 days. The VM-M3 brain tumor model therefore can be used in a pre-clinical setting for the rapid evaluation of novel anti-invasive therapies.

GDNF family ligands display distinct action profiles on cultured GABAergic and serotonergic neurons of rat ventral mesencephalon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ducray, Angélique; Krebs, Sandra H:; Schaller, Benoft

2006-01-01

the effects of GFLs on other neuronal populations in the VM is essential for their potential application as therapeutic molecules for Parkinson's disease. Hence, in a comparative study, we investigated the effects of GFLs on cell densities and morphological differentiation of gamma-aminobutyric acid......Glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurturin (NRTN), artemin (ARTN) and persephin (PSPN), known as the GDNF family ligands (GFLs), influence the development, survival and differentiation of cultured dopaminergic neurons from ventral mesencephalon (VM). Detailed knowledge about......-immunoreactive (GABA-ir) and serotonin-ir (5-HT-ir) neurons in primary cultures of E14 rat VM. We observed that all GFLs [10 ng/ml] significantly increased GABA-ir cell densities (1.6-fold) as well as neurite length/neuron. However, only GDNF significantly increased the number of primary neurites/neuron, and none...

Neural activity in ventral medial prefrontal cortex is modulated more before approach than avoidance during reinforced and extinction trial blocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Gentry, Ronny N; Roesch, Matthew R

2018-04-16

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is thought to provide regulatory control over Pavlovian fear responses and has recently been implicated in appetitive approach behavior, but much less is known about its role in contexts where appetitive and aversive outcomes can be obtained and avoided, respectively. To address this issue, we recorded from single neurons in vmPFC while male rats performed our combined approach and avoidance task under reinforced and non-reinforced (extinction) conditions. Surprisingly, we found that cues predicting reward modulated cell firing in vmPFC more often and more robustly than cues preceding avoidable shock; additionally, firing of vmPFC neurons was both response (press or no-press) and outcome (reinforced or extinction) selective. These results suggest a complex role for vmPFC in regulating behavior and supports its role in appetitive contexts during both reinforced and non-reinforced conditions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Selecting context-appropriate behaviors to gain reward or avoid punishment is critical for survival. While the role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in mediating fear responses is well-established, vmPFC has also been implicated in the regulation of reward-guided approach and extinction. Many studies have used indirect methods and simple behavioral procedures to study vmPFC, which leaves the literature incomplete. We recorded vmFPC neural activity during a complex cue-driven combined approach and avoidance task and during extinction. Surprisingly, we found very little vmPFC modulation to cues predicting avoidable shock, while cues predicting reward approach robustly modulated vmPFC firing in a response- and outcome-selective manner. This suggests a more complex role for vmPFC than current theories suggest, specifically regarding context-specific behavioral optimization. Copyright © 2018 the authors.

PROOF as a service on the cloud: a virtual analysis facility based on the CernVM ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berzano, D; Blomer, J; Buncic, P; Charalampidis, I; Ganis, G; Lestaris, G; Meusel, R

2014-01-01

PROOF, the Parallel ROOT Facility, is a ROOT-based framework which enables interactive parallelism for event-based tasks on a cluster of computing nodes. Although PROOF can be used simply from within a ROOT session with no additional requirements, deploying and configuring a PROOF cluster used to be not as straightforward. Recently great efforts have been spent to make the provisioning of generic PROOF analysis facilities with zero configuration, with the added advantages of positively affecting both stability and scalability, making the deployment operations feasible even for the end user. Since a growing amount of large-scale computing resources are nowadays made available by Cloud providers in a virtualized form, we have developed the Virtual PROOF-based Analysis Facility: a cluster appliance combining the solid CernVM ecosystem and PoD (PROOF on Demand), ready to be deployed on the Cloud and leveraging some peculiar Cloud features such as elasticity. We will show how this approach is effective both for sysadmins, who will have little or no configuration to do to run it on their Clouds, and for the end users, who are ultimately in full control of their PROOF cluster and can even easily restart it by themselves in the unfortunate event of a major failure. We will also show how elasticity leads to a more optimal and uniform usage of Cloud resources.

Long Non-coding RNA LINC00339 Stimulates Glioma Vasculogenic Mimicry Formation by Regulating the miR-539-5p/TWIST1/MMPs Axis

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Junqing Guo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Glioma is recognized as a highly angiogenic malignant brain tumor. Vasculogenic mimicry (VM greatly restricts the therapeutic effect of anti-angiogenic tumor therapy for glioma patients. However, the molecular mechanisms of VM formation in glioma remain unclear. Here, we demonstrated that LINC00339 was upregulated in glioma tissue as well as in glioma cell lines. The expression of LINC00339 in glioma tissues was positively correlated with glioma VM formation. Knockdown of LINC00339 inhibited glioma cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tube formation, meanwhile downregulating the expression of VM-related molecular MMP-2 and MMP-14. Furthermore, knockdown of LINC00339 significantly increased the expression of miR-539-5p. Both bioinformatics and luciferase reporter assay revealed that LINC00339 regulated the above effects via binding to miR-539-5p. Besides, overexpression of miR-539-5p resulted in decreased expression of TWIST1, a transcription factor known to play an oncogenic role in glioma and identified as a direct target of miR-539-5p. TWIST1 upregulated the promoter activities of MMP-2 and MMP-14. The in vivo study showed that nude mice carrying tumors with knockdown of LINC00339 and overexpression of miR-539-5p exhibited the smallest tumor volume through inhibiting VM formation. In conclusion, LINC00339 may be used as a novel therapeutic target for VM formation in glioma.

Relative sea level in the Western Mediterranean basin: A regional test of the ICE-7G_NA (VM7) model and a constraint on late Holocene Antarctic deglaciation

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Keven; Peltier, W. R.

2018-03-01

The Mediterranean Basin is a region of special interest in the study of past and present relative sea level evolution, given its location south of the ice sheets that covered large fractions of Northern Europe during the last glaciation, the large number of biological, geological and archaeological sea level indicators that have been retrieved from its coastal regions, as well as its high density of modern coastal infrastructure. Models of the Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) process provide reconstructions of past relative sea level evolution, and can be tested for validity against past sea level indicators from the region. It is demonstrated herein that the latest ICE-7G_NA (VM7) model of the GIA process, the North American component of which was refined using a full suite of geophysical observables, is able to reconcile the vast majority of uniformly analyzed relative sea level constraints available for the Western part of the Mediterranean basin, a region to which it was not tuned. We also revisit herein the previously published interpretations of relative sea level information obtained from Roman-era coastal Mediterranean "fish tanks", analyze the far-field influence of the rate of late Holocene Antarctic ice sheet melting history on the exceptionally detailed relative sea level history available from southern Tunisia, and extend the analysis to complementary constraints on the history of Antarctic ice-sheet melting available from islands in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The analyses reported herein provide strong support for the global "exportability" of the ICE-7G_NA (VM7) model, a result that speaks directly to the ability of spherically symmetric models of the internal viscoelastic structure to explain globally distributed observations, while also identifying isolated regions of remaining misfit which will benefit from further study.

GDNF family ligands display distinct action profiles on cultured GABAergic and serotonergic neurons of rat ventral mesencephalon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ducray, Angélique; Krebs, Sandra H:; Schaller, Benoft

2006-01-01

Glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurturin (NRTN), artemin (ARTN) and persephin (PSPN), known as the GDNF family ligands (GFLs), influence the development, survival and differentiation of cultured dopaminergic neurons from ventral mesencephalon (VM). Detailed knowledge about...... factors for VM GABAergic and serotonergic neurons, demonstrating characteristic individual action profiles emphasizing their important and distinct roles during brain development....

A subpopulation of dopaminergic neurons co-expresses serotonin in ventral mesencephalic cultures but not after intrastriatal transplantation in a rat model of Parkinsons disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Di Santo, Stefano; Seiler, Stefanie; Ducray, Angélique

2017-01-01

Cell replacement therapy is a promising avenue into the investigation and treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and in some cases significant long-term motor improvements have been demonstrated. The main source of donor tissue is the human fetal ventral mesencephalon (VM), which consists...... 30% of the dopaminergic neurons in the donor tissue co-expressed serotonin, no co-localization could be detected in grafts one month after intrastriatal transplantation into hemi-parkinsonian rats. In conclusion, a significant and susceptible sub-population of dopaminergic neurons in fetal VM tissues...... both fetal rat and human dissociated, organotypic and neurosphere VM cultures as well as an animal model of PD were investigated. In dissociated rat VM cultures approximately 30% of the TH positive neurons co-expressed serotonin, while no co-localization with GABA was observed. Interestingly, co...

Selection of optimal treatment scheme for brain metastases of non-small cell lung cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Mingxin; Zhao Tong; Huang Jingzi; Yu Shukun; Ma Yan; Tian Zhongcheng; Jin Xiangshun; Quan Jizhong; Liu Jin; Wang Dongxu

2006-01-01

Objective: To select the optimal treatment scheme for brain metastases of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Methods: Seventy-two NSCLC cases diagnosesd by pathology with brain metastases were randomly classified into three groups, Group I, 24 cases with whole brain conventional external fractioned irradiation of D T 36-41 Gy/4-5 w, Group II, 22 eases with y-knife treatment plus whole brain conventional external fractioned irradiation, and Group III, 26 cases with γ-knife plus whole brain conventional external fractioned irradiation in combination with chemotherapy of Vm-26. The surrounding area of tumor was strictly covered with 50% para-central-dosal curve in γ-knife treatment (D T 16-25 Gy with a mean of 16 Gy). The muirleaf collimator was selected according to the volume of tumors. Chemotherapy of Vm-26 (60 mg/m 2 d1-3) was applied during the treatment with whole brain conventional external fractioned irradiation (D T 19-29 Gy/2-3 w), 21 days in a period, 2 periods in total. Results: The median survival time was estimated to be 6.0 months (ranged from 1.2 to 19.0 months) in the Group I, 9.2 months (4.4-30 months) in the Group II, and 10.8 months (5.2-42.2 months) in the Group III. The 1-year and 2-year survival rates were 34.6% and 12.6% , 62.2% and 30.2%, and 70.8% and 35.6% respectively in Group I, Group II, and Group III, respectively. Conclusion: For brain metastases of NSCLC, γ-knife plus whole brain conventional external fractioned irradiation combined with treatment of Vm-26 had a significantly beneficial influence on improvement of the local control and 1-year and 2-year survival. There was no complaint about the side-effects of the treatment. (authors)

Enhanced dopaminergic differentiation of human neural stem cells by synergistic effect of Bcl-xL and reduced oxygen tension

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krabbe, Christina; Courtois, Elise; Jensen, Pia

2009-01-01

Neural stem cells constitute a promising source of cells for transplantation in Parkinson's disease, but a protocol for controlled dopaminergic differentiation is not yet available. Here we investigated the effect of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-x(L) and oxygen tension on dopaminergic different......Neural stem cells constitute a promising source of cells for transplantation in Parkinson's disease, but a protocol for controlled dopaminergic differentiation is not yet available. Here we investigated the effect of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-x(L) and oxygen tension on dopaminergic...... days at 20% oxygen, hVMbcl-x(L) cultures contained proportionally more tyrosine hydroxylase(TH)-positive cells than hVM1 control cultures. This difference was significantly potentiated from 11 +/- 0.8% to 17.2 +/- 0.2% of total cells when the oxygen tension was lowered to 3%. Immunocytochemistry and Q...

Luteolin suppresses angiogenesis and vasculogenic mimicry formation through inhibiting Notch1-VEGF signaling in gastric cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Zang, Mingde; Hu, Lei; Zhang, Baogui; Zhu, Zhenglun; Li, Jianfang; Zhu, Zhenggang; Yan, Min; Liu, Bingya

2017-08-26

Gastric cancer is a great threat to the health of the people worldwide and lacks effective therapeutic regimens. Luteolin is one of Chinese herbs and presents in many fruits and green plants. In our previous study, we observed that luteolin inhibited cell migration and promoted cell apoptosis in gastric cancer. In the present study, luteolin significantly inhibited tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) through decreasing cell migration and proliferation of HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) tubes formed by gastric cancer cells were also inhibited with luteolin treatment. To explore how luteolin inhibited tubes formation, ELISA assay for VEGF was performed. Both of the VEGF secretion from Hs-746T cells and HUVECs were significantly decreased subsequent to luteolin treatment. In addition, cell migration was increased with the interaction between gastric cancer cells and HUVECs in co-culture assays. However, the promoting effects were abolished subsequent to luteolin treatment. Furthermore, luteolin inhibited VEGF secretion through suppressing Notch1 expression in gastric cancer. Overexpression of Notch1 in gastric cancer cells partially rescued the effects on cell migration, proliferation, HUVECs tube formation, and VM formation induced by luteolin treatment. In conclusion, luteolin inhibits angiogenesis and VM formation in gastric cancer through suppressing VEGF secretion dependent on Notch1 expression. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wnt5a regulates midbrain dopaminergic axon growth and guidance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brette D Blakely

2011-03-01

Full Text Available During development, precise temporal and spatial gradients are responsible for guiding axons to their appropriate targets. Within the developing ventral midbrain (VM the cues that guide dopaminergic (DA axons to their forebrain targets remain to be fully elucidated. Wnts are morphogens that have been identified as axon guidance molecules. Several Wnts are expressed in the VM where they regulate the birth of DA neurons. Here, we describe that a precise temporo-spatial expression of Wnt5a accompanies the development of nigrostriatal projections by VM DA neurons. In mice at E11.5, Wnt5a is expressed in the VM where it was found to promote DA neurite and axonal growth in VM primary cultures. By E14.5, when DA axons are approaching their striatal target, Wnt5a causes DA neurite retraction in primary cultures. Co-culture of VM explants with Wnt5a-overexpressing cell aggregates revealed that Wnt5a is capable of repelling DA neurites. Antagonism experiments revealed that the effects of Wnt5a are mediated by the Frizzled receptors and by the small GTPase, Rac1 (a component of the non-canonical Wnt planar cell polarity pathway. Moreover, the effects were specific as they could be blocked by Wnt5a antibody, sFRPs and RYK-Fc. The importance of Wnt5a in DA axon morphogenesis was further verified in Wnt5a-/- mice, where fasciculation of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB as well as the density of DA neurites in the MFB and striatal terminals were disrupted. Thus, our results identify a novel role of Wnt5a in DA axon growth and guidance.

Specific Intensity Direct Current (DC) Electric Field Improves Neural Stem Cell Migration and Enhances Differentiation towards βIII-Tubulin+ Neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Huiping; Steiger, Amanda; Nohner, Mitch; Ye, Hui

2015-01-01

Control of stem cell migration and differentiation is vital for efficient stem cell therapy. Literature reporting electric field–guided migration and differentiation is emerging. However, it is unknown if a field that causes cell migration is also capable of guiding cell differentiation—and the mechanisms for these processes remain unclear. Here, we report that a 115 V/m direct current (DC) electric field can induce directional migration of neural precursor cells (NPCs). Whole cell patching revealed that the cell membrane depolarized in the electric field, and buffering of extracellular calcium via EGTA prevented cell migration under these conditions. Immunocytochemical staining indicated that the same electric intensity could also be used to enhance differentiation and increase the percentage of cell differentiation into neurons, but not astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The results indicate that DC electric field of this specific intensity is capable of promoting cell directional migration and orchestrating functional differentiation, suggestively mediated by calcium influx during DC field exposure. PMID:26068466

Amelioration of non-motor dysfunctions after transplantation of human dopamine neurons in a model of Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Lelos, M J; Morgan, R J; Kelly, C M; Torres, E M; Rosser, A E; Dunnett, S B

2016-04-01

Patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD) display cognitive and neuropsychiatric dysfunctions, especially with disease progression. Although these impairments have been reported to impact more heavily upon a patient's quality of life than any motor dysfunctions, there are currently no interventions capable of adequately targeting these non-motor deficits. Utilizing a rodent model of PD, we investigated whether cell replacement therapy, using intrastriatal transplants of human-derived ventral mesencephalic (hVM) grafts, could alleviate cognitive and neuropsychiatric, as well as motor, dysfunctions. Rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions to the medial forebrain bundle were tested on a complex operant task that dissociates motivational, visuospatial and motor impairments sensitive to the loss of dopamine. A subset of lesioned rats received intrastriatal hVM grafts of ~9 weeks gestation. Post-graft, rats underwent repeated drug-induced rotation tests and were tested on two versions of the complex operant task, before post-mortem analysis of the hVM tissue grafts. Post-graft behavioural testing revealed that hVM grafts improved non-motor aspects of task performance, specifically visuospatial function and motivational processing, as well as alleviating motor dysfunctions. We report the first evidence of human VM cell grafts alleviating both non-motor and motor dysfunctions in an animal model of PD. This intervention, therefore, is the first to improve cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms long-term in a model of PD. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interleukin-10 Protection against Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuro-Inflammation and Neurotoxicity in Ventral Mesencephalic Cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yan; Chen, Xiao; Liu, Zhan; Peng, Yu-Ping; Qiu, Yi-Hua

2015-12-28

Interleukin (IL)-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, is expressed in the brain and can inhibit microglial activation. Herein, we utilized lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory Parkinson's disease (PD) cell model to determine whether microglia and astrocytes are necessary targets for IL-10 neuroprotection. Primary ventral mesencephalic (VM) cultures with different composition of neurons, microglia and astrocytes were prepared. The cells were exposed to IL-10 (15, 50 or 150 ng/mL) 1 h prior to LPS (50 ng/mL) treatment. LPS induced dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic neuronal loss in VM cultures, VM neuron-enriched cultures, and neuron-microglia co-cultures, but not in neuron-astrocyte co-cultures. IL-10 reduced LPS-induced neuronal loss particularly in single VM neuron cultures. Pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-1β, inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2) were upregulated in both neuron-microglia and neuron-astrocyte co-cultures by LPS. In contrast, neurotrophic factors (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, insulin-like growth factor-1 or glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor) were downregulated in neuron-microglia co-cultures, but upregulated in neuron-astrocyte co-cultures by LPS. IL-10 reduced both the increase in production of the pro-inflammatory mediators and the decrease in production of the neurotrophic factors induced by LPS. These results suggest that astrocytes can balance LPS neurotoxicity by releasing more neurotrophic factors and that IL-10 exerts neuroprotective property by an extensive action including direct on neurons and indirect via inhibiting microglial activation.

The effect of the two epipodophyllotoxin derivatives etoposide (VP-16) and teniposide (VM-26) on cell lines established from patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roed, H; Vindeløv, Lars; Christensen, I J

1987-01-01

To determine whether there is any difference between the two epipodophyllotoxin derivatives etoposide and teniposide in their therapeutic effect in small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL), they were compared against five human SCCL cell lines in vitro. When the two were compared at equimolar...

Comparison of mesencephalic free-floating tissue culture grafts and cell suspension grafts in the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meyer, Morten; Widmer, H R; Wagner, B

1998-01-01

of grafted dopaminergic neurons and to correlate that with the behavioral effects. Additional cultures and acutely prepared explants were also fixed and stored for histological investigation in order to estimate the loss of dopaminergic neurons in culture and after transplantation. Similar behavioral...... numbers of TH-immunoreactive (TH-ir) neurons in grafts of cultured tissue (775 +/- 98, mean +/- SEM) and grafts of fresh, dissociated cell suspension (806 +/- 105, mean +/- SEM). Cell counts in fresh explants, 7-day-old cultures, and grafted cultures revealed a 68.2% loss of TH-ir cells 7 days after......Ventral mesencephalon (VM) of fetal rat and human origin grown as free-floating roller-tube (FFRT) cultures can survive subsequent grafting to the adult rat striatum. To further explore the functional efficacy of such grafts, embryonic day 13 ventral mesencephalic tissue was grafted either after 7...

ARC-VM: An architecture real options complexity-based valuation methodology for military systems-of-systems acquisitions

Science.gov (United States)

Domercant, Jean Charles

The combination of today's national security environment and mandated acquisition policies makes it necessary for military systems to interoperate with each other to greater degrees. This growing interdependency results in complex Systems-of-Systems (SoS) that only continue to grow in complexity to meet evolving capability needs. Thus, timely and affordable acquisition becomes more difficult, especially in the face of mounting budgetary pressures. To counter this, architecting principles must be applied to SoS design. The research objective is to develop an Architecture Real Options Complexity-Based Valuation Methodology (ARC-VM) suitable for acquisition-level decision making, where there is a stated desire for more informed tradeoffs between cost, schedule, and performance during the early phases of design. First, a framework is introduced to measure architecture complexity as it directly relates to military SoS. Development of the framework draws upon a diverse set of disciplines, including Complexity Science, software architecting, measurement theory, and utility theory. Next, a Real Options based valuation strategy is developed using techniques established for financial stock options that have recently been adapted for use in business and engineering decisions. The derived complexity measure provides architects with an objective measure of complexity that focuses on relevant complex system attributes. These attributes are related to the organization and distribution of SoS functionality and the sharing and processing of resources. The use of Real Options provides the necessary conceptual and visual framework to quantifiably and traceably combine measured architecture complexity, time-valued performance levels, as well as programmatic risks and uncertainties. An example suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) capability demonstrates the development and usefulness of the resulting architecture complexity & Real Options based valuation methodology. Different

Engineering the CernVM-Filesystem as a High Bandwidth Distributed Filesystem for Auxiliary Physics Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dykstra, D. [Fermilab; Bockelman, B. [Nebraska U.; Blomer, J. [CERN; Herner, K. [Fermilab; Levshina, T. [Fermilab; Slyz, M. [Fermilab

2015-12-23

A common use pattern in the computing models of particle physics experiments is running many distributed applications that read from a shared set of data files. We refer to this data is auxiliary data, to distinguish it from (a) event data from the detector (which tends to be different for every job), and (b) conditions data about the detector (which tends to be the same for each job in a batch of jobs). Relatively speaking, conditions data also tends to be relatively small per job where both event data and auxiliary data are larger per job. Unlike event data, auxiliary data comes from a limited working set of shared files. Since there is spatial locality of the auxiliary data access, the use case appears to be identical to that of the CernVM- Filesystem (CVMFS). However, we show that distributing auxiliary data through CVMFS causes the existing CVMFS infrastructure to perform poorly. We utilize a CVMFS client feature called 'alien cache' to cache data on existing local high-bandwidth data servers that were engineered for storing event data. This cache is shared between the worker nodes at a site and replaces caching CVMFS files on both the worker node local disks and on the site's local squids. We have tested this alien cache with the dCache NFSv4.1 interface, Lustre, and the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) FUSE interface, and measured performance. In addition, we use high-bandwidth data servers at central sites to perform the CVMFS Stratum 1 function instead of the low-bandwidth web servers deployed for the CVMFS software distribution function. We have tested this using the dCache HTTP interface. As a result, we have a design for an end-to-end high-bandwidth distributed caching read-only filesystem, using existing client software already widely deployed to grid worker nodes and existing file servers already widely installed at grid sites. Files are published in a central place and are soon available on demand throughout the grid and cached

Engineering the CernVM-Filesystem as a High Bandwidth Distributed Filesystem for Auxiliary Physics Data

Science.gov (United States)

Dykstra, D.; Bockelman, B.; Blomer, J.; Herner, K.; Levshina, T.; Slyz, M.

2015-12-01

A common use pattern in the computing models of particle physics experiments is running many distributed applications that read from a shared set of data files. We refer to this data is auxiliary data, to distinguish it from (a) event data from the detector (which tends to be different for every job), and (b) conditions data about the detector (which tends to be the same for each job in a batch of jobs). Relatively speaking, conditions data also tends to be relatively small per job where both event data and auxiliary data are larger per job. Unlike event data, auxiliary data comes from a limited working set of shared files. Since there is spatial locality of the auxiliary data access, the use case appears to be identical to that of the CernVM- Filesystem (CVMFS). However, we show that distributing auxiliary data through CVMFS causes the existing CVMFS infrastructure to perform poorly. We utilize a CVMFS client feature called "alien cache" to cache data on existing local high-bandwidth data servers that were engineered for storing event data. This cache is shared between the worker nodes at a site and replaces caching CVMFS files on both the worker node local disks and on the site's local squids. We have tested this alien cache with the dCache NFSv4.1 interface, Lustre, and the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) FUSE interface, and measured performance. In addition, we use high-bandwidth data servers at central sites to perform the CVMFS Stratum 1 function instead of the low-bandwidth web servers deployed for the CVMFS software distribution function. We have tested this using the dCache HTTP interface. As a result, we have a design for an end-to-end high-bandwidth distributed caching read-only filesystem, using existing client software already widely deployed to grid worker nodes and existing file servers already widely installed at grid sites. Files are published in a central place and are soon available on demand throughout the grid and cached locally on the

Interleukin-10 Protection against Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuro-Inflammation and Neurotoxicity in Ventral Mesencephalic Cultures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Zhu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Interleukin (IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, is expressed in the brain and can inhibit microglial activation. Herein, we utilized lipopolysaccharide (LPS-induced inflammatory Parkinson’s disease (PD cell model to determine whether microglia and astrocytes are necessary targets for IL-10 neuroprotection. Primary ventral mesencephalic (VM cultures with different composition of neurons, microglia and astrocytes were prepared. The cells were exposed to IL-10 (15, 50 or 150 ng/mL 1 h prior to LPS (50 ng/mL treatment. LPS induced dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic neuronal loss in VM cultures, VM neuron-enriched cultures, and neuron-microglia co-cultures, but not in neuron-astrocyte co-cultures. IL-10 reduced LPS-induced neuronal loss particularly in single VM neuron cultures. Pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-1β, inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 were upregulated in both neuron-microglia and neuron-astrocyte co-cultures by LPS. In contrast, neurotrophic factors (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, insulin-like growth factor-1 or glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor were downregulated in neuron-microglia co-cultures, but upregulated in neuron-astrocyte co-cultures by LPS. IL-10 reduced both the increase in production of the pro-inflammatory mediators and the decrease in production of the neurotrophic factors induced by LPS. These results suggest that astrocytes can balance LPS neurotoxicity by releasing more neurotrophic factors and that IL-10 exerts neuroprotective property by an extensive action including direct on neurons and indirect via inhibiting microglial activation.

Long-distance signaling within Coleus x hybridus leaves; mediated by changes in intra-leaf CO2?

Science.gov (United States)

Stahlberg, R.; Van Volkenburgh, E.; Cleland, R. E.

2001-01-01

Rapid long-distance signaling in plants can occur via several mechanisms, including symplastic electric coupling and pressure waves. We show here in variegated Coleus leaves a rapid propagation of electrical signals that appears to be caused by changes in intra-leaf CO2 concentrations. Green leaf cells, when illuminated, undergo a rapid depolarization of their membrane potential (Vm) and an increase in their apoplastic pH (pHa) by a process that requires photosynthesis. This is followed by a slower hyperpolarization of Vm and apoplastic acidification, which do not require photosynthesis. White (chlorophyll-lacking) leaf cells, when in isolated white leaf segments, show only the slow response, but when in mixed (i.e. green and white) segments, the rapid Vm depolarization and increase in pHa propagate over more than 10 mm from the green to the white cells. Similarly, these responses propagate 12-20 mm from illuminated to unilluminated green cells. The fact that the propagation of these responses is eliminated when the leaf air spaces are infiltrated with solution indicates that the signal moves in the apoplast rather than the symplast. A depolarization of the mesophyll cells is induced in the dark by a decrease in apoplastic CO2 but not by an increase in pHa. These results support the hypothesis that the propagating signal for the depolarization of the white mesophyll cells is a photosynthetically induced decrease in the CO2 level of the air spaces throughout the leaf.

Spanish Broom (Spartium junceum L.) fibers impregnated with vancomycin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles as new antibacterial wound dressing: Preparation, characterization and antibacterial activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerchiara, Teresa; Abruzzo, Angela; Ñahui Palomino, Rogers Alberto; Vitali, Beatrice; De Rose, Renata; Chidichimo, Giuseppe; Ceseracciu, Luca; Athanassiou, Athanassia; Saladini, Bruno; Dalena, Francesco; Bigucci, Federica; Luppi, Barbara

2017-03-01

In this work, we propose as new wound dressing, the Spanish Broom fibers impregnated with vancomycin (VM) loaded chitosan nanoparticles. Spanish Broom fibers were extracted by patented method DiCoDe and the morphological, physical and mechanical properties were investigated. Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation using different weight ratios between chitosan (CH) and tripolyphosphate (TPP). Nanoparticles were characterized in terms of size, zeta potential, yield, encapsulation efficiency, stability and drug release. Finally, the antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus as well as in vitro cytotoxicity on HaCaT cells were evaluated. The best formulation CH/TPP 4:1 was selected based on the encapsulation efficiency and yield. Spanish Broom fibers impregnated with loaded nanoparticles showed an increased antibacterial activity against S. aureus compared to the same fibers containing VM without nanoparticles. Moreover, these fibers were not toxic to HaCaT keratinocytes cells. In conclusion, Spanish Broom fibers impregnated with VM loaded CH/TPP nanoparticles would appear to be a promising candidate for wound dressing application. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Decrement of GABAA receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents in dentate granule cells in epileptic hippocampus.

Science.gov (United States)

Isokawa, M

1996-05-01

1. Inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) were studied in hippocampal dentate granule cells (DGCs) in the pilocarpine model and human temporal lobe epilepsy, with the use of the whole cell patch-clamp recording technique in slice preparations. 2. In the pilocarpine model, hippocampal slices were prepared from rats that were allowed to experience spontaneous seizures for 2 mo. Human hippocampal specimens were obtained from epileptic patients who underwent surgical treatment for medically intractable seizures. 3. IPSCs were generated by single perforant path stimulation and recorded at a membrane potential (Vm) of 0 mV near the reversal potential of glutamate excitatory postsynaptic currents in the voltage-clamp recording. IPSCs were pharmacologically identified as gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) IPSCs by 10 microM bicuculline methiodide. 4. During low-frequency stimulation, IPSCs were not different in amplitude among non-seizure-experienced rat hippocampi, human nonsclerotic hippocampi, seizure-experienced rat hippocampi, and human sclerotic hippocampi. In the last two groups of DGCs, current-clamp recordings indicated the presence of prolonged excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) mediated by the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. 5. High-frequency stimulation, administered at Vm = -30 mV to activate NMDA currents, reduced GABAA IPSC amplitude specifically in seizure-experienced rat hippocampi (t = 2.5, P < 0.03) and human sclerotic hippocampi (t = 7.7, P < 0.01). This reduction was blocked by an NMDA receptor antagonist, 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV) (50 microM). The time for GABAA IPSCs to recover to their original amplitude was also shortened by the application of APV. 6. I conclude that, when intensively activated, NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory transmission may interact with GABAergic synaptic inhibition in DGCs in seizure-experienced hippocampus to transiently reduce GABA(A) receptor-channel function. Such interactions may contribute to

Vestibular migraine in multicenter neurology clinics according to the appendix criteria in the third beta edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Soo-Jin; Kim, Byung-Kun; Kim, Byung-Su; Kim, Jae-Moon; Kim, Soo-Kyoung; Moon, Heui-Soo; Song, Tae-Jin; Cha, Myoung-Jin; Park, Kwang-Yeol; Sohn, Jong-Hee

2016-04-01

Vestibular migraine (VM), the common term for recurrent vestibular symptoms with migraine features, has been recognized in the appendix criteria of the third beta edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3β). We applied the criteria for VM in a prospective, multicenter headache registry study. Nine neurologists enrolled consecutive patients visiting outpatient clinics for headache. The presenting headache disorder and additional VM diagnoses were classified according to the ICHD-3β. The rates of patients diagnosed with VM and probable VM using consensus criteria were assessed. A total of 1414 patients were enrolled. Of 631 migraineurs, 65 were classified with VM (10.3%) and 16 with probable VM (2.5%). Accompanying migraine subtypes in VM were migraine without aura (66.2%), chronic migraine (29.2%), and migraine with aura (4.6%). Probable migraine (75%) was common in those with probable VM. The most common vestibular symptom was head motion-induced dizziness with nausea in VM and spontaneous vertigo in probable VM. The clinical characteristics of VM did not differ from those of migraine without VM. We diagnosed VM in 10.3% of first-visit migraineurs in neurology clinics using the ICHD-3β. Applying the diagnosis of probable VM can increase the identification of VM. © International Headache Society 2015.

Effects of high frequency electromagnetic field emitted from digital cellular telephones on electronic pocket dosimeters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shizuhiko, Deji; Kunihide, Nishizawa [Nagoya Univ., Nagoya (Japan)

2002-07-01

High frequency electromagnetic fields emitted from digital cellular telephones (cell phones) occasionally cause abnormally high values (wrong dosages) on electronic pocket dosimeters (EPD). Electric field strength distribution around the cell phone transmitting 1.5GHz band with a maximum power of 0.8 W was analyzed by using an isotropic probe with tri-axial dipole antennas. Five kinds of EPDs were exposed to the fields for 50s under four kinds of configurations relative to the cell phone. The electric field distribution expanded around the antenna and had a maximum strength level of 36.5 {+-} 0.30 V/m. The cell phone gave rise to a wrong dosage of four EPDs out of five. The electromagnetic susceptibility of the EPD was higher in the section where the semiconductor detector or electric circuit boards were implanted. The maximum value of wrong dosage was 1283{mu} Sv. The distance preventing electromagnetic interference differed in each EPD and ranged from 2.0cm to 21.0cm. The electromagnetic immunity levels of the EPDs were distributed from 9.2V/m to a value greater than 35V/m. The EPDs displayed wrong dosage during exposure, while they recovered their normal performance after the cell phone ceased transmitting. The electromagnetic immunity levels of the EPDs were either equal to or greater than the IEC-standard. The immunity levels should be enhanced greater than the IEC-standard from the standpoint of radiation protection.

Effects of high frequency electromagnetic field emitted from digital cellular telephones on electronic pocket dosimeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shizuhiko, Deji; Kunihide, Nishizawa

2002-01-01

High frequency electromagnetic fields emitted from digital cellular telephones (cell phones) occasionally cause abnormally high values (wrong dosages) on electronic pocket dosimeters (EPD). Electric field strength distribution around the cell phone transmitting 1.5GHz band with a maximum power of 0.8 W was analyzed by using an isotropic probe with tri-axial dipole antennas. Five kinds of EPDs were exposed to the fields for 50s under four kinds of configurations relative to the cell phone. The electric field distribution expanded around the antenna and had a maximum strength level of 36.5 ± 0.30 V/m. The cell phone gave rise to a wrong dosage of four EPDs out of five. The electromagnetic susceptibility of the EPD was higher in the section where the semiconductor detector or electric circuit boards were implanted. The maximum value of wrong dosage was 1283μ Sv. The distance preventing electromagnetic interference differed in each EPD and ranged from 2.0cm to 21.0cm. The electromagnetic immunity levels of the EPDs were distributed from 9.2V/m to a value greater than 35V/m. The EPDs displayed wrong dosage during exposure, while they recovered their normal performance after the cell phone ceased transmitting. The electromagnetic immunity levels of the EPDs were either equal to or greater than the IEC-standard. The immunity levels should be enhanced greater than the IEC-standard from the standpoint of radiation protection

Ca2+-regulated-cAMP/PKA signaling in cardiac pacemaker cells links ATP supply to demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Yaniv, Yael; Juhaszova, Magdalena; Lyashkov, Alexey E; Spurgeon, Harold A; Sollott, Steven J; Lakatta, Edward G

2011-11-01

In sinoatrial node cells (SANC), Ca(2+) activates adenylate cyclase (AC) to generate a high basal level of cAMP-mediated/protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent phosphorylation of Ca(2+) cycling proteins. These result in spontaneous sarcoplasmic-reticulum (SR) generated rhythmic Ca(2+) oscillations during diastolic depolarization, that not only trigger the surface membrane to generate rhythmic action potentials (APs), but, in a feed-forward manner, also activate AC/PKA signaling. ATP is consumed to pump Ca(2+) to the SR, to produce cAMP, to support contraction and to maintain cell ionic homeostasis. Since feedback mechanisms link ATP-demand to ATP production, we hypothesized that (1) both basal ATP supply and demand in SANC would be Ca(2+)-cAMP/PKA dependent; and (2) due to its feed-forward nature, a decrease in flux through the Ca(2+)-cAMP/PKA signaling axis will reduce the basal ATP production rate. O(2) consumption in spontaneous beating SANC was comparable to ventricular myocytes (VM) stimulated at 3 Hz. Graded reduction of basal Ca(2+)-cAMP/PKA signaling to reduce ATP demand in rabbit SANC produced graded ATP depletion (r(2)=0.96), and reduced O(2) consumption and flavoprotein fluorescence. Neither inhibition of glycolysis, selectively blocking contraction nor specific inhibition of mitochondrial Ca(2+) flux reduced the ATP level. Feed-forward basal Ca(2+)-cAMP/PKA signaling both consumes ATP to drive spontaneous APs in SANC and is tightly linked to mitochondrial ATP production. Interfering with Ca(2+)-cAMP/PKA signaling not only slows the firing rate and reduces ATP consumption, but also appears to reduce ATP production so that ATP levels fall. This distinctly differs from VM, which lack this feed-forward basal cAMP/PKA signaling, and in which ATP level remains constant when the demand changes. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

GO, an exec for running the programs: CELL, COLLIDER, MAGIC, PATRICIA, PETROS, TRANSPORT and TURTLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shoaee, H.

1982-05-01

An exec has been written and placed on the PEP group's public disk (PUBRL 192) to facilitate the use of several PEP related computer programs available on VM. The exec's program list currently includes: CELL, COLLIDER, MAGIC, PATRICIA, PETROS, TRANSPORT, and TURTLE. In addition, provisions have been made to allow addition of new programs to this list as they become available. The GO exec is directly callable from inside the Wylbur editor (in fact, currently this is the only way to use the GO exec.) It provides the option of running any of the above programs in either interactive or batch mode. In the batch mode, the GO exec sends the data in the Wylbur active file along with the information required to run the job to the batch monitor (BMON, a virtual machine that schedules and controls execution of batch jobs). This enables the user to proceed with other VM activities at his/her terminal while the job executes, thus making it of particular interest to the users with jobs requiring much CPU time to execute and/or those wishing to run multiple jobs independently. In the interactive mode, useful for small jobs requiring less CPU time, the job is executed by the user's own Virtual Machine using the data in the active file as input. At the termination of an interactive job, the GO exec facilitates examination of the output by placing it in the Wylbur active file

GO, an exec for running the programs: CELL, COLLIDER, MAGIC, PATRICIA, PETROS, TRANSPORT, and TURTLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shoaee, H.

1982-05-01

An exec has been written and placed on the PEP group's public disk to facilitate the use of several PEP related computer programs available on VM. The exec's program list currently includes: CELL, COLLIDER, MAGIC, PATRICIA, PETROS, TRANSPORT, and TURTLE. In addition, provisions have been made to allow addition of new programs to this list as they become available. The GO exec is directly callable from inside the Wylbur editor (in fact, currently this is the only way to use the GO exec.). It provides the option of running any of the above programs in either interactive or batch mode. In the batch mode, the GO exec sends the data in the Wylbur active file along with the information required to run the job to the batch monitor (BMON, a virtual machine that schedules and controls execution of batch jobs). This enables the user to proceed with other VM activities at his/her terminal while the job executes, thus making it of particular interest to the users with jobs requiring much CPU time to execute and/or those wishing to run multiple jobs independently. In the interactive mode, useful for small jobs requiring less CPU time, the job is executed by the user's own Virtual Machine using the data in the active file as input. At the termination of an interactive job, the GO exec facilitates examination of the output by placing it in the Wylbur active file

Therapy of established B16-F10 melanoma tumors by a single vaccination of CTL/T helper peptides in VacciMax®

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Korets-Smith Ella

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Melanoma tumors are known to express antigens that usually induce weak immune responses of short duration. Expression of both tumor-associated antigens p53 and TRP2 by melanoma cells raises the possibility of simultaneously targeting more than one antigen in a therapeutic vaccine. In this report, we show that VacciMax® (VM, a novel liposome-based vaccine delivery platform, can increase the immunogenicity of melanoma associated antigens, resulting in tumor elimination. Methods C57BL/6 mice bearing B16-F10 melanoma tumors were vaccinated subcutaneously 6 days post tumor implantation with a mixture of synthetic peptides (modified p53: 232–240, TRP-2: 181–188 and PADRE and CpG. Tumor growth was monitored and antigen-specific splenocyte responses were assayed by ELISPOT. Results Vaccine formulated in VM increased the number of both TRP2- and p53-specific IFN-γ producing splenocytes following a single vaccination. Vaccine formulated without VM resulted only in enhanced IFN-γ producing splenocytes to one CTL epitopes (TRP2:180–188, suggesting that VM overcomes antigen dominance and enhances immunogenicity of multiple epitopes. Vaccination of mice bearing 6-day old B16-F10 tumors with both TRP2 and p53-peptides formulated in VM successfully eradicated tumors in all mice. A control vaccine which contained all ingredients except liposomes resulted in eradication of tumors in no more than 20% of mice. Conclusion A single administration of VM is capable of inducing an effective CTL response to multiple tumor-associated antigens. The responses generated were able to reject 6-day old B16-F10 tumors.

Effect of plant extracts on H2O2-induced inflammatory gene expression in macrophages

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Pomari E

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Elena Pomari, Bruno Stefanon, Monica Colitti Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy Background: Arctium lappa (AL, Camellia sinensis (CS, Echinacea angustifolia, Eleutherococcus senticosus, Panax ginseng (PG, and Vaccinium myrtillus (VM are plants traditionally used in many herbal formulations for the treatment of various conditions. Although they are well known and already studied for their anti-inflammatory properties, their effects on H2O2-stimulated macrophages are a novel area of study. Materials and methods: Cell viability was tested after treatment with increasing doses of H2O2 and/or plant extracts at different times of incubation to identify the optimal experimental conditions. The messenger (mRNA expression of TNFα, COX2, IL1β, NFκB1, NFκB2, NOS2, NFE2L2, and PPARγ was analyzed in macrophages under H2O2 stimulation. The same genes were also quantified after plant extract treatment on cells pre-stimulated with H2O2. Results: A noncytotoxic dose (200 µM of H2O2 induced active mRNA expression of COX2, IL1β, NFE2L2, NFκB1, NFκB2, NOS2, and TNFα, while PPARγ was depressed. The expression of all genes tested was significantly (P<0.001 regulated by plant extracts after pre-stimulation with H2O2. COX2 was downregulated by AL, PG, and VM. All extracts depressed IL1β expression, but upregulated NFE2L2. NFκB1, NFκB2, and TNFα were downregulated by AL, CS, PG, and VM. NOS2 was inhibited by CS, PG, and VM. PPARγ was decreased only after treatment with E. angustifolia and E. senticosus. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that the stimulation of H2O2 on RAW267.4 cells induced the transcription of proinflammatory mediators, showing that this could be an applicable system by which to activate macrophages. Plant extracts from AL, CS, PG, and VM possess in vitro anti-inflammatory activity on H2O2-stimulated macrophages by modulating key inflammation mediators. Further in

Effect of plant extracts on H2O2-induced inflammatory gene expression in macrophages

Science.gov (United States)

Pomari, Elena; Stefanon, Bruno; Colitti, Monica

2014-01-01

Background Arctium lappa (AL), Camellia sinensis (CS), Echinacea angustifolia, Eleutherococcus senticosus, Panax ginseng (PG), and Vaccinium myrtillus (VM) are plants traditionally used in many herbal formulations for the treatment of various conditions. Although they are well known and already studied for their anti-inflammatory properties, their effects on H2O2-stimulated macrophages are a novel area of study. Materials and methods Cell viability was tested after treatment with increasing doses of H2O2 and/or plant extracts at different times of incubation to identify the optimal experimental conditions. The messenger (m)RNA expression of TNFα, COX2, IL1β, NFκB1, NFκB2, NOS2, NFE2L2, and PPARγ was analyzed in macrophages under H2O2 stimulation. The same genes were also quantified after plant extract treatment on cells pre-stimulated with H2O2. Results A noncytotoxic dose (200 μM) of H2O2 induced active mRNA expression of COX2, IL1β, NFE2L2, NFκB1, NFκB2, NOS2, and TNFα, while PPARγ was depressed. The expression of all genes tested was significantly (P<0.001) regulated by plant extracts after pre-stimulation with H2O2. COX2 was downregulated by AL, PG, and VM. All extracts depressed IL1β expression, but upregulated NFE2L2. NFκB1, NFκB2, and TNFα were downregulated by AL, CS, PG, and VM. NOS2 was inhibited by CS, PG, and VM. PPARγ was decreased only after treatment with E. angustifolia and E. senticosus. Conclusion The results of the present study indicate that the stimulation of H2O2 on RAW267.4 cells induced the transcription of proinflammatory mediators, showing that this could be an applicable system by which to activate macrophages. Plant extracts from AL, CS, PG, and VM possess in vitro anti-inflammatory activity on H2O2-stimulated macrophages by modulating key inflammation mediators. Further in vitro and in vivo investigation into molecular mechanisms modulated by herbal extracts should be undertaken to shed light on the development of novel

Performance evaluation of the General Electric eXplore CT 120 micro-CT using the vmCT phantom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bahri, M.A., E-mail: M.Bahri@ulg.ac.be [ULg-Liege University, Cyclotron Research Centre, Liege, Bat. 30, Allee du 6 aout, 8 (Belgium); Warnock, G.; Plenevaux, A. [ULg-Liege University, Cyclotron Research Centre, Liege, Bat. 30, Allee du 6 aout, 8 (Belgium); Choquet, P.; Constantinesco, A. [Biophysique et Medecine Nucleaire, Hopitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg (France); Salmon, E.; Luxen, A. [ULg-Liege University, Cyclotron Research Centre, Liege, Bat. 30, Allee du 6 aout, 8 (Belgium); Seret, A. [ULg-Liege University, Cyclotron Research Centre, Liege, Bat. 30, Allee du 6 aout, 8 (Belgium); ULg-Liege University, Experimental Medical Imaging, Liege (Belgium)

2011-08-21

The eXplore CT 120 is the latest generation micro-CT from General Electric. It is equipped with a high-power tube and a flat-panel detector. It allows high resolution and high contrast fast CT scanning of small animals. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of the eXplore CT 120 with that of the eXplore Ultra, its predecessor for which the methodology using the vmCT phantom has already been described . The phantom was imaged using typical a rat (fast scan or F) or mouse (in vivo bone scan or H) scanning protocols. With the slanted edge method, a 10% modulation transfer function (MTF) was observed at 4.4 (F) and 3.9-4.4 (H) mm{sup -1} corresponding to 114 {mu}m resolution. A fairly larger MTF was obtained by the coil method with the MTF for the thinnest coil (3.3 mm{sup -1}) equal to 0.32 (F) and 0.34 (H). The geometric accuracy was better than 0.3%. There was a highly linear (R{sup 2}>0.999) relationship between measured and expected CT numbers for both the CT number accuracy and linearity sections of the phantom. A cupping effect was clearly seen on the uniform slices and the uniformity-to-noise ratio ranged from 0.52 (F) to 0.89 (H). The air CT number depended on the amount of polycarbonate surrounding the area where it was measured; a difference as high as approximately 200 HU was observed. This hindered the calibration of this scanner in HU. This is likely due to the absence of corrections for beam hardening and scatter in the reconstruction software. However in view of the high linearity of the system, the implementation of these corrections would allow a good quality calibration of the scanner in HU. In conclusion, the eXplore CT 120 achieved a better spatial resolution than the eXplore Ultra (based on previously reported specifications) and future software developments will include beam hardening and scatter corrections that will make the new generation CT scanner even more promising.

Simulation of Runoff Hydrograph on Soil Surfaces with Different Microtopography Using a Travel Time Method at the Plot Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Longshan; Wu, Faqi

2015-01-01

In this study, a simple travel time-based runoff model was proposed to simulate a runoff hydrograph on soil surfaces with different microtopographies. Three main parameters, i.e., rainfall intensity (I), mean flow velocity (vm) and ponding time of depression (tp), were inputted into this model. The soil surface was divided into numerous grid cells, and the flow length of each grid cell (li) was then calculated from a digital elevation model (DEM). The flow velocity in each grid cell (vi) was derived from the upstream flow accumulation area using vm. The total flow travel time through each grid cell to the surface outlet was the sum of the sum of flow travel times along the flow path (i.e., the sum of li/vi) and tp. The runoff rate at the slope outlet for each respective travel time was estimated by finding the sum of the rain rate from all contributing cells for all time intervals. The results show positive agreement between the measured and predicted runoff hydrographs.

Neuro-Epigenetic Indications of Acute Stress Response in Humans: The Case of MicroRNA-29c.

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Sharon Vaisvaser

Full Text Available Stress research has progressively become more integrative in nature, seeking to unfold crucial relations between the different phenotypic levels of stress manifestations. This study sought to unravel stress-induced variations in expression of human microRNAs sampled in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and further assess their relationship with neuronal and psychological indices. We obtained blood samples from 49 healthy male participants before and three hours after performing a social stress task, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. A seed-based functional connectivity (FC analysis was conducted for the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC, a key area of stress regulation. Out of hundreds of microRNAs, a specific increase was identified in microRNA-29c (miR-29c expression, corresponding with both the experience of sustained stress via self-reports, and alterations in vmPFC functional connectivity. Explicitly, miR-29c expression levels corresponded with both increased connectivity of the vmPFC with the anterior insula (aIns, and decreased connectivity of the vmPFC with the left dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC. Our findings further revealed that miR-29c mediates an indirect path linking enhanced vmPFC-aIns connectivity during stress with subsequent experiences of sustained stress. The correlative patterns of miR-29c expression and vmPFC FC, along with the mediating effects on subjective stress sustainment and the presumed localization of miR-29c in astrocytes, together point to an intriguing assumption; miR-29c may serve as a biomarker in the blood for stress-induced functional neural alterations reflecting regulatory processes. Such a multi-level model may hold the key for future personalized intervention in stress psychopathology.

Excito-oscillatory dynamics as a mechanism of ventricular fibrillation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Richard A; Huelsing, Delilah J

2008-04-01

The instabilities associated with reentrant spiral waves are of paramount importance to the initiation and maintenance of tachyarrhythmias, especially ventricular fibrillation (VF). In addition to tissue heterogeneities, there are only a few basic purported mechanisms of spiral wave breakup, most notably restitution. We test the hypothesis that oscillatory membrane properties act to destabilize spiral waves. We recorded transmembrane potential (V(m)) from isolated rabbit myocytes using a constant current stimulation protocol. We developed a mathematical model that included both the stable excitable equilibrium point at resting V(m) (-80 mV) and the unstable oscillatory equilibrium point at elevated V(m) (-10 mV). Spiral wave dynamics were studied in 2-dimensional grids using variants of the model. All models showed restitution and reproduced the experimental values of transmembrane resistance at rest and during the action potential plateau. Stable spiral waves were observed when the model showed only 1 equilibrium point. However, spatio-temporal complexity was observed if the model showed both excitable and oscillatory equilibrium points (i.e., excito-oscillatory models). The initial wave breaks resulted from oscillatory waves expanding in all directions; after a few beats, the patterns were characterized by a combination of unstable spiral waves and target patterns consistent with the patterns observed on the heart surface during VF. In our model, this VF-like activity only occurred when the single cell period of V(m) oscillations was within a specific range. The VF-like patterns observed in our excito-oscillatory models could not be explained by the existing proposed instability mechanisms. Our results introduce the important suggestion that membrane dynamics responsible for V(m) oscillations at elevated V(m) levels can destabilize spiral waves and thus may be a novel therapeutic target for preventing VF.

Gap junction coupling confers isopotentiality on astrocyte syncytium

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Baofeng; Buckalew, Richard; Du, Yixing; Kiyoshi, Conrad M.; Alford, Catherine C.; Wang, Wei; McTigue, Dana D.; Enyeart, John J.; Terman, David; Zhou, Min

2015-01-01

Astrocytes are extensively coupled through gap junctions into a syncytium. However, the basic role of this major brain network remains largely unknown. Using electrophysiological and computational modeling methods, we demonstrate that the membrane potential (VM) of an individual astrocyte in a hippocampal syncytium, but not in a single, freshly isolated cell preparation, can be well-maintained at quasi-physiological levels when recorded with reduced or K+ free pipette solutions that alter the K+ equilibrium potential to non-physiological voltages. We show that an astrocyte’s associated syncytium provides powerful electrical coupling, together with ionic coupling at a lesser extent, that equalizes the astrocyte’s VM to levels comparable to its neighbors. Functionally, this minimizes VM depolarization attributable to elevated levels of local extracellular K+ and thereby maintains a sustained driving force for highly efficient K+ uptake. Thus, gap junction coupling functions to achieve isopotentiality in astrocytic networks, whereby a constant extracellular environment can be powerfully maintained for crucial functions of neural circuits. PMID:26435164

The potential inclusion of value management subject for postgraduate programmes in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Che Mat, M.; Karim, S. B. Abd; Amran, N. A. E.

2018-02-01

The development of construction industry is increasing tremendously. To complement with this scenario, Value Management (VM) is needed to achieve the optimum function by reducing or eliminating the unnecessary cost that does not contribute to the product, system or service. As VM has been increasingly applied to enhance and improve value in construction projects, the purpose of this study is to implement VM as a subject for master’s students at selected public universities in Malaysia. The research is conducted to investigate the potential inclusion of VM as a subject at master degree programmes in Malaysia. Questionnaire survey was designed and delivered to existing master students to explore the current understanding of VM as well as the possibility of introducing VM as a subject. The results showed that the level of awareness on VM is high, yet the understanding of VM is low. This research presents the result of implementing VM as a subject learning for master’s level programme at selected public universities in Malaysia.

Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons’ Dendritic Remodeling and Increased Microglial Density in Primary Motor Cortex in a Murine Model of Facial Paralysis

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Diana Urrego

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This work was aimed at characterizing structural changes in primary motor cortex layer 5 pyramidal neurons and their relationship with microglial density induced by facial nerve lesion using a murine facial paralysis model. Adult transgenic mice, expressing green fluorescent protein in microglia and yellow fluorescent protein in projecting neurons, were submitted to either unilateral section of the facial nerve or sham surgery. Injured animals were sacrificed either 1 or 3weeks after surgery. Two-photon excitation microscopy was then used for evaluating both layer 5 pyramidal neurons and microglia in vibrissal primary motor cortex (vM1. It was found that facial nerve lesion induced long-lasting changes in the dendritic morphology of vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons and in their surrounding microglia. Dendritic arborization of the pyramidal cells underwent overall shrinkage. Apical dendrites suffered transient shortening while basal dendrites displayed sustained shortening. Moreover, dendrites suffered transient spine pruning. Significantly higher microglial cell density was found surrounding vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons after facial nerve lesion with morphological bias towards the activated phenotype. These results suggest that facial nerve lesions elicit active dendrite remodeling due to pyramidal neuron and microglia interaction, which could be the pathophysiological underpinning of some neuropathic motor sequelae in humans.

Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons' Dendritic Remodeling and Increased Microglial Density in Primary Motor Cortex in a Murine Model of Facial Paralysis

Science.gov (United States)

Urrego, Diana; Troncoso, Julieta; Múnera, Alejandro

2015-01-01

This work was aimed at characterizing structural changes in primary motor cortex layer 5 pyramidal neurons and their relationship with microglial density induced by facial nerve lesion using a murine facial paralysis model. Adult transgenic mice, expressing green fluorescent protein in microglia and yellow fluorescent protein in projecting neurons, were submitted to either unilateral section of the facial nerve or sham surgery. Injured animals were sacrificed either 1 or 3weeks after surgery. Two-photon excitation microscopy was then used for evaluating both layer 5 pyramidal neurons and microglia in vibrissal primary motor cortex (vM1). It was found that facial nerve lesion induced long-lasting changes in the dendritic morphology of vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons and in their surrounding microglia. Dendritic arborization of the pyramidal cells underwent overall shrinkage. Apical dendrites suffered transient shortening while basal dendrites displayed sustained shortening. Moreover, dendrites suffered transient spine pruning. Significantly higher microglial cell density was found surrounding vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons after facial nerve lesion with morphological bias towards the activated phenotype. These results suggest that facial nerve lesions elicit active dendrite remodeling due to pyramidal neuron and microglia interaction, which could be the pathophysiological underpinning of some neuropathic motor sequelae in humans. PMID:26064916

Modeled Urea Distribution Volume and Mortality in the HEMO Study

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Tom; Depner, Thomas A.; Levin, Nathan W.; Chertow, Glenn M.

2011-01-01

Summary Background and objectives In the Hemodialysis (HEMO) Study, observed small decreases in achieved equilibrated Kt/Vurea were noncausally associated with markedly increased mortality. Here we examine the association of mortality with modeled volume (Vm), the denominator of equilibrated Kt/Vurea. Design, setting, participants, & measurements Parameters derived from modeled urea kinetics (including Vm) and blood pressure (BP) were obtained monthly in 1846 patients. Case mix–adjusted time-dependent Cox regressions were used to relate the relative mortality hazard at each time point to Vm and to the change in Vm over the preceding 6 months. Mixed effects models were used to relate Vm to changes in intradialytic systolic BP and to other factors at each follow-up visit. Results Mortality was associated with Vm and change in Vm over the preceding 6 months. The association between change in Vm and mortality was independent of vascular access complications. In contrast, mortality was inversely associated with V calculated from anthropometric measurements (Vant). In case mix–adjusted analysis using Vm as a time-dependent covariate, the association of mortality with Vm strengthened after statistical adjustment for Vant. After adjustment for Vant, higher Vm was associated with slightly smaller reductions in intradialytic systolic BP and with risk factors for mortality including recent hospitalization and reductions in serum albumin concentration and body weight. Conclusions An increase in Vm is a marker for illness and mortality risk in hemodialysis patients. PMID:21511841

The Bioelectric Code: Reprogramming Cancer and Aging From the Interface of Mechanical and Chemical Microenvironments

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Brian B. Silver

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Cancer is a complex, heterogeneous group of diseases that can develop through many routes. Broad treatments such as chemotherapy destroy healthy cells in addition to cancerous ones, but more refined strategies that target specific pathways are usually only effective for a limited number of cancer types. This is largely due to the multitude of physiological variables that differ between cells and their surroundings. It is therefore important to understand how nature coordinates these variables into concerted regulation of growth at the tissue scale. The cellular microenvironment might then be manipulated to drive cells toward a desired outcome at the tissue level. One unexpected parameter, cellular membrane voltage (Vm, has been documented to exert control over cellular behavior both in culture and in vivo. Manipulating this fundamental cellular property influences a remarkable array of organism-wide patterning events, producing striking outcomes in both tumorigenesis as well as regeneration. These studies suggest that Vm is not only a key intrinsic cellular property, but also an integral part of the microenvironment that acts in both space and time to guide cellular behavior. As a result, there is considerable interest in manipulating Vm both to treat cancer as well as to regenerate organs damaged or deteriorated during aging. However, such manipulations have produced conflicting outcomes experimentally, which poses a substantial barrier to understanding the fundamentals of bioelectrical reprogramming. Here, we summarize these inconsistencies and discuss how the mechanical microenvironment may impact bioelectric regulation.

Verbal memory impairments in schizophrenia associated with cortical thinning

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S. Guimond

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Verbal memory (VM represents one of the most affected cognitive domains in schizophrenia. Multiple studies have shown that schizophrenia is associated with cortical abnormalities, but it remains unclear whether these are related to VM impairments. Considering the vast literature demonstrating the role of the frontal cortex, the parahippocampal cortex, and the hippocampus in VM, we examined the cortical thickness/volume of these regions. We used a categorical approach whereby 27 schizophrenia patients with ‘moderate to severe’ VM impairments were compared to 23 patients with ‘low to mild’ VM impairments and 23 healthy controls. A series of between-group vertex-wise GLM on cortical thickness were performed for specific regions of interest defining the parahippocampal gyrus and the frontal cortex. When compared to healthy controls, patients with ‘moderate to severe’ VM impairments revealed significantly thinner cortex in the left frontal lobe, and the parahippocampal gyri. When compared to patients with ‘low to mild’ VM impairments, patients with ‘moderate to severe’ VM impairments showed a trend of thinner cortex in similar regions. Virtually no differences were observed in the frontal area of patients with ‘low to mild’ VM impairments relative to controls. No significant group differences were observed in the hippocampus. Our results indicate that patients with greater VM impairments demonstrate significant cortical thinning in regions known to be important in VM performance. Treating VM deficits in schizophrenia could have a positive effect on the brain; thus, subgroups of patients with more severe VM deficits should be a prioritized target in the development of new cognitive treatments.

An analytical-numerical approach for parameter determination of a five-parameter single-diode model of photovoltaic cells and modules

Science.gov (United States)

Hejri, Mohammad; Mokhtari, Hossein; Azizian, Mohammad Reza; Söder, Lennart

2016-04-01

Parameter extraction of the five-parameter single-diode model of solar cells and modules from experimental data is a challenging problem. These parameters are evaluated from a set of nonlinear equations that cannot be solved analytically. On the other hand, a numerical solution of such equations needs a suitable initial guess to converge to a solution. This paper presents a new set of approximate analytical solutions for the parameters of a five-parameter single-diode model of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules. The proposed solutions provide a good initial point which guarantees numerical analysis convergence. The proposed technique needs only a few data from the PV current-voltage characteristics, i.e. open circuit voltage Voc, short circuit current Isc and maximum power point current and voltage Im; Vm making it a fast and low cost parameter determination technique. The accuracy of the presented theoretical I-V curves is verified by experimental data.

Potassium ion influx measurements on cultured Chinese hamster cells exposed to 60-hertz electromagnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevenson, A.P.; Tobey, R.A.

1985-01-01

Potassium ion influx was measured by monitoring 42 KCl uptake by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells grown in suspension culture and exposed in the culture medium to 60-Hz electromagnetic fields up to 2.85 V/m. In the presence of the field CHO cells exhibited two components of uptake, the same as previously observed for those grown under normal conditions; both these components of influx were decreased when compared to sham-exposed cells. Although decreases were consistently observed in exposed cells when plotted as loge of uptake, the differences between the means of the calculated fluxes of exposed and sham-exposed cells were quite small (on the order of 4-7%). When standard deviations were calculated, there was no significant difference between these means; however, when time-paired uptake data were analyzed, the differences were found to be statistically significant. Cells exposed only to the magnetic field exhibited similar small decreases in influx rates when compared to sham-exposed cells, suggesting that the reduction in K+ uptake could be attributed to the magnetic field. Additionally, intracellular K+ levels were measured over a prolonged exposure period (96 h), and no apparent differences in intracellular K+ levels were observed between field-exposed and sham-exposed cultures. These results indicate that high-strength electric fields have a small effect on the rate of transport of potassium ions but no effect on long-term maintenance of intracellular K+

Vestibulær migræne

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lars Juul; Kirchmann, Malene; Friis, Morten

2015-01-01

Dizziness caused by migraine, vestibular migraine (VM), has been highly debated over the last three decades. The co-morbidity of migraine and dizziness is higher than a random concurrence. One third of the patients with migraine and dizziness have VM. Recently, The International Headache Society ...... approved VM as a diagnostic entity and the diagnostic criteria for VM appear in the appendix for The International Classification of Headache Disorders. VM is common but often underdiagnosed. Treatment follows migraine management guidelines although evidence is sparse.......Dizziness caused by migraine, vestibular migraine (VM), has been highly debated over the last three decades. The co-morbidity of migraine and dizziness is higher than a random concurrence. One third of the patients with migraine and dizziness have VM. Recently, The International Headache Society...

Depolarization of sperm membrane potential is a common feature of men with subfertility and is associated with low fertilization rate at IVF.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Sean G; Publicover, Stephen J; Mansell, Steven A; Lishko, Polina V; Williams, Hannah L; Ramalingam, Mythili; Wilson, Stuart M; Barratt, Christopher L R; Sutton, Keith A; Da Silva, Sarah Martins

2016-06-01

Are significant abnormalities in outward (K(+)) conductance and resting membrane potential (Vm) present in the spermatozoa of patients undertaking IVF and ICSI and if so, what is their functional effect on fertilization success? Negligible outward conductance (≈5% of patients) or an enhanced inward conductance (≈4% of patients), both of which caused depolarization of Vm, were associated with a low rate of fertilization following IVF. Sperm-specific potassium channel knockout mice are infertile with defects in sperm function, suggesting that these channels are essential for fertility. These observations suggest that malfunction of K(+) channels in human spermatozoa might contribute significantly to the occurrence of subfertility in men. However, remarkably little is known of the nature of K(+) channels in human spermatozoa or the incidence and functional consequences of K(+) channel defects. Spermatozoa were obtained from healthy volunteer research donors and subfertile IVF and ICSI patients attending a hospital assisted reproductive techniques clinic between May 2013 and December 2015. In total, 40 IVF patients, 41 ICSI patients and 26 normozoospermic donors took part in the study. Samples were examined using electrophysiology (whole-cell patch clamping). Where abnormal electrophysiological characteristics were identified, spermatozoa were further examined for Ca(2+) influx induced by progesterone and penetration into viscous media if sufficient sample was available. Full exome sequencing was performed to specifically evaluate potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily M α 1 (KCNMA1), potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily U member 1 (KCNU1) and leucine-rich repeat containing 52 (LRRC52) genes and others associated with K(+) signalling. In IVF patients, comparison with fertilization rates was done to assess the functional significance of the electrophysiological abnormalities. Patch clamp electrophysiology was used to assess outward (K

Simulation modeling of cloud computing for smart grid using CloudSim

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Sandeep Mehmi

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper a smart grid cloud has been simulated using CloudSim. Various parameters like number of virtual machines (VM, VM Image size, VM RAM, VM bandwidth, cloudlet length, and their effect on cost and cloudlet completion time in time-shared and space-shared resource allocation policy have been studied. As the number of cloudlets increased from 68 to 178, greater number of cloudlets completed their execution with high cloudlet completion time in time-shared allocation policy as compared to space-shared allocation policy. Similar trend has been observed when VM bandwidth is increased from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps and VM RAM is increased from 512 MB to 5120 MB. The cost of processing increased linearly with respect to increase in number of VMs, VM Image size and cloudlet length.

Cross System Extensions (CSE) experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnston, T.Y.

1990-08-01

Cross System Extension (CSE) provides VM/XA systems with the ability to share minidisks and spool in loosely coupled environment. CSE will also cooperate with the VM/HPO Inter System Facility (ISF) in sharing minidisks between VM/XA and VM/HPO to XA, reliability of CSE, and some operational considerations when running with it

Higher resting heart rate variability predicts skill in expressing some emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuck, Natalie L; Grant, Rosemary C I; Sollers, John J; Booth, Roger J; Consedine, Nathan S

2016-12-01

Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is a measure of cardiac vagal tone, and is widely viewed as a physiological index of the capacity to regulate emotions. However, studies have not directly tested whether vmHRV is associated with the ability to facially express emotions. In extending prior work, the current report tested links between resting vmHRV and the objectively assessed ability to facially express emotions, hypothesizing that higher vmHRV would predict greater expressive skill. Eighty healthy women completed self-reported measures, before attending a laboratory session in which vmHRV and the ability to express six emotions in the face were assessed. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a marginal main effect for vmHRV on skill overall; individuals with higher resting vmHRV were only better able to deliberately facially express anger and interest. Findings suggest that differences in resting vmHRV are associated with the objectively assessed ability to facially express some, but not all, emotions, with potential implications for health and well-being. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Feedforward motor information enhances somatosensory responses and sharpens angular tuning of rat S1 barrel cortex neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Khateb, Mohamed; Schiller, Jackie; Schiller, Yitzhak

2017-01-06

The primary vibrissae motor cortex (vM1) is responsible for generating whisking movements. In parallel, vM1 also sends information directly to the sensory barrel cortex (vS1). In this study, we investigated the effects of vM1 activation on processing of vibrissae sensory information in vS1 of the rat. To dissociate the vibrissae sensory-motor loop, we optogenetically activated vM1 and independently passively stimulated principal vibrissae. Optogenetic activation of vM1 supra-linearly amplified the response of vS1 neurons to passive vibrissa stimulation in all cortical layers measured. Maximal amplification occurred when onset of vM1 optogenetic activation preceded vibrissa stimulation by 20 ms. In addition to amplification, vM1 activation also sharpened angular tuning of vS1 neurons in all cortical layers measured. Our findings indicated that in addition to output motor signals, vM1 also sends preparatory signals to vS1 that serve to amplify and sharpen the response of neurons in the barrel cortex to incoming sensory input signals.

Expression, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the extracellular IgV-like domain of the human natural killer cell inhibitory receptor p75/AIRM1.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimasi, Nazzareno; Moretta, Lorenzo; Biassoni, Roberto; Mariuzza, Roy A

2003-10-01

p75/AIRM1 (Siglec-7) is a sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectin recently identified as an inhibitory receptor on natural killer cells. The expression, in vitro folding, circular-dichroism spectroscopy, crystallization and preliminary X-ray characterization of the Ig-V like domain of p75/AIRM1 are reported. X-ray data were collected from a single crystal at 100 K, with a maximum useful diffraction pattern extending to 1.45 A resolution on a synchrotron source. The crystal belongs to a primitive monoclinic space group, with unit-cell parameters a = 32.65, b = 49.72, c = 39.79 A, alpha = gamma = 90, beta = 113 degrees. The systematic absences indicate that the space group is P2(1). Assuming one molecule per asymmetric unit, V(M) (the Matthews coefficient) was calculated to be 1.879 A(3) Da(-1) and the solvent content was estimated to be 32.01%.

Detection of Answer Copying Based on the Structure of a High-Stakes Test

Science.gov (United States)

Belov, Dmitry I.

2011-01-01

This article presents the Variable Match Index (VM-Index), a new statistic for detecting answer copying. The power of the VM-Index relies on two-dimensional conditioning as well as the structure of the test. The asymptotic distribution of the VM-Index is analyzed by reduction to Poisson trials. A computational study comparing the VM-Index with the…

Peripheral nerve injury induces glial activation in primary motor cortex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julieta Troncoso

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Preliminary evidence suggests that peripheral facial nerve injuries are associated with sensorimotor cortex reorganization. We have characterized facial nerve lesion-induced structural changes in primary motor cortex layer 5 pyramidal neurons and their relationship with glial cell density using a rodent facial paralysis model. First, we used adult transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein in microglia and yellow fluorescent protein in pyramidal neurons which were subjected to either unilateral lesion of the facial nerve or sham surgery. Two-photon excitation microscopy was then used for evaluating both layer 5 pyramidal neurons and microglia in vibrissal primary motor cortex (vM1. It was found that facial nerve lesion induced long-lasting changes in dendritic morphology of vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons and in their surrounding microglia. Pyramidal cells’ dendritic arborization underwent overall shrinkage and transient spine pruning. Moreover, microglial cell density surrounding vM1 layer 5 pyramidal neurons was significantly increased with morphological bias towards the activated phenotype. Additionally, we induced facial nerve lesion in Wistar rats to evaluate the degree and extension of facial nerve lesion-induced reorganization processes in central nervous system using neuronal and glial markers. Immunoreactivity to NeuN (neuronal nuclei antigen, GAP-43 (growth-associated protein 43, GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein, and Iba 1 (Ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 were evaluated 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 35 days after either unilateral facial nerve lesion or sham surgery. Patches of decreased NeuN immunoreactivity were found bilaterally in vM1 as well as in primary somatosensory cortex (CxS1. Significantly increased GAP-43 immunoreactivity was found bilaterally after the lesion in hippocampus, striatum, and sensorimotor cortex. One day after lesion GFAP immunoreactivity increased bilaterally in hippocampus, subcortical white

Characterisation of a Cell Culture System for Investigating Nerve Agent Neurotoxicology. Part 1

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-01

Antunes- Madeira et al., 1994) alterations have been described. Another area of uncertainty is the extent to which low-level sub-clinical OP exposures...Neurosci. 17, 3623- 3633. Antunes- Madeira ,M.C., Videira,R.A., and Madeira ,V.M. (1994). Effects of parathion on membrane organization and its

FETAL PORCINE VENTRAL MESENCEPHALON GRAFTS - DISSECTION PROCEDURE AND CELLULAR CHARACTERIZATION IN CULTURE

NARCIS (Netherlands)

VANROON, WMC; COPRAY, JCVM; HOGENESCH, RI; KEMA, [No Value; MEYER, EM; MOLENAAR, G; LUGARD, C; STAAL, MJ; GO, KG

The objective of this study was to develop an optimal dissection procedure for fetal porcine ventral mesencephalon (VM) grafts and to characterize the cellular composition of such an explant, in particular with respect to the dopaminergic and GABAergic components. We have used a monolayer cell

Cryopreservation of porcine fetal ventral mesencephalic tissue for intrastriatal transplantation in Parkinson's disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, J.; Hogenesch, I.; Copray, S.; Middel, B.; van Dijk, H.; Go, K-G.; Staal, M.

2001-01-01

In this study we examined the efficacy of cryopreserving porcine fetal mesencephalic tissue. After microscopical dissection of the ventral mesencephalon (VM) from E28 pig fetuses, the collection of explants was randomly divided into two equal parts. One part was directly prepared as cell suspension.

Comparing and Contrasting the Cognitive Effects of Hippocampal and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Damage: A Review of Human Lesion Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Cornelia; Ciaramelli, Elisa; De Luca, Flavia; Maguire, Eleanor A

2018-03-15

The hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are closely connected brain regions whose functions are still debated. In order to offer a fresh perspective on understanding the contributions of these two brain regions to cognition, in this review we considered cognitive tasks that usually elicit deficits in hippocampal-damaged patients (e.g., autobiographical memory retrieval), and examined the performance of vmPFC-lesioned patients on these tasks. We then took cognitive tasks where performance is typically compromised following vmPFC damage (e.g., decision making), and looked at how these are affected by hippocampal lesions. Three salient motifs emerged. First, there are surprising gaps in our knowledge about how hippocampal and vmPFC patients perform on tasks typically associated with the other group. Second, while hippocampal or vmPFC damage seems to adversely affect performance on so-called hippocampal tasks, the performance of hippocampal and vmPFC patients clearly diverges on classic vmPFC tasks. Third, although performance appears analogous on hippocampal tasks, on closer inspection, there are significant disparities between hippocampal and vmPFC patients. Based on these findings, we suggest a tentative hierarchical model to explain the functions of the hippocampus and vmPFC. We propose that the vmPFC initiates the construction of mental scenes by coordinating the curation of relevant elements from neocortical areas, which are then funneled into the hippocampus to build a scene. The vmPFC then engages in iterative re-initiation via feedback loops with neocortex and hippocampus to facilitate the flow and integration of the multiple scenes that comprise the coherent unfolding of an extended mental event. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

[The Clinical Application of Video Mediastinoscopy and CT in the N Staging of Preoperative Lung Cancer.].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhiheng; Qi, Weibo; Zhu, Yong; Lin, Ruobai

2009-10-20

Preoperative lung cancer with mediastinal lymph nodes metastasis can be diagnosed by vedio mediastinoscopy (VM) and CT. This study was to explore the value of VM and CT in the diagnosis of N staging of preoperative lung cancer, and to discuss the difference between the two methods. Forty-eight cases diagnosed of lung cancer by CT or PET-CT were examined by VM. The sensitivity, specificity, validity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of VM and CT were speculated according to the postoperative pathological reports, and the difference between VM and CT in the diagnosis of lung cancer with mediastinal lymph nodes metastasis was discussed. (1)Under the examination of VM, 31 patients with the negative outcome received the direct operation; 14 patients with N2 received 2 courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy before operation; 3 patients with N3 received chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. (2)Forty-one cases with final diagnosis of lung cancer were used as samples to speculate the sensitivity, specificity, validity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of VM. They were 93.3%, 100%, 97.6%, 100%, 96.3%, which of CT were 66.7%, 53.8%, 58.5%, 45.5%, 73.7% (Chi-square=4.083, P=0.039), the difference between VM and CT was statistically significant. (3)In this group, the complications of VM incidence rate was 2.08% (1/48), and the case was pneumothorax. VM is superior to CT in the diagnosis of N staging of preoperative lung cancer; Due to its safety and effectiveness, VM will be wildly used in the field of thoracic surgery.

The Clinical Application of Video Mediastinoscopy and CT in the N Staging of Preoperative Lung Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiheng WANG

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Background and objective Preoperative lung cancer with mediastinal lymph nodes metastasis can be diagnosed by vedio mediastinoscopy (VM and CT. This study was to explore the value of VM and CT in the diagnosis of N staging of preoperative lung cancer, and to discuss the difference between the 2 methods. Methods 48 cases diagnosed of lung cancer by CT or PET-CT were examined by VM. The sensitivity, specificity, validity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of VM and CT were speculated according to the postoperative pathological reports, and the difference between VM and CT in the diagnosis of lung cancer with mediastinal lymph nodes metastasis was discussed. Results ①Under the examination of VM, 31 patients with the negative outcome received the direct operation, 14 patients with N2 received 2 courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy before operation, 3 patients with N3 received chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. ②Forty-one cases with final diagnosis of lung cancer were used as samples to speculate the sensitivity, specificity, validity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of VM. They were 93.3%, 100%, 97.6%, 100%, 96.3%, which of CT were 66.7%, 53.8%, 58.5%, 45.5%, 73.7% (χ2=4.083, P=0.039, the difference between VM and CT was statistically significant. ③In this group, the complications of VM incidence rate is 2.08% (1/48, the case is pneumothorax. Conclusion VM is superior to CT in the diagnosis of N staging of preoperative lung cancer, it is safe and effective, and there will be a wide perspective for VM in thoracic surgery.

Cold acclimation improves chill tolerance in the migratory locust through preservation of ion balance and membrane potential

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Mads; Folkersen, Rasmus; MacMillan, Heath Andrew

2017-01-01

potential (Vm). Several studies have therefore suggested a link between preservation of Vm and cellular survival after cold stress, but none has measured Vm in this context. We tested this hypothesis by acclimating locusts (Locusta migratoria) to high (31°C) and low temperature (11°C) for 4 days before...... revealed that cellular injury during cold exposure occurs when Vm becomes severely depolarized. Interestingly, we found that cellular sensitivity to hypothermic hyperkalaemia was lower in cold-acclimated locusts that were better able to defend Vm whilst exposed to high extracellular [K+]. Together...

Overexpression of ceramide synthase 1 increases C18-ceramide and leads to lethal autophagy in human glioma

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zheng; Wen, Lijun; Zhu, Fei; Wang, Yanping; Xie, Qing; Chen, Zijun; Li, Yunsen

2017-01-01

Ceramide synthase 1 (CERS1) is the most highly expressed CERS in the central nervous system, and ceramide with an 18-carbon–containing fatty acid chain (C18-ceramide) in the brain plays important roles in signaling and sphingolipid development. However, the roles of CERS1 and C18-ceramide in glioma are largely unknown. In the present study, measured by electrospray ionization linear ion trap mass spectrometry, C18-ceramide was significantly lower in glioma tumor tissues compared with controls (P overexpression of CERS1, which has been shown to specifically induce the generation of C18-ceramide. Overexpression of CERS1 or adding exogenous C18-ceramide inhibited cell viability and induced cell death by activating endoplasmic reticulum stress, which induced lethal autophagy and inhibited PI3K/AKT signal pathway in U251 and A172 glioma cells. Moreover, overexpression of CERS1 or adding exogenous C18-ceramide increased the sensitivity of U251 and A172 glioma cells to teniposide (VM-26). Thus, the combined therapy of CERS1/C18-ceramide and VM-26 may be a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of human glioma. PMID:29262618

Investigating the role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in the assessment of brands.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, José Paulo; Seixas, Daniela; Brandão, Sofia; Moutinho, Luiz

2011-01-01

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is believed to be important in everyday preference judgments, processing emotions during decision-making. However, there is still controversy in the literature regarding the participation of the vmPFC. To further elucidate the contribution of the vmPFC in brand preference, we designed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study where 18 subjects assessed positive, indifferent, and fictitious brands. Also, both the period during and after the decision process were analyzed, hoping to unravel temporally the role of the vmPFC, using modeled and model-free fMRI analysis. Considering together the period before and after decision-making, there was activation of the vmPFC when comparing positive with indifferent or fictitious brands. However, when the decision-making period was separated from the moment after the response, and especially for positive brands, the vmPFC was more active after the choice than during the decision process itself, challenging some of the existing literature. The results of the present study support the notion that the vmPFC may be unimportant in the decision stage of brand preference, questioning theories that postulate that the vmPFC is in the origin of such a choice. Further studies are needed to investigate in detail why the vmPFC seems to be involved in brand preference only after the decision process.

Browse Title Index

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Items 301 - 350 of 832 ... ... Amputation at Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute: indications and Outcome. Abstract PDF. VM Lupondo, LM Museru, CN Mcharo ... Vol 5, No 2 (2000), Gastric outlet obstruction in Northwestern Ethiopia, Abstract PDF. Rerhanu Kotisso. Vol 17, No 2 (2012), Gastrointestinal Stromal Cell Tumor (GIST) ...

Measuring personal exposure from 900MHz mobile phone base stations in Australia and Belgium using a novel personal distributed exposimeter.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatt, Chhavi Raj; Thielens, Arno; Redmayne, Mary; Abramson, Michael J; Billah, Baki; Sim, Malcolm R; Vermeulen, Roel; Martens, Luc; Joseph, Wout; Benke, Geza

2016-01-01

The aims of this study were to: i) measure personal exposure in the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) 900MHz downlink (DL) frequency band with two systems of exposimeters, a personal distributed exposimeter (PDE) and a pair of ExpoM-RFs, ii) compare the GSM 900MHz DL exposures across various microenvironments in Australia and Belgium, and iii) evaluate the correlation between the PDE and ExpoM-RFs measurements. Personal exposure data were collected using the PDE and two ExpoM-RFs simultaneously across 34 microenvironments (17 each in Australia and Belgium) located in urban, suburban and rural areas. Summary statistics of the electric field strengths (V/m) were computed and compared across similar microenvironments in Australia and Belgium. The personal exposures across urban microenvironments were higher than those in the rural or suburban microenvironments. Likewise, the exposure levels across the outdoor were higher than those for indoor microenvironments. The five highest median exposure levels were: city centre (0.248V/m), bus (0.124V/m), railway station (0.105V/m), mountain/forest (rural) (0.057V/m), and train (0.055V/m) [Australia]; and bicycle (urban) (0.238V/m), tram station (0.238V/m), city centre (0.156V/m), residential outdoor (urban) (0.139V/m) and park (0.124V/m) [Belgium]. Exposures in the GSM900 MHz frequency band across most of the microenvironments in Australia were significantly lower than the exposures across the microenvironments in Belgium. Overall correlations between the PDE and the ExpoM-RFs measurements were high. The measured exposure levels were far below the general public reference levels recommended in the guidelines of the ICNIRP and the ARPANSA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exposure to extremely low frequency (50 Hz electromagnetic field changes the survival rate and morphometric characteristics of neurosecretory neurons of the earthworm Eisenia foetida (Oligochaeta under illumination stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Banovački Zorana

2013-01-01

Full Text Available An in vivo model was set up to establish the behavioral stress response (rate of survival and morphometric characteristics of A1 protocerebral neurosecretory neurons (cell size of Eisenia foetida (Oligochaeta as a result of the synergetic effect of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF - 50 Hz, 50 μT, 17 V/m and 50 Hz, 150 μT, 17 V/m, respectively and constant illumination (420-450 lux. If combined, these two stressors significantly (p<0.05 increased the survival rate of E. foetida in the 150 μT-exposed animals, because of delayed caudal autotomy reflex, an indicator of stress response. In addition, morphometric analysis indicated that there were changes in the protocerebral neurosecretory cells after exposure to the ELF-EMF. The present data support the view that short-term ELF-EMF exposure in “windows” of intensity is likely to stimulate the immune and neuroendocrine response of E. foetida.

Improved method to determine the molar volume and compositions of the NaCl-H2O-CO2 system inclusion

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2007-01-01

On the basis of Parry’s method (1986), an improved method was established to determine the molar volume (Vm) and compositions (X) of the NaCl-H2O-CO2 (NHC) system inclusion. To use this method, the determination of Vm-X only requires three microthermometric data of a NHC inclusion: partial homog-enization temperature (Th ,CO2), salinity (S) and total homogenization temperature (Th). Theoretically, four associated equations are needed containing four unknown parameters: X CO2, XNaCl, Vm and F (volume fraction of CO2 phase in total inclusion when occurring partial homogenization). When they are released, the Vm-X are determined. The former three equations, only correlated with Th ,CO2, S and F, have simplified expressions:XCO2=f1(Th,CO2,S,F),XNaCl=f2(Th,CO2,S,F),Vm=f3(Th,CO2,S,F). The last one is the thermodynamic relationship of X CO2, XNaCl, Vm and Th:f4(XCO2,XNaCl,Vm,Th)=0.Since the above four associated equations are complicated, it is necessary to adopt iterative technique to release them. The technique can be described by:(i) Freely input a F value (0≤F≤1),with Th ,CO2 and S, into the former three equations. As a result,X CO 2,XNaCl and the molar volume value recorded as Vm1 are derived. (ii) Input the X CO2 and XNaCl gotten in the step above into the last equation, and another molar volume value recorded as Vm2 is determined. (iii) If Vm1 is unequal to Vm2, the calculation will be restarted from “(i)”. The iteration is completed until Vm1 is equal to Vm2, which means that the four associated equations are released. Compared to Parry’s (1986) solution method, the improved method is more convenient to use, as well as more accurate to determine X CO 2. It is available for a NHC inlusion whose partial homogenization temperature is higher than clatherate melting temperature and there are no solid salt crystals in the inclusion at parital homogenization.

Improved method to determine the molar volume and compositions of the NaCl-H2O-CO2 system inclusion

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SONG YuCai; HU WenXuan; NI Pei; DUAN ZhenHao; ZHANG XueFeng

2007-01-01

On the basis of Parry's method (1986),an improved method was established to determine the molar volume(Vm)and compositions(X)of the NaCl-H2O-CO2(NHC)system inclusion.To use this method,the determination of Vm-X only requires three microthermometric data of a NHC inclusion:partial homogenization temperature(Th,CO2),salinity(s)and total homogenization temperature(Th).Theoretically,four associated equations are needed containing four unknown parameters:Xco2,XNcl,Vm and F (volume fraction of CO2 phase in total inclusion when occurring partial homogenization).When they are released,the Vm-X are determined.The former three equations,only correlated with Th,co2,S and F,have simplified expressions:XCO2=f1(Th,CO2,S,F),XNaCl=f2(Th,CO2,S,F),Vm=f3(Th,CO2,S,F).The last one is the thermodynamic relationship of Xco2,Xnacl,vm and Th:f4(XCO2,XNacl,Vm,Th)=0. Since the above four associated equations are complicated,it is necessary to adopt iterative technique to release them.The technique can be described by:(i)Freely input a F value(0≤F≤1),with Th,co2 and S,into the former three equations.As a result,Xco2,XNacl and the molar volume value recorded as Vm1 are derived.(ii)Input the Xco2 and XNacl gotten in the step above into the last equation,and another molar volume value recorded as Vm2 is determined.(iii) If Vm1 is unequal to Vm2,the calculation will be restarted from"(i)".The iteration is completed until Vm1 is equal to Vm2,which means that the four associated equations are released.Compared to Parry's (1986) solution method,the improved method is more convenient to use,as well as more accurate to determine Xco2.It is available for a NHC inlusion whose partial homogenization temperature is higher than clatherate melting temperature and there are no solid salt crystals in the inclusion at parital homogenization.

Glacial Isostatic Adjustment Derived Boundary Conditions for Paleoclimate Simulation: the Refined ICE-6G_D (VM5a) Model and the Dansgaard-Oeschger Oscillation

Science.gov (United States)

Peltier, W. R.; Vettoretti, G.; Argus, D. F.

2017-12-01

Global models of the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) process are designed to fit a wide range of geophysical and geomorphological observations that simultaneously constrain the internal viscoelastic structure of Earths interior and the history of grounded ice thickness variations that has occurred over the most recent ice-age cycle of the Late Quaternary interval of time. The most recent refinement of the ICE-NG (VMX) series of such global models from the University of Toronto, ICE-6G_C (VM5a), has recently been slightly modified insofar as its Antarctic component is concerned to produce a "_D" version of the structure. This has been chosen to provide the boundary conditions for the next round of model-data inter-comparisons in the context of the international Paleoclimate Modeling Inter-comparison Project (PMIP). The output of PMIP will contribute to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which is now under way. A highly significant test of the utility of this latest model has recently been performed that is focused upon the Dansgaard-Oeschger oscillation that was the primary source of climate variability during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS3) of the most recent glacial cycle. By introducing the surface boundary conditions for paleotopography and paleobathymetry, land-sea mask and surface albedo into the NCAR CESM1 coupled climate model configured at full one degree by one degree CMIP5 resolution, together with the appropriate trace gas and orbital insolation forcing, we show that the millennium timescale Dansgard-Oeschger oscillation naturally develops following spin- up of the model into the glacial state.

Volumetric modulated arc therapy and breath-hold in image-guided locoregional left-sided breast irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osman, Sarah O.S.; Hol, Sandra; Poortmans, Philip M.; Essers, Marion

2014-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the effects of using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and/or voluntary moderate deep inspiration breath-hold (vmDIBH) in the radiation therapy (RT) of left-sided breast cancer including the regional lymph nodes. Materials and methods: For 13 patients, four treatment combinations were compared; 3D-conformal RT (i.e., forward IMRT) in free-breathing 3D-CRT(FB), 3D-CRT(vmDIBH), 2 partial arcs VMAT(FB), and VMAT(vmDIBH). Prescribed dose was 42.56 Gy in 16 fractions. For 10 additional patients, 3D-CRT and VMAT in vmDIBH only were also compared. Results: Dose conformity, PTV coverage, ipsilateral and total lung doses were significantly better for VMAT plans compared to 3D-CRT. Mean heart dose (D mean,heart ) reduction in 3D-CRT(vmDIBH) was between 0.9 and 8.6 Gy, depending on initial D mean,heart (in 3D-CRT(FB) plans). VMAT(vmDIBH) reduced the D mean,heart further when D mean,heart was still >3.2 Gy in 3D-CRT(vmDIBH). Mean contralateral breast dose was higher for VMAT plans (2.7 Gy) compared to 3DCRT plans (0.7 Gy). Conclusions: VMAT and 3D-CRT(vmDIBH) significantly reduced heart dose for patients treated with locoregional RT of left-sided breast cancer. When D mean,heart exceeded 3.2 Gy in 3D-CRT(vmDIBH) plans, VMAT(vmDIBH) resulted in a cumulative heart dose reduction. VMAT also provided better target coverage and reduced ipsilateral lung dose, at the expense of a small increase in the dose to the contralateral breast

Failure to unmask pseudonormal diastolic function by a valsalva maneuver: tricuspid insufficiency is a major factor.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Kai; Liu, Dan; Niemann, Markus; Hatle, Liv; Herrmann, Sebastian; Voelker, Wolfram; Ertl, Georg; Bijnens, Bart; Weidemann, Frank

2011-11-01

For the clinical assessment of patients with dyspnea, the inversion of the early (E) and late (A) transmitral flow during Valsalva maneuver (VM) frequently helps to distinguish pseudonormal from normal filling pattern. However, in an important number of patients, VM fails to reveal the change from dominant early mitral flow velocity toward larger late velocity. From December 2009 to October 2010, we selected consecutive patients with abnormal filling with (n=25) and without E/A inversion (n=25) during VM. Transmitral, tricuspid, and pulmonary Doppler traces were recorded and the degree of insufficiency was estimated. After evaluating all standard echocardiographic morphological, functional, and flow-related parameters, it became evident that the failure to unmask the pseudonormal filling pattern by VM was related to the degree of the tricuspid insufficiency (TI). TI was graded as mild in 24 of 25 patients in the group with E/A inversion during VM, whereas TI was graded as moderate to severe in 24 of the 25 patients with pseudonormal diastolic function without E/A inversion during VM. Our data suggest that TI is a major factor to prevent E/A inversion during a VM in patients with pseudonormal diastolic function. This probably is due to a decrease in TI resulting in an increase in forward flow rather than the expected decrease during the VM. Thus, whenever a pseudonormal diastolic filling pattern is suspected, the use of a VM is not an informative discriminator in the presence of moderate or severe TI.

A Virtual Machine Migration Strategy Based on Time Series Workload Prediction Using Cloud Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanbing Liu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Aimed at resolving the issues of the imbalance of resources and workloads at data centers and the overhead together with the high cost of virtual machine (VM migrations, this paper proposes a new VM migration strategy which is based on the cloud model time series workload prediction algorithm. By setting the upper and lower workload bounds for host machines, forecasting the tendency of their subsequent workloads by creating a workload time series using the cloud model, and stipulating a general VM migration criterion workload-aware migration (WAM, the proposed strategy selects a source host machine, a destination host machine, and a VM on the source host machine carrying out the task of the VM migration. Experimental results and analyses show, through comparison with other peer research works, that the proposed method can effectively avoid VM migrations caused by momentary peak workload values, significantly lower the number of VM migrations, and dynamically reach and maintain a resource and workload balance for virtual machines promoting an improved utilization of resources in the entire data center.

Electric Field Gradients at Hf and Fe Sites in Hf2Fe Recalculated

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belosevic-Cavor, J.; Cekic, B.; Novakovic, N.; Koteski, V.; Milosevic, Z.

2004-01-01

The electric field gradients (EFG) of the Hf 2 Fe intermetallic compound were calculated using the full-potential linearized augmented plain-wave (FP-LAPW) method as embodied in the WIEN 97 code. The obtained values are compared with other ab-initio calculations and on a qualitative basis with the previously reported experimental data obtained from TDPAC. The calculated results, -23.1.10 21 V/m 2 and 2.7.10 21 V/m 2 for Hf 48f and Fe 32e position, respectively, are in excellent agreement with experimental data (23.4.10 21 V/m 2 and 2.7.10 21 V/m 2 ), better than those reported in earlier calculations. The calculated EFG for Hf 16c position (4.2.10 21 V/m 2 ) is stronger than the experimental one (1.1.10 21 V/m 2 ).

Virtual Machine-level Software Transactional Memory: Principles, Techniques, and Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

2015-08-13

against non-VM STMs, with the same algorithm inside the VM versus “outside”it. Our competitor non-VM STMs include Deuce, ObjectFabric, Multiverse , and...TL2 ByteSTM/NOrec Non-VM/NOrec Deuce/TL2 Object Fabric Multiverse JVSTM (a) 20% writes. (b) 80% writes. Fig. 1 Throughput for Linked-List. Higher is...When Scalability Meets Consistency: Genuine Multiversion Update-Serializable Partial Data Replication. In ICDCS, pages 455–465, 2012. [34] D

Effect of gamma irradiation and ethyl methane sulphonate on growth, flowering and bulbs production in tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L) cv. double

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Rajbir; Goyal, R.K.; Gupta, A.K.

2008-01-01

The bulbs of tuberose cv. Double were treated with a combination of gamma rays and EMS at the rate 1Kr+0.25%; 1Kr+0.50%; 2Kr+0.25% and 2Kr+0.50%. The bulbs were first treated with gamma rays and later on same bulbs were treated in aqueous solution of EMS (pH 7) for 16 hrs before planting. The plant height and number of leaves decreased with increased doses of the gamma irradiation and EMS combinations. The diameter of spike in VM 1 ranged from 4.99 to 5.53 mm and in 1Kr + 0.25 % EMS proved most significant in increasing the diameter of spike where diameter of spike was recorded maximum (5.53 mm). In VM 2 generation, the diameter of spike ranged from 6.01 to 6.54mm. The length of spike in VM 1 generation ranged from 50.13 to 62.54 cm. The maximum length of spike (62.54 cm) was observed under control, which was followed by using 1 Kr + 0.25 and 0.50% EMS. The higher concentration of EMS with 2 Kr dose of gamma irradiation significantly decreased the length of spike. In VM 2 generation the pattern was different from VM 1 generation. In VM 2 generation, the length of spike under control and other treatments was more in comparison to VM 1 generation and maximum length of spike was recorded under control (75.43 cm). The lowest dose of EMS i.e., 1 Kr + 0.25%EMS was found significantly effective in producing maximum number of florets per spike followed by 1 Kr + 0.50% EMS in VM 1 generation. In VM 2 generation 1 Kr + 0.25% EMS was found significant and produced maximum number of florets per spike (29.89) followed by control. The weight of hundred florets ranged from 169.42 -173.43 g in VM 1 generation. In VM 2 generation, a significant improvement was found in weight of hundred florets by using 1 Kr + 0.25 to 0.50% EMS and maximum weight of hundred florets (144.33 g) was recorded under 1 Kr + 0.25%EMS. Maximum number of bulbs (17.45) were recorded in 1Kr + 0.50% EMS combination in VM 2 generation, on the other hand maximum weight of the bulbs (274.56g) per plant was found

Characterization of organotypic ventral mesencephalic cultures from embryonic mice and protection against MPP toxicity by GDNF

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, B; Gramsbergen, J B; Møller Dall, A

2005-01-01

We characterized organotypic ventral mesencephalic (VM) cultures derived from embryonic day 12 (E12) mice (CBL57/bL6) in terms of number of dopaminergic neurons, cell soma size and dopamine production in relation to time in vitro and tested the effects of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)) and ...

A critical survey of live virtual machine migration techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anita Choudhary

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Virtualization techniques effectively handle the growing demand for computing, storage, and communication resources in large-scale Cloud Data Centers (CDC. It helps to achieve different resource management objectives like load balancing, online system maintenance, proactive fault tolerance, power management, and resource sharing through Virtual Machine (VM migration. VM migration is a resource-intensive procedure as VM’s continuously demand appropriate CPU cycles, cache memory, memory capacity, and communication bandwidth. Therefore, this process degrades the performance of running applications and adversely affects efficiency of the data centers, particularly when Service Level Agreements (SLA and critical business objectives are to be met. Live VM migration is frequently used because it allows the availability of application service, while migration is performed. In this paper, we make an exhaustive survey of the literature on live VM migration and analyze the various proposed mechanisms. We first classify the types of Live VM migration (single, multiple and hybrid. Next, we categorize VM migration techniques based on duplication mechanisms (replication, de-duplication, redundancy, and compression and awareness of context (dependency, soft page, dirty page, and page fault and evaluate the various Live VM migration techniques. We discuss various performance metrics like application service downtime, total migration time and amount of data transferred. CPU, memory and storage data is transferred during the process of VM migration and we identify the category of data that needs to be transferred in each case. We present a brief discussion on security threats in live VM migration and categories them in three different classes (control plane, data plane, and migration module. We also explain the security requirements and existing solutions to mitigate possible attacks. Specific gaps are identified and the research challenges in improving

A boost of confidence: The role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in memory, decision-making, and schemas.

Science.gov (United States)

Hebscher, Melissa; Gilboa, Asaf

2016-09-01

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) has been implicated in a wide array of functions across multiple domains. In this review, we focus on the vmPFC's involvement in mediating strategic aspects of memory retrieval, memory-related schema functions, and decision-making. We suggest that vmPFC generates a confidence signal that informs decisions and memory-guided behaviour. Confidence is central to these seemingly diverse functions: (1) Strategic retrieval: lesions to the vmPFC impair an early, automatic, and intuitive monitoring process ("feeling of rightness"; FOR) often associated with confabulation (spontaneous reporting of erroneous memories). Critically, confabulators typically demonstrate high levels of confidence in their false memories, suggesting that faulty monitoring following vmPFC damage may lead to indiscriminate confidence signals. (2) Memory schemas: the vmPFC is critically involved in instantiating and maintaining contextually relevant schemas, broadly defined as higher level knowledge structures that encapsulate lower level representational elements. The correspondence between memory retrieval cues and these activated schemas leads to FOR monitoring. Stronger, more elaborate schemas produce stronger FOR and influence confidence in the veracity of memory candidates. (3) Finally, we review evidence on the vmPFC's role in decision-making, extending this role to decision-making during memory retrieval. During non-mnemonic and mnemonic decision-making the vmPFC automatically encodes confidence. Confidence signal in the vmPFC is revealed as a non-linear relationship between a first-order monitoring assessment and second-order action or choice. Attempting to integrate the multiple functions of the vmPFC, we propose a posterior-anterior organizational principle for this region. More posterior vmPFC regions are involved in earlier, automatic, subjective, and contextually sensitive functions, while more anterior regions are involved in controlled actions

Management of Virtual Machine as an Energy Conservation in Private Cloud Computing System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fauzi Akhmad

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Cloud computing is a service model that is packaged in a base computing resources that can be accessed through the Internet on demand and placed in the data center. Data center architecture in cloud computing environments are heterogeneous and distributed, composed of a cluster of network servers with different capacity computing resources in different physical servers. The problems on the demand and availability of cloud services can be solved by fluctuating data center cloud through abstraction with virtualization technology. Virtual machine (VM is a representation of the availability of computing resources that can be dynamically allocated and reallocated on demand. In this study the consolidation of VM as energy conservation in Private Cloud Computing Systems with the target of process optimization selection policy and migration of the VM on the procedure consolidation. VM environment cloud data center to consider hosting a type of service a particular application at the instance VM requires a different level of computing resources. The results of the use of computing resources on a VM that is not balanced in physical servers can be reduced by using a live VM migration to achieve workload balancing. A practical approach used in developing OpenStack-based cloud computing environment by integrating Cloud VM and VM Placement selection procedure using OpenStack Neat VM consolidation. Following the value of CPU Time used as a fill to get the average value in MHz CPU utilization within a specific time period. The average value of a VM’s CPU utilization in getting from the current CPU_time reduced by CPU_time from the previous data retrieval multiplied by the maximum frequency of the CPU. The calculation result is divided by the making time CPU_time when it is reduced to the previous taking time CPU_time multiplied by milliseconds.

Valsalva maneuver procedures in the diagnosis of right-to-left shunt by contrast-enhanced transcranial doppler using agitated saline solution with blood as a contrast agent Manobra de Valsalva no diagnóstico de embolia paradoxal pelo doppler transcraniano contrastado com o uso de solução salina agitada associada a sangue como meio de contraste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcos Christiano Lange

2010-06-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To compare two different timings for the performance of the Valsalva maneuver (VM using an infusion of agitated saline solution with blood as contrast agent (CA to right-to-left shunt (RLS screening. METHOD: 42 patients were submitted to a standardized contrast-enhanced transcranial doppler (cTCD to screen for right-to-left shunt (RLS. cTCD technique was done with two different moments of the VM: [1] the CA injection during the VM (CAduringVM test; [2] the CA injection before the VM (CApreVM test. RESULTS: Positive MCA tests were observed in 47 (56% CAduringVM tests and in 50 (59.5% CApreVM tests, p=0.64. There was an almost perfect agreement for the positive tests between the CAduringVM and CApreVM test, r s=0.829 (95% CI 0.61-1.00, pOBJETIVO: Comparar dois momentos diferentes da manobra de Valsalva (MV com o uso de solução salina com sangue como meio de contraste (MC para investigação de embolia paradoxal (EP. MÉTODO: 42 pacientes foram submetidos a protocolo padronizado de DTCc com a MV em dois momentos diferentes: [1] injeção do MC durante a MV (teste ACduranteMV; [2] injeção de MC antes da MV (teste ACpreMV. RESULTADOS: Exames positivos foram observados em 47 (56% ACMs testes ACduranteMV e 50 (59.5% testes ACpreMV, p=0.64. Houve uma correlação quase perfeita entre ambos os testes, r s=0.829 (95% CI 0.61-1.00, p<0.001. CONCLUSÃO: O presente estudo demonstra que não existe diferença significativa na positividade de EP pelo DTCc quando são comparados dois momentos diferentes da MV.

Radio-frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure levels in different European outdoor urban environments in comparison with regulatory limits.

Science.gov (United States)

Urbinello, Damiano; Joseph, Wout; Huss, Anke; Verloock, Leen; Beekhuizen, Johan; Vermeulen, Roel; Martens, Luc; Röösli, Martin

2014-07-01

Concerns of the general public about potential adverse health effects caused by radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) led authorities to introduce precautionary exposure limits, which vary considerably between regions. It may be speculated that precautionary limits affect the base station network in a manner that mean population exposure unintentionally increases. The objectives of this multicentre study were to compare mean exposure levels in outdoor areas across four different European cities and to compare with regulatory RF-EMF exposure levels in the corresponding areas. We performed measurements in the cities of Amsterdam (the Netherlands, regulatory limits for mobile phone base station frequency bands: 41-61 V/m), Basel (Switzerland, 4-6 V/m), Ghent (Belgium, 3-4.5 V/m) and Brussels (Belgium, 2.9-4.3 V/m) using a portable measurement device. Measurements were conducted in three different types of outdoor areas (central and non-central residential areas and downtown), between 2011 and 2012 at 12 different days. On each day, measurements were taken every 4s for approximately 15 to 30 min per area. Measurements per urban environment were repeated 12 times during 1 year. Arithmetic mean values for mobile phone base station exposure ranged between 0.22 V/m (Basel) and 0.41 V/m (Amsterdam) in all outdoor areas combined. The 95th percentile for total RF-EMF exposure varied between 0.46 V/m (Basel) and 0.82 V/m (Amsterdam) and the 99th percentile between 0.81 V/m (Basel) and 1.20 V/m (Brussels). All exposure levels were far below international reference levels proposed by ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection). Our study did not find indications that lowering the regulatory limit results in higher mobile phone base station exposure levels. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differential effects of insular and ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions on risky decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, L; Bechara, A; Damasio, H; Aitken, M R F; Sahakian, B J; Robbins, T W

2008-05-01

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and insular cortex are implicated in distributed neural circuitry that supports emotional decision-making. Previous studies of patients with vmPFC lesions have focused primarily on decision-making under uncertainty, when outcome probabilities are ambiguous (e.g. the Iowa Gambling Task). It remains unclear whether vmPFC is also necessary for decision-making under risk, when outcome probabilities are explicit. It is not known whether the effect of insular damage is analogous to the effect of vmPFC damage, or whether these regions contribute differentially to choice behaviour. Four groups of participants were compared on the Cambridge Gamble Task, a well-characterized measure of risky decision-making where outcome probabilities are presented explicitly, thus minimizing additional learning and working memory demands. Patients with focal, stable lesions to the vmPFC (n = 20) and the insular cortex (n = 13) were compared against healthy subjects (n = 41) and a group of lesion controls (n = 12) with damage predominantly affecting the dorsal and lateral frontal cortex. The vmPFC and insular cortex patients showed selective and distinctive disruptions of betting behaviour. VmPFC damage was associated with increased betting regardless of the odds of winning, consistent with a role of vmPFC in biasing healthy individuals towards conservative options under risk. In contrast, patients with insular cortex lesions failed to adjust their bets by the odds of winning, consistent with a role of the insular cortex in signalling the probability of aversive outcomes. The insular group attained a lower point score on the task and experienced more 'bankruptcies'. There were no group differences in probability judgement. These data confirm the necessary role of the vmPFC and insular regions in decision-making under risk. Poor decision-making in clinical populations can arise via multiple routes, with functionally dissociable effects of vmPFC and

Reply to Comment by W. R. Peltier, D. F. Argus, and R. Drummond on "An Assessment of the ICE6G_C (VM5a) Glacial Isostatic Adjustment Model"

Science.gov (United States)

Purcell, A.; Tregoning, P.; Dehecq, A.

2018-02-01

The empirical approximation of Purcell et al. (2011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048624) has been validated by Peltier et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013844). In their Comment they introduced new results derived from the same ice/rheology models of ICE6G_C (VM5a) but using a different model for Antarctic bathymetry. This has greatly reduced the differences in predicted Antarctic uplift rates relative to those of Purcell et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JB012742). In fact, with a ˜50% reduction in uplift rate in the Weddell Sea, the results of Peltier et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013844) now agree more closely with the predictions of Purcell et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JB012742) than with the original ICE6G_C values. Peltier et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013844) state that the high power in their high-frequency spherical harmonic coefficients remains in their new calculations. They also claim that Purcell et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JB012742) used an inaccurate loading history in deriving their velocity field. In fact, the ice load history was unchanged; to remove any ambiguity, the ice and water load histories used in the CALSEA calculations are provided in the supporting information.

The assessment of fetal brain function in fetuses with ventrikulomegaly: the role of the KANET test.

Science.gov (United States)

Talic, Amira; Kurjak, Asim; Stanojevic, Milan; Honemeyer, Ulrich; Badreldeen, Ahmed; DiRenzo, Gian Carlo

2012-08-01

To assess differences in fetal behavior in both normal fetuses and fetuses with cerebral ventriculomegaly (VM). In a period of eighteen months, in a longitudinal prospective cohort study, Kurjak Antenatal NeuorogicalTest (KANET) was applied to assess fetal behavior in both normal pregnancies and pregnancies with cerebral VM using four-dimensional ultrasound (4D US). According to the degree of enlargement of the ventricles, VM was divided into three groups: mild, moderate and severe. Moreover fetuses with isolated VM were separated from those with additional abnormalities. According to the KANET, fetuses with scores ≥ 14 were considered normal, those with scores 6-13 borderline and abnormal if the score was ≤ 5. Differences between two groups were examined by Fisher's exact test. Differences within the subgroups were examined by Kruskal-Wallis test and contingency table test. KANET scores in normal pregnancies and pregnancies with VM showed statistically significant differences. Most of the abnormal KANET scores as well as most of the borderline-scores were found among the fetuses with severe VM associated with additional abnormalities. There were no statistically significant differences between the control group and the groups with isolated and mild and /or moderate VM. Evaluation of the fetal behavior in fetuses with cerebral VM using KANET test has the potential to detect fetuses with abnormal behavior, and to add the dimension of CNS function to the morphological criteria of VM. Long-term postnatal neurodevelopmental follow-up should confirm the data from prenatal investigation of fetal behavior.

Effect of temperature on the volumetric properties of (cyclohexanone+an aromatic hydrocarbon)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Haijun; Liu Wei; Wu Yonghua

2004-01-01

The excess molar volume VmE of (cyclohexanone+benzene, or toluene, or ethylbenzene, or styrene) were obtained from the densities measured by means of a vibrating-tube densimeter over the whole composition range at temperatures (293.15, 303.15, 313.15, 323.15, 333.15, 343.15, 353.15) K and atmospheric pressure. The excess molar volume VmE provide the temperature dependence of VmE in the temperature range of (293 to 353) K. The VmE results were correlated using the fourth-order Redlich-Kister equation, with the maximum likelihood principle being applied for the determination of the adjustable parameters. It was found that the VmE in the systems studied increase with rising temperature

Altered Communicative Decisions following Ventromedial Prefrontal Lesions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stolk, A.; D'Imperio, D.; Pellegrino, G. di; Toni, I.

2015-01-01

Damage to the human ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) leads to profound changes in everyday social interactions [1, 2]. Yet, in the lab, vmPFC patients show surprising proficiency in reasoning about other agents [3-8]. These conflicting observations suggest that what vmPFC patients lack in

Reduced prefrontal connectivity in psychopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Motzkin, Julian C; Newman, Joseph P; Kiehl, Kent A; Koenigs, Michael

2011-11-30

Linking psychopathy to a specific brain abnormality could have significant clinical, legal, and scientific implications. Theories on the neurobiological basis of the disorder typically propose dysfunction in a circuit involving ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). However, to date there is limited brain imaging data to directly test whether psychopathy may indeed be associated with any structural or functional abnormality within this brain area. In this study, we employ two complementary imaging techniques to assess the structural and functional connectivity of vmPFC in psychopathic and non-psychopathic criminals. Using diffusion tensor imaging, we show that psychopathy is associated with reduced structural integrity in the right uncinate fasciculus, the primary white matter connection between vmPFC and anterior temporal lobe. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show that psychopathy is associated with reduced functional connectivity between vmPFC and amygdala as well as between vmPFC and medial parietal cortex. Together, these data converge to implicate diminished vmPFC connectivity as a characteristic neurobiological feature of psychopathy.

Accelerated hypofractionated three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Jinming; Zheng Aiqing; Yu Yonghua; Wang Xuetao; Yuan Shuanghu; Han Dali; Li Kunhai

2005-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the effect and complication of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with accelerated hypofractionated three dimensional conforms] radiation therapy (3DCRT). Methods: There were squamous carcinoma 21, adenocarcinoma 7, squamous-adenocarcinoma 4 and other cancer 3. There were 17 stage I and 18 stage II. Thirty-five patients of NSCLC were treated with a dose of 30-48 Gy in 6 or 8 Gy per fraction, 3 times a week. The outcome of these patients Was analyzed. Results: The overall 1-, 2- and 3- Year survival rate was 78.2%, 46.9% and 36.3%, respectively. The 1- and 2-year recurrence-free survival rate was 64.6 % and 39.7 %, respectively. The acute radiation pneumonitis and late lung fibrosis rates were high. Univariate analysis showed that Vm was a significant predictor of acute radiation pneumonitis. Conclusion: Compared with accelerated hypofractionated irradiation, the routine conventional fractionated radiation therapy may be preferred for more patients of NSCLC. (authors)

Interleukin-10 Protection against Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuro-Inflammation and Neurotoxicity in Ventral Mesencephalic Cultures

OpenAIRE

Yan Zhu; Xiao Chen; Zhan Liu; Yu-Ping Peng; Yi-Hua Qiu

2015-01-01

Interleukin (IL)-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, is expressed in the brain and can inhibit microglial activation. Herein, we utilized lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory Parkinson?s disease (PD) cell model to determine whether microglia and astrocytes are necessary targets for IL-10 neuroprotection. Primary ventral mesencephalic (VM) cultures with different composition of neurons, microglia and astrocytes were prepared. The cells were exposed to IL-10 (15, 50 or 150 ng/mL) 1 h pr...

The interaction between the vastus medialis and vastus intermedius and its influence on the extensor apparatus of the knee joint.

Science.gov (United States)

Grob, Karl; Manestar, Mirjana; Filgueira, Luis; Kuster, Markus S; Gilbey, Helen; Ackland, Timothy

2018-03-01

Although the vastus medialis (VM) is closely associated with the vastus intermedius (VI), there is a lack of data regarding their functional relationship. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anatomical interaction between the VM and VI with regard to their origins, insertions, innervation and function within the extensor apparatus of the knee joint. Eighteen human cadaveric lower limbs were investigated using macro-dissection techniques. Six limbs were cut transversely in the middle third of the thigh. The mode of origin, insertion and nerve supply of the extensor apparatus of the knee joint were studied. The architecture of the VM and VI was examined in detail, as was their anatomical interaction and connective tissue linkage to the adjacent anatomical structures. The VM originated medially from a broad hammock-like structure. The attachment site of the VM always spanned over a long distance between: (1) patella, (2) rectus femoris tendon and (3) aponeurosis of the VI, with the insertion into the VI being the largest. VM units were inserted twice-once on the anterior and once on the posterior side of the VI. The VI consists of a complex multi-layered structure. The layers of the medial VI aponeurosis fused with the aponeuroses of the tensor vastus intermedius and vastus lateralis. Together, they form the two-layered intermediate layer of the quadriceps tendon. The VM and medial parts of the VI were innervated by the same medial division of the femoral nerve. The VM consists of multiple muscle units inserting into the entire VI. Together, they build a potential functional muscular complex. Therefore, the VM acts as an indirect extensor of the knee joint regulating and adjusting the length of the extensor apparatus throughout the entire range of motion. It is of clinical importance that, besides the VM, substantial parts of the VI directly contribute to the medial pull on the patella and help to maintain medial tracking of the patella during knee

A Heuristic Placement Selection of Live Virtual Machine Migration for Energy-Saving in Cloud Computing Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jia; Hu, Liang; Ding, Yan; Xu, Gaochao; Hu, Ming

2014-01-01

The field of live VM (virtual machine) migration has been a hotspot problem in green cloud computing. Live VM migration problem is divided into two research aspects: live VM migration mechanism and live VM migration policy. In the meanwhile, with the development of energy-aware computing, we have focused on the VM placement selection of live migration, namely live VM migration policy for energy saving. In this paper, a novel heuristic approach PS-ES is presented. Its main idea includes two parts. One is that it combines the PSO (particle swarm optimization) idea with the SA (simulated annealing) idea to achieve an improved PSO-based approach with the better global search's ability. The other one is that it uses the Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics and once again utilizes the SA idea to deal with the data obtained from the improved PSO-based process to get the final solution. And thus the whole approach achieves a long-term optimization for energy saving as it has considered not only the optimization of the current problem scenario but also that of the future problem. The experimental results demonstrate that PS-ES evidently reduces the total incremental energy consumption and better protects the performance of VM running and migrating compared with randomly migrating and optimally migrating. As a result, the proposed PS-ES approach has capabilities to make the result of live VM migration events more high-effective and valuable. PMID:25251339

A heuristic placement selection of live virtual machine migration for energy-saving in cloud computing environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jia; Hu, Liang; Ding, Yan; Xu, Gaochao; Hu, Ming

2014-01-01

The field of live VM (virtual machine) migration has been a hotspot problem in green cloud computing. Live VM migration problem is divided into two research aspects: live VM migration mechanism and live VM migration policy. In the meanwhile, with the development of energy-aware computing, we have focused on the VM placement selection of live migration, namely live VM migration policy for energy saving. In this paper, a novel heuristic approach PS-ES is presented. Its main idea includes two parts. One is that it combines the PSO (particle swarm optimization) idea with the SA (simulated annealing) idea to achieve an improved PSO-based approach with the better global search's ability. The other one is that it uses the Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics and once again utilizes the SA idea to deal with the data obtained from the improved PSO-based process to get the final solution. And thus the whole approach achieves a long-term optimization for energy saving as it has considered not only the optimization of the current problem scenario but also that of the future problem. The experimental results demonstrate that PS-ES evidently reduces the total incremental energy consumption and better protects the performance of VM running and migrating compared with randomly migrating and optimally migrating. As a result, the proposed PS-ES approach has capabilities to make the result of live VM migration events more high-effective and valuable.

A heuristic placement selection of live virtual machine migration for energy-saving in cloud computing environment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Zhao

Full Text Available The field of live VM (virtual machine migration has been a hotspot problem in green cloud computing. Live VM migration problem is divided into two research aspects: live VM migration mechanism and live VM migration policy. In the meanwhile, with the development of energy-aware computing, we have focused on the VM placement selection of live migration, namely live VM migration policy for energy saving. In this paper, a novel heuristic approach PS-ES is presented. Its main idea includes two parts. One is that it combines the PSO (particle swarm optimization idea with the SA (simulated annealing idea to achieve an improved PSO-based approach with the better global search's ability. The other one is that it uses the Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics and once again utilizes the SA idea to deal with the data obtained from the improved PSO-based process to get the final solution. And thus the whole approach achieves a long-term optimization for energy saving as it has considered not only the optimization of the current problem scenario but also that of the future problem. The experimental results demonstrate that PS-ES evidently reduces the total incremental energy consumption and better protects the performance of VM running and migrating compared with randomly migrating and optimally migrating. As a result, the proposed PS-ES approach has capabilities to make the result of live VM migration events more high-effective and valuable.

TIG- en plasmalassen : VM 81

NARCIS (Netherlands)

W.G. Essers

2010-01-01

Voor u ligt de voorlichtingspublicatie "TIG- en plasmalassen". Deze voorlichtingspublicatie is bedoeld voor allen die te maken hebben of te maken krijgen met toepassing van de betreffende verbindingstechnieken. Daarbij moet worden gedacht aan bijvoorbeeld constructeurs,

Direct transesterification of wet Cryptococcus curvatus cells to biodiesel through use of microwave irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui, Yi; Liang, Yanna

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Direct transesterfication of wet yeast cells using methanol and microwave irradiation is feasible. • Methanol to biomass ratio, stirring speed and KOH concentration were critical to biodiesel yield. • Under optimal conditions, the crude biodiesel contained 64% of FAMEs and was 92% of yeast lipids. - Abstract: Cryptococcus curvatus is a highly promising oleaginous yeast strain that can accumulate intracellular lipids when grown on renewable carbon sources. In order to convert yeast lipids to biodiesel in a simple but cost-effective way, we aim to react whole yeast cells with methanol to produce biodiesel eliminating the step of drying and lipid extraction while adopting microwave energy for heating and disrupting cell walls. Through use of a screening test followed by response surface methodology, optimal parameters leading to the highest yield of crude biodiesel and FAMEs were identified. Under optimal conditions of reaction time (2 min), methanol/biomass ratio (50/1, v/m), stirring speed (966 rpm), KOH concentration (5%), and water content (80%), the yield of crude biodiesel (% of total lipids) was 56.1% after the first round reaction. A second round reaction using the residual yeast cells increased the total yield to 92%. Among the crude biodiesel, 63.88% was FAMEs as revealed by GC analysis. Results from this study indicated that it is feasible to produce biodiesel from wet microbial biomass directly without the steps of drying and lipid extraction. With the assistance of microwave, this process can be accomplished in minutes with good process efficiency

Targeting the Genital Tract Mucosa with a Lipopeptide/Recombinant Adenovirus Prime/Boost Vaccine Induces Potent and Long-Lasting CD8+ T Cell Immunity Against Herpes: Importance of Myeloid Differentiation Factor 881

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiuli; Dervillez, Xavier; Chentoufi, Aziz Alami; Badakhshan, Tina; Bettahi, Ilham; BenMohamed, Lbachir

2012-01-01

Targeting the mucosal immune system of the genital tract (GT) with subunit vaccines failed to induce potent and durable local CD8+ T cell immunity, crucial for protection against many sexually transmitted viral (STV) pathogens, including herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) that causes genital herpes. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of a novel lipopeptide/adenovirus type 5 (Lipo/rAdv5) prime/boost mucosal vaccine for induction of CD8+ T cell immunity to protect the female genital tract from herpes. The lipopeptide and the rAdv5 vaccine express the immunodominant HSV-2 CD8+ T cell epitope (gB498-505) and both were delivered intravaginally (IVAG) in the progesterone-induced B6 mouse model of genital herpes. Compared to its homologous lipopeptide/lipopeptide (Lipo/Lipo); the Lipo/rAdv5 prime/boost immunized mice: (i) developed potent and sustained HSV-specific CD8+ T cells, detected in both the GT draining nodes (GT-DLN) and in the vaginal mucosa (VM); (ii) had significantly lower virus titers; (iii) had decreased overt signs of genital herpes disease; and (iv) did not succumb to lethal infection (p herpes infection and disease. PMID:23018456

MRI demonstrates the extension of juxta-articular venous malformation of the knee and correlates with joint changes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jans, L. [University of Melbourne, Royal Children' s Hospital, Department of Medical Imaging, Melbourne, Victoria (Australia); Ghent University Hospital, Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Gent (Belgium); Ditchfield, M.; Jaremko, J.L.; Stephens, N. [University of Melbourne, Royal Children' s Hospital, Department of Medical Imaging, Melbourne, Victoria (Australia); Verstraete, K. [Ghent University Hospital, Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Gent (Belgium)

2010-07-15

Juxta-articular venous malformations (VMs) are uncommon, but may cause early arthropathy of the knee in children and adolescents. We sought to describe the prevalence, extent and initial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of knee arthropathy in children with VM adjacent to the knee joint. Thirty-five patients with VM adjacent to the knee who had MRI performed between 2000 and 2009 were identified through a keyword search of the radiology information system. VM extended to the joint in 17 of the 35 patients (5.4-21.5 years, mean 11.8 years). Most of these 17 patients had joint changes (15/17, 88%), most commonly haemosiderin deposition (14/17, 82%). Other findings included the presence of subchondral bone lesions (eight, 47%), cartilage loss (six, 35%), synovial thickening (six, 35%), marrow oedema (six, 35%), joint effusion (five, 29%), subchondral cysts (five, 29%) and one loose body (6%). VM location and size did not correlate with the degree of articular involvement. Joint changes were present in focal as well as non-discrete VM. We found that the frequency of arthropathy increased with extension of VM into the joint itself. This finding stresses the importance of early MRI evaluation of all juxta-articular VM. (orig.)

An RTT-Aware Virtual Machine Placement Method

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Li Quan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Virtualization is a key technology for mobile cloud computing (MCC and the virtual machine (VM is a core component of virtualization. VM provides a relatively independent running environment for different applications. Therefore, the VM placement problem focuses on how to place VMs on optimal physical machines, which ensures efficient use of resources and the quality of service, etc. Most previous work focuses on energy consumption, network traffic between VMs and so on and rarely consider the delay for end users’ requests. In contrast, the latency between requests and VMs is considered in this paper for the scenario of optimal VM placement in MCC. In order to minimize average RTT for all requests, the round-trip time (RTT is first used as the metric for the latency of requests. Based on our proposed RTT metric, an RTT-Aware VM placement algorithm is then proposed to minimize the average RTT. Furthermore, the case in which one of the core switches does not work is considered. A VM rescheduling algorithm is proposed to keep the average RTT lower and reduce the fluctuation of the average RTT. Finally, in the simulation study, our algorithm shows its advantage over existing methods, including random placement, the traffic-aware VM placement algorithm and the remaining utilization-aware algorithm.

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Is Critical for Helping Others Who Are Suffering

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Janelle N. Beadle

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Neurological patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC are reported to display reduced empathy toward others in their daily lives in clinical case studies. However, the empathic behavior of patients with damage to the vmPFC has not been measured experimentally in response to an empathy-eliciting event. This is important because characterizing the degree to which patients with damage to the vmPFC have lower empathic behavior will allow for the development of targeted interventions to improve patients’ social skills and in turn will help family members to better understand their impairments so they can provide appropriate supports. For the first time, we induced empathy using an ecologically-valid empathy induction in neurological patients with damage to the vmPFC and measured their empathic emotional responses and behavior in real time. Eight neurological patients with focal damage to the vmPFC were compared to demographically-matched brain-damaged and healthy comparison participants. Patients with damage to the vmPFC gave less money in the empathy condition to a person who was suffering (a confederate than comparison participants. This provides the first direct experimental evidence that the vmPFC is critical for empathic behavior toward individuals who are suffering.

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Is Critical for Helping Others Who Are Suffering.

Science.gov (United States)

Beadle, Janelle N; Paradiso, Sergio; Tranel, Daniel

2018-01-01

Neurological patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are reported to display reduced empathy toward others in their daily lives in clinical case studies. However, the empathic behavior of patients with damage to the vmPFC has not been measured experimentally in response to an empathy-eliciting event. This is important because characterizing the degree to which patients with damage to the vmPFC have lower empathic behavior will allow for the development of targeted interventions to improve patients' social skills and in turn will help family members to better understand their impairments so they can provide appropriate supports. For the first time, we induced empathy using an ecologically-valid empathy induction in neurological patients with damage to the vmPFC and measured their empathic emotional responses and behavior in real time. Eight neurological patients with focal damage to the vmPFC were compared to demographically-matched brain-damaged and healthy comparison participants. Patients with damage to the vmPFC gave less money in the empathy condition to a person who was suffering (a confederate) than comparison participants. This provides the first direct experimental evidence that the vmPFC is critical for empathic behavior toward individuals who are suffering.

PyGirl: Generating Whole-System VMs from High-Level Prototypes Using PyPy

Science.gov (United States)

Bruni, Camillo; Verwaest, Toon

Virtual machines (VMs) emulating hardware devices are generally implemented in low-level languages for performance reasons. This results in unmaintainable systems that are difficult to understand. In this paper we report on our experience using the PyPy toolchain to improve the portability and reduce the complexity of whole-system VM implementations. As a case study we implement a VM prototype for a Nintendo Game Boy, called PyGirl, in which the high-level model is separated from low-level VM implementation issues. We shed light on the process of refactoring from a low-level VM implementation in Java to a high-level model in RPython. We show that our whole-system VM written with PyPy is significantly less complex than standard implementations, without substantial loss in performance.

FGF-2 deficiency does not influence FGF ligand and receptor expression during development of the nigrostriatal system.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratzka, Andreas; Baron, Olga; Grothe, Claudia

2011-01-01

dissociated E11.5 VM cell cultures, however, such a continuous exposure had no influence on the yield of dopaminergic neurons in vitro.

Video Modeling and Prompting in Practice: Teaching Cooking Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Kellems, Ryan O.; Mourra, Kjerstin; Morgan, Robert L.; Riesen, Tim; Glasgow, Malinda; Huddleston, Robin

2016-01-01

This article discusses the creation of video modeling (VM) and video prompting (VP) interventions for teaching novel multi-step tasks to individuals with disabilities. This article reviews factors to consider when selecting skills to teach, and students for whom VM/VP may be successful, as well as the difference between VM and VP and circumstances…

Video Modeling and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Survey of Caregiver Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Cardon, Teresa A.; Guimond, Amy; Smith-Treadwell, Amanda M.

2015-01-01

Video modeling (VM) has shown promise as an effective intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, little is known about what may promote or prevent caregivers' use of this intervention. While VM is an effective tool to support skill development among a wide range of children in research and clinical settings, VM is…

Modeling the Virtual Machine Launching Overhead under Fermicloud

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garzoglio, Gabriele [Fermilab; Wu, Hao [Fermilab; Ren, Shangping [IIT, Chicago; Timm, Steven [Fermilab; Bernabeu, Gerard [Fermilab; Noh, Seo-Young [KISTI, Daejeon

2014-11-12

FermiCloud is a private cloud developed by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory for scientific workflows. The Cloud Bursting module of the FermiCloud enables the FermiCloud, when more computational resources are needed, to automatically launch virtual machines to available resources such as public clouds. One of the main challenges in developing the cloud bursting module is to decide when and where to launch a VM so that all resources are most effectively and efficiently utilized and the system performance is optimized. However, based on FermiCloud’s system operational data, the VM launching overhead is not a constant. It varies with physical resource (CPU, memory, I/O device) utilization at the time when a VM is launched. Hence, to make judicious decisions as to when and where a VM should be launched, a VM launch overhead reference model is needed. The paper is to develop a VM launch overhead reference model based on operational data we have obtained on FermiCloud and uses the reference model to guide the cloud bursting process.

Computationally efficient models of neuromuscular recruitment and mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Song, D.; Raphael, G.; Lan, N.; Loeb, G. E.

2008-06-01

We have improved the stability and computational efficiency of a physiologically realistic, virtual muscle (VM 3.*) model (Cheng et al 2000 J. Neurosci. Methods 101 117-30) by a simpler structure of lumped fiber types and a novel recruitment algorithm. In the new version (VM 4.0), the mathematical equations are reformulated into state-space representation and structured into a CMEX S-function in SIMULINK. A continuous recruitment scheme approximates the discrete recruitment of slow and fast motor units under physiological conditions. This makes it possible to predict force output during smooth recruitment and derecruitment without having to simulate explicitly a large number of independently recruited units. We removed the intermediate state variable, effective length (Leff), which had been introduced to model the delayed length dependency of the activation-frequency relationship, but which had little effect and could introduce instability under physiological conditions of use. Both of these changes greatly reduce the number of state variables with little loss of accuracy compared to the original VM. The performance of VM 4.0 was validated by comparison with VM 3.1.5 for both single-muscle force production and a multi-joint task. The improved VM 4.0 model is more suitable for the analysis of neural control of movements and for design of prosthetic systems to restore lost or impaired motor functions. VM 4.0 is available via the internet and includes options to use the original VM model, which remains useful for detailed simulations of single motor unit behavior.

Percutaneous occlusion of vascular malformations in pediatric and adult patients: 20-year experience of a single center.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira-da-Silva, Tiago; Martins, José Diogo; de Sousa, Lídia; Fiarresga, António; Trigo Pereira, Conceição; Cruz Ferreira, Rui; Ferreira Pinto, Fátima

2016-02-01

A case series on different vascular malformations (VM) treated with percutaneous occlusion in children and adults is presented. Percutaneous occlusion is usually the preferred treatment method for VM. Previous series have mostly focused on single types of devices and/or VM. Retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent percutaneous occlusion of VM in a single center, from 1995 to 2014, excluding patent ductus arteriosus. Clinical and angiographic data, procedural details, implanted devices, and complications were assessed. Procedural success was defined as effective device deployment with none or minimal residual flow. Predictors of procedural failure and complications were determined by multivariate analysis. A total of 123 VM were intervened in 47 patients with median age of 12 years (25 days-76 years). The VM included 55 pulmonary arteriovenous fistulae, 39 aortopulmonary collaterals, 10 systemic venovenous collaterals, 8 peripheral arteriovenous fistulae, 5 Blalock-Taussig shunts, 4 coronary fistulae, and 2 Fontan fenestrations. The 143 devices used included 80 vascular plugs, 38 coils, 22 duct occluders, and 3 foramen ovale or atrial septal defect occluders. Median vessel size was 4.5 (2.0-16.0) mm and device/vessel size ratio was 1.4 (1.1-2.0). Successful occlusion was achieved in 118 (95.9%) VM, including three reinterventions. Four (3.3%) clinically relevant complications occurred, without permanent sequelae. Lower body weight was independently associated with procedural failure and complications. To our knowledge, this is the largest series on different VM occluded percutaneously in children and adults, excluding patent ductus arteriosus. Percutaneous occlusion was effective and safe, using different devices. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Computationally efficient models of neuromuscular recruitment and mechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, D; Raphael, G; Lan, N; Loeb, G E

2008-06-01

We have improved the stability and computational efficiency of a physiologically realistic, virtual muscle (VM 3.*) model (Cheng et al 2000 J. Neurosci. Methods 101 117-30) by a simpler structure of lumped fiber types and a novel recruitment algorithm. In the new version (VM 4.0), the mathematical equations are reformulated into state-space representation and structured into a CMEX S-function in SIMULINK. A continuous recruitment scheme approximates the discrete recruitment of slow and fast motor units under physiological conditions. This makes it possible to predict force output during smooth recruitment and derecruitment without having to simulate explicitly a large number of independently recruited units. We removed the intermediate state variable, effective length (Leff), which had been introduced to model the delayed length dependency of the activation-frequency relationship, but which had little effect and could introduce instability under physiological conditions of use. Both of these changes greatly reduce the number of state variables with little loss of accuracy compared to the original VM. The performance of VM 4.0 was validated by comparison with VM 3.1.5 for both single-muscle force production and a multi-joint task. The improved VM 4.0 model is more suitable for the analysis of neural control of movements and for design of prosthetic systems to restore lost or impaired motor functions. VM 4.0 is available via the internet and includes options to use the original VM model, which remains useful for detailed simulations of single motor unit behavior.

Contrast transcranial Doppler ultrasound in the detection of right-to-left shunts: comparison of Echovist-200 and Echovist-300, timing of the Valsalva maneuver, and general recommendations for the performance of the test.

Science.gov (United States)

Droste, Dirk W; Jekentaite, Ruta; Stypmann, Jörg; Grude, Matthias; Hansberg, Tjark; Ritter, Martin; Nabavi, Darius; Nam, Eun-Mi; Dittrich, Ralf; Wichter, Thomas; Ringelstein, E Bernd

2002-01-01

Cardiac right-to-left shunts (RLS) can be identified by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as well as by transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) using contrast agents, such as Echovist-200 or Echovist-300 in conjunction with a Valsalva maneuver (VM) as provocation procedure. Both Echovist preparations are in use. Currently, the appropriate timing of the VM is still under debate. Sixty-four patients were investigated by both TEE and bilateral TCD of the middle cerebral arteries. The following protocol was applied in a randomized way: (1) no VM, (2) VM for 5 s starting with the beginning of Echovist-300 injection, (3) VM for 5 s starting 5 s after the beginning of Echovist-300 injection, (4) VM for 5 s starting 10 s after the beginning of Echovist-300 injection, and (5) VM for 5 s starting 5 s after the beginning of Echovist-200 injection. In 27 patients, an RLS was demonstrated by both TEE and contrast TCD (shunt-positive). Twenty-two patients were negative in both investigations, no patient was positive on TEE but negative on TCD, 15 patients were only positive on at least one TCD investigation but negative on TEE. Tests 3 and 5 were the most appropriate ones; test 3 was slightly superior to test 5. TCD using Echovist-300 or Echovist-200 is a sensitive method to identify TEE-proven cardiac RLS. To achieve the best diagnostic accuracy, the VM should be performed for a duration of 5 s starting at 5 s following the beginning of contrast injection. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

Motor units in vastus lateralis and in different vastus medialis regions show different firing properties during low-level, isometric knee extension contraction.

Science.gov (United States)

de Souza, Leonardo Mendes Leal; Cabral, Hélio Veiga; de Oliveira, Liliam Fernandes; Vieira, Taian Martins

2018-04-01

Architectural differences along vastus medialis (VM) and between VM and vastus lateralis (VL) are considered functionally important for the patellar tracking, knee joint stability and knee joint extension. Whether these functional differences are associated with a differential activity of motor units between VM and VL is however unknown. In the present study, we, therefore, investigate neuroanatomical differences in the activity of motor units detected proximo-distally from VM and from the VL muscle. Nine healthy volunteers performed low-level isometric knee extension contractions (20% of their maximum voluntary contraction) following a trapezoidal trajectory. Surface electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded from VM proximal and distal regions and from VL using three linear adhesive arrays of eight electrodes. The firing rate and recruitment threshold of motor units decomposed from EMGs were then compared among muscle regions. Results show that VL motor units reached lower mean firing rates in comparison with VM motor units, regardless of their position within VM (P motor units (P = .997). Furthermore, no significant differences in the recruitment threshold were observed for all motor units analysed (P = .108). Our findings possibly suggest the greater potential of VL to generate force, due to its fibres arrangement, may account for the lower discharge rate observed for VL then either proximally or distally detected motor units in VM. Additionally, the present study opens new perspectives on the importance of considering muscle architecture in investigations of the neural aspects of motor behaviour. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Menstrual cycle mediates vastus medialis and vastus medialis oblique muscle activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Tenan, Matthew S; Peng, Yi-Ling; Hackney, Anthony C; Griffin, Lisa

2013-11-01

Sports medicine professionals commonly describe two functionally different units of the vastus medialis (VM), the VM, and the vastus medialis oblique (VMO), but the anatomical support is equivocal. The functional difference of the VMO is principle to rehabilitation programs designed to alleviate anterior knee pain, a pathology that is known to have a greater occurrence in women. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the motor units of the VM and VMO are differentially recruited and if this recruitment pattern has an effect of sex or menstrual cycle phase. Single motor unit recordings from the VM and VMO were obtained for men and women during an isometric ramp knee extension. Eleven men were tested once. Seven women were tested during five different phases of the menstrual cycle, determined by basal body temperature mapping. The recruitment threshold and the initial firing rate at recruitment were determined from 510 motor unit recordings. The initial firing rate was lower in the VMO than that in the VM in women (P recruitment thresholds for the VM and VMO in either sex or across the menstrual cycle. There was a main effect of menstrual phase on initial firing rate, showing increases from the early follicular to late luteal phase (P = 0.003). The initial firing rate in the VMO was lower than that in the VM during ovulatory (P = 0.009) and midluteal (P = 0.009) phases. The relative control of the VM and VMO changes across the menstrual cycle. This could influence patellar pathologies that have a higher incidence in women.

pH-sensitive K+ channel TREK-1 is a novel target in pancreatic cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sauter, Daniel Rafael Peter; Sørensen, Christiane Elisabeth; Rapedius, Markus

2016-01-01

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers and new therapeutic targets are urgently needed. One of the hallmarks of cancer is changed pH-homeostasis and potentially pH-sensors may play an important role in cancer cell behavior. Two-pore potassium channels (K2P) are p...... proliferation and migration indicating that hyperpolarization of Vm attenuates cancer cell behavior. TREK-1 may therefore be a promising novel target for PDAC therapy....

In vitro efficacy of a novel chemoradiopotentiator-taxoltere metro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Lixi; Wang Huijuan; Holton, Robert A.

2000-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the in vitro cytotoxic and radiopotentiating effects of a novel paclitaxel analog (taxoltere metro) on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and human colon cancer cells. Methods and Materials: Three cell lines (CHO cells, HCT116 human colon carcinoma cells [paclitaxel-sensitive], and VM46 cells [paclitaxel-resistant subline of HCT116]) were employed in this study. Cell survival was determined using the standard colony-forming assay. The ID 50 value (drug concentrations required to reduce colony formation to 50% of the control value) was determined as a cytotoxic index from each cell survival curve. The sensitizer enhancement ratio (SER) as a radiopotentiating endpoint was determined as the ratio of the D 0 values (with or without drugs) under hypoxic or air conditions. Results: Taxoltere metro was 5-15 times more effective in killing CHO cells than paclitaxel under both hypoxic and euoxic treatment conditions. Cytocidal effects of taxoltere metro on HCT116 cells and VM46 cells were 28 and 70 times higher than those of paclitaxel (p < 0.001), respectively. Taxoltere metro also produced significant radiopotentiating effects on euoxic CHO and HCT116 cells, but not on hypoxic cells. The SER value of taxoltere metro for CHO cells was about 2.3 at a dose of 100 nM. With HCT116 cells, taxoltere metro yielded an SER of 1.2 at the low dose of 10 nM. In contrast, the parent compound paclitaxel yielded little or no radiosensitization with either CHO or HCT116 cells. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that taxoltere metro is significantly more potent than paclitaxel in chemoradiopotentiating CHO cells and HCT116 human colon carcinoma cells. The data strongly suggest that taxoltere metro could be a promising chemoradiopotentiating agent for treatment of cancer

Trophic niche of the fox Vulpes vulpes in the Ticino Valley (Northern Italy / Nicchia trofica della volpe Vulpes vulpes nella valle del Ticino

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Claudio Prigioni

1991-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract The diet of the fox was studied by the analysis of 223 scats gathered monthly during 1985 and 1986. The different categories of food were quantified as relative frequency of occurrence (Fr% and as percentage of the mean bulk (Vm%. Mammals, mainly Rodents, were the staple food (Vm% annual=43.7 and reached the highest value in winter (Vm%=74.6 in January. Rats Rattus sp. were the principal rodents taken by foxes; they were probably preyed upon close to farmsteads where severa1 piles of garbage occurred. Birds were the second important prey category (Vm% annual=26.1 and were present at all time of the year; they were almost equally represented by Rallidae, Phasianidae, Anatidae and Passeriformes. Vegetables, mainly Rosaceae (Vm% annual=7.1 and Berberidaceae (Vm%=3.5 fruits, were also eaten all year rounds with a peak in summer (Vm%=82.2 in August. Insects, almost exclusively Coleoptera, carrions and garbage were less important items of the diet. Hares, rabbits, pheasants and wildfowl represented 23% of the annual mean bulk of ingested prey. The trophic niche breadth, evalued by the Levins' normalized index (B, was calculated using the relative frequencies (Fr and the mean volumes (Vm. The BFr and BVm values were not significantly different, although the former values were higher (BFr annual=O.61 against BVm=0.49, data of 1985 and 1986 pooled. The monthly distribution of both indexes throughout the year draws a bimodal pattern with the maximum values in May (BVm=O.79 and November (BVm=0,91 and the minimum values in January (BVm=0.31 and in August (BVm=O,40. The fox uses several food categories, but only some of them are seasonally important. Riassunto La dieta della specie è stata studiata analizzando 223 feci raccolte con cadenza mensile nel 1985 e 1986. I dati ottenuti, espressi come frequenza relativa percentuale (Fr% e volume medio percentuale (Vm%, evidenziano che i Mammiferi (soprattutto

Cobre e Antibiótico como Promotores de Crescimento em Rações para Frangos de Corte Copper and Antibiotic as Growth Promoters in Rations for Broiler Chickens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MC Iafigliola

2000-09-01

Full Text Available Foi realizado um experimento objetivando avaliar os efeitos de promotores de crescimento sobre o desempenho e a temperatura corporal de frangos de corte, no período de 1 a 42 dias de idade. Os tratamentos consistiram de uma ração basal não suplementada (Controle, ou suplementada com 200 mg de Cu/kg de sulfato cúprico pentahidratado (Sulfato, 75 mg de Cu/kg de citrato cúprico anidro (Citrato, 20 mg/kg de virginiamicina (VM, ou a associação Citrato + VM, em um experimento em blocos casualizados com seis repetições de 40 aves, criadas sobre cama reutilizada. Não se observou efeito de tratamentos na fase inicial. Na fase final os tratamentos não afetaram o consumo de ração e o ganho de peso, enquanto a conversão alimentar foi melhor para o VM comparado ao Controle. No período total não houve efeito de tratamentos sobre peso vivo, consumo, ganho de peso e conversão alimentar. No período final e total o Sulfato resultou em menor viabilidade das aves comparado ao Citrato, VM e Citrato + VM. Não foi verificado efeito sinérgico quando se usou VM + Citrato. Os tratamentos não influenciaram a temperatura retal das aves consistentemente. O citrato cúprico não revelou ser mais eficiente que o sulfato cúprico.An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of growth promoters on the performance and body temperature of broiler chickens 1 to 42 days of age. The treatments were a basal diet unsupplemented (Control, or supplemented of 200 mg Cu/kg as copper sulfate pentahydrate (Sulfate, 75 mg Cu/kg as anhydrous copper citrate (Citrate, 20 mg/kg of virginiamycin (VM, or the combination Citrate + VM. The experiment in floor pens with reutilized litter was in randomized blocks and six replicates of 40 birds. There were no treatment effects in the initial period. Treatments did not affect feed intake and weight gain in the final period; VM resulted improved feed conversion compared to Control. In the overall period, liveweight, weight

The Use of Canonical Correlation Analysis to Assess the Relationship Between Executive Functioning and Verbal Memory in Older Adults

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Pedro Silva Moreira MSc

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Executive functioning (EF, which is considered to govern complex cognition, and verbal memory (VM are constructs assumed to be related. However, it is not known the magnitude of the association between EF and VM, and how sociodemographic and psychological factors may affect this relationship, including in normal aging. In this study, we assessed different EF and VM parameters, via a battery of neurocognitive/psychological tests, and performed a Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA to explore the connection between these constructs, in a sample of middle-aged and older healthy individuals without cognitive impairment ( N = 563, 50+ years of age. The analysis revealed a positive and moderate association between EF and VM independently of gender, age, education, global cognitive performance level, and mood. These results confirm that EF presents a significant association with VM performance.

Traceability of poultry viscera meal by stable isotopes in broiler feathers; Rastreabilidade de farinha de visceras de aves por isotopos estaveis em penas de frangos de corte

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araujo, Priscila Cavalca de; Sartori, Jose Roberto; Pezzato, Antonio Celso; Stradiotti, Ana Cristina; Pelicia, Vanessa Cristina, E-mail: jrsatori@fmvz.unesp.b, E-mail: cpezzato@fmvz.unesp.b [Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia. Dept. de Melhoramento Zootecnico e Nutricao Animal; Cruz, Valquiria Cacao da, E-mail: valquiria@dracena.unesp.b [Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Dracena, SP (Brazil); Ducatti, Carlos, E-mail: ducatti@ibb.unesp.b [Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Botucatu, SP (Brazil). Inst. de Biociencias. Centro de Isotopos Estaveis

2011-05-15

The objective of this work was to evaluate the presence of poultry viscera meal (VM) in the diet of broiler chickens, through the feather analyses by stable isotopes of carbon ({sup 13}C/{sup 12}C) and nitrogen ({sup 15}N/{sup 14}N) and mass spectrophotometry. Seven hundred and twenty Cobb male broiler chicks were subjected to the following treatments: vegetable diet based on corn and soybean meal, from 1 to 42 days of age; diet with 8% poultry viscera meal, from 1 to 42 days of age; vegetable diet from 1 to 21 days, and diet with VM from 22 to 42 days; vegetable diet from 1 to 35 days, and diet with VM from 36 to 42 days; diet with VM from 1 to 21 days and, and vegetable diet from 22 to 42 days; diet with VM from 1 to 35 days, and vegetable diet from 36 to 42 days. Feather samples were collected from four birds per treatment at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days of age, which were subjected to isotopic analysis for carbon ({sup 13}C/{sup 12}C) and nitrogen ({sup 15}N/{sup 14}N) by mass spectrometry. The use of the stable C and N isotope technique in feathers allow the VM detection in broiler chicken diet after 21 days of VM inclusion. (author)

Traceability of poultry viscera meal by stable isotopes in broiler feathers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, Priscila Cavalca de; Sartori, Jose Roberto; Pezzato, Antonio Celso; Stradiotti, Ana Cristina; Pelicia, Vanessa Cristina; Ducatti, Carlos

2011-01-01

The objective of this work was to evaluate the presence of poultry viscera meal (VM) in the diet of broiler chickens, through the feather analyses by stable isotopes of carbon ( 13 C/ 12 C) and nitrogen ( 15 N/ 14 N) and mass spectrophotometry. Seven hundred and twenty Cobb male broiler chicks were subjected to the following treatments: vegetable diet based on corn and soybean meal, from 1 to 42 days of age; diet with 8% poultry viscera meal, from 1 to 42 days of age; vegetable diet from 1 to 21 days, and diet with VM from 22 to 42 days; vegetable diet from 1 to 35 days, and diet with VM from 36 to 42 days; diet with VM from 1 to 21 days and, and vegetable diet from 22 to 42 days; diet with VM from 1 to 35 days, and vegetable diet from 36 to 42 days. Feather samples were collected from four birds per treatment at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days of age, which were subjected to isotopic analysis for carbon ( 13 C/ 12 C) and nitrogen ( 15 N/ 14 N) by mass spectrometry. The use of the stable C and N isotope technique in feathers allow the VM detection in broiler chicken diet after 21 days of VM inclusion. (author)

Susceptibility to social pressure following ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kuan-Hua; Rusch, Michelle L; Dawson, Jeffrey D; Rizzo, Matthew; Anderson, Steven W

2015-11-01

Social pressure influences human behavior including risk taking, but the psychological and neural underpinnings of this process are not well understood. We used the human lesion method to probe the role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in resisting adverse social pressure in the presence of risk. Thirty-seven participants (11 with vmPFC damage, 12 with brain damage outside the vmPFC and 14 without brain damage) were tested in driving simulator scenarios requiring left-turn decisions across oncoming traffic with varying time gaps between the oncoming vehicles. Social pressure was applied by a virtual driver who honked aggressively from behind. Participants with vmPFC damage were more likely to select smaller and potentially unsafe gaps under social pressure, while gap selection by the comparison groups did not change under social pressure. Participants with vmPFC damage also showed prolonged elevated skin conductance responses (SCR) under social pressure. Comparison groups showed similar initial elevated SCR, which then declined prior to making left-turn decisions. The findings suggest that the vmPFC plays an important role in resisting explicit and immediately present social pressure with potentially negative consequences. The vmPFC appears to contribute to the regulation of emotional responses and the modulation of decision making to optimize long-term outcomes. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A model of amygdala-hippocampal-prefrontal interaction in fear conditioning and extinction in animals

Science.gov (United States)

Moustafa, Ahmed A.; Gilbertson, Mark W.; Orr, Scott P.; Herzallah, Mohammad M.; Servatius, Richard. J.; Myers, Catherine E.

2012-01-01

Empirical research has shown that the amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are involved in fear conditioning. However, the functional contribution of each brain area and the nature of their interactions are not clearly understood. Here, we extend existing neural network models of the functional roles of the hippocampus in classical conditioning to include interactions with the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. We apply the model to fear conditioning, in which animals learn physiological (e.g. heart rate) and behavioral (e.g. freezing) responses to stimuli that have been paired with a highly aversive event (e.g. electrical shock). The key feature of our model is that learning of these conditioned responses in the central nucleus of the amygdala is modulated by two separate processes, one from basolateral amygdala and signaling a positive prediction error, and one from the vmPFC, via the intercalated cells of the amygdala, and signaling a negative prediction error. In addition, we propose that hippocampal input to both vmPFC and basolateral amygdala is essential for contextual modulation of fear acquisition and extinction. The model is sufficient to account for a body of data from various animal fear conditioning paradigms, including acquisition, extinction, reacquisition, and context specificity effects. Consistent with studies on lesioned animals, our model shows that damage to the vmPFC impairs extinction, while damage to the hippocampus impairs extinction in a different context (e.g., a different conditioning chamber from that used in initial training in animal experiments). We also discuss model limitations and predictions, including the effects of number of training trials on fear conditioning. PMID:23164732

CRFR1 in the ventromedial caudate putamen modulates acute stress-enhanced expression of cocaine locomotor sensitization.

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Liu, Shuli; Wang, Zhiyan; Li, Yijing; Sun, Xiaowei; Ge, Feifei; Yang, Mingda; Wang, Xinjuan; Wang, Na; Wang, Junkai; Cui, Cailian

2017-07-15

Repeated exposure to psychostimulants induces a long-lasting enhancement of locomotor activity called behavioral sensitization, which is often reinforced by stress after drug withdrawal. The mechanisms underlying these phenomena remain elusive. Here we explored the effects of acute stress 3 or 14 days after the cessation of chronic cocaine treatment on the expression of locomotor sensitization induced by a cocaine challenge in rats and the key brain region and molecular mechanism underlying the phenomenon. A single session of forced swimming, as an acute stress (administered 2 days after the cessation of cocaine), significantly enhanced the expression of cocaine locomotor sensitization 14 days after the final cocaine injection (challenge at 12 days after acute stress) but not 3 days after the cessation of cocaine (challenge at 1 day after acute stress). The result indicated that acute stress enhanced the expression of cocaine locomotor sensitization after incubation for 12 days rather than 1 day after the last cocaine injection. Moreover, the enhancement in locomotor sensitization was paralleled by a selective increase in the number of the c-Fos + cells, the level of CRFR1 mRNA in the ventromedial caudate putamen (vmCPu). Furthermore, the enhancement was significantly attenuated by CRFR1 antagonist NBI-27914 into the vmCPu, implying that the up-regulation of CRFR1 in the vmCPu seems to be critical in the acute stress-enhanced expression of cocaine locomotor sensitization. The findings demonstrate that the long-term effect of acute stress on the expression of cocaine locomotor sensitization is partially mediated by CRFR1 in the vmCPu. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Prefrontal single-unit firing associated with deficient extinction in mice

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Fitzgerald, Paul J; Whittle, Nigel; Flynn, Shaun M; Graybeal, Carolyn; Pinard, Courtney; Gunduz-Cinar, Ozge; Kravitz, Alexxai; Singewald, Nicolas; Holmes, Andrew

2014-01-01

increased the number of Zif268-labeled cells in layer II of IL, but failed to increase vmPFC single-unit firing. Collectively, these findings further support the important contribution these cortical regions play in determining the balance between robust extinction on the one hand, and sustained fear on the other. Elucidating the precise nature of these roles could help inform understanding of the pathophysiology of fear-related anxiety disorders. PMID:24231425

Effects of high frequency electromagnetic fields emitted from digital cellular telephones on electronic pocket dosimeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deji, Shizuhiko; Nishizawa, Kunihide

2003-01-01

Electric field strength distribution around the digital cellular telephone (cell phone) transmitting 1.5GHz band was analyzed by using an isotropic probe. Five types of electronic pocket dosimeters (EPDs) were exposed to the fields for 50sec under four kinds of configurations relative to the cell phone. The field distribution expanded around the antenna and had a maximum strength level of 36.5±0.3V/m. The cell phone caused abnormally high values (wrong dosages) to four EPDs out of five due to electromagnetic interference. Three out of the four EPDs exceeded the upper limits of dose range depending on the configurations, and the maximum value of wrong dosage among the EPDs was 1,283 μSv. The minimum distance preventing electromagnetic interference (protection distance) differed with each EPD and ranged from 2.0cm to 21.0cm. The electromagnetic immunity levels of EPD-1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were 13.3, ≥35, ≥32, 9.2 and ≥35 V/m, respectively. Although the immunity levels were either equal to or greater than the IEC-standard level, those of the EPDs should be enhanced greater than the IEC-standard from the standpoint of radiation protection. (author)

New insights into pathophysiology of vestibular migraine

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Juan Manuel Espinosa-Sanchez

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Vestibular migraine (VM is a common disorder in which genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors probably contribute to its development. The pathophysiology of VM is unknown; nevertheless in the last few years, several studies are contributing to understand the neurophysiological pathways involved in VM. The current hypotheses are mostly based on the knowledge of migraine itself. The evidence of trigeminal innervation of the labyrinth vessels and the localization of vasoactive neuropeptides in the perivascular afferent terminals of these trigeminal fibers support the involvement of the trigemino-vascular system. The neurogenic inflammation triggered by activation of the trigeminal-vestibulocochlear reflex, with the subsequent inner ear plasma protein extravasation and the release of inflammatory mediators, can contribute to a sustained activation and sensitization of the trigeminal primary afferent neurons explaining VM symptoms. The reciprocal connections between brainstem vestibular nuclei and the structures that modulate trigeminal nociceptive inputs (rostral ventromedial medulla, ventrolateral periaqueductal grey, locus coeruleus and nucleus raphe magnus are critical to understand the pathophysiology of VM. Although cortical spreading depression can affect cortical areas involved in processing vestibular information, functional neuroimaging techniques suggest a dysmodulation in the multimodal sensory integration and processing of vestibular and nociceptive information, resulting from a vestibulo-thalamo-cortical dysfunction, as the pathogenic mechanism underlying VM. The elevated prevalence of VM suggests that multiple functional variants may confer a genetic susceptibility leading to a dysregulation of excitatory-inhibitory balance in brain structures involved in the processing of sensory information, vestibular inputs and pain. The interactions among several functional and structural neural networks could explain the pathogenic

Evaluation of usage of virtual microscopy for the study of histology in the medical, dental, and veterinary undergraduate programs of a UK University.

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Gatumu, Margaret K; MacMillan, Frances M; Langton, Philip D; Headley, P Max; Harris, Judy R

2014-01-01

This article describes the introduction of a virtual microscope (VM) that has allowed preclinical histology teaching to be fashioned to better suit the needs of approximately 900 undergraduate students per year studying medicine, dentistry, or veterinary science at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. Features of the VM implementation include: (1) the facility for students and teachers to make annotations on the digital slides; (2) in-house development of VM-based quizzes that are used for both formative and summative assessments; (3) archiving of teaching materials generated each year, enabling students to access their personalized learning resources throughout their programs; and (4) retention of light microscopy capability alongside the VM. Student feedback on the VM is particularly positive about its ease of use, the value of the annotation tool, the quizzes, and the accessibility of all components off-campus. Analysis of login data indicates considerable, although variable, use of the VM by students outside timetabled teaching. The median number of annual logins per student account for every course exceeded the number of timetabled histology classes for that course (1.6–3.5 times). The total number of annual student logins across all cohorts increased from approximately 9,000 in the year 2007–2008 to 22,000 in the year 2010–2011. The implementation of the VM has improved teaching and learning in practical classes within the histology laboratory and facilitated consolidation and revision of material outside the laboratory. Discussion is provided of some novel strategies that capitalize on the benefits of introducing a VM, as well as strategies adopted to overcome some potential challenges.

Sex differences in the functional lateralization of emotion and decision making in the human brain.

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Reber, Justin; Tranel, Daniel

2017-01-02

Dating back to the case of Phineas Gage, decades of neuropsychological research have shown that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is crucial to both real-world social functioning and abstract decision making in the laboratory (see, e.g., Stuss et al., ; Bechara et al., 1994; Damasio et al., ). Previous research has shown that the relationship between the laterality of individuals' vmPFC lesions and neuropsychological performance is moderated by their sex, whereby there are more severe social, emotional, and decision-making impairments in men with right-side vmPFC lesions and in women with left-side vmPFC lesions (Tranel et al., 2005; Sutterer et al., 2015). We conducted a selective review of studies examining the effect of vmPFC lesions on emotion and decision making and found further evidence of sex-related differences in the lateralization of function not only in the vmPFC but also in other neurological structures associated with decision making and emotion. This Mini-Review suggests that both sex and laterality effects warrant more careful consideration in the scientific literature. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Resting Heart Rate Variability, Facets of Rumination and Trait Anxiety: Implications for the Perseverative Cognition Hypothesis

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DeWayne P. Williams

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The perseverative cognition hypothesis (PCH posits that perseveration, defined as the repetitive or sustained activation of cognitive representations of a real or imagined stressor, is a primary mechanism linking psychological (or stress vulnerability with poor health and disease. Resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV is an important indicator of self-regulatory abilities, stress vulnerability and overall health. Those with lower resting vmHRV are more vulnerable to stress, and thus more likely to engage in perseverative cognition and experience subsequent negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety. Recent research suggests that rumination—one of the core mechanisms underlying perseveration—is a construct containing (at least two maladaptive (depressive and brooding and one adaptive (reflective types of rumination. However, to date, research has not examined how the association between resting vmHRV may differ between these three facets of rumination, in addition to these facets’ mechanistic role in linking lower resting vmHRV with greater trait anxiety. The current cross-sectional study explores these relationships in a sample of 203 participants (112 females, 76 ethnic minorities, mean age = 19.43, standard deviation = 1.87. Resting vmHRV was assessed during a 5-min-resting period using an Electrocardiogram (ECG. Both trait rumination (including the three facets and anxiety were assessed via self-report scales. Significant negative associations were found between resting vmHRV and maladaptive, but not adaptive, forms of perseveration. Similarly, mediation analyses showed a significant indirect relationship between resting vmHRV and anxiety through maladaptive, but not adaptive, facets of rumination. Our findings support the PCH such that those with stress vulnerability, as indexed by lower resting vmHRV, are more likely to engage in maladaptive perseverative cognition and thus experience negative outcomes such as

Electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of DECT cordless telephones and mobile phones

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Paweł Mamrot

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Mobile telephones belong to the most frequently used personal devices. In their surroundings they produce the electromagnetic field (EMF, in which exposure range there are not only users but also nearby bystanders. The aim of the investigations and EMF measurements in the vicinity of phones was to identify the electric field levels with regard to various working modes. Material and methods: Twelve sets of DECT (digital enhanced cordless telecommunications cordless phones (12 base units and 15 handsets, 21 mobile telephones produced by different manufactures, and 16 smartphones in various applications, (including multimedia in the conditions of daily use in living rooms were measured. Measurements were taken using the point method in predetermined distances of 0.05–1 m from the devices without the presence of users. Results: In the vicinity of DECT cordless phone handsets, electric field strength ranged from 0.26 to 2.30 V/m in the distance of 0.05 m – 0.18–0.26 V/m (1 m. In surroundings of DECT cordless telephones base units the values of EMF were from 1.78–5.44 V/m (0.05 m to 0.19– 0.41 V/m (1 m. In the vicinity of mobile phones working in GSM mode with voice transmission, the electric field strength ranged from 2.34–9.14 V/m (0.05 m to 0.18–0.47 V/m (1 m while in the vicinity of mobile phones working in WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access mode the electric field strength ranged from 0.22–1.83 V/m (0.05 m to 0.18–0.20 V/m (1 m. Conclusions: The mean values of the electric field strength for each group of devices, mobile phones and DECT wireless phones sets do not exceed the reference value of 7 V/m, adopted as the limit for general public exposure. Med Pr 2015;66(6:803–814

[Electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of DECT cordless telephones and mobile phones].

Science.gov (United States)

Mamrot, Paweł; Mariańska, Magda; Aniołczyk, Halina; Politański, Piotr

2015-01-01

Mobile telephones belong to the most frequently used personal devices. In their surroundings they produce the electromagnetic field (EMF), in which exposure range there are not only users but also nearby bystanders. The aim of the investigations and EMF measurements in the vicinity of phones was to identify the electric field levels with regard to various working modes. Twelve sets of DECT (digital enhanced cordless telecommunications) cordless phones (12 base units and 15 handsets), 21 mobile telephones produced by different manufactures, and 16 smartphones in various applications, (including multimedia) in the conditions of daily use in living rooms were measured. Measurements were taken using the point method in predetermined distances of 0.05-1 m from the devices without the presence of users. In the vicinity of DECT cordless phone handsets, electric field strength ranged from 0.26 to 2.30 V/m in the distance of 0.05 m - 0.18-0.26 V/m (1 m). In surroundings of DECT cordless telephones base units the values of EMF were from 1.78-5.44 V/m (0.05 m) to 0.19- 0.41 V/m (1 m). In the vicinity of mobile phones working in GSM mode with voice transmission, the electric field strength ranged from 2.34-9.14 V/m (0.05 m) to 0.18-0.47 V/m (1 m) while in the vicinity of mobile phones working in WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) mode the electric field strength ranged from 0.22-1.83 V/m (0.05 m) to 0.18-0.20 V/m (1 m). The mean values of the electric field strength for each group of devices, mobile phones and DECT wireless phones sets do not exceed the reference value of 7 V/m, adopted as the limit for general public exposure. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Opposite modulation of brain stimulation reward by NMDA and AMPA receptors in the ventral tegmental area.

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Charles eDucrot

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that blockade of ventral midbrain (VM glutamate N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA receptors induces reward, stimulates forward locomotion and enhances brain stimulation reward. Glutamate induces two types of excitatory response on VM neurons, a fast and short lasting depolarisation mediated by a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA receptors and a longer lasting depolarization mediated by NMDA receptors. A role for the two glutamate receptors in modulation of VM neuronal activity is evidenced by the functional change in AMPA and NMDA synaptic responses that result from repeated exposure to reward. Since both receptors contribute to the action of glutamate on VM neuronal activity, we studied the effects of VM AMPA and NMDA receptor blockade on reward induced by electrical brain stimulation. Experiments were performed on rats trained to self-administer electrical pulses in the medial posterior mesencephalon. Reward thresholds were measured with the curve-shift paradigm before and for two hours after bilateral VM microinjections of the AMPA antagonist, NBQX (2,3,-Dioxo-6-nitro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrobenzo(fquinoxaline-7-sulfonamide, 0, 80, and 800 pmol/0.5ul/side and of a single dose (0.825 nmol/0.5ul/side of the NMDA antagonist, PPPA (2R,4S-4-(3-Phosphonopropyl-2-piperidinecarboxylic acid. NBQX produced a dose-dependent increase in reward threshold with no significant change in maximum rate of responding. Whereas PPPA injected at the same VM sites produced a significant time dependent decrease in reward threshold and increase in maximum rate of responding. We found a negative correlation between the magnitude of the attenuation effect of NBQX and the enhancement effect of PPPA; moreover, NBQX and PPPA were most effective when injected respectively into the anterior and posterior VM. These results suggest that glutamate acts on different receptor sub-types, most likely located on different VM neurons, to modulate

Resting Heart Rate Variability, Facets of Rumination and Trait Anxiety: Implications for the Perseverative Cognition Hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, DeWayne P; Feeling, Nicole R; Hill, LaBarron K; Spangler, Derek P; Koenig, Julian; Thayer, Julian F

2017-01-01

The perseverative cognition hypothesis (PCH) posits that perseveration, defined as the repetitive or sustained activation of cognitive representations of a real or imagined stressor, is a primary mechanism linking psychological (or stress) vulnerability with poor health and disease. Resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is an important indicator of self-regulatory abilities, stress vulnerability and overall health. Those with lower resting vmHRV are more vulnerable to stress, and thus more likely to engage in perseverative cognition and experience subsequent negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety. Recent research suggests that rumination-one of the core mechanisms underlying perseveration-is a construct containing (at least) two maladaptive (depressive and brooding) and one adaptive (reflective) types of rumination. However, to date, research has not examined how the association between resting vmHRV may differ between these three facets of rumination, in addition to these facets' mechanistic role in linking lower resting vmHRV with greater trait anxiety. The current cross-sectional study explores these relationships in a sample of 203 participants (112 females, 76 ethnic minorities, mean age = 19.43, standard deviation = 1.87). Resting vmHRV was assessed during a 5-min-resting period using an Electrocardiogram (ECG). Both trait rumination (including the three facets) and anxiety were assessed via self-report scales. Significant negative associations were found between resting vmHRV and maladaptive, but not adaptive, forms of perseveration. Similarly, mediation analyses showed a significant indirect relationship between resting vmHRV and anxiety through maladaptive, but not adaptive, facets of rumination. Our findings support the PCH such that those with stress vulnerability, as indexed by lower resting vmHRV, are more likely to engage in maladaptive perseverative cognition and thus experience negative outcomes such as anxiety. Our data

Optogenetic modulation of descending prefrontocortical inputs to the dorsal raphe bidirectionally bias socioaffective choices after social defeat

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Collin eChallis

2014-02-01

Full Text Available It has been well established that modulating serotonin (5-HT levels in humans and animals affects perception and response to social threats, however the circuit mechanisms that control 5-HT output during social interaction are not well understood. A better understanding of these systems could provide groundwork for more precise and efficient therapeutic interventions. Here we examined the organization and plasticity of microcircuits implicated in top-down control of 5-HT neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN by excitatory inputs from the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC and their role in social approach-avoidance decisions. We did this in the context of a social defeat model that induces a long lasting form of social aversion that is reversible by antidepressants. We first used viral tracing and Cre-dependent genetic identification of vmPFC glutamatergic synapses in the DRN to determine their topographic distribution in relation to 5-HT and GABAergic subregions and found that excitatory vmPFC projections primarily localized to GABA-rich areas of the DRN. We then used optogenetics in combination with cFos mapping and slice electrophysiology to establish the functional effects of repeatedly driving vmPFC inputs in DRN. We provide the first direct evidence that vmPFC axons drive synaptic activity and immediate early gene expression in genetically identified DRN GABA neurons through an AMPA receptor-dependent mechanism. In contrast, we did not detect vmPFC-driven synaptic activity in 5-HT neurons and cFos induction in 5-HT neurons was limited. Finally we show that optogenetically increasing or decreasing excitatory vmPFC input to the DRN during sensory exposure to an aggressor’s cues enhances or diminishes avoidance bias, respectively. These results clarify the functional organization of vmPFC-DRN pathways and identify GABAergic neurons as a key cellular element filtering top-down vmPFC influences on affect-regulating 5-HT output.

Effect of shoe heel height on vastus medialis and vastus lateralis electromyographic activity during sit to stand

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Hodgson David

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background It has been proposed that high-heeled shoes may contribute to the development and progression of knee pain. However, surprisingly little research has been carried out on how shoe heel height affects muscle activity around the knee joint. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of differing heel height on the electromyographic (EMG activity in vastus medialis (VM and vastus lateralis (VL during a sit to stand activity. This was an exploratory study to inform future research. Methods A repeated measures design was used. Twenty five healthy females carried out a standardised sit to stand activity under 4 conditions; barefoot, and with heel wedges of 1, 3, and 5 cm in height. EMG activity was recorded from VM and VL during the activity. Data were analysed using 1 × 4 repeated measures ANOVA. Results Average rectified EMG activity differed with heel height in both VM (F2.2, 51.7 = 5.24, p 3, 72 = 5.32, p 3, 72 = 0.61, p = 0.609. Conclusion We found that as heel height increased, there was an increase in EMG activity in both VM and VL, but no change in the relative EMG intensity of VM and VL as measured by the VM: VL ratio. This showed that no VM: VL imbalance was elicited. This study provides information that will inform future research on how heel height affects muscle activity around the knee joint.

A Reference Model for Virtual Machine Launching Overhead

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Hao; Ren, Shangping; Garzoglio, Gabriele; Timm, Steven; Bernabeu, Gerard; Chadwick, Keith; Noh, Seo-Young

2016-07-01

Cloud bursting is one of the key research topics in the cloud computing communities. A well designed cloud bursting module enables private clouds to automatically launch virtual machines (VMs) to public clouds when more resources are needed. One of the main challenges in developing a cloud bursting module is to decide when and where to launch a VM so that all resources are most effectively and efficiently utilized and the system performance is optimized. However, based on system operational data obtained from FermiCloud, a private cloud developed by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory for scientific workflows, the VM launching overhead is not a constant. It varies with physical resource utilization, such as CPU and I/O device utilizations, at the time when a VM is launched. Hence, to make judicious decisions as to when and where a VM should be launched, a VM launching overhead reference model is needed. In this paper, we first develop a VM launching overhead reference model based on operational data we have obtained on FermiCloud. Second, we apply the developed reference model on FermiCloud and compare calculated VM launching overhead values based on the model with measured overhead values on FermiCloud. Our empirical results on FermiCloud indicate that the developed reference model is accurate. We believe, with the guidance of the developed reference model, efficient resource allocation algorithms can be developed for cloud bursting process to minimize the operational cost and resource waste.

Some constructions on total labelling of m triangles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voon, Chen Huey; Hui, Liew How; How, Yim Kheng

2016-01-01

Let mK_3 = (V_m, E_m) be a finite disconnected graph consisting of m disjoint triangles K_3, where V_m is the set of vertices, E_m is the set of edges and both V_m and E_m are of the same size 3m. A total labelling of mK_3 is a function f which maps the elements in V_m and E_m to positive integer values, i.e. f : V_m ∪ E_m → {1, 2, 3,···}. Let c be a positive integer. A triangle is said have a c-Erdősian triangle labelling if it is a total labelling f : V_m ∪ E_m → {c, c + 1, ···, c + 6m − 1} such that f (x) + f (y) = f (xy) for any x, y ∈ V_m and an edge xy ∈ E_m joining them. In order to find all the c-Erdősian triangle labelling, a straightforward is to use the exhaustive search. However, the exhaustive search is only able to find c-Erdősian triangle labelling for m ≤ 5 due to combinatorial explosion. By studying the constant sum of vertex labels, we propose a strong permutation approach, which allows us to generate a certain classes of c-Erdősian triangle labelling up until m = 8.

Microsatellite association with seed protein content and flowering ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

use

2011-12-12

Dec 12, 2011 ... 5'-ATA AAG GAG GGC ATA GGG AGG TAT-3'. VM19. 5'-TAT TCA TGC GCC GTG ACA CTA-3'. (AC).(AC). 241. 5'-TCG TGG CAC CCC CTA TC-3'. VM 31. 5'-CGC TCT TCG TTG ATG GTT ATG-3'. (CT). 200. 5'-GTG TTC TAG AGG GTG TGA TGG TA-3'. VM 35. 5'-GGT CAA TAG AAT AAT GGA AAG TGT-3'.

False recall is reduced by damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex: implications for understanding the neural correlates of schematic memory.

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Warren, David E; Jones, Samuel H; Duff, Melissa C; Tranel, Daniel

2014-05-28

Schematic memory, or contextual knowledge derived from experience (Bartlett, 1932), benefits memory function by enhancing retention and speeding learning of related information (Bransford and Johnson, 1972; Tse et al., 2007). However, schematic memory can also promote memory errors, producing false memories. One demonstration is the "false memory effect" of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm (Roediger and McDermott, 1995): studying words that fit a common schema (e.g., cold, blizzard, winter) often produces memory for a nonstudied word (e.g., snow). We propose that frontal lobe regions that contribute to complex decision-making processes by weighting various alternatives, such as ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), may also contribute to memory processes by weighting the influence of schematic knowledge. We investigated the role of human vmPFC in false memory by combining a neuropsychological approach with the DRM task. Patients with vmPFC lesions (n = 7) and healthy comparison participants (n = 14) studied word lists that excluded a common associate (the critical item). Recall and recognition tests revealed expected high levels of false recall and recognition of critical items by healthy participants. In contrast, vmPFC patients showed consistently reduced false recall, with significantly fewer intrusions of critical items. False recognition was also marginally reduced among vmPFC patients. Our findings suggest that vmPFC increases the influence of schematically congruent memories, a contribution that may be related to the role of the vmPFC in decision making. These novel neuropsychological results highlight a role for the vmPFC as part of a memory network including the medial temporal lobes and hippocampus (Andrews-Hanna et al., 2010). Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/347677-06$15.00/0.

Quaternary Benzyltriethylammonium Ion Binding to the Na,K-ATPase: a Tool to Investigate Extracellular K+ Binding Reactions†

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Peluffo, R. Daniel; González-Lebrero, Rodolfo M.; Kaufman, Sergio B.; Kortagere, Sandhya; Orban, Branly; Rossi, Rolando C.; Berlin, Joshua R.

2009-01-01

This study examined how the quaternary organic ammonium ion, benzyltriethylamine (BTEA), binds to the Na,K-ATPase to produce membrane potential (VM)-dependent inhibition and tested the prediction that such a VM-dependent inhibitor would display electrogenic binding kinetics. BTEA competitively inhibited K+ activation of Na,K-ATPase activity and steady-state 86Rb+ occlusion. The initial rate of 86Rb+ occlusion was decreased by BTEA to a similar degree whether it was added to the enzyme prior to or simultaneously with Rb+, a demonstration that BTEA inhibits the Na,K-ATPase without being occluded. Several BTEA structural analogues reversibly inhibited Na,K-pump current, but none blocked current in a VM-dependent manner except BTEA and its para-nitro derivative, pNBTEA. Under conditions that promoted electroneutral K+-K+ exchange by the Na,K-ATPase, step changes in VM elicited pNBTEA-activated ouabain-sensitive transient currents that had similarities to those produced with the K+ congener, Tl+. pNBTEA- and Tl+-dependent transient currents both displayed saturation of charge moved at extreme negative and positive VM, equivalence of charge moved during and after step changes in VM, and similar apparent valence. The rate constant (ktot) for Tl+-dependent transient current asymptotically approached a minimum value at positive VM. In contrast, ktot for pNBTEA-dependent transient current was a “U”-shaped function of VM with a minimum value near 0 mV. Homology models of the Na,K-ATPase alpha subunit suggested that quaternary amines can bind to two extracellularly-accessible sites, one of them located at K+ binding sites positioned between transmembrane helices 4, 5, and 6. Altogether, these data revealed important information about electrogenic ion binding reactions of the Na,K-ATPase that are not directly measurable during ion transport by this enzyme. PMID:19621894

Driving context influences drivers' decision to engage in visual-manual phone tasks: Evidence from a naturalistic driving study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tivesten, Emma; Dozza, Marco

2015-06-01

Visual-manual (VM) phone tasks (i.e., texting, dialing, reading) are associated with an increased crash/near-crash risk. This study investigated how the driving context influences drivers' decisions to engage in VM phone tasks in naturalistic driving. Video-recordings of 1,432 car trips were viewed to identify VM phone tasks and passenger presence. Video, vehicle signals, and map data were used to classify driving context (i.e., curvature, other vehicles) before and during the VM phone tasks (N=374). Vehicle signals (i.e., speed, yaw rate, forward radar) were available for all driving. VM phone tasks were more likely to be initiated while standing still, and less likely while driving at high speeds, or when a passenger was present. Lead vehicle presence did not influence how likely it was that a VM phone task was initiated, but the drivers adjusted their task timing to situations when the lead vehicle was increasing speed, resulting in increasing time headway. The drivers adjusted task timing until after making sharp turns and lane change maneuvers. In contrast to previous driving simulator studies, there was no evidence of drivers reducing speed as a consequence of VM phone task engagement. The results show that experienced drivers use information about current and upcoming driving context to decide when to engage in VM phone tasks. However, drivers may fail to sufficiently increase safety margins to allow time to respond to possible unpredictable events (e.g., lead vehicle braking). Advanced driver assistance systems should facilitate and possibly boost drivers' self-regulating behavior. For instance, they might recognize when appropriate adaptive behavior is missing and advise or alert accordingly. The results from this study could also inspire training programs for novice drivers, or locally classify roads in terms of the risk associated with secondary task engagement while driving. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Management of Orbital and Periorbital Venous Malformation

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Lara A. Benoiton

2017-05-01

Full Text Available BackgroundTo review our management of common venous malformation (VM affecting the orbit and/or periorbital area.MethodsConsecutive patients with orbital and/or periorbital VM were identified from our vascular anomalies database. Demographic details of the patients, anatomic site(s affected, symptoms and signs, presence of a family history of VM, and types of treatment(s were collected, supplemented by chart review.ResultsA total of 24 patients’ age 1–68 (mean, 30 years with orbital and/or periorbital VM presented with cosmetic concerns (n = 17, 71%, distensibility (n = 15, 63%, pain (n = 9, 38%, diplopia (n = 4, 17%, and spontaneous thrombosis (n = 1, 8%. The VM caused globe dystopia (n = 13, 54%, enophthalmos (n = 6, 25%, proptosis (n = 3, 12%, exotropia (n = 3, 12%, and pseudoptosis with visual obstruction (n = 3, 13%. A total of 11 (46% patients were managed conservatively. 13 (54% patients underwent active treatment. Ethanol sclerotherapy (ES was performed in six patients with extensive facial VM associated with orbital/periorbital involvement, resulting in symptomatic improvement in five patients, one of whom developed skin necrosis and another patient developed reduced infraorbital nerve sensation. Surgery was performed for localized lesion (n = 3, 23%, for extensive lesions (n = 4, 31% and as an adjunct to ES (n = 6, 46% resulting in symptomatic improvement in all patients. One patient required correction of lower lid ectropion.ConclusionOrbital and/or periorbital VMs are heterogeneous, and management needs to be individualized. Surgery is used for localized lesions aiming for complete excision, as a debulking procedure for extensive orbital/periorbital VM when ES was not possible, or following ES for extensive facial VM with orbital and/or periorbital involvement.

The morphological and molecular changes of brain cells exposed to direct current electric field stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pelletier, Simon J; Lagacé, Marie; St-Amour, Isabelle; Arsenault, Dany; Cisbani, Giulia; Chabrat, Audrey; Fecteau, Shirley; Lévesque, Martin; Cicchetti, Francesca

2014-12-07

The application of low-intensity direct current electric fields has been experimentally used in the clinic to treat a number of brain disorders, predominantly using transcranial direct current stimulation approaches. However, the cellular and molecular changes induced by such treatment remain largely unknown. Here, we tested various intensities of direct current electric fields (0, 25, 50, and 100V/m) in a well-controlled in vitro environment in order to investigate the responses of neurons, microglia, and astrocytes to this type of stimulation. This included morphological assessments of the cells, viability, as well as shape and fiber outgrowth relative to the orientation of the direct current electric field. We also undertook enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and western immunoblotting to identify which molecular pathways were affected by direct current electric fields. In response to direct current electric field, neurons developed an elongated cell body shape with neurite outgrowth that was associated with a significant increase in growth associated protein-43. Fetal midbrain dopaminergic explants grown in a collagen gel matrix also showed a reorientation of their neurites towards the cathode. BV2 microglial cells adopted distinct morphological changes with an increase in cyclooxygenase-2 expression, but these were dependent on whether they had already been activated with lipopolysaccharide. Finally, astrocytes displayed elongated cell bodies with cellular filopodia that were oriented perpendicularly to the direct current electric field. We show that cells of the central nervous system can respond to direct current electric fields both in terms of their morphological shape and molecular expression of certain proteins, and this in turn can help us to begin understand the mechanisms underlying the clinical benefits of direct current electric field. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.

The kinetics of phagocytosis of 198Au colloids ''in vitro''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astorri, N.L.; Bergoc, R.M.; Bianchin, A.M.; Caro, R.A.; Ihlo, J.E.; Rivera, E.S.

1982-01-01

The kinetics of the phagocytosis of 198-Au colloids by macrophages ''in vitro'' was studied by incubating during 5 hours phagocytic cells from the liver and the spleen of Wistar rats with colloidal radiogold particles, in the presence of an adequate culture medium (TC-199 with 10 per cent of Bovine Fetal Serum). In each experiment, the number of colloidal gold particles offered to each phatocytic cell, (Au) 0 and the mean rate of phagocytosis v, were calculated. The latter value was determined by measuring the radioactivity incorporated into the phagocytic cells during the incubation; it was expressed as the number of phagocytized colloidal gold particles per cell per minute. The values of log v = f [log (Au) 0 ] were plotted. The Lineweaver-Burk analysis of the results demonstrates that the kinetics of the phagocytosis of colloidal radiogold particles ''in vitro'' follows a model similar to Michaelis-Menten equations for enzyme reactions. The values of the substratum constant Ks and maximun velocity Vm were obtained by the regression analysis of the 1/v vs. 1/(Au) 0 graph. Vm was equal to 9.44 x 10 and 1.63 x 10 phagocytized colloidal gold particles per cell per minute for liver and spleen macrophages, respectively. Ks was equal to 6.01 x 10 9 and 8.02 x 10 8 colloidal gold particles per cell for liver and spleen macrophages, respectively. The significance of these differences is discussed and attributed mainly to a change of the specific engulfment rate constant. (author) [es

Transcranial doppler in sickle cell anaemia: evaluation of brain blood flow parameters in children of Aracaju, Northeast - Brazil Doppler transcraniano em portadores de anemia falciforme: estudo dos parâmetros de fluxo sangüíneo cerebral em crianças de Aracaju, Sergipe

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Hyder Aragão de Melo

2008-06-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Environmental factors interfere on sickle cell anaemia (SCA. Transcanial Doppler (TCD is important to evaluate cerebrovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate brain haemodynamic profile of children with SCA in Sergipe. METHODS: Cross sectional study (group1: SCA patients aged 3-18; group2: age and sex matched healthy individuals. Baseline brain flow was evaluated. RESULTS: Group1=34 patients; group 2=81 controls. SCA patients had mean velocity (MV=125.69 cm/s±23.40; pulsatility index (PI=0.66±0.10; middle cerebral artery ratio (MCAr=14.53±15.23; right anterior cerebral artery/right middle cerebral artery=0.77±0.20; left anterior cerebral artery/left middle cerebral artery=0.78±0.20. Controls had MV=79.44±15.54; PI=0.82±0.11; MCAr=13.19±13.77; right anterior cerebral artery/right middle cerebral artery=0.80±0.16; left anterior cerebral artery/left middle cerebral artery=0.84±0.18. MV and PI differences were statistically significant between groups. MV was related to age but not to gender. CONCLUSION: MV evaluation using TCD was similar to international standards and possible to be used in our setting.INTRODUÇÃO: Aspectos ambientais interferem na apresentação da anemia falciforme (AF. Doppler transcraniano (DTC é útil na avaliação do risco para doença cerebrovascular em pacientes com AF. OBJETIVO: Avaliar o perfil hemodinâmico cerebral de crianças com AF em Sergipe. MÉTODO: Estudo transversal (grupo1: portadores de AF 3-18 anos; grupo2: indivíduos saudáveis, pareados por idade e gênero. Foram avaliadas medidas de fluxo sangüíneo cerebral basal. RESULTADOS: Grupo1 (n=34: velocidade média (Vm=125,69 cm/s ±23,40; índice de pulsatilidade (Ip=0,66±0,10; relação entre artéria cerebral média (ACMs=14,53±15,23; artéria cerebral anterior (ACA/ACM direita=0,77±0,20; ACA/ACM esquerda=0,78±0,20. Grupo 2 (n=81: Vm=79,44 cm/s ±15,54; Ip=0,82±0,11, relação entre ACMs=13,19±13,77, ACA/ACM direita=0,80±0

Does the vaginal microbiota play a role in the development of cervical cancer?

Science.gov (United States)

Kyrgiou, Maria; Mitra, Anita; Moscicki, Anna-Barbara

2017-01-01

Persistent infection with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) is necessary but not sufficient for the development of cervical cancer. The factors promoting persistence as well those triggering carcinogenetic pathways are incompletely understood. Rapidly evolving evidence indicates that the vaginal microbiome (VM) may play a functional role (both protective and harmful) in the acquisition and persistence of HPV, and subsequent development of cervical cancer. The first studies examining the VM and the presence of an HPV infection using next-generation sequencing techniques identified higher microbial diversity in HPV-positive as opposed to HPV-negative women. Furthermore, there appears to be a temporal relationship between the VM and HPV infection in that specific community state types may be correlated with a higher chance of progression or regression of the infection. Studies describing the VM in women with preinvasive disease (squamous intraepithelial neoplasia [SIL]) consistently demonstrate a dysbiosis in women with the more severe disease. Although it is plausible that the composition of the VM may influence the host's innate immune response, susceptibility to infection, and the development of cervical disease, the studies to date do not prove causality. Future studies should explore the causal link between the VM and the clinical outcome in longitudinal samples from existing biobanks. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Posttraumatic stress disorder: the role of medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenigs, Michael; Grafman, Jordan

2009-10-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by recurrent distressing memories of an emotionally traumatic event. In this review, the authors present neuroscientific data highlighting the function of two brain areas--the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)--in PTSD and related emotional processes. A convergent body of human and nonhuman studies suggests that the amygdala mediates the acquisition and expression of conditioned fear and the enhancement of emotional memory, whereas the vmPFC mediates the extinction of conditioned fear and the volitional regulation of negative emotion. It has been theorized that the vmPFC exerts inhibition on the amygdala, and that a defect in this inhibition could account for the symptoms of PTSD. This theory is supported by functional imaging studies of PTSD patients, who exhibit hypoactivity in the vmPFC but hyperactivity in the amygdala. A recent study of brain-injured and trauma-exposed combat veterans confirms that amygdala damage reduces the likelihood of developing PTSD. But contrary to the prediction of the top-down inhibition model, vmPFC damage also reduces the likelihood of developing PTSD. The putative roles of the amygdala and the vmPFC in the pathophysiology of PTSD, as well as implications for potential treatments, are discussed in light of these results.

The association between resting functional connectivity and dispositional optimism.

Science.gov (United States)

Ran, Qian; Yang, Junyi; Yang, Wenjing; Wei, Dongtao; Qiu, Jiang; Zhang, Dong

2017-01-01

Dispositional optimism is an individual characteristic that plays an important role in human experience. Optimists are people who tend to hold positive expectations for their future. Previous studies have focused on the neural basis of optimism, such as task response neural activity and brain structure volume. However, the functional connectivity between brain regions of the dispositional optimists are poorly understood. Previous study suggested that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are associated with individual differences in dispositional optimism, but it is unclear whether there are other brain regions that combine with the vmPFC to contribute to dispositional optimism. Thus, the present study used the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) approach and set the vmPFC as the seed region to examine if differences in functional brain connectivity between the vmPFC and other brain regions would be associated with individual differences in dispositional optimism. The results found that dispositional optimism was significantly positively correlated with the strength of the RSFC between vmPFC and middle temporal gyrus (mTG) and negativly correlated with RSFC between vmPFC and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). These findings may be suggested that mTG and IFG which associated with emotion processes and emotion regulation also play an important role in the dispositional optimism.

The association between resting functional connectivity and dispositional optimism.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qian Ran

Full Text Available Dispositional optimism is an individual characteristic that plays an important role in human experience. Optimists are people who tend to hold positive expectations for their future. Previous studies have focused on the neural basis of optimism, such as task response neural activity and brain structure volume. However, the functional connectivity between brain regions of the dispositional optimists are poorly understood. Previous study suggested that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC are associated with individual differences in dispositional optimism, but it is unclear whether there are other brain regions that combine with the vmPFC to contribute to dispositional optimism. Thus, the present study used the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC approach and set the vmPFC as the seed region to examine if differences in functional brain connectivity between the vmPFC and other brain regions would be associated with individual differences in dispositional optimism. The results found that dispositional optimism was significantly positively correlated with the strength of the RSFC between vmPFC and middle temporal gyrus (mTG and negativly correlated with RSFC between vmPFC and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG. These findings may be suggested that mTG and IFG which associated with emotion processes and emotion regulation also play an important role in the dispositional optimism.

Cost analysis of surgical treatment for pelvic organ prolapse by laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy or transvaginal mesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Carracedo, D; López-Fando, L; Sánchez, M D; Jiménez, M Á; Gómez, J M; Laso, I; Rodríguez, M Á; Burgos, F J

2017-03-01

The objective of this study is to compare direct costs of repairing pelvic organ prolapse by laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LS) against vaginal mesh (VM). Our hypothesis is the correction of pelvic organ prolapse by LS has a similar cost per procedure compared to VM. We made a retrospective comparative analysis of medium cost per procedure of first 69 consecutive LS versus first 69 consecutive VM surgeries. We calculate direct cost for each procedure: structural outlays, personal, operating room occupation, hospital stay, perishable or inventory material and prosthetic material. Medium cost per procedure were calculated for each group, with a 95% confidence interval. LS group has a higher cost related to a longer length of surgery, higher operating room occupation and anesthesia; VM group has a higher cost due to longer hospital stay and more expensive prosthetic material. Globally, LS has a lower medium cost per procedure in comparison to VM (5,985.7 €±1,550.8 € vs. 6,534.3 €±1,015.5 €), although it did not achieve statistical signification. In our midst, pelvic organ prolapse surgical correction by LS has at least similar cost per procedure compared to VM. Copyright © 2016 AEU. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

[Isolation and characterization of Thermopirellula anaerolimosa gen. nov., sp. nov., an obligate anaerobic hydrogen-producing bacterium of the phylum Planctomycetes].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Dongying; Liu, Yi; Men, Xuehui; Guo, Qunqun; Guo, Rongbo; Qiu, Yanling

2012-08-04

To cultivate various yet-to-be cultured heterotrophs from anaerobic granule sludge, we used a selective culture medium with low concentrations of substrates supplemented a variety of antibiotics. An obligate anaerobic, thermophilic, hydrogen-producing bacterium, strain VM20-7(T), was isolated from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating high-strength organic wastewater from isomerized sugar production processes. Cells of strain VM20-7(T) are non-motile, spherical, pear or teardrop shaped, occurring singly(o)r as aggregates (0.7 - 2.0 microm x 0.7 - 2.0 microm). Spore formation was not observed. Growth temperature ranges from 35 - 50 degrees C (optimum 45 degrees C), pH ranges from 6.0 - 8.3 (optimum 7.0 - 7.5) , NaCl tolerant concentration ranges from 0% - 0.5% (w/v, optimum 0% ). Nitrate, sulfate, thiosulfate, sulfite, elemental sulfur and Fe (III)-NTA were not used as terminal electron acceptors. Strain VM20-7(T) utilizes a wide range of carbohydrates, including glucose, maltose, ribose, xylose, sucrose, galactose, mannose, raffinose, pectin, yeast extract and xylan. Acetate and H2 are the main end products of glucose fermentation. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 60.9 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that it is related to the Pirellula-Rhodopirellula-Blastopirellula (PRB) clade within the order Planctomycetales (82.7 - 84.3% similarity with 16S rRNA genes of other known related species). The first obligate anaerobic bacterium within the phylum Planctomycetes was isolated with low concentration of carbohydrates and antibiotics. On the basis of the physiological and phylogenetic data, the name Thermopirellula anaerolimosa gen. nov. , sp. nov. is proposed for strain VM20-7(T) (= CGMCC 1.5169(T) = JCM 17478(T) = DSM 24165(T)).

Food habits of the stone marten (Martes foina in the upper Aveto Valley (Northern Apennines, Italy

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Adriano Martinoli

1995-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract The diet of the stone marten (Martes foina was studied analysing 63 faeces collected from February 1990 to December 1991. The results were expressed as relative percentage of frequency (Fr% and as percentage of mean bulk (Vm%. Mammals, mainly rodents, were the staple in the diet (annual Vm% = 62.9 and reached a maximum peak in winter (Vm% = 79.4. Vegetables were mostly represented by Rosaceae fruits (annual Vm% = 22.3 and were consumed during all year round. Insects, mainly Coleoptera and Orthoptera, were fairly frequently eaten, although their volume was not remarkable (annual Vm% = 4.1. Birds and garbage were scarcely used. The trophic niche breadth of the stone marten, evaluated using the Levin's index (B, varied from 2.49 in winter to 4.8 in summer. In the same study area the diet of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes was studied. The niche overlap between this canid and the stone marten was not extensive (Op = 0.52; Os = 0.51. Riassunto Indagine sul comportamento trofico della faina (Martes foina in alta Val d'Aveto (Appennino Ligure-Emiliano - La dieta della Faina (Martes foina è stata studiata analizzando 63 feci raccolte dal febbraio 1990 al dicembre 1991. I dati ottenuti, espressi come frequenza relativa percentuale (Fr% e come volume medio percentuale (Vm%, evidenziano che i Mammiferi, in particolare i Roditori, sono la componente alimentare principale (Vm% annuale = 62,9, con maggior consumo durante il periodo invernale (Vm% = 79,4. I vegetali, rappresentati per la maggior parte dai frutti delle Rosacee (Vm% annuale = 22,3, sono la seconda categoria trofica per importanza e compaiono per tutto l'arco dell'anno. Gli Insetti, quasi esclusivamente Coleotteri ed Ortotteri, presentano una discreta percentuale di utilizzo (Fr% annuale = 21,2 pur non avendo un'incidenza volumetricamente importante (Vm% annuale = 4,1. Gli Uccelli costituiscono una fonte

Ion transport by the amphibian primary ureter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møbjerg, Nadja

2008-01-01

putative ion transport mechanisms in the primary ureter of the freshwater amphibian Ambystoma mexicanum (axolotl). Primary ureters isolated from axolotl larvae were perfused in vitro and single cells were impaled across the basal cell membrane with glass microelectrodes. In 42 cells the membrane potential......+] steps from 3 to 20 mmol/l and a hyperpolarization of Vm upon lowering [Na+] from 102 to 2 mmol/l, indicating the presence of luminal K+ and Na+ conductances. This study provides the first functional data on the vertebrate primary ureter. The data show that the primary ureter of axolotl larvae...

Adsorbed natural gas storage with activated carbons made from Illinois coals and scrap tires

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jielun; Brady, T.A.; Rood, M.J.; Lehmann, C.M.; Rostam-Abadi, M.; Lizzio, A.A.

1997-01-01

Activated carbons for natural gas storage were produced from Illinois bituminous coals (IBC-102 and IBC-106) and scrap tires by physical activation with steam or CO2 and by chemical activation with KOH, H3PO4, or ZnCl2. The products were characterized for N2-BET area, micropore volume, bulk density, pore size distribution, and volumetric methane storage capacity (Vm/Vs). Vm/Vs values for Illinois coal-derived carbons ranged from 54 to 83 cm3/cm3, which are 35-55% of a target value of 150 cm3/cm3. Both granular and pelletized carbons made with preoxidized Illinois coal gave higher micropore volumes and larger Vm/Vs values than those made without preoxidation. This confirmed that preoxidation is a desirable step in the production of carbons from caking materials. Pelletization of preoxidized IBC-106 coal, followed by steam activation, resulted in the highest Vm/Vs value. With roughly the same micropore volume, pelletization alone increased Vm/Vs of coal carbon by 10%. Tire-derived carbons had Vm/Vs values ranging from 44 to 53 cm3/cm3, lower than those of coal carbons due to their lower bulk densities. Pelletization of the tire carbons increased bulk density up to 160%. However, this increase was offset by a decrease in micropore volume of the pelletized materials, presumably due to the pellet binder. As a result, Vm/Vs values were about the same for granular and pelletized tire carbons. Compared with coal carbons, tire carbons had a higher percentage of mesopores and macropores.

Virtual microscopy system at Chinese medical university: an assisted teaching platform for promoting active learning and problem-solving skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Yanping; Xiao, Wengang; Li, Chengren; Liu, Yunlai; Qin, Maolin; Wu, Yi; Xiao, Lan; Li, Hongli

2014-04-09

Chinese medical universities typically have a high number of students, a shortage of teachers and limited equipment, and as such histology courses have been taught using traditional lecture-based formats, with textbooks and conventional microscopy. This method, however, has reduced creativity and problem-solving skills training in the curriculum. The virtual microscope (VM) system has been shown to be an effective and efficient educational strategy. The present study aims to describe a VM system for undergraduates and to evaluate the effects of promoting active learning and problem-solving skills. Two hundred and twenty-nine second-year undergraduate students in the Third Military Medical University were divided into two groups. The VM group contained 115 students and was taught using the VM system. The light microscope (LM) group consisted of 114 students and was taught using the LM system. Post-teaching performances were assessed by multiple-choice questions, short essay questions, case analysis questions and the identification of structure of tissue. Students' teaching preferences and satisfaction were assessed using questionnaires. Test scores in the VM group showed a significant improvement compared with those in the LM group (p 0.05); however, there were notable differences in the mean score rate of case analysis questions and identification of structure of tissue (p effects of the VM system in terms of additional learning resources, critical thinking, ease of communication and confidence. The VM system is an effective tool at Chinese medical university to promote undergraduates' active learning and problem-solving skills as an assisted teaching platform.

Organizational Learning Strategies and Verbal Memory Deficits in Bipolar Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Nitzburg, George C; Cuesta-Diaz, Armando; Ospina, Luz H; Russo, Manuela; Shanahan, Megan; Perez-Rodriguez, Mercedes; Larsen, Emmett; Mulaimovic, Sandra; Burdick, Katherine E

2017-04-01

Verbal memory (VM) impairment is prominent in bipolar disorder (BD) and is linked to functional outcomes. However, the intricacies of VM impairment have not yet been studied in a large sample of BD patients. Moreover, some have proposed VM deficits that may be mediated by organizational strategies, such as semantic or serial clustering. Thus, the exact nature of VM break-down in BD patients is not well understood, limiting remediation efforts. We investigated the intricacies of VM deficits in BD patients versus healthy controls (HCs) and examined whether verbal learning differences were mediated by use of clustering strategies. The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) was administered to 113 affectively stable BD patients and 106 HCs. We compared diagnostic groups on all CVLT indices and investigated whether group differences in verbal learning were mediated by clustering strategies. Although BD patients showed significantly poorer attention, learning, and memory, these indices were only mildly impaired. However, BD patients evidenced poorer use of effective learning strategies and lower recall consistency, with these indices falling in the moderately impaired range. Moreover, relative reliance on semantic clustering fully mediated the relationship between diagnostic category and verbal learning, while reliance on serial clustering partially mediated this relationship. VM deficits in affectively stable bipolar patients were widespread but were generally mildly impaired. However, patients displayed inadequate use of organizational strategies with clear separation from HCs on semantic and serial clustering. Remediation efforts may benefit from education about mnemonic devices or "chunking" techniques to attenuate VM deficits in BD. (JINS, 2017, 23, 358-366).

Cognitive regulation during decision making shifts behavioral control between ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal value systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutcherson, Cendri A; Plassmann, Hilke; Gross, James J; Rangel, Antonio

2012-09-26

Cognitive regulation is often used to influence behavioral outcomes. However, the computational and neurobiological mechanisms by which it affects behavior remain unknown. We studied this issue using an fMRI task in which human participants used cognitive regulation to upregulate and downregulate their cravings for foods at the time of choice. We found that activity in both ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) correlated with value. We also found evidence that two distinct regulatory mechanisms were at work: value modulation, which operates by changing the values assigned to foods in vmPFC and dlPFC at the time of choice, and behavioral control modulation, which operates by changing the relative influence of the vmPFC and dlPFC value signals on the action selection process used to make choices. In particular, during downregulation, activation decreased in the value-sensitive region of dlPFC (indicating value modulation) but not in vmPFC, and the relative contribution of the two value signals to behavior shifted toward the dlPFC (indicating behavioral control modulation). The opposite pattern was observed during upregulation: activation increased in vmPFC but not dlPFC, and the relative contribution to behavior shifted toward the vmPFC. Finally, ventrolateral PFC and posterior parietal cortex were more active during both upregulation and downregulation, and were functionally connected with vmPFC and dlPFC during cognitive regulation, which suggests that they help to implement the changes to the decision-making circuitry generated by cognitive regulation.

Kinetics of acyl transfer reactions in organic media catalysed by Candida antarctica lipase B.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinelle, M; Hult, K

1995-09-06

The acyl transfer reactions catalysed by Candida antartica lipase B in organic media followed a bi-bi ping-pong mechanism, with competitive substrate inhibition by the alcohols used as acyl acceptors. The effect of organic solvents on Vm and Km was investigated. The Vm values in acetonitrile was 40-50% of those in heptane. High Km values in acetonitrile compared to those in heptane could partly be explained by an increased solvation of the substrates in acetonitrile. Substrate solvation caused a 10-fold change in substrate specificity, defined as (Vm/Km)ethyl octanoate/(Vm/Km)octanoic acid, going from heptane to acetonitrile. Deacylation was the rate determining step for the acyl transfer in heptane with vinyl- and ethyl octanoate as acyl donors and (R)-2-octanol as acyl acceptor. With 1-octanol, a rate determining deacylation step in heptane was indicated using the same acyl donors. Using 1-octanol as acceptor in heptane, S-ethyl thiooctanoate had a 25- to 30-fold lower Vm/Km value and vinyl octanoate a 4-fold higher Vm/Km value than that for ethyl octanoate. The difference showed to be a Km effect for vinyl octanoate and mainly a Km effect for S-ethyl thiooctanoate. The Vm values of the esterification of octanoic acid with different alcohols was 10-30-times lower than those for the corresponding transesterification of ethyl octanoate. The low activity could be explained by a low pH around the enzyme caused by the acid or a withdrawing of active enzyme by nonproductive binding by the acid.

Efficient Hybrid Genetic Based Multi Dimensional Host Load Aware Algorithm for Scheduling and Optimization of Virtual Machines

OpenAIRE

Thiruvenkadam, T; Karthikeyani, V

2014-01-01

Mapping the virtual machines to the physical machines cluster is called the VM placement. Placing the VM in the appropriate host is necessary for ensuring the effective resource utilization and minimizing the datacenter cost as well as power. Here we present an efficient hybrid genetic based host load aware algorithm for scheduling and optimization of virtual machines in a cluster of Physical hosts. We developed the algorithm based on two different methods, first initial VM packing is done by...

Laser Adjuvant-Assisted Peptide Vaccine Promotes Skin Mobilization of Dendritic Cells and Enhances Protective CD8+ TEM and TRM Cell Responses against Herpesvirus Infection and Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Patricia P; Todorov, George; Pham, Thanh T; Nesburn, Anthony B; Bahraoui, Elmostafa; BenMohamed, Lbachir

2018-04-15

There is an urgent need for chemical-free and biological-free safe adjuvants to enhance the immunogenicity of vaccines against widespread viral pathogens, such as herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), that infect a large proportion of the world human population. In the present study, we investigated the safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy of a laser adjuvant-assisted peptide (LAP) vaccine in the B6 mouse model of genital herpes. This LAP vaccine and its laser-free peptide (LFP) vaccine analog contain the immunodominant HSV-2 glycoprotein B CD8 + T cell epitope (HSV-gB 498-505 ) covalently linked with the promiscuous glycoprotein D CD4 + T helper cell epitope (HSV-gD 49-89 ). Prior to intradermal delivery of the LAP vaccine, the lower-flank shaved skin of B6 or CD11c/eYFP transgenic mice received a topical skin treatment with 5% imiquimod cream and then was exposed for 60 s to a laser, using the FDA-approved nonablative diode. Compared to the LFP vaccine, the LAP vaccine (i) triggered mobilization of dendritic cells (DCs) in the skin, which formed small spots along the laser-treated areas, (ii) induced phenotypic and functional maturation of DCs, (iii) stimulated long-lasting HSV-specific effector memory CD8 + T cells (T EM cells) and tissue-resident CD8 + T cells (T RM cells) locally in the vaginal mucocutaneous tissues (VM), and (iv) induced protective immunity against genital herpes infection and disease. As an alternative to currently used conventional adjuvants, the chemical- and biological-free laser adjuvant offers a well-tolerated, simple-to-produce method to enhance mass vaccination for widespread viral infections. IMPORTANCE Herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) infect a large proportion of the world population. There is an urgent need for chemical-free and biological-free safe adjuvants that would advance mass vaccination against the widespread herpes infections. The present study demonstrates that immunization with a laser

Chemical and structural characterization of hydroxamate siderophore produced by marine Vibrio harveyi.

Science.gov (United States)

Murugappan, R M; Aravinth, A; Karthikeyan, M

2011-02-01

In the present study, 22 different bacteria were isolated from open ocean water from the Gulf of Mannar, India. Of the 22 isolates, 4 were identified as Vibrio spp. (VM1, VM2, VM3 and VM4) and found to produce siderophores (iron-binding chelators) under iron-limited conditions. Different media were found to have an influence on siderophore production. Maximum siderophore production was observed with VM1 isolate in MM9 salts medium at 48 h of incubation. The isolate was confirmed as Vibrio harveyi based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra revealed the hydroxamate nature of the siderophore produced. Further characterization of the siderophore revealed it to be of dihydroxamate nature, forming hexadentate ligands with Fe(III) ions. A narrow shift in ultraviolet (UV)-Vis spectrum was observed on photolysis due to ligand oxidation. Growth-promotion bioassay with Aeromonas hydrophila, Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli confirmed the iron-scavenging property of the siderophore produced by Vibrio harveyi.

Resting heart rate variability is associated with ex-Gaussian metrics of intra-individual reaction time variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Spangler, Derek P; Williams, DeWayne P; Speller, Lassiter F; Brooks, Justin R; Thayer, Julian F

2018-03-01

The relationships between vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) and the cognitive mechanisms underlying performance can be elucidated with ex-Gaussian modeling-an approach that quantifies two different forms of intra-individual variability (IIV) in reaction time (RT). To this end, the current study examined relations of resting vmHRV to whole-distribution and ex-Gaussian IIV. Subjects (N = 83) completed a 5-minute baseline while vmHRV (root mean square of successive differences; RMSSD) was measured. Ex-Gaussian (sigma, tau) and whole-distribution (standard deviation) estimates of IIV were derived from reaction times on a Stroop task. Resting vmHRV was found to be inversely related to tau (exponential IIV) but not to sigma (Gaussian IIV) or the whole-distribution standard deviation of RTs. Findings suggest that individuals with high vmHRV can better prevent attentional lapses but not difficulties with motor control. These findings inform the differential relationships of cardiac vagal control to the cognitive processes underlying human performance. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Low pressure gage type VM-01

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandea, I.; Curuia, M.; Culcer, M.

2000-01-01

High vacuum systems became an important element of many applied technologies, from gas analysers to rocket engines. An intelligent apparatus for pressure measurement in the range of 10 -3 - 10 -8 mbar, with incorporated INTEL 80C51 microcontroller is presented. Based on a Bayard-Alpert hot cathode gage, equally developed in our institute, the pressure gage allows the displaying of different operation parameters and also of the error codes for different kinds of malfunctioning, as for instance missing of grid voltage, grid-collector breakdown, pressure increasing above 10 -3 mbar. Its operation is based on a microcontroller assembly language program especially worked out and introduced in the central units EPROM memory. The gage characteristics for different gases are also introduced in an EPROM memory, and the type of the gas is selected by the operator from the front panel. One can select also from the front panel the pressure unit (mbar, torr, Pa). If a remote control is necessary, this can be done by means of a PC, with a program written in the LabVIEW graphical programming language. The pressure gage was tested and calibrated in relation with an EDWARDS vacuum measuring system and provided a good accuracy (better than 25%). Its field of application is both laboratory and industrial measurements. Its main features are: - supply voltage, 220 V ac / 50 Hz; - power consumption, 30 W; - gage's grid supply voltage, 160 V; grid current, 2 mA / p = 10 -5 ...10 -8 mbar and 0.2 mA / p = 10 -3 ...10 -5 mbar; - cathode heating current, max. 3 A; - measuring range, 10 -3 ...10 -8 mbar; - error of measurement, ±35%; - remote control, according to the RS232 standard; - size, 320 x 200 x 100 mm; - weight, 3.5 Kg. (authors)

Neuroinflammation alters voltage-dependent conductance in striatal astrocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Karpuk, Nikolay; Burkovetskaya, Maria; Kielian, Tammy

2012-07-01

Neuroinflammation has the capacity to alter normal central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis and function. The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of an inflammatory milieu on the electrophysiological properties of striatal astrocyte subpopulations with a mouse bacterial brain abscess model. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were performed in striatal glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-green fluorescent protein (GFP)(+) astrocytes neighboring abscesses at postinfection days 3 or 7 in adult mice. Cell input conductance (G(i)) measurements spanning a membrane potential (V(m)) surrounding resting membrane potential (RMP) revealed two prevalent astrocyte subsets. A1 and A2 astrocytes were identified by negative and positive G(i) increments vs. V(m), respectively. A1 and A2 astrocytes displayed significantly different RMP, G(i), and cell membrane capacitance that were influenced by both time after bacterial exposure and astrocyte proximity to the inflammatory site. Specifically, the percentage of A1 astrocytes was decreased immediately surrounding the inflammatory lesion, whereas A2 cells were increased. These changes were particularly evident at postinfection day 7, revealing increased cell numbers with an outward current component. Furthermore, RMP was inversely modified in A1 and A2 astrocytes during neuroinflammation, and resting G(i) was increased from 21 to 30 nS in the latter. In contrast, gap junction communication was significantly decreased in all astrocyte populations associated with inflamed tissues. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the heterogeneity of striatal astrocyte populations, which experience distinct electrophysiological modifications in response to CNS inflammation.

Nd:YAG laser therapy for rectal and vaginal venous malformations.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurien, Lori A; Jackson, Richard J; Kiser, Michelle M; Richter, Gresham T

2017-08-01

Limited therapeutic options exist for rectal and vaginal venous malformations (VM). We describe our center's experience using Nd:YAG laser for targeted ablation of abnormal veins to treat mucosally involved pelvic VM. Records of patients undergoing non-contact Nd:YAG laser therapy of pelvic VM at a tertiary children's hospital were reviewed. Symptoms, operative findings and details, complications, and outcomes were evaluated. Nine patients (age 0-24) underwent Nd:YAG laser therapy of rectal and/or vaginal VM. Rectal bleeding was present in all patients and vaginal bleeding in all females (n = 5). 5/7 patients had extensive pelvic involvement on MRI. Typical settings were 30 (rectum) and 20-25 W (vagina), with 0.5-1.0 s pulse duration. Patients underwent the same-day discharge. Treatment intervals ranged from 14 to 180 (average = 56) weeks, with 6.1-year mean follow-up. Five patients experienced symptom relief with a single treatment. Serial treatments managed recurrent bleeding successfully in all patients, with complete resolution of vaginal lesions in 40% of cases. No complications occurred. Nd:YAG laser treatment of rectal and vaginal VM results in substantial improvement and symptom control, with low complication risk. Given the high morbidity of surgical resection, Nd:YAG laser treatment of pelvic VM should be considered as first line therapy.

Altered communicative decisions following ventromedial prefrontal lesions.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolk, Arjen; D'Imperio, Daniela; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe; Toni, Ivan

2015-06-01

Damage to the human ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) leads to profound changes in everyday social interactions [1, 2]. Yet, in the lab, vmPFC patients show surprising proficiency in reasoning about other agents [3-8]. These conflicting observations suggest that what vmPFC patients lack in everyday social interactions might be the ability to guide their decisions with knowledge about a social partner [9-13], despite preserved access to that knowledge [2, 14]. Quantification of socially relevant decisions during live interaction with different partners offers the possibility of testing this hypothesis. Eight patients with vmPFC damage, eight patients with brain damage elsewhere, and 15 healthy participants were asked to communicate non-verbally with two different addressees, an adult or a child, in an experimentally controlled interactive setting [15, 16]. In reality, a confederate blindly performed the role of both adult and child addressee, with matched performance and response times, such that the two addressees differed only in terms of the communicator's beliefs. Patients with vmPFC damage were able-and motivated-to generate communicatively effective behaviors. However, unlike patient and healthy controls, vmPFC patients failed to adjust their communicative decisions to the presumed abilities of their addressee. These findings indicate that the human vmPFC is necessarily involved in social interactions, insofar as those interactions need to be tailored toward knowledge about a social partner. In this perspective, the known contribution of this region to disparate domains like value-based decision-making [17-19], schema-based memory-processing [20-22], and person-specific mentalizing [11-13] might be instances of decisions based on contingently updated conceptual knowledge. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of the decision-making deficit of patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bechara, A; Tranel, D; Damasio, H

2000-11-01

On a gambling task that models real-life decisions, patients with bilateral lesions of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VM) opt for choices that yield high immediate gains in spite of higher future losses. In this study, we addressed three possibilities that may account for this behaviour: (i) hypersensitivity to reward; (ii) insensitivity to punishment; and (iii) insensitivity to future consequences, such that behaviour is always guided by immediate prospects. For this purpose, we designed a variant of the original gambling task in which the advantageous decks yielded high immediate punishment but even higher future reward. The disadvantageous decks yielded low immediate punishment but even lower future reward. We measured the skin conductance responses (SCRs) of subjects after they had received a reward or punishment. Patients with VM lesions opted for the disadvantageous decks in both the original and variant versions of the gambling task. The SCRs of VM lesion patients after they had received a reward or punishment were not significantly different from those of controls. In a second experiment, we investigated whether increasing the delayed punishment in the disadvantageous decks of the original task or decreasing the delayed reward in the disadvantageous decks of the variant task would shift the behaviour of VM lesion patients towards an advantageous strategy. Both manipulations failed to shift the behaviour of VM lesion patients away from the disadvantageous decks. These results suggest that patients with VM lesions are insensitive to future consequences, positive or negative, and are primarily guided by immediate prospects. This 'myopia for the future' in VM lesion patients persists in the face of severe adverse consequences, i.e. rising future punishment or declining future reward.

Simulation of Digital Control Computer of Nuclear Power Plant Based on Virtual Machine Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou, Xue Yan; Li, Shu; Li, Qing

2011-01-01

Based on analyzing DCC (Digital Control Computer) instruction sets, memory map, display controllers and I/O system, virtual machine of DCC (abbr. VM DCC) has been developed. The executive and control programs, same as running on NPP (Nuclear Power Plant) unit's DCC, can run on the VM DCC smoothly and get same control results. Dual VM DCC system has been successfully applied in NPP FSS(Full Scope Simulator) training. It not only improves FSS's fidelity but also makes maintaining easier

Virtual machine consolidation enhancement using hybrid regression algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amany Abdelsamea

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Cloud computing data centers are growing rapidly in both number and capacity to meet the increasing demands for highly-responsive computing and massive storage. Such data centers consume enormous amounts of electrical energy resulting in high operating costs and carbon dioxide emissions. The reason for this extremely high energy consumption is not just the quantity of computing resources and the power inefficiency of hardware, but rather lies in the inefficient usage of these resources. VM consolidation involves live migration of VMs hence the capability of transferring a VM between physical servers with a close to zero down time. It is an effective way to improve the utilization of resources and increase energy efficiency in cloud data centers. VM consolidation consists of host overload/underload detection, VM selection and VM placement. Most of the current VM consolidation approaches apply either heuristic-based techniques, such as static utilization thresholds, decision-making based on statistical analysis of historical data; or simply periodic adaptation of the VM allocation. Most of those algorithms rely on CPU utilization only for host overload detection. In this paper we propose using hybrid factors to enhance VM consolidation. Specifically we developed a multiple regression algorithm that uses CPU utilization, memory utilization and bandwidth utilization for host overload detection. The proposed algorithm, Multiple Regression Host Overload Detection (MRHOD, significantly reduces energy consumption while ensuring a high level of adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLA since it gives a real indication of host utilization based on three parameters (CPU, Memory, Bandwidth utilizations instead of one parameter only (CPU utilization. Through simulations we show that our approach reduces power consumption by 6 times compared to single factor algorithms using random workload. Also using PlanetLab workload traces we show that MRHOD improves

Stages of functional processing and the bihemispheric recognition of Japanese Kana script.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshizaki, K

2000-04-01

Two experiments were carried out in order to examine the effects of functional steps on the benefits of interhemispheric integration. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to investigate the validity of the Banich (1995a) model, where the benefits of interhemispheric processing increase as the task involves more functional steps. The 16 right-handed subjects were given two types of Hiragana-Katakana script matching tasks. One was the Name Identity (NI) task, and the other was the vowel matching (VM) task, which involved more functional steps compared to the NI task. The VM task required subjects to make a decision whether or not a pair of Katakana-Hiragana scripts had a common vowel. In both tasks, a pair of Kana scripts (Katakana-Hiragana scripts) was tachistoscopically presented in the unilateral visual fields or the bilateral visual fields, where each letter was presented in each visual field. A bilateral visual fields advantage (BFA) was found in both tasks, and the size of this did not differ between the tasks, suggesting that these findings did not support the Banich model. The purpose of Experiment 2 was to examine the effects of imbalanced processing load between the hemispheres on the benefits of interhemispheric integration. In order to manipulate the balance of processing load across the hemispheres, the revised vowel matching (r-VM) task was developed by amending the VM task. The r-VM task was the same as the VM task in Experiment 1, except that a script that has only vowel sound was presented as a counterpart of a pair of Kana scripts. The 24 right-handed subjects were given the r-VM and NI tasks. The results showed that although a BFA showed up in the NI task, it did not in the r-VM task. These results suggested that the balance of processing load between hemispheres would have an influence on the bilateral hemispheric processing.

Simulation of Digital Control Computer of Nuclear Power Plant Based on Virtual Machine Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hou, Xue Yan; Li, Shu; Li, Qing [China Nuclear Power Operation Technology Co., Wuhan (China)

2011-08-15

Based on analyzing DCC (Digital Control Computer) instruction sets, memory map, display controllers and I/O system, virtual machine of DCC (abbr. VM DCC) has been developed. The executive and control programs, same as running on NPP (Nuclear Power Plant) unit's DCC, can run on the VM DCC smoothly and get same control results. Dual VM DCC system has been successfully applied in NPP FSS(Full Scope Simulator) training. It not only improves FSS's fidelity but also makes maintaining easier.

Handbook of infrared standards II with spectral coverage between

CERN Document Server

Meurant, Gerard

1993-01-01

This timely compilation of infrared standards has been developed for use by infrared researchers in chemistry, physics, engineering, astrophysics, and laser and atmospheric sciences. Providing maps of closely spaced molecular spectra along with their measured wavenumbers between 1.4vm and 4vm, this handbook will complement the 1986 Handbook of Infrared Standards that included special coverage between 3 and 2600vm. It will serve as a necessary reference for all researchers conducting spectroscopic investigations in the near-infrared region.Key Features:- Provides all new spec

A comparison of video modeling, text-based instruction, and no instruction for creating multiple baseline graphs in Microsoft Excel.

Science.gov (United States)

Tyner, Bryan C; Fienup, Daniel M

2015-09-01

Graphing is socially significant for behavior analysts; however, graphing can be difficult to learn. Video modeling (VM) may be a useful instructional method but lacks evidence for effective teaching of computer skills. A between-groups design compared the effects of VM, text-based instruction, and no instruction on graphing performance. Participants who used VM constructed graphs significantly faster and with fewer errors than those who used text-based instruction or no instruction. Implications for instruction are discussed. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Analysis on differential diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis and non-tuberculous meningitis%结核性脑膜炎和非结核性脑膜炎的鉴别诊断分析

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

陈红梅; 马丽萍; 高孟秋; 张立群

2012-01-01

Objective To evaluate clinical features, laboratory and imageologic examination on early differential diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis(TBM), viral meningitis (VM) and cryptococcal neoformans meningitis (CNM). Methods Results of clinical features, laboratory and imageologic examination were retrospectively analyzed in 283 patients with TBM, 31 patients with VM and 19 patients with CNM. Results The duration from onset to definite diagnosis was CNM> TBM >VM. Fever (>38.5℃), headache and disturbance of consciousness of TBM were more serious than that of VM. CSF-ADA of TBM [(12.13±28.52) U/L] was significantly higher than that of VM [(4.48±2.84) U/L] and CNM [(3.09±1.63) U/L]. CSF-GLU of CNM [(1.57±0.99) mmol/L] was significantly lower than TBM [(1.84±0.93) mmol/L] and VM [(2.42± 0.75) mmol/L]. CSF-CL of TBM [(110.14 ±8.64)mmol7L] was significantly lower than VM [(116.54 ±7.33 )mmol/L]. CSF-PRO of TBM[(1811.70±1285.70)mg/L] was significantly higher than CNM[(1158.60±875.50)mg/L]. CSF-PRO of TBM was significantly higher than VM after 1 week treatment. CSF pressure of CNM [(305.00±53.17)mmH2O] was significantly higher than TBM [(241.23±80.32)mmH2O] and VM [(220.80±71.77)mmH2O]. Conclusions Early differential diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis and non—tuberculous meningitis should be based on age, the duration from onset to diagnosis, temperature, headache, decreased level of consciousness, blood and CSF-ADA, CSF-GLU, CSF-CL, CSF-PRO, CSF pressure and imageologic examination.%目的 评价临床特征、实验室及影像学检查在结核性脑膜炎(tuberculous meningitis,TBM)和非结核性脑膜炎[病毒性脑膜炎(viral meningitis,VM)和隐球菌性脑膜炎(cryptococcal neoformans meningitis,CNM)]早期诊断中的价值.方法 回顾性分析283例TBM、31例VM和19例CNM患者的临床特征、实验室及影像学检查结果.结果 发病至确诊时间CNM＞TBM＞VM,体温＞38.5℃、头痛及意识障碍发生率TBM组高于VM

Influência do nível de performance na estratégia de ritmo de corrida em prova de 10 km de corredores recreacionais

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco de Assis MANOEL

2015-09-01

Full Text Available ResumoO objetivo do estudo foi verificar a influência do nível de performance na estratégia de ritmo de corrida de corredores recreacionais. Adicionalmente, objetivou-se descrever o comportamento da frequência cardíaca (FC obtida em prova de 10 km em pista de atletismo. Participaram 39 corredores recreacionais (31,5 ± 6,7 anos, experientes em provas de 10 km que realizaram uma performance nesta distância em pista de atletismo (400 m. A FC foi constantemente monitorada (Polar RS800 e o tempo a cada 400 m foi registrado para determinação da velocidade média (VM, posteriormente analisada a cada 2 km. Os participantes foram divididos em dois grupos de acordo com a VM alcançada nos testes: G1 = VM 10 km ≤ 11,81 (n = 20 e G2 = VM 10 km > 11,81 (n = 19. A comparação entre os valores de VM e FC obtidos nos diferentes momentos da performance para os dois grupos foi realizada pela Anova mista, adotando-se nível de significância de p < 0,05. Os valores de VM foram diferentes entre os grupos em todos os momentos analisados, com aumento significante da VM do momento 6-8 km para 8-10 km para o mesmo grupo. Os valores de FC foram diferentes apenas intra-grupos. No G1, houve aumento significante da FC a cada 2 km de prova. Para o G2, a FC aumentou do 2º ao 4º km e permaneceu estável até o 8º km, aumentando novamente nos últimos 2 km da performance. Concluímos que o nível de performance não influencia a estratégia de corrida de corredores recreacionais.

Effect of doxorubicin and daunorubicin on the activity of acetylcholinesterase in acute lymphoblastic leukamia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Din, I.U.; Ali, A.

2011-01-01

Background: Our study was based on the alteration in the Michaelis Mentin parameters Apparent Michaelis Constant (aKm) and Apparent Maximum Velocity (aVm), which reflects activity of actyl cholinesterase (AChE). This activity decreases in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). This decrease in aKm and aVm values shows bad prognosis. Similarly the anticancer drugs like Daunorubicin and Doxorubicin further decreases the aKm and aVm values which worsen the prognosis. The objective of this study was to determine and compare the extent of inhibition of Acetylcholine Esterase by Daunorubicin and Doxorubicin in ALL. Methods: Study of 100 patients including both male and female children who's age ranged from 4 to 8 years and were advised doxorubicin and daunorubicin separately were tested by Ellman's method using acetylcholine iodide as substrate and 5,5-dithiobis 2-nitrobenzine as a colour reagent regardless of dose regimen i.e. (once in 3 week, small dose per week or a continuous infusion for 72 to 96 hours. Results: In this study the Michaelis Mentin parameters Apparent Michaelis Constant (aKm) and Apparent Maximum Velocity (aVm) of the enzyme were estimated both in normal individuals and in the patients and also during treatment with daunorubicin and doxorubicin. The value of Michaelis Mentin parameters, aKm, aVm and percentage activity of the enzyme in normal individual are 23, 70, and 100 respectively. The values of aKm, aVm and percentage activity of the enzyme were also estimated in the patients before and after treatment. The values of aKm and aVm in patients of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and percentage activity of enzyme is decreased. After the treatment with daunorubicin and doxorubicin the values and activity is further decreased. Conclusion: We conclude that the drugs under study both decrease the enzyme activity but daunorubicin inhibits the enzyme more than doxorubicin. (author)

Task-Dependent Intermuscular Motor Unit Synchronization between Medial and Lateral Vastii Muscles during Dynamic and Isometric Squats.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohr, Maurice; Nann, Marius; von Tscharner, Vinzenz; Eskofier, Bjoern; Nigg, Benno Maurus

2015-01-01

Motor unit activity is coordinated between many synergistic muscle pairs but the functional role of this coordination for the motor output is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the short-term modality of coordinated motor unit activity-the synchronized discharge of individual motor units across muscles within time intervals of 5ms-for the Vastus Medialis (VM) and Lateralis (VL). Furthermore, we studied the task-dependency of intermuscular motor unit synchronization between VM and VL during static and dynamic squatting tasks to provide insight into its functional role. Sixteen healthy male and female participants completed four tasks: Bipedal squats, single-leg squats, an isometric squat, and single-leg balance. Monopolar surface electromyography (EMG) was used to record motor unit activity of VM and VL. For each task, intermuscular motor unit synchronization was determined using a coherence analysis between the raw EMG signals of VM and VL and compared to a reference coherence calculated from two desynchronized EMG signals. The time shift between VM and VL EMG signals was estimated according to the slope of the coherence phase angle spectrum. For all tasks, except for singe-leg balance, coherence between 15-80Hz significantly exceeded the reference. The corresponding time shift between VM and VL was estimated as 4ms. Coherence between 30-60Hz was highest for the bipedal squat, followed by the single-leg squat and the isometric squat. There is substantial short-term motor unit synchronization between VM and VL. Intermuscular motor unit synchronization is enhanced for contractions during dynamic activities, possibly to facilitate a more accurate control of the joint torque, and reduced during single-leg tasks that require balance control and thus, a more independent muscle function. It is proposed that the central nervous system scales the degree of intermuscular motor unit synchronization according to the requirements of the movement task at hand.

The incidence of hoarseness after mediastinoscopy and outcome of video-assisted versus conventional mediastinoscopy in lung cancer staging.

Science.gov (United States)

Sayar, Adnan; Çitak, Necati; Büyükkale, Songül; Metin, Muzaffer; Kök, Abdulaziz; Çelikten, Alper; Gürses, Atilla

2016-02-01

Objectives Theoretically, video-assisted mediastinoscopy (VM) should provide a decrease in the incidence of hoarseness in comparison with conventional mediastinoscopy (CM). Methods An investigation of 448 patients with the NSCLC who underwent mediastinoscopy (n = 261 VM, n = 187 CM) between 2006 and 2010. Results With VM, the mean number of sampled LNs and of stations per case were both significantly higher (n = 7.91 ± 1.97 and n = 4.29 ± 0.81) than they were for CM (n = 6.65 ± 1.79 and n = 4.14 ± 0.84) (p < 0.001 and p = 0.06). Hoarseness was reported in 24 patients (5.4%) with VM procedures resulting in a higher incidence of hoarseness than did CM procedures (6.9% and 3.2%) (p = 0.08). The incidence of hoarseness was observed to be more frequent in patients with left-lung carcinoma who had undergone a mediastinoscopy (p = 0.03). Hoarseness developed in 6% of the patients sampled at station 4L, whereas this ratio was 0% in patients who were not sampled at 4L (p = 0.07). A multivariate analysis showed that the presence of a tumor in the left lung is the only independent risk factor indicating hoarseness (p = 0.09). The sensitivity, NPV, and accuracy of VM were calculated as to be 0.87, 0.95, and 0.96, respectively. The same staging values for CM were 0.83, 0.94, and 0.95, respectively. Conclusion VM, the presence of a tumor in the left-lung, and 4L sampling via mediastinoscopy are risk factors for subsequent hoarseness. Probably due to a wider area of dissection, VM can lead to more frequent hoarseness.

The Multifaceted Role of the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Emotion, Decision Making, Social Cognition, and Psychopathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiser, Jaryd; Koenigs, Michael

2018-04-15

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) has been implicated in a variety of social, cognitive, and affective functions that are commonly disrupted in mental illness. In this review, we summarize data from a diverse array of human and animal studies demonstrating that the vmPFC is a key node of cortical and subcortical networks that subserve at least three broad domains of psychological function linked to psychopathology. One track of research indicates that the vmPFC is critical for the representation of reward- and value-based decision making, through interactions with the ventral striatum and amygdala. A second track of research demonstrates that the vmPFC is critical for the generation and regulation of negative emotion, through its interactions with the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, periaqueductal gray, hippocampus, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. A third track of research shows the importance of the vmPFC in multiple aspects of social cognition, such as facial emotion recognition, theory-of-mind ability, and processing self-relevant information, through its interactions with the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, dorsomedial PFC, and amygdala. We then present meta-analytic data revealing distinct subregions within the vmPFC that correspond to each of these three functions, as well as the associations between these subregions and specific psychiatric disorders (depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, addiction, social anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). We conclude by describing several translational possibilities for clinical studies of vmPFC-based circuits, including neuropsychological assessment of transdiagnostic functions, anatomical targets for intervention, predictors of treatment response, markers of treatment efficacy, and subtyping within disorders. Copyright © 2017 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investment and repayment in a trust game after ventromedial prefrontal damage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanna eMoretto

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Although trust and reciprocity are ubiquitous in social exchange, their neurobiological substrate remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC — a brain region critical for valuing social information — on individuals' decisions in a trust game and in a risk game. In the trust game, one player, the investor, is endowed with a sum of money, which she can keep or invest. The amount she decides to invest is tripled and sent to the other player, the trustee, who then decides what fraction to return to the investor. In separate runs, ten patients with focal bilateral damage to the vmPFC and control participants made decision while playing in the role of either investor or trustee with different anonymous counterparts in each run. A risk game was also included in which the investor faced exactly the same decisions as in the trust Game, but a random device (i.e., a computer, not another player, determined the final payoffs. Results showed that vmPFC patients’ investments were not modulated by the type of opponent player (e.g., human vs. computer present in the environment. Thus, vmPFC patients showed comparable risk-taking preferences both in social (trust game and nonsocial (risk game contexts. In stark contrast, control participants were less willing to take risk and invest when they believed that they were interacting with people than a computer. Furthermore, when acted as trustee, vmPFC patients made lower back transfers toward investors, thereby showing less reciprocity behavior. Taken together, these results indicate that social valuation and emotion subserved by vmPFC have a critical role in trusting and reciprocity decisions. The present findings support the hypothesis that vmPFC damage may impair affective systems specifically designed for mediating social transaction with other individuals.

Heart position variability during voluntary moderate deep inspiration breath-hold radiotherapy for breast cancer determined by repeat CBCT scans.

Science.gov (United States)

van Haaren, Paul; Claassen-Janssen, Fiere; van de Sande, Ingrid; Boersma, Liesbeth; van der Sangen, Maurice; Hurkmans, Coen

2017-08-01

Voluntary moderate deep inspiration breath hold (vmDIBH) in left-sided breast cancer radiotherapy reduces cardiac dose. The aim of this study was to investigate heart position variability in vmDIBH using CBCT and to compare this variability with differences in heart position between vmDIBH and free breathing (FB). For 50 patients initial heart position with respect to the field edge (HP-FE) was measured on a vmDIBH planning CT scan. Breath-hold was monitored using an in-house developed vertical plastic stick. On pre-treatment CBCT scans, heart position variability with respect to the field edge (Δ HP-FE ) was measured, reflecting heart position variability when using an offline correction protocol. After registering the CBCT scan to the planning CT, heart position variability with respect to the chest wall (Δ HP-CW ) was measured, reflecting heart position variability when using an online correction protocol. As a control group, vmDIBH and FB computed tomography (CT) scans were acquired for 30 patients and registering both scans on the chest wall. For 34 out of 50 patients, the average HP-FE and HP-CW increased over the treatment course in comparison to the planning CT. Averaged over all patients and all treatment fractions, the Δ HP-FE and the Δ HP-CW was 0.8±4.2mm (range -9.4-+10.6mm) and 1.0±4.4mm (range -8.3-+10.4mm) respectively. The average gain in heart to chest wall distance was 11.8±4.6mm when using vmDIBH instead of FB. In conclusion, substantial variability in heart position using vmDIBH was observed during the treatment course. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impaired awareness of action-outcome contingency and causality during healthy ageing and following ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Callaghan, Claire; Vaghi, Matilde M; Brummerloh, Berit; Cardinal, Rudolf N; Robbins, Trevor W

2018-02-02

Detecting causal relationships between actions and their outcomes is fundamental to guiding goal-directed behaviour. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) has been extensively implicated in computing these environmental contingencies, via animal lesion models and human neuroimaging. However, whether the vmPFC is critical for contingency learning, and whether it can occur without subjective awareness of those contingencies, has not been established. To address this, we measured response adaption to contingency and subjective awareness of action-outcome relationships in individuals with vmPFC lesions and healthy elderly subjects. We showed that in both vmPFC damage and ageing, successful behavioural adaptation to variations in action-outcome contingencies was maintained, but subjective awareness of these contingencies was reduced. These results highlight two contexts where performance and awareness have been dissociated, and show that learning response-outcome contingencies to guide behaviour can occur without subjective awareness. Preserved responding in the vmPFC group suggests that this region is not critical for computing action-outcome contingencies to guide behaviour. In contrast, our findings highlight a critical role for the vmPFC in supporting awareness, or metacognitive ability, during learning. We further advance the hypothesis that responding to changing environmental contingencies, whilst simultaneously maintaining conscious awareness of those statistical regularities, is a form of dual-tasking that is impaired in ageing due to reduced prefrontal function. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Lower Amplitude of the Hoffmann Reflex in Women With Patellofemoral Pain: Thinking Beyond Proximal, Local, and Distal Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

de Oliveira Silva, Danilo; Magalhães, Fernando Henrique; Faria, Nathálie Clara; Pazzinatto, Marcella Ferraz; Ferrari, Deisi; Pappas, Evangelos; de Azevedo, Fábio Mícolis

2016-07-01

To investigate whether vastus medialis (VM) Hoffmann reflexes (H-reflexes) differ on the basis of the presence or absence of patellofemoral pain (PFP) and to assess the capability of VM H-reflex measurements in accurately discriminating between women with and without PFP. Cross-sectional study. Laboratory of biomechanics and motor control. Women (N=30) aged 18 to 35 years were recruited, consisting of 2 groups: women with PFP (n=15) and asymptomatic controls (n=15). Not applicable. Maximum evoked responses were obtained by electrical stimulation applied to the femoral nerve, and peak-to-peak amplitudes of maximal Hoffmann reflex (Hmax) and maximal motor wave (Mmax) ratios were calculated. Independent samples t tests were performed to identify differences between groups, and a receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to assess the discriminatory capability of VM H-reflex measurements. VM Hmax/Mmax ratios were significantly lower in participants with PFP than in pain-free participants (P=.007). In addition, the VM Hmax/Mmax ratios presented large and balanced discriminatory capability values (sensitivity, 73%; specificity, 67%). This study is the first to show that VM H-reflexes are lower in women with PFP than in asymptomatic controls. Therefore, increasing the excitation of the spinal cord in PFP participants may be essential to maintaining the gains acquired during the rehabilitation programs. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Short-term side effects and patient-reported outcomes of bleomycin sclerotherapy in vascular malformations.

Science.gov (United States)

Mack, Joana M; Richter, Gresham T; Becton, David; Salem, Omar; Hill, Sarah E M; Crary, Shelley E

2018-06-01

Vascular malformations (VM) are congenital lesions that can be debilitating and cause significant aesthetic and functional limitations. The chemotherapeutic agent bleomycin has been utilized as a sclerosant, directly injected percutaneously into the VM. Unfortunately, little is known about the benefits and short-term side effects of bleomycin with intralesional injections. An IRB approved, retrospective chart review was performed on patients with VM who had been treated with intralesional bleomycin. Data included type of VM, number of treatments, total bleomycin dose per m², and adverse effects. A questionnaire was administered to available patients to assess subjective outcomes and side effects. Forty-six patients were treated with 141 procedures of bleomycin sclerotherapy for VM. Patient ages ranged from 1 to 20 years (median age 10 years). The median cumulative bleomycin dose was 16.3 units/m²/person (range of 1.7-97.0 units/m²/person). Sixty-three percent of patients were reached for a questionnaire to assess short-term side effects. Ninety percent of patients surveyed were satisfied to very satisfied with the results from the procedure. About 24% of patients experienced transient nausea, vomiting and/or local hyperpigmentation. Bleomycin sclerotherapy can be an effective treatment of VM with repeat exposure with minor risk of short-term side effects, however, long-term risks are of great concern. Further studies are required to assess systemic absorption and long-term risks. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Suture-free and mesh reinforced small intestinal anstomoses: a feasibility study in rabbits.

Science.gov (United States)

Ulmer, T F; Stumpf, M; Rosch, R; Junge, K; Binnebösel, M; von Trotha, K T; Oettinger, A P; Neumann, U

2013-08-01

Anastomotic leakage still remains a major complication in general surgery. Beside general risk factors, the ideal method of anastomotic technique has not been found until now. The aim of the present study was to analyze wound healing in suture-free small intestine anastomoses using fibrin glue with and without mesh-reinforcement. Laparotomy and four different types of small bowel anastomoses were performed in 32 chinchilla rabbits. Standard hand-sewn anastomoses (CG), suture-free glued anastomoses (FG) with and without mesh reinforcement using two different types of meshes [Vicryl-mesh (VM) and Surgisis (SM)]. Animals were sacrificed after 5 and 21 days. Bursting pressure, collagen type I/III ratio, and matrix-metalloproteinase 2, 9, and 13 were analyzed. None of the animals died due to an anastomotic leakage. All animals in the long term group with Surgisis mesh died due to a mechanical bowel obstruction based on a distinctive stenosis of the anastomosis. The bursting pressures did significantly differed in animals with fibrin glue alone compared to animals with Vicryl-mesh reinforcement (p < 0.05). Histological examination revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the values for MMP-2 (VM < SM), MMP-9 (VM < CG), and MMP-13 (CG < SM, VM < FG, and VM < SM). However, collagen type I/III ratios were not significantly different between groups. Our results suggest that a mesh reinforced glued anastomosis is technically feasible. Furthermore, mesh-reinforcement using VM increased the integrity and simplified the technique of suture-free anastomoses.

A Cooperative Approach to Virtual Machine Based Fault Injection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naughton III, Thomas J [ORNL; Engelmann, Christian [ORNL; Vallee, Geoffroy R [ORNL; Aderholdt, William Ferrol [ORNL; Scott, Stephen L [Tennessee Technological University (TTU)

2017-01-01

Resilience investigations often employ fault injection (FI) tools to study the effects of simulated errors on a target system. It is important to keep the target system under test (SUT) isolated from the controlling environment in order to maintain control of the experiement. Virtual machines (VMs) have been used to aid these investigations due to the strong isolation properties of system-level virtualization. A key challenge in fault injection tools is to gain proper insight and context about the SUT. In VM-based FI tools, this challenge of target con- text is increased due to the separation between host and guest (VM). We discuss an approach to VM-based FI that leverages virtual machine introspection (VMI) methods to gain insight into the target s context running within the VM. The key to this environment is the ability to provide basic information to the FI system that can be used to create a map of the target environment. We describe a proof- of-concept implementation and a demonstration of its use to introduce simulated soft errors into an iterative solver benchmark running in user-space of a guest VM.

Simple, parallel, high-performance virtual machines for extreme computations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chokoufe Nejad, Bijan; Ohl, Thorsten; Reuter, Jurgen

2014-11-01

We introduce a high-performance virtual machine (VM) written in a numerically fast language like Fortran or C to evaluate very large expressions. We discuss the general concept of how to perform computations in terms of a VM and present specifically a VM that is able to compute tree-level cross sections for any number of external legs, given the corresponding byte code from the optimal matrix element generator, O'Mega. Furthermore, this approach allows to formulate the parallel computation of a single phase space point in a simple and obvious way. We analyze hereby the scaling behaviour with multiple threads as well as the benefits and drawbacks that are introduced with this method. Our implementation of a VM can run faster than the corresponding native, compiled code for certain processes and compilers, especially for very high multiplicities, and has in general runtimes in the same order of magnitude. By avoiding the tedious compile and link steps, which may fail for source code files of gigabyte sizes, new processes or complex higher order corrections that are currently out of reach could be evaluated with a VM given enough computing power.

Local cooling of the human body using ventilated matress in hospitals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bivolarova, Mariya Petrova; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Kokora, Monika

2014-01-01

A series of experiments were conducted in order to examine the cooling of the human body in bed equipped with a ventilated mattress (VM). The experiments were performed in a climate chamber (4.65 m width x 5.3 m length x 2.6 m height) which was air-conditioned by mixing ventilation system...... temperature or by use of natural ventilation. However the non-uniform body cooling may cause local thermal discomfort. This needs to be further studied in human subject experiments......., 26 and 30 oC. The performance of the VM was tested when VM was operating at different air flow rates (1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6 L/s). The impact of body covering on the cooling effect from the VM was also studied. The performance of the cooling method was evaluated based on comparison of the segmental...

Modeling curvature-dependent subcellular localization of a small sporulation protein in Bacillus subtilis

Science.gov (United States)

Wasnik, Vaibhav; Wingreen, Ned; Mukhopadhyay, Ranjan

2012-02-01

Recent experiments suggest that in the bacterium, B. subtilis, the cue for the localization of small sporulation protein, SpoVM, that plays a central role in spore coat formation, is curvature of the bacterial plasma membrane. This curvature-dependent localization is puzzling given the orders of magnitude difference in lengthscale of an individual protein and radius of curvature of the membrane. Here we develop a minimal model to study the relationship between curvature-dependent membrane absorption of SpoVM and clustering of membrane-associated SpoVM and compare our results with experiments.

The effects of video modeling with voiceover instruction on accurate implementation of discrete-trial instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Vladescu, Jason C; Carroll, Regina; Paden, Amber; Kodak, Tiffany M

2012-01-01

The present study replicates and extends previous research on the use of video modeling (VM) with voiceover instruction to train staff to implement discrete-trial instruction (DTI). After staff trainees reached the mastery criterion when teaching an adult confederate with VM, they taught a child with a developmental disability using DTI. The results showed that the staff trainees' accurate implementation of DTI remained high, and both child participants acquired new skills. These findings provide additional support that VM may be an effective method to train staff members to conduct DTI.

Postirradiated and nonirradiated gliosarcoma: immunophenotypical profile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ang, L.C.; Perry, J.R.; Bilbao, J.M.; Ozane, W.; Nelson, N.

1996-01-01

Thirty-one gliosarcomas (25 nonirradiated and 6 postirradiated tumors) were selected based on the presence of two distinctive areas: a malignant gliomatous and a sarcomatous component. In all cases, the sarcomatous component appears like fibrosarcoma or malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Two tumors showed additional areas consisting of osteochondroid differentiation. All tumors were examined using antibodies against Ulex europaeus agglutinin I (UEA), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), vimentin (VM), epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), desmin, collagen IV, alpha-1-antitrypsin (α-1-AT) and smooth muscle actin (SMA). While the VM high-lighted the sarcomatous areas of all tumors there were only scattered spindle cells that were GFAP-positive in the same areas. The α-1-AT was diffusely reactive in the sarcomatous areas in 20 cases. Focal immunoreactivity was seen with SMA (20 tumors), UEA (8 tumors), EMA (5 tumors), collagen IV (5 tumors) and desmin (4 tumors) in the nonvascular sarcomatous cells. The range of immunophenotypical expression is likely to be a reflection of the capacity of a multipotential progenitor to undergo divergent differentiation. There is very little morphological difference between the postirradiated tumors except that a higher proportion of postirradiated tumors are immunoreactive to SMA and desmin. (author). 40 refs., 2 tabs., 8 figs

Structural and Functional Motifs in Influenza Virus RNAs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damien Ferhadian

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Influenza A viruses (IAV are responsible for recurrent influenza epidemics and occasional devastating pandemics in humans and animals. They belong to the Orthomyxoviridae family and their genome consists of eight (- sense viral RNA (vRNA segments of different lengths coding for at least 11 viral proteins. A heterotrimeric polymerase complex is bound to the promoter consisting of the 13 5′-terminal and 12 3′-terminal nucleotides of each vRNA, while internal parts of the vRNAs are associated with multiple copies of the viral nucleoprotein (NP, thus forming ribonucleoproteins (vRNP. Transcription and replication of vRNAs result in viral mRNAs (vmRNAs and complementary RNAs (cRNAs, respectively. Complementary RNAs are the exact positive copies of vRNAs; they also form ribonucleoproteins (cRNPs and are intermediate templates in the vRNA amplification process. On the contrary, vmRNAs have a 5′ cap snatched from cellular mRNAs and a 3′ polyA tail, both gained by the viral polymerase complex. Hence, unlike vRNAs and cRNAs, vmRNAs do not have a terminal promoter able to recruit the viral polymerase. Furthermore, synthesis of at least two viral proteins requires vmRNA splicing. Except for extensive analysis of the viral promoter structure and function and a few, mostly bioinformatics, studies addressing the vRNA and vmRNA structure, structural studies of the influenza A vRNAs, cRNAs, and vmRNAs are still in their infancy. The recent crystal structures of the influenza polymerase heterotrimeric complex drastically improved our understanding of the replication and transcription processes. The vRNA structure has been mainly studied in vitro using RNA probing, but its structure has been very recently studied within native vRNPs using crosslinking and RNA probing coupled to next generation RNA sequencing. Concerning vmRNAs, most studies focused on the segment M and NS splice sites and several structures initially predicted by bioinformatics analysis

Small proteins link coat and cortex assembly during sporulation in Bacillus subtilis

Science.gov (United States)

Ebmeier, Sarah E.; Tan, Irene S.; Clapham, Katie Rose; Ramamurthi, Kumaran S.

2015-01-01

Summary Mature spores of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis are encased by two concentric shells: an inner shell (the ‘cortex’), made of peptidoglycan; and an outer proteinaceous shell (the ‘coat’), whose basement layer is anchored to the surface of the developing spore via a 26-amino-acid-long protein called SpoVM. During sporulation, initiation of cortex assembly depends on the successful initiation of coat assembly, but the mechanisms that co-ordinate the morphogenesis of both structures are largely unknown. Here, we describe a sporulation pathway involving SpoVM and a 37-amino-acid-long protein named ‘CmpA’ that is encoded by a previously un-annotated gene and is expressed under control of two sporulation-specific transcription factors (σE and SpoIIID). CmpA localized to the surface of the developing spore and deletion of cmpA resulted in cells progressing through the sporulation programme more quickly. Overproduction of CmpA did not affect normal growth or cell division, but delayed entry into sporulation and abrogated cortex assembly. In those cells that had successfully initiated coat assembly, CmpA was removed by a posttranslational mechanism, presumably in order to overcome the sporulation inhibition it imposed. We propose a model in which CmpA participates in a developmental checkpoint that ensures the proper orchestration of coat and cortex morphogenesis by repressing cortex assembly until coat assembly successfully initiates. PMID:22463703

Persistent schema-dependent hippocampal-neocortical connectivity during memory encoding and postencoding rest in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

van Kesteren, Marlieke T R; Fernández, Guillén; Norris, David G; Hermans, Erno J

2010-04-20

The hippocampus is thought to promote gradual incorporation of novel information into long-term memory by binding, reactivating, and strengthening distributed cortical-cortical connections. Recent studies implicate a key role in this process for hippocampally driven crosstalk with the (ventro)medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), which is proposed to become a central node in such representational networks over time. The existence of a relevant prior associative network, or schema, may moreover facilitate this process. Thus, hippocampal-vmPFC crosstalk may support integration of new memories, particularly in the absence of a relevant prior schema. To address this issue, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and prior schema manipulation to track hippocampal-vmPFC connectivity during encoding and postencoding rest. We manipulated prior schema knowledge by exposing 30 participants to the first part of a movie that was temporally scrambled for 15 participants. The next day, participants underwent fMRI while encoding the movie's final 15 min in original order and, subsequently, while resting. Schema knowledge and item recognition performance show that prior schema was successfully and selectively manipulated. Intersubject synchronization (ISS) and interregional partial correlation analyses furthermore show that stronger prior schema was associated with more vmPFC ISS and less hippocampal-vmPFC interregional connectivity during encoding. Notably, this connectivity pattern persisted during postencoding rest. These findings suggest that additional crosstalk between hippocampus and vmPFC is required to compensate for difficulty integrating novel information during encoding and provide tentative support for the notion that functionally relevant hippocampal-neocortical crosstalk persists during off-line periods after learning.

GABA content within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex is related to trait anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Delli Pizzi, Stefano; Padulo, Caterina; Brancucci, Alfredo; Bubbico, Giovanna; Edden, Richard A; Ferretti, Antonio; Franciotti, Raffaella; Manippa, Valerio; Marzoli, Daniele; Onofrj, Marco; Sepede, Gianna; Tartaro, Armando; Tommasi, Luca; Puglisi-Allegra, Stefano; Bonanni, Laura

2016-05-01

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) plays a key role in emotion processing and regulation. vmPFC dysfunction may lead to disinhibition of amygdala causing high anxiety levels. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) inter-neurons within vmPFC shape the information flow to amygdala. Thus, we hypothesize that GABA content within vmPFC could be relevant to trait anxiety. Forty-three healthy volunteers aged between 20 and 88 years were assessed for trait anxiety with the Subscale-2 of the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y2) and were studied with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate GABA and Glx (glutamate+glutamine) contents within vmPFC. Total creatine (tCr) was used as internal reference. Partial correlations assessed the association between metabolite levels and STAI-Y2 scores, removing the effect of possible nuisance factors including age, educational level, volumes of gray matter and white matter within magnetic resonance spectroscopy voxel. We observed a positive relationship between GABA/tCr and STAI-Y2 scores. No significant relationships were found between Glx/tCr and STAI-Y2 and between tCr/water and STAI-Y2. No differences were found between males and females as regards to age, STAI-Y2, GABA/tCr, Glx/tCr, tCr/water, gray matter and white matter volumes. We suggest a close relationship between GABA content within vmPFC and trait anxiety providing new insights in the physiology of emotional brain. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The genetic and environmental structure of verbal and visuospatial memory in young adults and children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Leeuwen, Marieke; van den Berg, Stéphanie Martine; Hoekstra, Rosa A.; Boomsma, Dorret I.

2009-01-01

The extent to which verbal (VM) and visuospatial memory (VSM) tests measure the same or multiple constructs is unclear. Likewise the relationship between VM and VSM across development is not known. These questions are addressed using genetically informative data, studying two age cohorts (young

The Genetic and Environmental Structure of Verbal and Visuospatial Memory in Young Adults and Children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Leeuwen, M.; van den Berg, S.M.; Hoekstra, R.A.; Boomsma, D.I.

2009-01-01

The extent to which verbal (VM) and visuospatial memory (VSM) tests measure the same or multiple constructs is unclear. Likewise the relationship between VM and VSM across development is not known. These questions are addressed using genetically informative data, studying two age cohorts (young

How Visual Management for Continuous Improvement Might Guide and Affect Hospital Staff: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ulhassan, Waqar; von Thiele Schwarz, Ulrica; Westerlund, Hugo; Sandahl, Christer; Thor, Johan

2015-01-01

Visual management (VM) tools such as whiteboards, often employed in Lean thinking applications, are intended to be helpful in improving work processes in different industries including health care. It remains unclear, however, how VM is actually applied in health care Lean interventions and how it might influence the clinical staff. We therefore examined how Lean-inspired VM using whiteboards for continuous improvement efforts related to the hospital staff's work and collaboration. Within a case study design, we combined semistructured interviews, nonparticipant observations, and photography on 2 cardiology wards. The fate of VM differed between the 2 wards; in one, it was well received by the staff and enhanced continuous improvement efforts, whereas in the other ward, it was not perceived to fit in the work flow or to make enough sense in order to be sustained. Visual management may enable the staff and managers to allow communication across time and facilitate teamwork by enabling the inclusion of team members who are not present simultaneously; however, its adoption and value seem contingent on finding a good fit with the local context. A combination of continuous improvement and VM may be helpful in keeping the staff engaged in the change process in the long run.

Particle-in-cell Simulations of Raman Laser Amplification in Preformed Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, Daniel S.; Fisch, Nathaniel J.

2003-01-01

Two critical issues in the amplification of laser pulses by backward Raman scattering in plasma slabs are the saturation mechanism of the amplification effect (which determines the maximum attainable output intensity of a Raman amplifier) and the optimal plasma density for amplification. Previous investigations [V.M. Malkin, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 82 (22):4448-4451, 1999] identified forward Raman scattering and modulational instabilities of the amplifying seed as the likely saturation mechanisms and lead to an estimated unfocused output intensities of 10 17 W/cm 2 . The optimal density for amplification is determined by the competing constraints of minimizing the plasma density so as to minimize the growth rate of the instabilities leading to saturation but also maintaining the plasma sufficiently dense that the driven Langmuir wave responsible for backscattering does not break prematurely. Here, particle-in-cell code are simulations presented which verify that saturation of backward Raman amplification does occur at intensities of ∼10 17 W/cm 2 by forward Raman scattering and modulational instabilities. The optimal density for amplification in a plasma with the representative temperature of T(sub)e = 200 eV is also shown in these simulations to be intermediate between the cold plasma wave-breaking density and the density limit found by assuming a water bag electron distribution function

Catecholaminergic development of fetal rat ventral mesencephalon : Characterization by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection and immunohistochemistry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tomasini, R; Kema, IP; Muskiet, FAJ; Meiborg, G; Staal, MJ; Go, KG

We determined dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA), and adrenaline (A), as well as immunohistochemically stained tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and DA in dissected rat ventral mesencephalon (VM) tissue from Embryonic Day (ED) 14 to Postnatal Day (P) 17. Whole VM tissue DA, NA, and A contents increased with

Long-term preservation of analysis software environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toppe Larsen, Dag; Blomer, Jakob; Buncic, Predrag; Charalampidis, Ioannis; Haratyunyan, Artem

2012-01-01

Long-term preservation of scientific data represents a challenge to experiments, especially regarding the analysis software. Preserving data is not enough; the full software and hardware environment is needed. Virtual machines (VMs) make it possible to preserve hardware “in software”. A complete infrastructure package has been developed for easy deployment and management of VMs, based on CERN virtual machine (CernVM). Further, a HTTP-based file system, CernVM file system (CVMFS), is used for the distribution of the software. It is possible to process data with any given software version, and a matching, regenerated VM version. A point-and-click web user interface is being developed for setting up the complete processing chain, including VM and software versions, number and type of processing nodes, and the particular type of analysis and data. This paradigm also allows for distributed cloud-computing on private and public clouds, for both legacy and contemporary experiments.

On localization attacks against cloud infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Linqiang; Yu, Wei; Sistani, Mohammad Ali

2013-05-01

One of the key characteristics of cloud computing is the device and location independence that enables the user to access systems regardless of their location. Because cloud computing is heavily based on sharing resource, it is vulnerable to cyber attacks. In this paper, we investigate a localization attack that enables the adversary to leverage central processing unit (CPU) resources to localize the physical location of server used by victims. By increasing and reducing CPU usage through the malicious virtual machine (VM), the response time from the victim VM will increase and decrease correspondingly. In this way, by embedding the probing signal into the CPU usage and correlating the same pattern in the response time from the victim VM, the adversary can find the location of victim VM. To determine attack accuracy, we investigate features in both the time and frequency domains. We conduct both theoretical and experimental study to demonstrate the effectiveness of such an attack.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty in vertebral metastases from breast cancer: interest in terms of pain relief and quality of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Barragán-Campos, Héctor Manuel; Le Faou, Anne-Laurence; Rose, Michèle; Livartowski, Alain; Doz, Marianne; Astagneau, Pascal; Cormier, Evelyne; Chiras, Jacques

2014-10-31

Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) is a therapeutic option in patients with vertebral metastases (VM). However its efficacy in pain relief, improvement in quality of life and safety in patients with VM from breast cancer has not been reported. We present a longitudinal retrospective study of 31 consecutively treated female patients with VM from breast cancer where 88 vertebrae were treated in 44 sessions of PV, in which osteolytic, osteoblastic and mixed lesions were recorded. The visual analogue pain scale (VAS) was used to evaluate pain pre-PV, at one, three, six and 12 months post-PV. The Eastern Cooperative Group (ECOG) performance status scale was used at the same time intervals to measure quality of life: 90.3% pain relief was identified with a VAS reduction from 5.7 ± 2.0 pre-PV to 2.9 ± 2.2 post-PV at one-month follow-up (ppain relief, and improvement of quality of life in patients with diverse types of VM from breast cancer.

Task-Dependent Intermuscular Motor Unit Synchronization between Medial and Lateral Vastii Muscles during Dynamic and Isometric Squats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maurice Mohr

Full Text Available Motor unit activity is coordinated between many synergistic muscle pairs but the functional role of this coordination for the motor output is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the short-term modality of coordinated motor unit activity-the synchronized discharge of individual motor units across muscles within time intervals of 5ms-for the Vastus Medialis (VM and Lateralis (VL. Furthermore, we studied the task-dependency of intermuscular motor unit synchronization between VM and VL during static and dynamic squatting tasks to provide insight into its functional role.Sixteen healthy male and female participants completed four tasks: Bipedal squats, single-leg squats, an isometric squat, and single-leg balance. Monopolar surface electromyography (EMG was used to record motor unit activity of VM and VL. For each task, intermuscular motor unit synchronization was determined using a coherence analysis between the raw EMG signals of VM and VL and compared to a reference coherence calculated from two desynchronized EMG signals. The time shift between VM and VL EMG signals was estimated according to the slope of the coherence phase angle spectrum.For all tasks, except for singe-leg balance, coherence between 15-80Hz significantly exceeded the reference. The corresponding time shift between VM and VL was estimated as 4ms. Coherence between 30-60Hz was highest for the bipedal squat, followed by the single-leg squat and the isometric squat.There is substantial short-term motor unit synchronization between VM and VL. Intermuscular motor unit synchronization is enhanced for contractions during dynamic activities, possibly to facilitate a more accurate control of the joint torque, and reduced during single-leg tasks that require balance control and thus, a more independent muscle function. It is proposed that the central nervous system scales the degree of intermuscular motor unit synchronization according to the requirements of the movement

Virtual Machine Logbook - Enabling virtualization for ATLAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao Yushu; Calafiura, Paolo; Leggett, Charles; Poffet, Julien; Cavalli, Andrea; Frederic, Bapst

2010-01-01

ATLAS software has been developed mostly on CERN linux cluster lxplus or on similar facilities at the experiment Tier 1 centers. The fast rise of virtualization technology has the potential to change this model, turning every laptop or desktop into an ATLAS analysis platform. In the context of the CernVM project we are developing a suite of tools and CernVM plug-in extensions to promote the use of virtualization for ATLAS analysis and software development. The Virtual Machine Logbook (VML), in particular, is an application to organize work of physicists on multiple projects, logging their progress, and speeding up ''context switches'' from one project to another. An important feature of VML is the ability to share with a single 'click' the status of a given project with other colleagues. VML builds upon the save and restore capabilities of mainstream virtualization software like VMware, and provides a technology-independent client interface to them. A lot of emphasis in the design and implementation has gone into optimizing the save and restore process to makepractical to store many VML entries on a typical laptop disk or to share a VML entry over the network. At the same time, taking advantage of CernVM's plugin capabilities, we are extending the CernVM platform to help increase the usability of ATLAS software. For example, we added the ability to start the ATLAS event display on any computer running CernVM simply by clicking a button in a web browser. We want to integrate seamlessly VML with CernVM unique file system design to distribute efficiently ATLAS software on every physicist computer. The CernVM File System (CVMFS) download files on-demand via HTTP, and cache it locally for future use. This reduces by one order of magnitude the download sizes, making practical for a developer to work with multiple software releases on a virtual machine.

The Melting Curve and Premelting of MgO

OpenAIRE

Cohen, R. E.; Weitz, J. S.

1996-01-01

The melting curve for MgO was obtained using molecular dynamics and a non-empirical, many-body potential. We also studied premelting effects by computing the dynamical structure factor in the crystal on approach to melting. The melting curve simulations were performed with periodic boundary conditions with cells up to 512 atoms using the ab-initio Variational Induced Breathing (VIB) model. The melting curve was obtained by computing $% \\Delta H_m$ and $\\Delta V_m$ and integrating the Clapeyro...

A Functional Transcriptomic Approach to Understanding the Sand Fly Vector Relationships to the Host and Leshmania Parasites

Science.gov (United States)

2008-04-07

Carolina V. Barillas -Mury, M.D., Ph.D., Dissertation Committee Member Stephen J. Davies, BVSc., Ph.D., Dissertation Committee Member Ernest L. Maynard...mediated midgut attachment. Parasitology 2000, 121 ( Pt 1):25-33. 34. Kamhawi S, Ramalho-Ortigao M, Pham VM, Kumar S, Lawyer PG, Turco SJ, Barillas ...Lawyer PG, Turco SJ, Barillas -Mury C, Sacks DL, Valenzuela JG: A role for insect galectins in parasite survival. Cell 2004, 119(3):329-341. 2. Pal U

A 1.7 MHz Chua's circuit using VMs and CF+s

OpenAIRE

Sánchez López, C

2012-01-01

In this paper, a high-frequency Chua's chaotic oscillator based on unity gain cells (UGCs) is introduced. Leveraging the internal buffers of the integrated circuit AD844, a voltage mirror (VM) and a positive current follower (CF+) are designed, taking into account the parasitic elements associated to each UGC. Afterwards, the behavior of the nonlinear resistor and of the grounded inductor are designed by using several VMs, CF+s, discrete capacitors and resistors. In this way, Chua's circuit i...

Chromatid interchanges at intrachromosomal telomeric DNA sequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez, J.L.; Vazquez-Gundin, F.; Bilbao, A.; Gosalvez, J.; Goyanes, V.

1997-01-01

Chinese hamster Don cells were exposed to X-rays, mitomycin C and teniposide (VM-26) to induce chromatid exchanges (quadriradials and triradials). After fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of telomere sequences it was found that interstitial telomere-like DNA sequence arrays presented around five times more breakage-rearrangements than the genome overall. This high recombinogenic capacity was independent of the clastogen, suggesting that this susceptibility is not related to the initial mechanisms of DNA damage. (author)

Delta-like 1 participates in the specification of ventral midbrain progenitor derived dopaminergic neurons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauer, Matthias; Szulc, Jolanta; Meyer, Morten

2008-01-01

function of Dlk1 in VM neuron development, we investigated the effect of soluble Dlk1 protein as well as the intrinsic Dlk1 function in the course of VM progenitor expansion and dopaminergic (DA) neuron differentiation in vitro. Dlk1 treatment during expansion increased DA progenitor proliferation...

Evaluation of Usage of Virtual Microscopy for the Study of Histology in the Medical, Dental, and Veterinary Undergraduate Programs of a UK University

Science.gov (United States)

Gatumu, Margaret K.; MacMillan, Frances M.; Langton, Philip D.; Headley, P. Max; Harris, Judy R.

2014-01-01

This article describes the introduction of a virtual microscope (VM) that has allowed preclinical histology teaching to be fashioned to better suit the needs of approximately 900 undergraduate students per year studying medicine, dentistry, or veterinary science at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. Features of the VM implementation…

Shrinkage reduction of dental composites by addition of expandable zirconia filler

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skovgaard, M.; Almdal, Kristoffer; Sørensen, Bent F.

2011-01-01

. The shrinkage of the composite was calculated from density measurements using Archimedes method. The rate of the phase transformation in resin was measured by determining the volume fraction of monoclinic zirconia (vm). The composite had a vm of 0.5 after 8 h of water storage. The overall shrinkage...

Assessment of personal exposure from radiofrequency-electromagnetic fields in Australia and Belgium using on-body calibrated exposimeters.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatt, Chhavi Raj; Thielens, Arno; Billah, Baki; Redmayne, Mary; Abramson, Michael J; Sim, Malcolm R; Vermeulen, Roel; Martens, Luc; Joseph, Wout; Benke, Geza

2016-11-01

The purposes of this study were: i) to demonstrate the assessment of personal exposure from various RF-EMF sources across different microenvironments in Australia and Belgium, with two on-body calibrated exposimeters, in contrast to earlier studies which employed single, non-on-body calibrated exposimeters; ii) to systematically evaluate the performance of the exposimeters using (on-body) calibration and cross-talk measurements; and iii) to compare the exposure levels measured for one site in each of several selected microenvironments in the two countries. A human subject took part in an on-body calibration of the exposimeter in an anechoic chamber. The same subject collected data on personal exposures across 38 microenvironments (19 in each country) situated in urban, suburban and rural regions. Median personal RF-EMF exposures were estimated: i) of all microenvironments, and ii) across each microenvironment, in two countries. The exposures were then compared across similar microenvironments in two countries (17 in each country). The three highest median total exposure levels were: city center (4.33V/m), residential outdoor (urban) (0.75V/m), and a park (0.75V/m) [Australia]; and a tram station (1.95V/m), city center (0.95V/m), and a park (0.90V/m) [Belgium]. The exposures across nine microenvironments in Melbourne, Australia were lower than the exposures across corresponding microenvironments in Ghent, Belgium (p<0.05). The personal exposures across urban microenvironments were higher than those for rural or suburban microenvironments. Similarly, the exposure levels across outdoor microenvironments were higher than those for indoor microenvironments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Acute non-contact anterior cruciate ligament tears are associated with relatively increased vastus medialis to semimembranosus cross-sectional area ratio: a case-control retrospective MR study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wieschhoff, Ged G.; Mandell, Jacob C.; Czuczman, Gregory J.; Nikac, Violeta; Shah, Nehal; Smith, Stacy E.

2017-01-01

Hamstring muscle deficiency is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the vastus medialis to semimembranosus cross-sectional area (VM:SM CSA) ratio on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with ACL tears compared to controls. One hundred knee MRIs of acute ACL tear patients and 100 age-, sex-, and side-matched controls were included. Mechanism of injury, contact versus non-contact, was determined for each ACL tear subject. The VM:SM CSA was measured on individual axial slices with a novel method using image-processing software. One reader measured all 200 knees and the second reader measured 50 knees at random to assess inter-reader variability. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to evaluate for correlation between readers. T-tests were performed to evaluate for differences in VM:SM CSA ratios between the ACL tear group and control group. The ICC for agreement between the two readers was 0.991 (95% confidence interval 0.984-0.995). Acute ACL tear patients have an increased VM:SM CSA ratio compared to controls (1.44 vs. 1.28; p = 0.005). Non-contact acute ACL tear patients have an increased VM:SM CSA ratio compared to controls (1.48 vs. 1.20; p = 0.003), whereas contact acute ACL tear patients do not (1.23 vs. 1.26; p = 0.762). Acute non-contact ACL tears are associated with increased VM:SM CSA ratios, which may imply a relative deficiency in hamstring strength. This study also demonstrates a novel method of measuring the relative CSA of muscles on MRI. (orig.)

Acute non-contact anterior cruciate ligament tears are associated with relatively increased vastus medialis to semimembranosus cross-sectional area ratio: a case-control retrospective MR study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wieschhoff, Ged G; Mandell, Jacob C; Czuczman, Gregory J; Nikac, Violeta; Shah, Nehal; Smith, Stacy E

2017-11-01

Hamstring muscle deficiency is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the vastus medialis to semimembranosus cross-sectional area (VM:SM CSA) ratio on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with ACL tears compared to controls. One hundred knee MRIs of acute ACL tear patients and 100 age-, sex-, and side-matched controls were included. Mechanism of injury, contact versus non-contact, was determined for each ACL tear subject. The VM:SM CSA was measured on individual axial slices with a novel method using image-processing software. One reader measured all 200 knees and the second reader measured 50 knees at random to assess inter-reader variability. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to evaluate for correlation between readers. T-tests were performed to evaluate for differences in VM:SM CSA ratios between the ACL tear group and control group. The ICC for agreement between the two readers was 0.991 (95% confidence interval 0.984-0.995). Acute ACL tear patients have an increased VM:SM CSA ratio compared to controls (1.44 vs. 1.28; p = 0.005). Non-contact acute ACL tear patients have an increased VM:SM CSA ratio compared to controls (1.48 vs. 1.20; p = 0.003), whereas contact acute ACL tear patients do not (1.23 vs. 1.26; p = 0.762). Acute non-contact ACL tears are associated with increased VM:SM CSA ratios, which may imply a relative deficiency in hamstring strength. This study also demonstrates a novel method of measuring the relative CSA of muscles on MRI.

Comment on Geoengineering with seagrasses: is credit due where credit is given?

Science.gov (United States)

Oreska, Matthew P. J.; McGlathery, Karen J.; Emmer, Igino M.; Needelman, Brian A.; Emmett-Mattox, Stephen; Crooks, Stephen; Megonigal, J. Patrick; Myers, Doug

2018-03-01

In their recent review, ‘Geoengineering with seagrasses: is credit due where credit is given?,’ Johannessen and Macdonald (2016) invoke the prospect of carbon offset-credit over-allocation by the Verified Carbon Standard as a pretense for their concerns about published seagrass carbon burial rate and global stock estimates. Johannessen and Macdonald (2016) suggest that projects seeking offset-credits under the Verified Carbon Standard methodology VM0033: Methodology for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration will overestimate long-term (100 yr) sediment organic carbon (SOC) storage because issues affecting carbon burial rates bias storage estimates. These issues warrant serious consideration by the seagrass research community; however, VM0033 does not refer to seagrass SOC ‘burial rates’ or ‘storage.’ Projects seeking credits under VM0033 must document greenhouse gas emission reductions over time, relative to a baseline scenario, in order to receive credits. Projects must also monitor changes in carbon pools, including SOC, to confirm that observed benefits are maintained over time. However, VM0033 allows projects to conservatively underestimate project benefits by citing default values for specific accounting parameters, including CO2 emissions reductions. We therefore acknowledge that carbon crediting methodologies such as VM0033 are sensitive to the quality of the seagrass literature, particularly when permitted default factors are based in part on seagrass burial rates. Literature-derived values should be evaluated based on the concerns raised by Johannessen and Macdonald (2016), but these issues should not lead to credit over-allocation in practice, provided VM0033 is rigorously followed. These issues may, however, affect the feasibility of particular seagrass offset projects.

Functional compensation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex improves memory-dependent decisions in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Lighthall, Nichole R; Huettel, Scott A; Cabeza, Roberto

2014-11-19

Everyday consumer choices frequently involve memory, as when we retrieve information about consumer products when making purchasing decisions. In this context, poor memory may affect decision quality, particularly in individuals with memory decline, such as older adults. However, age differences in choice behavior may be reduced if older adults can recruit additional neural resources that support task performance. Although such functional compensation is well documented in other cognitive domains, it is presently unclear whether it can support memory-guided decision making and, if so, which brain regions play a role in compensation. The current study engaged younger and older humans in a memory-dependent choice task in which pairs of consumer products from a popular online-shopping site were evaluated with different delays between the first and second product. Using functional imaging (fMRI), we found that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) supports compensation as defined by three a priori criteria: (1) increased vmPFC activation was observed in older versus younger adults; (2) age-related increases in vmPFC activity were associated with increased retrieval demands; and (3) increased vmPFC activity was positively associated with performance in older adults-evidence of successful compensation. Extending these results, we observed evidence for compensation in connectivity between vmPFC and the dorsolateral PFC during memory-dependent choice. In contrast, we found no evidence for age differences in value-related processing or age-related compensation for choices without delayed retrieval. Together, these results converge on the conclusion that age-related decline in memory-dependent choice performance can be minimized via functional compensation in vmPFC. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3415648-10$15.00/0.

Acute non-contact anterior cruciate ligament tears are associated with relatively increased vastus medialis to semimembranosus cross-sectional area ratio: a case-control retrospective MR study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wieschhoff, Ged G.; Mandell, Jacob C.; Czuczman, Gregory J.; Nikac, Violeta; Shah, Nehal; Smith, Stacy E. [Brigham and Women' s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Division of Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States)

2017-11-15

Hamstring muscle deficiency is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the vastus medialis to semimembranosus cross-sectional area (VM:SM CSA) ratio on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with ACL tears compared to controls. One hundred knee MRIs of acute ACL tear patients and 100 age-, sex-, and side-matched controls were included. Mechanism of injury, contact versus non-contact, was determined for each ACL tear subject. The VM:SM CSA was measured on individual axial slices with a novel method using image-processing software. One reader measured all 200 knees and the second reader measured 50 knees at random to assess inter-reader variability. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to evaluate for correlation between readers. T-tests were performed to evaluate for differences in VM:SM CSA ratios between the ACL tear group and control group. The ICC for agreement between the two readers was 0.991 (95% confidence interval 0.984-0.995). Acute ACL tear patients have an increased VM:SM CSA ratio compared to controls (1.44 vs. 1.28; p = 0.005). Non-contact acute ACL tear patients have an increased VM:SM CSA ratio compared to controls (1.48 vs. 1.20; p = 0.003), whereas contact acute ACL tear patients do not (1.23 vs. 1.26; p = 0.762). Acute non-contact ACL tears are associated with increased VM:SM CSA ratios, which may imply a relative deficiency in hamstring strength. This study also demonstrates a novel method of measuring the relative CSA of muscles on MRI. (orig.)

An investigation of the association between vending machine confectionery purchase frequency by schoolchildren in the UK and other dietary and lifestyle factors.

Science.gov (United States)

New, Susan A; Livingstone, M Barbara E

2003-08-01

Availability of confectionery from vending machines in secondary schools provides a convenient point of purchase. There is concern that this may lead to 'over-indulgence' and hence an increase in susceptibility to obesity and poor 'dietary quality'. The study objective was to investigate the association between the frequency of consumption of confectionery purchased from vending machines and other sources and related lifestyle factors in adolescent boys and girls. A secondary school-based, cross-sectional study. A total of 504 subjects were investigated (age range 12-15 years), from three schools in southern and northern England. Using a lifestyle questionnaire, frequency of confectionery consumption (CC) from all sources (AS) and vending machines (VM) was recorded for a typical school week. Subjects were categorised into non-consumers, low, medium and high consumers using the following criteria: none, 0 times per week; low, 1-5 times per week; medium, 6-9 times per week; high, 10 times per week or greater. No differences were found in the frequency of CC from AS or VM between those who consumed breakfast and lunch and those who did not. No differences were found in the frequency of fruit and vegetable intake in high VM CC vs. none VM CC groups, or in any of the VM CC groups. Confectionery consumption from AS (but not VM) was found to be higher in subjects who were physically active on the journey to school (Ppurchased from vending machines and 'poor' dietary practice or 'undesirable' lifestyle habits. Findings for total confectionery consumption showed some interesting trends, but the results were not consistent, either for a negative or positive effect.

Balance control impairment induced after OKS in patients with vestibular migraine: an intercritical marker.

Science.gov (United States)

Panichi, R; Cipriani, L; Sarchielli, P; Di Mauro, M; Pettorossi, V E; Ricci, G; Faralli, M

2015-09-01

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of optokinetic stimulation (OKS) on vestibular postural control in migraine patients with recurrent vertigo. 15 patients with vestibular migraine (VM) were enrolled in a posturographic study in eyes open (OE) and eyes closed (CE) condition. The tests were performed between attacks of headache and vertigo at three different time: before, during, and 60 min after OKS. Data of patients with VM were compared with those obtained from two control groups matched for sex and age (15 for each group): (a) normal subjects not suffering from migraine without history of recurrent vertigo (N group); (b) subjects suffering from migraine with no history of recurrent vertigo (M group). Mean sway path velocity and sway area were analyzed. OKS increased the instability in all groups during the stimulus, and both the velocity and area values were higher in M and VM group. However, there was not significant difference between these two groups when stability was examined in OE condition before, during and after OKS stimulation. Conversely, in CE condition a significant greater instability was induced after OKS stimulation only in VM. In particular, post-stimulus values were significantly higher than the pre-stimulus one only in this group, while no significant difference was observed in other groups. A spatial analysis of the sway area evidenced that the instability induced by the OKS in VM group occurred along the direction of OKS. We suggest that this enhanced instability observed after OKS during the intercritical period may be considered an useful marker to support the diagnostic definition of VM in the absence of other vestibular signs.

Occurrence of airborne vancomycin- and gentamicin-resistant bacteria in various hospital wards in Isfahan, Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirhoseini, Seyed Hamed; Nikaeen, Mahnaz; Khanahmad, Hossein; Hassanzadeh, Akbar

2016-01-01

Airborne transmission of pathogenic resistant bacteria is well recognized as an important route for the acquisition of a wide range of nosocomial infections in hospitals. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of airborne vancomycin and gentamicin (VM and GM) resistant bacteria in different wards of four educational hospitals. A total of 64 air samples were collected from operating theater (OT), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), surgery ward, and internal medicine ward of four educational hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. Airborne culturable bacteria were collected using all glass impingers. Samples were analyzed for the detection of VM- and GM-resistant bacteria. The average level of bacteria ranged from 99 to 1079 CFU/m(3). The highest level of airborne bacteria was observed in hospital 4 (628 CFU/m(3)) and the highest average concentration of GM- and VM-resistant airborne bacteria were found in hospital 3 (22 CFU/m(3)). The mean concentration of airborne bacteria was the lowest in OT wards and GM- and VM-resistant airborne bacteria were not detected in this ward of hospitals. The highest prevalence of antibiotic-resistant airborne bacteria was observed in ICU ward. There was a statistically significant difference for the prevalence of VM-resistant bacteria between hospital wards (P = 0.012). Our finding showed that the relatively high prevalence of VM- and GM-resistant airborne bacteria in ICUs could be a great concern from the point of view of patients' health. These results confirm the necessity of application of effective control measures which significantly decrease the exposure of high-risk patients to potentially airborne nosocomial infections.

Vestibular migraine: the most frequent entity of episodic vertigo.

Science.gov (United States)

Dieterich, Marianne; Obermann, Mark; Celebisoy, Nese

2016-04-01

Vestibular migraine (VM) is the most common cause of episodic vertigo in adults as well as in children. The diagnostic criteria of the consensus document of the International Bárány Society for Neuro-Otology and the International Headache Society (2012) combine the typical signs and symptoms of migraine with the vestibular symptoms lasting 5 min to 72 h and exclusion criteria. Although VM accounts for 7% of patients seen in dizziness clinics and 9% of patients seen in headache clinics it is still underdiagnosed. This review provides an actual overview on the pathophysiology, the clinical characteristics to establish the diagnosis, the differential diagnosis, and the treatment of VM.

Enhanced virtual microscopy for collaborative education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Holloway William J

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Curricular reform efforts and a desire to use novel educational strategies that foster student collaboration are challenging the traditional microscope-based teaching of histology. Computer-based histology teaching tools and Virtual Microscopes (VM, computer-based digital slide viewers, have been shown to be effective and efficient educational strategies. We developed an open-source VM system based on the Google Maps engine to transform our histology education and introduce new teaching methods. This VM allows students and faculty to collaboratively create content, annotate slides with markers, and it is enhanced with social networking features to give the community of learners more control over the system. Results We currently have 1,037 slides in our VM system comprised of 39,386,941 individual JPEG files that take up 349 gigabytes of server storage space. Of those slides 682 are for general teaching and available to our students and the public; the remaining 355 slides are used for practical exams and have restricted access. The system has seen extensive use with 289,352 unique slide views to date. Students viewed an average of 56.3 slides per month during the histology course and accessed the system at all hours of the day. Of the 621 annotations added to 126 slides 26.2% were added by faculty and 73.8% by students. The use of the VM system reduced the amount of time faculty spent administering the course by 210 hours, but did not reduce the number of laboratory sessions or the number of required faculty. Laboratory sessions were reduced from three hours to two hours each due to the efficiencies in the workflow of the VM system. Conclusions Our virtual microscope system has been an effective solution to the challenges facing traditional histopathology laboratories and the novel needs of our revised curriculum. The web-based system allowed us to empower learners to have greater control over their content, as well as the

Medial prefrontal cortex involvement in the expression of extinction and ABA renewal of instrumental behavior for a food reinforcer.

Science.gov (United States)

Eddy, Meghan C; Todd, Travis P; Bouton, Mark E; Green, John T

2016-02-01

Instrumental renewal, the return of extinguished instrumental responding after removal from the extinction context, is an important model of behavioral relapse that is poorly understood at the neural level. In two experiments, we examined the role of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in extinction and ABA renewal of instrumental responding for a sucrose reinforcer. Previous work, exclusively using drug reinforcers, has suggested that the roles of the dmPFC and vmPFC in expression of extinction and ABA renewal may depend at least in part on the type of drug reinforcer used. The current experiments used a food reinforcer because the behavioral mechanisms underlying the extinction and renewal of instrumental responding are especially well worked out in this paradigm. After instrumental conditioning in context A and extinction in context B, we inactivated dmPFC, vmPFC, or a more ventral medial prefrontal cortex region by infusing baclofen/muscimol (B/M) just prior to testing in both contexts. In rats with inactivated dmPFC, ABA renewal was still present (i.e., responding increased when returned to context A); however responding was lower (less renewal) than controls. Inactivation of vmPFC increased responding in context B (the extinction context) and decreased responding in context A, indicating no renewal in these animals. There was no effect of B/M infusion on rats with cannula placements ventral to the vmPFC. Fluorophore-conjugated muscimol was infused in a subset of rats following test to visualize infusion spread. Imaging suggested that the infusion spread was minimal and mainly constrained to the targeted area. Together, these experiments suggest that there is a region of medial prefrontal cortex encompassing both dmPFC and vmPFC that is important for ABA renewal of extinguished instrumental responding for a food reinforcer. In addition, vmPFC, but not dmPFC, is important for expression of extinction of

Comparison of the density of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex of patients with first-episode psychosis and healthy controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Zhilei; Zhu, Yajing; Song, Zhenhua; Mei, Li; Zhang, Jianye; Chen, Tianyi; Wang, Yingchan; Xu, Yifeng; Jiang, Kaida; Li, Yao; Liu, Dengtang

2015-12-25

Abnormality in the concentration and functioning of gamma-aminobutyric acid (γ-aminobutyric acid, GABA) in the brain is not only an important hypothetical link to the cause of schizophrenia but it may also be correlated with the cognitive decline and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Studies utilizing high field magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) report abnormal density of GABA in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) of patients with chronic schizophrenia, but these results may be confounded by study participants' prior use of antipsychotic medications. Compare the density of GABA in the vmPFC of patients with first-episode psychosis to that in healthy controls and assess the relationship of GABA density in the vmPFC to the severity of psychotic symptoms. Single-voxel (1)H-MRS was used to assess the concentration of GABA and other metabolites in the vmPFC of 22 patients with first-episode psychosis (10 with schizophrenia and 12 with schizophreniform disorder) and 23 healthy controls. Thirteen of the 22 patients were drug-naïve and 9 had used antipsychotic medication for less than 3 days. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to evaluate the severity of psychotic symptoms in the patient group. The mean (sd) GABA density in the vmPFC was significantly higher in patients than in controls (2.28 [0.54] v. 1.93 [0.32] mM, t=2.62, p=0.012). The densities of other metabolites - including N-acetylaspartic acid (NAA), glutamic acid (GLU), and glutamine (GLN) - were not significantly different between patients and controls. Among the patients, GABA density in the vmPFC was not significantly correlated with PANSS total score or with any of the three PANSS subscale scores for positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and general psychopathology. GABA concentration was not associated with the duration of illness, but it was significantly correlated with patient age (r=0.47, p=0.026). Elevation of GABA density in the vmPFC of patients with first

Hippocampal Damage Increases Deontological Responses during Moral Decision Making.

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Cornelia; Rosenthal, Clive R; Miller, Thomas D; Maguire, Eleanor A

2016-11-30

Complex moral decision making is associated with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in humans, and damage to this region significantly increases the frequency of utilitarian judgments. Since the vmPFC has strong anatomical and functional links with the hippocampus, here we asked how patients with selective bilateral hippocampal damage would derive moral decisions on a classic moral dilemmas paradigm. We found that the patients approved of the utilitarian options significantly less often than control participants, favoring instead deontological responses-rejecting actions that harm even one person. Thus, patients with hippocampal damage have a strikingly opposite approach to moral decision making than vmPFC-lesioned patients. Skin-conductance data collected during the task showed increased emotional arousal in the hippocampal-damaged patients and they stated that their moral decisions were based on emotional instinct. By contrast, control participants made moral decisions based on the integration of an adverse emotional response to harming others, visualization of the consequences of one's action, and the rational re-evaluation of future benefits. This integration may be disturbed in patients with either hippocampal or vmPFC damage. Hippocampal lesions decreased the ability to visualize a scenario and its future consequences, which seemed to render the adverse emotional response overwhelmingly dominant. In patients with vmPFC damage, visualization might also be reduced alongside an inability to detect the adverse emotional response, leaving only the utilitarian option open. Overall, these results provide insights into the processes involved in moral decision making and highlight the complementary roles played by two closely connected brain regions. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is closely associated with the ability to make complex moral judgements. When this area is damaged, patients become more utilitarian (the ends justify the means) and have

Liising viis maamehelt radiaatoritehase vara / Anti Ronk

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Ronk, Anti

2003-01-01

Hansa Liising vedas Simunas asuvast, liisingufirmale võlgu jäänud radiaatoritehasest minema liisingufirmale kuulunud vara. VM Steeli juht Voldemar Metsaroos taotleb kriminaalasja algatamist. Kommenteerib Leon Glikman. Vt. samas lühiintervjuud Hansa Liisingu ärikliendi järelevalve juhi Sulev Vahariga. Skeem: VM Steel AS radiaatoritehase varade liikumine

Essential oil composition of Valeriana officinalis ssp collina cultivated in Bulgaria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bos, R; Hendriks, H; Pras, N; St Stojanova, A; Georgiev, EV

2000-01-01

The essential oils obtained from air-dried subterranean parts of Valeriana officinalis ssp. collina (Wallr.) Nyman (Valerianaceae), 'Shipka,' was analyzed by GC and GC/MS, and 62 components were identified. The oil yield, collected in plants grown in 1995 and 1938, was 0.42% (v/m) and 0.40% (v/m)

A Comparison of Video Modeling, Text-Based Instruction, and No Instruction for Creating Multiple Baseline Graphs in Microsoft Excel

Science.gov (United States)

Tyner, Bryan C.; Fienup, Daniel M.

2015-01-01

Graphing is socially significant for behavior analysts; however, graphing can be difficult to learn. Video modeling (VM) may be a useful instructional method but lacks evidence for effective teaching of computer skills. A between-groups design compared the effects of VM, text-based instruction, and no instruction on graphing performance.…

Using Video Models to Teach Students with Disabilities to Play the Wii

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrow, Lauren A.; Spriggs, Amy D.; Knight, Victoria F.

2016-01-01

This study investigated effects of video modeling (VM) when teaching recreation and leisure skills to three high school students with moderate intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder. Results, evaluated via a multiple probe across participants design, indicated that VM was effective for teaching all students to play the Wii.…

Rain VM: Portable Concurrency through Managing Code

OpenAIRE

Brown, Neil C.C.

2006-01-01

A long-running recent trend in computer programming is the growth in popularity of virtual machines. However, few have included good support for concurrency - a natural mechanism in the Rain programming language. This paper details the design and implementation of a secure virtual machine with support for concurrency, which enables portability of concurrent programs. Possible implementation ideas of many-to-many threading models for the virtual machine kernel are discussed, and initial benchm...

vm119_0601b-- Video mosaic segments

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Canadian ROPOS remotely operated vehicle (ROV) outfitted with video equipment (and other devices) was deployed from the NOAA Ship McAurthurII during May-June...

Characterization of cell-free extracts from fenpropathrin-degrading strain Bacillus cereus ZH-3 and its potential for bioremediation of pyrethroid-contaminated soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jie; Huang, Wenwen; Han, Haitao; She, Changchun; Zhong, Guohua

2015-08-01

Synthetic pyrethroid fenpropathrin has received increasing attention because of its environmental contamination and toxic effects on non-target organisms including human beings. Here we report the degradation characteristics of cell-free extracts from fenpropathrin-degrading strain Bacillus cereus ZH-3 and its potential for pyrethroid bioremediation in soils. 50mg·L(-1) of fenpropathrin was decreased to 20.6mg·L(-1) by the enzymatic extracts (869.4mg·L(-1)) within 30min. Kinetic constants Km and Vm were determined to be 1006.7nmol·L(-1) and 56.8nmol·min(-1), respectively. Degradation products were identified as 3-phenoxybenzaldehyde, α-hydroxy-3-phenoxy-benzeneacetonitrile and phenol by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In addition to degradation of fenpropathrin, the cell-free extracts could degrade other pyrethroids including beta-cypermethrin, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin and cypermethrin. Additionally, the reaction conditions were optimized. In the sterile and non-sterile soils, 50mg·kg(-1) of fenpropathrin was reduced to 15.3 and 13.9mg·L(-1) in 1d, respectively. Sprayed 100 and 300mg·kg(-1) of fenpropathrin emulsifiable concentrate (EC), up to 84.6% and 92.1% of soil fenpropathrin were removed from soils within 7d, respectively. Taken together, our results depict the biodegradation characteristics of cell-free extracts from B. cereus ZH-3, highlight its promising potential in bioremediation of pyrethroid-contaminated soils and also provide new insights into the utilization of degrading microbes. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

नैनो टेक्नोलॉजी - मत्स्य क्षेत्र मे रामबाण

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Abidi, S.A.H.; Ansari, Z.A.; Bhagat, D.; Gupta, N.

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Vestibular migraine: clinical and epidemiological aspects

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Ligia Oliveira Gonçalves Morganti

Full Text Available ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Vestibular migraine (VM is one of the most often common diagnoses in neurotology, but only recently has been recognized as a disease. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with VM. METHODS: This was a retrospective, observational, and descriptive study, with analysis of patients' records from an outpatient VM clinic. RESULTS: 94.1% of patients were females and 5.9% were males. The mean age was 46.1 years; 65.6% of patients had had headache for a longer period than dizziness. A correlation was detected between VM symptoms and the menstrual period. 61.53% of patients had auditory symptoms, with tinnitus the most common, although tonal audiometry was normal in 68.51%. Vectoelectronystagmography was normal in 67.34%, 10.20% had hyporeflexia, and 22.44% had vestibular hyperreflexia. Electrophysiological assessment showed no abnormalities in most patients. Fasting plasma glucose and glycemic curve were normal in most patients, while the insulin curve was abnormal in 75%. 82% of individuals with MV showed abnormalities on the metabolism of carbohydrates. CONCLUSION: VM affects predominantly middle-aged women, with migraine headache representing the first symptom, several years before vertigo. Physical, auditory, and vestibular evaluations are usually normal. The most frequent vestibular abnormality was hyperreflexia. Most individuals showed abnormality related to carbohydrate metabolism.

A Cross-Entropy-Based Admission Control Optimization Approach for Heterogeneous Virtual Machine Placement in Public Clouds

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Li Pan

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Virtualization technologies make it possible for cloud providers to consolidate multiple IaaS provisions into a single server in the form of virtual machines (VMs. Additionally, in order to fulfill the divergent service requirements from multiple users, a cloud provider needs to offer several types of VM instances, which are associated with varying configurations and performance, as well as different prices. In such a heterogeneous virtual machine placement process, one significant problem faced by a cloud provider is how to optimally accept and place multiple VM service requests into its cloud data centers to achieve revenue maximization. To address this issue, in this paper, we first formulate such a revenue maximization problem during VM admission control as a multiple-dimensional knapsack problem, which is known to be NP-hard to solve. Then, we propose to use a cross-entropy-based optimization approach to address this revenue maximization problem, by obtaining a near-optimal eligible set for the provider to accept into its data centers, from the waiting VM service requests in the system. Finally, through extensive experiments and measurements in a simulated environment with the settings of VM instance classes derived from real-world cloud systems, we show that our proposed cross-entropy-based admission control optimization algorithm is efficient and effective in maximizing cloud providers’ revenue in a public cloud computing environment.

Neural processing associated with cognitive and affective Theory of Mind in adolescents and adults.

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Sebastian, Catherine L; Fontaine, Nathalie M G; Bird, Geoffrey; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne; Brito, Stephane A De; McCrory, Eamon J P; Viding, Essi

2012-01-01

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to attribute thoughts, intentions and beliefs to others. This involves component processes, including cognitive perspective taking (cognitive ToM) and understanding emotions (affective ToM). This study assessed the distinction and overlap of neural processes involved in these respective components, and also investigated their development between adolescence and adulthood. While data suggest that ToM develops between adolescence and adulthood, these populations have not been compared on cognitive and affective ToM domains. Using fMRI with 15 adolescent (aged 11-16 years) and 15 adult (aged 24-40 years) males, we assessed neural responses during cartoon vignettes requiring cognitive ToM, affective ToM or physical causality comprehension (control). An additional aim was to explore relationships between fMRI data and self-reported empathy. Both cognitive and affective ToM conditions were associated with neural responses in the classic ToM network across both groups, although only affective ToM recruited medial/ventromedial PFC (mPFC/vmPFC). Adolescents additionally activated vmPFC more than did adults during affective ToM. The specificity of the mPFC/vmPFC response during affective ToM supports evidence from lesion studies suggesting that vmPFC may integrate affective information during ToM. Furthermore, the differential neural response in vmPFC between adult and adolescent groups indicates developmental changes in affective ToM processing.

Structural Variation within the Amygdala and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Predict Memory for Impressions in Older Adults

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Brittany Shane Cassidy

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Research has shown that lesions to regions involved in social and emotional cognition disrupt socioemotional processing and memory. We investigated how structural variation of regions involved in socioemotional memory (ventromedial prefrontal cortex [vmPFC], amygdala, as opposed to a region implicated in explicit memory (hippocampus, affected memory for impressions in young and older adults. Anatomical MRI scans for fifteen young and fifteen older adults were obtained and reconstructed to gather information about cortical thickness and subcortical volume. Young adults had greater amygdala and hippocampus volumes than old, and thicker left vmPFC than old, although right vmPFC thickness did not differ across the age groups. Participants formed behavior-based impressions and responded to interpersonally meaningful, social but interpersonally irrelevant, or non-social prompts, and completed a memory test. Results showed that greater left amygdala volume predicted enhanced overall memory for impressions in older but not younger adults. Increased right vmPFC thickness in older, but not younger, adults correlated with enhanced memory for impressions formed in the interpersonally meaningful context. Hippocampal volume was not predictive of social memory in young or older adults. These findings demonstrate the importance of structural variation in regions linked to socioemotional processing in the retention of impressions with age, and suggest that the amygdala and vmPFC play an integral role when encoding and retrieving social information.

Doppler ultrasonographic measurement of short-term effects of valsalva maneuver on retrobulbar blood flow.

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Kimyon, Sabit; Mete, Ahmet; Mete, Alper; Mete, Duçem

2017-11-12

To investigate the effects of Valsalva maneuver (VM) on retrobulbar blood flow parameters in healthy subjects. Participants without any ophthalmologic or systemic pathology were examined in supine position with color and pulsed Doppler imaging for blood flow measurement, via a paraocular approach, in the ophthalmic artery (OA), central retinal artery (CRA), central retinal vein (CRV), nasal posterior ciliary artery (NPCA), and temporal posterior ciliary artery (TPCA), 10 seconds after a 35- to 40-mm Hg expiratory pressure was reached. Peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), pulsatility index (PI), and resistivity index (RI) values were recorded for each artery. PSV and EDV values were recorded for CRV. There were significant differences between resting and VM values of PSV and EDV of CRA, RI of NPCA, and PI, RI, and EDV of TPCA. Resting CRA-EDV, CRV-PSV, and CRV-EDV were positively correlated whereas resting OA-PSV and CRA-PI, and OA-PSV, CRA-PSV, and CRA-EDV during VM, were negatively correlated with age. VM induces a short-term increase in CRA blood flow and a decrease in NPCA and TPCA RI. Additional studies with a longer Doppler recording during VM, in a larger population sample, are required to allow definitive interpretation. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 45:551-555, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Secure Virtualization Environment Based on Advanced Memory Introspection

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Shuhui Zhang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Most existing virtual machine introspection (VMI technologies analyze the status of a target virtual machine under the assumption that the operating system (OS version and kernel structure information are known at the hypervisor level. In this paper, we propose a model of virtual machine (VM security monitoring based on memory introspection. Using a hardware-based approach to acquire the physical memory of the host machine in real time, the security of the host machine and VM can be diagnosed. Furthermore, a novel approach for VM memory forensics based on the virtual machine control structure (VMCS is put forward. By analyzing the memory of the host machine, the running VMs can be detected and their high-level semantic information can be reconstructed. Then, malicious activity in the VMs can be identified in a timely manner. Moreover, by mutually analyzing the memory content of the host machine and VMs, VM escape may be detected. Compared with previous memory introspection technologies, our solution can automatically reconstruct the comprehensive running state of a target VM without any prior knowledge and is strongly resistant to attacks with high reliability. We developed a prototype system called the VEDefender. Experimental results indicate that our system can handle the VMs of mainstream Linux and Windows OS versions with high efficiency and does not influence the performance of the host machine and VMs.

A simple and efficient method for the extraction and separation of menaquinone homologs from wet biomass of Flavobacterium.

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Wei, Hongfei; Zhao, Genhai; Liu, Hui; Wang, Han; Ni, Wenfeng; Wang, Peng; Zheng, Zhiming

2018-01-01

Menaquinone homologs (MK-n), that is, MK-4, MK-5, and MK-6, can be produced by the fermentation of Flavobacterium. In this study, we proposed a simple and efficient method for the extraction of menaquinones from wet cells without the process of drying the biomass. Meanwhile, a rapid and effective solution for the separation of menaquinone homologs was developed using a single organic solvent, which was conducive to the recovery of the solvent. The results showed that the highest yield was obtained with pretreatment using absolute ethanol at a ratio of 6:1 (v/m) for 30 min and then two extractions of 30 min each using methanol at a ratio of 6:1 (v/m). The recovery efficiency of the menaquinones reached to 102.8% compared to the positive control. The menaquinone homologs were effectively separated using methanol as eluent at a flow rate of 0.52 mL/min by a glass reverse-phase C18 silica gel column with a height-to-diameter ratio of 5.5:1. The recovery of menaquinones achieved was 99.6%. In conclusion, the methods for extraction and separation of menaquinone homologs from wet Flavobacterium cells were simple and efficient, which makes them suitable not only on a laboratory scale but also for application on a large scale.

Pediatric Glioblastoma Therapies Based on Patient-Derived Stem Cell Resources

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2014-11-01

Homo sapiens (100) Drosophila melanogaster (65) Oryza sativa (45) Arabidopsis thaliana (42) Neurospora crassa (43) Nagnaporthe grisea (37) 0.2 Evidence...0 0 % W el ls w /o s p h er es 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 R el at iv e g ro w th NSC BTIC CX VM G179 12280131 G14G19 G26022TNHA G166CB660...G166 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 shControl shBUB1B-1 shBUB1B-2 R el at iv e m R N A ex p re ss io n ** ** ** ** BUB1B mRNAC

Graphene oxide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes as nanofeatured scaffolds for the assisted deposition of nanohydroxyapatite: characterization and biological evaluation

OpenAIRE

Rodrigues, Bruno VM; Leite, Nelly CS; Cavalcanti, Bruno das Neves; da Silva, Newton S; Marciano, Fernanda R; Corat, Evaldo J; Webster, Thomas J; Lobo, Anderson O

2016-01-01

Bruno VM Rodrigues,1,* Nelly CS Leite,1,* Bruno das Neves Cavalcanti,2 Newton S da Silva,3 Fernanda R Marciano,1 Evaldo J Corat,4 Thomas J Webster,5,6 Anderson O Lobo11Laboratory of Biomedical Nanotechnology, Institute of Research and Development (IP&D), University of Vale do Paraiba (UNIVAP), Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil; 2Department of Cardiology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; 3Laboratory of Cell Biology and Tis...

MINGAU SEMI-INSTANTÂNEO DE CANJIQUINHA-SOJA (80:20 OBTIDO PELO PROCESSO DE EXTRUSÃO

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SIN-HUEI WANG

2009-07-01

Full Text Available

Com o objetivo de obter um mingau semi-instantâneo para nutrição infantil, foi extrusada uma mistura de canjiquinha e soja (80:20 usando-se extrusor Brabender de dupla rosca com velocidade de alimentação constante de 20,8 kg/h, velocidade da rotação de parafuso de 100 rpm e diâmetro de matriz de 5 mm. Os perfis da temperatura de barril (TB foram: zona 1, 60°C (constante, zona 2, 90°C (constante, zona 3, 90, 110, 130 ou 150°C, e zona 4 (matriz 110, 130 ou 150°C. Os resultados mostraram que o aumento da TB na zona 3 causou um aumento na viscosidade inicial (VI, solubilidade de nitrogênio (SN e dispersibilidade de proteína (DP, porém uma diminuição na temperatura de viscosidade máxima (tºVmáx, viscosidade máxima (Vmáx , viscosidade mínima (Vmín e viscosidade final (VF das farinhas extrusadas de canjiquinha-soja (80:20. O aumento da TB na zona 4 resultou num aumento na VI, Vmáx, Vmín, SN e DP, porém numa diminuição na tºVmáx e VF. Os mingaus submetidos anteriormente às TBs em 130-130 e 130-150ºC nas zonas 3 e 4, respectivamente, apresentaram melhor aparência, consistência e sabor, sendo igualmente preferidos pelos consumidores. Não houve atividade do inibidor de tripsina nas farinhas extrusadas estudadas.

Risk factors associated with cognitions for late-onset depression based on anterior and posterior default mode sub-networks.

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Liu, Rui; Yue, Yingying; Hou, Zhenghua; Yuan, Yonggui; Wang, Qiao

2018-08-01

Abnormal functional connectivity (FC) in the default mode network (DMN) plays an important role in late-onset depression (LOD) patients. In this study, the risk predictors of LOD based on anterior and posterior DMN are explored. A total of 27 LOD patients and 40 healthy controls (HC) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive assessments. Firstly, FCs within DMN sub-networks were determined by placing seeds in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Secondly, multivariable logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for LOD patients. Finally, correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between risk factors and the cognitive value. Multivariable logistic regression showed that the FCs between the vmPFC and right middle temporal gyrus (MTG) (vmPFC-MTG_R), FCs between the vmPFC and left precuneus (PCu), and FCs between the PCC and left PCu (PCC-PCu_L) were the risk factors for LOD. Furthermore, FCs of the vmPFC-MTG_R and PCC-PCu_L correlated with processing speed (R = 0.35, P = 0.002; R = 0.32, P = 0.009), and FCs of the vmPFC-MTG_R correlated with semantic memory (R = 0.41, P = 0.001). The study was a cross-sectional study. The results may be potentially biased because of a small sample. In this study, we confirmed that LOD patients mainly present cognitive deficits in processing speed and semantic memory. Moreover, our findings further suggested that FCs within DMN sub-networks associated with cognitions were risk factors, which may be used for the prediction of LOD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dynamics of Membrane Potential Variation and Gene Expression Induced by Spodoptera littoralis, Myzus persicae, and Pseudomonas syringae in Arabidopsis

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Bricchi, Irene; Bertea, Cinzia M.; Occhipinti, Andrea; Paponov, Ivan A.; Maffei, Massimo E.

2012-01-01

Background Biotic stress induced by various herbivores and pathogens invokes plant responses involving different defense mechanisms. However, we do not know whether different biotic stresses share a common response or which signaling pathways are involved in responses to different biotic stresses. We investigated the common and specific responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to three biotic stress agents: Spodoptera littoralis, Myzus persicae, and the pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Methodology/Principal Findings We used electrophysiology to determine the plasma membrane potential (Vm) and we performed a gene microarray transcriptome analysis on Arabidopsis upon either herbivory or bacterial infection. Vm depolarization was induced by insect attack; however, the response was much more rapid to S. littoralis (30 min −2 h) than to M. persicae (4–6 h). M. persicae differentially regulated almost 10-fold more genes than by S. littoralis with an opposite regulation. M. persicae modulated genes involved in flavonoid, fatty acid, hormone, drug transport and chitin metabolism. S. littoralis regulated responses to heat, transcription and ion transport. The latest Vm depolarization (16 h) was found for P. syringae. The pathogen regulated responses to salicylate, jasmonate and to microorganisms. Despite this late response, the number of genes differentially regulated by P. syringae was closer to those regulated by S. littoralis than by M. persicae. Conclusions/Significance Arabidopsis plasma membranes respond with a Vm depolarization at times depending on the nature of biotic attack which allow setting a time point for comparative genome-wide analysis. A clear relationship between Vm depolarization and gene expression was found. At Vm depolarization timing, M. persicae regulates a wider array of Arabidopsis genes with a clear and distinct regulation than S. littoralis. An almost completely opposite regulation was observed between the aphid and the pathogen, with the former

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage does not impair the development and use of common ground in social interaction: implications for cognitive theory of mind.

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Gupta, Rupa; Tranel, Daniel; Duff, Melissa C

2012-01-01

During conversation, interactants draw on their shared communicative context and history ("common ground") to help decide what to say next, tailoring utterances based on their knowledge of what the listener knows. The use of common ground draws on an understanding of the thoughts and feelings of others to create and update a model of what is known by the other person, employing cognitive processes such as theory of mind. We tested the hypothesis that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a neural region involved in processing and interpreting social and emotional information, would be critical for the development and use of common ground. We studied seven patients with bilateral vmPFC damage and seven age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy comparison participants, each interacting with a familiar partner. Across 24 trials, participants verbally directed their partners how to arrange a set of 12 abstract tangram cards. Our hypothesis was not supported: the vmPFC and healthy comparison groups showed similar development and use of common ground, evident in reduction in time and words used to describe the cards, similar increases in the use of definite references (e.g., the horse), and comparable use of verbal play (playful language) in their interactions. These results argue against the idea that the vmPFC is critical for the development and use of common ground in social interaction. We propose that a cognitive and neuroanatomical bifurcation in theory of mind processes may explain this outcome. The vmPFC may be important for affective theory of mind (the ability to understand another's feelings); however, the development and use of common ground in social interaction may place higher demands on the ability to understand another's knowledge, or cognitive theory of mind, which may not require the vmPFC. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agro-Economic Optimization of Fertilizer Level and Rhizobium Strains for Enhanced Grain Yield in Mungbean (Vigna Radiata L.)

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Mansoor, M.; Elahi, M. E.; Islam, Z.; Ali, A.

2016-01-01

To explore the effect of PGPR for improvement in grain yield of mungbean, different levels of fertilizer (00:00, 20:50 and 20:70 kg N:P/sub 2/O/sub 5/ kg ha/sup -1/) were tested on four strains (CB 1015 Australia, Vm-L1, Vm-M1 and Vm-M2) at Agricultural Research Institute, Dera Ismail Khan. A Randomized Complete Block Design with split plot arrangement was used to conduct the experiment by keeping three fertilizer levels in the main plot and Rhizobium strains in sub-plot. The data were recorded for different parameters like number of branches plant/sup -1/, number of clusters plant/sup -1/, number of pods plant/sup -1/., number of grain pod/sup -1/, pod length (cm) and grain yield kg ha/sup -1/. The response of fertilizer levels and inoculation with Rhizobium strains were found significant in most of the parameters under study. The strain Vm-M1 produced the highest number of branches plant/sup -1/(5.42), number of clusters plant/sup -1/(22.92), number of pods plant/sup -1/(77.64), pod length (8.37 cm) when applied in combination of N:P/sub 2/O/sub 5/ at the rate of 20:70 and 20:50 kg ha/sup -1/. Although the grain yield (1421 kg ha/sup -1/) recorded in treatment (20:70 kg N:P/sub 2/O/sub 5/ ha/sup -1/ + Inoculation with strain Vm M1) was highest but economically the treatment (20:50 kg N:P/sub 2/O/sub 5/ ha/sup -1/ + inoculation with strain Vm M1) with net return of Rs. 13618 ha/sup -1/ and BCR of 2.52 was on top. (author)

Development of White Matter Microstructure and Intrinsic Functional Connectivity Between the Amygdala and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex: Associations With Anxiety and Depression.

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Jalbrzikowski, Maria; Larsen, Bart; Hallquist, Michael N; Foran, William; Calabro, Finnegan; Luna, Beatriz

2017-10-01

Connectivity between the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is compromised in multiple psychiatric disorders, many of which emerge during adolescence. To identify to what extent the deviations in amygdala-vmPFC maturation contribute to the onset of psychiatric disorders, it is essential to characterize amygdala-vmPFC connectivity changes during typical development. Using an accelerated cohort longitudinal design (1-3 time points, 10-25 years old, n = 246), we characterized developmental changes of the amygdala-vmPFC subregion functional and structural connectivity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging. Functional connectivity between the centromedial amygdala and rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), anterior vmPFC, and subgenual cingulate significantly decreased from late childhood to early adulthood in male and female subjects. Age-associated decreases were also observed between the basolateral amygdala and the rACC. Importantly, these findings were replicated in a separate cohort (10-22 years old, n = 327). Similarly, structural connectivity, as measured by quantitative anisotropy, significantly decreased with age in the same regions. Functional connectivity between the centromedial amygdala and the rACC was associated with structural connectivity in these same regions during early adulthood (22-25 years old). Finally, a novel time-varying coefficient analysis showed that increased centromedial amygdala-rACC functional connectivity was associated with greater anxiety and depression symptoms during early adulthood, while increased structural connectivity in centromedial amygdala-anterior vmPFC white matter was associated with greater anxiety/depression during late childhood. Specific developmental periods of functional and structural connectivity between the amygdala and the prefrontal systems may contribute to the emergence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and may play a critical role in

Occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields in the Polish Armed Forces.

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Sobiech, Jaromir; Kieliszek, Jarosław; Puta, Robert; Bartczak, Dagmara; Stankiewicz, Wanda

2017-06-19

Standard devices used by military personnel that may pose electromagnetic hazard include: radars, missile systems, radio navigation systems and radio transceivers. The aim of this study has been to evaluate the exposure of military personnel to electromagnetic fields. Occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields was analyzed in the work environment of personnel of 204 devices divided into 5 groups (surface-to-air missile system radars, aircraft and helicopters, communication devices, surveillance and height finder radars, airport radars and radio navigation systems). Measurements were carried out at indicators, device terminals, radio panels, above vehicle seats, in vehicle hatches, by cabinets containing high power vacuum tubes and other transmitter components, by transmission lines, connectors, etc. Portable radios emit the electric field strength between 20-80 V/m close to a human head. The manpack radio operator's exposure is 60-120 V/m. Inside vehicles with high frequency/very high frequency (HF/VHF) band radios, the electric field strength is between 7-30 V/m and inside the radar cabin it ranges between 9-20 V/m. Most of the personnel on ships are not exposed to the electromagnetic field from their own radar systems but rather by accidental exposure from the radar systems of other ships. Operators of surface-to-air missile systems are exposed to the electric field strength between 7-15 V/m and the personnel of non-directional radio beacons - 100-150 V/m. In 57% of military devices Polish soldiers work in the occupational protection zones. In 35% of cases, soldiers work in intermediate and hazardous zones and in 22% - only in the intermediate zone. In 43% of devices, military personnel are not exposed to electromagnetic field. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(4):565-577. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields in the Polish Armed Forces

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Jarosław Kieliszek

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Standard devices used by military personnel that may pose electromagnetic hazard include: radars, missile systems, radio navigation systems and radio transceivers. The aim of this study has been to evaluate the exposure of military personnel to electromagnetic fields. Material and Methods: Occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields was analyzed in the work environment of personnel of 204 devices divided into 5 groups (surface-to-air missile system radars, aircraft and helicopters, communication devices, surveillance and height finder radars, airport radars and radio navigation systems. Measurements were carried out at indicators, device terminals, radio panels, above vehicle seats, in vehicle hatches, by cabinets containing high power vacuum tubes and other transmitter components, by transmission lines, connectors, etc. Results: Portable radios emit the electric field strength between 20–80 V/m close to a human head. The manpack radio operator’s exposure is 60–120 V/m. Inside vehicles with high frequency/very high frequency (HF/VHF band radios, the electric field strength is between 7–30 V/m and inside the radar cabin it ranges between 9–20 V/m. Most of the personnel on ships are not exposed to the electromagnetic field from their own radar systems but rather by accidental exposure from the radar systems of other ships. Operators of surface-to-air missile systems are exposed to the electric field strength between 7–15 V/m and the personnel of non-directional radio beacons – 100–150 V/m. Conclusions: In 57% of military devices Polish soldiers work in the occupational protection zones. In 35% of cases, soldiers work in intermediate and hazardous zones and in 22% – only in the intermediate zone. In 43% of devices, military personnel are not exposed to electromagnetic field. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(4:565–577

Electronic Blending in Virtual Microscopy

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Maybury, Terrence S.; Farah, Camile S.

2010-01-01

Virtual microscopy (VM) is a relatively new technology that transforms the computer into a microscope. In essence, VM allows for the scanning and transfer of glass slides from light microscopy technology to the digital environment of the computer. This transition is also a function of the change from print knowledge to electronic knowledge, or as…

A novel artificial bee colony approach of live virtual machine migration policy using Bayes theorem.

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Xu, Gaochao; Ding, Yan; Zhao, Jia; Hu, Liang; Fu, Xiaodong

2013-01-01

Green cloud data center has become a research hotspot of virtualized cloud computing architecture. Since live virtual machine (VM) migration technology is widely used and studied in cloud computing, we have focused on the VM placement selection of live migration for power saving. We present a novel heuristic approach which is called PS-ABC. Its algorithm includes two parts. One is that it combines the artificial bee colony (ABC) idea with the uniform random initialization idea, the binary search idea, and Boltzmann selection policy to achieve an improved ABC-based approach with better global exploration's ability and local exploitation's ability. The other one is that it uses the Bayes theorem to further optimize the improved ABC-based process to faster get the final optimal solution. As a result, the whole approach achieves a longer-term efficient optimization for power saving. The experimental results demonstrate that PS-ABC evidently reduces the total incremental power consumption and better protects the performance of VM running and migrating compared with the existing research. It makes the result of live VM migration more high-effective and meaningful.

The Introduction of a New Virtual Microscope into the eLearning Platform of the Medical University of Graz

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Herwig Erich Rehatschek

2011-11-01

Full Text Available In 2002 the Medical University of Graz (MUG introduced its first Learning Management System (LMS. One of the first applications developed was a virtual microscope 1.0 (VM 1.0 to be used by students via a standard web browser. The basic idea was to offer the functionality of a microscope via an interactive application which is integrated within the LMS. The main advantages of that concept were saving costs, enhancing the flexibility for students and utilizing additional features and possibilities offered by new media. Cost saving was achieved by replacing hundreds of expensive physical microscopes by the virtual microscope, which can be used on any PC with a standard web browser. After more than 8 years the technology as well as the functionality of the VM 1.0 was now out-dated. We describe the stages to introduce a VM 2.0 within VMC/Moodle in order to help other universities who want to introduce a VM for their students to speed up the decision process and to avoid possible traps.

Thermophysical properties of binary blends of cyclohexane with some esters

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Pradhan Rajendra

2017-01-01

Full Text Available From the densities (ρ and viscosities (η measured for three binary blends consisting of methyl acetate (MA, ethyl acetate (EA and methyl salicylate (MS over the entire composition range with cyclohexane (CH at 298.15–318.15 K under atmospheric pressure, the excess molar volumes (VEm and excess viscosities (ηE were derived. In addition, the excess isentropic compressibilities (KEs excess intermolecular free lengths (LEf and excess molar refractions (R Em were derived from measured ultrasonic speeds of sound (u and refractive indices (nD for the binary blends at 298.15 K. Various derived properties are discussed in terms of molecular interactions and structural effects. Partial molar volumes ( 0 Vm,1 and 0 Vm,2 and excess partial molar volumes ( 0,E Vm,1 and 0,E Vm,2 at infinite dilution are also discussed in terms of volume changes in the blends. Furthermore, the excess molar volumes (V Em and viscosities (η of the blends were correlated with the Prigogine–Flory–Paterson (PFP theory and the Peng–Robinson Equation of State (PR-EOS.

The amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex: functional contributions and dysfunction in psychopathy.

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Blair, R J R

2008-08-12

The current paper examines the functional contributions of the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the evidence that the functioning of these systems is compromised in individuals with psychopathy. The amygdala is critical for the formation of stimulus-reinforcement associations, both punishment and reward based, and the processing of emotional expressions. vmPFC is critical for the representation of reinforcement expectancies and, owing to this, decision making. Neuropsychological and neuroimaging data from individuals with psychopathy are examined. It is concluded that these critical functions of the amygdala and vmPFC, and their interaction, are compromised in individuals with the disorder. It is argued that these impairments lead to the development of psychopathy.

ERNIE performance with TSA portals Initial Results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Labov, S. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2018-01-05

This project extends the “Enhanced Radiological Nuclear Inspection and Evaluation” (ERNIE) system developed with CBP and DNDO to improve performance of PVT-based Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs). ERNIE was designed to be used with any RPM system. The first implementation was with the SAIC (Leidos) RPM-8 systems. In this project, we are demonstrating how effective the ERNIE approach can be when applied to the VM250 TSA portals used in NSDD programs. Part of the challenge in adapting ERNIE to handle VM250 portals is the lack of gamma spectral information. We report here on the first results showing how the ERNIE analysis can improve analysis of measurements with the VM250 RPMs.

Watch This! A Guide to Implementing Video Modeling in the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Wynkoop, Kaylee Stahr

2016-01-01

The video modeling (VM) teaching strategy is one in which a student watches a video of someone performing a specific behavior, skill, or task and is then expected to complete the behavior, skill, or task. This column discusses the variety of ways in which VM has been documented within the literature and supports teacher interest in the strategy by…

Influence of knee joint position and sex on vastus medialis regional architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallina, Alessio; Render, Jacqueline N; Santos, Jacquelyne; Shah, Hershal; Taylor, Dayna; Tomlin, Travis; Garland, S Jayne

2018-06-01

Ultrasound imaging was used to investigate vastus medialis (VM) architecture in 10 males and 10 females at different knee angles. Increase in muscle thickness occurs predominantly when the knee angle is changed from 0° (full extension) and 45° (p Sex differences in the VM architecture can be observed in the distal (p 0.11).

Virtual Mirror gaming in libraries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Speelman, M.; Kröse, B.; Nijholt, A.; Poppe, R.

2008-01-01

This paper presents a study on a natural interface game in the context of a library. We developed a camera-based Virtual Mirror (VM) game, in which the player can see himself on the screen as if he looks at a mirror image. We present an overview of the different aspects of VM games and technologies

Prophylactic treatment of vestibular migraine

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Márcio Cavalcante Salmito

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Vestibular migraine (VM is now accepted as a common cause of episodic vertigo. Treatment of VM involves two situations: the vestibular symptom attacks and the period between attacks. For the latter, some prophylaxis methods can be used. The current recommendation is to use the same prophylactic drugs used for migraines, including β-blockers, antidepressants and anticonvulsants. The recent diagnostic definition of vestibular migraine makes the number of studies on its treatment scarce. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic treatment used in patients from a VM outpatient clinic. Methods: Review of medical records from patients with VM according to the criteria of the Bárány Society/International Headache Society of 2012 criteria. The drugs used in the treatment and treatment response obtained through the visual analog scale (VAS for dizziness and headache were assessed. The pre and post-treatment VAS scores were compared (the improvement was evaluated together and individually, per drug used. Associations with clinical subgroups of patients were also assessed. Results: Of the 88 assessed records, 47 were eligible. We included patients that met the diagnostic criteria for VM and excluded those whose medical records were illegible and those of patients with other disorders causing dizziness and/or headache that did not meet the 2012 criteria for VM. 80.9% of the patients showed improvement with prophylaxis (p < 0.001. Amitriptyline, Flunarizine, Propranolol and Topiramate improved vestibular symptoms (p < 0.001 and headache (p < 0.015. The four drugs were effective in a statistically significant manner. There was a positive statistical association between the time of vestibular symptoms and clinical improvement. There was no additional benefit in hypertensive patients who used antihypertensive drugs as prophylaxis or depressed patients who used antidepressants in relation to other prophylactic drugs. Drug

Management of supraventricular tachycardia using the Valsalva manoeuvre: a historical review and summary of published evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Gavin

2012-12-01

Use of the Valsalva manoeuvre (VM) as a first-line management tool for the reversion of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) in both emergency medicine and prehospital emergency-care settings has presented challenges, requiring continuous examination and refinement to define both its appropriateness and effectiveness. This report details the evolution of knowledge related to SVT and the historical evolution and controversies associated with VM; it also highlights the ongoing development of an evidence-based model of practice for the management of SVT in the emergency medicine and prehospital emergency-care settings. A two-part review of the literature using electronic medical databases was conducted. Other relevant texts or articles unavailable within the electronic search were also identified. Part 1 of the search criteria identified the historical evolution of the pathophysiology of SVT, whereas part 2 identified the use of VM for the clinical management of SVT. Part 1 of the review identified a total of 38 articles with eight meeting the inclusion criteria, and part 2 of the review identified a total of 44 articles with 17 meeting the inclusion criteria. An evidence-based model of practice requires clarification. The differentiation of nodal re-entrant tachycardias may, with further research, lead to identification of the specificity of VM in reversion of SVT during the early stages of arrhythmia. There is a need for further prehospital and emergency department research to quantify an evidence-based approach to VM.

Running jobs in the vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McNab, A; Stagni, F; Garcia, M Ubeda

2014-01-01

We present a model for the operation of computing nodes at a site using Virtual Machines (VMs), in which VMs are created and contextualized for experiments by the site itself. For the experiment, these VMs appear to be produced spontaneously 'in the vacuum' rather having to ask the site to create each one. This model takes advantage of the existing pilot job frameworks adopted by many experiments. In the Vacuum model, the contextualization process starts a job agent within the VM and real jobs are fetched from the central task queue as normal. An implementation of the Vacuum scheme, Vac, is presented in which a VM factory runs on each physical worker node to create and contextualize its set of VMs. With this system, each node's VM factory can decide which experiments' VMs to run, based on site-wide target shares and on a peer-to-peer protocol in which the site's VM factories query each other to discover which VM types they are running. A property of this system is that there is no gate keeper service, head node, or batch system accepting and then directing jobs to particular worker nodes, avoiding several central points of failure. Finally, we describe tests of the Vac system using jobs from the central LHCb task queue, using the same contextualization procedure for VMs developed by LHCb for Clouds.

Use of portable exposimeters to monitor radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure in the everyday environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagar, Sanjay; Struchen, Benjamin; Finta, Viktoria; Eeftens, Marloes; Röösli, Martin

2016-10-01

Spatial and temporal distribution of radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) levels in the environment is highly heterogeneous. It is thus not entirely clear how to monitor spatial variability and temporal trends of RF-EMF exposure levels in the environment in a representative and efficient manner. The aim of this study was to test a monitoring protocol for RF-EMF measurements in public areas using portable devices. Using the ExpoM-RF devices mounted on a backpack, we have conducted RF-EMF measurements by walking through 51 different outdoor microenvironments from 20 different municipalities in Switzerland: 5 different city centers, 5 central residential areas, 5 non-central residential areas, 15 rural residential areas, 15 rural centers and 6 industrial areas. Measurements in public transport (buses, trains, trams) were collected when traveling between the areas. Measurements were conducted between 25th March and 11th July 2014. In order to evaluate spatial representativity within one microenvironment, we measured two crossing paths of about 1km in length in each microenvironment. To evaluate repeatability, measurements in each microenvironment were repeated after two to four months on the same paths. Mean RF-EMF exposure (sum of 15 main frequency bands between 87.5 and 5,875MHz) was 0.53V/m in industrial zones, 0.47V/m in city centers, 0.32V/m in central residential areas, 0.25V/m non-central residential areas, 0.23V/m in rural centers and rural residential areas, 0.69V/m in trams, 0.46V/m in trains and 0.39V/m in buses. Major exposure contribution at outdoor locations was from mobile phone base stations (>80% for all outdoor areas with respect to the power density scale). Temporal correlation between first and second measurement of each area was high: 0.89 for total RF-EMF, 0.90 for all five mobile phone downlink bands combined, 0.51 for all five uplink bands combined and 0.79 for broadcasting. Spearman correlation between arithmetic mean values of the

Security Tagged Architecture Co-Design (STACD)

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-01

the FPGA system. • CAD Infrastructure: Setup a standard-cell Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) flow for the IBM 65nm process. Develop a...Warfield, "Xen and the Art of virtualization," in Proc. 19th ACM SOSP, 2003. [12] R. J. Creasy, "The origin of the VM/370 Time-sharing System," IBM ...M. Watson , J. Woodruff, P. G. Neumann, S. W. Moore, J. Anderson, D. Chisnall, N. Dave, B. Davis, K. Gudka, B. Laurie, S. J. Murdoch, R. Norton, M

Characterization and Targeting of the Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Subpopulation in Ovarian Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

2016-10-01

Grizzle W, Landen C, Partridge EE, Rice VM, Reddy ES, Rao VN. Epithelial ovarian cancer: An overview. World J Transl Med. 2014 Apr 12;3(1):1-8. PMID...malignant human colonic stem cells (SC) and tracks SC overpopulation during colon tumorigenesis. Cancer Res 2009;69:3382–9. 16. Carpentino JE, HynesMJ...the TGF-b coreceptor endoglin in cancer. Sci World J 2010;10:2367–84. 40. Henriksen R, Gobl A, Wilander E, Oberg K, Miyazono K, Funa K. Expression and

Noncontiguous finished genome sequence and description of Virgibacillus massiliensis sp. nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from human gut

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S. Khelaifia

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Strain Vm-5T was isolated from the stool specimen of a 10-year-old Amazonian boy. This bacterium is a Gram-positive, strictly aerobic rod, motile by a polar flagellum. Here we describe its phenotypic characteristics and complete genome sequence. The 4 353 177 bp long genome exhibits a G + C content of 36.87% and contains 4394 protein-coding and 125 predicted RNA genes. Phylogenetically and genetically, strain Vm-c is a member of the genus Virgibacillus but is distinct enough to be classified as a new species. We propose the creation of V. massiliensis sp. nov., whose type strain is strain Vm-5T (CSUR P971 = DSM 28587.

Mobile phone mast effects on common frog (Rana temporaria) tadpoles: the city turned into a laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Balmori, Alfonso

2010-06-01

An experiment has been made exposing eggs and tadpoles of the common frog (Rana temporaria) to electromagnetic radiation from several mobile (cell) phone antennae located at a distance of 140 meters. The experiment lasted two months, from the egg phase until an advanced phase of tadpole prior to metamorphosis. Measurements of electric field intensity (radiofrequencies and microwaves) in V/m obtained with three different devices were 1.8 to 3.5 V/m. In the exposed group (n = 70), low coordination of movements, an asynchronous growth, resulting in both big and small tadpoles, and a high mortality (90%) was observed. Regarding the control group (n = 70) under the same conditions but inside a Faraday cage, the coordination of movements was normal, the development was synchronous, and a mortality of 4.2% was obtained. These results indicate that radiation emitted by phone masts in a real situation may affect the development and may cause an increase in mortality of exposed tadpoles. This research may have huge implications for the natural world, which is now exposed to high microwave radiation levels from a multitude of phone masts.

Clinical and laboratory evaluation of squamous cell carcinoma of the prepuce with the invasion of the spinal cord in a horse. A case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo George Mungai Chacur

2014-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT. Chacur M.G.M., Agostinho B.F., Pessoa V.M. & Yamasaki L.P. [Clinical and laboratory evaluation of squamous cell carcinoma of the prepuce with the invasion of the spinal cord in a horse. A case report.] Avalia- ção clínica e laboratorial do carcinoma das células escamosas no prepúcio com invasão da coluna vertebral em equino. Relato de Caso. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 36(1:24-28, 2014. Departamento de Clínicas e Reprodução Animal, Universidade do Oeste Paulista, Rod. Raposo Tavares, Km 572, Campus II, Presidente Prudente, SP 19067-175, Brasil. E-mail: chacur@unoeste.br The squamous cell carcinoma is a malignant tumor that originates in the epidermal layer skin from the differentiation of keratinocytes. It has high incidence in dogs, cats, horses and cattle. Horses often occur in mucocutaneous junctions, areas like penis and foreskin are the most affected. The incidence is higher in castrated equines with more than 16 years old. This case describes a castrated crossbred horse, actually with 7 years old. The animal presented a mass in foreskin region with evolution of three months. Diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma by aspirative cytology and biopsy. Surgical tumor mass excision was chosen as treatment. Two months after surgery there was local recurrence of tumor. Euthanasia was performed and a necropsy later in which was found the tumor invaded the adjacent musculature extending from the spine in sacral region between vertebres S1 and S2. Therefore is important to perform tests such as aspirative cytology and biopsy to diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma. To prognosis the presence of metastasis must be investigate.

A Novel Artificial Bee Colony Approach of Live Virtual Machine Migration Policy Using Bayes Theorem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gaochao Xu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Green cloud data center has become a research hotspot of virtualized cloud computing architecture. Since live virtual machine (VM migration technology is widely used and studied in cloud computing, we have focused on the VM placement selection of live migration for power saving. We present a novel heuristic approach which is called PS-ABC. Its algorithm includes two parts. One is that it combines the artificial bee colony (ABC idea with the uniform random initialization idea, the binary search idea, and Boltzmann selection policy to achieve an improved ABC-based approach with better global exploration’s ability and local exploitation’s ability. The other one is that it uses the Bayes theorem to further optimize the improved ABC-based process to faster get the final optimal solution. As a result, the whole approach achieves a longer-term efficient optimization for power saving. The experimental results demonstrate that PS-ABC evidently reduces the total incremental power consumption and better protects the performance of VM running and migrating compared with the existing research. It makes the result of live VM migration more high-effective and meaningful.

Research on Improved Control Strategy for STATCOM Based on Virtual Matrix Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Xudong

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Fast and accurate detection of reactive current is the precondition for the realization of static synchronous compensator (STATCOM reactive power compensation and harmonic suppression. Aiming at deviation and delay of the traditional reactive current detection algorithm with phase-locked loop (PLL and low-pass filter (LPF of STATCOM, a novel improved reactive current detection algorithm without PLL is proposed, in which the virtual matrix (VM is built to replace the original PLL, and improved current average value filter is used to realize the function of LPF, so as to improve the real-time performance and robustness of reactive current detection. The realization process of VM detection method is derived in this paper, and improved control strategy for STATCOM is designed based on the VM detection method. Simulation analysis of the proposed detection algorithm and control strategy is conducted in Matlab platform so as to verify the correctness and effectiveness of the control strategy. The VM detection has the advantages of simple structure, fast response and easy for digital realization, which provides reference for the improvement of reactive power compensation precision for STATCOM.

Exposure to power frequency electromagnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skotte, J.

1993-01-01

The purpose was to asses personal exposure to power frequency electromagnetic fields in Denmark. Exposure to electrical and magnetic 50 Hz fields were measured with personal dosimeters in periods of 24 hours covering both occupational and residential environments. The study included both highly exposed and 'normal' exposed jobs. Measurements were carried out with dosimeters, which sample electrical and magnetic fields every 5 sec. Participants also wore the dosimeter during transportation. The dynamic range of the dosimeters was 0.01-200 μT and 0.6-10000 V/m. The highest average exposure in homes near high power lines was 2.24 μT. In most homes without nearby high power lines the average exposure was below 0.05 μT. Average values of '24-hour-dose' (μT times hours) for the generator facility, transmission line and substation workers were approximately the same as for the people living near high power lines (5 μT x hours). Electric field measurements with personal dosimeters involve several factors of uncertainty, as the body, posture, position of dosimeter etc. influence the results. The highest exposed groups were transmission line workers (GM: 44 V/m) and substation workers (GM: 23 V/m) but there were large variations (GSD: 4.7-4.8). In the work time the exposure level was the same for office workers and workers in the industry groups (GM: 12-13 V/m). In homes near high power lines (GM: 23 V/m) there was a non-significant tendency to higher exposure compared to homes without nearby high power lines. (AB) (11 refs.)

Eliciting Cervical Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potentials by Bone-Conducted Vibration via Various Tapping Sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Chia-Chen; Young, Yi-Ho

2016-01-01

This study compared bone-conducted vibration (BCV) cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) via tapping at various skull sites in healthy subjects and patients with vestibular migraine (VM) to optimize stimulation conditions. Twenty healthy subjects underwent a series of cVEMP tests by BCV tapping via a minishaker at the Fz (forehead), Cz (vertex), and inion (occiput) sites in a randomized order of tapping sites. Another 20 VM patients were also enrolled in this study for comparison. All 20 healthy subjects had clear BCV cVEMPs when tapping at the inion (100%) or Cz (100%), but not at the Fz (75%). Mean p13 and n23 latencies from the Cz tapping were significantly longer than those from the Fz tapping, but not longer than those from the inion tapping. Unlike healthy subjects, tapping at the Cz (95%) elicited a significantly higher response rate of present cVEMPs than tapping at the inion (78%) in 20 VM patients (40 ears), because seven of nine VM ears with absent cVEMPs by inion tapping turned out to be present cVEMPs by Cz tapping. While both inion and Cz tapping elicited 100% response rate of cVEMPs for healthy individuals, Cz tapping had a higher response rate of cVEMPs than inion tapping for the VM group. In cases of total loss of saccular function, cVEMPs could not be activated by either inion or Cz tapping. However, if residual saccular function remains, Cz tapping may activate saccular afferents more efficiently than inion tapping.

Anger Modulates Influence Hierarchies Within and Between Emotional Reactivity and Regulation Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob, Yael; Gilam, Gadi; Lin, Tamar; Raz, Gal; Hendler, Talma

2018-01-01

Emotion regulation is hypothesized to be mediated by the interactions between emotional reactivity and regulation networks during the dynamic unfolding of the emotional episode. Yet, it remains unclear how to delineate the effective relationships between these networks. In this study, we examined the aforementioned networks’ information flow hierarchy during viewing of an anger provoking movie excerpt. Anger regulation is particularly essential for averting individuals from aggression and violence, thus improving prosocial behavior. Using subjective ratings of anger intensity we differentiated between low and high anger periods of the film. We then applied the Dependency Network Analysis (DEPNA), a newly developed graph theory method to quantify networks’ node importance during the two anger periods. The DEPNA analysis revealed that the impact of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was higher in the high anger condition, particularly within the regulation network and on the connections between the reactivity and regulation networks. We further showed that higher levels of vmPFC impact on the regulation network were associated with lower subjective anger intensity during the high-anger cinematic period, and lower trait anger levels. Supporting and replicating previous findings, these results emphasize the previously acknowledged central role of vmPFC in modulating negative affect. We further show that the impact of the vmPFC relies on its correlational influence on the connectivity between reactivity and regulation networks. More importantly, the hierarchy network analysis revealed a link between connectivity patterns of the vmPFC and individual differences in anger reactivity and trait, suggesting its potential therapeutic role. PMID:29681803

Alterations in white matter microstructure as vulnerability factors and acquired signs of traffic accident-induced PTSD.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yawen Sun

Full Text Available It remains unclear whether white matter (WM changes found in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD patients are stress-induced or precursors for vulnerability. The current study aimed to identify susceptibility factors relating to the development of PTSD and to examine the ability of these factors to predict the course of longitudinal PTSD. Sixty two victims who had experienced traffic accidents underwent diffusion tensor imaging using a 3.0T MRI system within 2 days after their accidents. Of these, 21 were diagnosed with PTSD at 1 or 6 months using the Clinician-Administered Ptsd Scale (CAPS. Then, 11 trauma-exposed victims with PTSD underwent the second MRI scan. Compared with the victims without PTSD, the victims with PTSD showed decreased fractional anisotropy (FA in WM of the anterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC, temporal lobes and midbrain, and increased mean diffusivity (MD in the vmPFC within 2 days after the traumatic event. Importantly, decreased FA of the vmPFC in the acute phase predicted greater future CAPS scores. In addition, we found decreased FA in the insula in the follow-up scan in the victims with PTSD, which correlated with the decreased FA of the vmPFC in their baseline scan. These results suggested that the WM might have changed within 2 days after the traumatic event in the individuals who would later develop PTSD. Furthermore, decreased FA of the vmPFC could be a possible vulnerability marker predicting future development of PTSD and may provide an outcome prediction of the acquired signs.

Sclerotherapy of Diffuse and Infiltrative Venous Malformations of the Hand and Distal Forearm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guevara, Carlos J., E-mail: guevarac@mir.wustl.edu; Gonzalez-Araiza, Guillermo; Kim, Seung K.; Sheybani, Elizabeth; Darcy, Michael D. [Washington University School of Medicine, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (United States)

2016-05-15

PurposeVenous malformations (VM) involving the hand and forearm often lead to chronic pain and dysfunction, and the threshold for treatment is high due to the risk of nerve and skin damage, functional deterioration and compartment syndrome. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that sclerotherapy of diffuse and infiltrative VM of the hand is a safe and effective therapy.Materials and MethodsA retrospective review of all patients with diffuse and infiltrative VM of the hand and forearm treated with sclerotherapy from 2001 to 2014 was conducted. All VM were diagnosed during the clinical visit by a combination of physical examination and imaging. Sclerotherapy was performed under imaging guidance using ethanol and/or sodium tetradecyl sulfate foam. Clinical notes were reviewed for signs of treatment response and complications, including skin blistering and nerve injury.ResultsSeventeen patients underwent a total of 40 sclerotherapy procedures. Patients were treated for pain (76 %), swelling (29 %) or paresthesias (6 %). Treatments utilized ethanol (70 %), sodium tetradecyl sulfate foam (22.5 %) or a combination of these (7.5 %). Twenty-four percent of patients had complete resolution of symptoms, 24 % had partial relief of symptoms without need for further intervention, and 35 % had some improvement after initial treatment but required additional treatments. Two skin complications were noted, both of which resolved. No motor or sensory loss was reported.ConclusionSclerotherapy is a safe and effective therapy for VM of the hand with over 83 % of patients experiencing relief.

Sclerotherapy of Diffuse and Infiltrative Venous Malformations of the Hand and Distal Forearm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guevara, Carlos J.; Gonzalez-Araiza, Guillermo; Kim, Seung K.; Sheybani, Elizabeth; Darcy, Michael D.

2016-01-01

PurposeVenous malformations (VM) involving the hand and forearm often lead to chronic pain and dysfunction, and the threshold for treatment is high due to the risk of nerve and skin damage, functional deterioration and compartment syndrome. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that sclerotherapy of diffuse and infiltrative VM of the hand is a safe and effective therapy.Materials and MethodsA retrospective review of all patients with diffuse and infiltrative VM of the hand and forearm treated with sclerotherapy from 2001 to 2014 was conducted. All VM were diagnosed during the clinical visit by a combination of physical examination and imaging. Sclerotherapy was performed under imaging guidance using ethanol and/or sodium tetradecyl sulfate foam. Clinical notes were reviewed for signs of treatment response and complications, including skin blistering and nerve injury.ResultsSeventeen patients underwent a total of 40 sclerotherapy procedures. Patients were treated for pain (76 %), swelling (29 %) or paresthesias (6 %). Treatments utilized ethanol (70 %), sodium tetradecyl sulfate foam (22.5 %) or a combination of these (7.5 %). Twenty-four percent of patients had complete resolution of symptoms, 24 % had partial relief of symptoms without need for further intervention, and 35 % had some improvement after initial treatment but required additional treatments. Two skin complications were noted, both of which resolved. No motor or sensory loss was reported.ConclusionSclerotherapy is a safe and effective therapy for VM of the hand with over 83 % of patients experiencing relief.

The Neural Correlates of Mindful Awareness: A Possible Buffering Effect on Anxiety-Related Reduction in Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Hakamata, Yuko; Iwase, Mikio; Kato, Takashi; Senda, Kohei; Inada, Toshiya

2013-01-01

Background Human personality consists of two fundamental elements character and temperament. Character allays automatic and preconceptual emotional responses determined by temperament. However, the neurobiological basis of character and its interplay with temperament remain elusive. Here, we examined character-temperament interplay and explored the neural basis of character, with a particular focus on the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex extending to a ventromedial portion of the prefrontal cortex (sgACC/vmPFC). Methods Resting brain glucose metabolism (GM) was measured using [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in 140 healthy adults. Personality traits were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory. Regions of interest (ROI) analysis and whole-brain analysis were performed to examine a combination effect of temperament and character on the sgACC/vmPFC and to explore the neural correlates of character, respectively. Results Harm avoidance (HA), a temperament trait (i.e., depressive, anxious, vulnerable), showed a significant negative impact on the sgACC/vmPFC GM, whereas self-transcendence (ST), a character trait (i.e., intuitive, judicious, spiritual), exhibited a significant positive effect on GM in the same region (HA β = −0.248, p = 0.003; ST: β = 0.250, p = 0.003). In addition, when coupled with strong ST, individuals with strong HA maintained the sgACC/vmPFC GM level comparable to the level of those with low scores on both HA and ST. Furthermore, exploratory whole-brain analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between ST and sgACC/vmPFC GM (peak voxel at x = −8, y = 32, z = −8, k = 423, Z = 4.41, corrected p FDR = 0.030). Conclusion The current findings indicate that the sgACC/vmPFC might play a critical role in mindful awareness to something beyond as well as in emotional regulation. Developing a sense of mindfulness may temper exaggerated emotional responses in

The neural correlates of mindful awareness: a possible buffering effect on anxiety-related reduction in subgenual anterior cingulate cortex activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hakamata, Yuko; Iwase, Mikio; Kato, Takashi; Senda, Kohei; Inada, Toshiya

2013-01-01

Human personality consists of two fundamental elements character and temperament. Character allays automatic and preconceptual emotional responses determined by temperament. However, the neurobiological basis of character and its interplay with temperament remain elusive. Here, we examined character-temperament interplay and explored the neural basis of character, with a particular focus on the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex extending to a ventromedial portion of the prefrontal cortex (sgACC/vmPFC). Resting brain glucose metabolism (GM) was measured using [(18)F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in 140 healthy adults. Personality traits were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory. Regions of interest (ROI) analysis and whole-brain analysis were performed to examine a combination effect of temperament and character on the sgACC/vmPFC and to explore the neural correlates of character, respectively. Harm avoidance (HA), a temperament trait (i.e., depressive, anxious, vulnerable), showed a significant negative impact on the sgACC/vmPFC GM, whereas self-transcendence (ST), a character trait (i.e., intuitive, judicious, spiritual), exhibited a significant positive effect on GM in the same region (HA β = -0.248, p = 0.003; ST: β = 0.250, p = 0.003). In addition, when coupled with strong ST, individuals with strong HA maintained the sgACC/vmPFC GM level comparable to the level of those with low scores on both HA and ST. Furthermore, exploratory whole-brain analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between ST and sgACC/vmPFC GM (peak voxel at x = -8, y = 32, z = -8, k = 423, Z = 4.41, corrected p (FDR) = 0.030). The current findings indicate that the sgACC/vmPFC might play a critical role in mindful awareness to something beyond as well as in emotional regulation. Developing a sense of mindfulness may temper exaggerated emotional responses in individuals with a risk for or having

In vivo effect of sex steroids on uptake of 3H-leucine by female mouse brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seiki, Kanji; Haruki, Yasuo; Imanishi, Yoshio

1978-01-01

In vivo effects of the sex steroids estrogen and progesterone on 3 H-leucine uptake by the brain of mature ovariectomized mice were examined. Animals were divided into three groups: group 1, consisting of control animals treated with sesame oil, group 2, animals treated with estrogen, and group 3, animals first treated with estrogen and then with progesterone. Each group was given a single i.p. injection of 3 H-leucine 2 hr after the last hormonal treatment, and sacrificed 2 hr later. Intensity of the uptake of radiolabeled leucine was measured by counting the number of reduced silver grains over cells in various brain regions using an autoradiographic technique. Group 1 showed a relatively high uptake in the supraoptic nucleus, paraventricular nucleus (PV) and ventromedial nucleus (VM) when compared with that in the remaining hypothalamic nuclei examined. Group 2 showed a significant enhancement of the uptake in all hypothalamic regions except the preoptic periventricular nucleus (PPV) when compared with that in group 1. Group 3 showed enhancement of the uptake in all hypothalamic nuclei when compared with that in group 1. However, only the PV, PPV, VM and periventricular arcuate nucleus revealed a significantly higher uptake than the respective nuclei in group 2. The remaining nuclei showed no change in uptake. Uptake by cells in the ependymal cells and cerebral cortex remained unchanged after hormonal treatment. The present results suggest that in female mice estrogen and estrogen plus progesterone stimulate protein synthesis in most of the hypothalamic nuclei and that the progesterone effect on protein synthesis is greatly influenced by estrogen-priming. (auth.)

Generation of virtual monochromatic CBCT from dual kV/MV beam projections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Hao; Liu, Bo; Yin, Fang-Fang

2013-01-01

Purpose: To develop a novel on-board imaging technique which allows generation of virtual monochromatic (VM) cone-beam CT (CBCT) with a selected energy from combined kilovoltage (kV)/megavoltage (MV) beam projections. Methods: With the current orthogonal kV/MV imaging hardware equipped in modern linear accelerators, both MV projections (from gantry angle of 0°–100°) and kV projections (90°–200°) were acquired as gantry rotated a total of 110°. A selected range of overlap projections between 90° to 100° were then decomposed into two material projections using experimentally determined parameters from orthogonally stacked aluminum and acrylic step-wedges. Given attenuation coefficients of aluminum and acrylic at a predetermined energy, one set of VM projections could be synthesized from two corresponding sets of decomposed projections. Two linear functions were generated using projection information at overlap angles to convert kV and MV projections at nonoverlap angles to approximate VM projections for CBCT reconstruction. The contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) were calculated for different inserts in VM CBCTs of a CatPhan phantom with various selected energies and compared with those in kV and MV CBCTs. The effect of overlap projection number on CNR was evaluated. Additionally, the effect of beam orientation was studied by scanning the CatPhan sandwiched with two 5 cm solid-water phantoms on both lateral sides and an electronic density phantom with two metal bolt inserts. Results: Proper selection of VM energy [30 and 40 keV for low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polymethylpentene, 2 MeV for Delrin] provided comparable or even better CNR results as compared with kV or MV CBCT. An increased number of overlap kV and MV projection demonstrated only marginal improvements of CNR for different inserts (with the exception of LDPE) and therefore one projection overlap was found to be sufficient for the CatPhan study. It was also evident that the optimal CBCT image

Visceral larvae as a predictive index of the overall level of fish batch infection in European anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus): A rapid procedure for Food Business Operators to assess marketability.

Science.gov (United States)

Guardone, L; Nucera, D; Pergola, V; Costanzo, F; Costa, E; Tinacci, L; Guidi, A; Armani, A

2017-06-05

The European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), one of the most important pelagic fish resources in the Mediterranean Sea, is frequently infected by anisakid larvae. Food Business Operators (FBOs) should use appropriate sampling plans and analytical methods to avoid commercialization of massively infected batches and reduce the risk of transmission of viable zoonotic larvae. In this study, performed at FishLab (Department of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Pisa) during 2016, an official sampling plan was associated with a digestion protocol for the inspection of anchovies. Considering that anisakid larvae are usually located in the fish visceral cavity and in the adjacent muscles (VM), this part was analyzed. In particular, we assessed the reliability of the digestion of a subsample of 150g (±30g) of VM, randomly collected from 29 specimens, in estimating the marketability of the anchovies' batch. Fifty-seven samples of 29 anchovies were collected. Each anchovy was sectioned to separate VM. All the subsamples were digested, and visible larvae counted. A high correlation between the number of larvae in VM regions and in the total batch was observed, indicating a very significant contribution of the VM region on total number of parasites. The Mean Abundance (MA) was used to assess the batch marketability according to a threshold calculated on the basis of the maximum number of nematodes tolerated per sample. Considering that the MA can be calculated only when the number of examined specimens is known, the number of visible Larvae per gram of tissue (LpG) was calculated on 150g (±30g) of VM subsamples. A LpG marketability threshold was calculated dividing the maximum number of tolerated nematodes by the average weight of a sample of 29 anchovies calculated considering data available in literature. To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the LpG threshold, the marketability of 57 batches assessed on the basis of the MA threshold was assumed as the gold

Benzimidazole condensed ring systems 10 (1). Synthesis and cytotoxic activity of some pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles.

Science.gov (United States)

Badawey, E S; Kappe, T

1995-01-01

As a part of research project on the synthesis of a number of pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole derivatives with possible antineoplastic activity and as a result of the interesting antineoplastic activity recorded for one such compounds (NSC 649900), some new pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles were prepared and evaluated for such activity. Compound (11, NSC 660334) exhibited a moderate in vitro antineoplastic activity especially against most of the leukemia cell lines, while compound (10, VM30309) showed a good cytotoxic activity against Artina salina larvae (IC50 = 1.75 micrograms/ml).

Utility of whole slide imaging and virtual microscopy in prostate pathology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Camparo, Philippe; Egevad, Lars; Algaba, Ferran

2012-01-01

Whole slide imaging (WSI) has been used in conjunction with virtual microscopy (VM) for training or proficiency testing purposes, multicentre research, remote frozen section diagnosis and to seek specialist second opinion in a number of organ systems. The feasibility of using WSI/VM for routine...... to examine images at different magnifications as well as to view histology and immunohistochemistry side-by-side on the screen. Use of WSI/VM would also solve the difficulty in obtaining multiple identical copies of small lesions in prostate biopsies for teaching and proficiency testing. It would also permit...... delay in presentation of images on the screen may be very disturbing for a pathologist used to the rapid viewing of glass slides under a microscope. However, these problems are likely to be overcome by technological advances in the future....

Global Detection of Live Virtual Machine Migration Based on Cellular Neural Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kang Xie

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In order to meet the demands of operation monitoring of large scale, autoscaling, and heterogeneous virtual resources in the existing cloud computing, a new method of live virtual machine (VM migration detection algorithm based on the cellular neural networks (CNNs, is presented. Through analyzing the detection process, the parameter relationship of CNN is mapped as an optimization problem, in which improved particle swarm optimization algorithm based on bubble sort is used to solve the problem. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can display the VM migration processing intuitively. Compared with the best fit heuristic algorithm, this approach reduces the processing time, and emerging evidence has indicated that this new approach is affordable to parallelism and analog very large scale integration (VLSI implementation allowing the VM migration detection to be performed better.

Global detection of live virtual machine migration based on cellular neural networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Kang; Yang, Yixian; Zhang, Ling; Jing, Maohua; Xin, Yang; Li, Zhongxian

2014-01-01

In order to meet the demands of operation monitoring of large scale, autoscaling, and heterogeneous virtual resources in the existing cloud computing, a new method of live virtual machine (VM) migration detection algorithm based on the cellular neural networks (CNNs), is presented. Through analyzing the detection process, the parameter relationship of CNN is mapped as an optimization problem, in which improved particle swarm optimization algorithm based on bubble sort is used to solve the problem. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can display the VM migration processing intuitively. Compared with the best fit heuristic algorithm, this approach reduces the processing time, and emerging evidence has indicated that this new approach is affordable to parallelism and analog very large scale integration (VLSI) implementation allowing the VM migration detection to be performed better.

Hip abductors and thigh muscles strength ratios and their relation to electromyography amplitude during split squat and walking lunge exercises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Stastny

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background: The hip abductors (HAB, quadriceps (Q and hamstrings (H reciprocal strength ratios are predictors of electromyography (EMG amplitude during load carrying walking at moderate intensity. Therefore, these strength ratios might predict also the EMG during the exercises as walking lunge (WL or split squat (SSq at submaximal intensity. Objective: To determine whether the EMG amplitude of vastus mediali (VM, vastus laterali (VL, biceps femoris (BF and gluteus medius (Gmed is associated with muscle strength ratio during SSqs and WLs. To determine whether the EMG amplitude differs between individuals with HAB/H ratio above and below one and between individuals with H/Q or HAB/Q ratio above and below 0.5 during SSqs and WLs. Methods: 17 resistance-trained men (age 29.6 ± 4.6 years with at least 3 years of strength training performed in cross-sectional design 5 s maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC on an isokinetic dynamometer for knee extension, knee flexion, and hip abduction. The MVIC was used to normalize the EMG signal and estimate the individual strength ratios. Than participants performed WL and SSq for a 5 repetition maximum, to find out muscle activity at submaximal intensity of exercise. Results: The H/Q ratio was associated by Kendall's tau (τ with VM (τ = .33 and BF (τ = -.71 amplitude, HAB/Q ratio was associated with BF (τ = -.43 and Gmed (τ = .38 amplitude, as well as HAB/H was associated with VM (τ = -.41 and Gmed (τ = .74 amplitude. ANOVA results showed significant differences between SSq and WL (F(4, 79 = 10, p < .001, ηp2 = .34 in Gmed amplitude, where WL resulted in higher Gmed amplitude compared to SSq. Other significant differences were found between H/Q groups (F(4, 29 = 3, p = .04, ηp2 = .28 in VM and Gmed amplitude, where group with H/Q > 0.5 showed higher VMO amplitude and lower Gmed amplitude. Furthermore, significant difference was found

Liberating Virtual Machines from Physical Boundaries through Execution Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

trivial infrastructures such as VM distribution networks, clients need to wait for an extended period of time before launching a VM. In cloud settings...hardware support. MobiDesk [28] efficiently supports virtual desktops in mobile environments by decou- pling the user’s workload from host systems and...experiment set-up. VMs are migrated between a pair of source and destination hosts, which are connected through a backend 10 Gbps network for

Virtual marketing in virtual enterprises

OpenAIRE

Ale Ebrahim, Nader; Fattahi, Hamaid Ali; Golnam, Arash

2008-01-01

Virtualization caused tremendous evolution in the economics of marketing channels, patterns of physical distribution and the structure of distributors and developed a new concept that is known as virtual marketing (VM). VM combines the powerful technologies of interactive marketing and virtual reality. Virtual enterprise (VE) refers to an organization not having a clear physical locus. In other words, VE is an organization distributed geographically and whose work is coordinated through e...

The amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex: functional contributions and dysfunction in psychopathy

OpenAIRE

Blair, R.J.R

2008-01-01

The current paper examines the functional contributions of the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the evidence that the functioning of these systems is compromised in individuals with psychopathy. The amygdala is critical for the formation of stimulus–reinforcement associations, both punishment and reward based, and the processing of emotional expressions. vmPFC is critical for the representation of reinforcement expectancies and, owing to this, decision making. Neuropsyc...

Efficient Orchestration of Data Centers Via Comprehensive and Application Aware Trade Off Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

tens of thousands of VM slots. 14. SUBJECT TERMS software-defined networking, network state, data center network, genetic algorithms , virtual machine...perform non-convex SOP optimization, and choose to use genetic algorithms to help overcome the issue of premature algorithm convergence to local...for 1024 VM slots, but may be slowed to the order of hours when other objectives are considered [16]. In [16] a genetic algorithm is used to approximate

Security Management Model in Cloud Computing Environment

OpenAIRE

Ahmadpanah, Seyed Hossein

2016-01-01

In the cloud computing environment, cloud virtual machine (VM) will be more and more the number of virtual machine security and management faced giant Challenge. In order to address security issues cloud computing virtualization environment, this paper presents a virtual machine based on efficient and dynamic deployment VM security management model state migration and scheduling, study of which virtual machine security architecture, based on AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) virtual machine de...

Network-state modulation of power-law frequency-scaling in visual cortical neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

El Boustani, Sami; Marre, Olivier; Béhuret, Sébastien; Baudot, Pierre; Yger, Pierre; Bal, Thierry; Destexhe, Alain; Frégnac, Yves

2009-09-01

Various types of neural-based signals, such as EEG, local field potentials and intracellular synaptic potentials, integrate multiple sources of activity distributed across large assemblies. They have in common a power-law frequency-scaling structure at high frequencies, but it is still unclear whether this scaling property is dominated by intrinsic neuronal properties or by network activity. The latter case is particularly interesting because if frequency-scaling reflects the network state it could be used to characterize the functional impact of the connectivity. In intracellularly recorded neurons of cat primary visual cortex in vivo, the power spectral density of V(m) activity displays a power-law structure at high frequencies with a fractional scaling exponent. We show that this exponent is not constant, but depends on the visual statistics used to drive the network. To investigate the determinants of this frequency-scaling, we considered a generic recurrent model of cortex receiving a retinotopically organized external input. Similarly to the in vivo case, our in computo simulations show that the scaling exponent reflects the correlation level imposed in the input. This systematic dependence was also replicated at the single cell level, by controlling independently, in a parametric way, the strength and the temporal decay of the pairwise correlation between presynaptic inputs. This last model was implemented in vitro by imposing the correlation control in artificial presynaptic spike trains through dynamic-clamp techniques. These in vitro manipulations induced a modulation of the scaling exponent, similar to that observed in vivo and predicted in computo. We conclude that the frequency-scaling exponent of the V(m) reflects stimulus-driven correlations in the cortical network activity. Therefore, we propose that the scaling exponent could be used to read-out the "effective" connectivity responsible for the dynamical signature of the population signals measured

Performance Tests of CMSSW on the CernVM

CERN Document Server

Petek, Marko

2012-01-01

goal of allowing the execution of the experiment's software on different operating systems in an easy way for the users. To achieve this it makes use of Virtual Machine images consisting of a JEOS (Just Enough Operational System) Linux image, bundled with CVMFS, a distributed file system for software. This image can this be run with a proper virtualizer on most of the platforms available. It also aggressively caches data on the local user's machine so that it can operate disconnected from the network. CMS wanted to compare the performance of the CMS Software running in the virtualized environment with the same software running on a native Linux box. To answer this need a series of tests were made on a controlled environment during 2010-2011. This work presents the results of those tests.

Adding access to a video magnifier to standard vision rehabilitation: initial results on reading performance and well-being from a prospective, randomized study

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Mary Lou; Schoessow, Kimberly A.; Selivanova, Alexandra; Wallis, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Purpose Both optical and electronic magnification are available to patients with low vision. Electronic video magnifiers are more expensive than optical magnifiers, but they offer additional benefits, including variable magnification and contrast. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of access to a video magnifier (VM) added to standard comprehensive vision rehabilitation (VR). Methods In this prospective study, 37 subjects with central field loss were randomized to receive standard VR (VR group, 18 subjects) or standard VR plus VM (VM group, 19 subjects). Subjects read the International Reading Speed Texts (IReST), a bank check, and a phone number at enrollment, at 1 month, and after occupational therapy (OT) as indicated to address patient goals. The Impact of Vision Impairment (IVI) questionnaire, a version of the Activity Inventory (AI), and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) were administered at enrollment, 1 month, after OT, 1 month later, and 1 year after enrollment. Assessments at enrollment and 1 month later were evaluated. Results At 1 month, the VM group displayed significant improvement in reading continuous print as measured by the IReST (P = 0.01) but did not differ on IVI, AI, or DASS. From enrollment to 1 month all subjects improved in their ability to spot read (phone number and check; P read a number in a phone book more than the VR group at 1 month after initial consultation (P = 0.02). All reported better well-being (P = 0.02). Conclusions All subjects reported better well-being on the IVI. The VM group read faster and was better at two spot reading tasks but did not differ from the VR group in other outcome measures. PMID:28924412

Neurocircuits underlying cognition-emotion interaction in a social decision making context.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, S Shaun; Gonzalez, Richard D; Abelson, James L; Liberzon, Israel

2012-11-01

Decision making (DM) in the context of others often entails complex cognition-emotion interaction. While the literature suggests that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), striatum, and amygdala are involved in valuation-based DM and hippocampus in context processing, how these neural mechanisms subserve the integration of cognitive and emotional values in a social context remains unclear. In this study we addressed this gap by systematically manipulating cognition-emotion interaction in a social DM context, when the participants played a card game with a hypothetical opponent in a behavioral study (n=73) and a functional magnetic-resonance-imaging study (n=16). We observed that payoff-based behavioral choices were influenced by emotional values carried by face pictures and identified neurocircuits involved in cognitive valuation, emotional valuation, and concurrent cognition-emotion value integration. Specifically, while the vmPFC, amygdala, and ventral striatum were all involved in both cognitive and emotional domains of valuation, these regions played dissociable roles in social DM. The payoff-dependent responses in vmPFC and amygdala, but not ventral striatum, were moderated by the social context. Furthermore, the vmPFC, but not amygdala, not only encoded the opponent's gains as if self's losses, but also represented a "final common currency" during valuation-based decisions. The extent to which emotional input influenced choices was associated with the functional connectivity between the value-signaling amygdala and value integrating vmPFC, and also with the functional connectivity between the context-setting hippocampus and value-signaling amygdala and ventral striatum. These results identify brain pathways through which emotion shapes subjective values in a social DM context. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of long-term stimulation of textured insoles on postural control in health elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Annino, Giuseppe; Palazzo, Francesco; Alwardat, Mohammad S; Manzi, Vincenzo; Lebone, Pietro; Tancredi, Virginia; Sinibaldi Salimei, Paola; Caronti, Alfio; Panzarino, Michele; Padua, Elvira

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to confirm the effects of long term (chronic) stimulating surface (textured insole) on body balance of elderly people. Twenty-four healthy elderly individuals were randomly distributed in two groups: control and experimental (67.75±6.04 years, 74.55±12.14 kg, 163.7±8.55 cm, 27.75±3.04 kg/m2). Over one month, control group (CG) used smooth insoles and the experimental group (ExG) used textured insoles every day. Velocity net (Vnet), anteroposterior (VA/P), mediolateral (VM/L) and sway path of CoP were assessed in different eye conditions before and after the experimental procedure. A mixed between-within subject ANOVA was conducted to assess the impact of soft and textured insoles and two visual conditions (vision vs. no vision) across two time periods (α≤0.05). The results showed any statistical difference between groups in each parameter assessed in this study. CoP, Vnet and VM/L in the experimental group showed a statistically significant effect of textured insoles only without vision (CoP: P=0.002; η2=0.35), Vnet P=0.02; η2=0.24, VM/L P=0.04; η2=0.177) whereas VA/P showed no statistically significant effect in the same group and condition. There was no significant effect in Vnet, VA/P, VM/L and COP in control group that used smooth insole for both eye conditions. The results confirm that postural stability improved in healthy elderly individuals, increasing somatosensory information's from feet plantar mechanoreceptors. Long term stimulation with textured insoles decreased CoP, Vnet and VM/L with eyes closed.

Mechanistic studies with solubilized rat liver steroid 5 alpha-reductase: Elucidation of the kinetic mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levy, M.A.; Brandt, M.; Greway, A.T.

1990-01-01

A solubilized preparation of steroid 5 alpha-reductase from rat liver has been used in studies focused toward an understanding of the kinetic mechanism associated with enzyme catalysis. From the results of analyses with product and dead-end inhibitors, a preferentially ordered binding of substrates and release of products from the surface of the enzyme is proposed. The observations from these experiments were identical with those using the steroid 5 alpha-reductase activity associated with rat liver microsomes. The primary isotope effects on steady-state kinetic parameters when [4S-2H]NADPH was used also were consistent with an ordered kinetic mechanism. Normal isotope effects were observed for all three kinetic parameters (Vm/Km for both testosterone and NADPH and Vm) at all substrate concentrations used experimentally. Upon extrapolation to infinite concentration of testosterone, the isotope effect on Vm/Km for NADPH approached unity, indicating that the nicotinamide dinucleotide phosphate is the first substrate binding to and the second product released from the enzyme. The isotope effects on Vm/Km for testosterone at infinite concentration of cofactor and on Vm were 3.8 +/- 0.5 and 3.3 +/- 0.4, respectively. Data from the pH profiles of these three steady-state parameters and the inhibition constants (1/Ki) of competitive inhibitors versus both substrates indicate that the binding of nicotinamide dinucleotide phosphate involves coordination of its anionic 2'-phosphate to a protonated enzyme-associated base with an apparent pK near 8.0. From these results, relative limits have been placed on several of the internal rate constants used to describe the ordered mechanism of the rat liver steroid 5 alpha-reductase

Nonrandom variability in respiratory cycle parameters of humans during stage 2 sleep.

Science.gov (United States)

Modarreszadeh, M; Bruce, E N; Gothe, B

1990-08-01

We analyzed breath-to-breath inspiratory time (TI), expiratory time (TE), inspiratory volume (VI), and minute ventilation (Vm) from 11 normal subjects during stage 2 sleep. The analysis consisted of 1) fitting first- and second-order autoregressive models (AR1 and AR2) and 2) obtaining the power spectra of the data by fast-Fourier transform. For the AR2 model, the only coefficients that were statistically different from zero were the average alpha 1 (a1) for TI, VI, and Vm (a1 = 0.19, 0.29, and 0.15, respectively). However, the power spectra of all parameters often exhibited peaks at low frequency (less than 0.2 cycles/breath) and/or at high frequency (greater than 0.2 cycles/breath), indicative of periodic oscillations. After accounting for the corrupting effects of added oscillations on the a1 estimates, we conclude that 1) breath-to-breath fluctuations of VI, and to a lesser extent TI and Vm, exhibit a first-order autoregressive structure such that fluctuations of each breath are positively correlated with those of immediately preceding breaths and 2) the correlated components of variability in TE are mostly due to discrete high- and/or low-frequency oscillations with no underlying autoregressive structure. We propose that the autoregressive structure of VI, TI, and Vm during spontaneous breathing in stage 2 sleep may reflect either a central neural mechanism or the effects of noise in respiratory chemical feedback loops; the presence of low-frequency oscillations, seen more often in Vm, suggests possible instability in the chemical feedback loops. Mechanisms of high-frequency periodicities, seen more often in TE, are unknown.

Plasma membrane potential depolarization and cytosolic calcium flux are early events involved in tomato (Solanum lycopersicon) plant-to-plant communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Zebelo, Simon A; Matsui, Kenji; Ozawa, Rika; Maffei, Massimo E

2012-11-01

Tomato plants respond to herbivory by emitting volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are released into the surrounding atmosphere. We analyzed the tomato herbivore-induced VOCs and tested the ability of tomato receiver plants to detect tomato donor volatiles by analyzing early responses, including plasma membrane potential (V(m)) variations and cytosolic calcium ([Ca²⁺](cyt)) fluxes. Receiver tomato plants responded within seconds to herbivore-induced VOCs with a strong V(m) depolarization, which was only partly recovered by fluxing receiver plants with clean air. Among emitted volatiles, we identified by GC-MS some green leaf volatiles (GLVs) such as (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, the monoterpene α-pinene, and the sesquiterpene β-caryophyllene. GLVs were found to exert the stronger V(m) depolarization, when compared to α-pinene and β-caryophyllene. Furthermore, V(m) depolarization was found to increase with increasing GLVs concentration. GLVs were also found to induce a strong [Ca²⁺](cyt) increase, particularly when (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate was tested both in solution and with a gas. On the other hand, α-pinene and β-caryophyllene, which also induced a significant V(m) depolarization with respect to controls, did not exert any significant effect on [Ca²⁺](cyt) homeostasis. Our results show for the first time that plant perception of volatile cues (especially GLVs) from the surrounding environment is mediated by early events, occurring within seconds and involving the alteration of the plasma membrane potential and the [Ca²⁺](cyt) flux. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Non-invasive mechanical ventilation after the successful weaning: a comparison with the venturi mask

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esra Adıyeke

Full Text Available Abstract Background and objectives: This study compared the rates of acute respiratory failure, reintubation, length of intensive care stay and mortality in patients in whom the non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV was applied instead of the routine venturi face mask (VM application after a successful weaning. Methods: Following the approval of the hospital ethics committee, 62 patients who were under mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours were scheduled for this study. 12 patients were excluded because of the weaning failure during T-tube trial. The patients who had optimum weaning criteria after the T-tube trial of 30 minutes were extubated. The patients were kept on VM for 1 hour to observe the hemodynamic and respiratory stability. The group of 50 patients who were successful to wean randomly allocated to have either VM (n = 25, or NIV (n = 25. Systolic arterial pressure (SAP, heart rate (HR, respiratory rate (RR, PaO2, PCO2, and pH values were recorded. Results: The number of patients who developed respiratory failure in the NIV group was significantly less than VM group of patients (3 reintubation vs. 14 NIV + 5 reintubation in the VM group. The length of stay in the ICU was also significantly shorter in NIV group (5.2 ± 4.9 vs. 16.7 ± 7.7 days. Conclusions: The ratio of the respiratory failure and the length of stay in the ICU were lower when non-invasive mechanical ventilation was used after extubation even if the patient is regarded as ‘successfully weaned’. We recommend the use of NIMV in such patients to avoid unexpected ventilator failure.

Volume-monitored chest CT: a simplified method for obtaining motion-free images near full inspiratory and end expiratory lung volumes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, Kathryn S. [The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH (United States); Long, Frederick R. [Nationwide Children' s Hospital, The Children' s Radiological Institute, Columbus, OH (United States); Flucke, Robert L. [Nationwide Children' s Hospital, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Columbus, OH (United States); Castile, Robert G. [The Research Institute at Nationwide Children' s Hospital, Center for Perinatal Research, Columbus, OH (United States)

2010-10-15

Lung inflation and respiratory motion during chest CT affect diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility. To describe a simple volume-monitored (VM) method for performing reproducible, motion-free full inspiratory and end expiratory chest CT examinations in children. Fifty-two children with cystic fibrosis (mean age 8.8 {+-} 2.2 years) underwent pulmonary function tests and inspiratory and expiratory VM-CT scans (1.25-mm slices, 80-120 kVp, 16-40 mAs) according to an IRB-approved protocol. The VM-CT technique utilizes instruction from a respiratory therapist, a portable spirometer and real-time documentation of lung volume on a computer. CT image quality was evaluated for achievement of targeted lung-volume levels and for respiratory motion. Children achieved 95% of vital capacity during full inspiratory imaging. For end expiratory scans, 92% were at or below the child's end expiratory level. Two expiratory exams were judged to be at suboptimal volumes. Two inspiratory (4%) and three expiratory (6%) exams showed respiratory motion. Overall, 94% of scans were performed at optimal volumes without respiratory motion. The VM-CT technique is a simple, feasible method in children as young as 4 years to achieve reproducible high-quality full inspiratory and end expiratory lung CT images. (orig.)

Innervation zone of the vastus medialis muscle: position and effect on surface EMG variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallina, A; Merletti, R; Gazzoni, M

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the position of the innervation zone (IZ) of the vastus medialis (VM) and its effect on the electromyographic (EMG) amplitude and mean frequency estimates. Eighteen healthy subjects performed maximal isometric knee extensions at three knee angles. Surface EMG signals were collected by using a 16 × 8 electrode grid placed on the VM muscle. The position of the IZ was estimated through visual analysis, and traditional bipolar signals were obtained from channels over and away from it; amplitude and mean frequency values were extracted and compared using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. The IZ is shaped as a line running from the proximal–lateral to the distal–medial aspect of the VM muscle. The presence of an IZ under the electrodes lowered the EMG amplitude (P < 0.001, F = 58.11) and increased the EMG mean frequency (P < 0.001, F = 26.47); variations of these parameters due to the knee flexion angle were less frequently observed in EMG signals collected over than away from the IZ. Electrodes placed ‘over the belly of the VM muscle’ are likely to collect EMG signals influenced by the presence of the IZ, thus hindering the detection of changes in muscle activity. (paper)

Retrieving Storm Electric Fields From Aircraft Field Mill Data. Part 2; Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Koshak, W. J.; Mach, D. M.; Christian, H. J.; Stewart, M. F.; Bateman, M. G.

2005-01-01

The Lagrange multiplier theory and "pitch down method" developed in Part I of this study are applied to complete the calibration of a Citation aircraft that is instrumented with six field mill sensors. When side constraints related to average fields are used, the method performs well in computer simulations. For mill measurement errors of 1 V/m and a 5 V/m error in the mean fair weather field function, the 3-D storm electric field is retrieved to within an error of about 12%. A side constraint that involves estimating the detailed structure of the fair weather field was also tested using computer simulations. For mill measurement errors of 1 V/m, the method retrieves the 3-D storm field to within an error of about 8% if the fair weather field estimate is typically within 1 V/m of the true fair weather field. Using this side constraint and data from fair weather field maneuvers taken on 29 June 2001, the Citation aircraft was calibrated. The resulting calibration matrix was then used to retrieve storm electric fields during a Citation flight on 2 June 2001. The storm field results are encouraging and agree favorably with the results obtained from earlier calibration analyses that were based on iterative techniques.

Does the casting mode influence microstructure, fracture and properties of different metal ceramic alloys?

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, José Roberto de Oliveira; Grande, Rosa Helena Miranda; Rodrigues-Filho, Leonardo Eloy; Pinto, Marcelo Mendes; Loguercio, Alessandro Dourado

2012-01-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the tensile strength, elongation, microhardness, microstructure and fracture pattern of various metal ceramic alloys cast under different casting conditions. Two Ni-Cr alloys, Co-Cr and Pd-Ag were used. The casting conditions were as follows: electromagnetic induction under argon atmosphere, vacuum, using blowtorch without atmosphere control. For each condition, 16 specimens, each measuring 25 mm long and 2.5 mm in diameter, were obtained. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation (EL) tests were performed using a Kratos machine. Vickers Microhardness (VM), fracture mode and microstructure were analyzed by SEM. UTS, EL and VM data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA. For UTS, alloy composition had a direct influence on casting condition of alloys (Wiron 99 and Remanium CD), with higher values shown when cast with Flame/Air (p casting condition" influenced the EL and VM results, generally presenting opposite results, i.e., alloy with high elongation value had lower hardness (Wiron 99), and casting condition with the lowest EL values had the highest VM values (blowtorch). Both factors had significant influence on the properties evaluated, and prosthetic laboratories should select the appropriate casting method for each alloy composition to obtain the desired property.

A Location Selection Policy of Live Virtual Machine Migration for Power Saving and Load Balancing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Zhao

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Green cloud data center has become a research hotspot of virtualized cloud computing architecture. And load balancing has also been one of the most important goals in cloud data centers. Since live virtual machine (VM migration technology is widely used and studied in cloud computing, we have focused on location selection (migration policy of live VM migration for power saving and load balancing. We propose a novel approach MOGA-LS, which is a heuristic and self-adaptive multiobjective optimization algorithm based on the improved genetic algorithm (GA. This paper has presented the specific design and implementation of MOGA-LS such as the design of the genetic operators, fitness values, and elitism. We have introduced the Pareto dominance theory and the simulated annealing (SA idea into MOGA-LS and have presented the specific process to get the final solution, and thus, the whole approach achieves a long-term efficient optimization for power saving and load balancing. The experimental results demonstrate that MOGA-LS evidently reduces the total incremental power consumption and better protects the performance of VM migration and achieves the balancing of system load compared with the existing research. It makes the result of live VM migration more high-effective and meaningful.

A location selection policy of live virtual machine migration for power saving and load balancing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jia; Ding, Yan; Xu, Gaochao; Hu, Liang; Dong, Yushuang; Fu, Xiaodong

2013-01-01

Green cloud data center has become a research hotspot of virtualized cloud computing architecture. And load balancing has also been one of the most important goals in cloud data centers. Since live virtual machine (VM) migration technology is widely used and studied in cloud computing, we have focused on location selection (migration policy) of live VM migration for power saving and load balancing. We propose a novel approach MOGA-LS, which is a heuristic and self-adaptive multiobjective optimization algorithm based on the improved genetic algorithm (GA). This paper has presented the specific design and implementation of MOGA-LS such as the design of the genetic operators, fitness values, and elitism. We have introduced the Pareto dominance theory and the simulated annealing (SA) idea into MOGA-LS and have presented the specific process to get the final solution, and thus, the whole approach achieves a long-term efficient optimization for power saving and load balancing. The experimental results demonstrate that MOGA-LS evidently reduces the total incremental power consumption and better protects the performance of VM migration and achieves the balancing of system load compared with the existing research. It makes the result of live VM migration more high-effective and meaningful.

Virtual machine migration in an over-committed cloud

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Xiangliang

2012-04-01

While early emphasis of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) clouds was on providing resource elasticity to end users, providers are increasingly interested in over-committing their resources to maximize the utilization and returns of their capital investments. In principle, over-committing resources hedges that users - on average - only need a small portion of their leased resources. When such hedge fails (i.e., resource demand far exceeds available physical capacity), providers must mitigate this provider-induced overload, typically by migrating virtual machines (VMs) to underutilized physical machines. Recent works on VM placement and migration assume the availability of target physical machines [1], [2]. However, in an over-committed cloud data center, this is not the case. VM migration can even trigger cascading overloads if performed haphazardly. In this paper, we design a new VM migration algorithm (called Scattered) that minimizes VM migrations in over-committed data centers. Compared to a traditional implementation, our algorithm can balance host utilization across all time epochs. Using real-world data traces from an enterprise cloud, we show that our migration algorithm reduces the risk of overload, minimizes the number of needed migrations, and has minimal impact on communication cost between VMs. © 2012 IEEE.

Intermonitor reliability of the GT3X+ accelerometer at hip, wrist and ankle sites during activities of daily living

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozemek, Cemal; Wilkerson, Brittany S; Kaminsky, Leonard A; Kirschner, Monica M; Byun, Wonwoo

2014-01-01

The triaxial GT3X+ accelerometer can measure activity counts in the vertical, horizontal right to left, horizontal front to back planes, and can generate a summative score of the three axes represented by vector magnitude (VM). Information on the reliability of the GT3X+ at the hip, wrist and ankle sites, over all axes and VM during activities of daily living (ADL) is lacking in the literature. Forty healthy adults (14 men and 26 women) were randomly assigned to perform 10 of 20 ADL (consisting of sedentary, housework, yard work, locomotive and recreational activities) while wearing two monitors on the hip, wrist and ankle. Subjects performed each ADL over 7 min and the mean activity counts during the last 4 min were used for analyses. Average intraclass correlations between monitors were high for the three sites for each axis and VM (hip: 0.943, 0.857, 0.864 and 0.966, respectively; wrist: 0.994, 0.963, 0.961 and 0.989, respectively; ankle: 0.977, 0.979, 0.927 and 0.986, respectively). These data suggest that GT3X+ accelerometers measurements made from the hip, wrist and ankle sites are reliable during ADL across all axes and VM. (paper)

Task Classification Based Energy-Aware Consolidation in Clouds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HeeSeok Choi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We consider a cloud data center, in which the service provider supplies virtual machines (VMs on hosts or physical machines (PMs to its subscribers for computation in an on-demand fashion. For the cloud data center, we propose a task consolidation algorithm based on task classification (i.e., computation-intensive and data-intensive and resource utilization (e.g., CPU and RAM. Furthermore, we design a VM consolidation algorithm to balance task execution time and energy consumption without violating a predefined service level agreement (SLA. Unlike the existing research on VM consolidation or scheduling that applies none or single threshold schemes, we focus on a double threshold (upper and lower scheme, which is used for VM consolidation. More specifically, when a host operates with resource utilization below the lower threshold, all the VMs on the host will be scheduled to be migrated to other hosts and then the host will be powered down, while when a host operates with resource utilization above the upper threshold, a VM will be migrated to avoid using 100% of resource utilization. Based on experimental performance evaluations with real-world traces, we prove that our task classification based energy-aware consolidation algorithm (TCEA achieves a significant energy reduction without incurring predefined SLA violations.

Bidirectional modulation of goal-directed actions by prefrontal cortical dopamine.

Science.gov (United States)

Hitchcott, Paul K; Quinn, Jennifer J; Taylor, Jane R

2007-12-01

Instrumental actions are a vital cognitive asset that endows an organism with sensitivity to the consequences of its behavior. Response-outcome feedback allows responding to be shaped in order to maximize beneficial, and minimize detrimental, outcomes. Lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) result in behavior that is insensitive to changes in outcome value in animals and compulsive behavior in several human psychopathologies. Such insensitivity to changes in outcome value is a defining characteristic of instrumental habits: responses that are controlled by antecedent stimuli rather than goal expectancy. Little is known regarding the neurochemical substrates mediating this sensitivity. The present experiments used sensitivity to posttraining outcome devaluation to index the action-habit status of instrumental responding. Infusions of dopamine into the ventral mPFC (vmPFC), but not dorsal mPFC, restored outcome sensitivity bidirectionally-decreasing responding following outcome devaluation and increasing responding when the outcome was not devalued. This bidirectionality makes the possibility that these infusions nonspecifically dysregulated vmPFC dopamine transmission unlikely. VmPFC dopamine promoted instrumental responding appropriate to outcome value. Reinforcer consumption data indicated that this was not a consequence of altered sensitivity to the reinforcer itself. We suggest that vmPFC dopamine reengages attentional processes underlying goal-directed behavior.

A new formulation for the eigenvalue and the eigenfunction in the perturbation theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korek, Mahmoud

1999-01-01

Full text.In infrared transitions, the problem of the ro vibrational eigenvalue and eigenfunction of a diatomic molecule is considered. It is shown that, for the transitions vJ↔v'J' the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions of the two considered states can be expressed respectively in terms of one variable m (transition number), relating these two states, as E vm =Σ i=o e v (i) m i , Ψ vm =Σ i=0 φ v (i) m i and E v'm =Σ i=0 e v' (i) m i , Ψ v'm =Σ i=0 φ v' (i) m i , where m=[J'(J'+1)-J(J+1)]/2, and the coefficients e v (i) , φ v (i) , e v (i) , and φ v (i) , are given by analytical expressions. This m-representation of the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions is more advantageous for the calculation of many factors in spectroscopy that are given in terms of m as the line intensities, the wave number of a transition, the Herman-Wallis coefficients,...etc. The numerical application to the ground state of the molecule CO shows that the present formulation provides a simple and accurate method for the calculation of the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions for the two considered states

Stereoscopic Visualization of Diffusion Tensor Imaging Data: A Comparative Survey of Visualization Techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raslan, O.; Debnam, J.M.; Ketonen, L.; Kumar, A.J.; Schellingerhout, D.; Wang, J.

2013-01-01

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data has traditionally been displayed as a gray scale functional anisotropy map (GSFM) or color coded orientation map (CCOM). These methods use black and white or color with intensity values to map the complex multidimensional DTI data to a two-dimensional image. Alternative visualization techniques, such as V m ax maps utilize enhanced graphical representation of the principal eigenvector by means of a headless arrow on regular non stereoscopic (VM) or stereoscopic display (VMS). A survey of clinical utility of patients with intracranial neoplasms was carried out by 8 neuro radiologists using traditional and nontraditional methods of DTI display. Pairwise comparison studies of 5 intracranial neoplasms were performed with a structured questionnaire comparing GSFM, CCOM, VM, and VMS. Six of 8 neuro radiologists favored V m ax maps over traditional methods of display (GSFM and CCOM). When comparing the stereoscopic (VMS) and the non-stereoscopic (VM) modes, 4 favored VMS, 2 favored VM, and 2 had no preference. In conclusion, processing and visualizing DTI data stereoscopically is technically feasible. An initial survey of users indicated that V m ax based display methodology with or without stereoscopic visualization seems to be preferred over traditional methods to display DTI data.

Variation in orbitofrontal cortex volume: relation to sex, emotion regulation and affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Welborn, B Locke; Papademetris, Xenophon; Reis, Deidre L; Rajeevan, Nallakkandi; Bloise, Suzanne M; Gray, Jeremy R

2009-12-01

Sex differences in brain structure have been examined extensively but are not completely understood, especially in relation to possible functional correlates. Our two aims in this study were to investigate sex differences in brain structure, and to investigate a possible relation between orbitofrontal cortex subregions and affective individual differences. We used tensor-based morphometry to estimate local brain volume from MPRAGE images in 117 healthy right-handed adults (58 female), age 18-40 years. We entered estimates of local brain volume as the dependent variable in a GLM, controlling for age, intelligence and whole-brain volume. Men had larger left planum temporale. Women had larger ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), right lateral orbitofrontal (rlOFC), cerebellum, and bilateral basal ganglia and nearby white matter. vmPFC but not rlOFC volume covaried with self-reported emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal, suppression), expressivity of positive emotions (but not of negative), strength of emotional impulses, and cognitive but not somatic anxiety. vmPFC volume statistically mediated sex differences in emotion suppression. The results confirm prior reports of sex differences in orbitofrontal cortex structure, and are the first to show that normal variation in vmPFC volume is systematically related to emotion regulation and affective individual differences.

Energy Saving by Novel Bed-Integrated Local Exhaust Ventilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bivolarova, Mariya Petrova; Kehayova, Nushka; Melikov, Arsen Krikor

2016-01-01

High quality indoor environment in hospitals is important for patients’ healing and performance of the personnel. A novel method for minimizing spread of bio-effluents generated from hospitalized patients lying in bed was developed. The method consists of ventilated mattress (VM) which is able...... respectively with 55%, 71.1% and 85.9% and in the double room with 39.3%, 60.0%, and 80.4%. The use of the VM with reduced background CAV ventilation is an effective energy saving strategy for both double and single patient hospital rooms.......-bed hospital patient room (1.3 air changes per hour (ACH)) and double-bed patient room (1.6 ACH) was assessed by means of dynamic computer simulations. The estimated annual energy consumption for the rooms using the VM combined with CAV was compared to the annual energy consumption when the CAV ventilation...

CFCC: A Covert Flows Confinement Mechanism for Virtual Machine Coalitions

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ge; Jin, Hai; Zou, Deqing; Shi, Lei; Ohoussou, Alex K.

Normally, virtualization technology is adopted to construct the infrastructure of cloud computing environment. Resources are managed and organized dynamically through virtual machine (VM) coalitions in accordance with the requirements of applications. Enforcing mandatory access control (MAC) on the VM coalitions will greatly improve the security of VM-based cloud computing. However, the existing MAC models lack the mechanism to confine the covert flows and are hard to eliminate the convert channels. In this paper, we propose a covert flows confinement mechanism for virtual machine coalitions (CFCC), which introduces dynamic conflicts of interest based on the activity history of VMs, each of which is attached with a label. The proposed mechanism can be used to confine the covert flows between VMs in different coalitions. We implement a prototype system, evaluate its performance, and show that our mechanism is practical.

Trustable Virtual Machine Scheduling in a Cloud

OpenAIRE

Hermenier , Fabien; Henrio , Ludovic

2017-01-01

International audience; In an Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS) cloud, the scheduler deploys VMs to servers according to service level objectives (SLOs). Clients and service providers must both trust the infrastructure. In particular they must be sure that the VM scheduler takes decisions that are consistent with its advertised behaviour. The difficulties to master every theoretical and practical aspects of a VM scheduler implementation leads however to faulty behaviours that break SLOs and ...

Hardware Assisted Stealthy Diversity (CHECKMATE)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

applicable across multiple architectures. Figure 29 shows an example an attack against an interpreted environment with a Java executable. CHECKMATE can...Architectures ARM PPCx86 Java VM Java VMJava VM Java Executable Attack APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED 33 a user executes “/usr/bin/wget...Server 1 - Administration Server 2 – Database ( mySQL ) Server 3 – Web server (Mongoose) Server 4 – File server (SSH) Server 5 – Email server

Evaluation of left ventricular diastolic echocardiographic parameters in healthy dogs by pulsed-wave Doppler Avaliação de parâmetros ecocardiográficos diastólicos do ventrículo esquerdo de cães saudáveis por meio de Doppler pulsátil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guilherme G. Pereira

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction plays an important role on heart failure progression. In order to obtain additional reference values of left ventricular diastolic parameters and investigate influence of common variables, peak E wave (peak E, peak A wave (peak A, E/A ratio (E/A, E wave deceleration time (EDT and isovolumic relaxation time (IRVT were studied in 40 clinically healthy dogs, by pulsed wave Doppler. The following values were obtained: peak E = 0.747 ± 0.117 m/s, peak A = 0.487 ± 0.062 m/s, E/A = 1.533 ± 0.198, EDT = 88.7 ± 9.2 ms and IRVT = 0.080 ± 0.009 s. Some parameters were influenced by heart rate (peak E, peak A and IRVT, by age (peak A and E/A and by body weight (TRIV. Gender influence was absent. Values obtained can be used as reference for canine specimens but its interpretation should consider on the influence of related variables.A disfunção diastólica do ventrículo esquerdo contribui de maneira importante para a progressão da insuficiência cardíaca. No intuito de obter valores de referência adicionais para os parâmetros diastólicos do ventrículo esquerdo e para investigar a influência de variáveis comuns, estudou-se, por meio de Doppler pulsátil, a velocidade máxima da onda E (Vmáx.E, a velocidade máxima da onda A (Vmáx.: A, a relação E/A (E/A, o tempo de desaceleração da onda E (TDE e o tempo de relaxamento isovolumétrico (TRIV em 40 cães clinicamente saudáveis. Os seguintes valores foram obtidos: Vmáx.E = 0,747±0,117m/s, Vmáx.A = 0,487±0,062m/s, E/A = 1,533±0,198, TDE = 88,7±9,2ms e TRIV = 0,080±0,009s. Alguns parâmetros foram influenciados pela freqüência cardíaca (Vmáx.E, Vmáx.A e TRIV, pela idade (Vmáx.A e E/A e pelo peso corpóreo (TRIV. Não houve influência pelo sexo. Os valores obtidos podem ser utilizados como referência para a espécie canina, porém devem ser interpretados considerando-se a influência das variáveis descritas.

Distribution of fluorescein sodium and triamcinolone acetonide in the simulated liquefied and vitrectomized Vitreous Model with simulated eye movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Sandra; Bogdahn, Malte; Rosenbaum, Christoph; Weitschies, Werner; Seidlitz, Anne

2017-11-15

Intravitreal administration is the method of choice for drug delivery to the posterior segment of the eye with special emphasis on the vitreous body and its surrounding retinal vasculature. In order to gain a better understanding of the underlying distribution processes, an in vitro model simulating the vitreous body (Vitreous Model, VM) and a system simulating the impact of movement on the VM (Eye Movement System, EyeMoS) was previously developed. In the study reported here, these systems were modified in regard to a standardized injection procedure, the diversity of simulated eye movements, extended periods of investigation, the opportunity to simulate the state after vitrectomy and in considering the physiological temperature. Fluorescein sodium (FS) and triamcinolone acetonide (TA) were used as (model) drugs to examine the drug distribution within the VM. Vitrectomy was simulated by replacing half the volume of the polyacrylamide gel that was used as vitreous substitute with the clinically used Siluron® 5000 whereas for a simulated liquefaction half the volume of the gel was replaced by buffer. A simulated liquefaction caused a 12-fold faster distribution of FS compared to the simulated juvenile VM, which was most likely caused by convective forces and mass transfer. Also, the injection technique (injection into the gel or into the buffer compartment) influenced the resulting distribution pattern. Without any liquefaction, the previously described initial injection channel occurred with both (model) drugs and, in the case of TA, remained almost unchanged during the investigation period of 72h. Simulating vitrectomized eyes, TA did not spread uniformly, but either remained in the depot or strongly sedimented within the VM suggesting that a homogenous distribution of a TA suspension is highly unlikely in vitrectomized eyes. High variabilities were observed with ex vivo animal eyes, demonstrating the limited benefit of explanted tissues for such distribution

Cellular Mechanisms of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-14

fEPSP responses are significantly (P < 0.05, *) facilitated with +8 V/m fields ( left ) and reduced with -8 V/m ( right ) in three pathways. In each...cortex results in a sustained modulation of synaptic efficacy. A) Schematic of anodal ( left ) and cathodal ( right ) DCS with current flow along the...current stimulation (tDCS) delivered 1day vs . 1week after cerebral ischemia in rats. Brain Res. Zimerman M, Nitsch M, Giraux P, Gerloff C, Cohen LG

On the breakdown modes and parameter space of Ohmic Tokamak startup

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Yanli; Jiang, Wei; Zhang, Ya; Hu, Xiwei; Zhuang, Ge; Innocenti, Maria; Lapenta, Giovanni

2017-10-01

Tokamak plasma has to be hot. The process of turning the initial dilute neutral hydrogen gas at room temperature into fully ionized plasma is called tokamak startup. Even with over 40 years of research, the parameter ranges for the successful startup still aren't determined by numerical simulations but by trial and errors. However, in recent years it has drawn much attention due to one of the challenges faced by ITER: the maximum electric field for startup can't exceed 0.3 V/m, which makes the parameter range for successful startup narrower. Besides, this physical mechanism is far from being understood either theoretically or numerically. In this work, we have simulated the plasma breakdown phase driven by pure Ohmic heating using a particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo code, with the aim of giving a predictive parameter range for most tokamaks, even for ITER. We have found three situations during the discharge, as a function of the initial parameters: no breakdown, breakdown and runaway. Moreover, breakdown delay and volt-second consumption under different initial conditions are evaluated. In addition, we have simulated breakdown on ITER and confirmed that when the electric field is 0.3 V/m, the optimal pre-filling pressure is 0.001 Pa, which is in good agreement with ITER's design.

Packing properties 1-alkanols and alkanes in a phospholipid membrane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Westh, Peter

2006-01-01

We have used vibrating tube densitometry to investigate the packing properties of four alkanes and a homologous series of ten alcohols in fluid-phase membranes of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC). It was found that the volume change of transferring these compounds from their pure states int...... into the membrane core, which is loosely packed. In this region, they partially occupy interstitial (or free-) volume, which bring about a denser molecular packing and generate a negative contribution to Vm(puremem)....... into the membrane, Vm(puremem), was positive for small (C4-C6) 1-alkanols while it was negative for larger alcohols and all alkanes. The magnitude of Vm(puremem) ranged from about +4 cm3/mol for alcohols with an alkyl chain about half the length of the fatty acids of DMPC, to -10 to -15 cm3/mol for the alkanes...

Effects of video modeling with video feedback on vocational skills of adults with autism spectrum disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

English, Derek L; Gounden, Sadhana; Dagher, Richard E; Chan, Shu Fen; Furlonger, Brett E; Anderson, Angelika; Moore, Dennis W

2017-11-01

To examine the effectiveness of a video modeling (VM) with video feedback (VFB) intervention to teach vocational gardening skills to three adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multiple probe design across skills was used to assess the effects of the intervention on the three participants' ability to perform skills accurately. The use of VM with VFB led to improvements across skills for two of the participants. The third participant required video prompting (VP) for successful skill acquisition. Skill performance generalized across personnel and settings for two of the participants, but it was not assessed for the third. Skill performance maintained at follow-up for all three participants. Social validity data gathered from participants, parents, and co-workers were positive. These findings suggest that VM with VFB and VP with VFB were effective and socially acceptable interventions for teaching vocational gardening skills to young adults with ASD.

Neural and morphological adaptations of vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscles to isokinetic eccentric training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo de Azevedo Franke

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Vastus lateralis (VL and vastus medialis (VM are frequently targeted in conditioning/rehabilitation programs due to their role in patellar stabilization during knee extension. This study assessed neural and muscular adaptations in these two muscles after an isokinetic eccentric training program. Twenty healthy men underwent a four-week control period followed by a 12-week period of isokinetic eccentric training. Ultrasound evaluations of VL and VM muscle thickness at rest and electromyographic evaluations during maximal isometric tests were used to assess the morphological and neural properties, respectively. No morphological and neural changes were found throughout the control period, whereas both muscles showed significant increases in thickness (VL = 6.9%; p .05 post-training. Isokinetic eccentric training produces neural and greater morphological adaptations in VM compared to VL, which shows that synergistic muscles respond differently to an eccentric isokinetic strength training program

Análisis de la capacidad de aceleración en mujeres atletas de modalidades de velocidad

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerard Carmona Dalmases

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Objetivos. Caracterizar la capacidad de aceleración con relación al rendimiento (tiempo en sprint de 30 m, la velocidad máxima y las manifestaciones de fuerza (capacidad de salto y potencia (en ½ squat musculares en 4 mujeres atletas de especialidades de velocidad de nivel nacional. Métodos. Se realizaron dos días de pruebas (pista y laboratorio. Se valoró la capacidad de aceleración (velocidades instantánea a 1, 2 y 3 s –vi1, vi2 i vi3–, aceleración inicial (ainicial, tiempo de sprint en 30 m (rendimiento, velocidad máxima (vmàx, capacidad de salto (SJ, CMJ, LJ bw y RJ 5s y potencia media máxima (Pm màx desarrollada en ½ squat. Resultados. Se hallaron correlaciones significativas entre el rendimiento (t30m y la vmáx (r = –0,980; P < 0,01, la capacidad de aceleración (velocidades instantáneas y el t30m (r = –0,954; P < 0,05 y la vmáx (r = 0,992 y 0,979; P < 0,01 y 0,05, la manifestación elástica de la fuerza (CMJ y el t30m (r = –0,983; P < 0,05 y la fuerza dinámica máxima relativa y la ainicial (r = 0,980; P < 0,01. Conclusiones. El principal hallazgo del presente estudio fue que la vmáx era el mayor determinante del t30m. También la capacidad de aceleración, sobretodo la vi2, y el CMJ tuvieron una gran ascendencia sobre el t30m y la vmáx.

Experimental feeding of Hydrilla verticillata colonized by stigonematales cyanobacteria induces vacuolar myelinopathy in painted turtles (Chrysemys picta.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert D Mercurio

Full Text Available Vacuolar myelinopathy (VM is a neurologic disease primarily found in birds that occurs when wildlife ingest submerged aquatic vegetation colonized by an uncharacterized toxin-producing cyanobacterium (hereafter "UCB" for "uncharacterized cyanobacterium". Turtles are among the closest extant relatives of birds and many species directly and/or indirectly consume aquatic vegetation. However, it is unknown whether turtles can develop VM. We conducted a feeding trial to determine whether painted turtles (Chrysemys picta would develop VM after feeding on Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata, colonized by the UCB (Hydrilla is the most common "host" of UCB. We hypothesized turtles fed Hydrilla colonized by the UCB would exhibit neurologic impairment and vacuolation of nervous tissues, whereas turtles fed Hydrilla free of the UCB would not. The ability of Hydrilla colonized by the UCB to cause VM (hereafter, "toxicity" was verified by feeding it to domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus or necropsy of field collected American coots (Fulica americana captured at the site of Hydrilla collections. We randomly assigned ten wild-caught turtles into toxic or non-toxic Hydrilla feeding groups and delivered the diets for up to 97 days. Between days 82 and 89, all turtles fed toxic Hydrilla displayed physical and/or neurologic impairment. Histologic examination of the brain and spinal cord revealed vacuolations in all treatment turtles. None of the control turtles exhibited neurologic impairment or had detectable brain or spinal cord vacuolations. This is the first evidence that freshwater turtles can become neurologically impaired and develop vacuolations after consuming toxic Hydrilla colonized with the UCB. The southeastern United States, where outbreaks of VM occur regularly and where vegetation colonized by the UCB is common, is also a global hotspot of freshwater turtle diversity. Our results suggest that further investigations into the effect of the

Proteomic Investigation of Falciparum and Vivax Malaria for Identification of Surrogate Protein Markers

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Sandipan; Renu, Durairaj; Srivastava, Rajneesh; Gollapalli, Kishore; Taur, Santosh; Jhaveri, Tulip; Dhali, Snigdha; Chennareddy, Srinivasarao; Potla, Ankit; Dikshit, Jyoti Bajpai; Srikanth, Rapole; Gogtay, Nithya; Thatte, Urmila; Patankar, Swati; Srivastava, Sanjeeva

2012-01-01

This study was conducted to analyze alterations in the human serum proteome as a consequence of infection by malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax to obtain mechanistic insights about disease pathogenesis, host immune response, and identification of potential protein markers. Serum samples from patients diagnosed with falciparum malaria (FM) (n = 20), vivax malaria (VM) (n = 17) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 20) were investigated using multiple proteomic techniques and results were validated by employing immunoassay-based approaches. Specificity of the identified malaria related serum markers was evaluated by means of analysis of leptospirosis as a febrile control (FC). Compared to HC, 30 and 31 differentially expressed and statistically significant (p<0.05) serum proteins were identified in FM and VM respectively, and almost half (46.2%) of these proteins were commonly modulated due to both of the plasmodial infections. 13 proteins were found to be differentially expressed in FM compared to VM. Functional pathway analysis involving the identified proteins revealed the modulation of different vital physiological pathways, including acute phase response signaling, chemokine and cytokine signaling, complement cascades and blood coagulation in malaria. A panel of identified proteins consists of six candidates; serum amyloid A, hemopexin, apolipoprotein E, haptoglobin, retinol-binding protein and apolipoprotein A-I was used to build statistical sample class prediction models. By employing PLS-DA and other classification methods the clinical phenotypic classes (FM, VM, FC and HC) were predicted with over 95% prediction accuracy. Individual performance of three classifier proteins; haptoglobin, apolipoprotein A-I and retinol-binding protein in diagnosis of malaria was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The discrimination of FM, VM, FC and HC groups on the basis of differentially expressed serum proteins demonstrates

Variable-metric diffraction crystals for x-ray optics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smither, R.K.; Fernandez, P.B.

1992-01-01

A variable-metric (VM) crystal is one in which the spacing between the crystalline planes changes with position in the crystal. This variation can be either parallel to the crystalline planes or perpendicular to the crystalline planes of interest and can be produced by either introducing a thermal gradient in the crystal or by growing a crystal made of two or more elements and changing the relative percentages of the two elements as the crystal is grown. A series of experiments were performed in the laboratory to demonstrate the principle of the variable-metric crystal and its potential use in synchrotron beam lines. One of the most useful applications of the VM crystal is to increase the number of photons per unit bandwidth in a diffracted beam without losing any of the overall intensity. In a normal synchrotron beam line that uses a two-crystal monochromator, the bandwidth of the diffracted photon beam is determined by the vertical opening angle of the beam which is typically 0.10--0.30 mrad or 20--60 arcsec. When the VM crystal approach is applied, the bandwidth of the beam can be made as narrow as the rocking curve of the diffracting crystal, which is typically 0.005--0.050 mrad or 1--10 arcsec. Thus a very large increase of photons per unit bandwidth (or per unit energy) can be achieved through the use of VM crystals. When the VM principle is used with bent crystals, new kinds of x-ray optical elements can be generated that can focus and defocus x-ray beams much like simple lenses where the focal length of the lens can be changed to match its application. Thus both large magnifications and large demagnifications can be achieved as well as parallel beams with narrow bandwidths

Evaluation of a novel multiple phase veneering ceramic.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinthuprasirt, Pannapa; van Noort, Richard; Moorehead, Robert; Pollington, Sarah

2015-04-01

To produce a new veneering ceramic based on the production of a multiple phase glass-ceramic with improved performance in terms of strength and toughness. A composition of 60% leucite, 20% diopside and 20% feldspathic glass was prepared, blended and a heat treatment schedule of 930°C for 5 min was derived from differential thermal analysis (DTA) of the glasses. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and SEM analysis determined the crystalline phases and microstructure. Chemical solubility, biaxial flexural strength (BFS), fracture toughness, hardness, total transmittance and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) were all measured in comparison to a commercial veneering ceramic (VITA VM9). Thermal shock resistance of the leucite-diopside and VITA VM9 veneered onto a commercial high strength zirconia (Vita In-Ceram YZ) was also assessed. Statistical analysis was undertaken using Independent Samples t-test. Weibull analysis was employed to examine the reliability of the strength data. The mean chemical solubility was 6 μg/cm(2) for both ceramics (P=1.00). The mean BFS was 109 ± 8 MPa for leucite-diopside ceramic and 79 ± 11 MPa for VITA VM9 ceramic (P=0.01). Similarly, the leucite-diopside ceramic demonstrated a significantly higher fracture toughness and hardness. The average total transmittance was 46.3% for leucite-diopside ceramic and 39.8% for VITA VM9 (P=0.01). The leucite-diopside outperformed the VITA VM9 in terms of thermal shock resistance. Significance This novel veneering ceramic exhibits significant improvements in terms of mechanical properties, yet retains a high translucency and is the most appropriate choice as a veneering ceramic for a zirconia base core material. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proteomic investigation of falciparum and vivax malaria for identification of surrogate protein markers.

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Sandipan Ray

Full Text Available This study was conducted to analyze alterations in the human serum proteome as a consequence of infection by malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax to obtain mechanistic insights about disease pathogenesis, host immune response, and identification of potential protein markers. Serum samples from patients diagnosed with falciparum malaria (FM (n = 20, vivax malaria (VM (n = 17 and healthy controls (HC (n = 20 were investigated using multiple proteomic techniques and results were validated by employing immunoassay-based approaches. Specificity of the identified malaria related serum markers was evaluated by means of analysis of leptospirosis as a febrile control (FC. Compared to HC, 30 and 31 differentially expressed and statistically significant (p<0.05 serum proteins were identified in FM and VM respectively, and almost half (46.2% of these proteins were commonly modulated due to both of the plasmodial infections. 13 proteins were found to be differentially expressed in FM compared to VM. Functional pathway analysis involving the identified proteins revealed the modulation of different vital physiological pathways, including acute phase response signaling, chemokine and cytokine signaling, complement cascades and blood coagulation in malaria. A panel of identified proteins consists of six candidates; serum amyloid A, hemopexin, apolipoprotein E, haptoglobin, retinol-binding protein and apolipoprotein A-I was used to build statistical sample class prediction models. By employing PLS-DA and other classification methods the clinical phenotypic classes (FM, VM, FC and HC were predicted with over 95% prediction accuracy. Individual performance of three classifier proteins; haptoglobin, apolipoprotein A-I and retinol-binding protein in diagnosis of malaria was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC curves. The discrimination of FM, VM, FC and HC groups on the basis of differentially expressed serum proteins demonstrates

Valid Probabilistic Predictions for Ginseng with Venn Machines Using Electronic Nose

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You Wang

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In the application of electronic noses (E-noses, probabilistic prediction is a good way to estimate how confident we are about our prediction. In this work, a homemade E-nose system embedded with 16 metal-oxide semi-conductive gas sensors was used to discriminate nine kinds of ginsengs of different species or production places. A flexible machine learning framework, Venn machine (VM was introduced to make probabilistic predictions for each prediction. Three Venn predictors were developed based on three classical probabilistic prediction methods (Platt’s method, Softmax regression and Naive Bayes. Three Venn predictors and three classical probabilistic prediction methods were compared in aspect of classification rate and especially the validity of estimated probability. A best classification rate of 88.57% was achieved with Platt’s method in offline mode, and the classification rate of VM-SVM (Venn machine based on Support Vector Machine was 86.35%, just 2.22% lower. The validity of Venn predictors performed better than that of corresponding classical probabilistic prediction methods. The validity of VM-SVM was superior to the other methods. The results demonstrated that Venn machine is a flexible tool to make precise and valid probabilistic prediction in the application of E-nose, and VM-SVM achieved the best performance for the probabilistic prediction of ginseng samples.

Clinical validation of semi-automated software for volumetric and dynamic contrast enhancement analysis of soft tissue venous malformations on magnetic resonance imaging examination

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Caty, Veronique [Hopital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Universite de Montreal, Department of Radiology, Montreal, QC (Canada); Kauffmann, Claude; Giroux, Marie-France; Oliva, Vincent; Therasse, Eric [Centre Hospitalier de l' Universite de Montreal (CHUM), Universite de Montreal and Research Centre, CHUM (CRCHUM), Department of Radiology, Montreal, QC (Canada); Dubois, Josee [Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine et Universite de Montreal, Department of Radiology, Montreal, QC (Canada); Mansour, Asmaa [Institut de Cardiologie de Montreal, Heart Institute Coordinating Centre, Montreal, QC (Canada); Piche, Nicolas [Object Research System, Montreal, QC (Canada); Soulez, Gilles [Centre Hospitalier de l' Universite de Montreal (CHUM), Universite de Montreal and Research Centre, CHUM (CRCHUM), Department of Radiology, Montreal, QC (Canada); CHUM - Hopital Notre-Dame, Department of Radiology, Montreal, Quebec (Canada)

2014-02-15

To evaluate venous malformation (VM) volume and contrast-enhancement analysis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared with diameter evaluation. Baseline MRI was undertaken in 44 patients, 20 of whom were followed by MRI after sclerotherapy. All patients underwent short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) acquisitions and dynamic contrast assessment. VM diameters in three orthogonal directions were measured to obtain the largest and mean diameters. Volumetric reconstruction of VM was generated from two orthogonal STIR sequences and fused with acquisitions after contrast medium injection. Reproducibility (interclass correlation coefficients [ICCs]) of diameter and volume measurements was estimated. VM size variations in diameter and volume after sclerotherapy and contrast enhancement before sclerotherapy were compared in patients with clinical success or failure. Inter-observer ICCs were similar for diameter and volume measurements at baseline and follow-up (range 0.87-0.99). Higher percentages of size reduction after sclerotherapy were observed with volume (32.6 ± 30.7 %) than with diameter measurements (14.4 ± 21.4 %; P = 0.037). Contrast enhancement values were estimated at 65.3 ± 27.5 % and 84 ± 13 % in patients with clinical failure and success respectively (P = 0.056). Venous malformation volume was as reproducible as diameter measurement and more sensitive in detecting therapeutic responses. Patients with better clinical outcome tend to have stronger malformation enhancement. (orig.)

In situ LTE exposure of the general public: Characterization and extrapolation.

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Joseph, Wout; Verloock, Leen; Goeminne, Francis; Vermeeren, Günter; Martens, Luc

2012-09-01

In situ radiofrequency (RF) exposure of the different RF sources is characterized in Reading, United Kingdom, and an extrapolation method to estimate worst-case long-term evolution (LTE) exposure is proposed. All electric field levels satisfy the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) reference levels with a maximal total electric field value of 4.5 V/m. The total values are dominated by frequency modulation (FM). Exposure levels for LTE of 0.2 V/m on average and 0.5 V/m maximally are obtained. Contributions of LTE to the total exposure are limited to 0.4% on average. Exposure ratios from 0.8% (LTE) to 12.5% (FM) are obtained. An extrapolation method is proposed and validated to assess the worst-case LTE exposure. For this method, the reference signal (RS) and secondary synchronization signal (S-SYNC) are measured and extrapolated to the worst-case value using an extrapolation factor. The influence of the traffic load and output power of the base station on in situ RS and S-SYNC signals are lower than 1 dB for all power and traffic load settings, showing that these signals can be used for the extrapolation method. The maximal extrapolated field value for LTE exposure equals 1.9 V/m, which is 32 times below the ICNIRP reference levels for electric fields. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Putting race in context: social class modulates processing of race in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala.

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Firat, Rengin B; Hitlin, Steven; Magnotta, Vincent; Tranel, Daniel

2017-08-01

A growing body of literature demonstrates that racial group membership can influence neural responses, e.g. when individuals perceive or interact with persons of another race. However, little attention has been paid to social class, a factor that interacts with racial inequalities in American society. We extend previous literature on race-related neural activity by focusing on how the human brain responds to racial out-groups cast in positively valued social class positions vs less valued ones. We predicted that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the amygdala would have functionally dissociable roles, with the vmPFC playing a more significant role within socially valued in-groups (i.e. the middle-class) and the amygdala having a more crucial role for socially ambivalent and threatening categories (i.e. upper and lower class). We tested these predictions with two complementary studies: (i) a neuropsychological experiment with patients with the vmPFC or amygdala lesions, contrasted with brain damaged and normal comparison participants, and (ii) a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment with 15 healthy adults. Our findings suggest that two distinct mechanisms underlie class-based racial evaluations, one engaging the vmPFC for positively identified in-group class and another recruiting the amygdala for the class groups that are marginalized or perceived as potential threats. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Neural Correlates of Moral Evaluation and Psychopathic Traits in Male Multi-Problem Young Adults

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Josjan Zijlmans

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Multi-problem young adults (18–27 years present with a plethora of problems, including varying degrees of psychopathic traits. The amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC have been implicated in moral dysfunction in psychopathy in adolescents and adults, but no studies have been performed in populations in the transitional period to adulthood. We tested in multi-problem young adults the hypothesis that psychopathic traits are related to amygdala and vmPFC activity during moral evaluation. Additionally, we explored the relation between psychopathic traits and other regions consistently implicated in moral evaluation. Our final sample consisted of 100 multi-problem young adults and 22 healthy controls. During fMRI scanning, participants judged whether pictures showed a moral violation on a 1–4 scale. Whole brain analysis revealed neural correlates of moral evaluation consistent with the literature. Region of interest analyses revealed positive associations between the affective callous-unemotional dimension of psychopathy and activation in the left vmPFC, left superior temporal gyrus, and left cingulate. Our results are consistent with altered vmPFC function during moral evaluation in psychopathy, but we did not find evidence for amygdala involvement. Our findings indicate the affective callous-unemotional trait of psychopathy may be related to widespread altered activation patterns during moral evaluation in multi-problem young adults.

Baseline Mechanical and Neuromuscular Profile of Knee Extensor and Flexor Muscles in Professional Soccer Players at the Start of the Pre-Season

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García-García Oscar

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine the mechanical and neuromuscular profile of knee extensor and flexor muscles in professional soccer players at the start of the pre-season, and to calculate percentages for symmetry, as well as examine differences according to the player’s positional role. The vastus medialis (VM, vastus lateralis (VL, rectus femoris (RF and biceps femoris (BF of 16 professional soccer players were evaluated by means of tensiomyography (TMG on the first day of the pre-season. A paired-samples t test (p < .05 was used to compare the dominant and non-dominant lower limb. One-way ANOVA was applied, with the positional role as an independent factor. No differences were observed between the dominant and non-dominant leg. The highest degree of symmetry corresponded to the VM (92.5 ± 2.7%, and the lowest to the BF (80.7 ± 10.9%. The positional role was associated with significant differences in some of the variables for the BF, RF and VM, although only the half-relaxation time in the BF and the time to sustain force in the VM differed across all the playing positions considered. TMG was shown to be a useful way of evaluating the neuromuscular characteristics of soccer players at the start of the pre-season, and of establishing baseline values for individual players.

Baseline Mechanical and Neuromuscular Profile of Knee Extensor and Flexor Muscles in Professional Soccer Players at the Start of the Pre-Season.

Science.gov (United States)

García-García, Oscar; Serrano-Gómez, Virginia; Hernández-Mendo, Antonio; Morales-Sánchez, Verónica

2017-09-01

The aim of the study was to determine the mechanical and neuromuscular profile of knee extensor and flexor muscles in professional soccer players at the start of the pre-season, and to calculate percentages for symmetry, as well as examine differences according to the player's positional role. The vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF) and biceps femoris (BF) of 16 professional soccer players were evaluated by means of tensiomyography (TMG) on the first day of the pre-season. A paired-samples t test (p < .05) was used to compare the dominant and non-dominant lower limb. One-way ANOVA was applied, with the positional role as an independent factor. No differences were observed between the dominant and non-dominant leg. The highest degree of symmetry corresponded to the VM (92.5 ± 2.7%), and the lowest to the BF (80.7 ± 10.9%). The positional role was associated with significant differences in some of the variables for the BF, RF and VM, although only the half-relaxation time in the BF and the time to sustain force in the VM differed across all the playing positions considered. TMG was shown to be a useful way of evaluating the neuromuscular characteristics of soccer players at the start of the pre-season, and of establishing baseline values for individual players.

Biased visualization of hypoperfused tissue by computed tomography due to short imaging duration: improved classification by image down-sampling and vascular models

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Mikkelsen, Irene Klaerke; Ribe, Lars Riisgaard; Bekke, Susanne Lise; Tietze, Anna; Oestergaard, Leif; Mouridsen, Kim [Aarhus University Hospital, Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus C (Denmark); Jones, P.S.; Alawneh, Josef [University of Cambridge, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Puig, Josep; Pedraza, Salva [Dr. Josep Trueta Girona University Hospitals, Department of Radiology, Girona Biomedical Research Institute, Girona (Spain); Gillard, Jonathan H. [University of Cambridge, Department of Radiology, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Warburton, Elisabeth A. [Cambrigde University Hospitals, Addenbrooke, Stroke Unit, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Baron, Jean-Claude [University of Cambridge, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Centre Hospitalier Sainte Anne, INSERM U894, Paris (France)

2015-07-15

Lesion detection in acute stroke by computed-tomography perfusion (CTP) can be affected by incomplete bolus coverage in veins and hypoperfused tissue, so-called bolus truncation (BT), and low contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). We examined the BT-frequency and hypothesized that image down-sampling and a vascular model (VM) for perfusion calculation would improve normo- and hypoperfused tissue classification. CTP datasets from 40 acute stroke patients were retrospectively analysed for BT. In 16 patients with hypoperfused tissue but no BT, repeated 2-by-2 image down-sampling and uniform filtering was performed, comparing CNR to perfusion-MRI levels and tissue classification to that of unprocessed data. By simulating reduced scan duration, the minimum scan-duration at which estimated lesion volumes came within 10 % of their true volume was compared for VM and state-of-the-art algorithms. BT in veins and hypoperfused tissue was observed in 9/40 (22.5 %) and 17/40 patients (42.5 %), respectively. Down-sampling to 128 x 128 resolution yielded CNR comparable to MR data and improved tissue classification (p = 0.0069). VM reduced minimum scan duration, providing reliable maps of cerebral blood flow and mean transit time: 5 s (p = 0.03) and 7 s (p < 0.0001), respectively. BT is not uncommon in stroke CTP with 40-s scan duration. Applying image down-sampling and VM improve tissue classification. (orig.)

Biased visualization of hypoperfused tissue by computed tomography due to short imaging duration: improved classification by image down-sampling and vascular models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikkelsen, Irene Klaerke; Ribe, Lars Riisgaard; Bekke, Susanne Lise; Tietze, Anna; Oestergaard, Leif; Mouridsen, Kim; Jones, P.S.; Alawneh, Josef; Puig, Josep; Pedraza, Salva; Gillard, Jonathan H.; Warburton, Elisabeth A.; Baron, Jean-Claude

2015-01-01

Lesion detection in acute stroke by computed-tomography perfusion (CTP) can be affected by incomplete bolus coverage in veins and hypoperfused tissue, so-called bolus truncation (BT), and low contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). We examined the BT-frequency and hypothesized that image down-sampling and a vascular model (VM) for perfusion calculation would improve normo- and hypoperfused tissue classification. CTP datasets from 40 acute stroke patients were retrospectively analysed for BT. In 16 patients with hypoperfused tissue but no BT, repeated 2-by-2 image down-sampling and uniform filtering was performed, comparing CNR to perfusion-MRI levels and tissue classification to that of unprocessed data. By simulating reduced scan duration, the minimum scan-duration at which estimated lesion volumes came within 10 % of their true volume was compared for VM and state-of-the-art algorithms. BT in veins and hypoperfused tissue was observed in 9/40 (22.5 %) and 17/40 patients (42.5 %), respectively. Down-sampling to 128 x 128 resolution yielded CNR comparable to MR data and improved tissue classification (p = 0.0069). VM reduced minimum scan duration, providing reliable maps of cerebral blood flow and mean transit time: 5 s (p = 0.03) and 7 s (p < 0.0001), respectively. BT is not uncommon in stroke CTP with 40-s scan duration. Applying image down-sampling and VM improve tissue classification. (orig.)

Structure of the floating water bridge and water in an electric field.

Science.gov (United States)

Skinner, Lawrie B; Benmore, Chris J; Shyam, Badri; Weber, J K R; Parise, John B