Tolerance to extended galvanic vestibular stimulation: optimal exposure for astronaut training.

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Dilda, Valentina; MacDougall, Hamish G; Moore, Steven T

2011-08-01

We have developed an analogue of postflight sensorimotor dysfunction in astronauts using pseudorandom galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS). To date there has been no study of the effects of extended GVS on human subjects and our aim was to determine optimal exposure for astronaut training based on tolerance to intermittent and continuous galvanic stimulation. There were 60 subjects who were exposed to a total of 10.5 min of intermittent GVS at a peak current of 3.5 mA or 5 mA. A subset of 24 subjects who tolerated the intermittent stimulus were subsequently exposed to 20-min continuous stimulation at 3.5 mA or 5 mA. During intermittent GVS the large majority of subjects (78.3%) reported no or at most mild motion sickness symptoms, 13.3% reported moderate symptoms, and 8.3% experienced severe nausea and requested termination of the stimulus. During 20-min continuous exposure, 83.3% of subjects reported no or at most mild motion sickness symptoms and 16.7% (all in the 5-mA group) experienced severe nausea. Based on these results, we propose two basic modes of GVS application to minimize the incidence of motion sickness: intermittent high (5 mA) amplitude, suited to simulation of intensive operator tasks requiring a high-fidelity analogue of postflight sensorimotor dysfunction such as landing or docking maneuvers; and continuous low (3.5 mA) amplitude stimulation, for longer simulation scenarios such as extra vehicular activity. Our results suggest that neither mode of stimulation would induce motion sickness in the large majority of subjects for up to 20 min exposure.

Cross-Modal Calibration of Vestibular Afference for Human Balance.

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Martin E Héroux

Full Text Available To determine how the vestibular sense controls balance, we used instantaneous head angular velocity to drive a galvanic vestibular stimulus so that afference would signal that head movement was faster or slower than actual. In effect, this changed vestibular afferent gain. This increased sway 4-fold when subjects (N = 8 stood without vision. However, after a 240 s conditioning period with stable balance achieved through reliable visual or somatosensory cues, sway returned to normal. An equivalent galvanic stimulus unrelated to sway (not driven by head motion was equally destabilising but in this situation the conditioning period of stable balance did not reduce sway. Reflex muscle responses evoked by an independent, higher bandwidth vestibular stimulus were initially reduced in amplitude by the galvanic stimulus but returned to normal levels after the conditioning period, contrary to predictions that they would decrease after adaptation to increased sensory gain and increase after adaptation to decreased sensory gain. We conclude that an erroneous vestibular signal of head motion during standing has profound effects on balance control. If it is unrelated to current head motion, the CNS has no immediate mechanism of ignoring the vestibular signal to reduce its influence on destabilising balance. This result is inconsistent with sensory reweighting based on disturbances. The increase in sway with increased sensory gain is also inconsistent with a simple feedback model of vestibular reflex action. Thus, we propose that recalibration of a forward sensory model best explains the reinterpretation of an altered reafferent signal of head motion during stable balance.

Task-dependent vestibular feedback responses in reaching.

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Keyser, Johannes; Medendorp, W Pieter; Selen, Luc P J

2017-07-01

When reaching for an earth-fixed object during self-rotation, the motor system should appropriately integrate vestibular signals and sensory predictions to compensate for the intervening motion and its induced inertial forces. While it is well established that this integration occurs rapidly, it is unknown whether vestibular feedback is specifically processed dependent on the behavioral goal. Here, we studied whether vestibular signals evoke fixed responses with the aim to preserve the hand trajectory in space or are processed more flexibly, correcting trajectories only in task-relevant spatial dimensions. We used galvanic vestibular stimulation to perturb reaching movements toward a narrow or a wide target. Results show that the same vestibular stimulation led to smaller trajectory corrections to the wide than the narrow target. We interpret this reduced compensation as a task-dependent modulation of vestibular feedback responses, tuned to minimally intervene with the task-irrelevant dimension of the reach. These task-dependent vestibular feedback corrections are in accordance with a central prediction of optimal feedback control theory and mirror the sophistication seen in feedback responses to mechanical and visual perturbations of the upper limb. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Correcting limb movements for external perturbations is a hallmark of flexible sensorimotor behavior. While visual and mechanical perturbations are corrected in a task-dependent manner, it is unclear whether a vestibular perturbation, naturally arising when the body moves, is selectively processed in reach control. We show, using galvanic vestibular stimulation, that reach corrections to vestibular perturbations are task dependent, consistent with a prediction of optimal feedback control theory. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Electrical vestibular stimulation after vestibular deafferentation and in vestibular schwannoma.

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Swee Tin Aw

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Vestibular reflexes, evoked by human electrical (galvanic vestibular stimulation (EVS, are utilized to assess vestibular function and investigate its pathways. Our study aimed to investigate the electrically-evoked vestibulo-ocular reflex (eVOR output after bilateral and unilateral vestibular deafferentations to determine the characteristics for interpreting unilateral lesions such as vestibular schwannomas. METHODS: EVOR was recorded with dual-search coils as binocular three-dimensional eye movements evoked by bipolar 100 ms-step at EVS intensities of [0.9, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0] mA and unipolar 100 ms-step at 5 mA EVS intensity. Five bilateral vestibular deafferented (BVD, 12 unilateral vestibular deafferented (UVD, four unilateral vestibular schwannoma (UVS patients and 17 healthy subjects were tested with bipolar EVS, and five UVDs with unipolar EVS. RESULTS: After BVD, bipolar EVS elicited no eVOR. After UVD, bipolar EVS of one functioning ear elicited bidirectional, excitatory eVOR to cathodal EVS with 9 ms latency and inhibitory eVOR to anodal EVS, opposite in direction, at half the amplitude with 12 ms latency, exhibiting an excitatory-inhibitory asymmetry. The eVOR patterns from UVS were consistent with responses from UVD confirming the vestibular loss on the lesion side. Unexpectedly, unipolar EVS of the UVD ear, instead of absent response, evoked one-third the bipolar eVOR while unipolar EVS of the functioning ear evoked half the bipolar response. CONCLUSIONS: The bidirectional eVOR evoked by bipolar EVS from UVD with an excitatory-inhibitory asymmetry and the 3 ms latency difference between normal and lesion side may be useful for detecting vestibular lesions such as UVS. We suggest that current spread could account for the small eVOR to 5 mA unipolar EVS of the UVD ear.

Analysis of Postural Control Adaptation During Galvanic and Vibratory Stimulation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Fransson, P

2001-01-01

The objective for this study was to investigate whether the postural control adaptation during galvanic stimulation of the vestibular nerve were similar to that found during vibration stimulation to the calf muscles...

Wavelet-Based Artifact Identification and Separation Technique for EEG Signals during Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation

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Adib, Mani; Cretu, Edmond

2013-01-01

We present a new method for removing artifacts in electroencephalography (EEG) records during Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS). The main challenge in exploiting GVS is to understand how the stimulus acts as an input to brain. We used EEG to monitor the brain and elicit the GVS reflexes. However, GVS current distribution throughout the scalp generates an artifact on EEG signals. We need to eliminate this artifact to be able to analyze the EEG signals during GVS. We propose a novel method to estimate the contribution of the GVS current in the EEG signals at each electrode by combining time-series regression methods with wavelet decomposition methods. We use wavelet transform to project the recorded EEG signal into various frequency bands and then estimate the GVS current distribution in each frequency band. The proposed method was optimized using simulated signals, and its performance was compared to well-accepted artifact removal methods such as ICA-based methods and adaptive filters. The results show that the proposed method has better performance in removing GVS artifacts, compared to the others. Using the proposed method, a higher signal to artifact ratio of −1.625 dB was achieved, which outperformed other methods such as ICA-based methods, regression methods, and adaptive filters. PMID:23956786

Wavelet-Based Artifact Identification and Separation Technique for EEG Signals during Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation

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Mani Adib

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We present a new method for removing artifacts in electroencephalography (EEG records during Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS. The main challenge in exploiting GVS is to understand how the stimulus acts as an input to brain. We used EEG to monitor the brain and elicit the GVS reflexes. However, GVS current distribution throughout the scalp generates an artifact on EEG signals. We need to eliminate this artifact to be able to analyze the EEG signals during GVS. We propose a novel method to estimate the contribution of the GVS current in the EEG signals at each electrode by combining time-series regression methods with wavelet decomposition methods. We use wavelet transform to project the recorded EEG signal into various frequency bands and then estimate the GVS current distribution in each frequency band. The proposed method was optimized using simulated signals, and its performance was compared to well-accepted artifact removal methods such as ICA-based methods and adaptive filters. The results show that the proposed method has better performance in removing GVS artifacts, compared to the others. Using the proposed method, a higher signal to artifact ratio of −1.625 dB was achieved, which outperformed other methods such as ICA-based methods, regression methods, and adaptive filters.

Body ownership and embodiment: vestibular and multisensory mechanisms.

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Lopez, C; Halje, P; Blanke, O

2008-06-01

Body ownership and embodiment are two fundamental mechanisms of self-consciousness. The present article reviews neurological data about paroxysmal illusions during which body ownership and embodiment are affected differentially: autoscopic phenomena (out-of-body experience, heautoscopy, autoscopic hallucination, feeling-of-a-presence) and the room tilt illusion. We suggest that autoscopic phenomena and room tilt illusion are related to different types of failures to integrate body-related information (vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile cues) in addition to a mismatch between vestibular and visual references. In these patients, altered body ownership and embodiment has been shown to occur due to pathological activity at the temporoparietal junction and other vestibular-related areas arguing for a key importance of vestibular processing. We also review the possibilities of manipulating body ownership and embodiment in healthy subjects through exposition to weightlessness as well as caloric and galvanic stimulation of the peripheral vestibular apparatus. In healthy subjects, disturbed self-processing might be related to interference of vestibular stimulation with vestibular cortex leading to disintegration of bodily information and altered body ownership and embodiment. We finally propose a differential contribution of the vestibular cortical areas to the different forms of altered body ownership and embodiment.

The reliability of nonlinear least-squares algorithm for data analysis of neural response activity during sinusoidal rotational stimulation in semicircular canal neurons.

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Ren, Pengyu; Li, Bowen; Dong, Shiyao; Chen, Lin; Zhang, Yuelin

2018-01-01

Although many mathematical methods were used to analyze the neural activity under sinusoidal stimulation within linear response range in vestibular system, the reliabilities of these methods are still not reported, especially in nonlinear response range. Here we chose nonlinear least-squares algorithm (NLSA) with sinusoidal model to analyze the neural response of semicircular canal neurons (SCNs) during sinusoidal rotational stimulation (SRS) over a nonlinear response range. Our aim was to acquire a reliable mathematical method for data analysis under SRS in vestibular system. Our data indicated that the reliability of this method in an entire SCNs population was quite satisfactory. However, the reliability was strongly negatively depended on the neural discharge regularity. In addition, stimulation parameters were the vital impact factors influencing the reliability. The frequency had a significant negative effect but the amplitude had a conspicuous positive effect on the reliability. Thus, NLSA with sinusoidal model resulted a reliable mathematical tool for data analysis of neural response activity under SRS in vestibular system and more suitable for those under the stimulation with low frequency but high amplitude, suggesting that this method can be used in nonlinear response range. This method broke out of the restriction of neural activity analysis under nonlinear response range and provided a solid foundation for future study in nonlinear response range in vestibular system.

Influence of Electrotactile Tongue Feedback on Controlling Upright Stance during Rotational and/or Translational Sway-referencing with Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation

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Wood, Scott J.; Tyler, Mitchell E.; Bach-y-Rita, Paul; MacDougall, Hamish G.; Moore, Steven T.; Stallings, Valerie L.; Paloski, William H.; Black, F. Owen

2007-01-01

Integration of multi-sensory inputs to detect tilts relative to gravity is critical for sensorimotor control of upright orientation. Displaying body orientation using electrotactile feedback to the tongue has been developed by Bach-y-Rita and colleagues as a sensory aid to maintain upright stance with impaired vestibular feedback. MacDougall et al. (2006) recently demonstrated that unpredictably varying Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) significantly increased anterior-posterior (AP) sway during rotational sway referencing with eyes closed. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of electrotactile feedback on postural control performance with pseudorandom binaural bipolar GVS. Postural equilibrium was measured with a computerized hydraulic platform in 10 healthy adults (6M, 4F, 24-65 y). Tactile feedback (TF) of pitch and roll body orientation was derived from a two-axis linear accelerometer mounted on a torso belt and displayed on a 144-point electrotactile array held against the anterior dorsal tongue (BrainPort, Wicab, Inc., Middleton, WI). Subjects were trained to use TF by voluntarily swaying to draw figures on their tongue, both with and without GVS. Subjects were required to keep the intraoral display in their mouths on all trials, including those that did not provide TF. Subjects performed 24 randomized trials (20 s duration with eyes closed) including four support surface conditions (fixed, rotational sway-referenced, translating the support surface proportional to AP sway, and combined rotational-translational sway-referencing), each repeated twice with and without GVS, and with combined GVS and TF. Postural performance was assessed using deviations from upright (peak-to-peak and RMS sway) and convergence toward stability limits (time and distance to base of support boundaries). Postural stability was impaired with GVS in all platform conditions, with larger decrements in performance during trials with rotation sway

The vestibular implant: Frequency-dependency of the electrically evoked Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex in humans

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Raymond eVan De Berg

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR shows frequency-dependent behavior. This study investigated whether the characteristics of the electrically evoked VOR (eVOR elicited by a vestibular implant, showed the same frequency-dependency.Twelve vestibular electrodes implanted in 7 patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction were tested. Stimuli consisted of amplitude-modulated electrical stimulation with a sinusoidal profile at frequencies of 0.5Hz, 1Hz, and 2Hz. The main characteristics of the eVOR were evaluated and compared to the natural VOR characteristics measured in a group of age-matched healthy volunteers who were subjected to horizontal whole body rotations with equivalent sinusoidal velocity profiles at the same frequencies.A strong and significant effect of frequency was observed in the total peak eye velocity of the eVOR. This effect was similar to that observed in the natural VOR. Other characteristics of the (eVOR (angle, habituation-index, and asymmetry showed no significant frequency-dependent effect. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that, at least at the specific (limited frequency range tested, responses elicited by a vestibular implant closely mimic the frequency-dependency of the normal vestibular system.

Vestibular apparatus disorders after external radiation therapy for head and neck cancers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabriele, P.; Orecchia, R.; Sannazzari, G.L.; Magnano, M.; Albera, R.

1992-01-01

External irradiation of different head and neck cancers may involve parts of the ear. The vestibular function of 25 patients in which the inner ear was comprised in the irradiated volume was investigated by electronystagmography (ENG). Doses administered (3/5 with vertigo) showed vestibular abnormalities to ENG (44% of the total). Altered responses to specific test were as follows : 6 patients to the bithermal caloric stimulation, to pendular-sinusoidal 2, and the other 3 to both of them. Patients were evaluated 3 and 6 months after ending of the radiation therapy course. At the 1st evaluation, abnormalities to caloric test were noted in 3 patients (12%) and to sinusoidal rotary test in 1 patient (4%). At the second rates of abnormal response increased to 36 and 20% respectively. Vestibular disorders seemed to be scantely related to total radiation dose. Data of literature are discussed in order to identify possible implications on treatment planning. (author). 33 refs., 3 tabs

Exhibition of Stochastic Resonance in Vestibular Perception

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Galvan-Garza, R. C.; Clark, T. K.; Merfeld, D. M.; Bloomberg, J. J.; Oman, C. M.; Mulavara, A. P.

2016-01-01

(OTO) with SVS up to 700 µA. A sinusoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) perceptual threshold was also measured on each test day and used to normalize the SVS levels across subjects. In roll-tilt thresholds with SVS, the characteristic SR curve was qualitatively exhibited in 10 of 12 subjects, and the improvement in motion threshold was significant in 6 subjects, indicating that optimal SVS improved passive body motion perception in a way that is consistent with classical SR theory. A probabilistic comparison to numeric simulations further validated these experimental results. On the second test session, 4 out of the 10 SR exhibitors showed repeated improvement with SVS compared to the no SVS condition. Data collection is ongoing for the last two test sessions in which SCC and OTO only perceptual motion recognition thresholds are being measured with SVS. The final results of these test sessions will give insight into whether vestibular perceptual SR can occur when only one type of vestibular sensor is sensing motion or if it is more evident when sensory integration between the SCC and OTO is occurring during the motion. The overall purpose of this research is to further quantify the effects of SVS on various sensorimotor tasks and to gain a more fundamental understanding of how SVS causes SR in the vestibular system. In the context of human space flight, results from this research will help in understanding how SVS may be practically implemented in the future as a component of a comprehensive countermeasure plan for G-transition adaptation.

Asymmetric vestibular stimulation reveals persistent disruption of motion perception in unilateral vestibular lesions.

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Panichi, R; Faralli, M; Bruni, R; Kiriakarely, A; Occhigrossi, C; Ferraresi, A; Bronstein, A M; Pettorossi, V E

2017-11-01

Self-motion perception was studied in patients with unilateral vestibular lesions (UVL) due to acute vestibular neuritis at 1 wk and 4, 8, and 12 mo after the acute episode. We assessed vestibularly mediated self-motion perception by measuring the error in reproducing the position of a remembered visual target at the end of four cycles of asymmetric whole-body rotation. The oscillatory stimulus consists of a slow (0.09 Hz) and a fast (0.38 Hz) half cycle. A large error was present in UVL patients when the slow half cycle was delivered toward the lesion side, but minimal toward the healthy side. This asymmetry diminished over time, but it remained abnormally large at 12 mo. In contrast, vestibulo-ocular reflex responses showed a large direction-dependent error only initially, then they normalized. Normalization also occurred for conventional reflex vestibular measures (caloric tests, subjective visual vertical, and head shaking nystagmus) and for perceptual function during symmetric rotation. Vestibular-related handicap, measured with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) at 12 mo correlated with self-motion perception asymmetry but not with abnormalities in vestibulo-ocular function. We conclude that 1 ) a persistent self-motion perceptual bias is revealed by asymmetric rotation in UVLs despite vestibulo-ocular function becoming symmetric over time, 2 ) this dissociation is caused by differential perceptual-reflex adaptation to high- and low-frequency rotations when these are combined as with our asymmetric stimulus, 3 ) the findings imply differential central compensation for vestibuloperceptual and vestibulo-ocular reflex functions, and 4 ) self-motion perception disruption may mediate long-term vestibular-related handicap in UVL patients. NEW & NOTEWORTHY A novel vestibular stimulus, combining asymmetric slow and fast sinusoidal half cycles, revealed persistent vestibuloperceptual dysfunction in unilateral vestibular lesion (UVL) patients. The compensation of

Perception of the dynamic visual vertical during sinusoidal linear motion.

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Pomante, A; Selen, L P J; Medendorp, W P

2017-10-01

The vestibular system provides information for spatial orientation. However, this information is ambiguous: because the otoliths sense the gravitoinertial force, they cannot distinguish gravitational and inertial components. As a consequence, prolonged linear acceleration of the head can be interpreted as tilt, referred to as the somatogravic effect. Previous modeling work suggests that the brain disambiguates the otolith signal according to the rules of Bayesian inference, combining noisy canal cues with the a priori assumption that prolonged linear accelerations are unlikely. Within this modeling framework the noise of the vestibular signals affects the dynamic characteristics of the tilt percept during linear whole-body motion. To test this prediction, we devised a novel paradigm to psychometrically characterize the dynamic visual vertical-as a proxy for the tilt percept-during passive sinusoidal linear motion along the interaural axis (0.33 Hz motion frequency, 1.75 m/s 2 peak acceleration, 80 cm displacement). While subjects ( n =10) kept fixation on a central body-fixed light, a line was briefly flashed (5 ms) at different phases of the motion, the orientation of which had to be judged relative to gravity. Consistent with the model's prediction, subjects showed a phase-dependent modulation of the dynamic visual vertical, with a subject-specific phase shift with respect to the imposed acceleration signal. The magnitude of this modulation was smaller than predicted, suggesting a contribution of nonvestibular signals to the dynamic visual vertical. Despite their dampening effect, our findings may point to a link between the noise components in the vestibular system and the characteristics of dynamic visual vertical. NEW & NOTEWORTHY A fundamental question in neuroscience is how the brain processes vestibular signals to infer the orientation of the body and objects in space. We show that, under sinusoidal linear motion, systematic error patterns appear in the

Left hemispheric dominance of vestibular processing indicates lateralization of cortical functions in rats.

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Best, Christoph; Lange, Elena; Buchholz, Hans-Georg; Schreckenberger, Mathias; Reuss, Stefan; Dieterich, Marianne

2014-11-01

Lateralization of cortical functions such as speech dominance, handedness and processing of vestibular information are present not only in humans but also in ontogenetic older species, e.g. rats. In human functional imaging studies, the processing of vestibular information was found to be correlated with the hemispherical dominance as determined by the handedness. It is located mainly within the right hemisphere in right handers and within the left hemisphere in left handers. Since dominance of vestibular processing is unknown in animals, our aim was to study the lateralization of cortical processing in a functional imaging study applying small-animal positron emission tomography (microPET) and galvanic vestibular stimulation in an in vivo rat model. The cortical and subcortical network processing vestibular information could be demonstrated and correlated with data from other animal studies. By calculating a lateralization index as well as flipped region of interest analyses, we found that the vestibular processing in rats follows a strong left hemispheric dominance independent from the "handedness" of the animals. These findings support the idea of an early hemispheric specialization of vestibular cortical functions in ontogenetic older species.

Beyond the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex: Vestibular Input is Processed Centrally to Achieve Visual Stability

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Edwin S. Dalmaijer

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The current study presents a re-analysis of data from Zink et al. (1998, Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 107, who administered galvanic vestibular stimulation through unipolar direct current. They placed electrodes on each mastoid and applied either right or left anodal stimulation. Ocular torsion and visual tilt were measured under different stimulation intensities. New modelling introduced here demonstrates that directly proportional linear models fit reasonably well with the relationship between vestibular input and visual tilt, but not to that between vestibular input and ocular torsion. Instead, an exponential model characterised by a decreasing slope and an asymptote fitted best. These results demonstrate that in the results presented by Zink et al. (1998, ocular torsion could not completely account for visual tilt. This suggests that vestibular input is processed centrally to stabilise vision when ocular torsion is insufficient. Potential mechanisms and seemingly conflicting literature are discussed.

Spatio-temporal pattern of vestibular information processing after brief caloric stimulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcelli, Vincenzo; Esposito, Fabrizio; Aragri, Adriana; Furia, Teresa; Riccardi, Pasquale; Tosetti, Michela; Biagi, Laura; Marciano, Elio; Di Salle, Francesco

2009-01-01

Processing of vestibular information at the cortical and subcortical level is essential for head and body orientation in space and self-motion perception, but little is known about the neural dynamics of the brain regions of the vestibular system involved in this task. Neuroimaging studies using both galvanic and caloric stimulation have shown that several distinct cortical and subcortical structures can be activated during vestibular information processing. The insular cortex has been often targeted and presented as the central hub of the vestibular cortical system. Since very short pulses of cold water ear irrigation can generate a strong and prolonged vestibular response and a nystagmus, we explored the effects of this type of caloric stimulation for assessing the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) dynamics of neural vestibular processing in a whole-brain event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment. We evaluated the spatial layout and the temporal dynamics of the activated cortical and subcortical regions in time-locking with the instant of injection and were able to extract a robust pattern of neural activity involving the contra-lateral insular cortex, the thalamus, the brainstem and the cerebellum. No significant correlation with the temporal envelope of the nystagmus was found. The temporal analysis of the activation profiles highlighted a significantly longer duration of the evoked BOLD activity in the brainstem compared to the insular cortex suggesting a functional de-coupling between cortical and subcortical activity during the vestibular response.

Postural Effects of Vestibular Manipulation Depend on the Physical Activity Status.

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Julien Maitre

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS on postural control for participants of different physical activity status (i.e. active and non-active. Two groups of participants were recruited: one group of participants who regularly practised sports activities (active group, n = 17, and one group of participants who did not practise physical and/or sports activities (non-active group, n = 17. They were compared in a reference condition (i.e bipedal stance with eyes open and four vestibular manipulation condition (i.e. GVS at 0.5 mA and 3 mA, in accordance with two designs lasting 20 seconds. The centre of foot pressure displacement velocities were compared between the two groups. The main results indicate that the regular practice of sports activities counteracts postural control disruption caused by GVS. The active group demonstrated better postural control than the non-active group when subjected to higher vestibular manipulation. The active group may have developed their ability to reduce the influence of inaccurate vestibular signals. The active participants could identify the relevant sensory input, thought a better central integration, which enables them to switch faster between sensory inputs.

Glutamate and GABA in vestibulo-sympathetic pathway neurons

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Gay R Holstein

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The vestibulo-sympathetic reflex actively modulates blood pressure during changes in posture. This reflex allows humans to stand up and quadrupeds to rear or climb without a precipitous decline in cerebral perfusion. The vestibulo-sympathetic reflex pathway conveys signals from the vestibular end organs to the caudal vestibular nuclei. These cells, in turn, project to pre-sympathetic neurons in the rostral and caudal ventrolateral medulla (RVLM and CVLM, respectively. The present study assessed glutamate- and GABA-related immunofluorescence associated with central vestibular neurons of the vestibulo-sympathetic reflex pathway in rats. Retrograde FluoroGold tract tracing was used to label vestibular neurons with projections to RVLM or CVLM, and sinusoidal galvanic vestibular stimulation was employed to activate these pathways. Central vestibular neurons of the vestibulo-sympathetic reflex were identified by co-localization of FluoroGold and cFos protein, which accumulates in some vestibular neurons following galvanic stimulation. Triple-label immunofluorescence was used to co-localize glutamate- or GABA- labeling in the identified vestibulo-sympathetic reflex pathway neurons. Most activated projection neurons displayed intense glutamate immunofluorescence, suggestive of glutamatergic neurotransmission. To support this, anterograde tracer was injected into the caudal vestibular nuclei. Vestibular axons and terminals in RVLM and CVLM co-localized the anterograde tracer and vesicular glutamate transporter-2 signals. Other retrogradely-labeled cFos-positive neurons displayed intense GABA immunofluorescence. Vestibulo-sympathetic reflex pathway neurons of both phenotypes were present in the caudal medial and spinal vestibular nuclei, and projected to both RVLM and CVLM. As a group, however, triple-labeled vestibular cells with intense glutamate immunofluorescence were located more rostrally in the vestibular nuclei than the GABAergic neurons. Only the

Age-related decline in functional connectivity of the vestibular cortical network.

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Cyran, Carolin Anna Maria; Boegle, Rainer; Stephan, Thomas; Dieterich, Marianne; Glasauer, Stefan

2016-04-01

In the elderly, major complaints include dizziness and an increasing number of falls, possibly related to an altered processing of vestibular sensory input. In this study, we therefore investigate age-related changes induced by processing of vestibular sensory stimulation. While previous functional imaging studies of healthy aging have investigated brain function during task performance or at rest, we used galvanic vestibular stimulation during functional MRI in a task-free sensory stimulation paradigm to study the effect of healthy aging on central vestibular processing, which might only become apparent during stimulation processing. Since aging may affect signatures of brain function beyond the BOLD-signal amplitude-such as functional connectivity or temporal signal variability--we employed independent component analysis and partial least squares analysis of temporal signal variability. We tested for age-associated changes unrelated to vestibular processing, using a motor paradigm, voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging. This allows us to control for general age-related modifications, possibly originating from vascular, atrophic or structural connectivity changes. Age-correlated decreases of functional connectivity and increases of BOLD--signal variability were associated with multisensory vestibular networks. In contrast, no age-related functional connectivity changes were detected in somatosensory networks or during the motor paradigm. The functional connectivity decrease was not due to structural changes but to a decrease in response amplitude. In synopsis, our data suggest that both the age-dependent functional connectivity decrease and the variability increase may be due to deteriorating reciprocal cortico-cortical inhibition with age and related to multimodal vestibular integration of sensory inputs.

Quantification of vestibular-induced eye movements in zebrafish larvae

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Mo Weike

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Vestibular reflexes coordinate movements or sensory input with changes in body or head position. Vestibular-evoked responses that involve the extraocular muscles include the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR, a compensatory eye movement to stabilize retinal images. Although an angular VOR attributable to semicircular canal stimulation was reported to be absent in free-swimming zebrafish larvae, recent studies reveal that vestibular-induced eye movements can be evoked in zebrafish larvae by both static tilts and dynamic rotations that tilt the head with respect to gravity. Results We have determined herein the basis of sensitivity of the larval eye movements with respect to vestibular stimulus, developmental stage, and sensory receptors of the inner ear. For our experiments, video recordings of larvae rotated sinusoidally at 0.25 Hz were analyzed to quantitate eye movements under infrared illumination. We observed a robust response that appeared as early as 72 hours post fertilization (hpf, which increased in amplitude over time. Unlike rotation about an earth horizontal axis, rotation about an earth vertical axis at 0.25 Hz did not evoke eye movements. Moreover, vestibular-induced responses were absent in mutant cdh23 larvae and larvae lacking anterior otoliths. Conclusions Our results provide evidence for a functional vestibulo-oculomotor circuit in 72 hpf zebrafish larvae that relies upon sensory input from anterior/utricular otolith organs.

Integration of Visual and Vestibular Information Used to Discriminate Rotational Self-Motion

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Florian Soyka

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Do humans integrate visual and vestibular information in a statistically optimal fashion when discriminating rotational self-motion stimuli? Recent studies are inconclusive as to whether such integration occurs when discriminating heading direction. In the present study eight participants were consecutively rotated twice (2s sinusoidal acceleration on a chair about an earth-vertical axis in vestibular-only, visual-only and visual-vestibular trials. The visual stimulus was a video of a moving stripe pattern, synchronized with the inertial motion. Peak acceleration of the reference stimulus was varied and participants reported which rotation was perceived as faster. Just-noticeable differences (JND were estimated by fitting psychometric functions. The visual-vestibular JND measurements are too high compared to the predictions based on the unimodal JND estimates and there is no JND reduction between visual-vestibular and visual-alone estimates. These findings may be explained by visual capture. Alternatively, the visual precision may not be equal between visual-vestibular and visual-alone conditions, since it has been shown that visual motion sensitivity is reduced during inertial self-motion. Therefore, measuring visual-alone JNDs with an underlying uncorrelated inertial motion might yield higher visual-alone JNDs compared to the stationary measurement. Theoretical calculations show that higher visual-alone JNDs would result in predictions consistent with the JND measurements for the visual-vestibular condition.

Role of cerebellar nodulus and uvula on the vestibular quick phase spatial constancy.

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Pettorossi, V E; Grassi, S; Errico, P; Barmack, N H

2001-01-01

We investigated the orientation of quick phases (QPs) of vestibularly-induced eye movements in rabbits in response to "off-vertical" sinusoidal vestibular stimulation. We also examined the possible role of the cerebellar nodulus and ventral uvula in controlling QP spatial orientation and modification. During "off-vertical" vestibular stimulation QPs remained aligned with the earth's horizontal plane, while the slow phases (SPs) were aligned with the plane of vestibular stimulation. This suggests that QPs are coded in gravito-inertial coordinates and SPs in head coordinates. When rabbits were oscillated in the light (20 degrees peak-to-peak; 0.2 Hz) about an "off-vertical" axis for 2 h, the QPs changed their trajectory, abandoning the earth's horizontal plane to approach the plane of the stimulus. By contrast, in the absence of conjunctive optokinetic stimulation, QPs remained fixed in the earth's horizontal plane even after 2 h of "off-vertical" stimulation. The conjunctive combination of optokinetic and vestibular stimulation caused QPs to change their plane of rotation. After lesion of the nodulus-uvula the ability of rabbits to reorient QPs during conjoint vestibular-optokinetic stimulation was maintained. We conclude that the space orientation and adaptation of QPs do not require cerebellar control.

Galvanically Decoupled Current Source Modules for Multi-Channel Bioimpedance Measurement Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roman Kusche

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Bioimpedance measurements have become a useful technique in the past several years in biomedical engineering. Especially, multi-channel measurements facilitate new imaging and patient monitoring techniques. While most instrumentation research has focused on signal acquisition and signal processing, this work proposes the design of an excitation current source module that can be easily implemented in existing or upcoming bioimpedance measurement systems. It is galvanically isolated to enable simultaneous multi-channel bioimpedance measurements with a very low channel-coupling. The system is based on a microcontroller in combination with a voltage-controlled current source circuit. It generates selectable sinusoidal excitation signals between 0.12 and 1.5 mA in a frequency range from 12 to 250 kHz, whereas the voltage compliance range is ±3.2 V. The coupling factor between two current sources, experimentally galvanically connected with each other, is measured to be less than −48 dB over the entire intended frequency range. Finally, suggestions for developments in the future are made.

Distinct roles of Eps8 in the maturation of cochlear and vestibular hair cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Tavazzani, Elisa; Spaiardi, Paolo; Zampini, Valeria; Contini, Donatella; Manca, Marco; Russo, Giancarlo; Prigioni, Ivo; Marcotti, Walter; Masetto, Sergio

2016-07-22

Several genetic mutations affecting the development and function of mammalian hair cells have been shown to cause deafness but not vestibular defects, most likely because vestibular deficits are sometimes centrally compensated. The study of hair cell physiology is thus a powerful direct approach to ascertain the functional status of the vestibular end organs. Deletion of Epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate 8 (Eps8), a gene involved in actin remodeling, has been shown to cause deafness in mice. While both inner and outer hair cells from Eps8 knockout (KO) mice showed abnormally short stereocilia, inner hair cells (IHCs) also failed to acquire mature-type ion channels. Despite the fact that Eps8 is also expressed in vestibular hair cells, Eps8 KO mice show no vestibular deficits. In the present study we have investigated the properties of vestibular Type I and Type II hair cells in Eps8-KO mice and compared them to those of cochlear IHCs. In the absence of Eps8, vestibular hair cells show normally long kinocilia, significantly shorter stereocilia and a normal pattern of basolateral voltage-dependent ion channels. We have also found that while vestibular hair cells from Eps8 KO mice show normal voltage responses to injected sinusoidal currents, which were used to mimic the mechanoelectrical transducer current, IHCs lose their ability to synchronize their responses to the stimulus. We conclude that the absence of Eps8 produces a weaker phenotype in vestibular hair cells compared to cochlear IHCs, since it affects the hair bundle morphology but not the basolateral membrane currents. This difference is likely to explain the absence of obvious vestibular dysfunction in Eps8 KO mice. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Vestibular compensation studies]. [Vestibular Compensation and Morphological Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Perachio, Adrian A. (Principal Investigator)

1996-01-01

The following topics are reported: neurophysiological studies on MVN neurons during vestibular compensation; effects of spinal cord lesions on VNC neurons during compensation; a closed-loop vestibular compensation model for horizontally canal-related MVN neurons; spatiotemporal convergence in VNC neurons; contributions of irregularly firing vestibular afferents to linear and angular VOR's; application to flight studies; metabolic measures in vestibular neurons; immediate early gene expression following vestibular stimulation; morphological studies on primary afferents, central vestibular pathways, vestibular efferent projection to the vestibular end organs, and three-dimensional morphometry and imaging.

Vestibular migraine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lempert, Thomas; Olesen, Jes; Furman, Joseph

2012-01-01

This paper presents diagnostic criteria for vestibular migraine, jointly formulated by the Committee for Classification of Vestibular Disorders of the Bárány Society and the Migraine Classification Subcommittee of the International Headache Society (IHS). The classification includes vestibular...... migraine and probable vestibular migraine. Vestibular migraine will appear in an appendix of the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD) as a first step for new entities, in accordance with the usual IHS procedures. Probable vestibular migraine may be included...... in a later version of the ICHD, when further evidence has been accumulated. The diagnosis of vestibular migraine is based on recurrent vestibular symptoms, a history of migraine, a temporal association between vestibular symptoms and migraine symptoms and exclusion of other causes of vestibular symptoms...

Cerebellar nodulectomy impairs spatial memory of vestibular and optokinetic stimulation in rabbits.

Science.gov (United States)

Barmack, N H; Errico, P; Ferraresi, A; Fushiki, H; Pettorossi, V E; Yakhnitsa, V

2002-02-01

Natural vestibular and optokinetic stimulation were used to investigate the possible role of the cerebellar nodulus in the regulation and modification of reflexive eye movements in rabbits. The nodulus and folium 9d of the uvula were destroyed by surgical aspiration. Before and after nodulectomy the vertical and horizontal vestibuloocular reflexes (VVOR, HVOR) were measured during sinusoidal vestibular stimulation about the longitudinal (roll) and vertical (yaw) axes. Although the gain of the HVOR (G(HVOR) = peak eye movement velocity/peak head velocity) was not affected by the nodulectomy, the gain of the VVOR (G(VVOR)) was reduced. The gains of the vertical and horizontal optokinetic reflexes (G(VOKR), G(HOKR)) were measured during monocular, sinusoidal optokinetic stimulation (OKS) about the longitudinal and vertical axes. Following nodulectomy, there was no reduction in G(VOKR) or G(HOKR). Long-term binocular OKS was used to generate optokinetic afternystagmus, OKAN II, that lasts for hours. After OKAN II was induced, rabbits were subjected to static pitch and roll, to determine how the plane and velocity of OKAN II is influenced by a changing vestibular environment. During static pitch, OKAN II slow phase remained aligned with earth-horizontal. This was true for normal and nodulectomized rabbits. During static roll, OKAN II remained aligned with earth-horizontal in normal rabbits. During static roll in nodulectomized rabbits, OKAN II slow phase developed a centripetal vertical drift. We examined the suppression and recovery of G(VVOR) following exposure to conflicting vertical OKS for 10-30 min. This vestibular-optokinetic conflict reduced G(VVOR) in both normal and nodulectomized rabbits. The time course of recovery of G(VVOR) after conflicting OKS was the same before and after nodulectomy. In normal rabbits, the head pitch angle, at which peak OKAN II velocity occurred, corresponded to the head pitch angle maintained during long-term OKS. If the head was

Vestibular Dysfunction in Patients with Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct.

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Zalewski, Chris K; Chien, Wade W; King, Kelly A; Muskett, Julie A; Baron, Rachel E; Butman, John A; Griffith, Andrew J; Brewer, Carmen C

2015-08-01

Enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) is the most common inner ear malformation. While a strong correlative relationship between EVA and hearing loss is well established, its association with vestibular dysfunction is less well understood. In this study, we examine the effects of EVA on the vestibular system in patients with EVA. Prospective, cross-sectional study of a cohort ascertained between 1999 and 2013. National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, a federal biomedical research facility. In total, 106 patients with unilateral or bilateral EVA, defined as a midpoint diameter greater than 1.5 mm, were referred or self-referred to participate in a study of the clinical and molecular aspects of EVA. Clinical history was ascertained with respect to the presence or absence of various vestibular signs and symptoms and history of head trauma. Videonystagmography (VNG), cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP), and rotational vestibular testing (RVT) were performed to assess the vestibular function. Of the patients with EVA, 45% had vestibular signs and symptoms, and 44% of tested patients had abnormal VNG test results. An increased number of vestibular signs and symptoms was correlated with the presence of bilateral EVA (P = .008) and a history of head injury (P VNG results also correlated with a history of head injury (P = .018). Vestibular dysfunction is common in patients with EVA. However, not all patients with vestibular signs and symptoms have abnormal vestibular test results. Clinicians should be aware of the high prevalence of vestibular dysfunction in patients with EVA. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

Peripheral Vestibular System Disease in Vestibular Schwannomas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Martin Nue; Hansen, Søren; Caye-Thomasen, Per

2015-01-01

density of the peripheral vestibular nerve branches, and atrophy of the neuroepithelium of the vestibular end organs. In cases with small tumors, peripheral disease occurred only in the tissue structures innervated by the specific nerve from which the tumor originated. CONCLUSION: Vestibular schwannomas...... are associated with distinctive disease of the peripheral vestibular tissue structures, suggesting anterograde degeneration and that dizziness in these patients may be caused by deficient peripheral vestibular nerve fibers, neurons, and end organs. In smaller tumors, a highly localized disease occurs, which...

Postural threat differentially affects the feedforward and feedback components of the vestibular-evoked balance response.

Science.gov (United States)

Osler, Callum J; Tersteeg, M C A; Reynolds, Raymond F; Loram, Ian D

2013-10-01

Circumstances may render the consequence of falling quite severe, thus maximising the motivation to control postural sway. This commonly occurs when exposed to height and may result from the interaction of many factors, including fear, arousal, sensory information and perception. Here, we examined human vestibular-evoked balance responses during exposure to a highly threatening postural context. Nine subjects stood with eyes closed on a narrow walkway elevated 3.85 m above ground level. This evoked an altered psycho-physiological state, demonstrated by a twofold increase in skin conductance. Balance responses were then evoked by galvanic vestibular stimulation. The sway response, which comprised a whole-body lean in the direction of the edge of the walkway, was significantly and substantially attenuated after ~800 ms. This demonstrates that a strong reason to modify the balance control strategy was created and subjects were highly motivated to minimise sway. Despite this, the initial response remained unchanged. This suggests little effect on the feedforward settings of the nervous system responsible for coupling pure vestibular input to functional motor output. The much stronger, later effect can be attributed to an integration of balance-relevant sensory feedback once the body was in motion. These results demonstrate that the feedforward and feedback components of a vestibular-evoked balance response are differently affected by postural threat. Although a fear of falling has previously been linked with instability and even falling itself, our findings suggest that this relationship is not attributable to changes in the feedforward vestibular control of balance. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Rotatory and collic vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children.

Science.gov (United States)

Maes, Leen; De Kegel, Alexandra; Van Waelvelde, Hilde; Dhooge, Ingeborg

2014-01-01

Vertigo and imbalance are often underestimated in the pediatric population, due to limited communication abilities, atypical symptoms, and relatively quick adaptation and compensation in children. Moreover, examination and interpretation of vestibular tests are very challenging, because of difficulties with cooperation and maintenance of alertness, and because of the sometimes nauseatic reactions. Therefore, it is of great importance for each vestibular laboratory to implement a child-friendly test protocol with age-appropriate normative data. Because of the often masked appearance of vestibular problems in young children, the vestibular organ should be routinely examined in high-risk pediatric groups, such as children with a hearing impairment. Purposes of the present study were (1) to determine age-appropriate normative data for two child-friendly vestibular laboratory techniques (rotatory and collic vestibular evoked myogenic potential [cVEMP] test) in a group of children without auditory or vestibular complaints, and (2) to examine vestibular function in a group of children presenting with bilateral hearing impairment. Forty-eight typically developing children (mean age 8 years 0 months; range: 4 years 1 month to 12 years 11 months) without any auditory or vestibular complaints as well as 39 children (mean age 7 years 8 months; range: 3 years 8 months to 12 years 10 months) with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were included in this study. All children underwent three sinusoidal rotations (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 Hz at 50 degrees/s) and bilateral cVEMP testing. No significant age differences were found for the rotatory test, whereas a significant increase of N1 latency and a significant threshold decrease was noticeable for the cVEMP, resulting in age-appropriate normative data. Hearing-impaired children demonstrated significantly lower gain values at the 0.01 Hz rotation and a larger percentage of absent cVEMP responses compared with normal-hearing children

Is galvanic corrosion between titanium alloy and stainless steel spinal implants a clinical concern?

Science.gov (United States)

Serhan, Hassan; Slivka, Michael; Albert, Todd; Kwak, S Daniel

2004-01-01

Surgeons are hesitant to mix components made of differing metal classes for fear of galvanic corrosion complications. However, in vitro studies have failed to show a significant potential for galvanic corrosion between titanium and stainless steel, the two primary metallic alloys used for spinal implants. Galvanic corrosion resulting from metal mixing has not been described in the literature for spinal implant systems. To determine whether galvanic potential significantly affects in vitro corrosion of titanium and stainless steel spinal implant components during cyclical compression bending. Bilateral spinal implant constructs consisting of pedicle screws, slotted connectors, 6.35-mm diameter rods and a transverse rod connector assembled in polyethylene test blocks were tested in vitro. Two constructs had stainless steel rods with mixed stainless steel (SS-SS) and titanium (SS-Ti) components, and two constructs had titanium rods with mixed stainless steel (Ti-SS) and titanium (Ti-Ti) components. Each construct was immersed in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4) at 37 C and tested in cyclic compression bending using a sinusoidal load-controlling function with a peak load of 300 N and a frequency of 5 Hz until a level of 5 million cycles was reached. The samples were then removed and analyzed visually for evidence of corrosion. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) were used to evaluate the extent of corrosion at the interconnections. None of the constructs failed during testing. Gross observation of the implant components after disassembly revealed that no corrosion had occurred on the surface of the implants that had not been in contact with another component. The Ti-Ti interfaces showed some minor signs of corrosion only detectable using SEM and EDS. The greatest amount of corrosion occurred at the SS-SS interfaces and was qualitatively less at the SS-Ti and Ti-SS interfaces. The results from this study indicate

Significant vestibular system impairment is common in a cohort of elderly patients referred for assessment of falls risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Gary P; McCaslin, Devin L; Grantham, Sarah L; Piker, Erin G

2008-01-01

Falls in elderly patients are associated with morbidity, mortality, and cost to the healthcare system. The development of falls risk assessment programs have represented a method of responding to what is known about injurious falls. The multidimensional assessments involve the comparison against normative data of a patient's performance on metrics known to influence the likelihood of future falls. The factors assessed usually include falls and medication history, measures of mentation, depression, orthostatic hypotension, simple or choice reaction time, gait stability, postural stability, and the integrity of the patient's vision, somesthetic, and vestibular senses. This investigation was conducted to measure the proportion of patients referred for falls risk assessment who have evidence of vestibular system impairment. Qualitative, retrospective review of data collected from 2003 to 2007. The cohort was 185 consecutive patients referred for multidimensional assessments of falls risk. Patients underwent quantitative assessments of peripheral and central vestibular system function consisting of electro- or videonystagmography (i.e., ENG/VNG), and sinusoidal harmonic acceleration testing. Results of these tests were compared to normative data. We found that 73% of the sample who underwent vestibular system assessment had quantitative evidence of either peripheral or central vestibular system impairment. Our results suggest that quantitative assessments of the vestibulo-ocular reflex should be conducted on patients who are evaluated for falls risk. These examinations should include at least caloric testing and, where available, rotational testing.

Can Electrical Vestibular Noise Be Used for the Treatment of Brain Diseases?

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Yoshiharu; Soma, Rika; Struzik, Zbigniew R.; Kwak, Shin

2005-11-01

The therapy currently available for the treatment of degenerative neurological diseases is far from satisfactory, and a novel therapeutic strategy, especially for pharmacologically unresponsive patients, would be welcomed. The vestibular nerves are known to influence neuronal circuits in the medullary cardiovascular areas and, through the cerebellar vermis, the basal ganglia and the limbic system. By means of noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS), it may now be possible to ameliorate blunted responsiveness of degenerated neuronal circuits in the brains of multiple system atrophy (MSA) and/or Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, through a mechanism known as stochastic resonance. We evaluate the effect of 24-hour noisy GVS on long-term heart rate dynamics in seven MSA patients, and on daytime locomotor activity dynamics in twelve patients with either PD or levodopa unresponsive parkinsonism. Short-range heart rate variability and long-range anti-correlation of trunk activity are significantly increased by the noisy GVS compared with sham stimulation, suggestive of improved autonomic and motor responsiveness. The noisy GVS is effective in boosting the neuro-degenerative brains of MSA and/or PD patients, including those unresponsive to standard levodopa therapy.

ERG voltage-gated K+ channels regulate excitability and discharge dynamics of the medial vestibular nucleus neurones.

Science.gov (United States)

Pessia, Mauro; Servettini, Ilenio; Panichi, Roberto; Guasti, Leonardo; Grassi, Silvarosa; Arcangeli, Annarosa; Wanke, Enzo; Pettorossi, Vito Enrico

2008-10-15

The discharge properties of the medial vestibular nucleus neurones (MVNn) critically depend on the activity of several ion channel types. In this study we show, immunohistochemically, that the voltage-gated K(+) channels ERG1A, ERG1B, ERG2 and ERG3 are highly expressed within the vestibular nuclei of P10 and P60 mice. The role played by these channels in the spike-generating mechanisms of the MVNn and in temporal information processing was investigated electrophysiologically from mouse brain slices, in vitro, by analysing the spontaneous discharge and the response to square-, ramp- and sinusoid-like intracellular DC current injections in extracellular and whole-cell patch-clamp studies. We show that more than half of the recorded MVNn were responsive to ERG channel block (WAY-123,398, E4031), displaying an increase in spontaneous activity and discharge irregularity. The response to step and ramp current injection was also modified by ERG block showing a reduction of first spike latency, enhancement of discharge rate and reduction of the slow spike-frequency adaptation process. ERG channels influence the interspike slope without affecting the spike shape. Moreover, in response to sinusoid-like current, ERG channel block caused frequency-dependent gain enhancement and phase-lead shift. Taken together, the data demonstrate that ERG channels control the excitability of MVNn, their discharge regularity and probably their resonance properties.

Imposed currents in galvanic cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Biesheuvel, P.M.; Soestbergen, M.; Bazant, M.Z.

2009-01-01

We analyze the steady-state behavior of a general mathematical model for reversible galvanic cells, such as redox flow cells, reversible solid oxide fuel cells, and rechargeable batteries. We consider not only operation in the galvanic discharging mode, spontaneously generating a positive current

Galvanic corrosion -- Effect of environmental and experimental variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, A.K.; Fleming, D.L.; Lum, B.Y.

1999-01-01

Galvanic corrosion behavior of A 516 steel (UNS K01800) coupled to UNS N06022 and UNS R53400, respectively was evaluated in an acidic brine (pH ∼ 2.75) at 30 C, 60 C and 80 C using zero resistance ammeter method. A limited number of experiments were also performed in a neutral brine involving A 516 steel/UNS N06022 couple. The steady-state galvanic current and galvanic potential were measured as functions of anode-to-cathode (A/C) area ratio and electrode distance. Results indicate that the galvanic current was gradually reduced as the A/C area ratio was increased. No systematic trend on the effect of A/C area ratio on the galvanic potential was observed. Also, no significant effect of electrode distance on the galvanic current and galvanic potential was evident. In general, increased galvanic current was noticed with increasing temperature. The limited data obtained in the neutral brine indicate that the galvanic current was reduced in this environment compared to that in the acidic brine. Optical microscopic examination was performed on all tested specimens to evaluate the extent of surface damage resulting from galvanic interaction. A 516 steel suffered from general corrosion and crevice corrosion in all environments tested. Very light crevice corrosion mark was observed with UNS N06022 and R53400 in the acidic brine at 60 C and 80 C. However, this mark appears to be a surface discoloration and no actual crevice was detected

[Effectiveness of Self-efficacy Promoting Vestibular Rehabilitation Program for Patients with Vestibular Hypofunction].

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyun Jung; Choi-Kwon, Smi

2016-10-01

In this study an examination was done of the effect of self-efficacy promoting vestibular rehabilitation (S-VR) on dizziness, exercise selfefficacy, adherence to vestibular rehabilitation (VR), subjective and objective vestibular function, vestibular compensation and the recurrence of dizziness in patients with vestibular hypofunction. This was a randomized controlled study. Data were collected 3 times at baseline, 4 and 8 weeks after beginning the intervention. Outcome measures were level of dizziness, exercise self-efficacy, and level of adherence to VR. Subjective and objective vestibular function, vestibular compensation and the recurrence of dizziness were also obtained. Data were analyzed using Windows SPSS 21.0 program. After 4 weeks of S-VR, there was no difference between the groups for dizziness, subjective and objective vestibular functions. However, exercise self-efficacy and adherence to VR were higher in the experimental group than in the control group. After 8 weeks of S-VR, dizziness (p=.018) exercise self-efficacy (pexercise self-efficacy, subjective vestibular function and adherence to VR. Objective vestibular function and vestibular compensation were also improved in the experimental group at the end of 8 weeks of S-VR.

Vestibular rehabilitation outcomes in the elderly with chronic vestibular dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayat, Arash; Pourbakht, Akram; Saki, Nader; Zainun, Zuraida; Nikakhlagh, Soheila; Mirmomeni, Golshan

2012-11-01

Chronic vestibular dysfunction is a frustrating problem in the elderly and can have a tremendous impact on their life, but only a few studies are available. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is an important therapeutic option for the neuro-otologist in treating patients with significant balance deficits. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of vestibular rehabilitation on dizziness in elderly patients with chronic vestibular dysfunction. A total of 33 patients older than 60 years with chronic vestibular dysfunction were studied. Clinical and objective vestibular tests including videonystagmography (VNG) and dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) were carried out at their first visit, 2 weeks, and 8 weeks post-VRT. The VRT exercises were performed according to Cawthorne and Cooksey protocols. Oculomotor assessments were within normal limits in all patients. Nineteen patients (57.57%) showed abnormal canal paralysis on caloric testing which at follow-up sessions; CP values were decreased remarkably after VRT exercises. We found a significant improvement between pre-VRT and post-VRT total DHI scores (P < 0.001). This improvement was most prominent in functional subscore. Our study demonstrated that VRT is an effective therapeutic method for elderly patients with chronic vestibular dysfunction.

Presbivértigo: ejercicios vestibulares Presbivertigo: vestibular exercises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esther Bernal Valls

2006-12-01

Full Text Available El uso de ejercicios en el tratamiento de pacientes con déficit vestibular crónico está incrementándose de forma notable, lo que evidencia que se trata de un procedimiento que resulta beneficioso para este tipo de pacientes. Los buenos resultados que se obtienen sugieren que los ejercicios vestibulares dan lugar a una estabilidad postural y a una disminución de la sensación de desequilibrio.The use of exercises in the treatment of patients with vestibular deficits is increasing in a representative way, what evidences this is a profitable process for this kind of patients. The good results suggest that vestibular exercises permit a postural stability and a decrease in the perception of disequilibrium.

Cross-axis adaptation improves 3D vestibulo-ocular reflex alignment during chronic stimulation via a head-mounted multichannel vestibular prosthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Chenkai; Fridman, Gene Y.; Chiang, Bryce; Davidovics, Natan; Melvin, Thuy-Anh; Cullen, Kathleen E.; Della Santina, Charles C.

2012-01-01

By sensing three-dimensional (3D) head rotation and electrically stimulating the three ampullary branches of a vestibular nerve to encode head angular velocity, a multichannel vestibular prosthesis (MVP) can restore vestibular sensation to individuals disabled by loss of vestibular hair cell function. However, current spread to afferent fibers innervating non-targeted canals and otolith endorgans can distort the vestibular nerve activation pattern, causing misalignment between the perceived and actual axis of head rotation. We hypothesized that over time, central neural mechanisms can adapt to correct this misalignment. To test this, we rendered five chinchillas vestibular-deficient via bilateral gentamicin treatment and unilaterally implanted them with a head mounted MVP. Comparison of 3D angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (aVOR) responses during 2 Hz, 50°/s peak horizontal sinusoidal head rotations in darkness on the first, third and seventh days of continual MVP use revealed that eye responses about the intended axis remained stable (at about 70% of the normal gain) while misalignment improved significantly by the end of one week of prosthetic stimulation. A comparable time course of improvement was also observed for head rotations about the other two semicircular canal axes and at every stimulus frequency examined (0.2–5 Hz). In addition, the extent of disconjugacy between the two eyes progressively improved during the same time window. These results indicate that the central nervous system rapidly adapts to multichannel prosthetic vestibular stimulation to markedly improve 3D aVOR alignment within the first week after activation. Similar adaptive improvements are likely to occur in other species, including humans. PMID:21374081

Sinusoidal Representation of Acoustic Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Honda, Masaaki

Sinusoidal representation of acoustic signals has been an important tool in speech and music processing like signal analysis, synthesis and time scale or pitch modifications. It can be applicable to arbitrary signals, which is an important advantage over other signal representations like physical modeling of acoustic signals. In sinusoidal representation, acoustic signals are composed as sums of sinusoid (sine wave) with different amplitudes, frequencies and phases, which is based on the timedependent short-time Fourier transform (STFT). This article describes the principles of acoustic signal analysis/synthesis based on a sinusoid representation with focus on sine waves with rapidly varying frequency.

Vestibular perception following acute unilateral vestibular lesions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sian Cousins

Full Text Available Little is known about the vestibulo-perceptual (VP system, particularly after a unilateral vestibular lesion. We investigated vestibulo-ocular (VO and VP function in 25 patients with vestibular neuritis (VN acutely (2 days after onset and after compensation (recovery phase, 10 weeks. Since the effect of VN on reflex and perceptual function may differ at threshold and supra-threshold acceleration levels, we used two stimulus intensities, acceleration steps of 0.5°/s(2 and velocity steps of 90°/s (acceleration 180°/s(2. We hypothesised that the vestibular lesion or the compensatory processes could dissociate VO and VP function, particularly if the acute vertiginous sensation interferes with the perceptual tasks. Both in acute and recovery phases, VO and VP thresholds increased, particularly during ipsilesional rotations. In signal detection theory this indicates that signals from the healthy and affected side are still fused, but result in asymmetric thresholds due to a lesion-induced bias. The normal pattern whereby VP thresholds are higher than VO thresholds was preserved, indicating that any 'perceptual noise' added by the vertigo does not disrupt the cognitive decision-making processes inherent to the perceptual task. Overall, the parallel findings in VO and VP thresholds imply little or no additional cortical processing and suggest that vestibular thresholds essentially reflect the sensitivity of the fused peripheral receptors. In contrast, a significant VO-VP dissociation for supra-threshold stimuli was found. Acutely, time constants and duration of the VO and VP responses were reduced - asymmetrically for VO, as expected, but surprisingly symmetrical for perception. At recovery, VP responses normalised but VO responses remained shortened and asymmetric. Thus, unlike threshold data, supra-threshold responses show considerable VO-VP dissociation indicative of additional, higher-order processing of vestibular signals. We provide evidence of

The Dynamics of Prosthetically Elicited Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex Function Across Frequency and Context in the Rhesus Monkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James O. Phillips

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Electrical vestibular neurostimulation may be a viable tool for modulating vestibular afferent input to restore vestibular function following injury or disease. To do this, such stimulators must provide afferent input that can be readily interpreted by the central nervous system to accurately represent head motion to drive reflexive behavior. Since vestibular afferents have different galvanic sensitivity, and different natural sensitivities to head rotational velocity and acceleration, and electrical stimulation produces aphysiological synchronous activation of multiple afferents, it is difficult to assign a priori an appropriate transformation between head velocity and acceleration and the properties of the electrical stimulus used to drive vestibular reflex function, i.e., biphasic pulse rate or pulse current amplitude. In order to empirically explore the nature of the transformation between vestibular prosthetic stimulation and vestibular reflex behavior, in Rhesus macaque monkeys we parametrically varied the pulse rate and current amplitude of constant rate and current amplitude pulse trains, and the modulation frequency of sinusoidally modulated pulse trains that were pulse frequency modulated (FM or current amplitude modulated (AM. In addition, we examined the effects of differential eye position and head position on the observed eye movement responses. We conclude that there is a strong and idiosyncratic, from canal to canal, effect of modulation frequency on the observed eye velocities that are elicited by stimulation. In addition, there is a strong effect of initial eye position and initial head position on the observed responses. These are superimposed on the relationships between pulse frequency or current amplitude and eye velocity that have been shown previously.

Practical uses of galvanized steel in electric utility applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bueche, D.G.

1995-01-01

Steel corrosion has been shown to be a major problem for the electric utility industry. Galvanizing has been shown to prevent or substantially slow steel corrosion. This paper describes the galvanizing process, discusses the properties associated with the galvanized coating, and demonstrates galvanizing's durability in specific, real world applications in the electric utility industry

Relationships Between Vestibular Measures as Potential Predictors for Spaceflight Sensorimotor Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, T. K.; Peters, B.; Gadd, N. E.; De Dios, Y. E.; Wood, S.; Bloomberg, J. J.; Mulavara, A. P.

2016-01-01

Introduction: During space exploration missions astronauts are exposed to a series of novel sensorimotor environments, requiring sensorimotor adaptation. Until adaptation is complete, sensorimotor decrements occur, affecting critical tasks such as piloted landing or docking. Of particularly interest are locomotion tasks such as emergency vehicle egress or extra-vehicular activity. While nearly all astronauts eventually adapt sufficiently, it appears there are substantial individual differences in how quickly and effectively this adaptation occurs. These individual differences in capacity for sensorimotor adaptation are poorly understood. Broadly, we aim to identify measures that may serve as pre-flight predictors of and individual's adaptation capacity to spaceflight-induced sensorimotor changes. As a first step, since spaceflight is thought to involve a reinterpretation of graviceptor cues (e.g. otolith cues from the vestibular system) we investigate the relationships between various measures of vestibular function in humans. Methods: In a set of 15 ground-based control subjects, we quantified individual differences in vestibular function using three measures: 1) ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP), 2) computerized dynamic posturography and 3) vestibular perceptual thresholds. oVEMP responses are elicited using a mechanical stimuli approach. Computerized dynamic posturography was used to quantify Sensory Organization Tests (SOTs), including SOT5M which involved performing pitching head movements while balancing on a sway-reference support surface with eyes closed. We implemented a vestibular perceptual threshold task using the tilt capabilities of the Tilt-Translation Sled (TTS) at JSC. On each trial, the subject was passively roll-tilted left ear down or right ear down in the dark and verbally provided a forced-choice response regarding which direction they felt tilted. The motion profile was a single-cycle sinusoid of angular acceleration with a

Dissolved oxygen detection by galvanic displacement-induced

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Dissolved oxygen detection by galvanic displacement-induced graphene/silver nanocomposite ... dissolved oxygen (DO) detection based on a galvanic displacement synthesized reduced graphene oxide–silver nanoparticles ... Current Issue

Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Valla, Dominique-Charles; Cazals-Hatem, Dominique

2016-09-01

Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) is characterized by damage to small hepatic vessels affecting particularly sinusoidal endothelium. Damaged sinusoids can be associated with a partial or complete occlusion of small hepatic veins, hence the previous denomination of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD). Exposure to certain exogenous toxins appears to be specific to this condition and is frequently included in its definition. Typical histopathological features of SOS in a liver biopsy specimen are presented in the text. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview on the different entities corresponding to this general definition. Such entities include: (i) liver disease related to pyrrolizidine alcaloids; (ii) liver injury related to conditioning for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; (iii) vascular liver disease occurring in patients treated with chemotherapy for liver metastasis of colorectal cancer; and (iv) other liver diseases related to toxic agents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Neural Correlates of Sensory Substitution in Vestibular Pathways Following Complete Vestibular Loss

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghi, Soroush G.; Minor, Lloyd B.; Cullen, Kathleen E.

2012-01-01

Sensory substitution is the term typically used in reference to sensory prosthetic devices designed to replace input from one defective modality with input from another modality. Such devices allow an alternative encoding of sensory information that is no longer directly provided by the defective modality in a purposeful and goal-directed manner. The behavioral recovery that follows complete vestibular loss is impressive and has long been thought to take advantage of a natural form of sensory substitution in which head motion information is no longer provided by vestibular inputs, but instead by extra-vestibular inputs such as proprioceptive and motor efference copy signals. Here we examined the neuronal correlates of this behavioral recovery after complete vestibular loss in alert behaving monkeys (Macaca mulata). We show for the first time that extra-vestibular inputs substitute for the vestibular inputs to stabilize gaze at the level of single neurons in the VOR premotor circuitry. The summed weighting of neck proprioceptive and efference copy information was sufficient to explain simultaneously observed behavioral improvements in gaze stability. Furthermore, by altering correspondence between intended and actual head movement we revealed a four-fold increase in the weight of neck motor efference copy signals consistent with the enhanced behavioral recovery observed when head movements are voluntary versus unexpected. Thus, taken together our results provide direct evidence that the substitution by extra-vestibular inputs in vestibular pathways provides a neural correlate for the improvements in gaze stability that are observed following the total loss of vestibular inputs. PMID:23077054

Neurophysiology of vestibular rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hain, Timothy C

2011-01-01

The vestibular system is a sophisticated human control system. Accurate processing of sensory input about rapid head and postural motion is critical. Not surprisingly, the body uses multiple, partially redundant sensory inputs and motor outputs, combined with a very competent central repair capability. The system as a whole can adapt to substantial peripheral vestibular dysfunction. The Achilles' heel of the vestibular system is a relative inability to repair central vestibular dysfunction.

Neurophysiology of vestibular rehabilitation

OpenAIRE

Hain Timothy, C.

2011-01-01

The vestibular system is a sophisticated human control system. Accurate processing of sensory input about rapid head and postural motion is critical. Not surprisingly, the body uses multiple, partially redundant sensory inputs and motor outputs, combined with a very competent central repair capability. The system as a whole can adapt to substantial peripheral vestibular dysfunction. The Achilles' heel of the vestibular system is a relative inability to repair central vestibular dysfunction.

Deregulated genes in sporadic vestibular schwannomas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cayé-Thomasen, Per; Helweg-Larsen, Rehannah Holga Andrea; Stangerup, Sven-Eric

2010-01-01

In search of genes associated with vestibular schwannoma tumorigenesis, this study examines the gene expression in human vestibular nerve versus vestibular schwannoma tissue samples using microarray technology.......In search of genes associated with vestibular schwannoma tumorigenesis, this study examines the gene expression in human vestibular nerve versus vestibular schwannoma tissue samples using microarray technology....

Progress Toward Development of a Multichannel Vestibular Prosthesis for Treatment of Bilateral Vestibular Deficiency

Science.gov (United States)

FRIDMAN, GENE Y.; DELLA SANTINA, CHARLES C.

2014-01-01

This article reviews vestibular pathology and the requirements and progress made in the design and construction of a vestibular prosthesis. Bilateral loss of vestibular sensation is disabling. When vestibular hair cells are injured by ototoxic medications or other insults to the labyrinth, the resulting loss of sensory input disrupts vestibulo-ocular reflexes (VORs) and vestibulo-spinal reflexes that normally stabilize the eyes and body. Affected individuals suffer poor vision during head movement, postural instability, chronic disequilibrium, and cognitive distraction. Although most individuals with residual sensation compensate for their loss over time, others fail to do so and have no adequate treatment options. A vestibular prosthesis analogous to cochlear implants but designed to modulate vestibular nerve activity during head movement should improve quality of life for these chronically dizzy individuals. We describe the impact of bilateral loss of vestibular sensation, animal studies supporting feasibility of prosthetic vestibular stimulation, the current status of multichannel vestibular sensory replacement prosthesis development, and challenges to successfully realizing this approach in clinical practice. In bilaterally vestibular-deficient rodents and rhesus monkeys, the Johns Hopkins multichannel vestibular prosthesis (MVP) partially restores the three-dimensional (3D) VOR for head rotations about any axis. Attempts at prosthetic vestibular stimulation of humans have not yet included the 3D eye movement assays necessary to accurately evaluate VOR alignment, but these initial forays have revealed responses that are otherwise comparable to observations in animals. Current efforts now focus on refining electrode design and surgical technique to enhance stimulus selectivity and preserve cochlear function, optimizing stimulus protocols to improve dynamic range and reduce excitation–inhibition asymmetry, and adapting laboratory MVP prototypes into devices

Progress toward development of a multichannel vestibular prosthesis for treatment of bilateral vestibular deficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Fridman, Gene Y; Della Santina, Charles C

2012-11-01

This article reviews vestibular pathology and the requirements and progress made in the design and construction of a vestibular prosthesis. Bilateral loss of vestibular sensation is disabling. When vestibular hair cells are injured by ototoxic medications or other insults to the labyrinth, the resulting loss of sensory input disrupts vestibulo-ocular reflexes (VORs) and vestibulo-spinal reflexes that normally stabilize the eyes and body. Affected individuals suffer poor vision during head movement, postural instability, chronic disequilibrium, and cognitive distraction. Although most individuals with residual sensation compensate for their loss over time, others fail to do so and have no adequate treatment options. A vestibular prosthesis analogous to cochlear implants but designed to modulate vestibular nerve activity during head movement should improve quality of life for these chronically dizzy individuals. We describe the impact of bilateral loss of vestibular sensation, animal studies supporting feasibility of prosthetic vestibular stimulation, the current status of multichannel vestibular sensory replacement prosthesis development, and challenges to successfully realizing this approach in clinical practice. In bilaterally vestibular-deficient rodents and rhesus monkeys, the Johns Hopkins multichannel vestibular prosthesis (MVP) partially restores the three-dimensional (3D) VOR for head rotations about any axis. Attempts at prosthetic vestibular stimulation of humans have not yet included the 3D eye movement assays necessary to accurately evaluate VOR alignment, but these initial forays have revealed responses that are otherwise comparable to observations in animals. Current efforts now focus on refining electrode design and surgical technique to enhance stimulus selectivity and preserve cochlear function, optimizing stimulus protocols to improve dynamic range and reduce excitation-inhibition asymmetry, and adapting laboratory MVP prototypes into devices

Vestibular neuritis: three-dimensional videonystagmography and vestibular evoked myogenic potential results.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, C W; Young, Y H; Wu, C H

2000-10-01

Eight patients diagnosed with vestibular neuritis received the newly developed three-dimensional videonystagmography (3D VNG) and vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) examination in order to localize the lesion site. Two (25%) of the 8 patients exhibited spontaneous nystagmus with 3 components, indicating that both the horizontal semicircular canal (HSCC) and anterior semicircular canal (ASCC) were affected. The remaining 6 patients (75%) displayed only horizontal nystagmus, meaning that only the HSCC was involved. Seven (88%) of the 8 patients had bilateral normal VEMPs, revealing sparing of the posterior semicircular canal (PSCC). In a comparative study, another seven patients with vestibular neuritis 1 year post-treatment also received the caloric test, 3D VNG and VEMP examination. Only one patient exhibited spontaneous nystagmus. An absent caloric response of the lesioned side persisted in 5 (71%) of the 7 patients. However, all patients showed normal VEMPs bilaterally. 3D VNG and VEMP examination indicates that vestibular neuritis mainly affects the superior division of the vestibular nerve, which innervates the HSCC and ASCC. Meanwhile, the function of the PSCC and saccule, innervated by the inferior vestibular nerve, is preserved.

Patients with vestibular loss, tullio phenomenon, and pressure-induced nystagmus: vestibular atelectasis?

Science.gov (United States)

Wenzel, Angela; Ward, Bryan K; Schubert, Michael C; Kheradmand, Amir; Zee, David S; Mantokoudis, Georgios; Carey, John Patrick

2014-06-01

To propose an etiology for a syndrome of bilateral vestibular hypofunction and sound and/or pressure-evoked eye movements with normal hearing thresholds. Retrospective case series. Tertiary care referral center. Four patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction, sound and/or pressure-evoked nystagmus and normal hearing thresholds were identified over a 3-year period. No evidence of other known vestibular disorders was identified. None of these patients presented with a history of exposure to toxins, radiation, aminoglycosides or chemotherapy; head trauma; or a family history of inherited vestibular loss. All patients underwent high-resolution CT scan of the temporal bones to evaluate for labyrinthine dehiscence. Additionally, all individuals underwent audiometric testing to ANSI standards, vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) testing using either click stimulus cervical VEMPs (cVEMPs), or tone burst ocular VEMPs (oVEMPs). Bithermal caloric stimulation was used to measure horizontal semicircular canal function, with either videonystagmography (VNG) or electronystagmography (ENG) to record eye movements. Individual responses of each of the 6 semicircular canals (SCC) to rapid head rotations were tested with the bedside head impulse test. We identified 4 patients with a combination of bilateral vestibular hypofunction and sound and/or pressure-induced eye movements, normal-hearing thresholds and no evidence for any other vestibular disorder. We suggest that this unique combination of symptoms should be considered as the clinical presentation of vestibular atelectasis, which has been previously described histologically as collapse of the endolymph-containing portions of the labyrinth.

Vestibular Restoration and Adaptation in Vestibular Neuritis and Ramsay Hunt Syndrome With Vertigo.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Sanz, Eduardo; Rueda, Almudena; Esteban-Sanchez, Jonathan; Yanes, Joaquin; Rey-Martinez, Jorge; Sanz-Fernandez, Ricardo

2017-08-01

To evaluate vestibular restoration and the evolution of the compensatory saccades in acute severe inflammatory vestibular nerve paralysis, including vestibular neuritis and Ramsay Hunt syndrome with vertigo. Prospective. Tertiary referral center. Vestibular neuritis (n = 18) and Ramsay Hunt syndrome patients with vertigo (n = 13) were enrolled. After treatment with oral corticosteroids, patients were followed up for 6 months. Functional recovery of the facial nerve was scored according to the House-Brackman grading system. Caloric and video head impulse tests were performed in every patient at the time of enrolment. Subsequently, successive video head impulse test (vHIT) exploration was performed at the 1, 3, and 6-month follow-up. Eighteen patients with vestibular neuritis and 13 with Ramsay Hunt syndrome and associated vertigo were included. Vestibular function was significantly worse in patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome than in those with vestibular neuritis. Similar compensatory saccades velocity and latency values were observed in both groups, in both the caloric and initial vHIT tests. Successive vHIT results showed a significantly higher vestibulo-ocular reflex gain recovery in vestibular neuritis patients than in Ramsay Hunt syndrome patients. A significantly faster reduction in the latency, velocity, and organization of the compensatory saccades was observed in neuritis than in Ramsay Hunt syndrome patients. In addition to the recovery of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, the reduction of latency, velocity and the organization of compensatory saccades play a role in vestibular compensation.

Common Vestibular Disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrios G. Balatsouras

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The three most common vestibular diseases, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV, Meniere's disease (MD and vestibular neuritis (VN, are presented in this paper. BPPV, which is the most common peripheral vestibular disorder, can be defined as transient vertigo induced by a rapid head position change, associated with a characteristic paroxysmal positional nystagmus. Canalolithiasis of the posterior semicircular canal is considered the most convincing theory of its pathogenesis and the development of appropriate therapeutic maneuvers resulted in its effective treatment. However, involvement of the horizontal or the anterior canal has been found in a significant rate and the recognition and treatment of these variants completed the clinical picture of the disease. MD is a chronic condition characterized by episodic attacks of vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, aural pressure and a progressive loss of audiovestibular functions. Presence of endolymphatic hydrops on postmortem examination is its pathologic correlate. MD continues to be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Patients with the disease range from minimally symptomatic, highly functional individuals to severely affected, disabled patients. Current management strategies are designed to control the acute and recurrent vestibulopathy but offer minimal remedy for the progressive cochlear dysfunction. VN is the most common cause of acute spontaneous vertigo, attributed to acute unilateral loss of vestibular function. Key signs and symptoms are an acute onset of spinning vertigo, postural imbalance and nausea as well as a horizontal rotatory nystagmus beating towards the non-affected side, a pathological headimpulse test and no evidence for central vestibular or ocular motor dysfunction. Vestibular neuritis preferentially involves the superior vestibular labyrinth and its afferents. Symptomatic medication is indicated only during the acute phase to relieve the vertigo and nausea

Drug therapy for peripheral vestibular vertigo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. M. Antonenko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The choice of effective treatments for vestibular vertigo is one of the important problems, by taking into account the high prevalence of peripheral vestibular diseases. Different drugs, such as vestibular suppressants for the relief of acute vertigo attacks and vestibular compensation stimulants for rehabilitation treatment, are used to treat vestibular vertigo. Drug therapy in combination with vestibular exercises is effective in patients with vestibular neuronitis, Meniere's disease, so is that with therapeutic maneuvers in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. The high therapeutic efficacy and safety of betahistines permit their extensive use for the treatment of various vestibular disorders.

Flow-accelerated corrosion characteristics of galvanically coupled dissimilar metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Yoon Seok; Kim, Jnng Gu

2001-01-01

Flow accelerated galvanic corrosion characteristics of a carbon steel coupled to stainless steel were investigated in deaerated alkaline-chloride solutions as a function of flow velocities, pH and temperatures. The electrochemical properties of specimens were investigated by potentiodynamic test and galvanic corrosion test using RCE(Rotating Cylinder Electrode). Carbon steel showed active behavior in the deaerated alkaline-chloride solution. The galvanic current density of carbon steel increased with increasing flow velocity and temperature, but decreased with increasing pH. Flow velocity had a small effect on the galvanic current density at 25 deg. C, whereas the flow velocity increased galvanic current density significantly at 50 .deg. C and 75 .deg. C. This might be due to the increased solubility of magnetite at the higher temperatures

Sinusoids theory and technological applications

CERN Document Server

Kythe, Prem K

2014-01-01

A Complete Treatment of Current Research Topics in Fourier Transforms and Sinusoids Sinusoids: Theory and Technological Applications explains how sinusoids and Fourier transforms are used in a variety of application areas, including signal processing, GPS, optics, x-ray crystallography, radioastronomy, poetry and music as sound waves, and the medical sciences. With more than 200 illustrations, the book discusses electromagnetic force and sychrotron radiation comprising all kinds of waves, including gamma rays, x-rays, UV rays, visible light rays, infrared, microwaves, and radio waves. It also covers topics of common interest, such as quasars, pulsars, the Big Bang theory, Olbers' paradox, black holes, Mars mission, and SETI.The book begins by describing sinusoids-which are periodic sine or cosine functions-using well-known examples from wave theory, including traveling and standing waves, continuous musical rhythms, and the human liver. It next discusses the Fourier series and transform in both continuous and...

Galvanic manifestation of spontaneous coherence in the negative glow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhechev, D; Parvanova, N

2002-01-01

Both the magnetic depolarization of the spontaneous emission from self-aligned states and the discharge galvanic reaction are measured simultaneously in a magnetic field. The observed galvanic peak is ascribed to magnetic destruction of self-aligned ensembles of atoms. This presents galvanic manifestation of coherent conductivity. (letter to the editor)

Adaptation of postural recovery responses to a vestibular sensory illusion in individuals with Parkinson disease and healthy controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Lester, Mark E; Cavanaugh, James T; Foreman, K Bo; Shaffer, Scott W; Marcus, Robin; Dibble, Leland E

2017-10-01

The ability to adapt postural responses to sensory illusions diminishes with age and is further impaired by Parkinson disease. However, limited information exists regarding training-related adaptions of sensory reweighting in these populations. This study sought to determine whether Parkinson disease or age would differentially affect acute postural recovery or adaptive postural responses to novel or repeated exposure to sensory illusions using galvanic vestibular stimulation during quiet stance. Acutely, individuals with Parkinson disease demonstrated larger center of pressure coefficient of variation compared to controls. Unlike individuals with Parkinson disease and asymptomatic older adults, healthy young adults acutely demonstrated a reduction in Sample Entropy to the sensory illusion. Following a period of consolidation Sample Entropy increased in the healthy young group, which coincided with a decreased center of pressure coefficient of variation. Similar changes were not observed in the Parkinson disease or older adult groups. Taken together, these results suggest that young adults learn to adapt to vestibular illusion in a more robust manner than older adults or those with Parkinson disease. Further investigation into the nature of this adaptive difference is warranted. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Improving Sensorimotor Adaptation Following Long Duration Space Flight by Enhancing Vestibular Information Transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Mulavara, A. P.; Kofman, I. S.; De Dios, Y. E; Galvan, R.; Goel, R.; Miller, C.; Peters, B.; Cohen, H. S.; Jeevarajan, J.; Reschke, M.;

Preservation of vestibular function after scala vestibuli cochlear implantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Mitsuya; Goto, Takio; Kashio, Akinori; Yasui, Takuya; Sakamoto, Takashi; Ito, Ken; Yamasoba, Tatsuya

2011-10-01

A 58-year-old man, in whom the cochlear implant (CI) had been inserted into the left ear, had right middle-ear cancer. The CI was removed immediately before receiving subtotal removal of right temporal bone. Four months later, the CI was again inserted in his left cochlea. Because of obliterated scala tympani, the 22 active electrodes of the CI were placed into the scala vestibuli. After the surgery, the patient complained that he experienced rotary vertigo and "jumbling of vertical direction" of objects on walking. Using rotation test, we evaluated vestibular function of remaining left ear. Numerous horizontal nystagmus beats were induced during earth-vertical axis rotation, whereas vertical downbeat nystagmus was scarcely induced during off-vertical axis rotation. The horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) was almost normally induced by sinusoidal stimulation at 0.8Hz. These data suggest that the scala vestibuli insertion of CI would be not so invasive against the lateral semicircular canal. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Corrosion of Galvanized Steel Under Different Soil Moisture Contents

OpenAIRE

Pereira,Roseana Florentino da Costa; Oliveira,Edkarlla Sousa Dantas de; Lima,Maria Alice Gomes de Andrade; Brasil,Simone Louise Delarue Cezar

2015-01-01

Galvanized steel has been widely applied in different applications and the industry significantly increased its production in recent years. Some galvanized structures can be completely or partially buried, such as transmission tower footings. The corrosion of these metallic structures is related to the soil chemical and physicochemical properties, which define the aggressiveness of the environment. To assess the effect of the soil moisture on galvanized steel corrosion, a comparative study wa...

Galvanic cell for processing of used nuclear fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Diaz, Brenda L.; Martinez-Rodriguez, Michael J.; Gray, Joshua R.; Olson, Luke C.

2017-02-07

A galvanic cell and methods of using the galvanic cell is described for the recovery of uranium from used nuclear fuel according to an electrofluorination process. The galvanic cell requires no input energy and can utilize relatively benign gaseous fluorinating agents. Uranium can be recovered from used nuclear fuel in the form of gaseous uranium compound such as uranium hexafluoride, which can then be converted to metallic uranium or UO.sub.2 and processed according to known methodology to form a useful product, e.g., fuel pellets for use in a commercial energy production system.

76 FR 29266 - Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-20

...)] Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico Determinations On the basis of the record \\1\\ developed in the... reason of imports from China and Mexico of galvanized steel wire, provided for in subheading 7217.20.30... subsidized imports of galvanized steel wire from China and Mexico. Accordingly, effective March 31, 2011, the...

Vestibular migraine: who is the patient?

Science.gov (United States)

Colombo, Bruno; Teggi, Roberto

2017-05-01

Vestibular migraine has been classified as a specific entity in which vestibular symptomatology is defined as part of the migrainous disorder. New and appropriate diagnostic criteria have been proposed by the Barany and International Headache Societies. The diagnosis of vestibular migraine mainly depends on the patient history. The NIVE project is a prospectic multicentric study on vestibular migraine. The aim of this project is to evaluate demographics, epidemiology, clinical manifestations of migraine and vertigo in a large cohort of Caucasian patients affected by vestibular migraine.

77 FR 28404 - Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-14

...)] Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico Determinations On the basis of the record \\1\\ developed in the... reason of imports from Mexico of galvanized steel wire, provided for in subheadings 7217.20.30, 7217.20... galvanized steel wire from China and Mexico were sold at LTFV within the meaning of 733(b) of the Act (19 U.S...

Galvanic corrosion in odontological alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riesgo, O.; Bianchi, G.L.; Duffo, G.S.

1993-01-01

Galvanic corrosion can occur when different alloys are placed in direct contact within the oral cavity or within tissues. Concern has been expressed associated with the coupling of selected restorative materials as well as implant material with various alloys used for restorative procedures. This could be critical if the crown or bridge had subgingival finish line with a metallic zone in contact with the tissue, and the implant was made in titanium alloy. The present work shows the results of galvanic coupling studies done on implants of titanium alloy connected to nickel-chromium and cobalt-chromium alloys. (Author)

Mathematical Models of the Sinusoidal Screen Family

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tajana Koren

2011-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper we will define a family of sinusoidal screening elements and explore the possibilities of their application in graphic arts, securities printing and design solutions in photography and typography editing. For this purpose mathematical expressions of sinusoidal families were converted into a Postscript language. The introduction of a random variable results in a countless number of various mutations which cannot be repeated without knowing the programming code itself. The use of the family of screens in protection of securities is thus of great importance. Other possible application of modulated sinusoidal screens is related to the large format color printing. This paper will test the application of sinusoidal screens in vector graphics, pixel graphics and typography. The development of parameters in the sinusoidal screen element algorithms gives new forms defined within screening cells with strict requirements of coverage implementation. Individual solutions include stochastic algorithms, as well as the autonomy of screening forms in regard to multicolor printing channels.

Electric Current Transmission Through Tissues of the Vestibular Labyrinth of a Patient: Perfection of the Vestibular Implant

Science.gov (United States)

Demkin, V. P.; Shchetinin, P. P.; Melnichuk, S. V.; Kingma, H.; Van de Berg, R.; Pleshkov, M. O.; Starkov, D. N.

2018-03-01

An electric model of current transmission through tissues of the vestibular labyrinth of a patient is suggested. To stimulate directly the vestibular nerve in surgical operation, terminations of the electrodes are implanted through the bone tissue of the labyrinth into the perilymph in the vicinity of the vestibular nerve. The biological tissue of the vestibular labyrinth surrounding the electrodes and having heterogeneous composition possesses conductive and dielectric properties. Thus, when a current pulse from the vestibular implant is applied to one of the electrodes, conductive disturbance currents may arise between the electrodes and the vestibular nerves that can significantly deteriorate the direct signal quality. To study such signals and to compensate for the conductive disturbance currents, an equivalent electric circuit with actual electric impedance properties of tissues of the vestibular system is suggested, and the time parameters of the conductive disturbance current transmission are calculated. It is demonstrated that these parameters can reach large values. The suggested electric model and the results of calculations can be used for perfection of the vestibular implant.

Can a finding of cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials contribute to vestibular migraine diagnostics?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tihana Vešligaj

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Aim To investigate differences in vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP results with patients suffering from vestibular migraine and healthy people, taking into consideration values of threshold and latency of occurrence of the characteristic wave complex, size of amplitude, and interaural amplitude ratio. According to the results, determine the importance and usefulness of VEMP in vestibular migraine diagnostics. Methods A total number of 62 subjects were included in the study, 32 of them belonging to a group of patients suffering from vestibular migraine (VM, while other 30 were in a control group of healthy subjects. Information was collected during the diagnostic evaluation. General and otoneurological history of patients and bedside tests, audiological results, videonystagmography and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP were made. Results There was a difference in an interaural ratio of amplitudes in the experimental and control groups, but it was not found to be clinically significant. By ToneBurst 500 Hz method, the interaural amplitude ratio higher than 35% was measured in 46.97% subjects, while the response was totally unilaterally missing in 28.8% patients. Conclusion Even the sophisticated method as cVEMP does not give the ultimate result confirming the vestibular migraine diagnosis, and neither do other diagnostic methods. cVEMP result can contribute to the completion of full mosaic of vestibular migraine diagnostics.

Single ICCII Sinusoidal Oscillators Employing Grounded Capacitors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. W. Horng

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Two inverting second-generation current conveyors (ICCII based sinusoidal oscillators are presented. The first sinusoidal oscillator is composed of one ICCII, two grounded capacitors and two resistors. The oscillation condition and oscillation frequency can be orthogonally controllable. The second sinusoidal oscillator is composed of one ICCII, two grounded capacitors and three resistors. The oscillation condition and oscillation frequency can be independently controllable through different resistors.

Central vestibular dysfunction in an otorhinolaryngological vestibular unit: incidence and diagnostic strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mostafa, Badr E; Kahky, Ayman O El; Kader, Hisham M Abdel; Rizk, Michael

2014-07-01

Introduction Vertigo can be due to a variety of central and peripheral causes. The relative incidence of central causes is underestimated. This may have an important impact of the patients' management and prognosis. Objective The objective of this work is to determine the incidence of central vestibular disorders in patients presenting to a vestibular unit in a tertiary referral academic center. It also aims at determining the best strategy to increase the diagnostic yield of the patients' visit. Methods This is a prospective observational study on 100 consecutive patients with symptoms suggestive of vestibular dysfunction. All patients completed a structured questionnaire and received bedside and vestibular examination and neuroimaging as required. Results There were 69 women and 31 men. Their ages ranged between 28 and 73 (mean 42.48 years). Provisional videonystagmography (VNG) results were: 40% benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), 23% suspicious of central causes, 18% undiagnosed, 15% Meniere disease, and 4% vestibular neuronitis. Patients with an unclear diagnosis or central features (41) had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Doppler studies. Combining data from history, VNG, and imaging studies, 23 patients (23%) were diagnosed as having a central vestibular lesion (10 with generalized ischemia/vertebra basilar insufficiency, 4 with multiple sclerosis, 4 with migraine vestibulopathy, 4 with phobic postural vertigo, and 1 with hyperventilation-induced nystagmus). Conclusions Combining a careful history with clinical examination, VNG, MRI, and Doppler studies decreases the number of undiagnosed cases and increases the detection of possible central lesions.

Central Vestibular Dysfunction in an Otorhinolaryngological Vestibular Unit: Incidence and Diagnostic Strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mostafa, Badr E.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction Vertigo can be due to a variety of central and peripheral causes. The relative incidence of central causes is underestimated. This may have an important impact of the patients' management and prognosis. Objective The objective of this work is to determine the incidence of central vestibular disorders in patients presenting to a vestibular unit in a tertiary referral academic center. It also aims at determining the best strategy to increase the diagnostic yield of the patients' visit. Methods This is a prospective observational study on 100 consecutive patients with symptoms suggestive of vestibular dysfunction. All patients completed a structured questionnaire and received bedside and vestibular examination and neuroimaging as required. Results There were 69 women and 31 men. Their ages ranged between 28 and 73 (mean 42.48 years. Provisional videonystagmography (VNG results were: 40% benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV, 23% suspicious of central causes, 18% undiagnosed, 15% Meniere disease, and 4% vestibular neuronitis. Patients with an unclear diagnosis or central features (41 had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and Doppler studies. Combining data from history, VNG, and imaging studies, 23 patients (23% were diagnosed as having a central vestibular lesion (10 with generalized ischemia/vertebra basilar insufficiency, 4 with multiple sclerosis, 4 with migraine vestibulopathy, 4 with phobic postural vertigo, and 1 with hyperventilation-induced nystagmus. Conclusions Combining a careful history with clinical examination, VNG, MRI, and Doppler studies decreases the number of undiagnosed cases and increases the detection of possible central lesions.

Galvanic corrosion of copper-cast iron couples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smart, N.R.; Rance, A.P.; Fennell, P.A.H.

2005-01-01

To ensure the safe encapsulation of spent nuclear fuel rods for geological disposal, SKB are considering using the Copper-Cast Iron Canister, which consists of an outer copper canister and an inner cast iron container. The canister will be placed into boreholes in the bedrock of a geologic repository and surrounded by bentonite clay. In the unlikely event of the outer copper canister being breached, water would enter the annulus between the inner and outer canister and at points of contact between the two metals there would be the possibility of galvanic interactions. Although this subject has been considered previously from both a theoretical standpoint and by experimental investigations there was a need for further experimental studies in support of information provided by SKB to the Swedish regulators (SKI). In the work reported here copper-cast iron galvanic couples were set up in a number of different environments representing possible conditions in the SKB repository. The tests investigated two artificial porewaters at 30 deg C and 50 deg C, under aerated and deaerated conditions. Tests were also carried out in a 30 wt% bentonite slurry made up in artificial groundwater. The potential of the couples and the currents passing between the coupled electrodes were monitored for several months. The effect of growing an oxide film on the surface of the cast iron prior to coupling it with copper was investigated. In addition, some crevice specimens based on the multi-crevice assembly (MCA) design were used to simulate the situation where the copper canister will be in direct contact with the cast iron inner vessel. The electrochemical results are presented graphically in the form of electrode potentials and galvanic corrosion currents as a function of time. The galvanic currents in aerated conditions were much higher than in deaerated conditions. For example, at 30 deg C, galvanic corrosion rates as low as 0.02 μm/year for iron were observed after deaeration, but

Failure analysis of edge discoloration of galvanized fuel tank

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jitendra Mathur

2015-10-01

Full Text Available A peculiar type of edge discoloration defect on the surface of some galvanized fuel tank was observed, causing significant appearance problems. In the present study, the surface defect was characterized by visual inspection, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopic analysis to understand the source and mechanism of the defect. In the visual inspection, these peculiar surface appearances were observed in fuel tank at three distinct locations. The SEM examination exhibited two distinct regions on the surface apart from the normal galvanized surface: (1 galvannealed, (2 mixture of galvanized and galvannealed texture. The energy dispersive spectroscopic analysis of galvannealed region indicated enrichment of Zn and Al whereas in the region of galvanized majorly Zn was observed. Surface texture of galvannealed region showed majorly zeta crystals along with skin pass marks; whereas no such zeta crystals were observed in case of galvanized regions. Based on the preliminary results, the following hypothesis was made: Coil processed during galvanizing to galvannealing transition. Thickness and width changed to wider and thicker section, which resulted into lower line speed. Due to the lower Al content, lower speed and thicker section combination resulted in formation of partial GA in the coil owing to the internal heat content of the coil. This paper presents the results of the investigation.

A vestibular phenotype for Waardenburg syndrome?

Science.gov (United States)

Black, F. O.; Pesznecker, S. C.; Allen, K.; Gianna, C.

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate vestibular abnormalities in subjects with Waardenburg syndrome. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective record review. SETTING: Tertiary referral neurotology clinic. SUBJECTS: Twenty-two adult white subjects with clinical diagnosis of Waardenburg syndrome (10 type I and 12 type II). INTERVENTIONS: Evaluation for Waardenburg phenotype, history of vestibular and auditory symptoms, tests of vestibular and auditory function. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Results of phenotyping, results of vestibular and auditory symptom review (history), results of vestibular and auditory function testing. RESULTS: Seventeen subjects were women, and 5 were men. Their ages ranged from 21 to 58 years (mean, 38 years). Sixteen of the 22 subjects sought treatment for vertigo, dizziness, or imbalance. For subjects with vestibular symptoms, the results of vestibuloocular tests (calorics, vestibular autorotation, and/or pseudorandom rotation) were abnormal in 77%, and the results of vestibulospinal function tests (computerized dynamic posturography, EquiTest) were abnormal in 57%, but there were no specific patterns of abnormality. Six had objective sensorineural hearing loss. Thirteen had an elevated summating/action potential (>0.40) on electrocochleography. All subjects except those with severe hearing loss (n = 3) had normal auditory brainstem response results. CONCLUSION: Patients with Waardenburg syndrome may experience primarily vestibular symptoms without hearing loss. Electrocochleography and vestibular function tests appear to be the most sensitive measures of otologic abnormalities in such patients.

Atypical Manifestation of Vestibular Schwannoma

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Webster, Guilherme

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Vestibular schwannoma (also known as acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor whose cells are derived from Schwann sheaths, which commonly occurs from the vestibular portion of the eighth cranial nerve. Furthermore, vestibular schwannomas account for ∼8% of intracranial tumors in adults and 80 to 90% of tumors of the cerebellopontine angle. Its symptoms are varied, but what stands out most is a unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, with a low index of speech recognition. Objective: Describe an atypical manifestation of vestibular schwannoma. Case Report: The 46-year-old woman had vertigo and binaural hearing loss and fullness, with ear, nose, and throat examination suggestive of cochlear injury. After 6 months, the patient developed worsening of symptoms and onset of right unilateral tinnitus. In further exams the signs of cochlear damage remained, except for the vestibular test (hyporeflexia. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an expansive lesion in the right cerebellopontine angle. Discussion: This report warns about the atypical manifestations of vestibular schwannoma, which must always be remembered in investigating and diagnosing hearing loss.

Directional plasticity rapidly improves 3D vestibulo-ocular reflex alignment in monkeys using a multichannel vestibular prosthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Chenkai; Fridman, Gene Y; Chiang, Bryce; Rahman, Mehdi A; Ahn, Joong Ho; Davidovics, Natan S; Della Santina, Charles C

2013-12-01

Bilateral loss of vestibular sensation can be disabling. We have shown that a multichannel vestibular prosthesis (MVP) can partly restore vestibular sensation as evidenced by improvements in the 3-dimensional angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (3D VOR). However, a key challenge is to minimize misalignment between the axes of eye and head rotation, which is apparently caused by current spread beyond each electrode's targeted nerve branch. We recently reported that rodents wearing a MVP markedly improve 3D VOR alignment during the first week after MVP activation, probably through the same central nervous system adaptive mechanisms that mediate cross-axis adaptation over time in normal individuals wearing prisms that cause visual scene movement about an axis different than the axis of head rotation. We hypothesized that rhesus monkeys would exhibit similar improvements with continuous prosthetic stimulation over time. We created bilateral vestibular deficiency in four rhesus monkeys via intratympanic injection of gentamicin. A MVP was mounted to the cranium, and eye movements in response to whole-body passive rotation in darkness were measured repeatedly over 1 week of continuous head motion-modulated prosthetic electrical stimulation. 3D VOR responses to whole-body rotations about each semicircular canal axis were measured on days 1, 3, and 7 of chronic stimulation. Horizontal VOR gain during 1 Hz, 50 °/s peak whole-body rotations before the prosthesis was turned on was prosthetic stimulation under normal diurnal lighting. Similar improvements were noted for all animals, all three axes of rotation tested, for all sinusoidal frequencies tested (0.05-5 Hz), and for high-acceleration transient rotations. VOR asymmetry changes did not reach statistical significance, although they did trend toward slight improvement over time. Prior studies had already shown that directional plasticity reduces misalignment when a subject with normal labyrinths views abnormal visual scene

CONTRIBUTION OF THE AUDIOLOGICAL AND VESTIBULAR ASSESSMENT TO THE DIFFERENTIAL AND ETIOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERIPHERIC VESTIBULAR SYNDROMES

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Loreta Ungureanu

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Scope of the study: Vestibular pathology is a complex one, requiring a minute clinical evaluation, as well as numerous paraclinical investigations. The present study analyzes the contribution of the modern methods of vestibular and auditive investigation to the diagnosis of dizziness. Materials and method: The results of the investigations performed on 84 patients with peripheric vestibular syndrome, on whom a complete audiological and vestibular assessment had been also made, have been retrospectively analyzed. Results: Anamnestic data and the results of evaluation permitted classification of peripheric vestibular pathology according to topo-lesional and etiological criteria. The most frequently diagnosed diseases were: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Ménière syndrome and vestibular neuronitis. Conclusions: Testing of the vestibulo-ocular and vestibulo-spinal reflexes through videonystagmoscopy and, respectively, computerized dynamic posturography, besides tonal vocal audiometry and precocious auditive potentials, is especially important for a positive diagnosis and etiological differentiation of vestibular syndromes.

The vestibular implant: Quo vadis?

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Raymond eVan De Berg

2011-08-01

Full Text Available AbstractObjective: to assess the progress of the development of the vestibular implant and its feasibility short-term. Data sources: a search was performed in Pubmed, Medline and Embase. Key words used were vestibular prosth* and vestibular implant. The only search limit was language: English or Dutch. Additional sources were medical books, conference lectures and our personal experience with per-operative vestibular stimulation in patients selected for cochlear implantation.Study selection: all studies about the vestibular implant and related topics were included and evaluated by two reviewers. No study was excluded since every study investigated different aspects of the vestibular implant. Data extraction and synthesis: data was extracted by the first author from selected reports, supplemented by additional information, medical books conference lectures. Since each study had its own point of interest with its own outcomes, it was not possible to compare data of different studies. Conclusion: to use a basic vestibular implant in humans seems feasible in the very near future. Investigations show that electric stimulation of the canal nerves induces a nystagmus which corresponds to the plane of the canal which is innervated by the stimulated nerve branch. The brain is able to adapt to a higher baseline stimulation, while still reacting on a dynamic component. The best response will be achieved by a combination of the optimal stimulus (stimulus profile, stimulus location, precompensation, complemented by central vestibular adaptation. The degree of response will probably vary between individuals, depending on pathology and their ability to adapt.

Vestibular involvement in adults with HIV/AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinze, Barbara M; Vinck, Bart M; Hofmeyr, Louis M; Swanepoel, De Wet

2014-04-01

HIV/AIDS is responsible for widespread clinical manifestations involving the head, and neck. The prevalence and nature of vestibular involvement is still largely unknown. This study, aimed to describe and compare the occurrence and nature of vestibular involvement among a group of, adults infected with HIV compared to a control group. It also aimed to compare the vestibular function, of symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV positive adults who receive antiretroviral (ARV) therapies to, subjects not receiving ARV. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 53 adults (29 male, 24 female, aged 23-49 years, mean=38.5, SD=4.4) infected with HIV, compared to a control group of 38 HIV negative adults (18, male, 20 female, aged 20-49 years, mean=36.9, SD=8.2). A structured interview probed the subjective, perception of vestibular symptoms. Medical records were reviewed for CD4+ cell counts and the use of, ARV medication. An otologic assessment and a comprehensive vestibular assessment (bedside, assessments, vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, ocular motor and positional tests and bithermal, caloric irrigation) were conducted. Vestibular involvement occurred in 79.2% of subjects with HIV in all categories of disease, progression, compared to 18.4% in those without HIV. Vestibular involvement increased from 18.9% in CDC category 1 to 30.2% in category 2. Vestibular involvement was 30.1% in category 3. There were, vestibular involvement in 35.9% of symptomatic HIV positive subjects, and 41.5% in asymptomatic, HIV positive subjects. There was no significant difference in the occurrence of vestibular involvement, in subjects receiving ARV therapies compared to those not receiving ARV therapies (p=.914; chi-square, test). The odds ratio indicates that individuals with HIV have a 16.61 times higher risk of developing, vestibular involvement during their lifetime of living with the disease and that it may occur despite, being asymptomatic. Vestibular involvement was significantly more

Noise upon the Sinusoids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Karl Kristoffer

2005-01-01

Sinusoids are used for making harmonic and other sounds. In order to having life in the sounds and adding a wide variety of noises, irregularities are inserted in the frequency and amplitudes. A simple and intuitive noise model is presented, consisting of a low-pass filtered noise, and having...... control for strength and bandwidth. The noise is added on the frequency and amplitudes of the sinusoids, and the resulting irregularity’s (jitter and shimmer) bandwidth is derived. This, together with an overview of investigation methods of the jitter and shimmer results in an analysis of the necessary...

Aging of the Human Vestibular System

OpenAIRE

Zalewski, Christopher K.

2015-01-01

Aging affects every sensory system in the body, including the vestibular system. Although its impact is often difficult to quantify, the deleterious impact of aging on the vestibular system is serious both medically and economically. The deterioration of the vestibular sensory end organs has been known since the 1970s; however, the measurable impact from these anatomical changes remains elusive. Tests of vestibular function either fall short in their ability to quantify such anatomical deteri...

Laboratory studies of galvanic corrosion. I. Two-metal couples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansfeld, F.; Kenkel, J.V.

1975-01-01

Galvanic interaction of stainless steel 304L, Ni 270, Cu, Ti--6Al--4V, Sn, 4130 steel, Cd, and Zn has been studied in 3.5 percent NaCl using galvanic current and weight loss measurements in 24-hour tests. Galvanic couples of 4130 steel and one of the Al alloys 1100, 2024, 2219, 6061, and 7075 have also been evaluated in tap water and distilled water. Galvanic current data can be used to assess both the effect of different dissimilar cathode materials as well as the relative susceptibility to galvanic corrosion of anode materials. For 3.5 percent NaCl, it has been found that the effect of the cathode material decreases in the order Cu greater than Ni greater than stainless steel greater than Ti--6Al--4V, while the relative susceptibility of anode materials decreases in the order Sn greater than Zn greater than 4130 steel greater than Cd. An analysis of data in various electrolytes shows that coupling of 4130 steel to Al alloys leads to cathodic protection of the steel in 3.5 percent NaCl, but to accelerated corrosion in tap water and distilled water. (U.S.)

Parametric modeling for damped sinusoids from multiple channels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Zhenhua; So, Hing Cheung; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

2013-01-01

frequencies and damping factors are then computed with the multi-channel weighted linear prediction method. The estimated sinusoidal poles are then matched to each channel according to the extreme value theory of distribution of random fields. Simulations are performed to show the performance advantages......The problem of parametric modeling for noisy damped sinusoidal signals from multiple channels is addressed. Utilizing the shift invariance property of the signal subspace, the number of distinct sinusoidal poles in the multiple channels is first determined. With the estimated number, the distinct...... of the proposed multi-channel sinusoidal modeling methodology compared with existing methods....

Perspectives on aging vestibular function

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Eric eAnson

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Much is known about age related anatomical changes in the vestibular system. Knowledge regarding how vestibular anatomical changes impact behavior for older adults continues to grow, in line with advancements in diagnostic testing. However, despite advancements in clinical diagnostics, much remains unknown about the functional impact that an aging vestibular system has on daily life activities like standing and walking. Modern diagnostic tests are very good at characterizing neural activity of the isolated vestibular system, but the tests themselves are artificial and do not reflect the multi-sensory aspects of natural human behavior. Also, the majority of clinical diagnostic tests are passively applied because active behavior can enhance performance. In this perspective paper we review anatomical and behavioral changes associated with an aging vestibular system and highlight several areas where a more functionally relevant perspective can be taken. For postural control, a multi-sensory perturbation approach could be used to bring balance rehabilitation into the arena of precision medicine. For walking and complex gaze stability, this may result in less physiologically specific impairments, but the trade-off would be a greater understanding of how the aging vestibular system truly impacts the daily life of older adults.

Vestibular hearing and neural synchronization.

Science.gov (United States)

Emami, Seyede Faranak; Daneshi, Ahmad

2012-01-01

Objectives. Vestibular hearing as an auditory sensitivity of the saccule in the human ear is revealed by cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs). The range of the vestibular hearing lies in the low frequency. Also, the amplitude of an auditory brainstem response component depends on the amount of synchronized neural activity, and the auditory nerve fibers' responses have the best synchronization with the low frequency. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate correlation between vestibular hearing using cVEMPs and neural synchronization via slow wave Auditory Brainstem Responses (sABR). Study Design. This case-control survey was consisted of twenty-two dizzy patients, compared to twenty healthy controls. Methods. Intervention comprised of Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA), Impedance acoustic metry (IA), Videonystagmography (VNG), fast wave ABR (fABR), sABR, and cVEMPs. Results. The affected ears of the dizzy patients had the abnormal findings of cVEMPs (insecure vestibular hearing) and the abnormal findings of sABR (decreased neural synchronization). Comparison of the cVEMPs at affected ears versus unaffected ears and the normal persons revealed significant differences (P < 0.05). Conclusion. Safe vestibular hearing was effective in the improvement of the neural synchronization.

Galvanic Corrosion between Alloy 690 and Magnetite in Alkaline Aqueous Solutions

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Soon-Hyeok Jeon

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The galvanic corrosion behavior of Alloy 690 coupled with magnetite has been investigated in an alkaline solution at 30 °C and 60 °C using a potentiodynamic polarization method and a zero resistance ammeter. The positive current values were recorded in the galvanic couple and the corrosion potential of Alloy 690 was relatively lower. These results indicate that Alloy 690 behaves as the anode of the pair. The galvanic coupling between Alloy 690 and magnetite increased the corrosion rate of Alloy 690. The temperature increase led to an increase in the extent of galvanic effect and a decrease in the stability of passive film. Galvanic effect between Alloy 690 and magnetite is proposed as an additional factor accelerating the corrosion rate of Alloy 690 steam generator tubing in secondary water.

40 CFR 465.20 - Applicability; description of the galvanized basis material subcategory.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... galvanized basis material subcategory. 465.20 Section 465.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS COIL COATING POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Galvanized Basis Material Subcategory § 465.20 Applicability; description of the galvanized basis material...

Epitaxial growth by monolayer restricted galvanic displacement

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Vasilić Rastko

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The development of a new method for epitaxial growth of metals in solution by galvanic displacement of layers pre-deposited by underpotential deposition (UPD was discussed and experimentally illustrated throughout the lecture. Cyclic voltammetry (CV and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM are employed to carry out and monitor a “quasi-perfect”, two-dimensional growth of Ag on Au(111, Cu on Ag(111, and Cu on Au(111 by repetitive galvanic displacement of underpotentially deposited monolayers. A comparative study emphasizes the displacement stoichiometry as an efficient tool for thickness control during the deposition process and as a key parameter that affects the deposit morphology. The excellent quality of layers deposited by monolayer-restricted galvanic displacement is manifested by a steady UPD voltammetry and ascertained by a flat and uniform surface morphology maintained during the entire growth process.

Acute Bilateral Superior Branch Vestibular Neuropathy

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Dario A. Yacovino

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The rapid onset of a bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH is often attributed to vestibular ototoxicity. However, without any prior exposure to ototoxins, the idiopathic form of BVH is most common. Although sequential bilateral vestibular neuritis (VN is described as a cause of BVH, clinical evidence for simultaneous and acute onset bilateral VN is unknown. We describe a patient with an acute onset of severe gait ataxia and oscillopsia with features compatible with acute BVH putatively due to a bilateral VN, which we serially evaluated with clinical and laboratory vestibular function testing over the course of 1 year. Initially, bilateral superior and horizontal semicircular canals and bilateral utricles were impaired, consistent with damage to both superior branches of each vestibular nerve. Hearing was spared. Only modest results were obtained following 6 months of vestibular rehabilitation. At a 1-year follow-up, only the utricular function of one side recovered. This case is the first evidence supporting an acute presentation of bilateral VN as a cause for BVH, which would not have been observed without critical assessment of each of the 10 vestibular end organs.

A Galvanic Sensor for Monitoring the Corrosion Condition of the Concrete Reinforcing Steel: Relationship Between the Galvanic and the Corrosion Currents

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Elsa Vaz Pereira

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This work reports a study carried out on the design and performance of galvanic and polarization resistance sensors to be embedded in concrete systems for permanent monitoring of the corrosion condition of reinforcing steel, aiming to establish a correlation between the galvanic currents, Igal, and the corrosion currents, Icorr, estimated from the polarization resistance, Rp. Sensors have been tested in saturated Ca(OH2 aqueous solutions, under a variety of conditions, simulating the most important parameters that can accelerate the corrosion of concrete reinforcing steel, such as carbonation, ingress of chloride ions, presence or absence of O2. For all the conditions, the influence of temperature (20 to 55 ºC has also been considered. From this study, it could be concluded that the galvanic currents are sensitive to the various parameters following a trend similar to that of the Rp values. A relationship between the galvanic and the corrosion current densities was obtained and the limiting values of the Igal, indicative of the state condition of the reinforcing steel for the designed sensor, were established.

Expression of vesicular glutamate transporters in peripheral vestibular structures and vestibular nuclear complex of rat.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, F X; Pang, Y W; Zhang, M M; Zhang, T; Dong, Y L; Lai, C H; Shum, D K Y; Chan, Y S; Li, J L; Li, Y Q

2011-01-26

Glutamate transmission from vestibular end organs to central vestibular nuclear complex (VNC) plays important role in transferring sensory information about head position and movements. Three isoforms of vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs) have been considered so far the most specific markers for glutamatergic neurons/cells. In this study, VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 were immunohistochemically localized to axon terminals in VNC and somata of vestibular primary afferents in association with their central and peripheral axon endings, and VGLUT1 and VGLUT3 were co-localized to hair cells of otolith maculae and cristae ampullaris. VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 defined three subsets of Scarpa's neurons (vestibular ganglionic neurons): those co-expressing VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 or expressing only VGLUT2, and those expressing neither. In addition, many neurons located in all vestibular subnuclei were observed to contain hybridized signals for VGLUT2 mRNA and a few VNC neurons, mostly scattered in medial vestibular nucleus (MVe), displayed VGLUT1 mRNA labelling. Following unilateral ganglionectomy, asymmetries of VGLUT1-immunoreactivity (ir) and VGLUT2-ir occurred between two VNCs, indicating that the VNC terminals containing VGLUT1 and/or VGLUT2 are partly of peripheral origin. The present data indicate that the constituent cells/neurons along the vestibular pathway selectively apply VGLUT isoforms to transport glutamate into synaptic vesicles for glutamate transmission. © 2011 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Metabolic disorders of the vestibular system.

Science.gov (United States)

Rybak, L P

1995-01-01

This article reviews the impact of metabolic disorders on vestibular function. Diabetes mellitus is a disorder of glucose metabolism that can be associated with vestibular dysfunction. Vertigo can be alleviated by diet management in many cases. Elevated levels of blood lipids have been implicated in cochleovestibular disorders. Treatment with a lipid-lowering drug has resulted in improved auditory and vestibular function in a placebo-controlled trial. Hypothyroidism may affect different parts of the vestibular system depending on the severity and duration of thyroid deficiency. Severe congenital hypothyroidism can cause central vestibular disorders affecting the cerebellum, whereas mild hypothyroidism may result in peripheral vestibulopathy. Endogenous alterations in concentrations of estrogen and progesterone in the premenstrual syndrome or with the use of exogenous hormones such as oral contraceptives may trigger vertigo. Metabolic evaluations for unexplained vertigo should include a lipoprotein profile, with cholesterol and triglyceride levels, glucose tolerance test, and thyroid hormone measurements. Nutritional and drug therapy may be useful to reverse the vestibular dysfunction.

Micro-electrochemical characterization of galvanic corrosion of TA2/316L composite plate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, X.; Li, X.; Dong, C.; Xiao, K. [Corrosion and Protection Center, University of Science and Technology Beijing (China)

2011-12-15

Galvanic corrosion behavior of TA2/316L composite plate was investigated in the solution of 3.5 wt% NaCl by galvanic potential monitoring, scanning localized electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (LEIS) and scanning vibrating micro-electrode (SVME) techniques. The results demonstrated that the pitting corrosion resistance of 316L for the galvanic combination sample is lower, and the coupled current density is higher than for the single 316L sample. It indicates that the galvanic action works on the corrosion behavior of the TA2 titanium alloy/316L stainless steel galvanic combination in sodium chloride solution. The galvanic effect width was determined as 1500 {mu}m. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation promotes GABA release in the substantia nigra and improves locomotion in hemiparkinsonian rats.

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Ghazaleh Samoudi

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The vestibular system is connected to spinal, cerebellar and cerebral motor control structures and can be selectively activated with external electrodes. The resulting sensation of disturbed balance can be avoided by using stochastic stimulation patterns. Adding noise to the nervous system sometimes improves function. Small clinical trials suggest that stochastic vestibular stimulation (SVS may improve symptoms in Parkinson's disease. We have investigated this claim and possible mechanisms using the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA hemilesion model of Parkinson's disease. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Animals were tested in the accelerating rod test and the Montoya staircase test of skilled forelimb use. In 6-OHDA hemilesioned animals, SVS improved rod performance by 56±11 s. At group level L-DOPA treatment had no effect, but positive responders improved time on rod by 60±19 s. Skilled forelimb use was not altered by SVS. To investigate how SVS may influence basal ganglia network activity, intracerebral microdialysis was employed in four regions of interest during and after SVS. In presence of the γ-amino buturic acid (GABA transporter inhibitor NNC 711, SVS induced an increase in GABA to 150±15% of baseline in the substantia nigra (SN of unlesioned animals, but had no effect in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN, the striatum or the ventromedial thalamus (VM. Dopamine release remained stable in all areas, as did GABA and amine concentrations in the SN of unstimulated controls. Following SVS, a sustained increase in GABA concentrations was observed in the ipsilesional, but not in the contralesional SN of 6-OHDA hemilesioned rats. In contrast, L-DOPA treatment produced a similar increase of GABA in the ipsi- and contra-lesional SN. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: SVS improves rod performance in a rat model of Parkinson's disease, possibly by increasing nigral GABA release in a dopamine independent way. We propose that SVS could be useful for

Galvanic manufacturing in the cities of Russia: potential source of ambient nanoparticles.

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Kirill S Golokhvast

Full Text Available Galvanic manufacturing is widely employed and can be found in nearly every average city in Russia. The release and accumulation of different metals (Me, depending on the technology used can be found in the vicinities of galvanic plants. Under the environmental protection act in Russia, the regulations for galvanic manufacturing do not include the regulations and safety standards for ambient ultrafine and nanosized particulate matter (PM. To assess whether Me nanoparticles (NP are among environmental pollutants caused by galvanic manufacturing, the level of Me NP were tested in urban snow samples collected around galvanic enterprises in two cities. Employing transmission electronic microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and a laser diffraction particle size analyzer, we found that the size distribution of tested Me NP was within 10-120 nm range. This is the first study to report that Me NP of Fe, Cr, Pb, Al, Ni, Cu, and Zn were detected around galvanic shop settings.

Simulation to coating weight control for galvanizing

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junsheng; Yan, Zhang; Wu, Kunkui; Song, Lei

2013-05-01

Zinc coating weight control is one of the most critical issues for continuous galvanizing line. The process has the characteristic of variable-time large time delay, nonlinear, multivariable. It can result in seriously coating weight error and non-uniform coating. We develop a control system, which can automatically control the air knives pressure and its position to give a constant and uniform zinc coating, in accordance with customer-order specification through an auto-adaptive empirical model-based feed forward adaptive controller, and two model-free adaptive feedback controllers . The proposed models with controller were applied to continuous galvanizing line (CGL) at Angang Steel Works. By the production results, the precise and stability of the control model reduces over-coating weight and improves coating uniform. The product for this hot dip galvanizing line does not only satisfy the customers' quality requirement but also save the zinc consumption.

Model-based Vestibular Afferent Stimulation: Modular Workflow for Analyzing Stimulation Scenarios in Patient Specific and Statistical Vestibular Anatomy

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Michael Handler

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Our sense of balance and spatial orientation strongly depends on the correct functionality of our vestibular system. Vestibular dysfunction can lead to blurred vision and impaired balance and spatial orientation, causing a significant decrease in quality of life. Recent studies have shown that vestibular implants offer a possible treatment for patients with vestibular dysfunction. The close proximity of the vestibular nerve bundles, the facial nerve and the cochlear nerve poses a major challenge to targeted stimulation of the vestibular system. Modeling the electrical stimulation of the vestibular system allows for an efficient analysis of stimulation scenarios previous to time and cost intensive in vivo experiments. Current models are based on animal data or CAD models of human anatomy. In this work, a (semi-automatic modular workflow is presented for the stepwise transformation of segmented vestibular anatomy data of human vestibular specimens to an electrical model and subsequently analyzed. The steps of this workflow include (i the transformation of labeled datasets to a tetrahedra mesh, (ii nerve fiber anisotropy and fiber computation as a basis for neuron models, (iii inclusion of arbitrary electrode designs, (iv simulation of quasistationary potential distributions, and (v analysis of stimulus waveforms on the stimulation outcome. Results obtained by the workflow based on human datasets and the average shape of a statistical model revealed a high qualitative agreement and a quantitatively comparable range compared to data from literature, respectively. Based on our workflow, a detailed analysis of intra- and extra-labyrinthine electrode configurations with various stimulation waveforms and electrode designs can be performed on patient specific anatomy, making this framework a valuable tool for current optimization questions concerning vestibular implants in humans.

7 CFR 1755.370 - RUS specification for seven wire galvanized steel strand.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 11 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false RUS specification for seven wire galvanized steel..., ACCEPTABLE MATERIALS, AND STANDARD CONTRACT FORMS § 1755.370 RUS specification for seven wire galvanized... Steel Wire Strand, issued May 1978. All seven wire galvanized steel strand purchased after April 1, 1990...

Studies into the Factors that Affects the Service Integrity of Galvanizing Kettle

OpenAIRE

Muhammed Olawale Hakeem AMUDA; Ayisat Adebukunola LAWAL; Olakunle Wasiu SUBAIR; Ganiyu Ishola LAWAL

2008-01-01

The finding of studies into the factors that affects optimal performance of galvanizing kettle is presented in this paper. The production schedule and history of a failed galvanizing kettle for 3-consecutively years in a hot-dip galvanizing industry was collated and analyzed. The analysis of the collated data revealed that average galvanizing temperatures for the 3-year under review were 483.9°C (2003), 482.25°C (2004) and 482°C (2005) respectively. The amount of flux, and dross produced in t...

Sinusoidal masks for single channel speech separation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mowlaee, Pejman; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll; Jensen, Søren Holdt

2010-01-01

In this paper we present a new approach for binary and soft masks used in single-channel speech separation. We present a novel approach called the sinusoidal mask (binary mask and Wiener filter) in a sinusoidal space. Theoretical analysis is presented for the proposed method, and we show...... that the proposed method is able to minimize the target speech distortion while suppressing the crosstalk to a predetermined threshold. It is observed that compared to the STFTbased masks, the proposed sinusoidal masks improve the separation performance in terms of objective measures (SSNR and PESQ) and are mostly...

Hereditary familial vestibular degenerative diseases.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sun, J.; Alphen, A.M. van; Wagenaar, M.; Huygen, P.L.M.; Hoogenraad, C.C.; Hasson, T.; Koekkoek, S.K.; Bohne, B.A.; Zeeuw, C.I. de

2001-01-01

Identification of genes involved in hereditary vestibular disease is growing at a remarkable pace. Mutant mouse technology can be an important tool for understanding the biological mechanism of human vestibular diseases.

Studies into the Factors that Affects the Service Integrity of Galvanizing Kettle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammed Olawale Hakeem AMUDA

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The finding of studies into the factors that affects optimal performance of galvanizing kettle is presented in this paper. The production schedule and history of a failed galvanizing kettle for 3-consecutively years in a hot-dip galvanizing industry was collated and analyzed. The analysis of the collated data revealed that average galvanizing temperatures for the 3-year under review were 483.9°C (2003, 482.25°C (2004 and 482°C (2005 respectively. The amount of flux, and dross produced in the corresponding years were 169.15kg and 31.6 tons, 56.31kg and 10.5 tons and 101.14 and 18.91 tonnes for 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively. During these years, zinc consumed averaged 647, 334 and 446 tonnes respectively.Stochiometry evaluation of flux, and dross in a hot-dip galvanizing process determined flux required as 60 kg/year and dross produced as 90 slabs / month.The study revealed that the lifespan of galvanizing kettle is greatly reduced by temperature fluctuation, dross formation, excess flux additions and combinations of these factors.It is recommended that improved service integrity of galvanizing kettle is assured at galvanizing temperature of 460°C, flux consumption of 0.15 –0.20kg daily and constant removal of dross at 3-5 slabs per day. This reduces the formation of skim lines, which leads to pits on the walls of the kettle.

Amplitude Modulated Sinusoidal Signal Decomposition for Audio Coding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, M. G.; Jacobson, A.; Andersen, S. V.

2006-01-01

In this paper, we present a decomposition for sinusoidal coding of audio, based on an amplitude modulation of sinusoids via a linear combination of arbitrary basis vectors. The proposed method, which incorporates a perceptual distortion measure, is based on a relaxation of a nonlinear least......-squares minimization. Rate-distortion curves and listening tests show that, compared to a constant-amplitude sinusoidal coder, the proposed decomposition offers perceptually significant improvements in critical transient signals....

Aging of the Human Vestibular System

Science.gov (United States)

Zalewski, Christopher K.

2015-01-01

Aging affects every sensory system in the body, including the vestibular system. Although its impact is often difficult to quantify, the deleterious impact of aging on the vestibular system is serious both medically and economically. The deterioration of the vestibular sensory end organs has been known since the 1970s; however, the measurable impact from these anatomical changes remains elusive. Tests of vestibular function either fall short in their ability to quantify such anatomical deterioration, or they are insensitive to the associated physiologic decline and/or central compensatory mechanisms that accompany the vestibular aging process. When compared with healthy younger individuals, a paucity of subtle differences in test results has been reported in the healthy older population, and those differences are often observed only in response to nontraditional and/or more robust stimuli. In addition, the reported differences are often clinically insignificant insomuch that the recorded physiologic responses from the elderly often fall within the wide normative response ranges identified for normal healthy adults. The damaging economic impact of such vestibular sensory decline manifests itself in an exponential increase in geriatric dizziness and a subsequent higher prevalence of injurious falls. An estimated $10 to $20 billion dollar annual cost has been reported to be associated with falls-related injuries and is the sixth leading cause of death in the elderly population, with a 20% mortality rate. With an estimated 115% increase in the geriatric population over 65 years of age by the year 2050, the number of balanced-disordered patients with a declining vestibular system is certain to reach near epidemic proportions. An understanding of the effects of age on the vestibular system is imperative if clinicians are to better manage elderly patients with balance disorders, dizziness, and vestibular disease. PMID:27516717

Characterization of Cochlear, Vestibular and Cochlear-Vestibular Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potentials in Patients with a Vestibulo-Cochlear Implant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. A. K. Nguyen

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The peripheral vestibular system is critical for the execution of activities of daily life as it provides movement and orientation information to motor and sensory systems. Patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction experience a significant decrease in quality of life and have currently no viable treatment option. Vestibular implants could eventually restore vestibular function. Most vestibular implant prototypes to date are modified cochlear implants to fast-track development. These use various objective measurements, such as the electrically evoked compound action potential (eCAP, to supplement behavioral information. We investigated whether eCAPs could be recorded in patients with a vestibulo-cochlear implant. Specifically, eCAPs were successfully recorded for cochlear and vestibular setups, as well as for mixed cochlear-vestibular setups. Similarities and slight differences were found for the recordings of the three setups. These findings demonstrated the feasibility of eCAP recording with a vestibulo-cochlear implant. They could be used in the short term to reduce current spread and avoid activation of non-targeted neurons. More research is warranted to better understand the neural origin of vestibular eCAPs and to utilize them for clinical applications.

Vestibular findings in fibromyalgia patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeigelboim, Bianca Simone

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM is a non-inflammatory musculoskeletal chronic syndrome, whose etiology is unknown, characterized by a diffuse pain, increase in palpation sensitivity and such symptoms as tiredness, insomnia, anxiety, depression, cold intolerance and otologic complaints. Objective: Evaluate the vestibular behavior in fibromyalgia patients. Method: A retrospective transversal study was performed. 25 patients aged between 26 and 65 (average age - 52.2 and standard deviation - 10.3 were evaluated and submitted to the following procedures: anamnesis, otorhinolaryngologic and vestibular evaluation by way of vector electronystamography. Results: a The most evident otoneurologic symptoms were: difficulty or pain when moving the neck and pain was spread to an arm or shoulder (92.0% in each, dizziness (84.0% and headache (76.0%. The different clinical symptoms mostly reported were: depression (80.0%, anxiety (76.0% and insomnia (72.0%; b vestibular examination showed an alteration in 12 patients (48.0% in the caloric test; c an alteration in the peripheral vestibular system prevailed, and d deficient peripheral vestibular disorders were prevalent. Conclusion: This study enabled the importance of the labyrinthic test to be verified, thus emphasizing that this kind of people must be studied better, since a range of rheumatologic diseases can cause severe vestibular changes as a result of their manifestations and impairment areas.

About neutralization of the toxic waste of galvanic production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhmetzhanova, Z.Kh.; Samatov, I.B.

1996-01-01

The nature of heavy metals ions migration to environment from the galvanic production is considered in the article. The method of toxic precipitations transformation to non-toxic ones is proposed. The essence of stabilization method of heavy metals hydroxides precipitations consists in transformation of galvanic precipitations mixture to same metals ferrites mixture. The reaction has followed in oxygen medium under heating of galvanic precipitations from 70 up 90 deg C. Before heating the precipitation have acid medium, after temperature treatment the medium turn to the neutral one. These compounds are presented as ferrite class and can be serve as base for various pigments. (author)

Difference in quick phases induced by horizontal and vertical vestibular stimulations: role of the otolithic input.

Science.gov (United States)

Pettorossi, V E; Errico, P; Ferraresi, A

1997-01-01

Quick phases (QPs) induced by horizontal and vertical sinusoidal vestibular stimulations were studied in rabbits, cats, and humans. In all the animals, large and frequent horizontal QPs were observed following yaw stimulation in prone position. By contrast, QPs were almost absent during roll stimulation in rabbits, and they were small and oblique during pitch stimulation in cats and humans. As a result of these differences, the range of gaze displacement induced by vestibular stimulations was greater in the horizontal plane than in the vertical one. We also found that the trajectory of the QPs in rabbits was kept horizontal even when the yaw rotation was off vertical axis of +/- 45 degrees in the sagittal plane. Moreover, in the rabbit, the rare horizontal QPs induced by roll stimulation did not change their orientation at various pitch angles of roll stimulation axis. The QPs were also analyzed following roll stimulation of the rabbit in supine position. In this condition, in which the otolithic receptors were activated in the opposite way compared to prone position, large vertical QPs were elicited. We concluded that these results provide evidence that the otolithic signal plays a role in controlling occurrence and trajectory orientation of the QPs.

Vestibular characterization in the menstrual cycle Caracterização vestibular no ciclo menstrual

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cintia Ishii

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Hormonal disorders in the menstrual cycle can affect labyrinthine fluid homeostasis, causing balance and hearing dysfunctions. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical prospective. AIM: compare the results from vestibular tests in young women, in the premenstrual and postmenstrual periods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: twenty women were selected with ages ranging from 18 to 35 years, who were not using any kind of contraceptive method for at least six months, and without vestibular or hearing complaints. The test was carried out in each subject before and after the menstrual period, respecting the limit of ten days before or after menstruation. RESULTS: there was a statistically significant difference in the menstrual cycle phases only in the following vestibular tests: calibration, saccadic movements, PRPD and caloric-induced nystagmus. We also noticed that age; a regular menstrual cycle; hearing loss or dizziness cases in the family; and premenstrual symptoms such as tinnitus, headache, sleep disorders, anxiety, nausea and hyperacusis can interfere in the vestibular test. CONCLUSION: there are differences in the vestibular tests of healthy women when comparing their pre and postmenstrual periods.As alterações hormonais do ciclo menstrual podem comprometer a homeostase dos fluidos labirínticos, gerando alterações no equilíbrio e na audição. FORMA DO ESTUDO: Clínico prospectivo. OBJETIVO: Comparar os resultados dos testes do exame vestibular em mulheres jovens, nos períodos pré e pós-menstrual. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Foram selecionadas vinte mulheres, entre dezoito e trinta e cinco anos, que não fizessem uso de qualquer tipo de anticoncepcional, com audição normal e sem queixas vestibulares. O exame vestibular foi realizado em cada participante no período pré e no período pós-menstrual, em ordem aleatória, e respeitando o limite de até dez dias antes do início da menstruação e até dez dias após o início da menstruação. RESULTADO: Foi observada

Personality Changes in Patients with Vestibular Dysfunction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul eSmith

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The vestibular system is a sensory system that has evolved to detect linear and angular acceleration of the head in all planes so that the brain is not predominantly reliant on visual information to determine self-motion. Since the vestibular system first evolved in invertebrate species in order to detect gravitational vertical, it is likely that the central nervous system has developed a special dependence upon vestibular input. In addition to the deficits in eye movement and postural reflexes that occur following vestibular dysfunction, there is convincing evidence that vestibular loss also causes cognitive and emotional disorders, some of which may be due to the reflexive deficits and some of which are related to the role that ascending vestibular pathways to the limbic system and cortex play in the sense of spatial orientation. Beyond this, however, patients with vestibular disorders have been reported to experience other personality changes that suggest that vestibular sensation is implicated in the sense of self. These are depersonalisation and derealisation symptoms such as feeling ‘spaced out’, ‘body feeling strange’ and ‘not feeling in control of self’. We suggest in this review that these symptoms suggest that the vestibular system may make a unique contribution to the concept of self through the information regarding self-motion and self-location that it transmits, albeit indirectly, to areas of the brain such as the temporo-parietal junction.

Vestibular Function and Activities of Daily Living

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aisha Harun MD

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: Vestibular dysfunction increases with age and is associated with mobility difficulties and fall risk in older individuals. We evaluated whether vestibular function influences the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs. Method: We analyzed the 1999 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of adults aged older than 40 years ( N = 5,017. Vestibular function was assessed with the Modified Romberg test. We evaluated the association between vestibular function and difficulty level in performing specific basic and instrumental ADLs, and total number of ADL impairments. Results: Vestibular dysfunction was associated with significantly higher odds of difficulty with nine ADLs, most strongly with difficulty managing finances (odds ratio [ OR ] = 2.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.18, 5.90]. In addition, vestibular dysfunction was associated with a significantly greater number of ADL impairments (β = .21, 95% CI = [0.09, 0.33]. This effect size was comparable with the influence of heavy smoking (β = .21, 95% CI = [0.06, 0.36] and hypertension (β = .10, 95% CI = [0.02, 0.18] on the number of ADL impairments. Conclusion: Vestibular dysfunction significantly influences ADL difficulty, most strongly with a cognitive rather than mobility-based task. These findings underscore the importance of vestibular inputs for both cognitive and physical daily activities.

Vestibular control of sympathetic activity. An otolith-sympathetic reflex in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufmann, H; Biaggioni, I; Voustianiouk, A; Diedrich, A; Costa, F; Clarke, R; Gizzi, M; Raphan, T; Cohen, B

2002-04-01

It has been proposed that a vestibular reflex originating in the otolith organs and other body graviceptors modulates sympathetic activity during changes in posture with regard to gravity. To test this hypothesis, we selectively stimulated otolith and body graviceptors sinusoidally along different head axes in the coronal plane with off-vertical axis rotation (OVAR) and recorded sympathetic efferent activity in the peroneal nerve (muscle sympathetic nerve activity, MSNA), blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. All parameters were entrained during OVAR at the frequency of rotation, with MSNA increasing in nose-up positions during forward linear acceleration and decreasing when nose-down. MSNA was correlated closely with blood pressure when subjects were within +/-90 degrees of nose-down positions with a delay of 1.4 s, the normal latency of baroreflex-driven changes in MSNA. Thus, in the nose-down position, MSNA was probably driven by baroreflex afferents. In contrast, when subjects were within +/-45 degrees of the nose-up position, i.e., when positive linear acceleration was maximal along the naso-ocipital axis, MSNA was closely related to gravitational acceleration at a latency of 0.4 s. This delay is too short for MSNA changes to be mediated by the baroreflex, but it is compatible with the delay of a response originating in the vestibular system. We postulate that a vestibulosympathetic reflex, probably originating mainly in the otolith organs, contributes to blood pressure maintenance during forward linear acceleration. Because of its short latency, this reflex may be one of the earliest mechanisms to sustain blood pressure upon standing.

Vestibular function testing.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Lang, E E

2010-06-01

Vestibular symptoms of vertigo, dizziness and dysequilibrium are common complaints which can be disabling both physically and psychologically. Routine examination of the ear nose and throat and neurological system are often normal in these patients. An accurate history and thorough clinical examination can provide a diagnosis in the majority of patients. However, in a subgroup of patients, vestibular function testing may be invaluable in arriving at a correct diagnosis and ultimately in the optimal treatment of these patients.

Dyscalculia and vestibular function.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, P F

2012-10-01

A few studies in humans suggest that changes in stimulation of the balance organs of the inner ear (the 'vestibular system') can disrupt numerical cognition, resulting in 'dyscalculia', the inability to manipulate numbers. Many studies have also demonstrated that patients with vestibular dysfunction exhibit deficits in spatial memory. It is suggested that there may be a connection between spatial memory deficits resulting from vestibular dysfunction and the occurrence of dyscalculia, given the evidence that numerosity is coupled to the processing of spatial information (e.g., the 'spatial numerical association of response codes ('SNARC') effect'). The evidence supporting this hypothesis is summarised and potential experiments to test it are proposed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Imposed currents in galvanic cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biesheuvel, P.M.; Soestbergen, M. van; Bazant, M.Z.

2009-01-01

We analyze the steady-state behavior of a general mathematical model for reversible galvanic cells, such as redox flow cells, reversible solid oxide fuel cells, and rechargeable batteries. We consider not only operation in the galvanic discharging mode, spontaneously generating a positive current against an external load, but also operation in two modes which require a net input of electrical energy: (i) the electrolytic charging mode, where a negative current is imposed to generate a voltage exceeding the open-circuit voltage, and (ii) the 'super-galvanic' discharging mode, where a positive current exceeding the short-circuit current is imposed to generate a negative voltage. Analysis of the various (dis-)charging modes of galvanic cells is important to predict the efficiency of electrical to chemical energy conversion and to provide sensitive tests for experimental validation of fuel cell models. In the model, we consider effects of diffuse charge on electrochemical charge-transfer rates by combining a generalized Frumkin-Butler-Volmer equation for reaction kinetics across the compact Stern layer with the full Poisson-Nernst-Planck transport theory, without assuming local electroneutrality. Since this approach is rare in the literature, we provide a brief historical review. To illustrate the general theory, we present results for a monovalent binary electrolyte, consisting of cations, which react at the electrodes, and non-reactive anions, which are either fixed in space (as in a solid electrolyte) or are mobile (as in a liquid electrolyte). The full model is solved numerically and compared to analytical results in the limit of thin diffuse layers, relative to the membrane thickness. The spatial profiles of the ion concentrations and electrostatic potential reveal a complex dependence on the kinetic parameters and the imposed current, in which the diffuse charge at each electrode and the total membrane charge can have either sign, contrary perhaps to intuition

Alexander von Humboldt: galvanism, animal electricity, and self-experimentation part 1: formative years, naturphilosophie, and galvanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Finger, Stanley; Piccolino, Marco; Stahnisch, Frank W

2013-01-01

During the 1790s, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), who showed an early interest in many facets of natural philosophy and natural history, delved into the controversial subject of galvanism and animal electricity, hoping to shed light on the basic nature of the nerve force. He was motivated by his broad worldview, the experiments of Luigi Galvani, who favored animal electricity in more than a few specialized fishes, and the thinking of Alessandro Volta, who accepted specialized fish electricity but was not willing to generalize to other animals, thinking Galvani's frog experiments flawed by his use of metals. Differing from many German Naturphilosophen, who shunned "violent" experiments, the newest instruments, and detailed measurement, Humboldt conducted thousands of galvanic experiments on animals and animal parts, as well as many on his own body, some of which caused him great pain. He interpreted his results as supporting some but not all of the claims made by both Galvani and Volta. Notably, because of certain negative findings and phenomenological differences, he remained skeptical about the intrinsic animal force being qualitatively identical to true electricity. Hence, he referred to a "galvanic force," not animal electricity, in his letters and publications, a theoretical position he would abandon with Volta's help early in the new century.

76 FR 55031 - Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-06

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [C-570-976] Galvanized Steel Wire From... galvanized steel wire (galvanized wire) from the People's Republic of China (PRC). For information on the..., filed in proper form, concerning imports of galvanized wire from the PRC.\\1\\ The Department initiated a...

Vestibular morphology in the German Waltzing guinea pig.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawaguchi, Sachie; Hultcrantz, Malou; Jin, Zhe; Ulfendahl, Mats; Suzuki, Mamoru

2010-04-01

The German waltzing guinea pig is a special strain of animal with a recessively inherited inner ear defect, resulting in deafness and a severe vestibular dysfunction. The hearing loss in the cochlea of the German strain is a result of a collapse of the Reissner membrane and the absence of scala media. The vestibular organ has not yet been described. German waltzing guinea pigs (homozygote and heterozygote) of different ages ranging from embryologic age 25 days to adulthood were investigated. The living animals were tested with four different vestibular tests, and the fetuses were controlled according to breeding. The morphology of the vestibular parts (ampulla, saccule, and utricle) was observed by using the light and transmission electron microscopy. Collapse of the membranous labyrinth was found already at embryologic age 50 days and progressed over time. Vestibular dysfunction was noted already from birth. Vestibular atelectasis has been shown to have the same morphology as the reported vestibular dysfunction in the German waltzing guinea pig. Owing to this similarity, this animal can be a good model for vestibular research.

Galvanic corrosion between carbon steel 1018 and Alloy 600 in crevice with boric acid solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dong Jin; Kim, Hong Pyo; Kim, Joung Soo; Machonald, Digby D.

2005-01-01

This work dealt with the evaluation of galvanic corrosion rate in a corrosion cell having annular gap of 0.5 mm between carbon steel 1018 and alloy 600 as a function of temperature and boron concentration. Temperature and boron concentration were ranged from 110 to 300 .deg. C and 2000∼10000 ppm, respectively. After the operating temperature of the corrosion cell where the electrolyte was injected was attained at setting temperature, galvanic coupling was made and at the same time galvanic current was measured. The galvanic corrosion rate decreased with time, which was described by corrosion product such as protective film as well as boric acid deposit formed on the carbon steel with time. From the galvanic current obtained as a function of temperature and boron concentration, it was found that the galvanic corrosion rate decreased with temperature while the corrosion rate increased with boron concentration. The experimental results obtained from galvanic corrosion measurement were explained by adhesive property of corrosion product such as protective film, boric acid deposit formed on the carbon steel wall and dehydration of boric acid to be slightly soluble boric acid phase. Moreover the galvanic corrosion rate calculated using initial galvanic coupling current instead of steady state coupling current was remarked, which could give us relatively closer galvanic corrosion rate to real pressurized water reactor

True incidence of vestibular schwannoma?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stangerup, Sven-Eric; Tos, Mirko; Thomsen, Jens

2010-01-01

The incidence of diagnosed sporadic unilateral vestibular schwannomas (VS) has increased, due primarily to more widespread access to magnetic resonance imaging.......The incidence of diagnosed sporadic unilateral vestibular schwannomas (VS) has increased, due primarily to more widespread access to magnetic resonance imaging....

Epidemiology and natural history of vestibular schwannomas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stangerup, Sven-Eric; Caye-Thomasen, Per

2012-01-01

This article describes various epidemiologic trends for vestibular schwannomas over the last 35 years, including a brief note on terminology. Additionally, it provides information on the natural history of tumor growth and hearing level following the diagnosis of a vestibular schwannoma. A treatm......This article describes various epidemiologic trends for vestibular schwannomas over the last 35 years, including a brief note on terminology. Additionally, it provides information on the natural history of tumor growth and hearing level following the diagnosis of a vestibular schwannoma...

Vestibular evaluation in children with otitis media with effusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolkaila, E A; Emara, A A; Gabr, T A

2015-04-01

Fifty per cent of children with serous otitis media may have some balance disturbances. To evaluate vestibular function in children with otitis media with effusion. The control group comprised 25 children with bilateral normal hearing and middle-ear function. The study group consisted of 30 children with bilateral otitis media with effusion; these were divided into 2 subgroups according to air-bone gap size. Measures included the Arabic Dizziness Handicap Inventory, an imbalance evaluation sheet for children, vestibular bedside tests for children, and air- and bone-conducted vestibular-evoked myogenic potential testing. Arabic Dizziness Handicap Inventory scores and some vestibular bedside test results were significantly abnormal, with normal video-nystagmography results, in children with otitis media with effusion. Air-conducted vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials were recorded in 73 per cent of children with otitis media with effusion, with significantly delayed latencies. Bone-conducted vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials were successfully detected in 100 per cent of children with otitis media with effusion with similar results to the control group. The Arabic Dizziness Handicap Inventory and vestibular bedside tests are valuable tools for detecting vestibular impairment in children. Bone-conducted vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials are useful for vestibular system evaluation.

Combined ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential in individuals with vestibular hyporeflexia and in patients with Ménière's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Tatiana Rocha; de Resende, Luciana Macedo; Santos, Marco Aurélio Rocha

The vestibular evoked myogenic potential is a potential of mean latency that measures the muscle response to auditory stimulation. This potential can be generated from the contraction of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and also from the contraction of extraocular muscles in response to high-intensity sounds. This study presents a combined or simultaneous technique of cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential in individuals with changes in the vestibular system, for use in otoneurologic diagnosis. To characterize the records and analyze the results of combined cervical and ocular VEMP in individuals with vestibular hyporeflexia and in those with Ménière's disease. The study included 120 subjects: 30 subjects with vestibular hyporeflexia, 30 with Ménière's disease, and 60 individuals with normal hearing. Data collection was performed by simultaneously recording the cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential. There were differences between the study groups (individuals with vestibular hyporeflexia and individuals with Ménière's disease) and the control group for most of wave parameters in combined cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential. For cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential, it was observed that the prolongation of latency of the P13 and N23 waves was the most frequent finding in the group with vestibular hyporeflexia and in the group with Ménière's disease. For ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential, prolonged latency of N10 and P15 waves was the most frequent finding in the study groups. Combined cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential presented relevant results for individuals with vestibular hyporeflexia and for those with Ménière's disease. There were differences between the study groups and the control group for most of the wave parameters in combined cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential. Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia

Issues in recycling galvanized scrap

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koros, P.J. [LTV Steel Co., Inc., Cleveland, OH (United States); Hellickson, D.A. [General Motors Corp., Detroit, MI (United States); Dudek, F.J. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)

1995-02-10

The quality of the steel used for most galvanizing (and tinplate) applications makes scrap derived from their production and use a premier solid charge material for steelmaking. In 1989 the AISI created a Task Force to define the issues and to recommend technologically and economically sound approaches to assure continued, unhindered recyclability of the growing volume of galvanized scrap. The AISI program addressed the treatment of full-sized industrial bales of scrap. The current, on-going MRI (US)--Argonne National Laboratory program is focused on ``loose`` scrap from industrial and post-consumer sources. Results from these programs, issues of scrap management from source to steel melting, the choices for handling zinc in iron and steelmaking and the benefits/costs for removal of zinc (and lead) from scrap prior to melting in BOF and foundry operations are reviewed in this paper.

[Threefold intraoperative electrophysiological monitoring of vestibular neurectomy].

Science.gov (United States)

Hausler, R; Kasper, A

1991-01-01

A threefold intraoperative monitoring of facial nerve, auditory nerve and vestibular nerve function was performed in 14 cases of retrosigmoidal neurectomy. The facial nerve was monitoring with a pressure transducer placed against the cheek (Opalarm system). The auditory nerve was monitored with acoustically (click) evoked early potentials and the vestibular nerve was monitored with electrically evoked vestibular potentials obtained by direct stimulation (biphasic current pulses of 0.75-mA p-p, 100 us, 20/s) of the exposed vestibular nerve in the cerebellopontine angle before, during and after neurectomy. A characteristic vertex negative peak having a latency of approximately 2 ms and approximately 0.5 uV amplitude was obtained between a forehead and an ipsilateral ear lobe electrode (2 x 1,000 averaged responses over 10 ms) before the neurectomy. This response disappeared after selective vestibular nerve section proximal to the stimulation site. A diminished response amplitude was measured after incomplete nerve section. Simultaneous acoustic masking had no influence on the vestibular potential. The 14 operated patients became all free of vertiginous spells and drop-attacks except one patient who developed a contralateral Menière's. Facial nerve function remained normal in all. Hearing preservation was obtained in 12 patients (86%). The threefold intraoperative monitoring has turned out to be an additional safety factor for facial and auditory nerve preservation and, thanks to the recording of vestibular potentials, it increased the efficiency of vestibular neurectomy.

Cold laminar galvanizing: a new anti-corrosion concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagnulo, L.H.

1984-01-01

Cold laminar galvanizing, a recent anticorrosion technology, now combines the most positive characteristics of the hot galvanizing protective systems. This patented technology has a zinc laminated foil (obtained by processing 99.9% pure zinc ingots) that is homogeneous and isotropic, with a standard thickness of 80-100μm. This foil is backed with an electro-conductive, selfadhesive glue prepared under an original formula. The zinc laminated foil offers excellent anchorage and elevated resistance to the main atmospheric agents

DFT study on the galvanic interaction between pyrite (100) and galena (100) surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ke, Baolin; Li, Yuqiong; Chen, Jianhua; Zhao, Cuihua; Chen, Ye

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Galvanic interaction is weakened with the increase of contact distance. • Electronic transfer mainly occurs on the contact layers. • Galvanic effect enhances nucleophilicity of galena and electrophilicity of pyrite. • Presence of H_2O increases the galvanic interaction. - Abstract: The galvanic interaction between pyrite and galena surface has been investigated using density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculated results show that galvanic interactions between pyrite and galena surface are decreased with the increase of contact distance. The galvanic interactions still occurs even the distance larger than the sum of two atoms radius (≈2.8 Å), and the limit distance of galvanic interaction between galena and pyrite surface is about 10 Å, which is consistent with the quantum tunneling effect. Through Mulliken charge population calculation, it is found that electrons transfer from galena to pyrite. For galena surface, Pb 6s and 6p states lose electrons and S 3p state loses a small amount of electrons, which causes the electron loss of galena. For pyrite surface, Fe 4p state obtains large numbers of electrons, resulting in the decrease of positive charge of Fe atom. However, the 3p state of S atom loses a small numbers of electrons. The reactivity of mineral surface has also been studied by calculating the frontier orbitals of minerals. Results suggest that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) coefficients of galena are increased whereas those of pyrite are decreased with the enhancing galvanic interaction, indicating that the oxidation of galena surface would be enhanced due to the galvanic interaction. The Fukui indices and dual descriptor values of surface atoms suggest that the nucleophilicity of the galena surface increases, meanwhile, the electrophilicity of pyrite surface increases with the decrease of the contact distance. In addition, the density of states (DOS) of atoms results show that the

Performance of Inductors Attached to a Galvanizing Bath

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xinping; Yuan, Shuo; Liu, Chi; Yang, Peng; Qian, Chaoqun; Song, Bao

2013-12-01

By taking a galvanizing bath with inductors from an Iron and Steel Co., Ltd as an example, the distributions of Lorentz force and generated heat in the inductor are simulated. As a result, the zinc flow and the temperature distribution driven by the Lorentz force and the generated heat in the inductor of a galvanizing bath are simulated numerically, and their characteristics are analyzed. The relationship of the surface-weighted average velocity at the outlet and the temperature difference between the inlet and the outlet and the effective power for the inductor is studied. Results show that with an increase in effective power for the inductor, the surface-weighted average velocity at the outlet and the temperature difference between the inlet and the outlet increase gradually. We envisage this work to lay a foundation for the study of the performance of the galvanizing bath in future.

Bedside examination for vestibular screening in occupational medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa Zamysłowska-Szmytke

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of bedside examination for screening of vestibular and balance system for occupational medicine purposes. Study group comprised 165 patients referred to Audiology and Phoniatric Clinic due to vestibular and/or balance problems. Caloric canal paresis of 19% was the cut off value to divide patients into 43 caloric-positive vestibular subjects and 122 caloric-negative patients. The latter group comprised 79 subjects revealing abnormalities of videonystagmographic (VNG oculomotor tests (central group and 43 subjects with normal VNG. Material and Methods: Vestibular and balance symptoms were collected. Five tests were included to bedside examination: Romberg and Unterberger tests, Head Impulse Test (HIT, Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA and gaze nystagmus assessment. Results: Vestibular and balance symptoms were reported by 82% of vestibular, 73% of central and 40% of VNG-normal patients. Thirteen out of 18 VNG-normal but symptomatic subjects (73% had abnormal tests in clinical assessment. The sensitivity of bedside test set for vestibular pathology was 88% as compared to caloric test and 68% for central pathology as compared to VNG oculomotor tests. Conclusions: The combination of 5 bedside tests reveal satisfactory sensitivity to detect vestibular abnormalities. Bedside examination abnormalities are highly correlated with vestibular/balance symptoms, regardless the normal results of VNG. Thus, this method should be recommended for occupational medicine purposes.

77 FR 17418 - Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-26

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [C-570-976] Galvanized Steel Wire From... exporters of galvanized steel wire (galvanized wire) from the People's Republic of China (the PRC). For... three parties withdrew their requests for a hearing. \\1\\ See Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's...

Effect of hot-dip galvanizing processes on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 600-MPa hot-dip galvanized dual-phase steel

Science.gov (United States)

Kuang, Chun-fu; Zheng, Zhi-wang; Wang, Min-li; Xu, Quan; Zhang, Shen-gen

2017-12-01

A C-Mn dual-phase steel was soaked at 800°C for 90 s and then either rapidly cooled to 450°C and held for 30 s (process A) or rapidly cooled to 350°C and then reheated to 450°C (process B) to simulate the hot-dip galvanizing process. The influence of the hot-dip galvanizing process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 600-MPa hot-dip galvanized dual-phase steel (DP600) was investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and tensile tests. The results showed that, in the case of process A, the microstructure of DP600 was composed of ferrite, martensite, and a small amount of bainite. The granular bainite was formed in the hot-dip galvanizing stage, and martensite islands were formed in the final cooling stage after hot-dip galvanizing. By contrast, in the case of process B, the microstructure of the DP600 was composed of ferrite, martensite, bainite, and cementite. In addition, compared with the yield strength (YS) of the DP600 annealed by process A, that for the DP600 annealed by process B increased by approximately 50 MPa because of the tempering of the martensite formed during rapid cooling. The work-hardening coefficient ( n value) of the DP600 steel annealed by process B clearly decreased because the increase of the YS affected the computation result for the n value. However, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation ( A 80) of the DP600 annealed by process B exhibited less variation compared with those of the DP600 annealed by process A. Therefore, DP600 with excellent comprehensive mechanical properties (YS = 362 MPa, UTS = 638 MPa, A 80 = 24.3%, n = 0.17) was obtained via process A.

Preliminary evidence of improved cognitive performance following vestibular rehabilitation in children with combined ADHD (cADHD) and concurrent vestibular impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lotfi, Younes; Rezazadeh, Nima; Moossavi, Abdollah; Haghgoo, Hojjat Allah; Rostami, Reza; Bakhshi, Enayatollah; Badfar, Faride; Moghadam, Sedigheh Farokhi; Sadeghi-Firoozabadi, Vahid; Khodabandelou, Yousef

2017-12-01

Balance function has been reported to be worse in ADHD children than in their normal peers. The present study hypothesized that an improvement in balance could result in better cognitive performance in children with ADHD and concurrent vestibular impairment. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of comprehensive vestibular rehabilitation therapy on the cognitive performance of children with combined ADHD and concurrent vestibular impairment. Subject were 54 children with combined ADHD. Those with severe vestibular impairment (n=33) were randomly assigned to two groups that were matched for age. A rehabilitation program comprising overall balance and gate, postural stability, and eye movement exercises was assigned to the intervention group. Subjects in the control group received no intervention for the same time period. Intervention was administered twice weekly for 12 weeks. Choice reaction time (CRT) and spatial working memory (SWM) subtypes of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) were completed pre- and post-intervention to determine the effects of vestibular rehabilitation on the cognitive performance of the subjects with ADHD and concurrent vestibular impairment. ANCOVA was used to compare the test results of the intervention and control group post-test. The percentage of correct trial scores for the CRT achieved by the intervention group post-test increased significantly compared to those of the control group (p=0.029). The CRT mean latency scores were significantly prolonged in the intervention group following intervention (p=0.007) compared to the control group. No significant change was found in spatial functioning of the subjects with ADHD following 12 weeks of intervention (p>0.05). The study highlights the effect of vestibular rehabilitation on the cognitive performance of children with combined ADHD and concurrent vestibular disorder. The findings indicate that attention can be affected by early vestibular

Compressed Domain Packet Loss Concealment of Sinusoidally Coded Speech

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rødbro, Christoffer A.; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll; Andersen, Søren Vang

2003-01-01

We consider the problem of packet loss concealment for voice over IP (VoIP). The speech signal is compressed at the transmitter using a sinusoidal coding scheme working at 8 kbit/s. At the receiver, packet loss concealment is carried out working directly on the quantized sinusoidal parameters......, based on time-scaling of the packets surrounding the missing ones. Subjective listening tests show promising results indicating the potential of sinusoidal speech coding for VoIP....

Galvanic corrosion evaluation of high activity nuclear waste container metals components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semino, C.J.

1990-04-01

The final disposal container for vitrified high-level waste is assumed to have three metallic layers: a stainless steel inner layer, and external one of a metal to be selected and a thick lead layer (10 cm) in the middle. As design limit, the container shall act as an engineering barrier, granting the isolation of the radionuclides for approximately 1000 years. Preliminary titanium-lead galvanic couple tests showed that titanium behaved always as a cathode in the galvanic couple, promoting the galvanic corrosion of lead. This corrosion study focused on the behaviour of lead-AISI 304 stainless steel and lead-carbon steel (SAE 1010 and 1020) galvanic couples with different area relationships, temperature and media composition. High purity lead (99,999%) and commercial lead (99,9%) were used for galvanic couples tests. Tests were performed at 75, 50, 45 and 40 deg. C. Test solution was either synthetic groundwater, a suspension of 10% bentonite in groundwater, or synthetic sea water. The synthetic sea water was used at 100, 50 and 25% concentration by dilution with distilled water. Tests with lead-304 stainless steel galvanic couples showed that lead always behaves as an anode, corroding preferentially. Very low lead corrosion rates were found in lead-carbon steel galvanic couple in 10% bentonite suspension in synthetic groundwater test at 75 deg. C. An increase of carbon content in steel has very little influence on steel corrosion rate. Commercial lead has a higher corrosion rate and presented a more pronounced attack than high purity lead. Its corrosion rate is at least twice when lead-carbon steel area relationship increases from 1:10 to 1:40. There are higher steel corrosion rates in sea water than in groundwater. Lead behaves as a cathode to the end of the test. 8 refs, 85 figs, 10 tabs

Sensorless optimal sinusoidal brushless direct current for hard disk drives

Science.gov (United States)

Soh, C. S.; Bi, C.

2009-04-01

Initiated by the availability of digital signal processors and emergence of new applications, market demands for permanent magnet synchronous motors have been surging. As its back-emf is sinusoidal, the drive current should also be sinusoidal for reducing the torque ripple. However, in applications like hard disk drives, brushless direct current (BLDC) drive is adopted instead of sinusoidal drive for simplification. The adoption, however, comes at the expense of increased harmonics, losses, torque pulsations, and acoustics. In this paper, we propose a sensorless optimal sinusoidal BLDC drive. First and foremost, the derivation for an optimal sinusoidal drive is presented, and a power angle control scheme is proposed to achieve an optimal sinusoidal BLDC. The scheme maintains linear relationship between the motor speed and drive voltage. In an attempt to execute the sensorless drive, an innovative power angle measurement scheme is devised, which takes advantage of the freewheeling diodes and measures the power angle through the detection of diode voltage drops. The objectives as laid out will be presented and discussed in this paper, supported by derivations, simulations, and experimental results. The proposed scheme is straightforward, brings about the benefits of sensorless sinusoidal drive, negates the need for current sensors by utilizing the freewheeling diodes, and does not incur additional cost.

Opto-galvanic effect on degenerate magnetic states of sputtered atoms in a glow discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhechev, D; Steflekova, V

2014-01-01

The opto-galvanic response of some degenerate states of sputtered atoms to linearly- and circularly polarize light is studied. On the same optical transition both time-resolved- and amplitude opto-galvanic signals are found depending on the polarizations of light absorbed. The latter induces galvanic responses differing in opto-galvanic efficiency, time-evolution and sensitivity to discharge current and laser power. The differences are ascribed to the rate constants of the decay processes, characterizing aligned and oriented atoms

The Effect of Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy Program on Sensory Organization of Deaf Children With Bilateral Vestibular Dysfunction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Abbas Ebrahimi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of vestibular rehabilitation therapy program on the sensory organization of deaf children with bilateral vestibular dysfunction. This cross-sectional and analytic study was conducted on 24 students between the age of 7 and 12 years (6 girls and 18 boys with the profound sensorineural hearing loss (PTA>90 dB. They were assessed through the balance subtest in Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency (BOTMP. For children which the total score of the balance subtest was 3 standard deviation lower than their peers with typical development, vestibular function testing was completed pre-intervention. Posturography Sensory organization testing (SOT was completed pre- and post-intervention with SPS (Synapsys, Marseille, France. Children with bilateral vestibular impairment were randomly assigned to either the exercise or control group. Exercise intervention consisted of compensatory training, emphasizing enhancement of visual and somatosensory function, and balance training. The exercise group entered in vestibular rehabilitation therapy program for 8 weeks. The children initially participating in the control group were provided the exercise intervention following the post-test. Based on the results there was significant difference in condition 5 and 6, areas of limits of stability (LOS, vestibular ratio and global score in posturography at the end of the intervention, but there was no significant difference in the control group in posturography (P<0.05. The results indicated that testing of vestibular, and postural control function, as well as intervention for deficiencies identified, should be included in deaf children rehabilitation program.

Sinusoidal Analysis-Synthesis of Audio Using Perceptual Criteria

Science.gov (United States)

Painter, Ted; Spanias, Andreas

2003-12-01

This paper presents a new method for the selection of sinusoidal components for use in compact representations of narrowband audio. The method consists of ranking and selecting the most perceptually relevant sinusoids. The idea behind the method is to maximize the matching between the auditory excitation pattern associated with the original signal and the corresponding auditory excitation pattern associated with the modeled signal that is being represented by a small set of sinusoidal parameters. The proposed component-selection methodology is shown to outperform the maximum signal-to-mask ratio selection strategy in terms of subjective quality.

Deep-etched sinusoidal polarizing beam splitter grating.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Jijun; Zhou, Changhe; Cao, Hongchao; Lv, Peng

2010-04-01

A sinusoidal-shaped fused-silica grating as a highly efficient polarizing beam splitter (PBS) is investigated based on the simplified modal method. The grating structure depends mainly on the ratio of groove depth to grating period and the ratio of incident wavelength to grating period. These ratios can be used as a guideline for the grating design at different wavelengths. A sinusoidal-groove PBS grating is designed at a wavelength of 1310 nm under Littrow mounting, and the transmitted TM and TE polarized waves are mainly diffracted into the zeroth order and the -1st order, respectively. The grating profile is optimized by using rigorous coupled-wave analysis. The designed PBS grating is highly efficient (>95.98%) over the O-band wavelength range (1260-1360 nm) for both TE and TM polarizations. The sinusoidal grating can exhibit higher diffraction efficiency, larger extinction ratio, and less reflection loss than the rectangular-groove PBS grating. By applying wet etching technology on the rectangular grating, which was manufactured by holographic recording and inductively coupled plasma etching technology, the sinusoidal grating can be approximately fabricated. Experimental results are in agreement with theoretical values.

Achados vestibulares em usuários de aparelho de amplificação sonora individual Vestibular findings in hearing aid users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabiane Paulin

2009-01-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: verificar os achados vestibulares em pacientes com perda auditiva neurossenssorial usuários de aparelho de amplificação sonora individual. MÉTODOS: vinte pacientes, 11 do sexo feminino e nove do sexo masculino, com idades entre 39 e 85 anos, com perda auditiva neurossenssorial bilateral de grau moderado e severo foram atendidos em uma Instituição de Ensino Superior e submetidos a uma anamnese, inspeção otológica, avaliação audiológica, imitanciometria e ao exame vestibular por meio da vectoeletronistagmografia. RESULTADOS: a dos 20 pacientes avaliados, 18 (90% apresentaram queixa de zumbido, 15 (75% queixa de tontura e oito (40% queixa de cefaléia; b houve predomínio de alteração na prova calórica e no sistema vestibular periférico; c o resultado do exame vestibular esteve alterado em 14 pacientes (70%, sendo, oito casos (40% de síndrome vestibular periférica irritativa e seis casos (30% de síndrome vestibular periférica deficitária; d verificou-se diferença significativa entre o resultado do exame vestibular e o tempo de uso do aparelho de amplificação sonora individual; e dos cinco pacientes que não referiram nenhum sintoma vestibular, quatro (80% apresentaram alteração no exame. CONCLUSÃO: ressalta-se a sensibilidade e importância do estudo funcional do sistema do equilíbrio neste tipo de população, uma vez que podem ocorrer alterações na avaliação labiríntica independente da presença de sintomas.PURPOSE: to check vestibular findings in patients with sensoneural hearing loss, hearing aid users. METHODS: 20 patients (eleven females and nine males aging from 39 to 85-year-old with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, from moderate to severe degrees, were attended in a higher education institution evaluated by medical history, otological inspections, complete basic conventional audiological evaluations, acoustic impedance tests and vectoeletronystagmography. RESULTS: a from the 20 evaluated

Effect of Dynamic Flow on the Structure of Inhibition Layer in Hot-dip Galvanizing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Young Sool; Kim, Myung Soo; Kim, Su Young [POSCO Technical Research Labs., Gwangyang (Korea, Republic of); Paik, Doo Jin [POSCO Kwangyang Steel Works, Gwangyang (Korea, Republic of)

2011-02-15

The effect of dynamic flow or forced convection were investigated and compared on the formation of inhibition layer, galvanizing and galvannealing reactions through the hot-dip galvanizing simulator with the oscillation of specimen in zinc bath, continuous galvanizing pilot plant with zinc pumping system through the snout and continuous galvanizing operation with Dynamic Galvanizing{sup TR} system. The interfacial Al pick-up was not consistent between the results of simulator, pilot plant and line operation, but the morphology of inhibition layer became compact and refined by the forced convection. The growth of Fe-Zn intermetallics at the interface was inhibited by the forced convection, whereas the galvannealing rate would be a little promoted.

Effect of Dynamic Flow on the Structure of Inhibition Layer in Hot-dip Galvanizing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Young Sool; Kim, Myung Soo; Kim, Su Young; Paik, Doo Jin

2011-01-01

The effect of dynamic flow or forced convection were investigated and compared on the formation of inhibition layer, galvanizing and galvannealing reactions through the hot-dip galvanizing simulator with the oscillation of specimen in zinc bath, continuous galvanizing pilot plant with zinc pumping system through the snout and continuous galvanizing operation with Dynamic Galvanizing TR system. The interfacial Al pick-up was not consistent between the results of simulator, pilot plant and line operation, but the morphology of inhibition layer became compact and refined by the forced convection. The growth of Fe-Zn intermetallics at the interface was inhibited by the forced convection, whereas the galvannealing rate would be a little promoted

Galvanic corrosion of metals and coatings when coupled to uranium in severe environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winkle, J.R.; Childs, E.L.

1982-01-01

The results of galvanic testing were varied in each environment. The position of metals in the galvanic series was not fixed, but changed with environment. In all cases where high general and galvanic corrosion rates were observed, the conditions of potential, pH, and impurity content could be correlated with regions of oxide surface film instability outlined by Pourbaix Diagrams. The majority of the severe corrosion reactions were observed in the acidic environment, although a few were noted in the caustic environment. The presence of chlorides tended to enhance galvanic corrosion rates at the neutral environment. 10 tables

Bedside examination for vestibular screening in occupational medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamysłowska-Szmytke, Ewa; Szostek-Rogula, Sylwia; Śliwińska-Kowalska, Mariola

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of bedside examination for screening of vestibular and balance system for occupational medicine purposes. Study group comprised 165 patients referred to Audiology and Phoniatric Clinic due to vestibular and/or balance problems. Caloric canal paresis of 19% was the cut off value to divide patients into 43 caloric-positive vestibular subjects and 122 caloric-negative patients. The latter group comprised 79 subjects revealing abnormalities of videonystagmographic (VNG) oculomotor tests (central group) and 43 subjects with normal VNG. Vestibular and balance symptoms were collected. Five tests were included to bedside examination: Romberg and Unterberger tests, Head Impulse Test (HIT), Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA) and gaze nystagmus assessment. Vestibular and balance symptoms were reported by 82% of vestibular, 73% of central and 40% of VNG-normal patients. Thirteen out of 18 VNG-normal but symptomatic subjects (73%) had abnormal tests in clinical assessment. The sensitivity of bedside test set for vestibular pathology was 88% as compared to caloric test and 68% for central pathology as compared to VNG oculomotor tests. The combination of 5 bedside tests reveal satisfactory sensitivity to detect vestibular abnormalities. Bedside examination abnormalities are highly correlated with vestibular/balance symptoms, regardless the normal results of VNG. Thus, this method should be recommended for occupational medicine purposes. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

DEPOSITION OF NICKEL ON CARBON FIBRES BY GALVANIC METHOD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavol Štefánik

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The investigation of coating parameters in quasi-static coating of Ni layer on carbon fibre tow by galvanic method is presented. The tow of fibres was immersed in typical galvanic bath based on NiSO4, NiCl2, Na2SO4 and H3BO3 and current to carbon fibres was supplied by two leading metal rolls which are parts of continuous coating apparatus. The main parameters were current of 1 A, electrolyte temperature of 50 °C and the distance from power contacts to level of galvanic bath (8 or 13 cm. The amount and structure of deposited Ni layer at coating time 15 and 90 seconds of exposure in electrolyte and depth of immersion of tow into bath were discussed.

Effect of galvanic coupling between overpack materials for high-level nuclear waste containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, D.S.; Cragnolino, G.A.; Sridhar, N.

1998-01-01

The effect of environmental parameters and area ratio on the galvanic protection of Alloy 825 by A516 steel was studied. A simplified model was used to calculate the potential and corrosion current density of the bimetallic couple as a function of the galvanic coupling efficiency. Galvanic corrosion tests were performed to gain confidence in the calculated values. Both the calculations and laboratory testing indicate that, with highly efficient coupling, the potential of the galvanic couple is maintained below the repassivation potential for Alloy 825 in chloride-containing solutions. As a result, the initiation of localized corrosion on Alloy 825 is prevented. The formation of oxides, scales, and corrosion product layers between the barriers is shown to reduce the efficiency of the galvanic couple, which may result in conditions under which the localized corrosion of the inner corrosion resistant barrier can occur

Corrosive microenvironments at lead solder surfaces arising from galvanic corrosion with copper pipe.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Caroline K; Stone, Kendall R; Dudi, Abhijeet; Edwards, Marc A

2010-09-15

As stagnant water contacts copper pipe and lead solder (simulated soldered joints), a corrosion cell is formed between the metals in solder (Pb, Sn) and the copper. If the resulting galvanic current exceeds about 2 μA/cm(2), a highly corrosive microenvironment can form at the solder surface, with pH chloride concentrations at least 11 times higher than bulk water levels. Waters with relatively high chloride tend to sustain high galvanic currents, preventing passivation of the solder surface, and contributing to lead contamination of potable water supplies. The total mass of lead corroded was consistent with predictions based on the galvanic current, and lead leaching to water was correlated with galvanic current. If the concentration of sulfate in the water increased relative to chloride, galvanic currents and associated lead contamination could be greatly reduced, and solder surfaces were readily passivated.

Variable Dimension Trellis-Coded Quantization of Sinusoidal Parameters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Morten Holm; Christensen, Mads G.; Jensen, Søren Holdt

2008-01-01

In this letter, we propose joint quantization of the parameters of a set of sinusoids based on the theory of trellis-coded quantization. A particular advantage of this approach is that it allows for joint quantization of a variable number of sinusoids, which is particularly relevant in variable...

Formal concept analysis applied to the prediction of additives for galvanizing process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Klimeš

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Formal concept analysis is a new mathematical approach to data analysis, data mining and to discavering patterns in data. The result of the application of the formal concept analysis method to the behavior of the galvanizing of rimmed steel is presented. Effects of additives in the galvanizing process have been correlated to the chemical element properties of the additives. This model may also help to design new alloys as additives in the galvanizing process.

Galvanic corrosion of laser weldments of AA6061 aluminium alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, A.B.M. Mujibur; Kumar, S.; Gerson, A.R.

2007-01-01

Galvanic corrosion of laser welded AA6061 aluminium alloy, arising from the varying rest potentials of the various weldment regions, was examined. The weld fusion zone is found to be the most cathodic region of the weldment while the base material is the most anodic region. The rate of galvanic corrosion, controlled by the cathodic process at the weld fusion zone, increases with time until a steady state maximum is reached. On galvanic corrosion the corrosion potential of the weld fusion zone shifts in the positive direction and the free corrosion current increases. It is proposed that the cathodic process at the weld fusion zone causes a local increase in pH that in turn causes dissolution of the surface film resulting in the loss of Al to solution and the increase of intermetallic phases. The increase in galvanic corrosion may result from either the build up of the intermetallic phases in the surface layer and/or significant increase in surface area of the weld fusion zone due to the porous nature of the surface layer

76 FR 68422 - Galvanized Steel Wire From Mexico: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-04

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-201-840] Galvanized Steel Wire From... determines that galvanized steel wire (galvanized wire) from Mexico is being, or is likely to be, sold in the... investigation on galvanized wire from Mexico. See Galvanized Steel Wire from the People's Republic of China and...

Interactive Healthcare Systems in the Home: Vestibular Rehabilitation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aarhus, Rikke; Grönvall, Erik; Larsen, Simon Bo

2010-01-01

Vestibular dysfunction is a balance disorder, causing dizziness that provokes discomfort and fall situations. This paper discusses early results from a project that aims to develop assistive technologies to support home-based rehabilitation for elderly affected by Vestibular dysfunction.......Vestibular dysfunction is a balance disorder, causing dizziness that provokes discomfort and fall situations. This paper discusses early results from a project that aims to develop assistive technologies to support home-based rehabilitation for elderly affected by Vestibular dysfunction....

Immunohistochemical profile of cytokines and growth factors expressed in vestibular schwannoma and in normal vestibular nerve tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Taurone, Samanta; Bianchi, Enrica; Attanasio, Giuseppe; Di Gioia, Cira; Ierinó, Rocco; Carubbi, Cecilia; Galli, Daniela; Pastore, Francesco Saverio; Giangaspero, Felice; Filipo, Roberto; Zanza, Christian; Artico, Marco

2015-07-01

Vestibular schwannomas, also known as acoustic neuromas, are benign tumors, which originate from myelin-forming Schwann cells. They develop in the vestibular branch of the eighth cranial nerve in the internal auditory canal or cerebellopontine angle. The clinical progression of the condition involves slow and progressive growth, eventually resulting in brainstem compression. The objective of the present study was to investigate the expression level and the localization of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), as well as the adhesion molecules, intracellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), in order to determine whether these factors are involved in the transformation and development of human vestibular schwannoma. The present study investigated whether changes in inflammation are involved in tumor growth and if so, the mechanisms underlying this process. The results of the current study demonstrated that pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TGF-β1, IL-1β and IL-6 exhibited increased expression in human vestibular schwannoma tissue compared with normal vestibular nerve samples. TNF-α was weakly expressed in Schwann cells, confirming that a lower level of this cytokine is involved in the proliferation of Schwann cells. Neoplastic Schwann cells produce pro-inflammatory cytokines that may act in an autocrine manner, stimulating cellular proliferation. In addition, the increased expression of VEGF in vestibular schwannoma compared with that in normal vestibular nerve tissue, suggests that this factor may induce neoplastic growth via the promotion of angiogenesis. The present findings suggest that inflammation may promote angiogenesis and consequently contribute to tumor progression. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that VEGF and pro-inflammatory cytokines may be potential therapeutic targets in vestibular

Evaluation of postural control in unilateral vestibular hypofunction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafaela Maia Quitschal

2014-07-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Patients with vestibular hypofunction, a typical finding in peripheral vestibular disorders, show body balance alterations. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the postural control of patients with vertigo and unilateral vestibular hypofunction. METHOD: This is a clinical cross-sectional study. Twenty-five patients with vertigo and unilateral vestibular hypofunction and a homogeneous control group consisting of 32 healthy individuals were submitted to a neurotological evaluation including the Tetrax Interactive Balance System posturography in eight different sensory conditions. RESULTS: For different positions, vertiginous patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction showed significantly higher values of general stability index, weight distribution index, right/left and tool/heel synchronizations, Fourier transformation index and fall index than controls. CONCLUSION: Increased values in the indices of weight distribution, right/left and tool/heel synchronizations, Fourier transformation and fall risk characterize the impairment of postural control in patients with vertigo and unilateral vestibular hypofunction.

Internal Models, Vestibular Cognition, and Mental Imagery: Conceptual Considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Mast, Fred W; Ellis, Andrew W

2015-01-01

Vestibular cognition has recently gained attention. Despite numerous experimental and clinical demonstrations, it is not yet clear what vestibular cognition really is. For future research in vestibular cognition, adopting a computational approach will make it easier to explore the underlying mechanisms. Indeed, most modeling approaches in vestibular science include a top-down or a priori component. We review recent Bayesian optimal observer models, and discuss in detail the conceptual value of prior assumptions, likelihood and posterior estimates for research in vestibular cognition. We then consider forward models in vestibular processing, which are required in order to distinguish between sensory input that is induced by active self-motion, and sensory input that is due to passive self-motion. We suggest that forward models are used not only in the service of estimating sensory states but they can also be drawn upon in an offline mode (e.g., spatial perspective transformations), in which interaction with sensory input is not desired. A computational approach to vestibular cognition will help to discover connections across studies, and it will provide a more coherent framework for investigating vestibular cognition.

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials: an overview Potencial evocado miogênico vestibular: uma visão geral

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Renato Cal

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP test is a relatively new diagnostic tool that is in the process of being investigated in patients with specific vestibular disorders. Briefly, the VEMP is a biphasic response elicited by loud clicks or tone bursts recorded from the tonically contracted sternocleidomastoid muscle, being the only resource available to assess the function of the saccule and the lower portion of the vestibular nerve. AIM: In this review, we shall highlight the history, methods, current VEMP status, and discuss its specific application in the diagnosis of the Ménière's Syndrome.O teste do potencial evocado miogênico vestibular (PEMV é um instrumento diagnóstico relativamente novo e ainda em processo de validação em estudos com pacientes portadores de desordens vestibulares específicas. De forma resumida, o PEMV é uma resposta bifásica em resposta a estímulos sonoros gravados a partir de contrações do músculo esternocleidomastóideo e é o único recurso existente para avaliar a função do sáculo e da divisão inferior do nervo vestibular. OBJETIVO: Nesta revisão iremos destacar a história, método de realização, situação atual da pesquisa envolvendo o PEMV, além de discutir as suas aplicações específicas no diagnóstico da síndrome de Ménière.

Estimating Aquifer Properties Using Sinusoidal Pumping Tests

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen, T. C.; Haborak, K. G.; Young, M. H.

2001-12-01

We develop the theoretical and applied framework for using sinusoidal pumping tests to estimate aquifer properties for confined, leaky, and partially penetrating conditions. The framework 1) derives analytical solutions for three boundary conditions suitable for many practical applications, 2) validates the analytical solutions against a finite element model, 3) establishes a protocol for conducting sinusoidal pumping tests, and 4) estimates aquifer hydraulic parameters based on the analytical solutions. The analytical solutions to sinusoidal stimuli in radial coordinates are derived for boundary value problems that are analogous to the Theis (1935) confined aquifer solution, the Hantush and Jacob (1955) leaky aquifer solution, and the Hantush (1964) partially penetrated confined aquifer solution. The analytical solutions compare favorably to a finite-element solution of a simulated flow domain, except in the region immediately adjacent to the pumping well where the implicit assumption of zero borehole radius is violated. The procedure is demonstrated in one unconfined and two confined aquifer units near the General Separations Area at the Savannah River Site, a federal nuclear facility located in South Carolina. Aquifer hydraulic parameters estimated using this framework provide independent confirmation of parameters obtained from conventional aquifer tests. The sinusoidal approach also resulted in the elimination of investigation-derived wastes.

Stereotactic radiotherapy for vestibular schwannoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Muzevic, Dario; Legcevic, Jelena; Splavski, Bruno

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Vestibular schwannomas (acoustic neuromas) are common benign tumours that arise from the Schwann cells of the vestibular nerve. Management options include observation with neuroradiological follow-up, microsurgical resection and stereotactic radiotherapy. OBJECTIVES: To assess...... the effect of stereotactic radiotherapy compared to observation, microsurgical resection, any other treatment modality, or a combination of two or more of the above approaches for vestibular schwannoma. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; PubMed; EMBASE; CINAHL......; Web of Science; CAB Abstracts; ISRCTN and additional sources for published and unpublished trials. The date of the search was 24 July 2014. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) exploring the efficacy of stereotactic radiotherapy compared with observation alone, microsurgical...

Encryption in Chaotic Systems with Sinusoidal Excitations

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G. Obregón-Pulido

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this contribution an encryption method using a chaotic oscillator, excited by “n” sinusoidal signals, is presented. The chaotic oscillator is excited by a sum of “n” sinusoidal signals and a message. The objective is to encrypt such a message using the chaotic behavior and transmit it, and, as the chaotic system is perturbed by the sinusoidal signal, the transmission security could be increased due to the effect of such a perturbation. The procedure is based on the regulation theory and consider that the receiver knows the frequencies of the perturbing signal, with this considerations the algorithm estimates the excitation in such a way that the receiver can cancel out the perturbation and all the undesirable dynamics in order to produce only the message. In this way we consider that the security level is increased.

76 FR 33242 - Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-08

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [C-570-976] Galvanized Steel Wire From... the countervailing duty investigation of galvanized steel wire from the People's Republic of China. See Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty...

Standard guide for conducting and evaluating galvanic corrosion tests in electrolytes

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

1981-01-01

1.1 This guide covers conducting and evaluating galvanic corrosion tests to characterize the behavior of two dissimilar metals in electrical contact in an electrolyte under low-flow conditions. It can be adapted to wrought or cast metals and alloys. 1.2 This guide covers the selection of materials, specimen preparation, test environment, method of exposure, and method for evaluating the results to characterize the behavior of galvanic couples in an electrolyte. Note 1—Additional information on galvanic corrosion testing and examples of the conduct and evaluation of galvanic corrosion tests in electrolytes are given in Refs (1) through (7). 1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard. 1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicabil...

A study on the flow-accelerated corrosion characteristics of galvanically coupled dissimilar metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Yoon Seok; Kim, Jung Gu

2002-01-01

The flow-accelerated corrosion characteristics of a carbon steel(CS) coupled to stainless steel(SS) were investigated in deaerated alkaline-chloride solutions with velocities (0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 m/s), pH (8, 9 and 10) and temperatures (25, 50 and 75 .deg. C). The electrochemical properties of specimens were investigated by potentiodynamic test and galvanic corrosion test using RCE (Rotating Cylinder Electrode). CS did not show passive behavior while SS show passive behavior in the alkaline-chloride solution. Galvanic corrosion tests were conducted as a function of flow velocities, pH and temperature. The galvanic current density increases with increasing flow velocity and temperature, but decreased with increasing pH. Flow velocity had a small effect on the galvanic current density at 25 .deg. C, whereas the flow velocity increased galvanic current density significantly at 50 and 75 .deg. C. This might be due to the increased solubility of magnetite at the higher temperature

Bottomside sinusoidal irregularities in the equatorial F region

Science.gov (United States)

Valladares, C. E.; Hanson, W. B.; Mcclure, J. P.; Cragin, B. L.

1983-01-01

By using the Ogo 6 satellite, McClure and Hanson (1973) have discovered sinusoidal irregularities in the equatorial F region ion number density. In the present investigation, a description is provided of the properties of a distinct category of sinusoidal irregularities found in equatorial data from the AE-C and AE-E satellites. The observed scale sizes vary from about 300 m to 3 km in the direction perpendicular to B, overlapping with and extending the range observed by using Ogo 6. Attention is given to low and high resolution data, a comparison with Huancayo ionograms, the confinement of 'bottomside sinusoidal' (BSS) irregularities essentially to the bottomside of the F layer, spectral characteristics, and BSS, scintillation, and ionosonde observations.

Unilateral vestibular deafferentation-induced changes in calcium signaling-related molecules in the rat vestibular nuclear complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Masumura, Chisako; Horii, Arata; Mitani, Kenji; Kitahara, Tadashi; Uno, Atsuhiko; Kubo, Takeshi

2007-03-23

Inquiries into the neurochemical mechanisms of vestibular compensation, a model of lesion-induced neuronal plasticity, reveal the involvement of both voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels (VGCC) and intracellular Ca(2+) signaling. Indeed, our previous microarray analysis showed an up-regulation of some calcium signaling-related genes such as the alpha2 subunit of L-type calcium channels, calcineurin, and plasma membrane Ca(2+) ATPase 1 (PMCA1) in the ipsilateral vestibular nuclear complex (VNC) following unilateral vestibular deafferentation (UVD). To further elucidate the role of calcium signaling-related molecules in vestibular compensation, we used a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to confirm the microarray results and investigated changes in expression of these molecules at various stages of compensation (6 h to 2 weeks after UVD). We also investigated the changes in gene expression during Bechterew's phenomenon and the effects of a calcineurin inhibitor on vestibular compensation. Real-time PCR showed that genes for the alpha2 subunit of VGCC, PMCA2, and calcineurin were transiently up-regulated 6 h after UVD in ipsilateral VNC. A subsequent UVD, which induced Bechterew's phenomenon, reproduced a complete mirror image of the changes in gene expressions of PMCA2 and calcineurin seen in the initial UVD, while the alpha2 subunit of VGCC gene had a trend to increase in VNC ipsilateral to the second lesion. Pre-treatment by FK506, a calcineurin inhibitor, decelerated the vestibular compensation in a dose-dependent manner. Although it is still uncertain whether these changes in gene expression are causally related to the molecular mechanisms of vestibular compensation, this observation suggests that after increasing the Ca(2+) influx into the ipsilateral VNC neurons via up-regulated VGCC, calcineurin may be involved in their synaptic plasticity. Conversely, an up-regulation of PMCA2, a brain-specific Ca(2+) pump, would increase an efflux of Ca

Avaliação vestibular em mulheres com disfunção temporomandibular Vestibular evaluation in women with temporomandibular dysfunction

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Bianca Simone Zeigelboim

2007-06-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: avaliar o comportamento vestibular em pacientes com disfunção temporomandibular. MÉTODOS: avaliaram-se 27 pacientes do sexo feminino, na faixa etária de 30 a 53 anos, encaminhadas do Centro de Diagnóstico e Tratamento da Articulação Temporomandibular para o Laboratório de Otoneurologia da Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná. Realizaram-se os seguintes procedimentos: anamnese, inspeção otológica e avaliação vestibular por meio da vectoeletronistagmografia. RESULTADOS: as queixas mais freqüentes foram: dificuldade ou dor ao movimento do pescoço (77,7%, dor irradiada para ombro/braço (77,7%, zumbido e formigamento de extremidade superior (77,7%, tontura e dor de cabeça (66,6%, ansiedade (55,5%, sensação de cabeça oca (51,8%, agitação durante o sono (51,8% e depressão (51,8%. O exame vestibular esteve alterado em 20 pacientes (74,0% na prova calórica. Houve freqüência de alteração no sistema vestibular periférico. Houve predomínio das síndromes vestibulares periféricas deficitárias. CONCLUSÃO: ressalta-se a importância de se estudar a relação do sistema vestibular com a disfunção temporomandibular uma vez que observamos, na presente pesquisa, um número elevado de alteração no exame labiríntico.PURPOSE: to evaluate the vestibular functioning in patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction. METHODS: 27 female patients were evaluated, with age varying from 30 to 53-year-old, referred from the Centre of Diagnosis and Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction to the Otoneurological Laboratory of Tuiuti University of Paraná. The following exams were carried out: anamnesis, otoscopy and vestibular evaluations through vectoelectronystagmography. RESULTS: the most frequent complaints were: difficulty or pain with movement of the neck (77.7%, pain irradiated to the shoulder/arm (77.7%, tinnitus and paresthesia of superior extremities (77.7% in each one, dizziness and headaches (66,6%, anxiety (55

STATE ANXIETY, SUBJECTIVE IMBALANCE AND HANDICAP IN VESTIBULAR SCHWANNOMA

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Yougan Saman

2016-07-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTEvidence is emerging of a significant clinical and neuro-anatomical relationship between balance and anxiety. Research has suggested a potentially priming effect with anxiety symptoms predicting a worsening of balance function in patients with underlying balance dysfunction. We propose to show that a vestibular stimulus is responsible for an increase in state anxiety and there is a relationship between increased state anxiety and worsening balance function. Aims1.To quantify state anxiety following a vestibular stimulus in patients with a chronic vestibular deficit.2.To determine if state anxiety during a vestibular stimulus would correlate with the severity of chronic balance symptoms and handicap. MethodsTwo separate cohorts Vestibular Schwannoma (VS patients underwent vestibular tests (electronystagmography, cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and caloric responses and questionnaire assessment (Vertigo handicap Questionnaire, Vertigo Symptom Scale, State Trait Anxiety InventoryFifteen post resection Vestibular schwannoma patients, with complete unilateral vestibular deafferentation, were assessed at a minimum of 6 months after surgery in Experiment 1 (Aim 1. Forty-five patients with VS in-situ and with preserved vestibular function formed the cohort for Experiment 2 (Aim 2. Experiment 1: VS subjects (N=15 with a complete post-resection unilateral vestibular deafferentation completed a State anxiety questionnaire before caloric assessment and again afterwards with the point of maximal vertigo as the reference (Aim 1. Experiment 2: State anxiety measured at the point of maximal vertigo following a caloric assessment was compared between two groups of presenting with balance symptoms (Group 1 N=26 and without balance symptoms (Group 2 N=11 (Aim 2. The presence of balance symptoms was defined as having a positive score on the VSS-VER.ResultsIn experiment 1, a significant difference (p<0.01 was found when comparing

Effects of supporting electrolyte on galvanic deposition of Cu2O crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Lida; Liu Guichang; Xue Dongfeng

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The effects of electrolyte on the galvanic deposition of Cu 2 O crystals have been investigated. → The chemical nature of supporting electrolyte plays important roles in the galvanic deposition of Cu 2 O crystals. → Cubic Cu 2 O crystals are formed in chloride electrolytes. → Truncated octahedral Cu 2 O crystals are produced in nitrate, sulfate and fluoride electrolytes. - Abstract: The effects of introduced supporting electrolyte on the galvanic deposition of Cu 2 O crystals have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the chemical nature of supporting electrolytes plays very important roles in the galvanic deposition of Cu 2 O crystals. The chloride stabilizes the (1 0 0) planes of Cu 2 O crystals, resulting in the formation of cubic crystals, while nitrate, sulfate and fluoride stabilize the (1 1 1) planes of Cu 2 O crystals, leading to the deposition of truncated octahedral and octahedral Cu 2 O crystals. It provides a facile way to control the morphology of galvanically obtained Cu 2 O crystals by indirectly adjusting the inorganic adsorption agents.

Vestibular and balance issues following sport-related concussion.

Science.gov (United States)

Valovich McLeod, Tamara C; Hale, Troy D

2015-01-01

To review relevant literature regarding the effect of concussion on vestibular function, impairments, assessments and management strategies. REASONING: Dizziness and balance impairments are common following sport-related concussion. Recommendations regarding the management of sport-related concussion suggest including tests of balance within the multifactorial assessment paradigm for concussive injuries. The literature was searched for guidelines and original studies related to vestibular impairments following concussion, oculomotor and balance assessments and treatment or rehabilitation of vestibular impairments. The databases searched included Medline, CINAHL, Sport Discus and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews through October 2013. Dizziness following concussion occurs in ∼67-77% of cases and has been implicated as a risk factor for a prolonged recovery. Balance impairments also occur after concussion and last 3-10 days post-injury. Assessments of balance can be done using both clinical and instrumented measures with success. Vestibular rehabilitation has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with vestibular impairments, with one study demonstrating success in decreasing symptoms and increasing function following concussion. Best practices suggest that the assessment of vestibular function through cranial nerve, oculomotor and balance assessments are an important aspect of concussion management. Future studies should evaluate the effectiveness of vestibular rehabilitation for improving patient outcomes.

GABAergic systems in the vestibular nucleus and their contribution to vestibular compensation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gliddon, Catherine M; Darlington, Cynthia L; Smith, Paul F

2005-01-01

GABA and the GABAA and GABAB receptors play a pivotal role in the coordination of the central vestibular pathways. The commissural inhibition, which exists between the two vestibular nucleus complexes (VNCs) and which is responsible for enhancing the dynamic sensitivity of VNC neurons to head acceleration, is known to be substantially mediated by GABA acting on GABAA and GABAB receptors. After unilateral vestibular deafferentation (UVD), the large asymmetry in spontaneous resting activity between the two VNCs is reinforced and exacerbated by the GABAergic interaction between the ipsilateral and contralateral sides. Although it has been suggested that reduced GABAergic inhibition of the ipsilateral VNC may be partially responsible for the recovery of resting activity that underlies vestibular compensation of the static symptoms of UVD, at present there are few data available to test this hypothesis systematically. There is some evidence that GABA concentrations change in the ipsilateral VNC during the development of compensation; however, it is unclear whether these changes relate to GABA release or to metabolic pools of GABA. Most biochemical studies of GABA receptors have been conducted at the gene expression level. Therefore, it is unclear whether changes in the receptor protein also occur, although the most recent data suggest that changes in GABAA and GABAB receptor density in the VNC are unlikely. The few radioligand binding data relate to GABAA receptors with benzodiazepine binding sites only. A decrease in the sensitivity of ipsilateral VNC neurons from compensated animals to GABA receptor agonists has been reported; however, these studies have employed brainstem slices and therefore the functional identity of the neurons involved has been unclear. Although it seems likely that some changes in central GABAergic systems accompany the recovery of resting activity in the ipsilateral VNC during the development of vestibular compensation, at the present stage

Complications of Microsurgery of Vestibular Schwannoma

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Jan Betka

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. The aim of this study was to analyze complications of vestibular schwannoma (VS microsurgery. Material and Methods. A retrospective study was performed in 333 patients with unilateral vestibular schwannoma indicated for surgical treatment between January 1997 and December 2012. Postoperative complications were assessed immediately after VS surgery as well as during outpatient followup. Results. In all 333 patients microsurgical vestibular schwannoma (Koos grade 1: 12, grade 2: 34, grade 3: 62, and grade 4: 225 removal was performed. The main neurological complication was facial nerve dysfunction. The intermediate and poor function (HB III–VI was observed in 124 cases (45% immediately after surgery and in 104 cases (33% on the last followup. We encountered disordered vestibular compensation in 13%, permanent trigeminal nerve dysfunction in 1%, and transient lower cranial nerves (IX–XI deficit in 6%. Nonneurological complications included CSF leakage in 63% (lateral/medial variant: 99/1%, headache in 9%, and intracerebral hemorrhage in 5%. We did not encounter any case of meningitis. Conclusions. Our study demonstrates that despite the benefits of advanced high-tech equipment, refined microsurgical instruments, and highly developed neuroimaging technologies, there are still various and significant complications associated with vestibular schwannomas microsurgery.

Coating adherence in galvanized steel assessed by acoustic emission wavelet analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallego, Antolino; Gil, Jose F.; Vico, Juan M.; Ruzzante, Jose E.; Piotrkowski, Rosa

2005-01-01

Coating-substrate adherence in galvanized steel is evaluated by acoustic emission wavelet analysis in scratch tests on hot-dip galvanized samples. The acoustic emission results are compared with optical and electron microscopy observations in order to understand coating features related to adherence and to establish criteria aimed at improving the manufacture process

Acute Unilateral Vestibular Failure Does Not Cause Spatial Hemineglect.

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Julian Conrad

Full Text Available Visuo-spatial neglect and vestibular disorders have common clinical findings and involve the same cortical areas. We questioned (1 whether visuo-spatial hemineglect is not only a disorder of spatial attention but may also reflect a disorder of higher cortical vestibular function and (2 whether a vestibular tone imbalance due to an acute peripheral dysfunction can also cause symptoms of neglect or extinction. Therefore, patients with an acute unilateral peripheral vestibular failure (VF were tested for symptoms of hemineglect.Twenty-eight patients with acute VF were assessed for signs of vestibular deficits and spatial neglect using clinical measures and various common standardized paper-pencil tests. Neglect severity was evaluated further with the Center of Cancellation method. Pathological neglect test scores were correlated with the degree of vestibular dysfunction determined by the subjective visual vertical and caloric testing.Three patients showed isolated pathological scores in one or the other neglect test, either ipsilesionally or contralesionally to the VF. None of the patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of spatial hemineglect or extinction.A vestibular tone imbalance due to unilateral failure of the vestibular endorgan does not cause spatial hemineglect, but evidence indicates it causes mild attentional deficits in both visual hemifields.

Association between vestibular function and motor performance in hearing-impaired children.

Science.gov (United States)

Maes, Leen; De Kegel, Alexandra; Van Waelvelde, Hilde; Dhooge, Ingeborg

2014-12-01

The clinical balance performance of normal-hearing (NH) children was compared with the balance performance of hearing-impaired (HI) children with and without vestibular dysfunction to identify an association between vestibular function and motor performance. Prospective study. Tertiary referral center. Thirty-six children (mean age, 7 yr 5 mo; range, 3 yr 8 mo-12 yr 11 mo) divided into three groups: NH children with normal vestibular responses, HI children with normal vestibular responses, and HI children with abnormal vestibular function. A vestibular test protocol (rotatory and collic vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing) in combination with three clinical balance tests (balance beam walking, one-leg hopping, one-leg stance). Clinical balance performance. HI children with abnormal vestibular test results obtained the lowest quotients of motor performance, which were significantly lower compared with the NH group (p beam walking and one-leg stance; p = 0.003 for one-leg hopping). The balance performance of the HI group with normal vestibular responses was better in comparison with the vestibular impaired group but still significantly lower compared with the NH group (p = 0.020 for balance beam walking; p = 0.001 for one-leg stance; not significant for one-leg hopping). These results indicate an association between vestibular function and motor performance in HI children, with a more distinct motor deterioration if a vestibular impairment is superimposed to the auditory dysfunction.

Thin film galvanic cell with RbAg4I5 solid electrolyte

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodnaruk, L.I.; Danilov, A.V.; Kulinkovich, V.E.; Aleskovskij, V.B.

1975-01-01

In order to decrease the size and weight and to increase the specific capacity and energy of galvanic cells, some solid electrolytes in the form of thin films are proposed. The galvanic cells were prepared by a combined method: the cathodic and anodic materials (Te and Ag) were evaporated under vacuo to cover an electrolyte layer, the latter being obtained by impregnating the porous materials with RbAg 4 I 5 acetonic solution. The most specific charge curves of the galvanic cells at various current densities are given: specific energy of the samples was 0.2 to 0.7 watt-h/kg, their capacity being 0.1 to 0.2 mah. Behaviour of the cells when stored (that of Ag(RbAg 4 I 5 ) interface in particular) was investigated, namely, the effect of the storage time on the capacity and internal resistance of the galvanic cell

Unilateral vestibular loss impairs external space representation.

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Liliane Borel

Full Text Available The vestibular system is responsible for a wide range of postural and oculomotor functions and maintains an internal, updated representation of the position and movement of the head in space. In this study, we assessed whether unilateral vestibular loss affects external space representation. Patients with Menière's disease and healthy participants were instructed to point to memorized targets in near (peripersonal and far (extrapersonal spaces in the absence or presence of a visual background. These individuals were also required to estimate their body pointing direction. Menière's disease patients were tested before unilateral vestibular neurotomy and during the recovery period (one week and one month after the operation, and healthy participants were tested at similar times. Unilateral vestibular loss impaired the representation of both the external space and the body pointing direction: in the dark, the configuration of perceived targets was shifted toward the lesioned side and compressed toward the contralesioned hemifield, with higher pointing error in the near space. Performance varied according to the time elapsed after neurotomy: deficits were stronger during the early stages, while gradual compensation occurred subsequently. These findings provide the first demonstration of the critical role of vestibular signals in the representation of external space and of body pointing direction in the early stages after unilateral vestibular loss.

[Vestibular testing abnormalities in individuals with motion sickness].

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yan; Ou, Yongkang; Chen, Ling; Zheng, Yiqing

2009-08-01

To evaluate the vestibular function of motion sickness. VNG, which tests the vestibular function of horizontal semicircular canal, and CPT, which tests vestibulospinal reflex and judge proprioceptive, visual and vestibular status, were performed in 30 motion sickness patients and 20 healthy volunteers (control group). Graybiel score was recorded at the same time. Two groups' Graybiel score (12.67 +/- 11.78 vs 2.10 +/- 6.23; rank test P<0.05), caloric test labyrinth value [(19.02 +/- 8.59) degrees/s vs (13.58 +/- 5.25) degrees/s; t test P<0.05], caloric test labyrinth value of three patients in motion sickness group exceeded 75 degrees/s. In computerized posturography testing (CPT), motion sickness patients were central type (66.7%) and disperse type (23.3%); all of control group were central type. There was statistical significance in two groups' CTP area, and motion sickness group was obviously higher than control group. While stimulating vestibulum in CPT, there was abnormality (35%-50%) in motion sickness group and none in control group. Generally evaluating CPT, there was only 2 proprioceptive hypofunction, 3 visual hypofunction, and no vestibular hypofunction, but none hypofunction in control group. Motion sickness patients have high vestibular susceptible, some with vestibular hyperfunction. In posturography, a large number of motion sickness patients are central type but no vestibular hypofunction, but it is hard to keep balance when stimulating vestibulum.

[Infrared videonystagmography in vestibular diagnosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Frisina, A; Piazza, F; Quaranta, N

2000-01-01

Vestibular examination relied upon electronystagmography (ENG) for more than 50 years. This method is based on recording of nystagmus (Ny) without any possibility to see the ocular movements directly. More recently, infrared videonystagmography (VNG) entered the diagnostic protocol of vestibular disorders. VNG permits to record and visualize Ny, both in the darkness and with open eyes. Aim of the present study was to verify the possible advantages of VNG versus ENG for functional evaluation of the vestibular system in patients suffering from otoneurological disorders. To that purpose, VNG and ENG tracings were recorded in 12 patients. The preliminary results show that there are not significant differences in quantitative evaluation of Ny between the two methods. Anyhow, VNG has some technical and clinical advantages that make it the method of choice.

Optimal duration of therapy in the recovery period of vestibular diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. V. Zamergrad

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Dizziness is a common symptom in neurological and general medical practice. In most cases it is caused by diseases of the central or peripheral vestibular system. The most common vestibular system diseases include benign paroxysmal postural vertigo, dizziness, Meniere's disease, vestibular neuronitis, and cerebrovascular diseases. One of the main treatments for the diseases accompanied by dizziness is vestibular rehabilitation that is a complex of exercises, the goal of which is to stimulate vestibular compensation. Adequate vestibular compensation allows a patient to get rid of dizziness and unsteadiness even though vestibular system injury is irreversible. Some medications are able to enhance the efficiency of vestibular rehabilitation. At the same time, the optimal duration of treatment for the most common vestibular disorders has not beenadequately explored. The paper gives the results of an observational program, whose purpose was to determine the optimal duration of vestibular rehabilitation in combination with the use of tanakan in patients with non-progressive unilateral peripheral vestibular disorder.Patients and methods. Data on 46 patients aged 19 to 70 years who underwent vestibular rehabilitation and took tanakan for vertigo caused by vestibular neuronitis (n = 44, labyrinthitis (n =1, or Ramsay Hunt syndrome (n = 1 were analyzed. All the patients were examined four times. The symptoms were recorded and the histories of disease were considered. The degree of vestibular disorders, including vertigo, was assessed when collecting complaints. The symptoms of vertigo were objectivized using its vertigo rating scale and five-point subjective rating scale for vertigo. All the patients underwent standard somatic and neurological examinations and videonystagmography. During the first visit after diagnosis, vestibular exercises were chosen for the patients and tanakan was used in a dose of 40 mg thrice daily to accelerate

Vestibular schwannoma with contralateral facial pain – case report

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Ghodsi Mohammad

2003-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Vestibular schwannoma (acoustic neuroma most commonly presents with ipsilateral disturbances of acoustic, vestibular, trigeminal and facial nerves. Presentation of vestibular schwannoma with contralateral facial pain is quite uncommon. Case presentation Among 156 cases of operated vestibular schwannoma, we found one case with unusual presentation of contralateral hemifacial pain. Conclusion The presentation of contralateral facial pain in the vestibular schwannoma is rare. It seems that displacement and distortion of the brainstem and compression of the contralateral trigeminal nerve in Meckel's cave by the large mass lesion may lead to this atypical presentation. The best practice in these patients is removal of the tumour, although persistent contralateral pain after operation has been reported.

Adaptive Feedforward Cancellation of Sinusoidal Disturbances in Superconducting RF Cavities

CERN Document Server

Kandil, T H; Hartung, W; Khalil, H; Popielarski, J; Vincent, J; York, R C

2004-01-01

A control method, known as adaptive feedforward cancellation (AFC) is applied to damp sinusoidal disturbances due to microphonics in superconducting RF (SRF) cavities. AFC provides a method for damping internal, and external sinusoidal disturbances with known frequencies. It is preferred over other schemes because it uses rudimentary information about the frequency response at the disturbance frequencies, without the necessity of knowing an analytic model (transfer function) of the system. It estimates the magnitude and phase of the sinusoidal disturbance inputs and generates a control signal to cancel their effect. AFC, along with a frequency estimation process, is shown to be very successful in the cancellation of sinusoidal signals from different sources. The results of this research may significantly reduce the power requirements and increase the stability for lightly loaded continuous-wave SRF systems.

A vestibular sensation: probabilistic approaches to spatial perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Angelaki, Dora E; Klier, Eliana M; Snyder, Lawrence H

2009-11-25

The vestibular system helps maintain equilibrium and clear vision through reflexes, but it also contributes to spatial perception. In recent years, research in the vestibular field has expanded to higher-level processing involving the cortex. Vestibular contributions to spatial cognition have been difficult to study because the circuits involved are inherently multisensory. Computational methods and the application of Bayes theorem are used to form hypotheses about how information from different sensory modalities is combined together with expectations based on past experience in order to obtain optimal estimates of cognitive variables like current spatial orientation. To test these hypotheses, neuronal populations are being recorded during active tasks in which subjects make decisions based on vestibular and visual or somatosensory information. This review highlights what is currently known about the role of vestibular information in these processes, the computations necessary to obtain the appropriate signals, and the benefits that have emerged thus far.

Vestibular Function Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamagoe, Kiyotaka; Fujimiya, Suguru; Koganezawa, Tadachika; Kadono, Kotarou; Shimizu, Kotone; Fujizuka, Natsu; Takiguchi, Shino; Ueno, Tomoyuki; Monzen, Tatsuya; Tamaoka, Akira

2015-01-01

Falls and fractures due to impaired balance in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have an adverse effect on the clinical course of the disease. To evaluate balance impairment in AD from the viewpoint of vestibular functional impairment. The subjects were 12 patients with AD, 12 dementia-free elderly adults, and 12 younger adults. Vestibular function was assessed using a stepping test, caloric nystagmus, and a visual suppression (VS) test. The stepping test was abnormal in 9 of the 12 patients in the AD group. An abnormal stepping test was not associated with self-reported dizziness or tendency to fall. Significant VS abnormalities were present in the AD group. The suppression rate of VS was lower in AD patients with either a tendency to fall or constructional apraxia than in AD patients without either. The velocity of the rapid phase of caloric nystagmus before the VS test was similar in the AD group and the elderly control group. Significant abnormalities of both caloric nystagmus and VS were not present in either the elderly or the younger control groups. AD could involve impairments in the vestibular control of balance. The VS test is useful for assessing the tendency to fall in AD. Impairment of VS in AD might arise from cerebral vestibular cortex impairment rather than comorbid peripheral vestibular disorders.

Clinical evaluation of elderly people with chronic vestibular disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Gazzola, Juliana Maria; Ganança, Fernando Freitas; Aratani, Mayra Cristina; Perracini, Monica Rodrigues; Ganança, Maurício Malavasi

2006-01-01

Dizziness is common among the elderly. To characterize social, demographic, clinical, functional and otoneurological data in elderly patients with chronic vestibular disorder. A sequential study of 120 patients with chronic vestibular disorder. Simple descriptive analyses were undertaken. Most of the patients were female (68.3%) with a mean age of 73.40+/-5.77 years. The average number of illnesses associated with the vestibular disorder was 3.83+/-1.84; the patients were taking on average 3.86+/-2.27 different medications. The most prevalent diagnosis on the vestibular exam was unilateral vestibular loss (29.8%) and the most prevalent etiology was metabolic vestibulopathy (40.0%) followed by benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (36.7%). Fifty-two patients (43.3%) had experienced dizziness for 5 years or more. Sixty-four patients (53.3%) had at least one fall in the last year and thirty-five (29.2%) had recurrent falls. Most of the sample included females with associated diseases, and using many different drugs. The most prevalent vestibular diseases were metabolic and vascular labyrinth conditions. Dizziness is a chronic symptom in elderly patients. The association of two vestibular diseases is common. Falls are prevalent in chronic dizzy elderly patients.

A microfluidic galvanic cell on a single layer of paper

Science.gov (United States)

Purohit, Krutarth H.; Emrani, Saina; Rodriguez, Sandra; Liaw, Shi-Shen; Pham, Linda; Galvan, Vicente; Domalaon, Kryls; Gomez, Frank A.; Haan, John L.

2016-06-01

Paper microfluidics is used to produce single layer galvanic and hybrid cells to produce energy that could power paper-based analytical sensors. When two aqueous streams are absorbed onto paper to establish co-laminar flow, the streams stay in contact with each other with limited mixing. The interface at which mixing occurs acts as a charge-transfer region, eliminating the need for a salt bridge. We designed a Cusbnd Zn galvanic cell that powers an LED when two are placed in series. We also used more powerful redox couples (formate and silver, formate and permanganate) to produce higher power density (18 and 3.1 mW mg-1 Pd). These power densities are greater than previously reported paper microfluidic fuel cells using formate or methanol. The single layer design is much more simplified than previous reports of multi-layer galvanic cells on paper.

Sinusoidal oscillators and waveform generators using modern electronic circuit building blocks

CERN Document Server

Senani, Raj; Singh, V K; Sharma, R K

2016-01-01

This book serves as a single-source reference to sinusoidal oscillators and waveform generators, using classical as well as a variety of modern electronic circuit building blocks. It provides a state-of-the-art review of a large variety of sinusoidal oscillators and waveform generators and includes a catalogue of over 600 configurations of oscillators and waveform generators, describing their relevant design details and salient performance features/limitations. The authors discuss a number of interesting, open research problems and include a comprehensive collection of over 1500 references on oscillators and non-sinusoidal waveform generators/relaxation oscillators. Offers readers a single-source reference to everything connected to sinusoidal oscillators and waveform generators, using classical as well as modern electronic circuit building blocks; Provides a state-of-the-art review of a large variety of sinusoidal oscillators and waveform generators; Includes a catalog of over 600 configurations of oscillato...

MR imaging features and clinical value of vestibular aqueduct and endolymphatic sac in patients with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Zheming; Lou Xin; Lan Lan; Wang Hui; Wang Qiuju; Wu Nanzhou; Zhang Xiaojing

2012-01-01

Objective: To investigate MR imaging features of endolymphatic sac and vestibular aqueduct in patients with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS) and its correlation with hearing loss. Methods: MR imaging findings of LVAS were analyzed in 31 cases (62 ears) retrospectively. MR imaging features were grouped into 4 types. In the first type, the signals of endolymphatic and vestibular aqueduct were hypointense without any hyperintense area. In the second type, the signals of endolymphatic sac and vestibular were hyperintense which were confined within vestibular fissure. In the third type, the area from vestibular aqueduct backward out of the edge of the petrous bone was hyperintense, but its lower boundary was above posterior semicircular. In the fourth type the area which was hyperintense was below the posterior semicircular. To avoid errors in visual inspection, the hyperintense and hypointense area of endolymphatic and the signal intensity of vestibular aqueduct and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were measured. The differences of signal intensity among the vestibular endolymphatic sac between the high-signal areas and low signal areas were compared with paired t-test. The correlation of the endolymphatic sac MRI classification and degree of hearing loss was analyzed by corrected Chi-square test and Spearman correlation analysis. Result: Ten ears belonged to type Ⅰ (moderate hearing loss in 1 ear,severe in 4 ears,profound in 5 ears), 17 ears belonged to type Ⅱ (moderate hearing loss in 1 ear; severe in 5 ears,profound in 11 ears), 23 ears to type Ⅲ (moderate hearing loss in 3 ear, severe in 5 ears, profound in 15 ears) and 12 ears belonged to Ⅳ (mild hearing loss in 1 ear, moderate in 1 ear, severe 3 ear, profound in 7 ears). The boundary between hyperintense and hypointense area was clear, and the signal intensity ratios was 2.02 ± 0.06. The signal ratios of hyperintense and hypointense area to vestibular and CSF were 0.95 ±0.12, 0.49 ±0.10, 0.99 ± 0

76 FR 73589 - Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's Republic of China: Amended Preliminary Determination of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-29

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-570-975] Galvanized Steel Wire From... galvanized steel wire from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'').\\1\\ We are amending our Preliminary... Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination: Galvanized Steel Wire from the People's Republic of...

Area effect on galvanic corrosion of condenser materials with titanium tubes in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Seong Sik; Kim, Joung Soo; Kim, Uh Chul

1993-01-01

Titanium tubes have recently been used in condensers of nuclear power plants since titanium has very good corrosion resistance to seawater. However, when it is connected to Cu alloys as tube sheet materials and these Cu alloys are connected to carbon steels as water box materials, it makes significant galvanic corrosion on connected materials. It is expected from electrochemical tests that the corrosion rate of carbon steel will increase when it is galvanically coupled with Ti or Cu in sea water and the corrosion rate of Cu will increase when it is coupled with Ti, of this couple is exposed to sea water for a long time. It is also expected that the surface area ratios, R 1 (surface area of carbon steel/surface area of Ti) and R 2 (surface area of carbon steel/surface area of Cu) are very improtant for the galvanic corrosion of carbon steel and that these should not be kept to low values in order to minimize the galvanic corrosion on the carbon steel of the water box. Immersed galvanic corrosion tests show that the corrosion rate of carbon steel is 4.4 mpy when this ratio is 10 -2 . The galvanic corrosion rate of this carbon steel is increased from 4.4 mpy to 13 mpy at this area ratio, 1, when this connected galvanic specimen is galvanically coupled with a Ti tube. This can be rationalized by the combined effects of R 1 and R 2 on the polarization curve. (Author)

HASHIMOTO THYROIDITIS AND VESTIBULAR DYSFUNCTION.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiarella, Giuseppe; Russo, Diego; Monzani, Fabio; Petrolo, Claudio; Fattori, Bruno; Pasqualetti, Giuseppe; Cassandro, Ettore; Costante, Giuseppe

2017-07-01

The aim of this review was to analyze the existing literature concerning the relationship between Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) and vestibular dysfunction. We used electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library) to search and collect all published articles about the association between HT and vestibular disorders. Several observational and retrospective studies have postulated a relationship between thyroid autoimmunity and vestibular disorders. In most cases, an appropriate control group was lacking, and the impact of thyroid functional status could not precisely be established. In recent years, two well-designed prospective studies have provided convincing evidence that the association is not random. One article reported that patients with Ménière disease (MD) had a significantly higher prevalence of positive anti-thyroid autoantibody as compared to healthy controls. Moreover, more than half of MD patients had either positive anti-thyroid or non-organ-specific autoantibody titers, compared to less than 30% of both patients with unilateral vestibular paresis without cochlear involvement and healthy controls. Another study found that patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) had significantly higher serum thyroid-stimulating hormone and antithyroid autoantibody levels than healthy controls. Additionally, almost one-fifth of euthyroid patients with HT had signs of BPPV. The published results indicate that patients with MD or BPPV are potential candidates to also develop HT. Thus, in HT patients, the presence of even slight symptoms or signs potentially related to vestibular lesions should be carefully investigated. AITD = autoimmune thyroid disease; BPPV = benign paroxysmal positional vertigo; EH = endolymphatic hydrops; HT = Hashimoto thyroiditis; L-T 4 = L-thyroxine; MD = Ménière disease; PS = Pendred syndrome; Tg = thyroglobulin; TPO = thyroid peroxidase; TSH = thyroid-stimulating hormone.

Hydrogen embrittlement and galvanic corrosion of titanium alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soh, Jeong Ryong; Jeong, Y. H.; Choi, B. K.; Baek, J. H.; Hwang, D. Y.; Choi, B. S.; Lee, D. J

2000-06-01

The material properties including the fracture behavior of titanium alloys used as a steam generator tube in SMART can be degraded de to the hydrogen embrittlement and the galvanic corrosion occurring as a result of other materials in contact with titanium alloys in a conducting corrosive environment. In this report the general concepts and trends of hydrogen embrittlement are qualitatively described to adequately understand and expect the fracture behavior from hydrogen within the bulk of materials and under hydrogen containing environments because hydrogen embrittlement may be very complicated process. And the characteristics of galvanic corrosion closely related to hydrogen embrittlement is qualitatively based on wimple electrochemical theory.

Hydrogen embrittlement and galvanic corrosion of titanium alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soh, Jeong Ryong; Jeong, Y. H.; Choi, B. K.; Baek, J. H.; Hwang, D. Y.; Choi, B. S.; Lee, D. J.

2000-06-01

The material properties including the fracture behavior of titanium alloys used as a steam generator tube in SMART can be degraded de to the hydrogen embrittlement and the galvanic corrosion occurring as a result of other materials in contact with titanium alloys in a conducting corrosive environment. In this report the general concepts and trends of hydrogen embrittlement are qualitatively described to adequately understand and expect the fracture behavior from hydrogen within the bulk of materials and under hydrogen containing environments because hydrogen embrittlement may be very complicated process. And the characteristics of galvanic corrosion closely related to hydrogen embrittlement is qualitatively based on wimple electrochemical theory

[Presbyastasis and application of vestibular rehabilitation in geriatrics].

Science.gov (United States)

Costa de Araujo, P; Demanez, L; Lechien, J; Bauvir, P; Petermans, J

2011-03-01

Balance disorders can have a major functional impact among the elderly. The main risk is falling. Three elements are implicated in the loss of balance: vision, proprioception and the vestibular system. This article will discuss mainly vestibular damage and its implications. The assessment of balance disorders, particularly in geriatric patients, is based on validated scales composed of several items. These provide scores and are based on the results of chronometric measurements. They can be useful for the application of Vestibular Rehabilitation (VR), a technique improving the adaptation and autonomy of these patients. Vestibular rehabilitation is therefore part of an overall support, the goal of therapy being to improve daily life and to reduce the risk of falls.

Prophylactic treatment of vestibular migraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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

Long-term hearing preservation in vestibular schwannoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stangerup, Sven-Eric; Thomsen, Jens; Tos, Mirko

2010-01-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term hearing during "wait and scan" management of vestibular schwannomas.......The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term hearing during "wait and scan" management of vestibular schwannomas....

Electrophysiological Measurements of Peripheral Vestibular Function—A Review of Electrovestibulography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel J. Brown

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Electrocochleography (EcochG, incorporating the Cochlear Microphonic (CM, the Summating Potential (SP, and the cochlear Compound Action Potential (CAP, has been used to study cochlear function in humans and experimental animals since the 1930s, providing a simple objective tool to assess both hair cell (HC and nerve sensitivity. The vestibular equivalent of ECochG, termed here Electrovestibulography (EVestG, incorporates responses of the vestibular HCs and nerve. Few research groups have utilized EVestG to study vestibular function. Arguably, this is because stimulating the cochlea in isolation with sound is a trivial matter, whereas stimulating the vestibular system in isolation requires significantly more technical effort. That is, the vestibular system is sensitive to both high-level sound and bone-conducted vibrations, but so is the cochlea, and gross electrical responses of the inner ear to such stimuli can be difficult to interpret. Fortunately, several simple techniques can be employed to isolate vestibular electrical responses. Here, we review the literature underpinning gross vestibular nerve and HC responses, and we discuss the nomenclature used in this field. We also discuss techniques for recording EVestG in experimental animals and humans and highlight how EVestG is furthering our understanding of the vestibular system.

Analysis of the Inhibition Layer of Galvanized Dual-Phase Steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, K. K.; Wang, H. P.; Chang, L.; Gan, D.; Chen, T. R.; Chen, H. B.

2012-01-01

The formation of the Fe-Al inhibition layer in hot-dip galvanizing is a confusing issue for a long time. This study presents a characterization result on the inhibition layer formed on C-Mn-Cr and C-Mn-Si dual-phase steels after a short time galvanizing. The samples were annealed at 800 .deg. C for 60 s in N 2 -10% H 2 atmosphere with a dew point of -30 .deg. C, and were then galvanized in a bath containing 0.2%Al. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed for characterization. The TEM electron diffraction shows that only Fe 2 Al 5 intermetallic phase was formed. No orientation relationship between the Fe 2 Al 5 phase and the steel substrate could be identified. Two peaks of Al 2p photoelectrons, one from metallic aluminum and the other from Al 3+ ions, were detected in the inhibition layer, indicating that the layer is in fact a mixture of Fe 2 Al 5 and Al 2 O 3 . TEM/EDS analysis verifies the existence of Al 2 O 3 in the boundaries of Fe 2 Al 5 grains. The nucleation of Fe 2 Al 5 and the reduction of the surface oxide probably proceeded concurrently on galvanizing, and the residual oxides prohibited the heteroepitaxial growth of Fe 2 Al 5

Effect of confinement on bond strength of hot-dip galvanized lap splices in concrete structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fakhran, Mazen

2004-01-01

Galvanizing the reinforcing steel is one of the methods used to protect bars against corrosion. Galvanizing is a hot dip process where the reinforcing bars are immersed in an aqueous pre flux solution of zinc ammonium chloride at a controlled temperature between 840 and 850 degrees F. In 2001, a research program was started at AUB to evaluate experimentally the effect of hot dip galvanizing on the bond capacity of tension lap splices anchored in full-scale beam specimens designed to fail in bond splitting mode. The test results indicated that the use of galvanized bars had a negligible effect on bond strength of reinforcement in normal strength. However, galvanizing caused an average of 20 percent decrease in bond strength of reinforcement in high strength concrete. The primary objective of research reported in this thesis, is the need to find a solution to eliminate the bond reduction of galvanized bars in high strength concrete. It is significant to evaluate the positive effect of the addition of transverse reinforcement in the splice region. The hypothesis to be tested is that such transverse reinforcement will insure uniform bond stress distribution over the entire splice region, thus mobilizing all bar lugs along the splice in the stress transfer mechanism between the bar and the surrounding concrete. Such mechanism might reduce the significant decrease in bond strength in high strength concrete due to galvanizing. To achieve this objective, eighteen full-scale beam specimens were tested in positive bending. Each beam was reinforced with bars spliced in a constant moment region at midspam. The splice length was chosen in such a way that the beams failed in bond splitting of the concrete cover in the splice region. The main variables were type of coating (black or galvanized bars), bar size (20, 25 and 32 mm), and amount of transverse reinforcement in the splice region (0, 2 or 4 stirrups). The test results indicated that confinement did not have a significant

Balancing awareness: Vestibular signals modulate visual consciousness in the absence of awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Salomon, Roy; Kaliuzhna, Mariia; Herbelin, Bruno; Blanke, Olaf

2015-11-01

The processing of visual and vestibular information is crucial for perceiving self-motion. Visual cues, such as optic flow, have been shown to induce and alter vestibular percepts, yet the role of vestibular information in shaping visual awareness remains unclear. Here we investigated if vestibular signals influence the access to awareness of invisible visual signals. Using natural vestibular stimulation (passive yaw rotations) on a vestibular self-motion platform, and optic flow masked through continuous flash suppression (CFS) we tested if congruent visual-vestibular information would break interocular suppression more rapidly than incongruent information. We found that when the unseen optic flow was congruent with the vestibular signals perceptual suppression as quantified with the CFS paradigm was broken more rapidly than when it was incongruent. We argue that vestibular signals impact the formation of visual awareness through enhanced access to awareness for congruent multisensory stimulation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Simulation of galvanic corrosion using boundary element method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaifol Samsu; Muhamad Daud; Siti Radiah Mohd Kamaruddin; Nur Ubaidah Saidin; Abdul Aziz Mohamed; Mohd Saari Ripin; Rusni Rejab; Mohd Shariff Sattar

2011-01-01

Boundary element method (BEM) is a numerical technique that used for modeling infinite domain as is the case for galvanic corrosion analysis. The use of boundary element analysis system (BEASY) has allowed cathodic protection (CP) interference to be assessed in terms of the normal current density, which is directly proportional to the corrosion rate. This paper was present the analysis of the galvanic corrosion between Aluminium and Carbon Steel in natural sea water. The result of experimental was validated with computer simulation like BEASY program. Finally, it can conclude that the BEASY software is a very helpful tool for future planning before installing any structure, where it gives the possible CP interference on any nearby unprotected metallic structure. (Author)

Finishes for Metals. Paintability of Galvanized Steel, Corrosion Resistance of Metallized Coatings.

Science.gov (United States)

Building Research Inst., Inc., Washington, DC.

Two papers are presented. The first, "Report of the AISI Research Project on the Paintability of Galvanized Steel," was a project aimed at determining optimum procedures for painting bright-spangled galvanized sheet steel products using three classes of trade sales paints--metallic zinc-dust, portland cement-in-oil, and water base emulsion paints.…

Three-dimensional head-mounted gaming task procedure maximizes effects of vestibular rehabilitation in unilateral vestibular hypofunction: a randomized controlled pilot trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Micarelli, Alessandro; Viziano, Andrea; Augimeri, Ivan; Micarelli, Domenico; Alessandrini, Marco

2017-12-01

Considering the emerging advantages related to virtual reality implementation in clinical rehabilitation, the aim of the present study was to discover possible (i) improvements achievable in unilateral vestibular hypofunction patients using a self-assessed head-mounted device (HMD)-based gaming procedure when combined with a classical vestibular rehabilitation protocol (HMD group) as compared with a group undergoing only vestibular rehabilitation and (ii) HMD procedure-related side effects. Therefore, 24 vestibular rehabilitation and 23-matched HMD unilateral vestibular hypofunction individuals simultaneously underwent a 4-week rehabilitation protocol. Both otoneurological measures (vestibulo-ocular reflex gain and postural arrangement by studying both posturography parameters and spectral values of body oscillation) and performance and self-report measures (Italian Dizziness Handicap Inventory; Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale; Zung Instrument for Anxiety Disorders, Dynamic Gait Index; and Simulator Sickness Questionnaire) were analyzed by means of a between-group/within-subject analysis of variance model. A significant post-treatment between-effect was found, and the HMD group demonstrated an overall improvement in vestibulo-ocular reflex gain on the lesional side, in posturography parameters, in low-frequency spectral domain, as well as in Italian Dizziness Handicap Inventory and Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale scores. Meanwhile, Simulator Sickness Questionnaire scores demonstrated a significant reduction in symptoms related to experimental home-based gaming tasks during the HMD procedure. Our findings revealed the possible advantages of HMD implementation in vestibular rehabilitation, suggesting it as an innovative, self-assessed, low-cost, and compliant tool useful in maximizing vestibular rehabilitation outcomes.

Towards a neuromorphic vestibular system.

Science.gov (United States)

Corradi, Federico; Zambrano, Davide; Raglianti, Marco; Passetti, Giovanni; Laschi, Cecilia; Indiveri, Giacomo

2014-10-01

The vestibular system plays a crucial role in the sense of balance and spatial orientation in mammals. It is a sensory system that detects both rotational and translational motion of the head, via its semicircular canals and otoliths respectively. In this work, we propose a real-time hardware model of an artificial vestibular system, implemented using a custom neuromorphic Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) multi-neuron chip interfaced to a commercial Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The artificial vestibular system is realized with spiking neurons that reproduce the responses of biological hair cells present in the real semicircular canals and otholitic organs. We demonstrate the real-time performance of the hybrid analog-digital system and characterize its response properties, presenting measurements of a successful encoding of angular velocities as well as linear accelerations. As an application, we realized a novel implementation of a recurrent integrator network capable of keeping track of the current angular position. The experimental results provided validate the hardware implementation via comparisons with a detailed computational neuroscience model. In addition to being an ideal tool for developing bio-inspired robotic technologies, this work provides a basis for developing a complete low-power neuromorphic vestibular system which integrates the hardware model of the neural signal processing pathway described with custom bio-mimetic gyroscopic sensors, exploiting neuromorphic principles in both mechanical and electronic aspects.

[Exposure to metal compounds in occupational galvanic processes].

Science.gov (United States)

Surgiewicz, Jolanta; Domański, Wojciech

2006-01-01

Occupational galvanic processes are provided in more than 600 small and medium enterprises in Poland. Workers who deal with galvanic coating are exposed to heavy metal compounds: tin, silver, copper and zinc. Some of them are carcinogenic, for example, hexavalent chromium compounds, nickel and cadmium compounds. Research covered several tens of workstations involved in chrome, nickel, zinc, tin, silver, copper and cadmium plating. Compounds of metals present in the air were determined: Cr, Ni, Cd, Sn, Ag--by atomic absorption spectrometry with electrothermal atomization (ET-AAS) and Zn--by atomic absorption spectrometry with flame atomization (F-AAS). The biggest metal concentrations--of silver and copper--were found at workstations of copper, brass, cadmium, nickel and chrome plating, conducted at the same time. Significant concentrations of copper were found at workstations of maintenance bathing and neutralizing of sewage. The concentrations of metals did not exceed Polish MAC values. MAC values were not exceeded for carcinogenic chromium(VI), nickel or cadmium, either. In galvanic processes there was no hazard related to single metals or their compounds, even carcinogenic ones. Combined exposure indicators for metals at each workstation did not exceed 1, either. However, if there are even small quantities of carcinogenic agents, health results should always be taken into consideration.

76 FR 47150 - Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's Republic of China and Mexico: Postponement of Preliminary...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-04

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-570-975, A-201-840] Galvanized Steel... in the Federal Register the initiation of the antidumping duty investigations of galvanized steel... is January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010. See Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's Republic...

Avaliação do efeito da cafeína no teste vestibular Evaluation of the caffeine effect in the vestibular test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lilian Felipe

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Há controvérsias sobre a interferência da cafeína no teste vestibular. O café é a fonte mais rica em cafeína. Enquanto em alguns serviços os pacientes são orientados a suspender a ingestão de café 24 a 48 horas antes da realização do teste, outros não consideram necessária a suspensão da ingestão dessa bebida. OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito da cafeína no resultado do teste vestibular. FORMA DE ESTUDO: clínico com coorte transversal. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Estudo comparativo, transversal, pareado. O teste vestibular foi realizado em duplicidade, com intervalo máximo de cinco dias entre um e outro exame. No primeiro teste, os pacientes foram orientados a não ingerir café 24 horas antes do exame; no segundo teste, os pacientes foram orientados a beber café como de costume. Todos os participantes tinham indicação clínica de se submeter ao teste vestibular e tinham o hábito de tomar café. RESULTADOS: Participaram do estudo 19 mulheres com idade média de 49,5 anos. O consumo médio de café foi de três xícaras por dia. As queixas de ansiedade e cefaléia foram associadas ao teste realizado com suspensão do café. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante nos resultados dos exames realizados com e sem ingestão de café. CONCLUSÃO: A ingestão moderada de café não interferiu no resultado do teste vestibular. Considerando ser recomendável que o paciente esteja tranqüilo ao se submeter ao teste vestibular e que a meia-vida da cafeína é de apenas seis horas, sugerimos que a orientação para a suspensão súbita e completa da ingestão moderada de café antes do teste vestibular para os indivíduos habituados à ingestão diária seja reavaliada.Exist controversy about the interference of the caffeine in the vestibular test. Coffee is the richest source of caffeine. While in some services, the patients were orient to suspend the ingestion of caffeine 24 to 48 hours before the vestibular test, other not consider

Development and regeneration of vestibular hair cells in mammals.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Joseph C; Stone, Jennifer S

2017-05-01

Vestibular sensation is essential for gaze stabilization, balance, and perception of gravity. The vestibular receptors in mammals, Type I and Type II hair cells, are located in five small organs in the inner ear. Damage to hair cells and their innervating neurons can cause crippling symptoms such as vertigo, visual field oscillation, and imbalance. In adult rodents, some Type II hair cells are regenerated and become re-innervated after damage, presenting opportunities for restoring vestibular function after hair cell damage. This article reviews features of vestibular sensory cells in mammals, including their basic properties, how they develop, and how they are replaced after damage. We discuss molecules that control vestibular hair cell regeneration and highlight areas in which our understanding of development and regeneration needs to be deepened. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Corrosion behaviour and galvanic coupling with steel of Al-based coating alternatives to electroplated cadmium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fasuba, O.A.; Yerokhin, A., E-mail: A.Yerokhin@sheffield.ac.uk; Matthews, A.; Leyland, A.

2013-08-15

The galvanic corrosion behaviour of bare steel coupled to steel with an Al–Zn flake inorganic spin coating, an Al-based slurry sprayed coating, an arc sprayed Al coating and electroplated cadmium has been investigated. The sacrificial and galvanic behaviour of the coatings was studied in 3.5 wt. % NaCl solution using open-circuit potential, potentiodynamic polarisation and electrochemical noise measurements. The coatings were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Experimental results showed that the Al-based slurry sprayed coating exhibited an open-circuit potential closer to the steel substrate than other coatings, as well as a low corrosion current density and a more positive corrosion potential. In terms of the galvanic suitability of the investigated coatings for the steel substrate, both the Al–Zn flake inorganic spin coating and the Al-based slurry sprayed coating show low galvanic current, in comparison with the arc sprayed Al coating and electroplated cadmium. This behaviour confirms their superior cathodic protection capability and galvanic compatibility over other coatings tested. Electrochemical noise measurements provide accurate information on the coatings' galvanic behaviour, which can be complimented by the data obtained from superposition of potentiodynamic corrosion scans of the coating and bare steel, provided that the corrosion potential difference between the two materials does not exceed 300 mV. - Highlights: • Al-based slurry coating has best galvanic compatibility with steel. • Mg, Cr, P in Al-based slurry coating reinforce its corrosion resistance. • Ennoblement of Al–Zn flake coating compromises its cathodic protection. • Poor corrosion behaviour of arc sprayed Al coating caused by rough morphology. • Electrochemical noise provides adequate estimates of galvanic behaviour.

Immunocytochemical and stereological analysis of GABA(B) receptor subunit expression in the rat vestibular nucleus following unilateral vestibular deafferentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Rong; Ashton, John; Horii, Arata; Darlington, Cynthia L; Smith, Paul F

2005-03-10

The process of behavioral recovery that occurs following damage to one vestibular labyrinth, vestibular compensation, has been attributed in part to a down-regulation of GABA(B) receptors in the vestibular nucleus complex (VNC) ipsilateral to the lesion, which could potentially reduce commissural inhibition from the contralateral VNC. In this study, we tested the possibility that this occurs through a decrease in the expression of either the GABA(B1) or GABA(B2) subunits of the GABA(B) receptor. We used Western blotting to quantify the expression of these subunits in the VNC at 10 h and 50 h following unilateral vestibular deafferentation (UVD) or sham surgery in rats. We then used immunocytochemistry and stereological counting methods to estimate the number of neurons expressing these subunits in the MVN at 10 h and 2 weeks following UVD or sham surgery. Compared to sham controls, we found no significant changes in either the expression of the two GABA(B) receptor subunits in the VNC or in the number of MVN neurons expressing these GABA(B) receptor subunits post-UVD. These results suggest that GABA(B) receptor expression does not change substantially in the VNC during the process of vestibular compensation.

A Noble Approach of Process Automation in Galvanized Nut, Bolt Manufacturing Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akash Samanta

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Corrosion costs money”, The Columbus battle institute estimates that corrosion costs Americans more than $ 220 billion annually, about 4.3% of the gross natural product [1].Now a days due to increase of pollution, the rate of corrosion is also increasing day-by-day mainly in India, so, to save the steel structures, galvanizing is the best and the simplest solution. Due to this reason galvanizing industries are increasing day-by-day since mid of 1700s.Galvanizing is a controlled metallurgical combination of zinc and steel that can provide a corrosion resistance in a wide variety of environment. In fact, the galvanized metal corrosion resistance factor can be some 70 to 80 times greater that the base metal material. Keeping in mind the importance of this industry, a noble approach of process automation in galvanized nut-bolt  manufacturing plant is presented here as nuts and bolts are the prime ingredient of any structure. In this paper the main objectives of any industry like survival, profit maximization, profit satisfying and sales growth are fulfilled. Furthermore the environmental aspects i.e. pollution control and energy saving are also considered in this paper. The whole automation process is done using programmable logic controller (PLC which has number of unique advantages like being faster, reliable, requires less maintenance and reprogrammable. The whole system has been designed and tested using GE, FANUC PLC.

Corrosion Inhibition of the Galvanic Couple Copper-Carbon Steel in Reverse Osmosis Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irene Carrillo

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the electrochemical behaviour of corrosion inhibition of the copper-carbon steel galvanic couple (Cu-CS, exposed to reverse osmosis water (RO used for rinsing of heat exchangers for heavy duty machinery, during manufacture. Molybdate and nitrite salts were utilized to evaluate the inhibition behaviour under galvanic couple conditions. Cu-CS couple was used as working electrodes to measure open circuit potential (OCP, potentiodynamic polarization (PP, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS. The surface conditions were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM and electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS. The most effective concentration ratio between molybdate and nitrite corrosion inhibitors was determined. The morphological study indicated molybdate deposition on the anodic sites of the galvanic couple. The design of molybdate-based corrosion inhibitor developed in the present work should be applied to control galvanic corrosion of the Cu-CS couple during cleaning in the manufacture of heat exchangers.

Vestibular Function in Adults With Epilepsy of Unknown Etiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamed, Sherifa A; Tohamy, Amal M; Oseilly, Amira M

2017-09-01

This study aimed to evaluate vestibular function in adults with chronic epilepsy of unknown etiology in the inter-ictal period. Epilepsy is a chronic medical disorder. Life-long therapy may be required in one-third of patients. Epilepsy is associated with comorbid somatic conditions which impairs patients' quality of life. This cross-sectional study included 28 with generalized tonic clonic (GTC) convulsions and 14 and 3 with temporal (TLE) and frontal lobe (FLE) epilepsies with secondary generalization (all were on regular carbamazepine therapy) and 40 healthy control subjects. The patients' mean age was 34.97 ± 7.35 years and the duration of illness was 18.75 ± 7.99 years. All underwent videonystagmography (VNG). Compared with controls, patients had frequent vestibular symptoms including dizziness (62.22%) (p = 0.0001) and sense of imbalance (44.44%) (p = 0.0001). Eleven patients (24.44%) had central vestibular dysfunction (p = 0.0001); 9 (20%) had mixed vestibular dysfunction and one (2.22%) had peripheral vestibular dysfunction (p = 0.0001). Abnormalities were observed in saccadic (44.4%) and pursuit (42.2%) eye movements, optokinetic nystagmus (42.2%) and positioning/positional (11.11%) and caloric (13.33%) testing. TLE and FLE were associated with more VNG abnormalities than GTC. No significant differences were observed in the demographic and clinical characteristics between patients with and without VNG abnormalities. Vestibular manifestations are frequent in patients with epilepsy. This may be a result of the permanent damaging effect of chronic epilepsy on the vestibular cortical areas and/or a toxic effect from prolonged carbamazepine therapy on the peripheral and central vestibular systems.

Distinct spontaneous shrinkage of a sporadic vestibular schwannoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huang, Xiaowen; Cayé-Thomasen, Per; Stangerup, Sven-Eric

2013-01-01

on "shrinkage" or "negative growth" or "regression" or "involution" of the tumor were selected, and the contents on the rate, extent and mechanism of spontaneous tumor shrinkage were extracted and reviewed. The reported rate of spontaneous shrinkage of vestibular schwannoma is 5-10% of patients managed......We present a case with outspoken spontaneous vestibular schwannoma shrinkage and review the related literature. The patient was initially diagnosed with a left-sided, intrameatal vestibular schwannoma, which subsequently grew into the cerebello-pontine angle (CPA), followed by total shrinkage...... of the CPA component without any intervention over a 12-year observation period. The literature on spontaneous tumor shrinkage was retrieved by searching the subject terms "vestibular schwannoma, conservative management" in PubMed/MEDLINE database, without a time limit. Of the published data, the articles...

Origin of vestibular dysfunction in Usher syndrome type 1B.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sun, J.; Alphen, A.M. van; Wagenaar, M.; Huygen, P.L.M.; Hoogenraad, C.C.; Hasson, T.; Koekkoek, S.K.; Bohne, B.A.; Zeeuw, C.I. de

2001-01-01

It is still debated to what extent the vestibular deficits in Usher patients are due to either central vestibulocerebellar or peripheral vestibular problems. Here, we determined the origin of the vestibular symptoms in Usher 1B patients by subjecting them to compensatory eye movement tests and by

The prevalence of vestibular symptoms in migraine or tension-type headache.

Science.gov (United States)

Akdal, Gülden; Ozge, Aynur; Ergör, Gül

2013-01-01

We assessed frequency of vestibular symptoms in Headache Clinic patients over 10 years. A descriptive study of 5111 consecutive patients with tension-type headache or migraine, analyzed for dizziness/ vertigo accompanying headache and for a lifetime history of motion-sickness, cyclic vomiting, recurrent abdominal pain or atopy. Migraine patients were re-grouped as those with vestibular symptoms (dizziness/vertigo or motion sickness) and those without and their data then re-analyzed. There were 1880 migraine patients and 3231 tension-type headache patients. Significantly more migraine patients than tension-type headache patients experienced vestibular symptoms (p< 0.0001). The migraine with vestibular symptoms group was significantly younger (p< 0.05) had more aura, more phonophobia with migraine attacks (p< 0.0001). Menstruation and reported sleep problems impacted on headaches. While past history of cyclical vomiting, recurrent abdominal pain or atopy was about twice as common in migraine with aura and it was also more common in migraine with vestibular symptoms than migraine without vestibular symptoms. Vestibular symptoms are common in migraine patients. Migraine with vestibular symptoms might constitute a special group, one more likely to have had cyclic vomiting, recurrent abdominal pain or atopy.

Prognostic investigation of galvanic corrosion precursors in aircraft structures and their detection strategy

Science.gov (United States)

James, Robin; Kim, Tae Hee; Narayanan, Ram M.

2017-04-01

Aluminum alloys have been the dominant materials for aerospace construction in the past fifty years due to their light weight, forming and alloying, and relative low cost in comparison to titanium and composites. However, in recent years, carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) and honeycomb materials have been used in aircrafts in the quest to attain lower weight, high temperature resistance, and better fuel efficiency. When these two materials are coupled together, the structural strength of the aircraft is unparalleled, but this comes at a price, namely galvanic corrosion. Previous experimental results have shown that when CFRP composite materials are joined with high strength aluminum alloys (AA7075-T6 or AA2024-T3), galvanic corrosion occurs at the material interfaces, and the aluminum is in greater danger of corroding, particularly since carbon and aluminum are on the opposite ends of the galvanic series. In this paper, we explore the occurrence of the recognizable precursors of galvanic corrosion when CFRP plate is coupled to an aluminum alloy using SS-304 bolts and exposed to environmental degradation, which creates significant concerns for aircraft structural reliability. The galvanic corrosion software package, BEASY, is used to simulate the growth of corrosion in the designed specimen after which a microwave non-destructive testing (NDT) technique is explored to detect corrosion defects that appear at the interface of this galvanic couple. This paper also explores a loaded waveguide technique to determine the dielectric constant of the final corrosion product at the Q-band millimeter-wave frequency range (33-50 GHz), as this can be an invaluable asset in developing early detection strategies.

76 FR 68407 - Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Determination of Sales at...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-04

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-570-975] Galvanized Steel Wire From... galvanized steel wire from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') is being, or is likely to be, sold in the... concerning imports of galvanized steel wire from the PRC, filed in proper form by Davis Wire Corporation...

Analysis of the Inhibition Layer of Galvanized Dual-Phase Steels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, K. K.; Wang, H. P.; Chang, L.; Gan, D. [National Sun Yat-Sen Univ., Kaohsiung (China); Chen, T. R.; Chen, H. B. [Steel and Aluminum R and D Development, Kaohsiung (China)

2012-01-15

The formation of the Fe-Al inhibition layer in hot-dip galvanizing is a confusing issue for a long time. This study presents a characterization result on the inhibition layer formed on C-Mn-Cr and C-Mn-Si dual-phase steels after a short time galvanizing. The samples were annealed at 800 .deg. C for 60 s in N{sub 2}-10% H{sub 2} atmosphere with a dew point of -30 .deg. C, and were then galvanized in a bath containing 0.2%Al. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed for characterization. The TEM electron diffraction shows that only Fe{sub 2}Al{sub 5} intermetallic phase was formed. No orientation relationship between the Fe{sub 2}Al{sub 5} phase and the steel substrate could be identified. Two peaks of Al 2p photoelectrons, one from metallic aluminum and the other from Al{sup 3+} ions, were detected in the inhibition layer, indicating that the layer is in fact a mixture of Fe{sub 2}Al{sub 5} and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. TEM/EDS analysis verifies the existence of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} in the boundaries of Fe{sub 2}Al{sub 5} grains. The nucleation of Fe{sub 2}Al{sub 5} and the reduction of the surface oxide probably proceeded concurrently on galvanizing, and the residual oxides prohibited the heteroepitaxial growth of Fe{sub 2}Al{sub 5}.

The activation controlled galvanic corrosion of Carbon Steel/Zinc couple in deaerated stirred 0.2 N HCl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saeed, F. M. M.; Slaiman, Q. J. M.

2005-01-01

The effect of galvanic coupling of carbon steel to zinc (C.S. /Zn) in Deaerated 0.2 N HCl was studied using the multiple zero resistance technique to measure the galvanic current (Ig) and the coupling potential (Ecop,) versus time for the coupled metals. It was found that altering area ratio (AR) (Cathode/Anode) of the coupled metals and increasing temperature played an important role in the increasing corrosion rate as well as changing the galvanic factor (GF), galvanic current (Ig), and dissolution current (Id), in most of the cases. (author)

Preventing the embrittling by hydrogen when galvanizing high-grade steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paatsch, W.

1987-09-01

Galvanic precipitation of a double layer consisting of a dull nickel layer overlaid with a brilliant zinc layer on low-alloyed high-strength steel grades leads to the forming of zinc-nickel alloy layers during the subsequent heat treatment. According to traction tests carried out on high-strength steel grades, as well as to hydrogen permeability tests, this process prevents embrittling by hydrogen which might be caused by galvanic process sequences - and creates a diffusion block at the same time. The alloy layers have an excellent corrosion resistance and temperature stability.

Evidence for cognitive vestibular integration impairment in idiopathic scoliosis patients

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Mercier Pierre

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is characterized by a three-dimensional deviation of the vertebral column and its etiopathogenesis is unknown. Various factors cause idiopathic scoliosis, and among these a prominent role has been attributed to the vestibular system. While the deficits in sensorimotor transformations have been documented in idiopathic scoliosis patients, little attention has been devoted to their capacity to integrate vestibular information for cognitive processing for space perception. Seated idiopathic scoliosis patients and control subjects experienced rotations of different directions and amplitudes in the dark and produced saccades that would reproduce their perceived spatial characteristics of the rotations (vestibular condition. We also controlled for possible alteration of the oculomotor and vestibular systems by measuring the subject's accuracy in producing saccades towards memorized peripheral targets in absence of body rotation and the gain of their vestibulo-ocular reflex. Results Compared to healthy controls, the idiopathic scoliosis patients underestimated the amplitude of their rotations. Moreover, the results revealed that idiopathic scoliosis patients produced accurate saccades to memorized peripheral targets in absence of body rotation and that their vestibulo-ocular reflex gain did not differ from that of control participants. Conclusion Overall, results of the present study demonstrate that idiopathic scoliosis patients have an alteration in cognitive integration of vestibular signals. It is possible that severe spine deformity developed partly due to impaired vestibular information travelling from the cerebellum to the vestibular cortical network or alteration in the cortical mechanisms processing the vestibular signals.

Morphological analysis of the vestibular aqueduct by computerized tomography images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques, Sergio Ricardo; Smith, Ricardo Luiz; Isotani, Sadao; Alonso, Luis Garcia; Anadao, Carlos Augusto; Prates, Jose Carlos; Lederman, Henrique Manoel

2007-01-01

Objective: In the last two decades, advances in the computerized tomography (CT) field revise the internal and medium ear evaluation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the morphology and morphometric aspects of the vestibular aqueduct on the basis of computerized tomography images (CTI). Material and method: Computerized tomography images of vestibular aqueducts were acquired from patients (n = 110) with an age range of 1-92 years. Thereafter, from the vestibular aqueducts images a morphometric analysis was performed. Through a computerized image processing system, the vestibular aqueduct measurements comprised of its area, external opening, length and the distance from the vestibular aqueduct to the internal acoustic meatus. Results: The morphology of the vestibular aqueduct may be funnel-shaped, filiform or tubular and the respective proportions were found to be at 44%, 33% and 22% in children and 21.7%, 53.3% and 25% in adults. The morphometric data showed to be of 4.86 mm 2 of area, 2.24 mm of the external opening, 4.73 mm of length and 11.88 mm of the distance from the vestibular aqueduct to the internal acoustic meatus, in children, and in adults it was of 4.93 mm 2 , 2.09 mm, 4.44 mm, and 11.35 mm, respectively. Conclusions: Computerized tomography showed that the vestibular aqueduct presents high morphological variability. The morphometric analysis showed that the differences found between groups of children and adults or between groups of both genders were not statistically significant

Regeneration of hair cells in the mammalian vestibular system.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wenyan; You, Dan; Chen, Yan; Chai, Renjie; Li, Huawei

2016-06-01

Hair cells regenerate throughout the lifetime of non-mammalian vertebrates, allowing these animals to recover from hearing and balance deficits. Such regeneration does not occur efficiently in humans and other mammals. Thus, balance deficits become permanent and is a common sensory disorder all over the world. Since Forge and Warchol discovered the limited spontaneous regeneration of vestibular hair cells after gentamicininduced damage in mature mammals, significant efforts have been exerted to trace the origin of the limited vestibular regeneration in mammals after hair cell loss. Moreover, recently many strategies have been developed to promote the hair cell regeneration and subsequent functional recovery of the vestibular system, including manipulating the Wnt, Notch and Atoh1. This article provides an overview of the recent advances in hair cell regeneration in mammalian vestibular epithelia. Furthermore, this review highlights the current limitations of hair cell regeneration and provides the possible solutions to regenerate functional hair cells and to partially restore vestibular function.

Influence of MAO Treatment on the Galvanic Corrosion Between Aluminum Alloy and 316L Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yuanhang; Gu, Yanhong; Zhang, Lei; Jiao, Xiangdong; Che, Juntie

2017-12-01

To slow down the galvanic corrosion of aluminum alloy and 316L stainless steel in subsea water, a micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coating was prepared on the surface of the Al alloy, and no treatment was performed on the surface of the 316L. The surface morphology of MAO-coated Al alloy was evaluated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) before and after corrosion. A micro-hardness tester was used to measure the micro-hardness. Corrosion behaviors were evaluated by open-circuit potential (OCP), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and electrode impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests in a 3.5 g/L NaCl solution. The results of PDP testing show that the corrosion potential of the MAO-coated galvanic pair was more positive than that of the uncoated galvanic pair and that the corrosion current density was smaller than that of the uncoated galvanic pair. EIS results show that the impedance of the galvanic pair increased after MAO coating. SEM images show that the corrosion damage of the uncoated Al alloy was more severe than that of the MAO-coated one, and the post-corrosion images of the surface of the 316L connected with MAO-coated Al alloy were more compact than those of the 316L connected with uncoated Al alloy. A physical model was developed to discuss the influence of MAO treatment on the galvanic corrosion process and corrosion mechanism.

CNNs for sinusoidal signal recognition in hearing rehabilitation

Science.gov (United States)

Carnimeo, Leonarda; Giaquinto, Antonio

2003-04-01

In this paper, a contribution is given to provide a tool to the recognition of sinusoidal signals with a particular reference to the field of pediatric hearing rehabilitation. To this purpose, a synthesis technique previously developed by the authors' is used to design a Cellular Neural Network for an Associative Memory able to compare submitted discrete-time sinusoidal signals with memorized ones. A robustness analysis of the synthesized associative memory is also developed both for noisy inputs and for parameter variations. Simulation results are then reported to illustrate the performances of the designed network.

Influence of stripping and cooling atmospheres on surface properties and corrosion of zinc galvanizing coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasakau, K.A.; Giner, I.; Vree, C.; Ozcan, O.; Grothe, R.; Oliveira, A.; Grundmeier, G.; Ferreira, M.G.S.; Zheludkevich, M.L.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Stripping/cooling atmosphere affects surfaces chemical composition of Zn and Zn-Al-Mg galvanized coatings. • Higher peel forces of model adhesive films were obtained on zinc alloys samples prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. • Localized corrosion attack originates at grain boundaries on Zn galvanized coating. • Visible dissolution of MgZn_2 phase was observed by in situ AFM only at binary eutectics and not at ternary ones. - Abstract: In this work the influence of stripping/cooling atmospheres used after withdrawal of steel sheet from Zn or Zn-alloy melt on surface properties of Zn (Z) and Zn-Al-Mg (ZM) hot-dip galvanizing coatings has been studied. The aim was to understand how the atmosphere (composed by nitrogen (N_2) or air) affects adhesion strength to model adhesive and corrosive behaviour of the galvanized substrates. It was shown that the surface chemical composition and Volta potential of the galvanizing coatings prepared under the air or nitrogen atmosphere are strongly influenced by the atmosphere. The surface chemistry Z and ZM surfaces prepared under N_2 contained a higher content of metal atoms and a richer hydroxide density than the specimens prepared under air atmosphere as assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The induced differences on the microstructure of the galvanized coatings played a key role on the local corrosion induced defects as observed by means of in situ Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Peel force tests performed on the substrates coated by model adhesive films indicate a higher adhesive strength to the surfaces prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. The obtained results have been discussed in terms of the microstructure and surface chemical composition of the galvanizing coatings.

Interaural difference values of vestibular evoked myogenic.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marziyeh Moallemi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Migraine is a neurologic disease, which often is associated with a unilateral headache. Vestibular abnormalities are common in migraine. Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs assess otolith function in particular functional integrity of the saccule and the inferior vestibular nerve. We used VEMP to evaluate if the migraine headache can affect VEMP asymmetry parameters. A total of 25 patients with migraine (22 females and 3 males who were diagnosed according to the criteria of IHS-1988 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Control group consisted of 26 healthy participants (18 female and 8 male, without neurotological symptoms and history of migraine. The short tone burst (95 dB nHL, 500 Hz was presented to ears. VEMP was recorded with surface electromyography over the contracted ipsilateral sternocleidomastoid (SCM muscle. Although current results showed that the amplitude ratio is greater in migraine patients than normal group, there was no statistical difference between two groups in mean asymmetry parameters of VEMP. Asymmetry measurements in vestibular evoked myogenic potentials probably are not indicators of unilateral deficient in saccular pathways of migraine patients.

Isolation and culture of adult mouse vestibular nucleus neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Him, Aydın; Altuntaş, Serap; Öztürk, Gürkan; Erdoğan, Ender; Cengiz, Nureddin

2017-12-19

Background/aim: Isolated cell cultures are widely used to study neuronal properties due to their advantages. Although embryonic animals are preferred for culturing, their morphological or electrophysiological properties may not reflect adult neurons, which may be important in neurodegenerative diseases. This paper aims to develop a method for preparing isolated cell cultures of medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) from adult mice and describe its morphological and electrophysiological properties.Materials and methods: Vestibular nucleus neurons were mechanically and enzymatically isolated and cultured using a defined medium with known growth factors. Cell survival was measured with propidium iodide, and electrophysiological properties were investigated with current-clamp recording.Results: Vestibular neurons grew neurites in cultures, gaining adult-like morphological properties, and stayed viable for 3 days in culture. Adding bovine calf serum, nerve growth factor, or insulin-like growth factor into the culture medium enhanced neuronal viability. Current-clamp recording of the cultured neurons revealed tonic and phasic-type neurons with similar input resistance, resting membrane potential, action potential amplitude, and duration. Conclusion: Vestibular neurons from adult mice can be cultured, and regenerate axons in a medium containing appropriate growth factors. Culturing adult vestibular neurons provides a new method to study age-related pathologies of the vestibular system.

A review of the interrelationship between vestibular dysfunction ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

functions, the effect of rehabilitation focused on the functioning of a specific canal, and the effect of different rehabilitation programmes on different vestibular deficiencies are suggested. Keywords: Vestibular dysfunction; Motor development; Learning disabilities; Posture; Rehabilitation and exercises. South African Journal ...

Galvanic corrosion of beryllium welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, M.A.; Butt, D.P.; Lillard, R.S.

1997-01-01

Beryllium is difficult to weld because it is highly susceptible to cracking. The most commonly used filler metal in beryllium welds is Al-12 wt.% Si. Beryllium has been successfully welded using Al-Si filler metal with more than 30 wt.% Al. This filler creates an aluminum-rich fusion zone with a low melting point that tends to backfill cracks. Drawbacks to adding a filler metal include a reduction in service temperature, a lowering of the tensile strength of the weld, and the possibility for galvanic corrosion to occur at the weld. To evaluate the degree of interaction between Be and Al-Si in an actual weld, sections from a mock beryllium weldment were exposed to 0.1 M Cl - solution. Results indicate that the galvanic couple between Be and the Al-Si weld material results in the cathodic protection of the weld and of the anodic dissolution of the bulk Be material. While the cathodic protection of Al is generally inefficient, the high anodic dissolution rate of the bulk Be during pitting corrosion combined with the insulating properties of the Be oxide afford some protection of the Al-Si weld material. Although dissolution of the Be precipitate in the weld material does occur, no corrosion of the Al-Si matrix was observed

Electrocatalysts Prepared by Galvanic Replacement

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Athanasios Papaderakis

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Galvanic replacement is the spontaneous replacement of surface layers of a metal, M, by a more noble metal, Mnoble, when the former is treated with a solution containing the latter in ionic form, according to the general replacement reaction: nM + mMnoblen+ → nMm+ + mMnoble. The reaction is driven by the difference in the equilibrium potential of the two metal/metal ion redox couples and, to avoid parasitic cathodic processes such as oxygen reduction and (in some cases hydrogen evolution too, both oxygen levels and the pH must be optimized. The resulting bimetallic material can in principle have a Mnoble-rich shell and M-rich core (denoted as Mnoble(M leading to a possible decrease in noble metal loading and the modification of its properties by the underlying metal M. This paper reviews a number of bimetallic or ternary electrocatalytic materials prepared by galvanic replacement for fuel cell, electrolysis and electrosynthesis reactions. These include oxygen reduction, methanol, formic acid and ethanol oxidation, hydrogen evolution and oxidation, oxygen evolution, borohydride oxidation, and halide reduction. Methods for depositing the precursor metal M on the support material (electrodeposition, electroless deposition, photodeposition as well as the various options for the support are also reviewed.

Contribution to the study of the influence of zinc bath composition on corrosion resistance of coatings obtained by galvanization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabrillac, Claude

1969-01-01

This research thesis deals with the influence of zinc purity on the corrosion resistance of a coating obtained by galvanization, and on its effect on cathodic protection. This study therefore addresses methods and tests processes (notably salt spray test) aiming at assessing the efficiency of steel protection by hot galvanization, and aims at highlighting the influence of galvanization bath purity or composition on corrosion resistance of galvanized layers

Zinc toxicity among galvanization workers in the iron and steel industry.

Science.gov (United States)

El Safty, Amal; El Mahgoub, Khalid; Helal, Sawsan; Abdel Maksoud, Neveen

2008-10-01

Galvanization is the process of coating steel or cast iron pieces with zinc, allowing complete protection against corrosion. The ultimate goal of this work was to assess the effect of occupational exposure to zinc in the galvanization process on different metals in the human body and to detect the association between zinc exposure and its effect on the respiratory system. This study was conducted in 111 subjects in one of the major companies in the iron and steel industry. There were 61 subjects (workers) who were involved in the galvanization process. Fifty adult men were chosen as a matched reference group from other departments of the company. All workers were interviewed using a special questionnaire on occupational history and chest diseases. Ventilatory functions and chest X rays were assessed in all examined workers. Also, complete blood counts were performed, and serum zinc, iron, copper, calcium, and magnesium levels were tested. This study illustrated the relation between zinc exposure in the galvanization process and high zinc levels among exposed workers, which was associated with a high prevalence rate of metal fume fever (MFF) and low blood copper and calcium levels. There was no statistically significant difference between the exposed and control groups with regards to the magnesium level. No long-term effect of metals exposure was detected on ventilatory functions or chest X rays among the exposed workers.

Laboratory studies of galvanic corrosion. III. Effect of velocity in NaCl and substitute ocean water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansfeld, F.; Kenkel, J.V.

1977-01-01

The galvanic corrosion behavior of 4340 steel coupled to Type 304 stainless steel, Cu, Ti-6Al-4V, Al 2024, Al 6061, and zinc has been studied in 3.5 percent NaCl and ASTM substitute ocean water as a function of velocity using a rotating galvanic couple electrode holder. For steel coupled to Type 304 stainless steel, Cu or Ti, the galvanic current generally increases proportional to the square root of the rotation speed in both media. The increase is, however, smaller in the substitute ocean water. For couples involving Al alloys and Zn, the galvanic current has a more complicated dependence on velocity in substitute ocean water than in 3.5 percent NaCl

Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential elicited from binaural air-conducted stimulations: clinical feasibility in patients with peripheral vestibular dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwasaki, Shinichi; Egami, Naoya; Inoue, Aki; Kinoshita, Makoto; Fujimoto, Chisato; Murofushi, Toshihisa; Yamasoba, Tatsuya

2013-07-01

Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs) to binaural air-conducted stimulation (ACS) may provide a convenient way of assessing the crossed vestibulo-ocular reflex in patients with vestibular dysfunction as well as in healthy subjects. To investigate the clinical feasibility of using oVEMPs in response to binaural ACS to assess normal subjects and patients with vestibular dysfunction. The study investigated 24 normal subjects (14 men and 10 women, aged from 23 to 60 years) and 14 patients with unilateral peripheral vestibular dysfunction. Each subject underwent oVEMP testing in response to monaural ACS and binaural ACS (500 Hz tone burst, 135 dBSPL). In normal subjects, bilateral oVEMPs were elicited in 75% of subjects in response to monaural ACS and in 91% in response to binaural ACS. Asymmetry ratios (ARs) of the responses to binaural ACS were significantly smaller than those of the responses to monaural ACS (p binaural ACS. Approximately 30% of patients showed reduced ARs to binaural ACS relative to monaural ACS, primarily due to contamination by uncrossed responses elicited in healthy ears.

Cosmology and the Sinusoidal Potential

Science.gov (United States)

Bartlett, David F.

2006-06-01

The nature of dark matter (and dark energy) remains a mystery. An alternative is being explored by several scientists: changing Newton's (and Einstein's) field equations. The sinusoidal potential is the latest attempt[1]. Here the gravitational law is alternately attractive and repulsive:φ = -GM cos(kor)/r, where λo=2π/ko = 1/20 of the distance from the sun to the center of the Milky Way. The proposal accommodates several structural features of the Milky Way including, paradoxically, its spiral shape and flat rotation curve. The sinusoidal potential's unique feature is strong galactic tidal forces (dg/dr). These may explain why the new planetoid Sedna is securely between the Kuiper Belt and the Oort cloud and why distant comets are more influenced by galactic tides that are in the r, rather than the z-direction.At this meeting I discuss the consequences of the sinusoidal potential for cosmology. Here the alternation of attraction and repulsion gives (i) an open universe, and (ii) gravitational lensing which is usually weak, but occasionally very strong. An open universe is one that, asymptotically, has a size R which varies directly as time t. The open universe conflicts both with the old Einstein-deSitter model (R α t2/3} and the new accelerating one. The evidence for an accelerating universe decisively rejects the Einstein-deSitter model. The rejection of an open (or empty) universe is less secure. This rejection is influenced by the different ways the groups studying the brightness of supernovae use the HST. Surprising additional inputs include neutrino masses, the equivalence principle, LSB galaxies, and "over-luminous" Sn1a. I thank Mostafa Jon Dadras and Patrick Motl for early help and John Cumalat for continual support. [1] D.F. Bartlett, "Analogies between electricity and gravity", Metrologia 41, S115-S124 (2004).

Otolith-Canal Convergence In Vestibular Nuclei Neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Dickman, J. David; Si, Xiao-Hong

2002-01-01

The current final report covers the period from June 1, 1999 to May 31, 2002. The primary objective of the investigation was to determine how information regarding head movements and head position relative to gravity is received and processed by central vestibular nuclei neurons in the brainstem. Specialized receptors in the vestibular labyrinths of the inner ear function to detect angular and linear accelerations of the head, with receptors located in the semicircular canals transducing rotational head movements and receptors located in the otolith organs transducing changes in head position relative to gravity or linear accelerations of the head. The information from these different receptors is then transmitted to central vestibular nuclei neurons which process the input signals, then project the appropriate output information to the eye, head, and body musculature motor neurons to control compensatory reflexes. Although a number of studies have reported on the responsiveness of vestibular nuclei neurons, it has not yet been possible to determine precisely how these cells combine the information from the different angular and linear acceleration receptors into a correct neural output signal. In the present project, rotational and linear motion stimuli were separately delivered while recording responses from vestibular nuclei neurons that were characterized according to direct input from the labyrinth and eye movement sensitivity. Responses from neurons receiving convergent input from the semicircular canals and otolith organs were quantified and compared to non-convergent neurons.

Cold metal transfer spot plug welding of AA6061-T6-to-galvanized steel for automotive applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, R.; Huang, Q.; Chen, J.H.; Wang, Pei-Chung

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Two Al-to-galvanized steel spot plug welding joints were studied by CMT method. • The optimum process variables for the two joints were gotten by orthogonal test. • Connection mechanism of the two joints were discussed. -- Abstract: In this study, cold metal transfer (CMT) spot plug joining of 1 mm thick Al AA6061-T6 to 1 mm thick galvanized steel (i.e., Q235) was studied. Welding variables were optimized for a plug weld in the center of a 25 mm overlap region with aluminum 4043 wire and 100% argon shielding gas. Microstructures and elemental distributions were characterized by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. Mechanical testing of CMT spot plug welded joints was conducted. It was found that it is feasible to join Al AA6061T6-to-galvanized steel by CMT spot plug welding method. The process variables for two joints with Al AA6061T6-to-galvanized mild steel and galvanized mild steel-to-Al AA6061T6 are optimized. The strength of CMT spot welded Al AA6061T6-to-galvanized mild steel is determined primarily by the strength and area of the brazed interface. While, the strength of the galvanized mild steel-to-Al AA6061T6 joint is mainly dependent upon the area of the weld metal

Refractory episodic vertigo: role of intratympanic gentamicin and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials,

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erika Celis-Aguilar

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Even today, the treatment of intractable vertigo remains a challenge. Vestibular ablation with intratympanic gentamicin stands as a good alternative in the management of refractory vertigo patients. Objective: To control intractable vertigo through complete saccular and horizontal canal vestibular ablation with intratympanic gentamicin treatment. Methods: Patients with refractory episodic vertigo were included. The inclusion criteria were: unilateral ear disease, moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss, and failure to other treatments. Included patients underwent 0.5-0.8 mL of gentamicin intratympanic application at a 30 mg/mL concentration. Vestibular ablation was confirmed by the absence of response on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and no response on caloric tests. Audiometry, electronystagmography with iced water, and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials were performed in all patients. Results: Ten patients were included; nine patients with Meniere's disease and one patient with (late onset delayed hydrops. Nine patients showed an absent response on vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and no response on caloric tests. The only patient with low amplitude on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials had vertigo recurrence. Vertigo control was achieved in 90% of the patients. One patient developed hearing loss >30 dB. Conclusions: Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials confirmed vestibular ablation in patients treated with intratympanic gentamicin. High-grade vertigo control was due to complete saccular and horizontal canal ablation (no response to iced water in electronystagmography and no response on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials.

Vertigo with sudden hearing loss: audio-vestibular characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Pogson, Jacob M; Taylor, Rachael L; Young, Allison S; McGarvie, Leigh A; Flanagan, Sean; Halmagyi, G Michael; Welgampola, Miriam S

2016-10-01

Acute vertigo with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a rare clinical emergency. Here, we report the audio-vestibular test profiles of 27 subjects who presented with these symptoms. The vestibular test battery consisted of a three-dimensional video head impulse test (vHIT) of semicircular canal function and recording ocular and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP, cVEMP) to test otolith dysfunction. Unlike vestibular neuritis, where the horizontal and anterior canals with utricular function are more frequently impaired, 74 % of subjects with vertigo and SSNHL demonstrated impairment of the posterior canal gain (0.45 ± 0.20). Only 41 % showed impairment of the horizontal canal gains (0.78 ± 0.27) and 30 % of the anterior canal gains (0.79 ± 0.26), while 38 % of oVEMPs [asymmetry ratio (AR) = 41.0 ± 41.3 %] and 33 % of cVEMPs (AR = 47.3 ± 41.2 %) were significantly asymmetrical. Twenty-three subjects were diagnosed with labyrinthitis/labyrinthine infarction in the absence of evidence for an underlying pathology. Four subjects had a definitive diagnosis [Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, vestibular schwannoma, anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) infarction, and traction injury]. Ischemia involving the common-cochlear or vestibulo-cochlear branches of the labyrinthine artery could be the simplest explanation for vertigo with SSNHL. Audio-vestibular tests did not provide easy separation between ischaemic and non-ischaemic causes of vertigo with SSNHL.

Vestibular signals in primate cortex for self-motion perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Yong

2018-04-21

The vestibular peripheral organs in our inner ears detect transient motion of the head in everyday life. This information is sent to the central nervous system for automatic processes such as vestibulo-ocular reflexes, balance and postural control, and higher cognitive functions including perception of self-motion and spatial orientation. Recent neurophysiological studies have discovered a prominent vestibular network in the primate cerebral cortex. Many of the areas involved are multisensory: their neurons are modulated by both vestibular signals and visual optic flow, potentially facilitating more robust heading estimation through cue integration. Combining psychophysics, computation, physiological recording and causal manipulation techniques, recent work has addressed both the encoding and decoding of vestibular signals for self-motion perception. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

77 FR 17430 - Galvanized Steel Wire From the People's Republic of China: Final Determination of Sales at Less...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-26

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-570-975] Galvanized Steel Wire From... Determination of sales at less than fair value (``LTFV'') in the antidumping investigation of galvanized steel... galvanized steel wire from the PRC is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at LTFV, as...

76 FR 72721 - Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico; Scheduling of the Final Phase of Countervailing Duty...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-25

...)] Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico; Scheduling of the Final Phase of Countervailing Duty and... galvanized steel wire, provided for in subheading 7217.20 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United... merchandise as galvanized steel wire which is a cold- drawn carbon quality steel product in coils, of solid...

Vestibular dysfunction in Turner syndrome: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Baxter, Michael; Agrawal, Yuri

2014-02-01

Turner syndrome is a well-known cause of sensorineural hearing loss, and the lack of estrogen has been implicated in cochlear dysfunction. It has never been associated with vestibular dysfunction. We report a case of a patient with Turner syndrome who was found to have bilateral vestibular dysfunction based on video-oculography (VOG) testing. A single patient with a history of Turner syndrome who was found to have significant bilateral vestibular dysfunction. After noticing a deficit in the vestibulo-ocular reflexes on qualitative horizontal head impulse examination, the patient underwent VOG testing. VOG testing quantatively measures angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (AVOR) gain in the horizontal semicircular canal plane. AVOR gain represents the eye movement response to a head movement; in normal individuals the eye movement is fully compensatory and gain values are close to unity. VOG results showed AVOR gains of 0.29 and 0.36 on the right and left sides, respectively. We have presented a case of a woman with Turner syndrome with asymptomatic vestibular dysfunction demonstrated with VOG testing. Although there is a documented relationship between Turner syndrome and sensorineural hearing loss, there are no previous studies or case reports linking Turner syndrome and vestibular dysfunction. Additional research and added vigilance in monitoring Turner syndrome patients may be warranted.

Vestibular brain changes within 70 days of head down bed rest.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Peng; Koppelmans, Vincent; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia; De Dios, Yiri; Gadd, Nichole; Wood, Scott; Riascos, Roy; Kofman, Igor; Bloomberg, Jacob; Mulavara, Ajitkumar; Seidler, Rachael

2018-03-12

Head-down-tilt bed rest (HDBR) is frequently utilized as a spaceflight analog research environment to study the effects of axial body unloading and fluid shifts that are associated with spaceflight in the absence of gravitational modifications. HDBR has been shown to result in balance changes, presumably due to sensory reweighting and adaptation processes. Here, we examined whether HDBR results in changes in the neural correlates of vestibular processing. Thirteen men participated in a 70-day HDBR intervention; we measured balance, functional mobility, and functional brain activity in response to vestibular stimulation at 7 time points before, during, and after HDBR. Vestibular stimulation was administered by means of skull taps, resulting in activation of the vestibular cortex and deactivation of the cerebellar, motor, and somatosensory cortices. Activation in the bilateral insular cortex, part of the vestibular network, gradually increased across the course of HDBR, suggesting an upregulation of vestibular inputs in response to the reduced somatosensory inputs experienced during bed rest. Furthermore, greater increase of activation in multiple frontal, parietal, and occipital regions in response to vestibular stimulation during HDBR was associated with greater decrements in balance and mobility from before to after HDBR, suggesting reduced neural efficiency. These findings shed light on neuroplastic changes occurring with conditions of altered sensory inputs, and reveal the potential for central vestibular-somatosensory convergence and reweighting with bed rest. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evaluation of the chemical model of vestibular lesions induced by arsanilate in rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vignaux, G.; Chabbert, C.; Gaboyard-Niay, S.; Travo, C.; Machado, M.L.; Denise, P.; Comoz, F.; Hitier, M.; Landemore, G.; Philoxène, B.; Besnard, S.

2012-01-01

Several animal models of vestibular deficits that mimic the human pathology phenotype have previously been developed to correlate the degree of vestibular injury to cognate vestibular deficits in a time-dependent manner. Sodium arsanilate is one of the most commonly used substances for chemical vestibular lesioning, but it is not well described in the literature. In the present study, we used histological and functional approaches to conduct a detailed exploration of the model of vestibular lesions induced by transtympanic injection of sodium arsanilate in rats. The arsanilate-induced damage was restricted to the vestibular sensory organs without affecting the external ear, the oropharynx, or Scarpa's ganglion. This finding strongly supports the absence of diffusion of arsanilate into the external ear or Eustachian tubes, or through the eighth cranial nerve sheath leading to the brainstem. One of the striking observations of the present study is the complete restructuring of the sensory epithelia into a non sensory epithelial monolayer observed at 3 months after arsanilate application. This atrophy resembles the monolayer epithelia observed postmortem in the vestibular epithelia of patients with a history of lesioned vestibular deficits such as labyrinthectomy, antibiotic treatment, vestibular neuritis, or Ménière's disease. In cases of Ménière's disease, aminoglycosides, and platinum-based chemotherapy, vestibular hair cells are destroyed, regardless of the physiopathological process, as reproduced with the arsanilate model of vestibular lesion. These observations, together with those presented in this study of arsanilate vestibular toxicity, suggest that this atrophy process relies on a common mechanism of degeneration of the sensory epithelia.

Influence of cochlear implantation on peripheral vestibular receptor function.

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Eike; Louza, Julia P R; Wechtenbruch, Juliane; Gürkov, Robert

2010-06-01

The objectives of this study were 1) to assess the influence of a cochlear implantation on peripheral vestibular receptor function in the inner ear in the implant and in the nonimplant side, and 2) to analyze a possible correlation with resulting vertigo symptoms. Prospective clinical study. Cochlear implant center at tertiary referral hospital. A total of 32 patients, aged 15 to 83 years, undergoing cochlear implantation were assessed pre- and postoperatively for caloric horizontal semicircular canal response and vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials of the sacculus, and postoperatively for subjective vertigo symptoms. Patients with vertigo were compared with patients without symptoms with regard to the findings of the vestibular function tests. Cochlear implantation represents a significant risk factor for horizontal semicircular canal impairment (P 0.05). Cochlear implantation is a relevant risk factor for damage of peripheral vestibular receptor function. Therefore, preservation not only of residual hearing function but also of vestibular function should be aimed for, by using minimally invasive surgical techniques. Copyright 2010 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of stripping and cooling atmospheres on surface properties and corrosion of zinc galvanizing coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yasakau, K.A., E-mail: kyasakau@ua.pt [Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Giner, I. [Universität Paderborn, Fakultät NW—Department Chemie, Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie, Warburger Strasse 100, D-33098 Paderborn (Germany); Vree, C. [Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung, GmbH Division Surface Technology, Eisenhüttenstrasse 99, 38239 Salzgitter (Germany); Ozcan, O.; Grothe, R. [Universität Paderborn, Fakultät NW—Department Chemie, Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie, Warburger Strasse 100, D-33098 Paderborn (Germany); Oliveira, A. [Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Grundmeier, G. [Universität Paderborn, Fakultät NW—Department Chemie, Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie, Warburger Strasse 100, D-33098 Paderborn (Germany); Ferreira, M.G.S. [Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Zheludkevich, M.L. [Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Department of Corrosion and Surface Technology, Institute of Materials Research Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Max-Planck Str. 1, 21502 Geesthacht (Germany)

2016-12-15

Highlights: • Stripping/cooling atmosphere affects surfaces chemical composition of Zn and Zn-Al-Mg galvanized coatings. • Higher peel forces of model adhesive films were obtained on zinc alloys samples prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. • Localized corrosion attack originates at grain boundaries on Zn galvanized coating. • Visible dissolution of MgZn{sub 2} phase was observed by in situ AFM only at binary eutectics and not at ternary ones. - Abstract: In this work the influence of stripping/cooling atmospheres used after withdrawal of steel sheet from Zn or Zn-alloy melt on surface properties of Zn (Z) and Zn-Al-Mg (ZM) hot-dip galvanizing coatings has been studied. The aim was to understand how the atmosphere (composed by nitrogen (N{sub 2}) or air) affects adhesion strength to model adhesive and corrosive behaviour of the galvanized substrates. It was shown that the surface chemical composition and Volta potential of the galvanizing coatings prepared under the air or nitrogen atmosphere are strongly influenced by the atmosphere. The surface chemistry Z and ZM surfaces prepared under N{sub 2} contained a higher content of metal atoms and a richer hydroxide density than the specimens prepared under air atmosphere as assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The induced differences on the microstructure of the galvanized coatings played a key role on the local corrosion induced defects as observed by means of in situ Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Peel force tests performed on the substrates coated by model adhesive films indicate a higher adhesive strength to the surfaces prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. The obtained results have been discussed in terms of the microstructure and surface chemical composition of the galvanizing coatings.

Galvanic and stress corrosion of copper canisters in repository environment. A short review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermansson, H.P.; Koenig, M.

2001-02-01

The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, SKI, has studied different aspects of canister and copper corrosion as part of the general improvement of the knowledge base within the area. General and local corrosion has earlier been treated by experiments as well as by thermodynamic calculations. For completeness also galvanic and stress corrosion should be treated. The present work is a short review, intended to indicate areas needing further focus. The work consists of two parts, the first of which contains a judgement of statements concerning risk of galvanic corrosion of copper in the repository. The second part concerns threshold values for the stress intensity factor of stress corrosion in copper. A suggestion is given on how such values possibly could be measured for copper at repository conditions. In early investigations by SKB, galvanic corrosion is not mentioned or at least not treated. In later works it is treated but often in a theoretical way without indications of any further treatment or investigation. Several pieces of work indicate that further investigations are required to ensure that different types of corrosion, like galvanic, cannot occur in the repository environment. There are for example effects of grain size, grain boundary conditions, impurities and other factors that could influence the appearance of galvanic corrosion that are not treated. Those factors have to be considered to be completely sure that galvanic corrosion and related effects does not occur for the actual canister in the specific environment of the repository. The circumstances are so specific, that a rather general discussion indicating that galvanic corrosion is not probable just is not enough. Experiments should also be performed for verification. It is concluded that the following specific areas, amongst others, could benefit from further consideration. Galvanic corrosion of unbreached copper by inhomogeneities in the environment and in the copper metal should be addressed

Galvanic and stress corrosion of copper canisters in repository environment. A short review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hermansson, H.P.; Koenig, M. [Studsvik Nuclear AB, Nykoeping (Sweden)

2001-02-01

The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, SKI, has studied different aspects of canister and copper corrosion as part of the general improvement of the knowledge base within the area. General and local corrosion has earlier been treated by experiments as well as by thermodynamic calculations. For completeness also galvanic and stress corrosion should be treated. The present work is a short review, intended to indicate areas needing further focus. The work consists of two parts, the first of which contains a judgement of statements concerning risk of galvanic corrosion of copper in the repository. The second part concerns threshold values for the stress intensity factor of stress corrosion in copper. A suggestion is given on how such values possibly could be measured for copper at repository conditions. In early investigations by SKB, galvanic corrosion is not mentioned or at least not treated. In later works it is treated but often in a theoretical way without indications of any further treatment or investigation. Several pieces of work indicate that further investigations are required to ensure that different types of corrosion, like galvanic, cannot occur in the repository environment. There are for example effects of grain size, grain boundary conditions, impurities and other factors that could influence the appearance of galvanic corrosion that are not treated. Those factors have to be considered to be completely sure that galvanic corrosion and related effects does not occur for the actual canister in the specific environment of the repository. The circumstances are so specific, that a rather general discussion indicating that galvanic corrosion is not probable just is not enough. Experiments should also be performed for verification. It is concluded that the following specific areas, amongst others, could benefit from further consideration. Galvanic corrosion of unbreached copper by inhomogeneities in the environment and in the copper metal should be addressed

Converter for Measurement of non-sinusoidal current peak value

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Butvin, P.; Nielsen, Otto V; Brauer, Peter

1997-01-01

A linear-response toroid with core wound of rapidly quenched soft magnetic metallic ribbon and fitted with two windings is used to enable correct measurement of mean peak value of non-sinusoidal and not noise-free alternating current.......A linear-response toroid with core wound of rapidly quenched soft magnetic metallic ribbon and fitted with two windings is used to enable correct measurement of mean peak value of non-sinusoidal and not noise-free alternating current....

Deformation and fatigue behavior of hot dip galvanized coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camurri, Carlos P.; Benavente, Raul G.; Roa, Isidoro S.; Carrasco, Claudia C.

2005-01-01

This paper reports on the results of a study of the effect of static and dynamic stresses on hot dip galvanized coatings on SAE 1020 steel substrates. Galvanizing was performed using baths maintained at 450 deg. C, the zinc containing 0.16% Ti and 0.02% Fe and with Al and Ni in the ranges 0-0.20% and 0-0.30%, respectively. Static three-point bend tests were conducted with applied stresses in the range 428-790 MPa. Dynamic bend-fatigue tests involved stresses in the range 228-578 MPa at a cyclic frequency of 0.25 Hz for up to 700 cycles. The total crack density in the coatings was measured before and after the tests using light optical and electron microscopy. The results showed that the crack density increased as the applied stress increased and crack propagation was promoted perpendicular to the substrate. The number of cycles had no effect on the crack density and propagation at stresses lower than 386 MPa. At higher stresses the number of applied cycles contributed only to crack propagation. It was concluded that the best bath composition for preventing fatigue crack propagation is one that minimized the formation of thinner brittle layers in the galvanized coatings

Potencial evocado miogênico vestibular a baixas frequências de estimulação Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials using low frequency stimuli

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline Cabral de Oliveira

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Os potenciais evocados miogênicos vestibulares são reflexos vestíbulo-cervicais, decorrentes da estimulação do sáculo com sons de forte intensidade. São necessários parâmetros de normalidade para indivíduos jovens normais, utilizando-se estímulos a baixas frequências, as quais configuram a região de maior sensibilidade desse órgão sensorial. OBJETIVO: Realizar normatização do potencial evocado miogênico vestibular para baixas frequências de estimulação. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Captou-se o potencial evocado miogênico vestibular em 160 orelhas, no músculo esternocleidomastoideo, de forma ipsilateral, por meio da promediação de 200 tone bursts, frequência de 250 Hz, intensidade de 95 dB NAn. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Estudo de coorte contemporânea com corte transversal. RESULTADOS: Aplicando-se o teste T de Student ou o Teste de Mann-Whitney, não foi constatada diferença significativa para parâmetros do potencial evocado miogênico vestibular entre os gêneros, para p Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials are vestibulocervical reflexes resulting from sacculus stimulation with strong intensity sounds. Normality parameters are necessary for young normal individuals, using low frequency stimuli, which configure the most sensitive region of this sensory organ. AIM: To establish vestibular evoked myogenic potential standards for low frequency stimulation. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Vestibular evoked myogenic potential was captured from 160 ears, in the ipsilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle, using 200 averaged tone-burst stimuli, at 250 Hz, with an intensity of 95 dB NAn. CASE STUDY: Clinical observational cross-sectional. RESULTS: Neither the student's t-test nor the Mann-Whitney test showed a significant difference in latency or vestibular evoked myogenic potential amplitudes, for p <; 0.05. Irrespective of gender, we found latencies of p13-n23 and p13-n23 interpeaks of 13.84 ms (± 1.41, 23.81 ms (±1.99 and 10.62 ms (± 6.56, respectively

Morphology and electrophysiology of the vestibular organ in the guinea pig

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oei, Markus Lee Yang Murti

2003-01-01

To obtain more information about the anatomy and function of the vestibular organ in normal and pathological conditions, evaluation methods are needed. For experimental purposes, the vestibular organ of the guinea pig is often used as a model for the human vestibular organ. The purpose of the

Pesquisa da função vestibular em crianças com queixa de dificuldades escolares Vestibular function in children underperforming at school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eloisa Sartori Franco

2008-12-01

Full Text Available O aprendizado é um processo complexo, dinâmico, estruturado a partir de um ato motor e perceptivo, que, elaborado corticalmente, dá origem à cognição. O equilíbrio é função neurológica importante para a manutenção de posturas adequadas, imprescindíveis no ato de aprender, indicativo de maturidade neurológica. OBJETIVO: Estudar a função vestibular em crianças com dificuldades escolares. ESTUDO DE CASO: Estudo clínico com coorte transversal. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Foram estudadas 88 crianças entre 7 e 12 anos, que freqüentavam escolas públicas da cidade de Piracicaba durante os anos de 2004 e 2006. Os procedimentos utilizados foram: a anamnese; exame otorrinolaringológico; exame audiológico e avaliação vestibular. RESULTADOS: Das crianças avaliadas, 51,0% não relataram dificuldades escolares e 49,0% referiram ter dificuldades escolares. Encontramos 73,3% de exame vestibular normal nas crianças sem dificuldades escolares e 32,6% de normalidade nas crianças com dificuldades escolares. Encontramos alterações vestibulares de origem periférica irritativa tanto unilateral como bilateral, perfazendo um total de 67,4% para as crianças com dificuldades escolares e um total de 26,7% para crianças sem dificuldades escolares. CONCLUSÃO: Todas as alterações vestibulares encontradas foram de origem periférica irritativa. Os dados revelaram uma relação estatisticamente significante nas crianças com dificuldades escolares.Learning is a complex, dynamic process, structured from motor and perception skills which, when cortically processed, give birth to cognition. Balance is a fundamental neurological function that helps us maintain proper postures, an essential factor in learning and a sign or neurologic maturity. AIM: this paper aims to study vestibular function in children underperforming at school. STUDY DESIGN: this is a cross-sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHOD: eighty-eight children with ages ranging between 7 and 12

Reaction kinetics of the formation of intermetallic Fe – Zn during hot - dip galvanizing of steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Pokorny

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This review article mainly describes the composition of intermetallic Fe - Zn, i.e. zeta (ζ, delta (δ1k + δ1p, gamma1 (Γ1 and gamma (Γ on galvanized steel during low temperature galvanization (t ~ 450 °C. It gives detailed the formation, growth of individual phases during galvanization and their interaction. In terms of the kinetics, the formation of the coating is defined by a parabolic kinetic equation of the growth of different intermetallic phases under ideal conditions. From the available literature the rate constants of the formation of individual intermetallic phases and also for the total coating are cited. The composition of the intermetallic phases, iron content, crystal structure, and group symmetry in which the surface of galvanized steel forms.

A neuroscientific account of how vestibular disorders impair bodily self-consciousness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christophe eLopez

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The consequences of vestibular disorders on balance, oculomotor control and self-motion perception have been extensively described in humans and animals. More recently, vestibular disorders have been related to cognitive deficits in spatial navigation and memory tasks. Less frequently, abnormal bodily perceptions have been described in patients with vestibular disorders. Altered forms of bodily self-consciousness include distorted body image and body schema, disembodied self-location (out-of-body experience, altered sense of agency, as well as more complex experiences of dissociation and detachment from the self (depersonalization. In this article, I suggest that vestibular disorders create sensory conflict or mismatch in multisensory brain regions, producing perceptual incoherence and abnormal body and self perceptions. This hypothesis is based on recent functional mapping of the human vestibular cortex, showing vestibular projections to the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex and in several multisensory areas found to be crucial for bodily self-consciousness.

Vestibular migraine: clinical and epidemiological aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Galvanic high energy cells with molten electrolytes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borger, W.; Kappus, W.; Kunze, D.; Laig-Hoerstebrock, H.; Panesar, H.; Sterr, G.

1981-01-01

To develop a galvanic cell with molten salt electrolyte for electric vehicle propulsion and load leveling as well as to fabricate ten prototype cells with a capacity of at least 150 Ah (5 hour rate) and an energy density of 80 Wh/kg was the objective of this project.

Refractory episodic vertigo: role of intratympanic gentamicin and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Celis-Aguilar, Erika; Hinojosa-González, Ramon; Vales-Hidalgo, Olivia; Coutinho-Toledo, Heloisa

Even today, the treatment of intractable vertigo remains a challenge. Vestibular ablation with intratympanic gentamicin stands as a good alternative in the management of refractory vertigo patients. To control intractable vertigo through complete saccular and horizontal canal vestibular ablation with intratympanic gentamicin treatment. Patients with refractory episodic vertigo were included. The inclusion criteria were: unilateral ear disease, moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss, and failure to other treatments. Included patients underwent 0.5-0.8mL of gentamicin intratympanic application at a 30mg/mL concentration. Vestibular ablation was confirmed by the absence of response on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and no response on caloric tests. Audiometry, electronystagmography with iced water, and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials were performed in all patients. Ten patients were included; nine patients with Meniere's disease and one patient with (late onset) delayed hydrops. Nine patients showed an absent response on vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and no response on caloric tests. The only patient with low amplitude on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials had vertigo recurrence. Vertigo control was achieved in 90% of the patients. One patient developed hearing loss >30dB. Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials confirmed vestibular ablation in patients treated with intratympanic gentamicin. High-grade vertigo control was due to complete saccular and horizontal canal ablation (no response to iced water in electronystagmography and no response on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials). Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Effect of hot dip galvanization on the fatigue strength of steel bolted connections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.M.J. Razavi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Hot dip galvanized steel bolted joints has been tested under fatigue loading to evaluate the effect of galvanizing coating on the fatigue strength of S355 structural steel. The experimental results showed that the decrease of the fatigue life of coated specimens in comparison with that of uncoated joints is very limited and the results are in good agreement with Eurocode detail category, without substantial reductions. The procedure for coating and preparation of the bolted joints is described in detail in this paper providing a useful tool for engineers involved in similar practical applications. The experimental results are compared with the previously published data on central hole notched galvanized and not treated specimens characterized by the same geometry.

A Galvanic Coupling Method for Assessing Hydration Rates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clement Ogugua Asogwa

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Recent advances in biomedical sensors, data acquisition techniques, microelectronics and wireless communication systems opened up the use of wearable technology for ehealth monitoring. We introduce a galvanic coupled intrabody communication for monitoring human body hydration. Studies in hydration provide the information necessary for understanding the desired fluid levels for optimal performance of the body’s physiological and metabolic processes during exercise and activities of daily living. Current measurement techniques are mostly suitable for laboratory purposes due to their complexity and technical requirements. Less technical methods such as urine color observation and skin turgor testing are subjective and cannot be integrated into a wearable device. Bioelectrical impedance methods are popular but mostly used for estimating total body water with limited accuracy and sensitive to 800 mL–1000 mL change in body fluid levels. We introduce a non-intrusive and simple method of tracking hydration rates that can detect up to 1.30 dB reduction in attenuation when as little as 100 mL of water is consumed. Our results show that galvanic coupled intrabody signal propagation can provide qualitative hydration and dehydration rates in line with changes in an individual’s urine specific gravity and body mass. The real-time changes in galvanic coupled intrabody signal attenuation can be integrated into wearable electronic devices to evaluate body fluid levels on a particular area of interest and can aid diagnosis and treatment of fluid disorders such as lymphoedema.

Evaluation of the chemical model of vestibular lesions induced by arsanilate in rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vignaux, G. [INSERM, ERI27, Caen, F-14000 (France); Univ Caen, Caen, F-14000 (France); Chabbert, C.; Gaboyard-Niay, S.; Travo, C. [INSERM U1051, Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier, Montpellier, F-34090,France (France); Machado, M.L. [INSERM, ERI27, Caen, F-14000 (France); Univ Caen, Caen, F-14000 (France); Denise, P. [INSERM, ERI27, Caen, F-14000 (France); Univ Caen, Caen, F-14000 (France); CHRU Caen, Explorations Fonctionnelles, Caen, F-14000 (France); Comoz, F. [CHRU Caen, Laboratoire d' anatomopathologie, Caen, F-14000 (France); Hitier, M. [CHRU Caen, Service d' Otorhinolaryngologie, Caen, F-14000,France (France); Landemore, G. [CHRU Caen, Laboratoire d' anatomopathologie, Caen, F-14000 (France); Philoxène, B. [INSERM, ERI27, Caen, F-14000 (France); Univ Caen, Caen, F-14000 (France); CHRU Caen, Explorations Fonctionnelles, Caen, F-14000 (France); Besnard, S., E-mail: besnard-s@phycog.org [INSERM, ERI27, Caen, F-14000 (France); Univ Caen, Caen, F-14000 (France); CHRU Caen, Explorations Fonctionnelles, Caen, F-14000 (France)

2012-01-01

Several animal models of vestibular deficits that mimic the human pathology phenotype have previously been developed to correlate the degree of vestibular injury to cognate vestibular deficits in a time-dependent manner. Sodium arsanilate is one of the most commonly used substances for chemical vestibular lesioning, but it is not well described in the literature. In the present study, we used histological and functional approaches to conduct a detailed exploration of the model of vestibular lesions induced by transtympanic injection of sodium arsanilate in rats. The arsanilate-induced damage was restricted to the vestibular sensory organs without affecting the external ear, the oropharynx, or Scarpa's ganglion. This finding strongly supports the absence of diffusion of arsanilate into the external ear or Eustachian tubes, or through the eighth cranial nerve sheath leading to the brainstem. One of the striking observations of the present study is the complete restructuring of the sensory epithelia into a non sensory epithelial monolayer observed at 3 months after arsanilate application. This atrophy resembles the monolayer epithelia observed postmortem in the vestibular epithelia of patients with a history of lesioned vestibular deficits such as labyrinthectomy, antibiotic treatment, vestibular neuritis, or Ménière's disease. In cases of Ménière's disease, aminoglycosides, and platinum-based chemotherapy, vestibular hair cells are destroyed, regardless of the physiopathological process, as reproduced with the arsanilate model of vestibular lesion. These observations, together with those presented in this study of arsanilate vestibular toxicity, suggest that this atrophy process relies on a common mechanism of degeneration of the sensory epithelia.

Effectiveness of conventional versus virtual reality-based balance exercises in vestibular rehabilitation for unilateral peripheral vestibular loss: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Meldrum, Dara; Herdman, Susan; Vance, Roisin; Murray, Deirdre; Malone, Kareena; Duffy, Douglas; Glennon, Aine; McConn-Walsh, Rory

2015-07-01

To compare the effectiveness of virtual reality-based balance exercises to conventional balance exercises during vestibular rehabilitation in patients with unilateral peripheral vestibular loss (UVL). Assessor-blind, randomized controlled trial. Two acute care university teaching hospitals. Patients with UVL (N=71) who had dizziness/vertigo, and gait and balance impairment. Patients with UVL were randomly assigned to receive 6 weeks of either conventional (n=36) or virtual reality-based (n=35) balance exercises during vestibular rehabilitation. The virtual reality-based group received an off-the-shelf virtual reality gaming system for home exercise, and the conventional group received a foam balance mat. Treatment comprised weekly visits to a physiotherapist and a daily home exercise program. The primary outcome was self-preferred gait speed. Secondary outcomes included other gait parameters and tasks, Sensory Organization Test (SOT), dynamic visual acuity, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Vestibular Rehabilitation Benefits Questionnaire, and Activities Balance Confidence Questionnaire. The subjective experience of vestibular rehabilitation was measured with a questionnaire. Both groups improved, but there were no significant differences in gait speed between the groups postintervention (mean difference, -.03m/s; 95% confidence interval [CI], -.09 to .02m/s). There were also no significant differences between the groups in SOT scores (mean difference, .82%; 95% CI, -5.00% to 6.63%) or on any of the other secondary outcomes (P>.05). In both groups, adherence to exercise was high (∼77%), but the virtual reality-based group reported significantly more enjoyment (P=.001), less difficulty with (P=.009) and less tiredness after (P=.03) balance exercises. At 6 months, there were no significant between-group differences in physical outcomes. Virtual reality-based balance exercises performed during vestibular rehabilitation were not superior to conventional balance

Impedance pattern of vaginal and vestibular mucosa in cyclic goats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivo Křivánek

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The changes of vaginal and vestibular impedance during the oestrous cycle in goats were examined. The onset of oestrus was teased with a buck once a day during the experiment. Impedance was mea­sured by a four-terminal method. The vaginal impedance was recorded under slight pressure of electrodes to the vaginal dorsal wall at the cervix. The vestibular impedance was recorded under slight pressure of electrodes to the vestibular dorsal wall 5 cm from the vulva and at the vulva. The im­pe­dan­ce was measured once a day from 4 days before the expected oestrus to 6 days after onset of oestrus. The vaginal impedance at the cervix decreased during pro-oestrus (P < 0.01 and increased du­ring oestrus (P < 0.01. The vestibular impedance 5 cm from the vulva decreased during pro-oestrus (P < 0.01 and increased after oestrus (P < 0.01. The decrease of vaginal impedance during peri-oestrus was nearly twofold in comparison with the vestibular impedance 5 cm from the vulva. No sig­ni­fi­cant decrease of the vestibular impedance at the vulva was found during the oestrous cycle. The results indicate that the vaginal impedance at the cervix and vestibular impedance 5 cm from the vulva measured by means of a four-terminal method during the oestrous cycle display cyclic changes that are closely related to the oestrous behaviour of goats.

Potencial evocado miogênico vestibular ocular: revisão de literatura

OpenAIRE

Silva,Tatiana Rocha; Resende,Luciana Macedo de; Santos,Marco Aurélio Rocha

2016-01-01

RESUMO Objetivo Identificar e sistematizar os principais estudos sobre o potencial evocado miogênico vestibular ocular e suas aplicações no diagnóstico das diversas doenças vestibulares. Estratégia de pesquisa Foram localizados artigos que descrevem a utilização do potencial evocado miogênico vestibular ocular na avaliação de doenças vestibulares nas bases PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Scopus, LILACS e SciELO. Critérios de seleção Foram incluídos estudos originais, com resumo disponí...

Self-oscillating Galvanic Isolated Bidirectional Very High Frequency DC-DC Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jeppe Arnsdorf; Madsen, Mickey Pierre; Knott, Arnold

2015-01-01

This paper describes a galvanic isolated bidirectional Very High Frequency (VHF = 30 MHz - 300MHz) ClassE converter. The reason for increasing the switching frequency is to minimize the passive components in the converter. To make the converter topology bidirectional the rectifier has to be synch......This paper describes a galvanic isolated bidirectional Very High Frequency (VHF = 30 MHz - 300MHz) ClassE converter. The reason for increasing the switching frequency is to minimize the passive components in the converter. To make the converter topology bidirectional the rectifier has...

Electrochemical Corrosion Behavior of Carbon Steel and Hot Dip Galvanized Steel in Simulated Concrete Solution with Different pH Values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanchen XIE

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Hot dip galvanizing technology is now widely used as a method of protection for steel rebars. The corrosion behaviors of Q235 carbon steel and hot galvanized steel in a Ca(OH2 solution with a pH from 10 to 13 was investigated by electrode potential and polarization curves testing. The results indicated that carbon steel and hot galvanized steel were all passivated in a strong alkaline solution. The electrode potential of hot dip galvanized steel was lower than that of carbon steel; thus, hot dip galvanized steel can provide very good anodic protection for carbon steel. However, when the pH value reached 12.5, a polarity reversal occurred under the condition of a certain potential. Hot dip galvanized coating became a cathode, and the corrosion of carbon steel accelerated. The electrochemical behaviors and passivation abilities of hot dip galvanized steel and carbon steel were affected by pH. The higher the pH value was, the more easily they were passivated.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.23.3.16675

Early and phasic cortical metabolic changes in vestibular neuritis onset.

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Marco Alessandrini

Full Text Available Functional brain activation studies described the presence of separate cortical areas responsible for central processing of peripheral vestibular information and reported their activation and interactions with other sensory modalities and the changes of this network associated to strategic peripheral or central vestibular lesions. It is already known that cortical changes induced by acute unilateral vestibular failure (UVF are various and undergo variations over time, revealing different cortical involved areas at the onset and recovery from symptoms. The present study aimed at reporting the earliest change in cortical metabolic activity during a paradigmatic form of UVF such as vestibular neuritis (VN, that is, a purely peripheral lesion of the vestibular system, that offers the opportunity to study the cortical response to altered vestibular processing. This research reports [(18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography brain scan data concerning the early cortical metabolic activity associated to symptoms onset in a group of eight patients suffering from VN. VN patients' cortical metabolic activity during the first two days from symptoms onset was compared to that recorded one month later and to a control healthy group. Beside the known cortical response in the sensorimotor network associated to vestibular deafferentation, we show for the first time the involvement of Entorhinal (BAs 28, 34 and Temporal (BA 38 cortices in early phases of symptomatology onset. We interpret these findings as the cortical counterparts of the attempt to reorient oneself in space counteracting the vertigo symptom (Bas 28, 34 and of the emotional response to the new pathologic condition (BA 38 respectively. These interpretations were further supported by changes in patients' subjective ratings in balance, anxiety, and depersonalization/derealization scores when tested at illness onset and one month later. The present findings contribute in expanding

Changes in resting-state fMRI in vestibular neuritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Helmchen, Christoph; Ye, Zheng; Sprenger, Andreas; Münte, Thomas F

2014-11-01

Vestibular neuritis (VN) is a sudden peripheral unilateral vestibular failure with often persistent head movement-related dizziness and unsteadiness. Compensation of asymmetrical activity in the primary peripheral vestibular afferents is accomplished by restoration of impaired brainstem vestibulo-ocular and vestibulo-spinal reflexes, but presumably also by changing cortical vestibular tone imbalance subserving, e.g., spatial perception and orientation. The aim of this study was to elucidate (i) whether there are changes of cerebral resting-state networks with respect to functional interregional connectivity (resting-state activity) in VN patients and (ii) whether these are related to neurophysiological, perceptual and functional parameters of vestibular-induced disability. Using independent component analysis (ICA), we compared resting-state networks between 20 patients with unilateral VN and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects. Patients were examined in the acute VN stage and after 3 months. A neural network (component 50) comprising the parietal lobe, medial aspect of the superior parietal lobule, posterior cingulate cortex, middle frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex, insular cortex, caudate nucleus, thalamus and midbrain was modulated between acute VN patients and healthy controls and in patients over time. Within this network, acute VN patients showed decreased resting-state activity (ICA) in the contralateral intraparietal sulcus (IPS), in close vicinity to the supramarginal gyrus (SMG), which increased after 3 months. Resting-state activity in IPS tended to increase over 3 months in VN patients who improved with respect to functional parameters of vestibular-induced disability (VADL). Resting-state activity in the IPS was not related to perceptual (subjective visual vertical) or neurophysiological parameters of vestibular-induced disability (e.g., gain of vestibulo-ocular reflex, caloric

Computationally Efficient Amplitude Modulated Sinusoidal Audio Coding using Frequency-Domain Linear Prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, M. G.; Jensen, Søren Holdt

2006-01-01

A method for amplitude modulated sinusoidal audio coding is presented that has low complexity and low delay. This is based on a subband processing system, where, in each subband, the signal is modeled as an amplitude modulated sum of sinusoids. The envelopes are estimated using frequency......-domain linear prediction and the prediction coefficients are quantized. As a proof of concept, we evaluate different configurations in a subjective listening test, and this shows that the proposed method offers significant improvements in sinusoidal coding. Furthermore, the properties of the frequency...

Effects of Mg on corrosion resistance of Al galvanically coupled to Fe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hyun, Youngmin; Kim, Heesan [Hongik Univ., Sejong (Korea, Republic of)

2013-01-15

Effects of magnesium and pH on corrosion of aluminum galvanically coupled to iron have studied by using potentio- dynamic and static tests for polarization curves, Mott-Schottky test for analysis of semiconductor property, and GD-AES and XPS for film analysis. Pitting potential was sensitive to magnesium as an alloying element but not to pH, while passive current was sensitive to pH but not to magnesium. It was explained with, instead of point defect model (PDM), surface charge model describing that the ingression of chloride depends on the state of surface charge and passive film at film/solution interface is affected by pH. In addition, galvanic current of aluminum electrically coupled to iron was not affected by magnesium in pH 8.4, 0.2M citrate solution but was increased by magnesium at the solution of pH 9.1. The galvanic current at pH 9.1 increased with time at the initial stage and after the exposure of about 200 minute, decreased and stabilized. The behavior of the galvanic current was related with the concentration of magnesium at the surface. It agreed with the depletion of magnesium at the oxide surface by using glow discharge atomic emission spectroscopy (GD-AES). In addition, pitting potential of pure aluminum was reduced in neutral pH solution where chloride ion maybe are competitively adsorbed on pure aluminum. It was confirmed by the exponential decrease of pitting potential with log of [Cl{sup -}] around 0.025 M of [Cl{sup -}] and linear decrease of the pitting potential. From the above results, unlike magnesium, alloying elements with higher electron negativity, lowering isoelectric point (ISE), are recommended to be added to improve pitting corrosion resistance of aluminum and its alloys in neutral solutions as well as their galvanic corrosion resistance in weakly basic solutions.

Effects of Mg on corrosion resistance of Al galvanically coupled to Fe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hyun, Youngmin; Kim, Heesan

2013-01-01

Effects of magnesium and pH on corrosion of aluminum galvanically coupled to iron have studied by using potentio- dynamic and static tests for polarization curves, Mott-Schottky test for analysis of semiconductor property, and GD-AES and XPS for film analysis. Pitting potential was sensitive to magnesium as an alloying element but not to pH, while passive current was sensitive to pH but not to magnesium. It was explained with, instead of point defect model (PDM), surface charge model describing that the ingression of chloride depends on the state of surface charge and passive film at film/solution interface is affected by pH. In addition, galvanic current of aluminum electrically coupled to iron was not affected by magnesium in pH 8.4, 0.2M citrate solution but was increased by magnesium at the solution of pH 9.1. The galvanic current at pH 9.1 increased with time at the initial stage and after the exposure of about 200 minute, decreased and stabilized. The behavior of the galvanic current was related with the concentration of magnesium at the surface. It agreed with the depletion of magnesium at the oxide surface by using glow discharge atomic emission spectroscopy (GD-AES). In addition, pitting potential of pure aluminum was reduced in neutral pH solution where chloride ion maybe are competitively adsorbed on pure aluminum. It was confirmed by the exponential decrease of pitting potential with log of [Cl - ] around 0.025 M of [Cl - ] and linear decrease of the pitting potential. From the above results, unlike magnesium, alloying elements with higher electron negativity, lowering isoelectric point (ISE), are recommended to be added to improve pitting corrosion resistance of aluminum and its alloys in neutral solutions as well as their galvanic corrosion resistance in weakly basic solutions

Inner ear malformations in siblings presenting with vestibular ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Although the association between inner ear abnormalities and progressive sensorineural hearing loss is well known, vestibular signs or loss of vestibular function in these ... We provide a brief overview of the latest classification of these inner ear defects as well as a review of the literature pertaining to children with inner ear ...

Influence of stripping and cooling atmospheres on surface properties and corrosion of zinc galvanizing coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Yasakau, K. A.; Giner, I.; Vree, C.; Ozcan, O.; Grothe, R.; Oliveira, A.; Grundmeier, G.; Ferreira, M. G. S.; Zheludkevich, M. L.

2016-12-01

In this work the influence of stripping/cooling atmospheres used after withdrawal of steel sheet from Zn or Zn-alloy melt on surface properties of Zn (Z) and Zn-Al-Mg (ZM) hot-dip galvanizing coatings has been studied. The aim was to understand how the atmosphere (composed by nitrogen (N2) or air) affects adhesion strength to model adhesive and corrosive behaviour of the galvanized substrates. It was shown that the surface chemical composition and Volta potential of the galvanizing coatings prepared under the air or nitrogen atmosphere are strongly influenced by the atmosphere. The surface chemistry Z and ZM surfaces prepared under N2 contained a higher content of metal atoms and a richer hydroxide density than the specimens prepared under air atmosphere as assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The induced differences on the microstructure of the galvanized coatings played a key role on the local corrosion induced defects as observed by means of in situ Atomic force microscopy (AFM). Peel force tests performed on the substrates coated by model adhesive films indicate a higher adhesive strength to the surfaces prepared under nitrogen atmosphere. The obtained results have been discussed in terms of the microstructure and surface chemical composition of the galvanizing coatings.

Experimental Study on Rebar Corrosion Using the Galvanic Sensor Combined with the Electronic Resistance Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yunze; Li, Kaiqiang; Liu, Liang; Yang, Lujia; Wang, Xiaona; Huang, Yi

2016-01-01

In this paper, a new kind of carbon steel (CS) and stainless steel (SS) galvanic sensor system was developed for the study of rebar corrosion in different pore solution conditions. Through the special design of the CS and SS electronic coupons, the electronic resistance (ER) method and zero resistance ammeter (ZRA) technique were used simultaneously for the measurement of both the galvanic current and the corrosion depth. The corrosion processes in different solution conditions were also studied by linear polarization resistance (LPR) and the measurements of polarization curves. The test result shows that the galvanic current noise can provide detailed information of the corrosion processes. When localized corrosion occurs, the corrosion rate measured by the ER method is lower than the real corrosion rate. However, the value measured by the LPR method is higher than the real corrosion rate. The galvanic current and the corrosion current measured by the LPR method shows linear correlation in chloride-containing saturated Ca(OH)2 solution. The relationship between the corrosion current differences measured by the CS electronic coupons and the galvanic current between the CS and SS electronic coupons can also be used to evaluate the localized corrosion in reinforced concrete. PMID:27618054

Experimental Study on Rebar Corrosion Using the Galvanic Sensor Combined with the Electronic Resistance Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunze Xu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a new kind of carbon steel (CS and stainless steel (SS galvanic sensor system was developed for the study of rebar corrosion in different pore solution conditions. Through the special design of the CS and SS electronic coupons, the electronic resistance (ER method and zero resistance ammeter (ZRA technique were used simultaneously for the measurement of both the galvanic current and the corrosion depth. The corrosion processes in different solution conditions were also studied by linear polarization resistance (LPR and the measurements of polarization curves. The test result shows that the galvanic current noise can provide detailed information of the corrosion processes. When localized corrosion occurs, the corrosion rate measured by the ER method is lower than the real corrosion rate. However, the value measured by the LPR method is higher than the real corrosion rate. The galvanic current and the corrosion current measured by the LPR method shows linear correlation in chloride-containing saturated Ca(OH2 solution. The relationship between the corrosion current differences measured by the CS electronic coupons and the galvanic current between the CS and SS electronic coupons can also be used to evaluate the localized corrosion in reinforced concrete.

Immunohistochemical characterisation and localisation of cannabinoid CB1 receptor protein in the rat vestibular nucleus complex and the effects of unilateral vestibular deafferentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashton, John C; Zheng, Yiwen; Liu, Ping; Darlington, Cynthia L; Smith, Paul F

2004-09-24

CB1 receptor expression has been reported to be low in the brainstem compared with the forebrain, and low in the vestibular nucleus complex (VNC) compared with other regions in the brainstem. However, a frequent effect of cannabis is dizziness and loss of balance. This may be due to the activation of cannabinoid receptors in the central vestibular pathways. We used immunohistochemistry to study the distribution of CB1 receptor protein in the VNC, and Western blotting to measure CB1 receptor expression in the VNC following unilateral vestibular deafferentation (UVD); the hippocampal CA1, CA2/3 and dentate gyrus (DG) regions were also analysed for comparison. This study confirms a previous electrophysiological demonstration that CB1 receptors exist in significant densities in the VNC and are likely to contribute to the neurochemical control of the vestibular reflexes. Nonetheless, CB1 receptor expression did not change significantly in the VNC during vestibular compensation. In addition, despite some small but significant changes in CB1 receptor expression in the CA2/3 and the DG following UVD, in no case were these differences statistically significant in comparison to both control groups.

Plasticity during vestibular compensation: the role of saccades

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamish Gavin MacDougall

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This paper is focussed on one major aspect of compensation: the recent behavioural findings concerning oculomotor responses in human vestibular compensation and their possible implications for recovery after unilateral vestibular loss (UVL. New measurement techniques have provided new insights into how patients recover after UVL and have given clues for vestibular rehabilitation. Prior to this it has not been possible to quantify the level of function of all the peripheral vestibular sense organs. Now it is. By using vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials to measure utricular and saccular function and by new video head impulse testing to measure semicircular canal function to natural values of head accelerations. With these new video procedures it is now possible to measure both slow phase eye velocity and also saccades during natural head movements. The present evidence is that there is little or no recovery of slow phase eye velocity responses to natural head accelerations. It is doubtful as to whether the modest changes in slow phase eye velocity to small angular accelerations are functionally effective during compensation. On the other hand it is now clear that saccades can play a very important role in helping patients compensate and return to a normal lifestyle. Preliminary evidence suggests that different patterns of saccadic response may predict how well patients recover. It may be possible to train patients to produce more effective saccadic patterns in the first days after their unilateral loss. Some patients do learn new strategies, new behaviours, to conceal their inadequate VOR but when those strategies are prevented from operating by using passive, unpredictable, high acceleration natural head movements, as in the head impulse test, their vestibular loss can be demonstrated. It is those very strategies which the tests exclude, which may be the cause of their successful compensation.

The Vestibular Effects of Repeated Low-Level Blasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Littlefield, Philip D; Pinto, Robin L; Burrows, Holly L; Brungart, Douglas S

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to use a prospective cohort of United States Marine Corps (USMC) instructors to identify any acute or long-term vestibular dysfunction following repeated blast exposures during explosive breaching training. They were assessed in clinic and on location during training at the USMC Methods of Entry School, Quantico, VA. Subjects received comprehensive baseline vestibular assessments and these were repeated in order to identify longitudinal changes. They also received shorter assessments immediately following blast exposure in order to identify acute findings. The main outcome measures were the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory, vestibular Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of subjective vestibular function, videonystagmography (VNG), vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP), rotary chair (including the unilateral centrifugation test), computerized dynamic posturography, and computerized dynamic visual acuity. A total of 11 breachers and 4 engineers were followed for up to 17 months. No acute effects or longitudinal deteriorations were identified, but there were some interesting baseline group differences. Upbeat positional nystagmus was common, and correlated (p<0.005) with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Several instructors had abnormally short low-frequency phase leads on rotary chair testing. This study evaluated breaching instructors over a longer test period than any other study, and the results suggest that this population appears to be safe from a vestibular standpoint at the current exposure levels. Upbeat positional nystagmus correlated with a history of mTBI in this population, and this has not been described elsewhere. The data trends also suggest that this nystagmus could be an acute blast effect. However, the reasons for the abnormally short phase leads seen in rotary chair testing are unclear at this time. Further investigation seems warranted.

Central and peripheral components of short latency vestibular responses in the chicken

Science.gov (United States)

Nazareth, A. M.; Jones, T. A.

1998-01-01

Far-field recordings of short latency vestibular responses to pulsed cranial translation are composed of a series of positive and negative peaks occurring within 10 ms following stimulus onset. In the bird, these vestibular evoked potentials (VsEPs) can be recorded noninvasively and have been shown in the chicken and quail to depend strictly upon the activation of the vestibular component of the eighth nerve. The utility of the VsEP in the study of vestibular systems is dependent upon a clear understanding of the neural sources of response components. The primary aim of the current research in the chicken was to critically test the hypotheses that 1) responses are generated by both peripheral and central neurons and 2) peaks P1 and N1 originate from first order vestibular neurons, whereas later waves primarily depend on activity in higher order neurons. The principal strategy used here was to surgically isolate the eighth nerve as it enters the brainstem. Interruption of primary afferents of the eighth nerve in the brainstem substantially reduced or eliminated peaks beyond P2, whereas P1 and N1 were generally spared. Surgical sections that spared vestibular pathways had little effect on responses. The degree of change in response components beyond N1 was correlated with the extent of damage to central vestibular relays. These findings support the conclusion that responses are produced by both peripheral and central elements of the vestibular system. Further, response peaks later than N1 appear to be dependent upon central relays, whereas P1 and N1 reflect activity of the peripheral nerve. These findings clarify the roles of peripheral and central neurons in the generation of vestibular evoked potentials and provide the basis for a more useful and detailed interpretation of data from vestibular response testing.

Vestibular involvement in cognition: Visuospatial ability, attention, executive function, and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Bigelow, Robin T; Agrawal, Yuri

2015-01-01

A growing body of literature suggests the inner ear vestibular system has a substantial impact on cognitive function. The strongest evidence exists in connecting vestibular function to the cognitive domain of visuospatial ability, which includes spatial memory, navigation, mental rotation, and mental representation of three-dimensional space. Substantial evidence also exists suggesting the vestibular system has an impact on attention and cognitive processing ability. The cognitive domains of memory and executive function are also implicated in a number of studies. We will review the current literature, discuss possible causal links between vestibular dysfunction and cognitive performance, and suggest areas of future research.

New insights into pathophysiology of vestibular migraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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

Full-Band Quasi-Harmonic Analysis and Synthesis of Musical Instrument Sounds with Adaptive Sinusoids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo Caetano

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Sinusoids are widely used to represent the oscillatory modes of musical instrument sounds in both analysis and synthesis. However, musical instrument sounds feature transients and instrumental noise that are poorly modeled with quasi-stationary sinusoids, requiring spectral decomposition and further dedicated modeling. In this work, we propose a full-band representation that fits sinusoids across the entire spectrum. We use the extended adaptive Quasi-Harmonic Model (eaQHM to iteratively estimate amplitude- and frequency-modulated (AM–FM sinusoids able to capture challenging features such as sharp attacks, transients, and instrumental noise. We use the signal-to-reconstruction-error ratio (SRER as the objective measure for the analysis and synthesis of 89 musical instrument sounds from different instrumental families. We compare against quasi-stationary sinusoids and exponentially damped sinusoids. First, we show that the SRER increases with adaptation in eaQHM. Then, we show that full-band modeling with eaQHM captures partials at the higher frequency end of the spectrum that are neglected by spectral decomposition. Finally, we demonstrate that a frame size equal to three periods of the fundamental frequency results in the highest SRER with AM–FM sinusoids from eaQHM. A listening test confirmed that the musical instrument sounds resynthesized from full-band analysis with eaQHM are virtually perceptually indistinguishable from the original recordings.

Inverse modelling and pulsating torque minimization of salient pole non-sinusoidal synchronous machines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ait-gougam, Y.; Ibtiouen, R.; Touhami, O. [Laboratoire de Recherche en Electrotechnique, Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, BP 182, El-Harrach 16200 (Algeria); Louis, J.-P.; Gabsi, M. [Systemes et Applications des Technologies de l' Information et de l' Energie (SATIE), CNRS UMR 8029, Ecole Normale Superieure de Cachan, 61 Avenue du President Wilson, 94235 Cachan Cedex (France)

2008-01-15

Sinusoidal motor's mathematical models are usually obtained using classical d-q transformation in the case of salient pole synchronous motors having sinusoidal field distribution. In this paper, a new inverse modelling for synchronous motors is presented. This modelling is derived from the properties of constant torque curves in the Concordia's reference frame. It takes into account the non-sinusoidal field distribution; EMF, self and mutual inductances having non-sinusoidal variations with respect to the angular rotor position. Both copper losses and torque ripples are minimized by adapted currents waveforms calculated from this model. Experimental evaluation was carried out on a DSP-controlled PMSM drive platform. Test results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in reducing torque ripple. (author)

Galvanic Cells: Anodes, Cathodes, Signs and Charges

Science.gov (United States)

Goodwin, Alan

2011-01-01

Electrochemistry is a difficult subject for students at school and beyond and even for their teachers. This article explores the difficult "truth" that, when a current flows from a galvanic cell, positive ions within the cell electrolyte move towards the electrode labelled positive. This seems to contravene the basic rule that like charges repel…

Assessment of auditory and vestibular functions in vitiligo patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eman Abd Elmohsin Dawoud

2017-09-01

Conclusion: The results in this study showed that 50% of vitiligo patients suffered from peripheral vestibular disorders in addition to auditory affection. Vitiligo patients require routine monitoring for auditory and vestibular functions for early identification and monitoring of changes as the disease progress.

Translabyrinthine surgery for disabling vertigo in vestibular schwannoma patients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Godefroy, W. P.; Hastan, D.; van der Mey, A. G. L.

2007-01-01

To determine the impact of translabyrinthine surgery on the quality of life in vestibular schwannoma patients with rotatory vertigo. Prospective study in 18 vestibular schwannoma patients. The study was conducted in a multispecialty tertiary care clinic. All 18 patients had a unilateral

Application of Boundary Element Method in Galvanic Corrosion Analysis for Metallic Materials used in Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaifol Samsu; Muhamad Daud; Siti Radiah Mohd Kamarudin

2011-01-01

Boundary element method (BEM) is a numerical technique that used for modeling infinite domain as is the case for galvanic corrosion analysis. This paper presents the application of boundary element method for galvanic corrosion analysis between two different metallic materials. Aluminium (Al), and zinc (Zn) alloys were used separately coupled with the Carbon Steel (CS) in natural seawater. The measured conductivity of sea water is 30,800 μS/ cm at ambient temperature. Computer software system based on boundary element likes BEASY and ABAQUS can be used to accurately model and simulate the galvanic corrosion. However, the BEM based BEASY program will be used reasonably for predicting the galvanic current density distribution of coupled Al-CS and Zn-CS in this study. (author)

The Relationship between Vestibular Function and Topographical Memory in Older Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fred Henry Previc

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Research during the past two decades has demonstrated an important role of the vestibular system in topographical orientation and memory and the network of neural structures associated with them. Almost all of the supporting data have come from animal or human clinical studies, however. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the link between vestibular function and topographical memory in normal elderly humans. Twenty-five participants aged 70 to 85 years who scored from mildly impaired to normal on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment received three topographical memory tests: the Camden Topographical Recognition Memory Test (CTMRT, a computerized topographical mental rotation test (TMRT, and a virtual pond maze (VPM. They also received six vestibular or oculomotor tests: optokinetic nystagmus (OKN, visual pursuit (VP, actively generated vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR, the sensory orientation test (SOT for posture, and two measures of rotational memory (error in degrees, or RMº, and correct directional recognition, or RM→. The only significant bivariate correlations were among the three vestibular measures primarily assessing horizontal canal function (VOR, RMº, and RM→. A multiple regression analysis showed significant relationships between vestibular and demographic predictors and both the TMRT (R=.78 and VPM (R=.66 measures. The significant relationship between the vestibular and topographical memory measures supports the theory that vestibular loss may contribute to topographical memory impairment in the elderly.

Microbiologically influenced corrosion of galvanized steel by Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. in the presence of Ag–Cu ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ilhan-Sungur, Esra, E-mail: esungur@istanbul.edu.tr [Istanbul University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, 34134 Vezneciler, Istanbul (Turkey); Unsal-Istek, Tuba [Istanbul University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, 34134 Vezneciler, Istanbul (Turkey); Cansever, Nurhan [Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Chemistry-Metallurgy, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, 34210 Esenler, Istanbul (Turkey)

2015-07-15

The effects of Ag–Cu ions on the microbiologically induced corrosion of galvanized steel in the presence of Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. were investigated. The corrosion behavior of galvanized steel was analyzed by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The biofilm, corrosion products and Ag–Cu ions on the surfaces were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and elemental mapping. The biofilm layer formed by the Desulfovibrio sp. was stable covering the all surface of galvanized steel coupons, while that by Desulfosporosinus sp. was intermittent, highly porous and heterogeneous. It was found that both of the sulfate reducing bacteria species accelerated corrosion of the galvanized steel. However, it was detected that Desulfosporosinus sp. was more corrosive for galvanized steel than Desulfovibrio sp. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. in biofilm clustered into patches on the galvanized steel surface when the culture contained toxic Ag–Cu ions. The ions affected the growth of the sulfate reducing bacteria strains in different ways and hence the corrosion behaviors. It was observed that the Ag–Cu ions affected negatively growth of Desulfosporosinus sp. especially after 24 h of exposure leading to a decrease in the corrosion rate of galvanized steel. However, Desulfovibrio sp. showed more corrosive effect in the presence of the ions according to the ions-free culture. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis showed that corrosion products on the surfaces were mainly composed of Zn, S, Na, O and P. - Highlights: • Galvanized steel was corroded by Desulfosporosinus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. • Desulfosporosinus sp. is more corrosive than Desulfovibrio sp. • The Ag–Cu ions affected corrosion behavior of Desulfosporosinus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. on galvanized steel.

Microbiologically influenced corrosion of galvanized steel by Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. in the presence of Ag–Cu ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilhan-Sungur, Esra; Unsal-Istek, Tuba; Cansever, Nurhan

2015-01-01

The effects of Ag–Cu ions on the microbiologically induced corrosion of galvanized steel in the presence of Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. were investigated. The corrosion behavior of galvanized steel was analyzed by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The biofilm, corrosion products and Ag–Cu ions on the surfaces were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and elemental mapping. The biofilm layer formed by the Desulfovibrio sp. was stable covering the all surface of galvanized steel coupons, while that by Desulfosporosinus sp. was intermittent, highly porous and heterogeneous. It was found that both of the sulfate reducing bacteria species accelerated corrosion of the galvanized steel. However, it was detected that Desulfosporosinus sp. was more corrosive for galvanized steel than Desulfovibrio sp. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that Desulfovibrio sp. and Desulfosporosinus sp. in biofilm clustered into patches on the galvanized steel surface when the culture contained toxic Ag–Cu ions. The ions affected the growth of the sulfate reducing bacteria strains in different ways and hence the corrosion behaviors. It was observed that the Ag–Cu ions affected negatively growth of Desulfosporosinus sp. especially after 24 h of exposure leading to a decrease in the corrosion rate of galvanized steel. However, Desulfovibrio sp. showed more corrosive effect in the presence of the ions according to the ions-free culture. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis showed that corrosion products on the surfaces were mainly composed of Zn, S, Na, O and P. - Highlights: • Galvanized steel was corroded by Desulfosporosinus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. • Desulfosporosinus sp. is more corrosive than Desulfovibrio sp. • The Ag–Cu ions affected corrosion behavior of Desulfosporosinus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. on galvanized steel

Corrosion protection of galvanized steels by silane-based treatments

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Wei

The possibility of using silane coupling agents as replacements for chromate treatments was investigated on galvanized steel substrates. In order to understand the influence of deposition parameters on silane film formation, pure zinc substrates were first used as a model for galvanized steel to study the interaction between silane coupling agents and zinc surfaces. The silane films formed on pure zinc substrates from aqueous solutions were characterized by ellipsometry, contact angle measurements, reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The deposition parameters studied include solution concentration, solution dipping time and pH value of the applied solution. It appears that silane film formation involved a true equilibrium of hydrolysis and condensation reactions in aqueous solutions. It has been found that the silane film thickness obtained depends primarily on the solution concentration and is almost independent of the solution dipping time. The molecular orientation of applied silane films is determined by the pH value of applied silane solutions and the isoelectric point of metal substrates. The deposition window in terms of pH value for zinc substrates is between 6.0 and 9.0. The total surface energy of the silane-coated pure zinc substrates decreases with film aging time, the decrease rate, however, is determined by the nature of silane coupling agents. Selected silane coupling agents were applied as prepaint or passivation treatments onto galvanized steel substrates. The corrosion protection provided by these silane-based treatments were evaluated by salt spray test, cyclic corrosion test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and stack test. The results showed that silane coupling agents can possibly be used to replace chromates for corrosion control of galvanized steel substrates. Silane coatings provided by these silane treatments serve mainly as physical barriers. Factors that

Electronically Tunable Quadrature Sinusoidal Oscillator with Equal Output Amplitudes during Frequency Tuning Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Den Satipar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A new configuration of voltage-mode quadrature sinusoidal oscillator is proposed. The proposed oscillator employs two voltage differencing current conveyors (VDCCs, two resistors, and two grounded capacitors. In this design, the use of multiple/dual output terminal active building block is not required. The tuning of frequency of oscillation (FO can be done electronically by adjusting the bias current of active device without affecting condition of oscillation (CO. The electronic tuning can be done by controlling the bias current using a digital circuit. The amplitude of two sinusoidal outputs is equal when the frequency of oscillation is tuned. This makes the sinusoidal output voltages meet good total harmonic distortions (THD. Moreover, the proposed circuit can provide the sinusoidal output current with high impedance which is connected to external load or to another circuit without the use of buffer device. To confirm that the oscillator can generate the quadrature sinusoidal output signal, the experimental results using VDCC constructed from commercially available ICs are also included. The experimental results agree well with theoretical anticipation.

Evidence of central and peripheral vestibular pathology in blast-related traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Scherer, Matthew R; Burrows, Holly; Pinto, Robin; Littlefield, Philip; French, Louis M; Tarbett, Aaron K; Schubert, Michael C

2011-06-01

To prospectively assay the vestibular and oculomotor systems of blast-exposed service members with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Prospective, nonblinded, nonrandomized descriptive study. Tertiary care facility (Department of Defense Medical Center). Twenty-four service members recovering from blast-related TBI sustained in Iraq or Afghanistan. Focused history and physical, videonystagmography (VNG), rotational chair, cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials, computerized dynamic posturography, and self-report measures. Vestibular testing confirms a greater incidence of vestibular and oculomotor dysfunction in symptomatic (vestibular-like dizziness) personnel with blast-related TBI relative to asymptomatic group members. VNG in the symptomatic group revealed abnormal nystagmus or oculomotor findings in 6 of 12 subjects tested. Similarly, rotational chair testing in this group revealed evidence of both peripheral (4/12) and central (2/12) vestibular pathology. By contrast, the asymptomatic group revealed less vestibular impairment with 1 of 10 rotational chair abnormalities. The asymptomatic group was further characterized by fewer aberrant nystagmus findings (4/12 abnormal VNGs). Computerized dynamic posturography testing revealed no significant differences between groups. Self-report measures demonstrated differences between groups. Vestibular function testing confirms a greater incidence of peripheral vestibular hypofunction in dizzy service members with blast-related TBI relative to those who are asymptomatic. Additionally, oculomotor abnormalities and/or nystagmus consistent with central involvement were present in 10 of the 24 study participants tested. The precise cause of these findings remains unknown.

Effects of galvanic distortions on magnetotelluric data: Interpretation ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

But in the case of field data the problem is ... The distorted data set is corrected using the MT response for DRS model and further ... ments, the apparent resistivity and phase at differ- ... from the telluric field, which is of galvanic or inductive ...

Photo-electrochemical Investigation of Radiation-Enhanced Galvanic Coupling and Hydrogen Permeation in TPBAR-related Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, G. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2017-10-02

Research conducted in FY17 used photo-electrochemical methods to investigate the potential for radiationenhanced galvanic coupling in tritium-producing burnable absorber rod (TPBAR) materials. Specifically, a laboratory electrochemical cell was coupled with UV light in order to perform electrochemical opencircuit voltage and galvanic current measurements, techniques that have been used successfully in previous studies to replicate galvanic processes in reactor settings. UV irradiation can mimic reactor-like behavior because, similar to both directly and indirectly ionizing radiation, UV photons with energy greater than the band gap of the material will generate free charge carriers (electrons and holes) and can substantially alter the passivating effect of metal oxides.

Effect of chemical composition of steel on the structure of hot – dip galvanized coating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Pokorny

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article describes the effect of the content of conventional steel impurity elements on the thickness and composition of the zinc layer. This article is focused primarily on low-temperature, batch hot-dip galvanizing; however, the continuous coating process is also mentioned. The main discussion covers galvanizing from pure zinc melt, and only touches on galvanizing from melts with the usual amounts of aluminium (0,2 wt. %. Silicon, phosphorus, aluminium and sulfur may have an especially negative effect on the mechanical properties of the coating and its final appearance. The content of ballast carbon and manganese has a rather limited effect on composition and coating thickness.

Photo-electrochemical Investigation of Radiation-Enhanced Galvanic Coupling and Hydrogen Permeation in TPBAR-related Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsen, G.

2017-01-01

Research conducted in FY17 used photo-electrochemical methods to investigate the potential for radiationenhanced galvanic coupling in tritium-producing burnable absorber rod (TPBAR) materials. Specifically, a laboratory electrochemical cell was coupled with UV light in order to perform electrochemical opencircuit voltage and galvanic current measurements, techniques that have been used successfully in previous studies to replicate galvanic processes in reactor settings. UV irradiation can mimic reactor-like behavior because, similar to both directly and indirectly ionizing radiation, UV photons with energy greater than the band gap of the material will generate free charge carriers (electrons and holes) and can substantially alter the passivating effect of metal oxides.

Epidemiology of vestibular vertigo: a neurotologic survey of the general population.

Science.gov (United States)

Neuhauser, H K; von Brevern, M; Radtke, A; Lezius, F; Feldmann, M; Ziese, T; Lempert, T

2005-09-27

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and incidence of vestibular vertigo in the general population and to describe its clinical characteristics and associated factors. The neurotologic survey had a two-stage general population sampling design: nationwide modified random digit dialing sampling for participation in the German National Telephone Health Interview Survey 2003 (response rate 52%) with screening of a random sample of 4,869 participants for moderate or severe dizziness or vertigo, followed by detailed neurotologic interviews developed through piloting and validation (n = 1,003, response rate 87%). Diagnostic criteria for vestibular vertigo were rotational vertigo, positional vertigo, or recurrent dizziness with nausea and oscillopsia or imbalance. Vestibular vertigo was detected by our interview with a specificity of 94% and a sensitivity of 84[corrected]% in a concurrent validation study using neurotology clinic diagnoses as an accepted standard (n = 61). The lifetime prevalence of vestibular vertigo was 7.4[corrected]%, the 1-year prevalence was 4.9[corrected]%, and the incidence was 1.4[corrected]%. In 80% of affected individuals, vertigo resulted in a medical consultation, interruption of daily activities, or sick leave. Female sex, age, lower educational level, and various comorbid conditions, including tinnitus, depression, and several cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, were associated with vestibular vertigo in the past year in univariate analysis. In multivariable analysis, only female sex, self-reported depression, tinnitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia had an independent effect on vestibular vertigo. Vestibular vertigo is common in the general population, affecting [corrected] 5% of adults in 1 year. The frequency and health care impact of vestibular symptoms at the population level have been underestimated.

Corrosion behaviour and galvanic coupling of titanium and welded titanium in LiBr solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blasco-Tamarit, E.; Igual-Munoz, A.; Garcia Anton, J.; Garcia-Garcia, D.

2007-01-01

Corrosion resistance and galvanic coupling of Grade 2 commercially pure titanium in its welded and non-welded condition were systematically analyzed in LiBr solutions. Galvanic corrosion was evaluated through two different methods: anodic polarization (according to the Mixed Potential Theory) and electrochemical noise (using a zero-resistance ammeter). Samples have been etched to study the microstructure. The action of lithium chromate as corrosion inhibitor has been evaluated. Titanium and welded titanium showed extremely low corrosion current densities and elevated pitting potential values (higher than 1 V). The results of both methods, anodic polarization and electrochemical noise, showed that the welded titanium was always the anodic element of the pair titanium-welded titanium, so that its corrosion resistance decreases due to the galvanic effect

Outcomes after vestibular rehabilitation and Wii® therapy in patients with chronic unilateral vestibular hypofunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Verdecchia, Daniel H; Mendoza, Marcela; Sanguineti, Florencia; Binetti, Ana C

2014-01-01

Vestibular rehabilitation therapy is an exercise-based programme designed to promote central nervous system compensation for inner ear deficit. The objective of the present study was to analyse the differences in the perception of handicap, the risk of falls, and gaze stability in patients diagnosed with chronic unilateral vestibular hypofunction before and after vestibular rehabilitation treatment with complementary Wii® therapy. A review was performed on the clinical histories of patients in the vestibular rehabilitation area of a university hospital between April 2009 and May 2011. The variables studied were the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, the Dynamic Gait Index and dynamic visual acuity. All subjects received complementary Wii® therapy. There were 69 cases (41 woman and 28 men), with a median age of 64 years. The initial median Dizziness Handicap Inventory score was 40 points (range 0-84, percentile 25-75=20-59) and the final, 24 points (range 0-76, percentile 25-75=10.40), P<.0001. The initial median for the Dynamic Gait Index score was 21 points (range 8-24, percentile 25-75=17.5-2.3) and the final, 23 (range 12-24, percentile 25-75=21-23), P<.0001. The initial median for dynamic visual acuity was 2 (range 0-6, percentile 25-75=1-4) and the final, 1 (range 0-3, percentile 25-75=0-2), P<.0001. A reduction was observed in the Dizziness Handicap Inventory Values. Values for the Dynamic Gait Index increased and dynamic visual acuity improved. All these variations were statistically significant. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y Sociedad Española de Otorrinolaringología y Patología Cérvico-Facial. All rights reserved.

Efficiency enhancement of a self-propelled pitching profile using non-sinusoidal trajectories

Science.gov (United States)

Mekadem, M.; Chihani, E.; Oualli, H.; Hanchi, S.; Bouabdallah, A.; Gad-El-Hak, M.

2017-11-01

A symmetrical profile is subjected to non-sinusoidal pitching motion. The airfoil has a chord length c = 0.006 m and a semi-circular leading edge with a diameter of D = 0.001 m. The extrados and intrados are two straight lines that intersect at a tapered trailing edge, and the pitching pivot point is positioned at the leading edge. The pitching frequency is in the range of 1 based upon the maximum profile thickness D varies in the range of 35 <= Re <= 210 , which matches insect's Reynolds numbers. The foil movement is executed using the dynamic mesh technique and a user defined function (UDF). The adopted mesh has 70,445 nodes with 5,1960 quadrilateral cells. The results are in good agreement with prior experiments, and, compared to sinusoidal oscillations, show that non-sinusoidal flapping trajectories lead to advancing velocity increase of 550%. Additionally, if improved propulsive efficiency is sought, non-sinusoidal flapping lead to better thrust.

Galvanic interactions of HE15 /MDN138 & HE15 /MDN250 alloys in natural seawater

Science.gov (United States)

Parthiban, G. T.; Subramanian, G.; Muthuraman, K.; Ramakrishna Rao, P.

2017-06-01

HE15 is a heat treatable high strength alloy with excellent machinability find wide applications in aerospace and defence industries. In view of their excellent mechanical properties, workability, machinability, heat treatment characteristics and good resistance to general and stress corrosion cracking, MDN138 & MDN250 have been widely used in petrochemical, nuclear and aerospace industries. The galvanic corrosion behaviour of the metal combinations HE15 /MDN138 and HE15 /MDN250, with 1:1 area ratio, has been studied in natural seawater using the open well facility of CECRI's Offshore Platform at Tuticorin for a year. The open circuit potentials of MDN138, MDN250 and HE15 of the individual metal, the galvanic potential and galvanic current of the couples HE15 /MDN138 and HE15 /MDN250 were periodically monitored throughout the study period. The calcareous deposits on MDN138 and MDN250 in galvanic contact with HE15 were analyzed using XRD. The electrochemical behaviors of MDN138, MDN250 and HE15 in seawater have been studied using an electrochemical work station. The surface characteristics of MDN138 and MDN250 in galvanic contact with HE15 have been examined with scanning electron microscope. The results of the study reveal that HE15 offered required amount of protection to MDN138 & MDN250.

Angiogenesis in vestibular schwannomas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Martin Nue; Werther, Kim; Nalla, Amarnadh

2010-01-01

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are potent mediators of tumor angiogenesis. It has been demonstrated that vestibular schwannoma VEGF expression correlates with tumor growth pattern, whereas knowledge on the expression of MMPs is lacking. This study...

Impaired mental rotation in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and acute vestibular neuritis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matteo eCandidi

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Vestibular processing is fundamental to our sense of orientation in space which is a core aspect of the representation of the self. Vestibular information is processed in a large subcortical-cortical neural network. Tasks requiring mental rotations of human bodies in space are known to activate neural regions within this network suggesting that vestibular processing is involved in the control of mental rotation. We studied whether mental rotation is impaired in patients suffering from two different forms of unilateral vestibular disorders (Vestibular Neuritis – VN- and Benign Paroxysmal positional Vertigo – BPPV with respect to healthy matched controls (C. We used two mental rotation tasks in which participants were required to: i mentally rotate their own body in space (egocentric rotation thus using vestibular processing to a large extent and ii mentally rotate human figures (allocentric rotation thus using own body representations to a smaller degree. Reaction times and accuracy of responses showed that VN and BPPV patients were impaired in both tasks with respect to C. Significantly, the pattern of results was similar in the three groups suggesting that patients were actually performing the mental rotation without using a different strategy from the control individuals. These results show that dysfunctional vestibular inflow impairs mental rotation of both own body and human figures suggesting that unilateral acute disorders of the peripheral vestibular input massively affect the cerebral processes underlying mental rotations.

Very High Frequency Galvanic Isolated Offline Power Supply

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jeppe Arnsdorf

During the last decades many researchers have turned their attention to raising the operation frequency of power converters to the very high frequency (VHF) range going from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Increasing the operating frequency of a power converter leads to smaller energy storing components...... inverters with a single combined rectifier. The converter designed to deliver 9 W to a 60 V LED load and is achieving an efficiency of 89.4% and a power density of 2.14 W3 . The development of this converter proof that offline VHF converter can be implemented with high efficiencies even for low power applications...... are described together with the possibility of using capacitors as the power galvanic isolation, both methods of creating galvanic isolation are implemented in converters. Regarding EMC a series of converters with different filter implementations are examined. The results from the conducted mea-surement from 150...

A Perceptual Model for Sinusoidal Audio Coding Based on Spectral Integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jensen Søren Holdt

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Psychoacoustical models have been used extensively within audio coding applications over the past decades. Recently, parametric coding techniques have been applied to general audio and this has created the need for a psychoacoustical model that is specifically suited for sinusoidal modelling of audio signals. In this paper, we present a new perceptual model that predicts masked thresholds for sinusoidal distortions. The model relies on signal detection theory and incorporates more recent insights about spectral and temporal integration in auditory masking. As a consequence, the model is able to predict the distortion detectability. In fact, the distortion detectability defines a (perceptually relevant norm on the underlying signal space which is beneficial for optimisation algorithms such as rate-distortion optimisation or linear predictive coding. We evaluate the merits of the model by combining it with a sinusoidal extraction method and compare the results with those obtained with the ISO MPEG-1 Layer I-II recommended model. Listening tests show a clear preference for the new model. More specifically, the model presented here leads to a reduction of more than 20% in terms of number of sinusoids needed to represent signals at a given quality level.

Dizziness and Imbalance in the Elderly: Age-related Decline in the Vestibular System

Science.gov (United States)

Iwasaki, Shinichi; Yamasoba, Tatsuya

2015-01-01

Dizziness and imbalance are amongst the most common complaints in older people, and are a growing public health concern since they put older people at a significantly higher risk of falling. Although the causes of dizziness in older people are multifactorial, peripheral vestibular dysfunction is one of the most frequent causes. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most frequent form of vestibular dysfunction in the elderly, followed by Meniere’s disease. Every factor associated with the maintenance of postural stability deteriorates during aging. Age-related deterioration of peripheral vestibular function has been demonstrated through quantitative measurements of the vestibulo-ocular reflex with rotational testing and of the vestibulo-collic reflex with testing of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials. Age-related decline of vestibular function has been shown to correlate with the age-related decrease in the number of vestibular hair cells and neurons. The mechanism of age-related cellular loss in the vestibular endorgan is unclear, but it is thought that genetic predisposition and cumulative effect of oxidative stress may both play an important role. Since the causes of dizziness in older people are multi-factorial, management of this disease should be customized according to the etiologies of each individual. Vestibular rehabilitation is found to be effective in treating both unilateral and bilateral vestibular dysfunction. Various prosthetic devices have also been developed to improve postural balance in older people. Although there have been no medical treatments improving age-related vestibular dysfunction, new medical treatments such as mitochondrial antioxidants or caloric restriction, which have been effective in preventing age-related hearing loss, should be ienvestigated in the future. PMID:25657851

Unidirectional Motion of Vehicle on Sinusoidal Path

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 17; Issue 4. Unidirectional Motion of Vehicle on Sinusoidal Path: Can it Cause Illusory Forward and Backward Motion? Anuj Bhatnagar. Classroom Volume 17 Issue 4 April 2012 pp 387-392 ...

Enhancement of opto-galvanic signals in the hollow cathode dark space: application to single colour 3-photon ionization of uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pradhan, S.; Manohar, K.G.; Marathe, A.; Rawat, V.S.; Sridhar, G.; Singh, S.; Jagatap, B.N.; Gantayet, L.M.

1999-01-01

Opto-galvanic effect in a hollow cathode lamp offers a very convenient method of spectroscopy of many elements of interest including refractory elements like uranium. The dependence of opto-galvanic signals on various discharge parameters like buffer gas pressure, buffer gas type, discharge current, diameter of the hollow cavity of the cathode etc. have been studied. Various mechanisms for the generation of opto-galvanic signals based on electron impact ionization and super elastic collisions have been proposed. It appears that both these processes do contribute to the opto-galvanic signals simultaneously, under specific discharge conditions

Current concepts and future approaches to vestibular rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tjernström, Fredrik; Zur, Oz; Jahn, Klaus

2016-04-01

Over the last decades methods of vestibular rehabilitation to enhance adaptation to vestibular loss, habituation to changing sensory conditions, and sensory reweighting in the compensation process have been developed. However, the use of these techniques still depends to a large part on the educational background of the therapist. Individualized assessment of deficits and specific therapeutic programs for different disorders are sparse. Currently, vestibular rehabilitation is often used in an unspecific way in dizzy patients irrespective of the clinical findings. When predicting the future of vestibular rehabilitation, it is tempting to foretell advances in technology for assessment and treatment only, but the current intense exchange between clinicians and basic scientists also predicts advances in truly understanding the complex interactions between the peripheral senses and central adaptation mechanisms. More research is needed to develop reliable techniques to measure sensory dependence and to learn how this knowledge can be best used--by playing off the patient's sensory strength or working on the weakness. To be able using the emerging concepts, the neuro-otological community must strive to educate physicians, physiotherapists and nurses to perform the correct examinations for assessment of individual deficits and to look for factors that might impede rehabilitation.

Electrochemical characteristics of a carbon fibre composite and the associated galvanic effects with aluminium alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Z., E-mail: zuojia.liu@gmail.com; Curioni, M.; Jamshidi, P.; Walker, A.; Prengnell, P.; Thompson, G.E.; Skeldon, P.

2014-09-30

Highlights: • Exposed carbon fibres on two defined regions (“front” and “side”) are a focus of the investigation in NaCl electrolyte. • The exposed carbon fibres on the side and front regions are responsible for a high cathodic current density. • The NaCl + CuSO{sub 4} electrolyte was used to investigate the cathodic polarization behaviour of the exposed carbon fibres. • Galvanic coupling behaviour between the composite and aluminium alloys (AA7075-T6 and AA1050) was measured in NaCl electrolyte. • The higher galvanic current density measured on AA1050 alloy introduced a higher dissolution rate than the AA7075-T6 alloy. - Abstract: The electrochemical behaviour of a carbon fibre reinforced epoxy matrix composite in 3.5% NaCl and 3.5% NaCl + 0.5 M CuSO{sub 4} electrolytes was examined by potentiodynamic polarisation, potentiostatic polarisation and scanning electron microscopy. Exposed carbon fibres on two defined regions (“front” and “side”) are a focus of the investigation. The large size of the exposed carbon fibres on the side region is responsible for a higher cathodic current density than the front region in the NaCl electrolyte. The deposition of copper on the front surface of composite confirmed that the significantly higher cathodic current resulted from the exposure of the fibres to the NaCl electrolyte. Galvanic coupling between the composite and individual aluminium alloys (AA7075-T6 and AA1050) was used to measure galvanic potentials and galvanic current densities. The highly alloyed AA7075-T6 alloy and its high population density of cathodic sites compared to the AA1050 acted to reduce the galvanic effect when coupled to the composite front or side regions.

Crashworthiness Analysis and Evaluation of Fuselage Section with Sub-floor Composite Sinusoidal Specimens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H.L. Mou

Full Text Available Abstract Crashworthiness is one of the main concerns in civil aviation safety particularly with regard to the increasing ratio of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP in aircraft primary structures. In order to generate dates for model validations, the mechanical properties of T700/3234 were obtained by material performance tests, and energy-absorbing results were gained by quasi-static crushing tests of composite sinusoidal specimens. The correctness of composite material model and single-layer finite element model of composite sinusoidal specimens were verified based on the simulation results and test results that were in good agreement. A typical civil aircraft fuselage section with composite sinusoidal specimens under cargo floor was suggested. The crashworthiness of finite element model of fuselage section was assessed by simulating the vertical drop test subjected to 7 m/s impact velocity, and the influences of different thickness of sub-floor composite sinusoidal specimens on crashworthiness of fuselage section were also analyzed. The simulation results show that the established finite element model can accurately simulate the crushing process of composite sinusoidal specimens; the failure process of fuselage section is more stable, and the safety of occupants can be effectively improved because of the smaller peak accelerations that was limited to human tolerance, a critical thickness of sub-floor composite sinusoidal specimens can restrict the magnitude of acceleration peaks, which has certain reference values for enhancing crashworthiness capabilities of fuselage section and improving the survivability of passengers.

Walking strategies of visually impaired people on trapezoidal- and sinusoidal-section tactile groundsurface indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Ranavolo, A; Conte, C; Iavicoli, S; Serrao, M; Silvetti, A; Sandrini, G; Pierelli, F; Draicchio, F

2011-03-01

The visual system in walking serves to perceive feedback or feed-forward signals. Therefore, visually impaired persons (VIP) have biased motor control mechanisms. The use of leading indicators (LIs) and long canes helps to improve their walking efficiency. The aims of this study were to compare the walking efficiency of VIP on trapezoidal- and sinusoidal-section LIs using an optoelectronic motion analysis system. VIP displayed a significantly longer stance phase, a shorter swing phase and shorter step and stride lengths when they walked on the sinusoidal LI than when they walked on the trapezoidal LI. Compared with the trapezoidal LI, VIP walking on the sinusoidal LI displayed significantly lower joint ranges of motion. The centre of mass lateral displacement was wider for VIP walking on the sinusoidal LI than on the trapezoidal LI. Some significant differences were also found in sighted persons walking on both LIs. In conclusion, the trapezoidal shape enabled visually impaired subjects to walk more efficiently, whereas the sinusoidal shape caused dynamic balance problems. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: These findings suggest that VIP can walk more efficiently, with a lower risk of falls, on trapezoidal-section than on sinusoidal-section LIs. These results should be considered when choosing the most appropriate ground tactile surface indicators for widespread use.

Intracavity OptoGalvanic Spectroscopy not suitable for ambient level radiocarbon detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Dipayan; Meijer, Harro A J

2015-09-01

IntraCavity OptoGalvanic Spectroscopy as a radiocarbon detection technique was first reported by the Murnick group at Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, in 2008. This technique for radiocarbon detection was presented with tremendous potentials for applications in various fields of research. Significantly cheaper, this technique was portrayed as a possible complementary technique to the more expensive and complex accelerator mass spectrometry. Several groups around the world started developing this technique for various radiocarbon related applications. The IntraCavity OptoGalvanic Spectroscopy setup at the University of Groningen was constructed in 2012 in close collaboration with the Murnick group for exploring possible applications in the fields of radiocarbon dating and atmospheric monitoring. In this paper we describe a systematic evaluation of the IntraCavity OptoGalvanic Spectroscopy setup at Groningen for radiocarbon detection. Since the IntraCavity OptoGalvanic Spectroscopy setup was strictly planned for dating and atmospheric monitoring purposes, all the initial experiments were performed with CO2 samples containing contemporary levels and highly depleted levels of radiocarbon. Because of recurring failures in differentiating the two CO2 samples, with the radiocarbon concentration 3 orders of magnitude apart, CO2 samples containing elevated levels of radiocarbon were prepared in-house and experimented with. All results obtained thus far at Groningen are in sharp contrast to the results published by the Murnick group and rather support the results put forward by the Salehpour group at Uppsala University. From our extensive test work, we must conclude that the method is unsuited for ambient level radiocarbon measurements, and even highly enriched CO2 samples yield insignificant signal.

Effects of bilateral vestibular nucleus lesions on cardiovascular regulation in conscious cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Mori, R L; Cotter, L A; Arendt, H E; Olsheski, C J; Yates, B J

2005-02-01

The vestibular system participates in cardiovascular regulation during postural changes. In prior studies (Holmes MJ, Cotter LA, Arendt HE, Cas SP, and Yates BJ. Brain Res 938: 62-72, 2002, and Jian BJ, Cotter LA, Emanuel BA, Cass SP, and Yates BJ. J Appl Physiol 86: 1552-1560, 1999), transection of the vestibular nerves resulted in instability in blood pressure during nose-up body tilts, particularly when no visual information reflecting body position in space was available. However, recovery of orthostatic tolerance occurred within 1 wk, presumably because the vestibular nuclei integrate a variety of sensory inputs reflecting body location. The present study tested the hypothesis that lesions of the vestibular nuclei result in persistent cardiovascular deficits during orthostatic challenges. Blood pressure and heart rate were monitored in five conscious cats during nose-up tilts of varying amplitude, both before and after chemical lesions of the vestibular nuclei. Before lesions, blood pressure remained relatively stable during tilts. In all animals, the blood pressure responses to nose-up tilts were altered by damage to the medial and inferior vestibular nuclei; these effects were noted both when animals were tested in the presence and absence of visual feedback. In four of the five animals, the lesions also resulted in augmented heart rate increases from baseline values during 60 degrees nose-up tilts. These effects persisted for longer than 1 wk, but they gradually resolved over time, except in the animal with the worst deficits. These observations suggest that recovery of compensatory cardiovascular responses after loss of vestibular inputs is accomplished at least in part through plastic changes in the vestibular nuclei and the enhancement of the ability of vestibular nucleus neurons to discriminate body position in space by employing nonlabyrinthine signals.

Prediction of Balance Compensation After Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Parietti-Winkler, Cécile; Lion, Alexis; Frère, Julien; Perrin, Philippe P; Beurton, Renaud; Gauchard, Gérome C

2016-06-01

Background Balance compensation after vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery is under the influence of specific preoperative patient and tumor characteristics. Objective To prospectively identify potential prognostic factors for balance recovery, we compared the respective influence of these preoperative characteristics on balance compensation after VS surgery. Methods In 50 patients scheduled for VS surgical ablation, we measured postural control before surgery (BS), 8 (AS8) days after, and 90 (AS90) days after surgery. Based on factors found previously in the literature, we evaluated age, body mass index and preoperative physical activity (PA), tumor grade, vestibular status, and preference for visual cues to control balance as potential prognostic factors using stepwise multiple regression models. Results An asymmetric vestibular function was the sole significant explanatory factor for impaired balance performance BS, whereas the preoperative PA alone significantly contributed to higher performance at AS8. An evaluation of patients' balance recovery over time showed that PA and vestibular status were the 2 significant predictive factors for short-term postural compensation (BS to AS8), whereas none of these preoperative factors was significantly predictive for medium-term postoperative postural recovery (AS8 to AS90). Conclusions We identified specific preoperative patient and vestibular function characteristics that may predict postoperative balance recovery after VS surgery. Better preoperative characterization of these factors in each patient could inform more personalized presurgical and postsurgical management, leading to a better, more rapid balance recovery, earlier return to normal daily activities and work, improved quality of life, and reduced medical and societal costs. © The Author(s) 2015.

Right-sided dominance of the bilateral vestibular system in the upper brainstem and thalamus.

Science.gov (United States)

Dieterich, Marianne; Kirsch, V; Brandt, T

2017-10-01

MRI diffusion tensor imaging tractography was performed on the bilateral vestibular brainstem pathways, which run from the vestibular nuclei via the paramedian and posterolateral thalamic subnuclei to the parieto-insular vestibular cortex. Twenty-one right-handed healthy subjects participated. Quantitative analysis revealed a rope-ladder-like system of vestibular pathways in the brainstem with crossings at pontine and mesencephalic levels. Three structural types of right-left fiber distributions could be delineated: (1) evenly distributed pathways at the lower pontine level from the vestibular nuclei to the pontine crossing, (2) a moderate, pontomesencephalic right-sided lateralization between the pontine and mesencephalic crossings, and (3) a further increase of the right-sided lateralization above the mesencephalic crossing leading to the thalamic vestibular subnuclei. The increasing lateralization along the brainstem was the result of an asymmetric number of pontine and mesencephalic crossing fibers which was higher for left-to-right crossings. The dominance of the right vestibular meso-diencephalic circuitry in right-handers corresponds to the right-hemispheric dominance of the vestibular cortical network. The structural asymmetry apparent in the upper brainstem might be interpreted in relation to the different functions of the vestibular system depending on their anatomical level: a symmetrical sensorimotor reflex control of eye, head, and body mediated by the lower brainstem; a lateralized right-sided upper brainstem-thalamic function as part of the dominant right-sided cortical/subcortical vestibular system that enables a global percept of body motion and orientation in space.

Galvanic coupling effects for module-mounting elements of ground-mounted photovoltaic power station

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierozynski Boguslaw

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This communication reports on the concerns associated with possible generation of galvanic coupling effects for construction materials that are used to manufacture mounting assemblies for ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV power stations. For this purpose, six macro-corrosion galvanic cells were assembled, including: hot-dip Zn/Magnelis®-coated steel/Al and stainless steel (SS/Al cells. Corrosion experiments involved continuous, ca. three-month exposure of these couplings in 3 wt.% NaCl solution, conducted at room temperature for a stable pH value of around 8. All corrosion cells were subjected to regular assessment of galvanic current-density and potential parameters, where special consideration was given to compare the corrosion behaviour of Zn-coated steel samples with that of Magnelis®-coated electrodes. Characterization of surface condition and elemental composition for examined materials was carried-out by means of SEM and EDX spectroscopy techniques.

LA FUNCIÓN VESTIBULAR Y SU CONCORDANCIA FRENOLÓGICA: CONECTANDO LA HISTORIA DE LA FUNCIÓN CEREBRAL VESTIBULAR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Eduardo Duque Parra

2012-09-01

Full Text Available En el presente trabajo se inter-relacionan eventos históricos y contemporáneos, que han permitido desde la intuición de los primeros frenólogos y posteriormente con aspectos clínicos y experimentales, determinar un acercamiento a la localización funcional cerebral del procesamiento de información vestibular, asociada con los movimientos de la cabeza. El objetivo es aclarar si se puede establecer un vínculo entre la información frenológica del siglo XVIII con el procesamiento funcional cortical vestibular, con base en investigaciones contemporáneas. Metodológicamente se compara la información vestibular que surgió de la frenología, con los datos contemporáneos de funcionales cerebrales. Se encontró que el sentido de la orientación espacial se postuló en la región craneal parietal de forma intuitiva por los pioneros de la Frenología, en coincidencia con el sabido procesamiento cerebral parietal para la aceleración angular y linear del movimiento de la cabeza. Se concluye que la asignación de la región frenológica 12 en la zona parietal craneal, es concordante, si se extrapola al lobo parietal, para el sentido del lugar y el sentido espacial, pues varios trabajos indican la asignación como zona cortical vestibular principal, a la que se encuentra en dicha región cerebral.

The sinusoidal lining cells in "normal" human liver. A scanning electron microscopic investigation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Horn, T; Henriksen, Jens Henrik Sahl; Christoffersen, P

1986-01-01

The scanning electron microscopic was used to study the fenestrations of human liver sinusoids. Thirteen biopsies, where light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed normal sinusoidal architecture, were investigated. The number of fenestrae was calculated in acinar zone 3...

Rescue of peripheral vestibular function in Usher syndrome mice using a splice-switching antisense oligonucleotide.

Science.gov (United States)

Vijayakumar, Sarath; Depreux, Frederic F; Jodelka, Francine M; Lentz, Jennifer J; Rigo, Frank; Jones, Timothy A; Hastings, Michelle L

2017-09-15

Usher syndrome type 1C (USH1C/harmonin) is associated with profound retinal, auditory and vestibular dysfunction. We have previously reported on an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO-29) that dramatically improves auditory function and balance behavior in mice homozygous for the harmonin mutation Ush1c c.216G > A following a single systemic administration. The findings were suggestive of improved vestibular function; however, no direct vestibular assessment was made. Here, we measured vestibular sensory evoked potentials (VsEPs) to directly assess vestibular function in Usher mice. We report that VsEPs are absent or abnormal in Usher mice, indicating profound loss of vestibular function. Strikingly, Usher mice receiving ASO-29 treatment have normal or elevated vestibular response thresholds when treated during a critical period between postnatal day 1 and 5, respectively. In contrast, treatment of mice with ASO-29 treatment at P15 was minimally effective at rescuing vestibular function. Interestingly, ASO-29 treatment at P1, P5 or P15 resulted in sufficient vestibular recovery to support normal balance behaviors, suggesting a therapeutic benefit to balance with ASO-29 treatment at P15 despite the profound vestibular functional deficits that persist with treatment at this later time. These findings provide the first direct evidence of an effective treatment of peripheral vestibular function in a mouse model of USH1C and reveal the potential for using antisense technology to treat vestibular dysfunction. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The differential effects of acute right- vs. left-sided vestibular failure on brain metabolism.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker-Bense, Sandra; Dieterich, Marianne; Buchholz, Hans-Georg; Bartenstein, Peter; Schreckenberger, Mathias; Brandt, Thomas

2014-07-01

The human vestibular system is represented in the brain bilaterally, but it has functional asymmetries, i.e., a dominance of ipsilateral pathways and of the right hemisphere in right-handers. To determine if acute right- or left-sided unilateral vestibular neuritis (VN) is associated with differential patterns of brain metabolism in areas representing the vestibular network and the visual-vestibular interaction, patients with acute VN (right n = 9; left n = 13) underwent resting state (18)F-FDG PET once in the acute phase and once 3 months later after central vestibular compensation. The contrast acute vs. chronic phase showed signal differences in contralateral vestibular areas and the inverse contrast in visual cortex areas, both more pronounced in VN right. In VN left additional regions were found in the cerebellar hemispheres and vermis bilaterally, accentuated in severe cases. In general, signal changes appeared more pronounced in patients with more severe vestibular deficits. Acute phase PET data of patients compared to that of age-matched healthy controls disclosed similarities to these patterns, thus permitting the interpretation that the signal changes in vestibular temporo-parietal areas reflect signal increases, and in visual areas, signal decreases. These data imply that brain activity in the acute phase of right- and left-sided VN exhibits different compensatory patterns, i.e., the dominant ascending input is shifted from the ipsilateral to the contralateral pathways, presumably due to the missing ipsilateral vestibular input. The visual-vestibular interaction patterns were preserved, but were of different prominence in each hemisphere and more pronounced in patients with right-sided failure and more severe vestibular deficits.

Fiber Finishes for Improving Galvanic Resistance of Imide-Based Composites

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Allred, R. E

1998-01-01

The objective of this program is the development and demonstration of galvanic corrosion resistant carbon/ BMI composites through the use of reactive finishes to form coatings that isolate the carbon...

Investigation of Calibrating Force Transducer Using Sinusoidal Force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Li; Wang Yu; Zhang Lizhe

2010-01-01

Sinusoidal force calibration method was studied several years before at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). A similar dynamic force calibration system is developed at Changcheng Institute of Metrology and Measurement (CIMM). It uses electro-dynamic shakers to generate dynamic force in the range from 1 N to 20 kN, and heterodyne laser interferometers are used for acceleration measurement. The force transducer to be calibrated is mounted on the shaker, and a mass block is screwed on the top of force transducer, the sinusoidal forces realized by accelerated load masses are traceable to acceleration and mass according to the force definition. The methods of determining Spatial-dependent acceleration on mass block and measuring the end mass of force transducer in dynamic force calibration are discussed in this paper.

Analysis of the corrosion products on galvanized steels by FTIR spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasperek, J.

1998-01-01

FTIR reflectance spectroscopy has been used for the characterization of products formed by an accelerated wet ageing test on industrial hot-dip galvanized steel. Several aluminium contents are selected. Various products have been detected in this study. The kind and amount vary with the substrate, the type of ageing test used, the relative humidity level and the temperature. The galvanized coatings studied show a mixed zinc-aluminium compound, Zn 6 Al 2 (OH) 16 CO 3 .4H 2O. This phase is observed from the first exposure time on all coatings regardless of the amount of aluminium. Contrary to zinc, no basic aluminium compound has been detected. (orig.)

The effects of aging on clinical vestibular evaluations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maxime eMaheu

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Balance disorders are common issues for aging populations due to the effects of normal aging on peripheral vestibular structures. These changes affect the results of vestibular function evaluations and make the interpretation of these results more difficult. The objective of this article is to review the current state of knowledge of clinically relevant vestibular measures. We will first focus on otolith function assessment methods cVEMP and oVEMP, then the caloric and vHIT methods for semi-circular canals assessment. cVEMP and oVEMP are useful methods, though research on the effects of age for some parameters are still inconclusive. vHIT results are largely independent of age as compared to caloric stimulation and should therefore be preferred for the evaluation of the semi-circular canals function.

Microstructure and failure behavior of dissimilar resistance spot welds between low carbon galvanized and austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marashi, P.; Pouranvari, M.; Amirabdollahian, S.; Abedi, A.; Goodarzi, M.

2008-01-01

Resistance spot welding was used to join austenitic stainless steel and galvanized low carbon steel. The relationship between failure mode and weld fusion zone characteristics (size and microstructure) was studied. It was found that spot weld strength in the pullout failure mode is controlled by the strength and fusion zone size of the galvanized steel side. The hardness of the fusion zone which is governed by the dilution between two base metals, and fusion zone size of galvanized carbon steel side are dominant factors in determining the failure mode

Vestibular asymmetry predicts falls among elderly patients with multi- sensory dizziness

OpenAIRE

Ekvall Hansson, Eva; Magnusson, M?ns

2013-01-01

Background: Dizziness is the most common symptom in elderly patients and has been identified as a risk factor for falls. While BPPV is the most common cause of dizziness among elderly, multisensory deficits is the second, with visual, vestibular and proprioceptive reduced function. Asymmetric vestibular function is overrepresented in elderly persons with hip fractures and wrist fractures and can be accessed for screening. The objective was to study if vestibular asymmetry, vibration sense, ba...

Some New Results on the Estimation of Sinusoids in Noise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jesper Kjær

2012-01-01

This thesis is concerned with the problem of estimating sinusoidal parameters from noisy observations. This field of research is applicable to solving problems in a large number of areas such as music and speech processing, electrocardiography, seismology, radar and sonar processing, astronomy....... Third, an efficient algorithm for performing inference and interpolation in a dynamic sinusoidal model is proposed. This method is applied to packet-loss concealment, and listening tests indicate that the proposed algorithm can be used for this purpose. Fourth, the Capon filtering method for amplitude...

Corrosion Mechanism and Bond-Strength Study on Galvanized Steel in Concrete Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kouril, M.; Pokorny, P.; Stoulil, J. [University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (Czech Republic)

2017-04-15

Zinc coating on carbon steels give the higher corrosion resistance in chloride containing environments and in carbonated concrete. However, hydrogen evolution accompanies the corrosion of zinc in the initial activity in fresh concrete, which can lead to the formation of a porous structure at the reinforcement -concrete interface, which can potentially reduce the bond-strength of the reinforcement with concrete. The present study examines the mechanism of the corrosion of hot-dip galvanized steel in detail, as in the model pore solutions and real concrete. Calcium ion plays an important role in the corrosion mechanism, as it prevents the formation of passive layers on zinc at an elevated alkalinity. The corrosion rate of galvanized steel decreases in accordance with the exposure time; however, the reason for this is not the zinc transition into passivity, but the consumption of the less corrosion-resistant phases of hot-dip galvanizing in the concrete environment. The results on the electrochemical tests have been confirmed by the bond-strength test for the reinforcement of concrete and by evaluating the porosity of the cement adjacent to the reinforcement.

Impact of Diabetic Complications on Balance and Falls: Contribution of the Vestibular System.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Silva, Linda J; Lin, James; Staecker, Hinrich; Whitney, Susan L; Kluding, Patricia M

2016-03-01

Diabetes causes many complications, including retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy, which are well understood as contributing to gait instability and falls. A less understood complication of diabetes is the effect on the vestibular system. The vestibular system contributes significantly to balance in static and dynamic conditions by providing spatially orienting information. It is noteworthy that diabetes has been reported to affect vestibular function in both animal and clinical studies. Pathophysiological changes in peripheral and central vestibular structures due to diabetes have been noted. Vestibular dysfunction is associated with impaired balance and a higher risk of falls. As the prevalence of diabetes increases, so does the potential for falls due to diabetic complications. The purpose of this perspective article is to present evidence on the pathophysiology of diabetes-related complications and their influence on balance and falls, with specific attention to emerging evidence of vestibular dysfunction due to diabetes. Understanding this relationship may be useful for screening (by physical therapists) for possible vestibular dysfunction in people with diabetes and for further developing and testing the efficacy of interventions to reduce falls in this population. © 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.

Baseline vestibular and auditory findings in a trial of post-concussive syndrome

Science.gov (United States)

Meehan, Anna; Searing, Elizabeth; Weaver, Lindell; Lewandowski, Andrew

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported high rates of auditory and vestibular-balance deficits immediately following head injury. This study uses a comprehensive battery of assessments to characterize auditory and vestibular function in 71 U.S. military service members with chronic symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury that did not resolve with traditional interventions. The majority of the study population reported hearing loss (70%) and recent vestibular symptoms (83%). Central auditory deficits were most prevalent, with 58% of participants failing the SCAN3:A screening test and 45% showing abnormal responses on auditory steady-state response testing presented at a suprathreshold intensity. Only 17% of the participants had abnormal hearing (⟩25 dB hearing loss) based on the pure-tone average. Objective vestibular testing supported significant deficits in this population, regardless of whether the participant self-reported active symptoms. Composite score on the Sensory Organization Test was lower than expected from normative data (mean 69.6 ±vestibular tests, vestibulo-ocular reflex, central auditory dysfunction, mild traumatic brain injury, post-concussive symptoms, hearing15.6). High abnormality rates were found in funduscopy torsion (58%), oculomotor assessments (49%), ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (46% and 33%, respectively), and monothermal calorics (40%). It is recommended that a full peripheral and central auditory, oculomotor, and vestibular-balance evaluation be completed on military service members who have sustained head trauma.

Potenciais miogênicos evocados vestibulares: metodologias de registro em homens e cobaias Vestibular evoked myogenic potential: recording methods in humans and guinea pigs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline Cabral de Oliveira

2008-10-01

Full Text Available O potencial miogênico evocado vestibular (VEMP é um teste clínico que avalia a função vestibular através de um reflexo vestíbulo-cervical inibitório captado nos músculos do corpo em resposta à estimulação acústica de alta intensidade. OBJETIVO: Verificar e analisar os diversos métodos de registro dos potenciais miogênicos evocados vestibulares no homem e em cobaias. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Realizou-se busca eletrônica nas bases de dados MEDLINE, LILACS, SCIELO e COCHRANE. RESULTADOS: Foram verificadas divergências quanto às formas de registro dos potenciais miogênicos evocados vestibulares, relacionadas com os seguintes fatores: posição do paciente no momento do registro, tipo de estímulo sonoro utilizado (clicks ou tone bursts, parâmetros para a promediação dos estímulos (intensidade, freqüência, tempo de apresentação, filtros, ganho de amplificação das respostas e janelas para captação dos estímulos, tipo de fone utilizado e forma de apresentação dos estímulos (monoaural ou binaural, ipsi ou contralateral. CONCLUSÃO: Não existe consenso na literatura quanto ao melhor método de registro dos potenciais evocados miogênicos vestibulares, havendo necessidade de pesquisas mais específicas para comparação entre estes registros e a definição de um modelo padrão para a utilização na prática clínica.The vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP is a clinical test that assess the vestibular function by means of an inhibitory vestibulo-neck reflex, recorded in body muscles in response to high intensity acoustic stimuli. AIM: To check and analyze the different methods used to record VEMPs in humans and in guinea pigs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We researched the following databases: MEDLINE, LILACS, SCIELO and COCHRANE. RESULTS: we noticed discrepancies in relation to the ways used to record the vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in relation to the following factors: patient position at the time of recording

Influences of Vestibular System on Sympathetic Nervous System. Implications for countermeasures.

Science.gov (United States)

Denise, Pr Pierre

As gravity is a direct and permanent stress on body fluids, muscles and bones, it is not surpris-ing that weightlessness has important effects on cardiovascular and musculo-skeletal systems. However, these harmful effects do not totally result from the removal of the direct stress of gravity on these organs, but are also partially and indirectly mediated by the vestibular sys-tem. Besides its well known crucial role in spatial orientation and postural equilibrium, it is now clear that the vestibular system is also involved in the regulation of other important physi-ological systems: respiratory and cardiovascular systems, circadian regulation, food intake and even bone mineralization. The neuroanatomical substrate for these vestibular-mediated reg-ulations is still poorly defined, but there is much evidence that vestibular system has strong impacts not only on brainstem autonomic centers but on many hypothalamic nuclei as well. As autonomic nervous system controls almost all body organs, bringing into play the vestibular system by hypergravity or microgravity could virtually affects all major physiological func-tions. There is experimental evidence that weightlessness as well as vestibular lesion induce sympathetic activation thus participating in space related physiological alterations. The fact that some effects of weightlessness on biological systems are mediated by the vestibular system has an important implication for using artificial gravity as a countermeasure: artificial gravity should load not only bones and the cardiovascular system but the vestibular system as well. In short-arm centrifuges, the g load at the head level is low because the head is near the axis of rotation. If the vestibular system is involved in cardiovascular deconditioning and bone loss during weightlessness, it would be more effective to significantly stimulate it and thus it would be necessary to place the head off-axis. Moreover, as the otolithic organs are non longer stimu-lated in

Cr(VI) reduction in wastewater using a bimetallic galvanic reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lugo-Lugo, Violeta; Barrera-Diaz, Carlos; Bilyeu, Bryan; Balderas-Hernandez, Patricia; Urena-Nunez, Fernando; Sanchez-Mendieta, Victor

2010-01-01

The electrochemical reduction of Cr(VI)-Cr(III) in wastewater by iron and copper-iron bimetallic plates was evaluated and optimized. Iron has been used as a reducing agent, but in this work a copper-iron galvanic system in the form of bimetallic plates is applied to reducing hexavalent chromium. The optimal pH (2) and ratio of copper to iron surface areas (3.5:1) were determined in batch studies, achieving a 100% reduction in about 25 min. The Cr(VI) reduction kinetics for the bimetallic system fit a first order mechanism with a correlation of 0.9935. Thermodynamic analysis shows that the Cr(VI) reduction is possible at any pH value. However, at pH values above 3.0 for iron and 5.5 for chromium insoluble species appear, indicating that the reaction will be hindered. Continuous column studies indicate that the bimetallic copper-iron galvanic system has a reduction capacity of 9.5890 mg Cr(VI) cm -2 iron, whereas iron alone only has a capacity of 0.1269 mg Cr(VI) cm -2 . The bimetallic copper-iron galvanic system is much more effective in reducing hexavalent chromium than iron alone. The exhausted plates were analyzed by SEM, EDS, and XRD to determine the mechanism and the surface effects, especially surface fouling.

Galvanic Cells and the Determination of Equilibrium Constants

Science.gov (United States)

Brosmer, Jonathan L.; Peters, Dennis G.

2012-01-01

Readily assembled mini-galvanic cells can be employed to compare their observed voltages with those predicted from the Nernst equation and to determine solubility products for silver halides and overall formation constants for metal-ammonia complexes. Results obtained by students in both an honors-level first-year course in general chemistry and…

An Adaptive Filter for the Removal of Drifting Sinusoidal Noise Without a Reference.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, John W; Siewiorek, Daniel P; Smailagic, Asim; Wang, Wei

2016-01-01

This paper presents a method for filtering sinusoidal noise with a variable bandwidth filter that is capable of tracking a sinusoid's drifting frequency. The method, which is based on the adaptive noise canceling (ANC) technique, will be referred to here as the adaptive sinusoid canceler (ASC). The ASC eliminates sinusoidal contamination by tracking its frequency and achieving a narrower bandwidth than typical notch filters. The detected frequency is used to digitally generate an internal reference instead of relying on an external one as ANC filters typically do. The filter's bandwidth adjusts to achieve faster and more accurate convergence. In this paper, the focus of the discussion and the data is physiological signals, specifically electrocorticographic (ECoG) neural data contaminated with power line noise, but the presented technique could be applicable to other recordings as well. On simulated data, the ASC was able to reliably track the noise's frequency, properly adjust its bandwidth, and outperform comparative methods including standard notch filters and an adaptive line enhancer. These results were reinforced by visual results obtained from real ECoG data. The ASC showed that it could be an effective method for increasing signal to noise ratio in the presence of drifting sinusoidal noise, which is of significant interest for biomedical applications.

Functional balance associated factors in the elderly with chronic vestibular disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Gazzola, Juliana Maria; Perracini, Monica Rodrigues; Ganança, Maurício Malavasi; Ganança, Fernando Freitas

2006-01-01

Daily activities can be challenging for the elderly. To study the association between functional balance, evaluated by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), sociodemographics, clinical and mobilility (Timed up and go test-TUGT, Dynamic Gait Index-DGI) variables in the elderly with chronic vestibular disorder. A series study with one hundred and twenty elderly with chronic vestibular disorder. We performed the Mann-Whitney test, the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn test and the Spearman Coefficient ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]). Statistically significant associations and correlations were observed between total BBS score and age ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]=-0.354; pfalls (p=0.010), tendency to fall (p=0.002), topographic diagnosis of central vestibular disorder (pFunctional balance in the elderly with chronic vestibular disorders evaluated by the BBS is worse when associated with aging, with a more advanced age group (80 years or more), increasing number of illnesses, presence of five or more illnesses, use of multiple medications, recurrent falls, tendency to fall, central vestibular syndromes, daily dizziness, mobility and gait impairments.

Kv1 channels and neural processing in vestibular calyx afferents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frances L Meredith

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Potassium-selective ion channels are important for accurate transmission of signals from auditory and vestibular sensory end organs to their targets in the central nervous system. During different gravity conditions, astronauts experience altered input signals from the peripheral vestibular system resulting in sensorimotor dysfunction. Adaptation to altered sensory input occurs, but it is not explicitly known whether this involves synaptic modifications within the vestibular epithelia. Future investigations of such potential plasticity require a better understanding of the electrophysiological mechanisms underlying the known heterogeneity of afferent discharge under normal conditions. This study advances this understanding by examining the role of the Kv1 potassium channel family in mediating action potentials in specialized vestibular afferent calyx endings in the gerbil crista and utricle. Pharmacological agents selective for different sub-types of Kv1 channels were tested on membrane responses in whole cell recordings in the crista. Kv1 channels sensitive to α-dendrotoxin and dendrotoxin-K were found to prevail in the central regions, whereas K+ channels sensitive to margatoxin, which blocks Kv1.3 and 1.6 channels, were more prominent in peripheral regions. Margatoxin-sensitive currents showed voltage-dependent inactivation. Dendrotoxin-sensitive currents showed no inactivation and dampened excitability in calyces in central neuroepithelial regions. The differential distribution of Kv1 potassium channels in vestibular afferents supports their importance in accurately relaying gravitational and head movement signals through specialized lines to the central nervous system. Pharmacological modulation of specific groups of K+ channels could help alleviate vestibular dysfunction on earth and in space.

Kv1 channels and neural processing in vestibular calyx afferents.

Science.gov (United States)

Meredith, Frances L; Kirk, Matthew E; Rennie, Katherine J

2015-01-01

Potassium-selective ion channels are important for accurate transmission of signals from auditory and vestibular sensory end organs to their targets in the central nervous system. During different gravity conditions, astronauts experience altered input signals from the peripheral vestibular system resulting in sensorimotor dysfunction. Adaptation to altered sensory input occurs, but it is not explicitly known whether this involves synaptic modifications within the vestibular epithelia. Future investigations of such potential plasticity require a better understanding of the electrophysiological mechanisms underlying the known heterogeneity of afferent discharge under normal conditions. This study advances this understanding by examining the role of the Kv1 potassium channel family in mediating action potentials in specialized vestibular afferent calyx endings in the gerbil crista and utricle. Pharmacological agents selective for different sub-types of Kv1 channels were tested on membrane responses in whole cell recordings in the crista. Kv1 channels sensitive to α-dendrotoxin and dendrotoxin-K were found to prevail in the central regions, whereas K(+) channels sensitive to margatoxin, which blocks Kv1.3 and 1.6 channels, were more prominent in peripheral regions. Margatoxin-sensitive currents showed voltage-dependent inactivation. Dendrotoxin-sensitive currents showed no inactivation and dampened excitability in calyces in central neuroepithelial regions. The differential distribution of Kv1 potassium channels in vestibular afferents supports their importance in accurately relaying gravitational and head movement signals through specialized lines to the central nervous system. Pharmacological modulation of specific groups of K(+) channels could help alleviate vestibular dysfunction on earth and in space.

Processing hot-dip galvanized AHSS grades: a challenging task

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pichler, A.; Hebesberger, T.; Tragl, E.; Traint, S.; Faderl, J.; Angeli, G.; Koesters, K. [voestalpine Stahl GmbH, Linz (Austria)

2005-07-01

High-strength thin sheet steel grades have gained a considerable market share. At present a very strong demand has been observed for DP (dual-phase), CP (complex phase) and TRIP grades, which are often summarized as advanced high-strength steel grades (AHSS). The potential benefits of applying AHSS grades were impressively demonstrated in the ULSAC-AVC project, in which a remarkable reduction in mass and an increase in stiffness and crash safety were achieved by using a very high share of AHSS steel grades. The present contribution concentrates on hot-dip galvanized AHSS thin sheet grades. The hot-dip galvanizeability of such grades is critically discussed after an overview is provided of the metallurgy of AHSS grades, including microstructure, mechanical properties, phase transformations and required alloy design. Based on these fundamentals, the processing of AHSS grades in the hot-dip galvanizing line is discussed and the resulting properties presented. (orig.)

Vestibular-somatosensory interactions: effects of passive whole-body rotation on somatosensory detection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisa Raffaella Ferrè

Full Text Available Vestibular signals are strongly integrated with information from several other sensory modalities. For example, vestibular stimulation was reported to improve tactile detection. However, this improvement could reflect either a multimodal interaction or an indirect interaction driven by vestibular effects on spatial attention and orienting. Here we investigate whether natural vestibular activation induced by passive whole-body rotation influences tactile detection. In particular, we assessed the ability to detect faint tactile stimuli to the fingertips of the left and right hand during spatially congruent or incongruent rotations. We found that passive whole-body rotations significantly enhanced sensitivity to faint shocks, without affecting response bias. Critically, this enhancement of somatosensory sensitivity did not depend on the spatial congruency between the direction of rotation and the hand stimulated. Thus, our results support a multimodal interaction, likely in brain areas receiving both vestibular and somatosensory signals.

Migraine patients consistently show abnormal vestibular bedside tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Maranhão, Eliana Teixeira; Maranhão-Filho, Péricles; Luiz, Ronir Raggio; Vincent, Maurice Borges

2016-01-01

Migraine and vertigo are common disorders, with lifetime prevalences of 16% and 7% respectively, and co-morbidity around 3.2%. Vestibular syndromes and dizziness occur more frequently in migraine patients. We investigated bedside clinical signs indicative of vestibular dysfunction in migraineurs. To test the hypothesis that vestibulo-ocular reflex, vestibulo-spinal reflex and fall risk (FR) responses as measured by 14 bedside tests are abnormal in migraineurs without vertigo, as compared with controls. Cross-sectional study including sixty individuals - thirty migraineurs, 25 women, 19-60 y-o; and 30 gender/age healthy paired controls. Migraineurs showed a tendency to perform worse in almost all tests, albeit only the Romberg tandem test was statistically different from controls. A combination of four abnormal tests better discriminated the two groups (93.3% specificity). Migraine patients consistently showed abnormal vestibular bedside tests when compared with controls.

Influence of sinusoidal flow on the thermal and hydraulic performance of microchannel heat sink

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Om, N I; Gunnasegaran, P; Rajasegaran, S

2013-01-01

In this paper, the effect of sinusoidal flow on the thermal and hydraulic performance of microchannel heat sink (MCHS) is numerically investigated. This investigation covers Reynolds number in the range of 100 ≤ Re ≤ 1000 and pure water is used as a working fluid. The three-dimensional steady, laminar flow and heat transfer governing equations are solved using finite volume method (FVM). The water flow field and heat transfer performance inside the sinusoidal microchannels is simulated and the results are compared with the straight microchannels. The effect of using sinusoidal microchannels on temperature distribution, Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal resistance is presented in this paper. It is found that with same rectangular cross-section, sinusoidal microchannels have a better heat transfer performance compared to the straight microchannels.

How does high-frequency sound or vibration activate vestibular receptors?

Science.gov (United States)

Curthoys, I S; Grant, J W

2015-03-01

The mechanism by which vestibular neural phase locking occurs and how it relates to classical otolith mechanics is unclear. Here, we put forward the hypothesis that sound and vibration both cause fluid pressure waves in the inner ear and that it is these pressure waves which displace the hair bundles on vestibular receptor hair cells and result in activation of type I receptor hair cells and phase locking of the action potentials in the irregular vestibular afferents, which synapse on type I receptors. This idea has been suggested since the early neural recordings and recent results give it greater credibility.

Impaired math achievement in patients with acute vestibular neuritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Moser, Ivan; Vibert, Dominique; Caversaccio, Marco D; Mast, Fred W

2017-12-01

Broad cognitive difficulties have been reported in patients with peripheral vestibular deficit, especially in the domain of spatial cognition. Processing and manipulating numbers relies on the ability to use the inherent spatial features of numbers. It is thus conceivable that patients with acute peripheral vestibular deficit show impaired numerical cognition. Using the number Stroop task and a short math achievement test, we tested 20 patients with acute vestibular neuritis and 20 healthy, age-matched controls. On the one hand, patients showed normal congruency and distance effects in the number Stroop task, which is indicative of normal number magnitude processing. On the other hand, patients scored lower than healthy controls in the math achievement test. We provide evidence that the lower performance cannot be explained by either differences in prior math knowledge (i.e., education) or slower processing speed. Our results suggest that peripheral vestibular deficit negatively affects numerical cognition in terms of the efficient manipulation of numbers. We discuss the role of executive functions in math performance and argue that previously reported executive deficits in patients with peripheral vestibular deficit provide a plausible explanation for the lower math achievement scores. In light of the handicapping effects of impaired numerical cognition in daily living, it is crucial to further investigate the mechanisms that cause mathematical deficits in acute PVD and eventually develop adequate means for cognitive interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vision and Vestibular System Dysfunction Predicts Prolonged Concussion Recovery in Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Master, Christina L; Master, Stephen R; Wiebe, Douglas J; Storey, Eileen P; Lockyer, Julia E; Podolak, Olivia E; Grady, Matthew F

2018-03-01

Up to one-third of children with concussion have prolonged symptoms lasting beyond 4 weeks. Vision and vestibular dysfunction is common after concussion. It is unknown whether such dysfunction predicts prolonged recovery. We sought to determine which vision or vestibular problems predict prolonged recovery in children. A retrospective cohort of pediatric patients with concussion. A subspecialty pediatric concussion program. Four hundred thirty-two patient records were abstracted. Presence of vision or vestibular dysfunction upon presentation to the subspecialty concussion program. The main outcome of interest was time to clinical recovery, defined by discharge from clinical follow-up, including resolution of acute symptoms, resumption of normal physical and cognitive activity, and normalization of physical examination findings to functional levels. Study subjects were 5 to 18 years (median = 14). A total of 378 of 432 subjects (88%) presented with vision or vestibular problems. A history of motion sickness was associated with vestibular dysfunction. Younger age, public insurance, and presence of headache were associated with later presentation for subspecialty concussion care. Vision and vestibular problems were associated within distinct clusters. Provocable symptoms with vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and smooth pursuits and abnormal balance and accommodative amplitude (AA) predicted prolonged recovery time. Vision and vestibular problems predict prolonged concussion recovery in children. A history of motion sickness may be an important premorbid factor. Public insurance status may represent problems with disparities in access to concussion care. Vision assessments in concussion must include smooth pursuits, saccades, near point of convergence (NPC), and accommodative amplitude (AA). A comprehensive, multidomain assessment is essential to predict prolonged recovery time and enable active intervention with specific school accommodations and targeted rehabilitation.

Velocity dependence of vestibular information for postural control on tilting surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Kluzik, JoAnn; Hlavacka, Frantisek

2016-01-01

Vestibular information is known to be important for postural stability on tilting surfaces, but the relative importance of vestibular information across a wide range of surface tilt velocities is less clear. We compared how tilt velocity influences postural orientation and stability in nine subjects with bilateral vestibular loss and nine age-matched, control subjects. Subjects stood on a force platform that tilted 6 deg, toes-up at eight velocities (0.25 to 32 deg/s), with and without vision. Results showed that visual information effectively compensated for lack of vestibular information at all tilt velocities. However, with eyes closed, subjects with vestibular loss were most unstable within a critical tilt velocity range of 2 to 8 deg/s. Subjects with vestibular deficiency lost their balance in more than 90% of trials during the 4 deg/s condition, but never fell during slower tilts (0.25–1 deg/s) and fell only very rarely during faster tilts (16–32 deg/s). At the critical velocity range in which falls occurred, the body center of mass stayed aligned with respect to the surface, onset of ankle dorsiflexion was delayed, and there was delayed or absent gastrocnemius inhibition, suggesting that subjects were attempting to actively align their upper bodies with respect to the moving surface instead of to gravity. Vestibular information may be critical for stability at velocities of 2 to 8 deg/s because postural sway above 2 deg/s may be too fast to elicit stabilizing responses through the graviceptive somatosensory system, and postural sway below 8 deg/s may be too slow for somatosensory-triggered responses or passive stabilization from trunk inertia. PMID:27486101

Diabetes, vestibular dysfunction, and falls: analyses from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Yuri; Carey, John P; Della Santina, Charles C; Schubert, Michael C; Minor, Lloyd B

2010-12-01

Patients with diabetes are at increased risk both for falls and for vestibular dysfunction, a known risk factor for falls. Our aims were 1) to further characterize the vestibular dysfunction present in patients with diabetes and 2) to evaluate for an independent effect of vestibular dysfunction on fall risk among patients with diabetes. National cross-sectional survey. Ambulatory examination centers. Adults from the United States aged 40 years and older who participated in the 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n = 5,86). Diagnosis of diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and retinopathy. Vestibular function measured by the modified Romberg Test of Standing Balance on Firm and Compliant Support Surfaces and history of falling in the previous 12 months. We observed a higher prevalence of vestibular dysfunction in patients with diabetes with longer duration of disease, greater serum hemoglobin A1c levels and other diabetes-related complications, suggestive of a dose-response relationship between diabetes mellitus severity and vestibular dysfunction. We also noted that vestibular dysfunction independently increased the odds of falling more than 2-fold among patients with diabetes (odds ratio, 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-5.1), even after adjusting for peripheral neuropathy and retinopathy. Moreover, we found that including vestibular dysfunction, peripheral neuropathy, and retinopathy in multivariate models eliminated the significant association between diabetes and fall risk. Vestibular dysfunction may represent a newly recognized diabetes-related complication, which acts as a mediator of the effect of diabetes mellitus on fall risk.

Synaptic plasticity in the medial vestibular nuclei: role of glutamate receptors and retrograde messengers in rat brainstem slices.

Science.gov (United States)

Grassi, S; Pettorossi, V E

2001-08-01

The analysis of cellular-molecular events mediating synaptic plasticity within vestibular nuclei is an attempt to explain the mechanisms underlying vestibular plasticity phenomena. The present review is meant to illustrate the main results, obtained in vitro, on the mechanisms underlying long-term changes in synaptic strength within the medial vestibular nuclei. The synaptic plasticity phenomena taking place at the level of vestibular nuclei could be useful for adapting and consolidating the efficacy of vestibular neuron responsiveness to environmental requirements, as during visuo-vestibular recalibration and vestibular compensation. Following a general introduction on the most salient features of vestibular compensation and visuo-vestibular adaptation, which are two plastic events involving neuronal circuitry within the medial vestibular nuclei, the second and third sections describe the results from rat brainstem slice studies, demonstrating the possibility to induce long-term potentiation and depression in the medial vestibular nuclei, following high frequency stimulation of the primary vestibular afferents. In particular the mechanisms sustaining the induction and expression of vestibular long-term potentiation and depression, such as the role of various glutamate receptors and retrograde messengers have been described. The relevant role of the interaction between the platelet-activating factor, acting as a retrograde messenger, and the presynaptic metabotropic glutamate receptors, in determining the full expression of vestibular long-term potentiation is also underlined. In addition, the mechanisms involved in vestibular long-term potentiation have been compared with those leading to long-term potentiation in the hippocampus to emphasize the most significant differences emerging from vestibular studies. The fourth part, describes recent results demonstrating the essential role of nitric oxide, another retrograde messenger, in the induction of vestibular

Focal increase of blood flow in the cerebral cortex of man during vestibular stimulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friberg, L; Olsen, T S; Roland, P E

1985-01-01

This study is an attempt to reveal projection areas for vestibular afferents to the human brain. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were measured over 254 cortical regions during caloric vestibular stimulation with warm water (44 degrees C). rCBF was measured when the external auditory...... meatus was irrigated with water at body temperature as a control to vestibular stimulation. During vestibular stimulation there was only a single cortical area, located in the superior temporal region, which showed a consistent focal activation in the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulated side...... stimulation that gives rise to the associated conscious vestibular sensation of vertigo....

Galvanizing industry: evaluation of exposure levels using biomonitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menezes, Maria Angela de B.C.; Sabino, Claudia de V.S.; Amaral, Angela Maria; Mattos, Silvania V. de M.; S. Filho, Serafim; Maia, Elene Cristina P.

1999-01-01

In Brazil, statistical surveys concerning occupational diseases refer to accidents and damages. The surveys do not refer to the occupational diseases developed through long exposures to hazardous work conditions, involving physical risk and toxic chemical substances. The Program of Medical Control of Occupational Health determines the Maximum Biological Levels Allowed and the Values of Normality References. But concerning metal and toxic inorganic, values of only few elements are established. In Belo Horizonte and surroundings areas, which is an important industrial centre in the country, there are different industries distributed over various areas. There are about 80 galvanizing industries which are responsible for the majority of the metal contamination hospitalities. A preliminary sampling was performed in order to conduct a survey of the exposures to elements related to occupational diseases in galvanizing industry. The preliminary results for toxic and non-toxic elements obtained using hair and fingernails as biomonitors are shown. The K 0 parametric neutron activation analysis method was applied and the elements determined were: Ag, Al, Au, Cl, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, I, Mn, Na, Ti, V, Ta, and Zn. (author)

Molecular composition of extracellular matrix in the vestibular nuclei of the rat.

Science.gov (United States)

Rácz, Eva; Gaál, Botond; Kecskes, Szilvia; Matesz, Clara

2014-07-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that the molecular and structural composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) shows regional differences in the central nervous system. By using histochemical and immunohistochemical methods, we provide here a detailed map of the distribution of ECM molecules in the vestibular nuclear complex (VNC) of the rat. We have observed common characteristics of the ECM staining pattern in the VNC and a number of differences among the individual vestibular nuclei and their subdivisions. The perineuronal net (PNN), which is the pericellular condensation of ECM, showed the most intense staining for hyaluronan, aggrecan, brevican and tenascin-R in the superior, lateral and medial vestibular nuclei, whereas the HAPLN1 link protein and the neurocan exhibited moderate staining intensity. The rostral part of the descending vestibular nucleus (DVN) presented a similar staining pattern in the PNN, with the exception of brevican, which was negative. The caudal part of the DVN had the weakest staining for all ECM molecules in the PNN. Throughout the VNC, versican staining in the PNN, when present, was distinctive due to its punctuate appearance. The neuropil also exhibited heterogeneity among the individual vestibular nuclei in ECM staining pattern and intensity. We find that the heterogeneous distribution of ECM molecules is associated in many cases with the variable cytoarchitecture and hodological organization of the vestibular nuclei, and propose that differences in the ECM composition may be related to specific neuronal functions associated with gaze and posture control and vestibular compensation.

Regorafenib suppresses sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Okuno, Masayuki; Hatano, Etsuro; Nakamura, Kojiro; Miyagawa-Hayashino, Aya; Kasai, Yosuke; Nishio, Takahiro; Seo, Satoru; Taura, Kojiro; Uemoto, Shinji

2015-02-01

Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), a form of drug-induced liver injury related to oxaliplatin treatment, is associated with postoperative morbidity after hepatectomy. This study aimed to examine the impact of regorafenib, the first small-molecule kinase inhibitor to show efficacy against metastatic colorectal cancer, on a rat model of SOS. Rats with monocrotaline (MCT)-induced SOS were divided into two groups according to treatment with either regorafenib (6 mg/kg) or vehicle alone, which were administered at 12 and 36 h, respectively, before MCT administration. Histopathologic examination and serum biochemistry tests were performed 48 h after MCT administration. Sinusoidal endothelial cells were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. To examine whether regorafenib preserved remnant liver function, a 30% hepatectomy was performed in each group. The rats in the vehicle group displayed typical SOS features, whereas these features were suppressed in the regorafenib group. The total SOS scores were significantly lower in the regorafenib group than in the vehicle group. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy showed that regorafenib had a protective effect on sinusoidal endothelial cells. The postoperative survival rate after 7 d was significantly better in the regorafenib group than that in the vehicle group (26.7% versus 6.7%, P Regorafenib reduced the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase, which induced matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activation and decreased the activity of MMP-9, one of the crucial mediators of SOS development. Regorafenib suppressed MCT-induced SOS, concomitant with attenuating extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation, and MMP-9 activation, suggesting that regorafenib may be a favorable agent for use in combination with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hydrothermal–galvanic couple synthesis of directionally oriented BaTiO3 thin films on TiN-coated substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Chia-Jung; Tsai, Di-You; Chan, Pei-Hsuan; Wu, Chu-Tsun; Lu, Fu-Hsing

2013-01-01

BaTiO 3 films were synthesized on TiN-coated Si substrate below 100 °C by a hydrothermal–galvanic couple technique in barium contained alkaline solutions. X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction results show that the BaTiO 3 thin films were directionally oriented grown on the TiN/Si substrates, i.e., (111) BaTiO 3 over (111) TiN. The surface morphologies revealed that BaTiO 3 nucleated and grew over the TiN surface with a single layer. From kinetic analyses, the growth rates of BaTiO 3 films prepared by the hydrothermal–galvanic couple technique were faster than a hydrothermal method. The galvanic effects were confirmed by investigating the induced currents and energies. The galvanic currents were generated and controlled by both the dissolution of TiN and the formation of BaTiO 3 . The output electric energies increased rapidly with the reaction time and leveled off at the full coverage of BaTiO 3 . - Highlights: • Cubic BaTiO 3 films are synthesized by a hydrothermal–galvanic couple method (HT–GC). • Growth rates of BaTiO 3 films made by HT–GC are faster than a hydrothermal method. • BaTiO 3 films are directionally oriented grown on the TiN/Si substrates. • Galvanic currents are controlled by dissolution of TiN and formation of BaTiO 3

Enhancement of Otolith Specific Ocular Responses Using Vestibular Stochastic Resonance

Science.gov (United States)

Fiedler, Matthew; De Dios, Yiri E.; Esteves, Julie; Galvan, Raquel; Wood, Scott; Bloomberg, Jacob; Mulavara, Ajitkumar

2011-01-01

Introduction: Astronauts experience disturbances in sensorimotor function after spaceflight during the initial introduction to a gravitational environment, especially after long-duration missions. Our goal is to develop a countermeasure based on vestibular stochastic resonance (SR) that could improve central interpretation of vestibular input and mitigate these risks. SR is a mechanism by which noise can assist and enhance the response of neural systems to relevant, imperceptible sensory signals. We have previously shown that imperceptible electrical stimulation of the vestibular system enhances balance performance while standing on an unstable surface. Methods: Eye movement data were collected from 10 subjects during variable radius centrifugation (VRC). Subjects performed 11 trials of VRC that provided equivalent tilt stimuli from otolith and other graviceptor input without the normal concordant canal cues. Bipolar stochastic electrical stimulation, in the range of 0-1500 microamperes, was applied to the vestibular system using a constant current stimulator through electrodes placed over the mastoid process behind the ears. In the VRC paradigm, subjects were accelerated to 216 deg./s. After the subjects no longer sensed rotation, the chair oscillated along a track at 0.1 Hz to provide tilt stimuli of 10 deg. Eye movements were recorded for 6 cycles while subjects fixated on a target in darkness. Ocular counter roll (OCR) movement was calculated from the eye movement data during periods of chair oscillations. Results: Preliminary analysis of the data revealed that 9 of 10 subjects showed an average increase of 28% in the magnitude of OCR responses to the equivalent tilt stimuli while experiencing vestibular SR. The signal amplitude at which performance was maximized was in the range of 100-900 microamperes. Discussion: These results indicate that stochastic electrical stimulation of the vestibular system can improve otolith specific responses. This will have a

The influence of Reynolds number on the galvanic corrosion of the copper/AISI 304 pair in aqueous LiBr solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montanes, M.T.; Sanchez-Tovar, R.; Garcia-Anton, J.; Perez-Herranz, V.

2009-01-01

The influence of Reynolds number on the galvanic corrosion of the copper/AISI 304 stainless steel pair in a concentrated lithium bromide solution was investigated according to the mixed potential theory. A hydraulic circuit was designed to study dynamic corrosion processes in situ. A potential relation between corrosion current density (i corr ) and Reynolds number (Re) was found for copper, showing a mixed control of a chemical step and mass transport through the corrosion products film with the predominance of the former. No dependence of i corr on Re could be established for AISI 304, showing a chemical step control. Moreover, under stagnant conditions, partial passivation may occur in AISI 304; however, under flowing conditions passivation is not possible. Copper is the anodic element of the pair under all flowing conditions analysed. The galvanic phenomenon is more important as Re increases, but the results show compatibility of both materials at all Re values analysed. Similarly, a potential relation between galvanic current density (i G ) and Re was found, showing a mixed control of a chemical step and mass transport with the predominance of the latter. Copper corrosion resistance decreases more rapidly as Re increases due to the AISI 304 galvanic effect: there is a synergy between the galvanic effect and the hydrodynamic conditions. Under stagnant conditions, the galvanic behaviour of the materials is close to the compatibility limit and an inversion of the anodic element of the galvanic pair takes place.

Improvement of the galvanized coating quality of high strength dual phase steels by pre-electroplating nickel layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhong, N. [Institute of Marine Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 200135 (China); Zhang, K. [Institute of Concrete Pumps Machinery R and D, Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. 410100 (China); Li, J. [Baoshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd, Shanghai 201900 (China); Hu, W.B. [State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2011-03-15

Galvanized dual phase steel sheets are used extensively in the industrial applications because of their excellent mechanical properties and superior corrosion resistance, but the segregation of alloying elements and the formation of oxides on the steel surface often have a deleterious effect on coating adhesion during the galvanizing process. In order to improve the coating quality, a nickel layer was pre-electroplated on the steel substrate before galvanizing and it's found that there is an improvement in the coating quality. The coating microstructures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy together with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope, glow discharge optical emission spectroscope and X-ray diffractions. The experimental results show that the compact Ni{sub 3}Zn{sub 22} intermetallic layer formed at the zinc/nickel interface during the galvanizing process, prohibiting the nucleation and the growth of the {zeta}-Zn phase layer and resulting in the improvement of the zinc coating adhesion. (Copyright copyright 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Digitally Controlled Offline Converter with Galvanic Isolation Based on an 8-bit Microcontroller

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Lars Tønnes; Andersen, Michael Andreas E.

2007-01-01

This paper presents an offline AC/DC converter with digital control and galvanic isolation that can be implemented using cheap commercially available components. An ATMEL ATTiny26 8-bit microcontroller is used to control the converter. The microcontroller is placed on the secondary side of the co......This paper presents an offline AC/DC converter with digital control and galvanic isolation that can be implemented using cheap commercially available components. An ATMEL ATTiny26 8-bit microcontroller is used to control the converter. The microcontroller is placed on the secondary side...

Model selection and comparison for independents sinusoids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jesper Kjær; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll; Jensen, Søren Holdt

2014-01-01

In the signal processing literature, many methods have been proposed for estimating the number of sinusoidal basis functions from a noisy data set. The most popular method is the asymptotic MAP criterion, which is sometimes also referred to as the BIC. In this paper, we extend and improve this me...

Migraine patients consistently show abnormal vestibular bedside tests

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Eliana Teixeira Maranhão

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Migraine and vertigo are common disorders, with lifetime prevalences of 16% and 7% respectively, and co-morbidity around 3.2%. Vestibular syndromes and dizziness occur more frequently in migraine patients. We investigated bedside clinical signs indicative of vestibular dysfunction in migraineurs.Objective To test the hypothesis that vestibulo-ocular reflex, vestibulo-spinal reflex and fall risk (FR responses as measured by 14 bedside tests are abnormal in migraineurs without vertigo, as compared with controls.Method Cross-sectional study including sixty individuals – thirty migraineurs, 25 women, 19-60 y-o; and 30 gender/age healthy paired controls.Results Migraineurs showed a tendency to perform worse in almost all tests, albeit only the Romberg tandem test was statistically different from controls. A combination of four abnormal tests better discriminated the two groups (93.3% specificity.Conclusion Migraine patients consistently showed abnormal vestibular bedside tests when compared with controls.

Development and Function of the Mouse Vestibular System in the Absence of Gravity Perception

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Wolgemuth, Debra J.

2005-01-01

The hypothesis that was tested in this research was that the absence of gravity perception, such as would occur in space, would affect the development and function of the vestibular and central nervous systems. Further, we postulated that these effects would be more significant at specific stages of post-natal development of the animal. We also proposed the use of molecular genetic approaches that would provide important information as to the hierarchy of gene function during the development and subsequent function of the vestibular system. The tilted (tlt) mutant mouse has been characterized as lacking the ability to provide sensory input to the gravity receptors. The tlt/tlt mutant mice were a particularly attractive model for the study of vestibular function since the primary defect was limited to the receptor part of the vestibular system, and there were no detectable abnormal phenotypes in other organ systems. The goal of the proposed studies was to assess immediate and delayed effects of the lack of gravity perception on the vestibular system. Particular attention was paid to characterizing primarily affected periods of vestibular morphogenesis, and to identifying downstream genetic pathways that are altered in the CNS of the tlt/tlt mutant mouse. The specific aims were: (1) to characterize the postnatal morphogenesis of the CNS in the tlt mutant mouse, using detailed morphometric analysis of isolated vestibular ganglia and brain tissue at different stages of postnatal development and assessment of apoptotic cell death; (2) to examine the expression of selected genes implicated by mutational analysis to be important in vestibular development or function by in situ hybridization or immunohistochemistry in the mutant mice; and (3) to identify other genes involved in vestibular development and function, using differential cloning strategies to isolate genes whose expression is changed in the mutant versus normal vestibular system.

Novel Galvanic Corrosion Inhibitors: Synthesis, Characterization, Fabrication and Testing

Science.gov (United States)

2007-09-30

Polyimide Insulated Electrical Wire", SAMPE pp.16, Jan/Feb 1984. 11. Brown, S. R.; Deluccia, J.J., " Galvanic Corrosion Fatigue Testing of 7075-T6...Modified Microporous Aluminosilicate" Development of Adsorbents for Air and Water Treatment Conference, 226th American Chemical Society (ACS) National

Bilateral Vestibular Deficiency: Quality of Life and Economic Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Daniel Q; Ward, Bryan K; Semenov, Yevgeniy R; Carey, John P; Della Santina, Charles C

2014-06-01

Bilateral vestibular deficiency (BVD) causes chronic imbalance and unsteady vision and greatly increases the risk of falls; however, its effects on quality of life and economic impact are not well defined. To quantify disease-specific and health-related quality of life, health care utilization, and economic impact on individuals with BVD in comparison with those with unilateral vestibular deficiency (UVD). Cross-sectional survey study of patients with BVD or UVD and healthy controls at an academic medical center. Vestibular dysfunction was diagnosed by means of caloric nystagmography. Survey questionnaire. Health status was measured using the Dizziness Handicap Index (DHI) and Health Utility Index Mark 3 (HUI3). Economic burden was estimated using participant responses to questions on disease-specific health care utilization and lost productivity. Fifteen patients with BVD, 22 with UVD, and 23 healthy controls participated. In comparison with patients with UVD and controls, patients with BVD had significantly worse DHI (P work days (P life and imposes substantial economic burdens on individuals and society. These results underscore the limits of adaptation and compensation in BVD. Furthermore, they quantify the potential benefits of prosthetic restoration of vestibular function both to these individuals and to society.

Brain Activations for Vestibular Stimulation and Dual Tasking Change with Spaceflight

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Peng; Koppelmans, Vincent; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia; De Dios, Yiri; Gadd, Nichole; Wood, Scott; Riascos, Roy; Kofman, Igor; Bloomberg, Jacob; Mulavara, Ajitkumar;

Pseudarthrosis due to galvanic corrosion presenting as subarachnoid hemorrhage

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Rosemary Noel Beavers

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Two unlike metals near one another can break down as they move toward electrochemical equilibrium resulting in galvanic corrosion. We describe a case of electrochemical corrosion resulting in pseudarthrosis, followed by instrumentation failure leading to subarachnoid hemorrhage. A 53-year-old female with a history of cervical instability and two separate prior cervical fusion surgery with sublaminar cables presented with new onset severe neck pain. Restricted range of motion in her neck and bilateral Hoffman's was noted. X-ray of her cervical spine was negative. A noncontrast CT scan of her head and neck showed subarachnoid hemorrhage in the prepontine and cervicomedullary cisterns. Neurosurgical intervention involved removal of prior stainless steel and titanium cables, repair of cerebrospinal fluid leak, and nonsegmental C1–C3 instrumented fusion. She tolerated the surgery well and followed up without complication. Galvanic corrosion of the Brook's fusion secondary to current flow between dissimilar metal alloys resulted in catastrophic instrumentation failure and subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Audiovestibular Function Deficits in Vestibular Schwannoma

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Constantin von Kirschbaum

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Vestibular schwannomas (VS are benign tumours of the vestibular nerve and can lead to hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, facial palsy, and brainstem compression. Audiovestibular diagnostic tests are essential for detection and treatment planning. Methods. Medline was used to perform a systematic literature review with regard to how audiovestibular test parameters correlate with symptoms, tumour size, and tumour location. Results. The auditory brainstem response can be used to diagnose retrocochlear lesions caused by VS. Since hearing loss correlates poorly with tumour size, a retrocochlear lesion is probably not the only cause for hearing loss. Also cochlear mechanisms seem to play a role. This can be revealed by abnormal otoacoustic emissions, despite normal ABR and new MRI techniques which have demonstrated endolymphatic hydrops of the inner ear. Caloric and head impulse tests show frequency specific dynamics and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials may help to identify the location of the tumour regarding the involved nerve parts. Conclusion. In order to preserve audiovestibular function in VS, it is important to stop the growth of the tumour and to avoid degenerative changes in the inner ear. A detailed neurotological workup helps to diagnose VS of all sizes and can also provide useful prognostic information.

Corrosion by galvanic coupling on the steam generator auxiliary feedwater pumps at the level of the steam-tight boxes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dordonat, M.; Huet, M.

1994-01-01

Corrosion by galvanic coupling in steam generator auxiliary pump is coming from electroplated chromium cracks for the rotor steel, and from chemical KANIGEN nickel cracks for the steam-tight boxes black steel. To avoid galvanic coupling between Cr coating and the rotor steel, first an electrolytic Ni coating is done followed by an electrolytic Cr coating. To avoid galvanic coupling between black steel and graphite rings, black steel is replaced by 316L steel. (A.B.). 1 ref., 7 figs

New Canonic Active RC Sinusoidal Oscillator Circuits Using Second-Generation Current Conveyors with Application as a Wide-Frequency Digitally Controlled Sinusoid Generator

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Abhirup Lahiri

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports two new circuit topologies using second-generation current conveyors (CCIIs for realizing variable frequency sinusoidal oscillators with minimum passive components. The proposed topologies in this paper provide new realizations of resistance-controlled and capacitor-controlled variable frequency oscillators (VFOs using only four passive components. The first topology employs three CCIIs, while the second topology employs two CCIIs. The second topology provides an advantageous feature of frequency tuning through two grounded elements. Application of the proposed circuits as a wide-frequency range digitally controlled sinusoid generator is exhibited wherein the digital frequency control has been enabled by replacing both the capacitors by two identical variable binary capacitor banks tunable by means of the same binary code. SPICE simulations of the CMOS implementation of the oscillators using 0.35 μm TSMC CMOS technology parameters and bipolar implementation of the oscillators using process parameters for NR200N-2X (NPN and PR200N-2X (PNP of bipolar arrays ALA400-CBIC-R have validated their workability. One of the oscillators (with CMOS implementation is exemplified as a digitally controlled sinusoid generator with frequency generation from 25 kHz to 6.36 MHz, achieved by switching capacitors and with power consumption of 7 mW in the entire operating frequency range.

Light scattering by sinusoidal surfaces: illumination windows and harmonics in standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Marx, E; Lettieri, T R; Vorburger, T V

1995-03-01

Sinusoidal surfaces can be used as material standards to help calibrate instruments that measure the angular distribution of the intensity of light scattered by arbitrary surfaces, because the power in the diffraction peaks varies over several orders of magnitude. The calculated power in the higher-order diffraction peaks from sinusoidal surfaces expressed in terms of Bessel functions is much smaller than the values determined from angular distributions that are measured or computed from measured profiles, both of which are determined mainly by the harmonic contents of the profile. The finite size of the illuminated area, represented by an illumination window, gives rise to a background that is much larger than the calculated power in the higher-order peaks. For a rectangular window of a size equal to an even number of periods of the sinusoid, a computation of the power distribution produces minima at or near the location of the diffraction angles for higher-order diffraction angles.

Intravascular Immune Surveillance by CXCR6+ NKT Cells Patrolling Liver Sinusoids

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Geissmann Frederic

2005-01-01

Full Text Available We examined the in vivo behavior of liver natural killer T cells (NKT cells by intravital fluorescence microscopic imaging of mice in which a green fluorescent protein cDNA was used to replace the gene encoding the chemokine receptor CXCR6. NKT cells, which account for most CXCR6+ cells in liver, were found to crawl within hepatic sinusoids at 10-20 µm/min and to stop upon T cell antigen receptor activation. CXCR6-deficient mice exhibited a selective and severe reduction of CD1d-reactive NKT cells in the liver and decreased susceptibility to T-cell-dependent hepatitis. CXCL16, the cell surface ligand for CXCR6, is expressed on sinusoidal endothelial cells, and CXCR6 deficiency resulted in reduced survival, but not in altered speed or pattern of patrolling of NKT cells. Thus, NKT cells patrol liver sinusoids to provide intravascular immune surveillance, and CXCR6 contributes to liver-based immune responses by regulating their abundance.

DISPLAY OF PIXEL LOSS AND REPLICATION IN REPROJECTING RASTER DATA FROM THE SINUSOIDAL PROJECTION

Science.gov (United States)

Recent studies show the sinusoidal projection to be a superior planar projection for representing global raster datasets. This study uses the sinusoidal projection as a basis for evaluating pixel loss and replication in eight other planar map projections. The percent of pixels ...

Eco-technological process of glass-ceramic production from galvanic sludge and aluminium slag

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Stanisavljević M.

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Methods of purification of waste water which are most commonly used in the Republic of Serbia belong to the type of conventional systems for purification such as chemical oxidation and reduction, neutralization, sedimentation, coagulation, and flocculation. Consequently, these methods generate waste sludge which, unless adequately stabilized, represents hazardous matter. The aluminium slag generated by melting or diecasting aluminium and its alloys is also hazardous matter. In this sense, this paper establishes ecological risk of galvanic waste sludge and aluminium slag and then describes the process of stabilization of these waste materials by means of transformation into a glass-ceramic structure through sintering. The obtained product was analyzed with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR and X-ray diffraction (XRD. The object of the paper is the eco-technological process of producing glass-ceramics from galvanic sludge and aluminium slag. The aim of the paper is to incorporate toxic metals from galvanic sludge and aluminium slag into the glass-ceramic product, in the form of solid solutions.

Vestibular Compensation in Unilateral Patients Often Causes Both Gain and Time Constant Asymmetries in The VOR

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Mina eRanjbaran

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR is essential in our daily life to stabilize retinal images during head movements. Balanced vestibular functionality secures optimal reflex performance which can be distorted in case of peripheral vestibular lesions. Luckily, vestibular compensation in different neuronal sites restores VOR function to some extent over time. Studying vestibular compensation gives insight into the possible mechanisms for plasticity in the brain.In this work, novel experimental analysis tools are employed to reevaluate the VOR characteristics following unilateral vestibular lesions and compensation. Our results suggest that following vestibular lesions, asymmetric performance of the VOR is not only limited to its gain. Vestibular compensation also causes asymmetric dynamics, i.e. different time constants for the VOR during leftward or rightward passive head rotation. Potential mechanisms for these experimental observations are provided using simulation studies.

76 FR 19382 - Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-07

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 701-TA-479 and 731-TA-1183-1184 (Preliminary)] Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission. ACTION... the United States is materially retarded, by reason of [[Page 19383

Photo-galvanic effect in Bi2Se3 thin films with ionic liquid gating

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Yu; Richardella, Anthony; Lee, Joon Sue; Flanagan, Thomas; Samarth, Nitin

2013-03-01

A key challenge in three dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TIs) is to reveal the helical spin-polarized surface states via electrical transport measurements. A recent study [Nature Nanotech. 7, 96 (2012)] showed that circularly polarized light can be used to generate and control photocurrents in the 3D TI Bi2Se3, even at photon energies that are well above the bulk band gap. Symmetry considerations suggest that this ``photo-galvanic effect'' arises purely from photo-currents induced in the surface Dirac states. To gain insights into this phenomenon, we have carried out systematic measurements of the photo-galvanic effect in electrically gated MBE-grown Bi2Se3 thin films of varying thickness. By using an ionic liquid as an optically transparent gate, we map out the behavior of the photo-galvanic effect as a function of Fermi energy over a temperature range 5 K <= T <= 300 K. Supported by ONR and NSF.

Purchase decision-making is modulated by vestibular stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Preuss, Nora; Mast, Fred W; Hasler, Gregor

2014-01-01

Purchases are driven by consumers' product preferences and price considerations. Using caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS), we investigated the role of vestibular-affective circuits in purchase decision-making. CVS is an effective noninvasive brain stimulation method, which activates vestibular and overlapping emotional circuits (e.g., the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)). Subjects were exposed to CVS and sham stimulation while they performed two purchase decision-making tasks. In Experiment 1 subjects had to decide whether to purchase or not. CVS significantly reduced probability of buying a product. In Experiment 2 subjects had to rate desirability of the products and willingness to pay (WTP) while they were exposed to CVS and sham stimulation. CVS modulated desirability of the products but not WTP. The results suggest that CVS interfered with emotional circuits and thus attenuated the pleasant and rewarding effect of acquisition, which in turn reduced purchase probability. The present findings contribute to the rapidly growing literature on the neural basis of purchase decision-making.

Rapid adaptation of multisensory integration in vestibular pathways

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Jerome eCarriot

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Sensing gravity is vital for our perception of spatial orientation, the control of upright posture, and generation of our every day activities. When an astronaut transitions to microgravity or returns to earth, the vestibular input arising from self-motion will not match the brain’s expectation. Our recent neurophysiological studies have provided insight into how the nervous system rapidly reorganizes when vestibular input becomes unreliable by both 1 updating its internal model of the sensory consequences of motion and 2 up-weighting more reliable extra-vestibular information. These neural strategies, in turn, are linked to improvements in sensorimotor performance (e.g., gaze and postural stability, locomotion, orienting and perception characterized by similar time courses. We suggest that furthering our understanding of the neural mechanisms that underlie sensorimotor adaptation will have important implications for optimizing training programs for astronauts before and after space exploration missions and for the design of goal-oriented rehabilitation for patients.

An Easy-to-Assemble Three-Part Galvanic Cell

Science.gov (United States)

Eggen, Per-Odd; Skaugrud, Brit

2015-01-01

The galvanic cell presented in this article is made of only three parts, is easy to assemble, and can light a red light emitting diode (LED). The three cell components consist of a piece of paper with copper sulfate, a piece of paper with sodium sulfate, and a piece of magnesium ribbon. Within less than 1 h, students have time to discuss the…

Visual and proprioceptive interaction in patients with bilateral vestibular loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Cutfield, Nicholas J; Scott, Gregory; Waldman, Adam D; Sharp, David J; Bronstein, Adolfo M

2014-01-01

Following bilateral vestibular loss (BVL) patients gradually adapt to the loss of vestibular input and rely more on other sensory inputs. Here we examine changes in the way proprioceptive and visual inputs interact. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate visual responses in the context of varying levels of proprioceptive input in 12 BVL subjects and 15 normal controls. A novel metal-free vibrator was developed to allow vibrotactile neck proprioceptive input to be delivered in the MRI system. A high level (100 Hz) and low level (30 Hz) control stimulus was applied over the left splenius capitis; only the high frequency stimulus generates a significant proprioceptive stimulus. The neck stimulus was applied in combination with static and moving (optokinetic) visual stimuli, in a factorial fMRI experimental design. We found that high level neck proprioceptive input had more cortical effect on brain activity in the BVL patients. This included a reduction in visual motion responses during high levels of proprioceptive input and differential activation in the midline cerebellum. In early visual cortical areas, the effect of high proprioceptive input was present for both visual conditions but in lateral visual areas, including V5/MT, the effect was only seen in the context of visual motion stimulation. The finding of a cortical visuo-proprioceptive interaction in BVL patients is consistent with behavioural data indicating that, in BVL patients, neck afferents partly replace vestibular input during the CNS-mediated compensatory process. An fMRI cervico-visual interaction may thus substitute the known visuo-vestibular interaction reported in normal subject fMRI studies. The results provide evidence for a cortical mechanism of adaptation to vestibular failure, in the form of an enhanced proprioceptive influence on visual processing. The results may provide the basis for a cortical mechanism involved in proprioceptive substitution of vestibular

Motor performance is impaired following vestibular stimulation in ageing mice.

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Victoria W.K. Tung

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Balance and maintaining postural equilibrium are important during stationary and dynamic movements to prevent falls, particularly in older adults. While our sense of balance is influenced by vestibular, proprioceptive, and visual information, this study focuses primarily on the vestibular component and its age-related effects on balance. C57Bl/6J mice of ages 1, 5-6, 8-9 and 27-28 months were tested using a combination of standard (such as grip strength and rotarod and newly-developed behavioural tests (including balance beam and walking trajectory tests with a vestibular stimulus. In the current study, we confirm a decline in fore-limb grip strength and gross motor coordination as age increases. We also show that a vestibular stimulus of low frequency (2-3 Hz and duration can lead to age-dependent changes in balance beam performance, which was evident by increases in latency to begin walking on the beam as well as the number of times hind-feet slip from the beam. Furthermore, aged mice (27-28 months that received continuous access to a running wheel for 4 weeks did not improve when retested. Mice of ages 1, 10, 13, and 27-28 months were also tested for changes in walking trajectory as a result of the vestibular stimulus. While no linear relationship was observed between the changes in trajectory and age, 1-month-old mice were considerably less affected than mice of ages 10, 13, and 27-28 months. Conclusion: This study confirms there are age-related declines in grip strength and gross motor coordination. We also demonstrate age-dependent changes to finer motor abilities as a result of a low frequency and duration vestibular stimulus. These changes showed that while the ability to perform the balance beam task remained intact across all ages tested, behavioural changes in task performance were observed.

Motor Performance is Impaired Following Vestibular Stimulation in Ageing Mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Tung, Victoria W K; Burton, Thomas J; Quail, Stephanie L; Mathews, Miranda A; Camp, Aaron J

2016-01-01

Balance and maintaining postural equilibrium are important during stationary and dynamic movements to prevent falls, particularly in older adults. While our sense of balance is influenced by vestibular, proprioceptive, and visual information, this study focuses primarily on the vestibular component and its age-related effects on balance. C57Bl/6J mice of ages 1, 5-6, 8-9 and 27-28 months were tested using a combination of standard (such as grip strength and rotarod) and newly-developed behavioral tests (including balance beam and walking trajectory tests with a vestibular stimulus). In the current study, we confirm a decline in fore-limb grip strength and gross motor coordination as age increases. We also show that a vestibular stimulus of low frequency (2-3 Hz) and duration can lead to age-dependent changes in balance beam performance, which was evident by increases in latency to begin walking on the beam as well as the number of times hind-feet slip (FS) from the beam. Furthermore, aged mice (27-28 months) that received continuous access to a running wheel for 4 weeks did not improve when retested. Mice of ages 1, 10, 13 and 27-28 months were also tested for changes in walking trajectory as a result of the vestibular stimulus. While no linear relationship was observed between the changes in trajectory and age, 1-month-old mice were considerably less affected than mice of ages 10, 13 and 27-28 months. this study confirms there are age-related declines in grip strength and gross motor coordination. We also demonstrate age-dependent changes to finer motor abilities as a result of a low frequency and duration vestibular stimulus. These changes showed that while the ability to perform the balance beam task remained intact across all ages tested, behavioral changes in task performance were observed.

76 FR 21914 - Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-19

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 701-TA-479 and 731-TA-1183-1184 (Preliminary)] Galvanized Steel Wire From China and Mexico AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission. ACTION: Revised schedule for the subject antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. DATES: Effective Date...

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma: case report and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Arthurs, Benjamin J; Lamoreaux, Wayne T; Giddings, Neil A; Fairbanks, Robert K; Mackay, Alexander R; Demakas, John J; Cooke, Barton S; Lee, Christopher M

2009-12-18

Vestibular schwannomas, also called acoustic neuromas, are benign tumors of the vestibulocochlear nerve. Patients with these tumours almost always present with signs of hearing loss, and many also experience tinnitus, vertigo, and equilibrium problems. Following diagnosis with contrast enhanced MRI, patients may choose to observe the tumour with subsequent scans or seek active treatment in the form of microsurgery, radiosurgery, or radiotherapy. Unfortunately, definitive guidelines for treating vestibular schwannomas are lacking, because of insufficient evidence comparing the outcomes of therapeutic modalities.We present a contemporary case report, describing the finding of a vestibular schwannoma in a patient who presented with dizziness and a "clicking" sensation in the ear, but no hearing deficit. Audible clicking is a symptom that, to our knowledge, has not been associated with vestibular schwannoma in the literature. We discuss the diagnosis and patient's decision-making process, which led to treatment with Gamma Knife radiosurgery. Treatment resulted in an excellent radiographic response and complete hearing preservation. This case highlights an atypical presentation of vestibular schwannoma, associated with audible "clicks" and normal hearing. We also provide a concise review of the available literature on modern vestibular schwannoma treatment, which may be useful in guiding treatment decisions.

Influence of the Manufacturing Process on Defects in the Galvanized Coating of High Carbon Steel Wires

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Marcello Gelfi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This study is a detailed failure analysis of galvanized high carbon steel wires, which developed coating cracks during the torsion test performed as a quality control at the end of the manufacturing process. Careful visual inspections showed that the cracks are already present in the coating before the torsion test. In order to explain the origin of these cracks, systematic metallographic investigations were performed by means of optical and scanning electron microscope on both the wires and the rods that have been cold drawn to produce the wire. The chemical composition of the galvanized coatings was evaluated by means of energy dispersive spectroscopy. Micro bidimensional X-ray diffraction experiments were also performed to measure the residual stresses in the galvanized coating. The results showed that the failure is related to two main factors: the relatively high content of silicon in the steel and the unsuitable cooling rate of the rods at the exit from the galvanizing bath. The mechanism proposed to explain the origin of the defects was supported by Finite Elements Methods simulations and verified with in-plant tests. The proper countermeasures were then applied and the problem successfully solved.

Influence of the Manufacturing Process on Defects in the Galvanized Coating of High Carbon Steel Wires.

Science.gov (United States)

Gelfi, Marcello; Solazzi, Luigi; Poli, Sandro

2017-03-06

This study is a detailed failure analysis of galvanized high carbon steel wires, which developed coating cracks during the torsion test performed as a quality control at the end of the manufacturing process. Careful visual inspections showed that the cracks are already present in the coating before the torsion test. In order to explain the origin of these cracks, systematic metallographic investigations were performed by means of optical and scanning electron microscope on both the wires and the rods that have been cold drawn to produce the wire. The chemical composition of the galvanized coatings was evaluated by means of energy dispersive spectroscopy. Micro bidimensional X-ray diffraction experiments were also performed to measure the residual stresses in the galvanized coating. The results showed that the failure is related to two main factors: the relatively high content of silicon in the steel and the unsuitable cooling rate of the rods at the exit from the galvanizing bath. The mechanism proposed to explain the origin of the defects was supported by Finite Elements Methods simulations and verified with in-plant tests. The proper countermeasures were then applied and the problem successfully solved.

Timing of neuron development in the rodent vestibular system

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, J. R.

1982-01-01

The timing of cell generation (onset and duration) in the developing rat vestibular and proprioceptive systems is investigated. The results clearly indicate a defined time-span for generation of all neurons in the central nervous system nuclei studied. This cytogenetic period in both vestibular and proprioceptive sensory nuclei is determined to occur during and immediately after placentation, a potentially critical period for spaceflight exposure due to alterations in maternal physiology.

Dynamic Characteristics of Ventilatory and Gas Exchange during Sinusoidal Walking in Humans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshiyuki Fukuoka

Full Text Available Our present study investigated whether the ventilatory and gas exchange responses show different dynamics in response to sinusoidal change in cycle work rate or walking speed even if the metabolic demand was equivalent in both types of exercise. Locomotive parameters (stride length and step frequency, breath-by-breath ventilation (V̇E and gas exchange (CO2 output (V̇CO2 and O2 uptake (V̇O2 responses were measured in 10 healthy young participants. The speed of the treadmill was sinusoidally changed between 3 km·h-1 and 6 km·h-1 with various periods (from 10 to 1 min. The amplitude of locomotive parameters against sinusoidal variation showed a constant gain with a small phase shift, being independent of the oscillation periods. In marked contrast, when the periods of the speed oscillations were shortened, the amplitude of V̇E decreased sharply whereas the phase shift of V̇E increased. In comparing walking and cycling at the equivalent metabolic demand, the amplitude of V̇E during sinusoidal walking (SW was significantly greater than that during sinusoidal cycling (SC, and the phase shift became smaller. The steeper slope of linear regression for the V̇E amplitude ratio to V̇CO2 amplitude ratio was observed during SW than SC. These findings suggested that the greater amplitude and smaller phase shift of ventilatory dynamics were not equivalent between SW and SC even if the metabolic demand was equivalent between both exercises. Such phenomenon would be derived from central command in proportion to locomotor muscle recruitment (feedforward and muscle afferent feedback.

[Clinical research of vestibular autorotation test for patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tai-sheng; Wang, Wen-hong; Song, Wei; Lu, Hong-hua; Zuo, Xian-hua; Zhang, Jin-mei

2006-10-01

To explore the diagnostic values of vestibular autorotation test (VAT) for patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI). VAT and videonystagmography ( VNG) were performed on 73 patients with VBI and 48 patients with peripheral vestibular lesions (contrast group). Parameters analyzed included Gain, phase and asymmetry of VAT, as well as the canal paresis (CP) of caloric test and results of optokinetic-pursuit tests in VNG. Positive result of the test could be defined if anyone of the parameters was abnormal. For VAT test, Gain was enhanced in VBI group and was reduced in contrast group. In VBI group and contrast group, Gain enhanced showed in 47 (64.4%) cases and 5 (10.4%) cases, respectively (chi2 = 31.19, P VNG test, results with optokinetic-pursuit tests were more abnormal in VBI group than that in contrast group, which showed central lesions characteristics. Forty-four cases (60.3%) in VBI group and 10 cases (20.8%) in control group showed central lesions results with optokinetic-pursuit tests and visual fixation test (chi2 = 15.89, P < 0.01). Unilateral or bilateral CP showed in 33 cases (68.6%) in control group and 51 cases (69.9%) in VBI group with caloric test. Gain of VAT is mostly enhanced in VBI group, and Gain as a main characteristic is reduced in patients with peripheral vestibular lesions. The Gain parameter is availability for assessing characteristics of vestibular lesions. Phase and asymmetry can be used to assess the vestibular function but can not indicate the characteristics of vestibular lesions.

Preoperative vestibular assessment protocol of cochlear implant surgery: an analytical descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bittar, Roseli Saraiva Moreira; Sato, Eduardo Setsuo; Ribeiro, Douglas Jósimo Silva; Tsuji, Robinson Koji

Cochlear implants are undeniably an effective method for the recovery of hearing function in patients with hearing loss. To describe the preoperative vestibular assessment protocol in subjects who will be submitted to cochlear implants. Our institutional protocol provides the vestibular diagnosis through six simple tests: Romberg and Fukuda tests, assessment for spontaneous nystagmus, Head Impulse Test, evaluation for Head Shaking Nystagmus and caloric test. 21 patients were evaluated with a mean age of 42.75±14.38 years. Only 28% of the sample had all normal test results. The presence of asymmetric vestibular information was documented through the caloric test in 32% of the sample and spontaneous nystagmus was an important clue for the diagnosis. Bilateral vestibular areflexia was present in four subjects, unilateral arreflexia in three and bilateral hyporeflexia in two. The Head Impulse Test was a significant indicator for the diagnosis of areflexia in the tested ear (p=0.0001). The sensitized Romberg test using a foam pad was able to diagnose severe vestibular function impairment (p=0.003). The six clinical tests were able to identify the presence or absence of vestibular function and function asymmetry between the ears of the same individual. Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Unified design of sinusoidal-groove fused-silica grating.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Jijun; Zhou, Changhe; Cao, Hongchao; Lu, Peng

2010-10-20

A general design rule of deep-etched subwavelength sinusoidal-groove fused-silica grating as a highly efficient polarization-independent or polarization-selective device is studied based on the simplified modal method, which shows that the device structure depends little on the incident wavelength, but mainly on the ratio of groove depth to incident wavelength and the ratio of wavelength to grating period. These two ratios could be used as the design guidelines for wavelength-independent structure from deep ultraviolet to far infrared. The optimized grating profile with a different function as a polarizing beam splitter, a polarization-independent two-port beam splitter, or a polarization-independent grating with high efficiency of -1st order is obtained at a wavelength of 1064 nm, and verified by using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis. The performance of the sinusoidal grating is better than a conventional rectangular one, which could be useful for practical applications.

Effects of heat input on mechanical properties of metal inert gas welded 1.6 mm thick galvanized steel sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafiqul, M I; Ishak, M; Rahman, M M

2012-01-01

It is usually a lot easier and less expensive to galvanize steel before it is welded into useful products. Galvanizing afterwards is almost impossible. In this research work, Galvanized Steel was welded by using the ER 308L stainless steel filler material. This work was done to find out an alternative way of welding and investigate the effects of heat input on the mechanical properties of butt welded joints of Galvanized Steel. A 13.7 kW maximum capacity MIG welding machine was used to join 1.6 mm thick sheet of galvanized steel with V groove and no gap between mm. Heat inputs was gradually increased from 21.06 to 25.07 joules/mm in this study. The result shows almost macro defects free welding and with increasing heat input the ultimate tensile strength and welding efficiency decrease. The Vickers hardness also decreases at HAZ with increasing heat input and for each individual specimen; hardness was lowest in heat affected zone (HAZ), intermediate in base metal and maximum in welded zone. The fracture for all specimens was in the heat affected zone while testing in the universal testing machine.

Effects of heat input on mechanical properties of metal inert gas welded 1.6 mm thick galvanized steel sheet

Science.gov (United States)

Rafiqul, M. I.; Ishak, M.; Rahman, M. M.

2012-09-01

It is usually a lot easier and less expensive to galvanize steel before it is welded into useful products. Galvanizing afterwards is almost impossible. In this research work, Galvanized Steel was welded by using the ER 308L stainless steel filler material. This work was done to find out an alternative way of welding and investigate the effects of heat input on the mechanical properties of butt welded joints of Galvanized Steel. A 13.7 kW maximum capacity MIG welding machine was used to join 1.6 mm thick sheet of galvanized steel with V groove and no gap between mm. Heat inputs was gradually increased from 21.06 to 25.07 joules/mm in this study. The result shows almost macro defects free welding and with increasing heat input the ultimate tensile strength and welding efficiency decrease. The Vickers hardness also decreases at HAZ with increasing heat input and for each individual specimen; hardness was lowest in heat affected zone (HAZ), intermediate in base metal and maximum in welded zone. The fracture for all specimens was in the heat affected zone while testing in the universal testing machine.

Regenerative therapy for vestibular disorders using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs): neural differentiation of human iPSC-derived neural stem cells after in vitro transplantation into mouse vestibular epithelia.

Science.gov (United States)

Taura, Akiko; Nakashima, Noriyuki; Ohnishi, Hiroe; Nakagawa, Takayuki; Funabiki, Kazuo; Ito, Juichi; Omori, Koichi

2016-10-01

Vestibular ganglion cells, which convey sense of motion from vestibular hair cells to the brainstem, are known to degenerate with aging and after vestibular neuritis. Thus, regeneration of vestibular ganglion cells is important to aid in the recovery of balance for associated disorders. The present study derived hNSCs from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and transplanted these cells into mouse utricle tissues. After a 7-day co-culture period, histological and electrophysiological examinations of transplanted hNSCs were performed. Injected hNSC-derived cells produced elongated axon-like structures within the utricle tissue that made contact with vestibular hair cells. A proportion of hNSC-derived cells showed spontaneous firing activities, similar to those observed in cultured mouse vestibular ganglion cells. However, hNSC-derived cells around the mouse utricle persisted as immature neurons or occasionally differentiated into putative astrocytes. Moreover, electrophysiological examination showed hNSC-derived cells around utricles did not exhibit any obvious spontaneous firing activities. Injected human neural stem cells (hNSCs) showed signs of morphological maturation including reconnection to denervated hair cells and partial physiological maturation, suggesting hNSC-derived cells possibly differentiated into neurons.

Diamondlike carbon coating as a galvanic corrosion barrier between dental implant abutments and nickel-chromium superstructures.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozkomur, Ahmet; Erbil, Mehmet; Akova, Tolga

2013-01-01

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the galvanic corrosion behavior between titanium and nickel-chromium (Ni-Cr) alloy, to investigate the effect of diamondlike carbon (DLC) coating over titanium on galvanic corrosion behavior between titanium and Ni-Cr alloy, and to evaluate the effect of DLC coating over titanium abutments on the fit and integrity of prosthetic assemblies by scanning electron microcopy (SEM). Five Ni-Cr and 10 titanium disks with a diameter of 5 mm and thickness of 3 mm were prepared. DLC coating was applied to five titanium disks. Electrode samples were prepared, and open circuit potential measurements, galvanic current measurements over platinum electrodes, and potentiodynamic polarization tests were carried out. For the SEM evaluation, 20 Ni-Cr alloy and 10 gold alloy superstructures were cast and prepared over 30 abutments. DLC coating was applied to 10 of the abutments. Following the fixation of prosthetic assemblies, the samples were embedded in acrylic resin and cross sectioned longitudinally. Internal fit evaluations were carried out through examination of the SEM images. Titanium showed more noble and electrochemically stable properties than Ni-Cr alloy. DLC coating over the cathode electrode served as an insulating film layer over the surface and prevented galvanic coupling. Results of the SEM evaluations indicated that the DLC-coated and titanium abutments showed no statistically significant difference in fit. Hence, no adverse effects on the adaptation of prosthetic components were found with the application of DLC coating over abutment surfaces. DLC coating might serve as a galvanic corrosion barrier between titanium abutments and Ni-Cr superstructures.

Riding the Ferris Wheel: A Sinusoidal Model

Science.gov (United States)

Mittag, Kathleen Cage; Taylor, Sharon E.

2011-01-01

When thinking of models for sinusoidal waves, examples such as tides of the ocean, daily temperatures for one year in your town, light and sound waves, and certain types of motion are used. Many textbooks [1, p. 222] also present a "Ferris wheel description problem" for students to work. This activity takes the Ferris wheel problem out of the…

Functional Imaging of Human Vestibular Cortex Activity Elicited by Skull Tap and Auditory Tone Burst

Science.gov (United States)

Noohi, F.; Kinnaird, C.; Wood, S.; Bloomberg, J.; Mulavara, A.; Seidler, R.

2016-01-01

The current study characterizes brain activation in response to two modes of vestibular stimulation: skull tap and auditory tone burst. The auditory tone burst has been used in previous studies to elicit either the vestibulo-spinal reflex (saccular-mediated colic Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (cVEMP)), or the ocular muscle response (utricle-mediated ocular VEMP (oVEMP)). Some researchers have reported that air-conducted skull tap elicits both saccular and utricle-mediated VEMPs, while being faster and less irritating for the subjects. However, it is not clear whether the skull tap and auditory tone burst elicit the same pattern of cortical activity. Both forms of stimulation target the otolith response, which provides a measurement of vestibular function independent from semicircular canals. This is of high importance for studying otolith-specific deficits, including gait and balance problems that astronauts experience upon returning to earth. Previous imaging studies have documented activity in the anterior and posterior insula, superior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, and the anterior cingulate cortex in response to different modes of vestibular stimulation. Here we hypothesized that skull taps elicit similar patterns of cortical activity as the auditory tone bursts, and previous vestibular imaging studies. Subjects wore bilateral MR compatible skull tappers and headphones inside the 3T GE scanner, while lying in the supine position, with eyes closed. Subjects received both forms of the stimulation in a counterbalanced fashion. Pneumatically powered skull tappers were placed bilaterally on the cheekbones. The vibration of the cheekbone was transmitted to the vestibular system, resulting in the vestibular cortical response. Auditory tone bursts were also delivered for comparison. To validate our stimulation method, we measured the ocular VEMP outside of the scanner. This measurement showed that both skull tap and auditory

Galvanic element. Galvanisches Element

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sprengel, D.; Haelbig, H.

1980-01-03

The invention concerns a gas-tight sealed accumulator with positive and negative electrode plates and an auxillary electrode electroconductively bound to the latter for suppressing oxygen pressure. The auxillary electrode is an intermediate film electrode. The film catalysing oxygen reduction is hydrophilic in character and the other film is hydrophobic. A double coated foil has proved to be advantageous, the hydrophilic film being formed from polymer-bound activated carbon and the hydrophrobic film from porous polytetrafluoroethylene. A metallic network of silver or nickel is rolled into the outer side of the activated carbon film. This auxillary electrode can be used to advantage in all galvanic elements. Even primary cells fall within the scope of application for auxillary electrodes because many of these contain a highly oxidized electrodic material which tends to give off oxygen.

Vestibular asymmetry predicts falls among elderly patients with multi-sensory dizziness.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekvall Hansson, Eva; Magnusson, Måns

2013-07-22

Dizziness is the most common symptom in elderly patients and has been identified as a risk factor for falls. While BPPV is the most common cause of dizziness among elderly, multisensory deficits is the second, with visual, vestibular and proprioceptive reduced function. Asymmetric vestibular function is overrepresented in elderly persons with hip fractures and wrist fractures and can be accessed for screening. In this prospective study with one year observation period, 55 patients (41 women, 14 men), 65 to 90 years old (median 80, interquartile range 11) with multisensory dizziness were included. Headshake test were pathologic in 24 patients, which substantially increased the risk of falls (OR 3.4). Thirteen of the 21 patients who had fallen (p = 0.03), and all 6 patients who sustained three falls or more (p = 0.04), had vestibular asymmetry. No other measure could predict the risk of falls (OR 0.55-1.71). Signs of vestibular asymmetry among elderly with multisensory dizziness could predict falls. Hence, it seems important to address fall-prevention programs to such a group of patients. Simple bedside tests of vestibular asymmetry might be a possibility to screen for one risk factor for falls among elderly.

Galvanizing industry: evaluation of exposure levels using biomonitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menezes, Maria Angela de B.C.; Sabino, Claudia de V.S.; Amaral, Angela Maria [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Mattos, Silvania V. de M. [FUNED, Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Div. de Bromatologia e Toxicologia; S. Filho, Serafim [Secretaria Municipal de Saude de Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Coordenacao de Saude do Trabalhador; Maia, Elene Cristina P. [Minas Gerais Univ., Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica

1999-11-01

In Brazil, statistical surveys concerning occupational diseases refer to accidents and damages. The surveys do not refer to the occupational diseases developed through long exposures to hazardous work conditions, involving physical risk and toxic chemical substances. The Program of Medical Control of Occupational Health determines the Maximum Biological Levels Allowed and the Values of Normality References. But concerning metal and toxic inorganic, values of only few elements are established. In Belo Horizonte and surroundings areas, which is an important industrial centre in the country, there are different industries distributed over various areas. There are about 80 galvanizing industries which are responsible for the majority of the metal contamination hospitalities. A preliminary sampling was performed in order to conduct a survey of the exposures to elements related to occupational diseases in galvanizing industry. The preliminary results for toxic and non-toxic elements obtained using hair and fingernails as biomonitors are shown. The K{sub 0} parametric neutron activation analysis method was applied and the elements determined were: Ag, Al, Au, Cl, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, I, Mn, Na, Ti, V, Ta, and Zn. (author) 8 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.; e-mail: menezes at urano.cdtn.br

Vestibular regeneration--experimental models and clinical implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Albu, Silviu; Muresanu, Dafin F

2012-09-01

Therapies aimed at the protection and/or regeneration of inner ear hair cells are of great interest, given the significant monetary and quality of life impact of balance disorders. Different viral vectors have been shown to transfect various cell types in the inner ear. The past decade has provided tremendous advances in the use of adenoviral vectors to achieve targeted treatment delivery. Several routes of delivery have been identified to introduce vectors into the inner ear while minimizing injury to surrounding structures. Recently, the transcription factor Atoh1 was determined to play a critical role in hair cell differentiation. Adenoviral-mediated overexpression of Atoh1 in culture and in vivo has demonstrated the ability to regenerate vestibular hair cells by causing transdifferentiation of neighbouring epithelial-supporting cells. Functional recovery of the vestibular system has also been documented following adenoviral-induced Atoh1 overexpression. Experiments demonstrating gene transfer in human vestibular epithelial cells reveal that the human inner ear is a suitable target for gene therapy. © 2012 The Authors Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine © 2012 Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Galvanic corrosion of copper-cast iron couples in relation to the Swedish radioactive waste canister concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smart, N.R.; Fennell, P.A.H.; Rance, A.P.; Werme, L.O.

2004-01-01

To ensure the safe encapsulation of spent nuclear fuel rods for geological disposal, SKB are considering using the Copper-Iron Canister, which consists of an outer copper canister and an inner cast iron container. The canister will be placed into boreholes in the bedrock of a geologic repository and surrounded by bentonite clay. In the unlikely event of the outer copper canister being breached, water could enter the annulus between the inner and outer canister and at points of contact between the two metals there would be a possibility of galvanic interactions. To study this effect, copper-cast iron galvanic couples were set up in a number of different environments representing possible conditions in the SKB repository. The tests investigated two artificial pore-waters and a bentonite slurry, under aerated and deaerated conditions, at 30 deg. C and 50 deg. C. The currents passing between the coupled electrodes and the potential of the couples were monitored for several months. In addition, some bimetallic crevice specimens based on the multi-crevice assembly (MCA) design were used to simulate the situation where the copper canister will be in direct contact with the cast iron inner vessel. The effect of growing an oxide film on the surface of the cast iron prior to coupling it with copper was also investigated. The electrochemical results are presented graphically in the form of electrode potentials and galvanic corrosion currents as a function of time. The galvanic currents in aerated conditions were much higher than in deaerated conditions. For example, at 30 deg. C, galvanic corrosion rates as low as 0.02 μm/year were observed for iron in groundwater after de-aeration, but of the order of 100 μm/year for the cast iron at 50 deg. C in the presence of oxygen. The galvanic currents were generally higher at 50 deg. C than at 30 deg. C. None of the MCA specimens exhibited any signs of crevice corrosion under deaerated conditions. It will be shown that in deaerated

Vestibular vertigo and comorbid cognitive and psychiatric impairment: the 2008 National Health Interview Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Bigelow, Robin T; Semenov, Yevgeniy R; du Lac, Sascha; Hoffman, Howard J; Agrawal, Yuri

2016-04-01

Patients with vestibular disease have been observed to have concomitant cognitive and psychiatric dysfunction. We evaluated the association between vestibular vertigo, cognitive impairment and psychiatric conditions in a nationally representative sample of US adults. We performed a cross-sectional analysis using the 2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which included a Balance and Dizziness Supplement, and questions about cognitive function and psychiatric comorbidity. We evaluated the association between vestibular vertigo, cognitive impairment (memory loss, difficulty concentrating, confusion) and psychiatric diagnoses (depression, anxiety and panic disorder). We observed an 8.4% 1-year prevalence of vestibular vertigo among US adults. In adjusted analyses, individuals with vestibular vertigo had an eightfold increased odds of 'serious difficulty concentrating or remembering' (OR 8.3, 95% CI 4.8 to 14.6) and a fourfold increased odds of activity limitation due to difficulty remembering or confusion (OR 3.9, 95% CI 3.1 to 5.0) relative to the rest of the US adults. Individuals with vestibular vertigo also had a threefold increased odds of depression (OR 3.4, 95% CI 2.9 to 3.9), anxiety (OR 3.2, 95% CI 2.8 to 3.6) and panic disorder (OR 3.4, 95% CI 2.9 to 4.0). Our findings indicate that vestibular impairment is associated with increased risk of cognitive and psychiatric comorbidity. The vestibular system is anatomically connected with widespread regions of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and amygdala. Loss of vestibular inputs may lead to impairment of these cognitive and affective circuits. Further longitudinal research is required to determine if these associations are causal. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Corrosion control of galvanized steel using a phosphate/calcium ion inhibitor mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zin, I.M.; Lyon, S.B.; Pokhmurskii, V.I.

2003-01-01

The corrosion inhibition of galvanized steel was studied in artificial acid rain solution using extracts of pigments normally used in organic coatings for corrosion control. It was established that a combination of zinc phosphate/molybdate and calcium ion exchange silica has a significant synergetic anticorrosion effect in the acid rain solution compared to the pigments used alone. Further, the charge transfer resistance of galvanized steel in acid rain solution saturated by the above pigment blend approaches that of strontium chromate in artificial acid rain solution. Use of the pigment blend was found to lead to development of a protective film, which is thought to be a complex mixture of calcium phosphates and zinc phosphate

Perspectival Structure and Vestibular Processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alsmith, Adrian John Tetteh

2016-01-01

I begin by contrasting a taxonomic approach to the vestibular system with the structural approach I take in the bulk of this commentary. I provide an analysis of perspectival structure. Employing that analysis and following the structural approach, I propose three lines of empirical investigation...

Impact of Diabetic Complications on Balance and Falls: Contribution of the Vestibular System

OpenAIRE

D'Silva, Linda J.; Lin, James; Staecker, Hinrich; Whitney, Susan L.; Kluding, Patricia M.

2015-01-01

Diabetes causes many complications, including retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy, which are well understood as contributing to gait instability and falls. A less understood complication of diabetes is the effect on the vestibular system. The vestibular system contributes significantly to balance in static and dynamic conditions by providing spatially orienting information. It is noteworthy that diabetes has been reported to affect vestibular function in both animal and clinical studies. Pa...

Manual therapy with and without vestibular rehabilitation for cervicogenic dizziness: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lystad Reidar P

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Manual therapy is an intervention commonly advocated in the management of dizziness of a suspected cervical origin. Vestibular rehabilitation exercises have been shown to be effective in the treatment of unilateral peripheral vestibular disorders, and have also been suggested in the literature as an adjunct in the treatment of cervicogenic dizziness. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the evidence for manual therapy, in conjunction with or without vestibular rehabilitation, in the management of cervicogenic dizziness. Methods A comprehensive search was conducted in the databases Scopus, Mantis, CINHAL and the Cochrane Library for terms related to manual therapy, vestibular rehabilitation and cervicogenic dizziness. Included studies were assessed using the Maastricht-Amsterdam criteria. Results A total of fifteen articles reporting findings from thirteen unique investigations, including five randomised controlled trials and eight prospective, non-controlled cohort studies were included in this review. The methodological quality of the included studies was generally poor to moderate. All but one study reported improvement in dizziness following either unimodal or multimodal manual therapy interventions. Some studies reported improvements in postural stability, joint positioning, range of motion, muscle tenderness, neck pain and vertebrobasilar artery blood flow velocity. Discussion Although it has been argued that manual therapy combined with vestibular rehabilitation may be superior in the treatment of cervicogenic dizziness, there are currently no observational and experimental studies demonstrating such effects. A rationale for combining manual therapy and vestibular rehabilitation in the management of cervicogenic dizziness is presented. Conclusion There is moderate evidence to support the use of manual therapy, in particular spinal mobilisation and manipulation, for cervicogenic dizziness. The evidence

Vestibular Assessment and Rehabilitation: Ten-Year Survey Trends of Audiologists' Opinions and Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, M Dawn; Akin, Faith W; Riska, Kristal M; Andresen, Kimberly; Mondelli, Stephanie Stamps

2016-02-01

The past decade has yielded changes in the education and training of audiologists and technological advancements that have become widely available for clinical balance function testing. It is unclear if recent advancements in vestibular instrumentation or the transition to an AuD degree have affected audiologists' vestibular clinical practice or opinions. The purpose of this study was to examine predominant opinions and practices for vestibular assessment (VA) and vestibular rehabilitation (VR) over the past decade and between master's- and AuD-level audiologists. A 31-question survey was administered to audiologists via U.S. mail in 2003 (N = 7,500) and electronically in 2014 (N = 9,984) with a response rate of 12% and 10%, respectively. There was an increase in the number of audiologists providing vestibular services in the past decade. Most respondents agreed that audiologists were the most qualified professionals to conduct VA. Less than half of the surveyed audiologists felt that graduate training was adequate for VA. AuD-level audiologists were more satisfied with graduate training and felt more comfortable performing VA compared to master's-level audiologists. Few respondents agreed that audiologists were the most qualified professionals to conduct VR or that graduate training prepared them to conduct VR. The basic vestibular test battery was unchanged across surveys and included: calorics, smooth pursuit, saccades, search for spontaneous, positional, gaze and optokinetic nystagmus, Dix-Hallpike, case history, and hearing evaluation. There was a trend toward greater use of air (versus water) calorics, videonystagmography (versus electronystagmography), and additional tests of vestibular and balance function. VA is a growing specialty area in the field of audiology. Better training opportunities are needed to increase audiologists' knowledge and skills for providing vestibular services. The basic tests performed during VA have remained relatively unchanged

Prevention of Crevice Corrosion of STS 304 Stainless Steel by a Mg-alloy Galvanic Anode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, U. J.; Yun, B. D.; Kim, J. J.

2006-01-01

Prevention of crevice corrosion was studied for STS 304 stainless steel using a Mg-alloy galvanic anode in solutions with various specific resistivity. The crevice corrosion and corrosion protection characteristics of the steel was investigated by the electrochemical polarization and galvanic corrosion tests. Experimental results show that the crevice corrosion of STS 304 stainless steel does not occur in solutions of high specific resistivity, but it occurs in solutions of low specific resistivity like in solutions with resistivities of 30, 60 and 115 Ω · m. With decreasing specific resistivity of the solution, the electrode potential of STS 304 stainless steel in the crevice is lowered. The potential of STS 304 stainless steel in the crevice after coupling is cathodically polarized more by decreasing specific resistivity indicating that the crevice corrosion of STS 304 stainless steel is prevented by the Mg-alloy galvanic anode

Corrosion behaviour and biocorrosion of galvanized steel water distribution systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Delaunois, F; Tosar, F; Vitry, V

2014-06-01

Galvanized steel tubes are a popular mean for water distribution systems but suffer from corrosion despite their zinc or zinc alloy coatings. First, the quality of hot-dip galvanized (HDG) coatings was studied. Their microstructure, defects, and common types of corrosion were observed. It was shown that many manufactured tubes do not reach European standard (NBN EN 10240), which is the cause of several corrosion problems. The average thickness of zinc layer was found at 41μm against 55μm prescribed by the European standard. However, lack of quality, together with the usual corrosion types known for HDG steel tubes was not sufficient to explain the high corrosion rate (reaching 20μm per year versus 10μm/y for common corrosion types). Electrochemical tests were also performed to understand the corrosion behaviours occurring in galvanized steel tubes. Results have shown that the limiting step was oxygen diffusion, favouring the growth of anaerobic bacteria in steel tubes. EDS analysis was carried out on corroded coatings and has shown the presence of sulphur inside deposits, suggesting the likely bacterial activity. Therefore biocorrosion effects have been investigated. Actually sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) can reduce sulphate contained in water to hydrogen sulphide (H2S), causing the formation of metal sulphides. Although microbial corrosion is well-known in sea water, it is less investigated in supply water. Thus, an experimental water main was kept in operation for 6months. SRB were detected by BART tests in the test water main. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hearing loss in enlarged vestibular aqueduct and incomplete partition type II.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahadizadeh, Emily; Ascha, Mustafa; Manzoor, Nauman; Gupta, Amit; Semaan, Maroun; Megerian, Cliff; Otteson, Todd

The purpose of this work is to identify the role of incomplete partition type II on hearing loss among patients with enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA). EVA is a common congenital inner ear malformation among children with hearing loss, where vestibular aqueduct morphology in this population has been shown to correlate to hearing loss. However, the impact of incomplete partition between cochlear turns on hearing loss has not been, despite meaningful implications for EVA pathophysiology. A retrospective review of radiology reports for patients who had computed tomography (CT) scans with diagnoses of hearing loss at a tertiary medical center between January 2000 and June 2016 were screened for EVA. CT scans of the internal auditory canal (IAC) for those patients with EVA were examined for evidence of incomplete partition type II (IP-II), measurements of midpoint width and operculum width a second time, and patients meeting Cincinnati criteria for EVA selected for analysis. Statistical analysis including chi-square, Wilcoxon rank-sum, and t-tests were used to identify differences in outcomes and clinical predictors, as appropriate for the distribution of the data. Linear mixed models of hearing test results for all available tests were constructed, both univariable and adjusting for vestibular aqueduct morphometric features, with ear-specific intercepts and slopes over time. There were no statistically significant differences in any hearing test results or vestibular aqueduct midpoint and operculum widths. Linear mixed models, both univariable and those adjusting for midpoint and operculum widths, did not indicate a statistically significant effect of incomplete partition type II on hearing test results. Hearing loss due to enlarged vestibular aqueduct does not appear to be affected by the presence of incomplete partition type II. Our results suggest that the pathophysiological processes underlying hearing loss in enlarged vestibular aqueduct may not be a result of

Evidence for a role of orexin/hypocretin system in vestibular lesion-induced locomotor abnormalities in rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leilei Pan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Vestibular damage can induce locomotor abnormalities in both animals and humans. Rodents with bilateral vestibular loss showed vestibular deficits syndrome such as circling, opisthotonus as well as locomotor and exploratory hyperactivity. Previous studies have investigated the changes in the dopamine system after vestibular loss, but the results are inconsistent and inconclusive. Numerous evidences indicate that the orexin system is implicated in central motor control. We hypothesized that orexin may be potentially involved in vestibular loss-induced motor disorders. In this study, we examined the effects of arsanilate- or 3, 3′-iminodipropionitrile (IDPN-induced vestibular lesion (AVL or IVL on the orexin-A (OXA labeling in rat hypothalamus using immunohistochemistry. The vestibular lesion-induced locomotor abnormalities were recorded and verified using a histamine H4 receptor antagonist JNJ7777120 (20 mg/kg, i.p.. The effects of the orexin receptor type 1 antagonist SB334867 (16 μg, i.c.v. on these behavior responses were also investigated. At 72 h post-AVL and IVL, animals exhibited vestibular deficit syndrome and locomotor hyperactivity in the home cages. These responses were significantly alleviated by JNJ7777120 which also eliminated AVL-induced increases in exploratory behavior in an open field. The numbers of OXA-labeled neurons in the hypothalamus were significantly increased in the AVL animals at 72 h post-AVL and in the IVL animals at 24, 48 and 72 h post-IVL. SB334867 significantly attenuated the vestibular deficit syndrome and locomotor hyperactivity at 72 h post-AVL and IVL. It also decreased exploratory behavior in the AVL animals. These results suggested that the alteration of OXA expression might contribute to locomotor abnormalities after acute vestibular lesion. The orexin receptors might be the potential therapeutic targets for vestibular disorders.

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma: case report and review of the literature

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Fairbanks Robert K

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Vestibular schwannomas, also called acoustic neuromas, are benign tumors of the vestibulocochlear nerve. Patients with these tumours almost always present with signs of hearing loss, and many also experience tinnitus, vertigo, and equilibrium problems. Following diagnosis with contrast enhanced MRI, patients may choose to observe the tumour with subsequent scans or seek active treatment in the form of microsurgery, radiosurgery, or radiotherapy. Unfortunately, definitive guidelines for treating vestibular schwannomas are lacking, because of insufficient evidence comparing the outcomes of therapeutic modalities. We present a contemporary case report, describing the finding of a vestibular schwannoma in a patient who presented with dizziness and a "clicking" sensation in the ear, but no hearing deficit. Audible clicking is a symptom that, to our knowledge, has not been associated with vestibular schwannoma in the literature. We discuss the diagnosis and patient's decision-making process, which led to treatment with Gamma Knife radiosurgery. Treatment resulted in an excellent radiographic response and complete hearing preservation. This case highlights an atypical presentation of vestibular schwannoma, associated with audible "clicks" and normal hearing. We also provide a concise review of the available literature on modern vestibular schwannoma treatment, which may be useful in guiding treatment decisions.

Comparison between the water activation effects by pulsed and sinusoidal helium plasma jets

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Han; Liu, Dingxin; Xia, Wenjie; Chen, Chen; Wang, Weitao; Liu, Zhijie; Wang, Xiaohua; Kong, Michael G.

2018-01-01

Comparisons between pulsed and sinusoidal plasma jets have been extensively reported for the discharge characteristics and gaseous reactive species, but rarely for the aqueous reactive species in water solutions treated by the two types of plasma jets. This motivates us to compare the concentrations of aqueous reactive species induced by a pulsed and a sinusoidal plasma jet, since it is widely reported that these aqueous reactive species play a crucial role in various plasma biomedical applications. Experimental results show that the aqueous H2O2, OH/O2-, and O2-/ONOO- induced by the pulsed plasma jet have higher concentrations, and the proportional difference increases with the discharge power. However, the emission intensities of OH(A) and O(3p5P) are higher for the sinusoidal plasma jet, which may be attributed to its higher gas temperature since more water vapor could participate in the plasma. In addition, the efficiency of bacterial inactivation induced by the pulsed plasma jet is higher than that for the sinusoidal plasma jet, in accordance with the concentration relation of aqueous reactive species for the two types of plasma jets.

Bilateral Vestibular Dysfunction Associated With Chronic Exposure to Military Jet Propellant Type-Eight Jet Fuel

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Terry D. Fife

2018-05-01

Full Text Available We describe three patients diagnosed with bilateral vestibular dysfunction associated with the jet propellant type-eight (JP-8 fuel exposure. Chronic exposure to aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, which are the main constituents of JP-8 military aircraft jet fuel, occurred over 3–5 years’ duration while working on or near the flight line. Exposure to toxic hydrocarbons was substantiated by the presence of JP-8 metabolite n-hexane in the blood of one of the cases. The presenting symptoms were dizziness, headache, fatigue, and imbalance. Rotational chair testing confirmed bilateral vestibular dysfunction in all the three patients. Vestibular function improved over time once the exposure was removed. Bilateral vestibular dysfunction has been associated with hydrocarbon exposure in humans, but only recently has emphasis been placed specifically on the detrimental effects of JP-8 jet fuel and its numerous hydrocarbon constituents. Data are limited on the mechanism of JP-8-induced vestibular dysfunction or ototoxicity. Early recognition of JP-8 toxicity risk, cessation of exposure, and customized vestibular therapy offer the best chance for improved balance. Bilateral vestibular impairment is under-recognized in those chronically exposed to all forms of jet fuel.

Trans-sinusoidal maxillary distraction in three cleft patients.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wenghoefer, M.H.; Martini, M.; Nadjmi, N.; Schutyser, F.A.C.; Jagtman, A.K.; Bergé, S.J.

2006-01-01

The trans-sinusoidal maxillary distractor (TS-MD) was used to achieve maxillary advancement in three patients with repaired cleft lip and palate. After preoperative computer-aided planning of the distraction vectors, each TS-MD was bent on a stereolithographic model of the maxilla of the patient.

Reprocessing of zinc galvanic waste sludge by selective precipitation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Jandová, J.; Maixner, J.; Grygar, Tomáš

2002-01-01

Roč. 46, č. 2 (2002), s. 52-55 ISSN 0862-5468 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IBS4032004; GA ČR GA203/99/0067 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4032918; CEZ:MSM 223100002 Keywords : galvanic sludge * recovery * zinc Subject RIV: CA - Inorganic Chemistry Impact factor: 0.354, year: 2002

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF ANTICORROSION PROTECTION BY HOT-DIP GALVANIZED METHOD REBARS IN CONCRETE

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Hegyi Andreea

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The implementation of the sustainable development concept is nowadays a key issue in almost all human activities. For the constructions domain an European strategy has already been elaborated. Among its goals are also the use of long lasting materials and the reduction of repair costs. This paper presents an interdisciplinary study concerning the efficiency of the use of hot-dip galvanized rebar for concrete structures. Experimental results about corrosion kinetics of coated and usual steel reinforcement embedded in concrete, subjected to chlorine ions attack, are analyzed. Electrochemical methods as chronoamperometry and linear polarization have been used. Corrosion potential values recorded for galvanized steel embedded in concrete indicate an uncertain corrosion activation process up to a rate of 2.5 % calcium chloride relative to concrete. For rates of 5% CaCl2 and more the corrosion process is activated. For unprotected steel bars embedded in concrete the corrosion activation process started at all calcium chloride studied rates and higher corrosion potential values has been registered than for the hot-dip galvanized ones, at the same rates. Economical assessments have been done using entire lifetime cost analysis of the reinforced concrete structures. Despite that the hotdip galvanization is a rather expansive procedure, when taking into account the whole expected life span, the use of zinc coating proves to be efficient both from structural and financial approaches.

Functional Plasticity after Unilateral Vestibular Midbrain Infarction in Human Positron Emission Tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Becker-Bense, Sandra; Buchholz, Hans-Georg; Baier, Bernhard; Schreckenberger, Mathias; Bartenstein, Peter; Zwergal, Andreas; Brandt, Thomas; Dieterich, Marianne

2016-01-01

The aim of the study was to uncover mechanisms of central compensation of vestibular function at brainstem, cerebellar, and cortical levels in patients with acute unilateral midbrain infarctions presenting with an acute vestibular tone imbalance. Eight out of 17 patients with unilateral midbrain infarctions were selected on the basis of signs of a vestibular tone imbalance, e.g., graviceptive (tilts of perceived verticality) and oculomotor dysfunction (skew deviation, ocular torsion) in F18-fluordeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET at two time points: A) in the acute stage, and B) after recovery 6 months later. Lesion-behavior mapping analyses with MRI verified the exact structural lesion sites. Group subtraction analyses and comparisons with healthy controls were performed with Statistic Parametric Mapping for the PET data. A comparison of PET A of acute-stage patients with that of healthy controls showed increases in glucose metabolism in the cerebellum, motion-sensitive visual cortex areas, and inferior temporal lobe, but none in vestibular cortex areas. At the supratentorial level bilateral signal decreases dominated in the thalamus, frontal eye fields, and anterior cingulum. These decreases persisted after clinical recovery in contrast to the increases. The transient activations can be attributed to ocular motor and postural recovery (cerebellum) and sensory substitution of vestibular function for motion perception (visual cortex). The persisting deactivation in the thalamic nuclei and frontal eye fields allows alternative functional interpretations of the thalamic nuclei: either a disconnection of ascending sensory input occurs or there is a functional mismatch between expected and actual vestibular activity. Our data support the view that both thalami operate separately for each hemisphere but receive vestibular input from ipsilateral and contralateral midbrain integration centers. Normally they have gatekeeper functions for multisensory input to the cortex and automatic

Evaluation of diagnostic tests of the otolith organs and their application in various vestibular pathologies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Winters, S.M.

2014-01-01

Current vestibular testing is limited. The general function of the vestibular system on both sides of the head can be tested, and one part of the peripheral vestibular organ, the horizontal semicircular canal, can be tested unilaterally. However, recently a test for the function of the otolith

Corrosion of bare and galvanized steel in gypsum

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Gómez, Mercedes

1988-12-01

Full Text Available Gypsum is a relatively low-cost building material much abounding in our country. When it is put in contact with steel, it may produce high corrosion rates due to its pH value (close to 7. This work reports the results obtained in studying the corrosion rates of bare and galvanized steel in contact with gypsum and plaster, as well as the influence curing thermal treatment applied to gypsum, enviromental relative humidity and addition of compounds with different natures and purposes may have in such process. In-situ observations, as well as the measurement of the Polarization Resistance and the weight loss have been used as measurement technics. From the results obtained it has been possible to deduce that galvanized steel has better behaviour in dry enviroments than bare steel in the same conditions and moist atmosphere induces proportionally more corrosion in galvanized steel than in bare one. Additions to gypsum do not modified these conclusions, though it may be pointed out that addition of nitrites or lime improves the behaviour of bare steel, while galvanized behaviour is not modified. The addition of lime is not recommended because phenomena of dilated along time expansion may take place.

El yeso es un material de construcción de relativo bajo coste y que, además, es muy abundante en nuestro país. Debido a su pH cercano a la neutralidad, cuando entra en contacto con el acero, este puede corroerse a elevadas velocidades. En esta comunicación se presentan los resultados de un estudio sobre la velocidad de corrosión del acero desnudo y galvanizado en contacto con yeso y escayola y la influencia que tienen: el tratamiento térmico del curado del yeso, la humedad relativa ambiental y la adición de aditivos de diversa naturaleza y finalidad. Como técnicas de medida se han utilizado la medida de la Resistencia de Polarización y de la pérdida de peso, así como observaciones visuales. De los resultados se puede deducir que en

Quality of life in patients after vestibular Schwannoma surgery

OpenAIRE

Hajná, Barbora

2011-01-01

TVestibular schwannoma is a benign tumor that arises from the Schwann cells of the vestibular nerve. Unilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, facial and trigeminal dysfunction and vertigo are the most common symptoms. Surgical removal of the tumor is one of the treatment modalities of this disease. Surgical excision usually involves the complete vestibular nerve resection and there is also a risk of cochlear and facial nerve lesion. This thesis deals with changes in quality of life in patients afte...

Visual gravitational motion and the vestibular system in humans

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Francesco eLacquaniti

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The visual system is poorly sensitive to arbitrary accelerations, but accurately detects the effects of gravity on a target motion. Here we review behavioral and neuroimaging data about the neural mechanisms for dealing with object motion and egomotion under gravity. The results from several experiments show that the visual estimates of a target motion under gravity depend on the combination of a prior of gravity effects with on-line visual signals on target position and velocity. These estimates are affected by vestibular inputs, and are encoded in a visual-vestibular network whose core regions lie within or around the Sylvian fissure, and are represented by the posterior insula/retroinsula/temporo-parietal junction. This network responds both to target motions coherent with gravity and to vestibular caloric stimulation in human fMRI studies. Transient inactivation of the temporo-parietal junction selectively disrupts the interception of targets accelerated by gravity.

Visual gravitational motion and the vestibular system in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacquaniti, Francesco; Bosco, Gianfranco; Indovina, Iole; La Scaleia, Barbara; Maffei, Vincenzo; Moscatelli, Alessandro; Zago, Myrka

2013-12-26

The visual system is poorly sensitive to arbitrary accelerations, but accurately detects the effects of gravity on a target motion. Here we review behavioral and neuroimaging data about the neural mechanisms for dealing with object motion and egomotion under gravity. The results from several experiments show that the visual estimates of a target motion under gravity depend on the combination of a prior of gravity effects with on-line visual signals on target position and velocity. These estimates are affected by vestibular inputs, and are encoded in a visual-vestibular network whose core regions lie within or around the Sylvian fissure, and are represented by the posterior insula/retroinsula/temporo-parietal junction. This network responds both to target motions coherent with gravity and to vestibular caloric stimulation in human fMRI studies. Transient inactivation of the temporo-parietal junction selectively disrupts the interception of targets accelerated by gravity.

The effect of zinc bath temperature on the morphology, texture and corrosion behaviour of industrially produced hot-dip galvanized coatings

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A. Bakhtiari

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this work is to identify the influence of zinc bath temperature on the morphology, texture and corrosion behavior of hot-dip galvanized coatings. Hot-dip galvanized samples were prepared at temperature in the range of 450-480 °C in steps of 10 °C, which is the conventional galvanizing temperature range in the galvanizing industries. The morphology of coatings was examined with optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The composition of the coating layers was determined using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS analysis. The texture of the coatings was evaluated using X-ray diffraction. Corrosion behavior was performed using salt spray cabinet test and Tafel extrapolation test. From the experimental results, it was found that increasing the zinc bath temperature affects the morphology of the galvanized coatings provoking the appearance of cracks in the coating structure. These cracks prevent formation of a compact structure. In addition, it was concluded that (00.2 basal plane texture component was weakened by increasing the zinc bath temperature and, conversely, appearance of (10.1 prism component, (20.1 high angle pyramidal component and low angle component prevailed. Besides, coatings with strong (00.2 texture component and weaker (20.1 components have better corrosion resistance than the coatings with weak (00.2 and strong (20.1 texture components. Furthermore, corrosion resistance of the galvanized coatings was decreased by increasing the zinc bath temperature.

Nanoscale surface analysis on second generation advanced high strength steel after hot dip galvanizing.

Science.gov (United States)

Arndt, M; Duchoslav, J; Preis, K; Samek, L; Stifter, D

2013-09-01

Second generation advanced high strength steel is one promising material of choice for modern automotive structural parts because of its outstanding maximal elongation and tensile strength. Nonetheless there is still a lack of corrosion protection for this material due to the fact that cost efficient hot dip galvanizing cannot be applied. The reason for the insufficient coatability with zinc is found in the segregation of manganese to the surface during annealing and the formation of manganese oxides prior coating. This work analyses the structure and chemical composition of the surface oxides on so called nano-TWIP (twinning induced plasticity) steel on the nanoscopic scale after hot dip galvanizing in a simulator with employed analytical methods comprising scanning Auger electron spectroscopy (SAES), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and focused ion beam (FIB) for cross section preparation. By the combination of these methods, it was possible to obtain detailed chemical images serving a better understanding which processes exactly occur on the surface of this novel kind of steel and how to promote in the future for this material system galvanic protection.

Long-term mobile phone use and the risk of vestibular schwannoma: a Danish nationwide cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schüz, Joachim; Steding-Jessen, Marianne; Hansen, Søren; Stangerup, Sven-Eric; Cayé-Thomasen, Per; Poulsen, Aslak Harbo; Olsen, Jørgen H; Johansen, Christoffer

2011-08-15

Vestibular schwannomas grow in the region within the brain where most of the energy by radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from using mobile phones is absorbed. The authors used 2 Danish nationwide cohort studies, one a study of all adult Danes subscribing for a mobile phone in 1995 or earlier and one on sociodemographic factors and cancer risk, and followed subjects included in both cohorts for occurrence of vestibular schwannoma up to 2006 inclusively. In this study including 2.9 million subjects, a long-term mobile phone subscription of ≥11 years was not related to an increased vestibular schwannoma risk in men (relative risk estimate = 0.87, 95% confidence interval: 0.52, 1.46), and no vestibular schwannoma cases among long-term subscribers occurred in women versus 1.6 expected. Vestibular schwannomas did not occur more often on the right side of the head, although the majority of Danes reported holding their mobile phone to the right ear. Vestibular schwannomas in long-term male subscribers were not of larger size than expected. Overall, no evidence was found that mobile phone use is related to the risk of vestibular schwannoma. Because of the usually slow growth of vestibular schwannoma and possible diagnostic delay, further surveillance is indicated.

Setup of Galvanic Sensors for the Monitoring of Gilded Bronzes

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Sara Goidanich

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Traditional electrochemical techniques, such as linear polarization resistance (Rp, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS, cannot be applied to gilded bronzes, as it may not be possible to interpret the results obtained due to the bimetallic nature of the studied material. The measurement of the macrocouple current generated by the gold/bronze galvanic couple can be used as an indicator of degradation processes. Nevertheless, this measurement cannot be performed directly on the original artifacts due to the systematic presence of short-circuits between the two metals. In the present work the use of galvanic sensors is proposed as a possible solution for the monitoring of gilded bronze artefacts. The sensors have been designed to simulate real gilded bronze surfaces in terms of composition and stratigraphy and have proved to be a reliable diagnostic tool for the in situ monitoring of the rates of deterioration of gilded bronze surfaces and to test new conservation treatments. Their set-up and application is reported and their performances discussed.

Fire tests to study heat insulation scenario of galvanized rolling shutters sprayed with intumescent coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chuang, Ying-Ji; Chuang, Ying-Hung; Lin, Ching-Yuan

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study, through standard furnace fire tests and a natural fire test, is to analyze the heat insulation behavior of galvanized rolling shutters sprayed with intumescent coatings. The following experiments and associated estimations demonstrated that in the 1-h standard fire-resisting tests, the radiant heat flux at a measuring point horizontally 1 m away from the center of an unexposed surface the radiation could reach 4.64 W/cm 2 for the traditional uninsulated galvanized rolling shutter, and that the radiant heat flux would be substantially decreased to 0.22 W/cm 2 for one with intumescent coating of 0.3 mm target thickness, which, during the heating process, expanded about 100 times in volume and then generated a certain insulation effect. Therefore the intumescent coatings on galvanized rolling shutters have been proved by this study to be a feasible method of insulation, which can be applied in the future fire compartment design of buildings.

Galvanic Interaction between Chalcopyrite and Pyrite with Low Alloy and High Carbon Chromium Steel Ball

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Asghar Azizi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study was aimed to investigate the galvanic interaction between pyrite and chalcopyrite with two types of grinding media (low alloy and high carbon chromium steel ball in grinding of a porphyry copper sulphide ore. Results indicated that injection of different gases into mill altered the oxidation-reduction environment during grinding. High carbon chromium steel ball under nitrogen gas has the lowest galvanic current, and low alloy steel ball under oxygen gas had the highest galvanic current. Also, results showed that the media is anodic relative to pyrite and chalcopyrite, and therefore pyrite or chalcopyrite with a higher rest potential acted as the cathode, whilst the grinding media with a lower rest potential acted as the anode, when they are electrochemically contacted. It was also found that low alloy steel under oxygen produced the highest amount of EDTA extractable iron in the slurry, whilst high carbon chromium steel under nitrogen atmosphere led to the lowest amount.

Age-Related Change in Vestibular Ganglion Cell Populations in Individuals With Presbycusis and Normal Hearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Gluth, Michael B; Nelson, Erik G

2017-04-01

We sought to establish that the decline of vestibular ganglion cell counts uniquely correlates with spiral ganglion cell counts, cochlear hair cell counts, and hearing phenotype in individuals with presbycusis. The relationship between aging in the vestibular system and aging in the cochlea is a topic of ongoing investigation. Histopathologic age-related changes the vestibular system may mirror what is seen in the cochlea, but correlations with hearing phenotype and the impact of presbycusis are not well understood. Vestibular ganglion cells, spiral ganglion cells, and cochlear hair cells were counted in specimens from individuals with presbycusis and normal hearing. These were taken from within a large collection of processed human temporal bones. Correlations between histopathology and hearing phenotype were investigated. Vestibular ganglion cell counts were positively correlated with spiral ganglion cell counts and cochlear hair cell counts and were negatively correlated with hearing phenotype. There was no statistical evidence on linear regression to suggest that the relationship between age and cell populations differed significantly according to whether presbycusis was present or not. Superior vestibular ganglion cells were more negatively correlated with age than inferior ganglion cells. No difference in vestibular ganglion cells was noted based on sex. Vestibular ganglion cell counts progressively deteriorate with age, and this loss correlates closely with changes in the cochlea, as well as hearing phenotype. However, these correlations do not appear to be unique in individuals with presbycusis as compared with those with normal hearing.